Dr. C.V. Sneha took charge as the Additional DC of Kodagu District yesterday.
She was the Chief Administrative Officer at the Directorate of Medical Education, Additional Commissioner (Administration) in Excise Department, Deputy Secretary at Mandya Zilla Panchayat, Land Acquisition Officer in Tumakuru District and Assistant Commissioner in Ramanagaram district.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / July 07th, 2019
Mysuru:
Shilpa Nanjappa, an acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer from Kodagu, has also been awarded the prestigious Fellowship by the Indian Government’s Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) for 2019-2021 for being an outstanding artiste.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, an elated Shilpa said that the two-year Fellowship meant a lot for her and she has chosen to do extensive research on ‘Adaptation of Kodava compositions (existing and new) into the classical music format and Bharatanatyam’.
“In simple words, my topic means popularising Kodava language through classical music format and Bharatanatyam. There are many compositions in Kodava language in both prose and poetry formats written by Dr. I.M. Muthanna, Haradasa Appacha Kavi, Nadikerianda Chinnappa, Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa and other writers. Also, there are many poetic compositions in spoken Kodava language and Kodava songs. My aim is to popularise such compositions by extensive research and documentation,” Shilpa says. “My topic aims to popularise Kodava language by propelling it to people who don’t normally hear it and also to create a renewed enthusiasm among the current generation to speak Kodava Thakk (Kodava language). I am happy to do a Fellowship in this unexplored area of work and I want to do full justice to my homeland and its culture,” she explains.
The documentation of the Fellowship project will be a valuable resource for anyone who does future research on Kodava language and will interest those who want to learn the language and explore its origin and development.
“I have been brought up with great regard and respect for Kodava language and culture which has inspired and motivated me to serve Kodagu and its people. This Fellowship is a timely encouragement to carry on the work that I was already doing for Kodava language,” Shilpa adds.
Daughter of Allaranda Kamy and Uthappa, she is married to Mukkatira Pavan Nanjappa and lives in Madikeri with her family including a five-year-old daughter and a year-old son. Her guru is late Padmini Ramachandran.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / July 06th, 2019
Matt Chitharanjan, co-founder, Blue Tokai, talks about the artisanal coffee wave, the importance of package design, and ordering Americanos on food delivery apps
Blue Tokai has now grown from a single roastery-cafe and e-commerce venture in 2016 to 21 cafes in Delhi and the National Capital Region, Jaipur, Mumbai and Bengaluru
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It was in January 2016 that I first visited Blue Tokai, tucked away in the by-lanes of Said-ul-Ajaib in south Delhi. For a coffee junkie like me, it was an exciting prospect to visit a new roastery—the first in Delhi at the time—that focused on single-estate beans from India. It was after several wrong turns that I found Blue Tokai, located a stone throw’s from car workshops and cramped houses.
The urban chaos dissipated the minute I entered the roastery-café, where I was greeted by the whirring of grinders and the warm enveloping aroma of coffee. The co-founder, Matt Chitharanjan, 37, could be seen working with a team of roasters, controlling the temperature and humidity to extract the best flavour possible from the coffee bean. It was a process called profile roasting, something Blue Tokai was the first to offer in the Capital.
It has been three years since that first visit and much has changed. Artisanal coffee has become a part of hipster culture, and many more coffee entrepreneurs have joined Blue Tokai in offering Indian consumers A-grade beans straight from plantations located in Chikmagalur, Kodaikanal, Coorg, even Nagaland. The average millennial is now aware of the complex notes and flavour profiles underlying coffee—incidentally, while wine has 200-400 notes, coffee has 1,200—and even has a favourite estate from which his or her beans are sourced.
As I head to Blue Tokai again, these changes are even more palpable. For one, it is no longer the sole occupant of the lane in Said-ul-Ajaib. Now called Champa Gali, the little alley is teeming with eateries such as Jugmug Thela and Studio Thali, dedicated to the quaint and the artisanal. Meanwhile, Blue Tokai has grown from a single roastery-café and e-commerce venture in 2016 to 21 cafés in Delhi and the National Capital Region, Jaipur, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with plans to open more in the next four months in the these three metro cities. Chitharanjan and I settle down at a table overlooking the roastery with a couple of Americanos—mine being from Karnataka’s Attikan Estate, a medium dark brew with notes of dark chocolate, figs and roasted almonds—and look back at how the company and the coffee culture in India have grown in tandem.
The roots of Blue Tokai lie in Chitharanjan’s personal quest for good coffee. “I grew up in the US, and my father is from Chennai. While growing up, my parents would drink a lot of filter coffee,” he says. When he moved to San Francisco after completing his master’s degree in economics from the University of British Columbia, the third wave of coffee (the speciality coffee movement) was sweeping across the US. “Blue Bottle Coffee had opened a café close to my apartment and a lot of local roasteries were nearby. I got exposed to better-sourced and better-roasted beans,” says Chitharanjan, who started roasting beans as a hobby. Some years later, his work as an economist brought him to Chennai, and it was while working at the Institute for Financial Management and Research that he met his wife, Namrata Asthana.
In 2012, the couple was hoping to start an entrepreneurial venture and coffee was a common point of interest. “We moved to Delhi and it was very difficult to find good coffee here. There were either Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlets or very expensive imported coffee. So, Namrata said why not try doing coffee on our own,” says Chitharanjan. The couple reached out to growers who were producing high-quality beans and tried to convince them to sell a part of the produce to them. In early 2016, Blue Tokai received seed funding from Snow Leopard Ventures and Bold Ventures. “We have also raised subsequent rounds of funds after the initial seed funding,” he says.
Slowly and steadily, they started getting green coffee beans from single estates in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which would then be profile-roasted fresh on order, ground to a perfect grain according to the customer’s requirement, and shipped within 24 hours.
According to Chitharanjan, coffee should be consumed within three-four weeks of being roasted. One of the reasons that the brew served in coffee chains or bought off the shelves sometimes tastes stale is because it takes a long time for the coffee to make its way through the supply chain, thereby leading to a breakdown in flavour compounds. Which is why now even restaurants and hotels such as the Roseate House in Delhi and the Oberoi Patisserie in Gurugram order roasted beans directly from Blue Tokai and serve them fresh to diners.
Was it difficult initially to convince farmers to part with their A-grade beans to an Indian coffee startup? “It was. They felt it was a waste of their time, as until then no one in India had been willing to pay a premium for high-quality beans. When we approached them, there was reluctance and also a sense of wariness about who we were and what we were doing,” says Chitharanjan.
The couple was upfront with plantation owners about the fact that the packages would feature the name of the estate the coffee was sourced from. This was crucial both to maintain transparency and educate the consumer. “Each estate has its own terroir, which impacts the flavour profile. And that needed to get highlighted,” he says. For instance, the organic coffee from M S Estate in Chikmagalur. which is grown at an altitude of 1,100-1,400m, is wash-processed and has notes of berries, molasses and milk chocolate. The Bibi Plantation AAA coffee from Coorg, on the other hand, is grown at a lower altitude, and has warm notes of toffee, almond and caramel. “It was a risk for the plantations too. If we did a bad job, they would get a bad name. Luckily, they took a chance on us,” he says.
Once Blue Tokai started selling artisanal coffee online, it began to get word-of-mouth publicity. “One of the good things about coffee is that it is very community driven. People who like coffee are very vocal about their favourite brands and they tell everyone about it. We were lucky in the beginning as there was this unmet demand for what we were offering. So, appreciation for Blue Tokai grew organically,” says Chitharanjan.
Initially, he participated in farmers’ markets and embassy events. It was a time when e-commerce ventures were taking off and people were slowly getting used to finding coffee online, but “the online market wasn’t very crowded at that time”, he says.
One of the striking things about Blue Tokai coffee is not just the quality of the roast but also the packaging, with artwork by folk and tribal artists such as Sukhandi Vyam at the back, and information about the estate, type of processing and date of roast in the front.
“That was all Namrata. I was worried about the price and wanted to do basic simple packaging. But she has a background in design and communications, and it was she who came up with the logo and the idea to customize the pack with the name of the consumer and to put artwork as well. All this connects with our ethos of sustainability, transparency and education,” says Chitharanjan.
In fact, consumer education is always on top of Chitharanjan’s list. There are classes every month at Said-ul-Ajaib and the café in Mumbai for customers on how to make coffee on machines, and even manual brewing sessions for those interested. There are sessions on roasting and cupping. Last year, he roped in two experts from Australia to put together a barista and roaster training school in Said-ul-Ajaib and Mumbai. “We train baristas at other restaurants that stock Blue Tokai as well so that they are able to tell our story better,” he says. Of late, he has been noticing demand for artisanal coffee from smaller cities and towns such as Thane and Jodhpur. “People are opening up cafés in some of the tier 2 cities. They have been exposed to good-quality coffee through some channel and are interested in bringing it back to wherever they live,” says Chitharanjan.
At a time when the gourmet coffee market is growing, with names such as The Flying Squirrel, Koinonia, Black Baza, Halli Berri and Third Wave innovating with high-quality Indian beans, what is it that differentiates Blue Tokai from the rest? “I think we are all complementing each other in this ecosystem. Everyone is catering to their own customer base and helping the market grow in its own unique way. All our coffees are different, sourced from different estates. Even when we source from the same estate, the way we roast the coffee is different from others,” says Chitharanjan.
At the end, the customer is the winner, with a variety of styles and options at his disposal. “We want to be known as the coffee company and not as a café company. Even though we have 20-plus cafés at the moment, we don’t want to be the next CCD or Starbucks,” he says. The idea is for the coffee to be accessible and for the Blue Tokai cafés to act as customer engagement points, with a team of baristas guiding them.
“Putting together a coffee culture is important to us. Some entrepreneurs feel their coffee should taste good simply because they have bought a machine worth lakhs and good-quality beans. Anyone can press buttons on a machine, but an untrained person can easily ruin your coffee,” Chitharanjan says.
For most of us, coffee is a way to de-stress. But I wonder if this holds true for Chitharanjan, who is surrounded by the whiffs and smell of coffee all day. “I still have four-five cups a day. But for me, the best way to de-stress is spending time with family in the evening,” he says.
Having said that, his palate has changed over the years. He used to drink instant coffee while growing up, but after being exposed to the third wave of coffee, he moved to lighter roasted ones. “I used to make pour-overs at home all the time. But I have become so lazy now that I order Americanos from Zomato all the time. It is interesting to see delivery aggregators change my own consumption behaviour,” says Chitharanjan, who is now working on packaging techniques to help coffee transport better.
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Notes that you enjoy in a cup of coffee
I enjoy fruity and floral notes in a coffee, as well as depth of flavour. You end up finding new notes as the coffee cools down.
How do you unwind?
By spending time with my family and exploring new destinations. One country on my bucket list is Japan.
Your favourite book
‘The Asian Saga’, a series of six books by James Clavell, which traces the lives of Europeans living in Asia.
Your favourite café
Father Carpenter in Berlin has great coffee, good food, and, most importantly, knowledgeable staff, which has none of the pretensions that you encounter in speciailty cafés.
source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Explore / by Avantika Bhuyan / July 04th, 2019
A day after a Bandipur ranger was attacked by a tiger, wildlife experts have asked foresters working in tiger reserves and national parks to exercise caution.
Hubballi :
A day after a Bandipur ranger was attacked by a tiger, wildlife experts have asked foresters working in tiger reserves and national parks to exercise caution. They suggest that field-level officers develop the instinct to sense danger when in the wild, so that animal-human conflicts can be checked.
Four cases of animals attacking forest officials have been reported from various reserves of Karnataka in the last one year, and two people have died in different incidents. While IFS officer Manikantan heading Nagarhole Tiger Reserve was trampled to death by an elephant, a temporary forest watcher from Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary met with the same fate.
After a tiger attacked Range Forest Officer Raghavendra in Bandipur, experts are asking why the officer ventured into the tiger area, that too unarmed. “The officer should have been aware of surprises the wild can throw up. Before being deputed at Bandipur, Raghavendra had worked in BRT Tiger Reserve. It was wrong of him to venture out to check the presence of a tiger without precautions. Field officers must be made aware of negative aspects of forest protection and use this knowledge to avoid dangerous situations,” a wildlife expert told TNIE.
K M Chinnappa, a senior wildlife conservationist, revealed that from his observation, most wild attacks occur when animals are chased. “The unfortunate death of a forester near river Cauvery happened when a team was driving away elephants. When foresters are transferred to different forests, they must be trained to cope with the different conditions they are likely to encounter, for some could be very dangerous,” he said.
“We have been asking the government to appoint local guards, who would know the terrain and dangers involved,” he added.
A retired forester admitted that there is no specific training given to field officers to deal with surprise wild attacks. “Sloth bears and elephants (tuskers) are most unpredictable in the wild. It is important that a forest team is made aware of possible dangers to expect, and be in a position to take precautionary measures,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Amit S. Upadhaye / Express News Service / July 03rd, 2019
Soldier H N Mahesh, who had been injured during an anti-terrorist operation in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, has returned to his native place in Ponnampet for rest.
H N Mahesh was accompanied by his colleague Pravin. After completing his vacation, Mahesh had reported for duty in the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir on May 15. On May 29, he was severely wounded during an operation against terrorists who were hiding in a hospital in Shopian.
A bullet fired by terrorists hit Mahesh on the right side of his jaw and passed through his nose bridge. He was treated at the Army Hospital in Chandigarh.
After coming out of a three-day long coma, he was operated upon by the surgeons and it took nearly 50 stitches to close the wounds. Acting on the advice of the senior officials in the Indian Army, Mahesh was sent on holiday to his native place.
Mahesh said that he did not come to know about the bullet shot immediately. Several minutes later, he developed a problem with vision and he experienced palpitations in the heart. When he touched his face, he realised that he was shot. With the help of his colleagues, he rushed towards the ambulance which was at a distance of 200 metres from the site of encounter.
Mahesh’s stay in the army is likely to be extended to eight more years and he hopes to work in bomb disposal squad after his recovery.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DH News Service / July 02nd, 2019
A narration of experiences of retired Forest Officer K.M Chinnappa
Mysuru:
Wildlife First and Bharathi Prakashana, Mysuru, had organised a programme at Hotel Roost on Hunsur Road here this morning for the release of the book Kaadinolagondu Jeeva, based on the first-hand experiences of retired Forest Ranger K.M. Chinnappa, written by T.S. Gopal, retired Principal of Srimangala Junior College.
Releasing the book, Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, President of Adamya Chetana Trust and wife of late former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, observed that humans to prove their greatness were going against nature and inviting problems. She regretted that people were unaware of safe disposal of waste materials leading to environmental pollution. She commended Chinnappa for his experiences as a Forest Officer.
Speaking on the book, Dr. S.V. Narasimhan heaped praises on the ‘Hero’ of the book Chinnappa and the author of the book Gopal in evolving a great study volume. He appreciated the enthusiasm of the 80-year-old Chinnappa in narrating the experiences in the forest vividly.
Addressing the gathering, Chinnappa asked people to be aware of animal behaviour in forests. He warned that rampant deforestation would invite more drought. He commended Gopal in putting his (Chinnappa) experiences beautifully through words.
Author Gopal was present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / July 03rd, 2019
Dubai :
United Arab Emirates Kannada Doctors expressed gratitude to Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family for arranging meet and greet of Kannada doctors’ in Dubai on behalf of National Doctors’ day.
The stage was set on June 28 at Hotel Conrad, Sheikh Zayed Road in the city for the joyous celebration of ‘Doctors’ day’ and proud United Arab Emirates Kannada Doctors’ first ever get together in Dubai.
Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru Dubai Family, the pioneers of promotion of Kannada language and culture in the UAE since four years organized the first ever gathering of Kannada Doctors with the theme ‘UAE Kannada Doctors Meet & Greet’.
Over 100 eminent doctors from all across the seven emirates attended this maiden occasion. The UAE national anthem, Indian national anthem, Karnataka state anthem ‘Jai Bharatha Jananiya Tanujaathe’ filled the hall with great spirit.
‘Kannada Deepa’ was lit by Dr Guru Madhva Rao, President, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University along with the Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru organizing members with the prayers of well being to humanity.
Dr Savitha Mysore from Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family warmly welcomed the guests musing about their medical college days, professional challenges, dedication, success stories and explaining the purpose of the formation of the group and its vision.
Vishnu Murthy shared Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru’s works, vision and mission to promote the Kannada Language and culture and sought the doctors’ support to take it to newer heights, which was warmly reciprocated with assurance and applause.
Self-introduction of the Doctors had many nostalgic moments as each one of them shared their home towns, education, specialization, workplace, worldwide and UAE experiences and love for Kannada. Teachers found their students and vice versa.
A special cake cutting celebration was arranged by Hemmeya team celebrating Doctors’ day. The cake was cut by Dr Guru Madva Rao, Dr Vasanth, Dr Anil Kumar, Dr Aris, Dr Shanthi, Dr Ragavendra Bhat, Dr Mamatha, Dr Fauzia, Dr Godfred, Dr Vasanth, Dr Anil along with all the other doctors.
Several key points on forming the Doctors’ Associaton, conduting Medical CME, cultural meets, professional workshops, and Doctors’ protection were discussed. Dr.Guru Madva Rao welcomed all the doctors to RAK University Campus with open arms and to utilize the facilities for professional development.
Rafiq Ali Kundanda Kunjila and Dr Lekha Thammaiah explained how lives are lost during golden hour of emergency and patients had to be rushed from Kodagu to far away Mangaluru, Mysuru or Bengaluru due to lack of facilities and made an appeal for an early set up of Super-speciality Hospital in Kodagu supporting the ongoing campaign in Karnataka. Doctors supported the noble cause by raising their hands and speaking in one voice that it is long overdue for decades and an absolute necessity to save lives. A video appeal was recorded for submission to the Government of Karnataka.
Vote of thanks was rendered by Dr Lekha Kodagu, from Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru group, in which she thanked all the doctors for their precious presence and appealed to connect all the Kannada doctors, and to work for the professional development, give employment opportunities to Kannadigas and promotion of Kannada culture and language was well received.
The lunch with the North Karnataka cuisine of ‘Jolada Rotti Oota’ was followed by singing of Kannada songs by the multi-talented Dr Santosh, Dr Manjunath, Dr Mamatha and Dr Lekha.
The doctors immensely appreciated and thanked the organizing members of Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family Rafiq Ali Kodagu, Sudeep Davanagere, Senthil Bengaluru, Shashidhar, Mamatha Sharja, Hadiya Mandya, Pallavi Basavaraj, Vishnu Murthy Mysore, Dr Savitha Mohan, Dr Lekha Thammaiah for bringing all the minds and hearts together and expressed their strong support to their future events and initiatives through active participation.
Programme video youtube link
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Middle East / July 04th, 2019
Heartthrob for an entire generation and the face of MTV’s popular reality show, Splitsvilla, Nikhil Chinapa is going to be in the city this Friday.
Are you ready to have the ultimate Friday night experience? An evening so thrilling and so full of life that you wouldn’t be able to forget it for an extremely long time? Well, if your answer is yes, we have just the thing for you.
Heartthrob for an entire generation and the face of MTV’s popular reality show, Splitsvilla, Nikhil Chinapa is going to be in the city this Friday. You have to be at The Royal Friday Soiree where he’ll be showcasing his legendary DJing skills.
The MTV star found his way into our young teenage hearts years ago and we cannot seem to get over him to this day. So be sure when you turn your head you’ll find us bobbing our heads to whatever he’s playing.
The Royal Friday Soiree is touted to be the biggest musical event brought to Delhi by the DJ fraternity. The event would take the town on a funky, electronic, techno journey ferried around by DJ Nikhil Chinapa.
Nikhil, who is also the festival director of Sunburn, a former radio jockey, MTV VJ apart from being the fantastic music producer he is, will be performing in Delhi on 5th of July. To take us on a musical ride and bring us the most happening nights we would witness for a while.
So make the necessary arrangements, call your friends, get your tickets and be sure to head to the amazing event because we’re sure it is going to be an epic showcase of all the talents that the powerhouse of a DJ has.
Date: Friday, 5th July | 10 PM onwards
Location: Imperfecto Shor – Hospitality District Asset 5A, Aerocity
Entry: Early Bird ticket for females- ₹999, Full Cover passes for couples- ₹3000
Book your tickets from Bookmyshow here.
source: http://www.knocksense.com / Knock Sense / Home> Delhi / by Akanksha Singh / July 01st, 2019
