Rs one crore proposal has been forwarded to the state to improve the musical fountain in the area alongside establishing a rain shelter – with nearly 500 seating capacity – across the fountain.
Madikeri:
The Harangi Reservoir in Kodagu will soon witness beautification work to attract more tourists. The reservoir, meanwhile, wears a colourful look as the crest gates have now been equipped with LED lights.
Harangi Reservoir near Kushalnagar is one of the popular tourist destinations in the district and is visited by over two lakh tourists annually. A minimum entry fee of Rs 10 is being currently collected from the visitors. However, steps are now being taken to improve the reservoir to make it aesthetically appealing.
“The LED lights to the crest gates have been fixed using the Annual Maintenance Funds. More beautification works will commence shortly as several proposals have been readied for the development of the reservoir,” confirmed Chennakeshava, the system engineer of Harangi Reservoir.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Executive Engineer, Puttaswamy confirmed, “Two proposals for the beautification of the reservoir premises have received approval and the work for the same will begin shortly.”
He explained that a Rs 98 lakh project has been approved to fix lighting across the reservoir area. “The garden, drainage gallery, crest gates and the surrounding areas of the dam will be fitted with improved lighting under the project,” he added.
Further, a chain link fencing will be installed across the musical fountain area in the reservoir “A conflict wild elephant had entered the reservoir premises a couple of times. To avoid this in future, Rs 90 lakh has been approved for the establishment of chain link fencing. The funds will also be used to equip the fountain with a diesel generator,” he explained.
Apart from the approved projects, Rs one crore proposal has been forwarded to the state to improve the musical fountain in the area alongside establishing a rain shelter – with nearly 500 seating capacity – across the fountain.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / August 25th, 2022
Codava National Council (CNC), which is aspiring for Codavaland Geo-Political Autonomy and ST tag for Kodava tribalism, celebrated its 26th AnnualCodava (Kodava) New Year Day Edmyar-1 as per Kodava tribal almanac by ritualistic ploughing of paddy fields.
CNC President N. U. Nachappa offered prayers to Guru-Karonas at Koopadira clan and reverential prayers to Mother Earth, Sun, Moon before two bullocks named Karianna – Kulla, ploughed a few rounds in the wetlands of Koopadira clan.
To herald the unbreakable bondage of Kodava tribal world with mother soil to entire universe, CNC is determined to showcase and display the age-old folkloric cultural traits and genus of Kodava tribal ancestry. In other words, all these ancient festivities enriched the civilisation of Kodava martial tribe.
CNC also prayed for the well-being of all the people of this world that is reeling under the pandemic COVID-19. Koopadira Sabu, Koopadira Mohan Muthanna, Lt. Col. Parvathi, Kompulira Myna Purandara and Koopadira Pranam participated in the celebrations.
Due to Corona pandemic, CNC’s Annual Edmyar-1 evening’s torchlight (pombolak) procession at Gonikoppal, is not being celebrated today. Speaking on the occasion, Nachappa said, “All Codava folkloric festivities and rituals mirror the agro-pastoral commitment, hunting skills and warrior hood of Codava tribal folk from time immemorial which depicts that we are above the tenets of caste and religion who are living in the rustic hills, mountainous terrain in the midst of rivers and rivulets.”
“We are happy that the Founding Father of the Constitution of India, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s birthday coincides with Codava New Year. We are ever grateful to Dr. Ambedkar for his yeomen contribution of accommodating space for expressing grievances of micro-minority tribes like Codava tribe,” he observed.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Covid-19> News / April 14th, 2020
We walked through meandering coffee plantations and around precarious corners that led up steep cliffs. “Most of these coffee farms belong to local families trying to make a living. They do most of the work themselves. It is difficult labor,” Aarush, the enthusiastic tourism manager at Mojo Plantation, explained. Eventually the forest ascended into open valleys overlooking thick, emerald rainforest below. “You see the mountainside there? There were huge landslides last year.”
Each year during the rainy season, torrential rains cause mudslides that destroy homes, villages, and farmland. Nonetheless, Coorg’s exceptional beauty alongside the promise of fertile land and the increasing boom of the coffee industry have made this slice of southern India an attractive destination to build a livelihood for centuries.
History of Coffee in India
India is a nation typically renowned for its tea. Chai wallahsare found on corners across India selling small cups of tea from roadside stands and carts. Grand tea estates and blossoming tea plantations cover hill stations across both northern and southern India. However, India also has a little-known coffee history that has blossomed into a flourishing industry in recent years.
History tells it that in 1670, a Muslim pilgrim named Baba Budan snuck seven coffee beans in his beard aboard a ship to India. Upon arrival, he planted these beans in the Chikmagalur region near Coorg in Karnataka. At this time, it was illegal to transport green coffee beans outside of Yemen, and the ports were strictly monitored in an effort to maintain a monopoly on local coffee production and trade.
Baba Budan was not only successful at sneaking them out of Yemen but also successfully planted them in Chandragiri Hills. Legend has it that the Baba had his friends carry the beans with them and plant them wherever they went, mostly in gardens and backyards. Coffee production prospered in Chandragiri Hills over the next century. However, the bean didn’t spread throughout other parts of India until the 19th century, when coffee started being exported for trade. Coffee now flourishes in Karnataka, where the slopes of the Western Ghats are brought to life with the fresh aromas of arabica and robusta plants.
Coffee fruit.
Welcome to Coorg
Also known as Kodagu in the local Kodava language, Coorg is a district and hill station in southern Karnataka, a state on India’s southwestern coast. Coorg is rich with colorful folklore and a dynamic history.
“You know there are sacred forests in Coorg? People worship the forests and the species living in them,” Aarush mused. The original Kodava inhabitants were agriculturalists, still evident today in the protection of forests and the emphasis on agriculture in the region.
The undeniable natural beauty and abundance in Coorg—from rainfall and rice fields to fertile soil and diverse water sources—made the region a highly sought-after location to outsiders throughout history. Nonetheless, the Haleri dynasty, which ruled from 1600, withstood countless attempted invasions of Coorg for centuries, reigning strong and quelling outside attacks.
The last king, Chikka Veerarajendra, however, lost the support of his people and eventually the warriors who once propped up the Haleri dynasty also brought it to an end. Shortly thereafter, in 1834, a Coorg general named Apparanda Bopanna invited the British forces into the kingdom. Despite previous resistance to British influence, the partnership with the British beckoned in a period of peace and prosperity. The British introduced coffee cultivation on a mass scale, capitalizing on the coffee beans that were brought over some centuries earlier.
The first coffee estate was established in Coorg in 1854 by an Englishman named John Fowler. Soon, almost every family in Coorg began to grow the infamous bean that energizes people across the globe. This tradition has been carried through generations to present day, perhaps contributing to the nickname Coorg has acquired of being “the coffee cup of India.”
Contemporary Sustainable Farming
Coffee in south India is a competitive commodity to the infamous tea that dominates India’s northern states. Estates are plentiful in the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The plants grow beneath thick, natural shade in ecologically diverse and sensitive regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats. Coffee plantations simultaneously contribute to the biodiversity of the local ecosystem and to the socioeconomic development of these hilly, rural regions.
Coorg grows 40 percent of India’s coffee, and the local economy relies heavily on it. The majority of the uninhabited land is cultivated coffee farms, many of them still owned by families as they were when coffee estates first emerged in the mid-19th century.
Today, Karnataka yields 140,000 tons of coffee a year and is the largest producer of coffee in the country. As a whole, India produces 299,300 tons of coffee annually, according to a 2019-2020 census by THE COFFEE BOARD OF INDIA. India is the third-largest producer and exporter of coffee in Asia and the sixth-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of coffee in the world. It accounts for 3.14 percent of the global coffee production. Seventy percent of India’s coffee is exported, and thirty percent is distributed and consumed domestically.
Spice Farms
Even though Coorg might be known as the coffee cup of India, the region has been renowned for its spices for centuries, long predating the introduction of coffee. Coorg pepper is particularly famous. Since ancient times, traders arrived at the Malabar Coast in bordering Kerala to purchase the treasured black spice grown in the emerald hills of Coorg. Cardamom, cloves and kokum, among other spices, grow abundant in Coorg and supplied the Malabar spice coast trade. Coffee hasn’t replaced the spice trade in Coorg, but rather complemented it. Today, on many estates, coffee and spices grow side by side and benefit from the diversification of the local eco-system.
Sustainable Tourism and Agriculture
“Can you smell the flowers? Doesn’t it smell like jasmine?” Sunal, my guide at Evolve Back asks me. He is right. I notice a discernible scent of jasmine permeating the air as we walk through rows of blossoming coffee trees. “When the coffee trees are ripe, they have small, white flowers that smell like jasmine.” The rows of arabica and robusta trees hang heavy with burgundy-colored fruit and delicate white flowers. Interspersed among the blossoming coffee trees are ladders of pepper vines climbing into the sky.
There are two different climates in Coorg—rainforest and dry, temperate forests—both of which are friendly for coffee growing conditions. A region relatively far off the typical tourism track, the increasing focus on sustainable, organic farming alongside experiential travel has been monumental in encouraging intentional and experiential travel in Coorg. A handful of initiatives have developed sustainable, organic coffee growing, which is leading to a regionwide awareness around responsible agritourism.
Coffee flowers in bloom.
I started my time at RAINFOREST RETREAT, which is situated outside of Coorg’s main town, Madikeri, and offers an educational and immersive coffee-based tourism experience. This organic farm and guesthouse feeds into the concept of organic, sustainable agriculture. Set amid tropical rainforest, Rainforest Retreat and the adjoined Mojo Plantation are a deeply researched experiment in ecological farming. Understanding and playing to the strengths of the eco-system, the plantation focuses on “agro-ecology.” They encourage all forms of organic farming, including biodynamic farming, permaculture and traditional practices such as panchkavyaandjeevamruth, which all help to sustain healthy, living soils.
On Mojo Plantation, the coffee and spices flourish side by side amid the riches of the rainforest. During my stay, I spent hours each day meandering through thick growth of native trees, vanilla, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper crops; and coffee trees heavy with ripened arabica and robusta beans. The growth of the rainforest canopy is left natural, allowing for the fungi, spiders and insects native to the ecosystem to their important role in the ecological coffee and spice farming in this region. Mojo Plantation also produces the delicacy luwak coffee. The civet cat ingests coffee beans and the excrements are collected and processed into some of the most expensive coffee available on the market.
Mojo Plantation also runs an NGO, which offers workshops and trainings for farmers and agricultural businesses about organic, chemical-free practices, to encourage a continued shift and commitment to ecological farming as a method to grow organic coffee and spices.
Beans are bagged and ready for market at Evolve Back.
From Rainforest Retreat, I traveled to EVOLVE BACK, which sits on the opposite side of Coorg in a more temperate climate. This family-run plantation and guesthouse dating back over a century stands as an example of the entwinement of mostly domestic tourism and the coffee industry in Coorg. Inviting guests to stay amid an organic coffee and spice plantation, Evolve Back offers a complete immersion into the ebbs and flows of work on a coffee plantation.
Each day a new experience that was immersive, sustainable and educational. I walked through the expansive breadth of the plantation, abundant in plant and spice varietals. I learned about and visited each step of coffee cultivation, from the fields, to sun-drying the beans, to processing the beans in the factory. I tasted surprisingly smooth coffee wine, a fermented drink made from remaining coffee juice after the beans were separated from their skins. I cycled through villages along the river Cauvary. On my final day, I joined farmers in the field to pick ripe coffee beans. At the end of an afternoon in the fields, I sunk my teeth into delightfully pink rose apples as the truck pulled away, leaving me with the sight of coffee fields receding into the horizon.
Local Consumption
At some point during the 19th century, South Indians began to adopt coffee drinking, and adapted it with their own style. They brew their coffee with milk and sweeten it with jaggery. While coffee remains a beverage mostly consumed at home across India, the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are plentiful with street-side coffee stands, much like the chai stands throughout northern India.
“We have saved the best for last: India’s infamous Kaapi coffee,” the barista at Evolve Back announced. Each afternoon Evolve Back hosts a coffee tasting for its guests to try different roasts and ways to brew coffee, from cappuccino to Vietnamese, and including India’s very own coffee, known as Kaapi. Amid the thick green coffee plantations and the stirrings of the surrounding jungle, the barista carefully pours steaming cups of Kaapi.
Also known as South India filter coffee, Kaapi is India’s most recognized coffee specialty. This brew requires boiling milk, to which coffee and sugar are added. The liquid is processed through a cylindrical filter. After the tedious filtration process, the frothy concoction is poured into a metal cup, known as a davara, which is served inside a stainless-steel tumbler.
After days of having to turn down coffee after coffee due to an inexplicable caffeine intolerance I have had for a decade, I couldn’t resist tasting the smooth, flavorful specialty. I savored the few sips I allowed myself to indulge in, drinking in the centuries-long history of coffee that its way into this unassuming forested region off the southwest coast of India.
**Note: Names have been changed for privacy purposes
source: http://www.whetstonemagazine.com / Whetstone / Home> Journal / by Alicia Erikson , Text and Photo www.journeywithalicia.com / September 14th
Nestled in the many hills of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru are countless coffee estates. The vast green estates betray the problems that coffee growers now face due to an acute labour shortage and climate change. These estates, once profitable, have been affected by unpredictable rains.
The 2018 landslide, a climate calamity in the region, washed away Savita’s 10-acre estate in Thanthipala, Madikeri. Four years later, many disasters followed suit. “I did not want to come back to this village, I was scared,” she says.
Kodagu is the largest coffee-producing district in the country with a total of 22,320 growers and 2,20,430 hectares of plantation land. The growers of the globally sought-after Monsoon Malabar beans are faced with new challenges, including a hard blow by landslides four years ago.
Landslides affected 2,095 hectares of land in Madikeri and Somwarpet. Of this, 959 hectares were plantation land.
Reminders of these landslides are plain to see in the areas of Thanthipala, Mukkodlu, Hattihole, Madapura, Hebbettageri and Monnageri.
For the plantation owners who lost land, there has been little relief, explains Nanda Belliappa, Vice-Chairman, Codagu Planters Association (CPA). “Apart from National Disaster Relief Fund relief, which is meagre, growers have not received any aid. Many areas have yet to be brought to condition. Land preparation has to be done,” he says.
Although Savita received compensation for her damaged house, it did not extend to estate loss. “I make a livelihood from the five acres of land that survived the disaster in 2018,” she says.
The once pristine greenery and ecosystems in these areas have been altered forever. In this place stands fissured land, devoid of trees, as a testament to government apathy.
Coupled with the rising cost of production, the plantation growers are constantly challenged by changing climate, lack of skilled labour, elephant-human conflicts and gaps in policy and reforms.
Plantation growers also point out the lower productivity of coffee varieties in India when compared to other coffee-producing countries. This is attributed to the gradual conversion of Arabica plantations to Robusta over the years, and the white stem borer menace.
What is the way ahead?
There is a significant technology gap in the plantation sector. Most technology is imported from Italy and Germany and therefore has high import duties, making it impossible for local plantation growers to purchase.
“I think where we need more help is to get good machinery for our plantation sector and get good plant material,” said Shamveel Nizam, co-founder of Big Cup, a coffee franchise.
Another solution is to form farmer producer organisations, explains Salman Baseer, proprietor of an estate in Hassan. “Small plantation growers can leverage these technologies which are otherwise extremely expensive, and fetch more in terms of profit” he explains.
Social media
Newer plantation growers are now leveraging the power of social media to create a brand for their coffee.
Pranathi Shetty, one of very few women plantation owners in Madikeri, uses her Instagram page “Kolliberri The Coffee Farm” to create awareness about her farm. It is through social media that she connected with various buyers and made inroads into the world of speciality coffee.
“Online presence also helped me enhance my knowledge by networking with some of the pioneers in the speciality coffee world,” she says.
With more growers experimenting with speciality coffee, there is huge potential for the growth of startups.
Indian coffee is rated highly in the global market and coffee culture continues to evolve because coffee growers are persistently fighting these adversities.
source: htttp://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum / by Lavpreet Kaur / November 24th, 2022
As the son of an Indian naval officer, Bidanda Bopaya was born in Pune, has lived all over the Indian coastline, and was sent to a boarding school in Ooty at a young age. His wife, Louella, daughter of an Indian air force officer, is a psychologist in private practice.
The Bidandas moved to Pittsburgh in 1987 after graduate work at Penn State and have raised two children in the Burgh. Their daughter, Maya is pursuing a PhD in finance & economics after an early career on Wall Street, and their son Rahul is an engineering graduate from Pitt. The Bidandas live in Fox Chapel.
Bopaya, a professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and President of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers, has authored/edited 13 books in the subjects of his specialization. Here is Bopaya in his contemporary dress and also in the traditional Kodava attire.
Editor’s note:
My early childhood was in Madikeri (earlier name Mercara) in Kodagu District, earlier known as Coorg (population: over 500,000 people) in Karnataka State. Madikeri is the headquarters for Kodagu and the home of the Kodavas, a small, accomplished, and colorful community in the Indian social tapestry. Kodavas are ~20% of the population of Kodagu District, and have contributed disproportionately to India’s armed forces, sports teams, and other professions including as India’s first female ambassador, India’s first PhD in sports medicine, the founder of the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, and of course, India’s first Commander-In-Chief (Gen. Kodendera Subbayya Thimmayya), and India‘s first Field Marshal Kodendera Madappa Cariappa.
Location of Coorg District and Madikeri town in Karnataka.
After sixty years, I chanced to drive through Madikeri. I had a vague memory of Omkareshwara Devasthana, a Shiva Temple there. Since it was the only temple I knew in my childhood, it made no impact then. When the driver showed me the temple from a mile away from the hills, I told him it looks like a mosque. His reply: was saar, iduve devasthana. (No sir, this IS the temple.) Stunned at the unique architecture for a Hindu temple with a typical Islamic dome including the four minarets, I stood in silence in front of the temple absorbing the ambience.
Then during the Patrika fundraising, I saw one Bidanda Bopaya as one of the on-line contributors. From the name, I recognized he is a Kodava (known earlier as Coorgis). I contacted him with my Madikeri roots, and one thing led to another in our exchanges, which finally culminated with Mr. Bopaya writing this article for the Patrika. – Kollengode S Venkataraman
The Omkareshwara Temple is a picturesque and unique place of worship in Madikeri, the heart of a salubrious and verdant hill station in Karnataka. Our family spent summers in Kodagu, and the place remained a well-kept secret because of the absence of a railhead. Now, it is a weekend getaway to Bangalore IT techies arriving in hordes.
Steep hills studded with vibrant homes surround the temple. Legend has it that the Raja of Kodagu, Lingarajendra II, built the temple repenting for some terrible act he committed. He was advised to build a Shiva temple that would awe people, as long as the sun and the moon are around! He commissioned the temple, consecrating it in 1820, with a Shivalinga brought from Kashi enshrined at the temple’s sanctum.
Omkareshwara Devasthana with its dome and four minarets
Omkareshwara Devasthana is the only known example of a Shiva temple for that matter, any Hindu temple built like a mosque with four turrets (or minarets) at each corner and a dome at the center. The rationale for this one-of-a-kind architectural style (Islamic with a Gothic touch) for a Hindu temple is not precisely known even though the temple is only 200 years old, given the frosty relations between the Kodavas and Muslims, thanks to Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), who repeatedly invaded and unsuccessfully tried to take control of the region. Search the web under Tipu Sultan and Kodavas to get multiple perspectives of this complicated relationship.
Given today’s strife-ridden global situation among all religions, it is inspiring that one Hindu temple integrated multiple styles of architecture into its place of worship two centuries ago. As children, we played hide-and-seek with our extended family around the temple.
The Rajaâ’s tomb located nearby, built in 1809, also has an Islamic architecture. My great-great-grandfather Bidanda Bopu was the Commander-in-Chief of the Kodagu Rajaâ’s army and is buried next to the Raja. Growing up, our family often celebrated festivals and visited the tomb to pay respects to our ancestors.
The Kodavas are proud people and maintain unusual traditions. Kodagu is often called the land of generals, beautiful belles, coffee, cardamom, pepper and honey, all because of its hilly terrain and suitable weather, honey, large number of military leaders, and charming and gracious women! Some interesting features of Kodavas
1)Are Kodavas Hindus? While Kodavas are governed by the Hindu laws, they are technically not Hindus, with the absence of a caste system; Kodavas are ancestor- and nature-worshippers. Most festivals are centered around agrarian and martial themes and traditions. However, many Kodavas have now adopted a Hindu lifestyle and traditions.
KODAVA FESTIVALS: Kodavas are rooted to their land as farmers and agriculturists. No wonder, all Kodava festivals are around farming.
2) Kailpodhu: After the paddy fields are transplanted in early September, Kodavas worship their weapons and tools, after cleaning and decorating them. This is followed by festivities (shooting competitions, athletic prowess, while feasting on spicy food and copious alcoholic beverages). Kodavas have the right to bear firearms and weapons without license.
3) Kaveri Sankramana: The river Kaveri originates in Kodagu District in a small natural spring in Bhagamandala, close to Madikeri. In mid-October, at a specified time, the sacred River Kaveri ” yes, for Kodavas in particular, and for all Kannadigas, Kaveri is sacred ” renews with new divine springs gushing towards a larger body of water. This is the birthplace of the river. People take dips in this holy water. Goddess Kaveri is then worshipped in Kodava homes with youngsters touching the feet of elders for blessings. Kaveri is perhaps the most common name for girls among Kodavas. This is the only meatless festival among Kodavas!
Kodavas in the field during the the Puttari Harvest festival
4)Puttari (meaning New Rice), is the traditional harvest festival, celebrated in early December when people gather in their traditional family home (ainamane) nicely decorated with farm motifs. Like Onam, Pongal, Lohri, Baishakhi, Bihu, and of course, Thanksgiving here, special culinary items are prepared. An important part of this festival is the matriarch of the family leading others into the fields for a symbolic first harvesting of rice paddies.
In addition to these, individual villages have temples that celebrate colorful festivals, including walks thru hot beds of coals. The best way to experience these is to be with Kodavas in their home during the season.
Pattaya, a traditional granary decorated for the Puttari harvest festival.
5)Is there a Kodava cuisine? Yes, of course. Kodava cuisine is replete with unique and fiery dishes including Pandhi Kari (pork curry cooked in a special vinegar), Baimble-Kari (bamboo shoot curry), mango paji (mango chutney), kuru kari (kidney beans, green beans, in a coconut gravy), akki rotti (rice chapattis) and the list goes on!!
7)Interesting fact: No priests at Kodava weddings. Family elders lead all the religious rites, with a frenzy of Kodava dancing, pandhi curry, libations, and ceremonies steeped in family traditions.
Drs. Palecanda and Nirmal Chengappa, longtime Pittsburgh residents, in traditional Kodava dress and jewelry at the wedding of their daughter Kaveri.
Websites offer a ton of information on tourism-related questions on Kodagu — places of interest, cuisines, lodging, what to do, how to reach, the best time to visit. One website is: www.coorgtourisminfo.com
source: http://www.pittsburghpatrika.com / The Pittsburgh Patrika / Home / by Bidanda Bopaya, Fox Chapel, PA / October 2022 issue
A 150-year-old bungalow in Coorg, which was once the residence of the German missionary Georg Richter, has now been converted to a boutique homestay. The School Estate lies amid the lush coffee and cardamom plantations of Coorg where you can have a tranquil stay, far from the clamours of the city. At the estate, you can wake up to the chirrups of birds and start your day with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Bungalow In Coorg Dating Back To 1878
The School Estate dates back to 1878 and is now run by the Aiyapas. Every element inside the plantation bungalow exudes an ancient charm. The century-old pool table inside the homestay has been converted into a quaint dining table. The traditional cottages at the estate are embellished with artefacts curated from different places visited by Mr. and Mrs. Aiyappa. In proximity to the estate, lies the Coorg Golf Links with an 18-hole golf course, surrounded by the verdant Western Ghats.
The estate has two charming cottages and a large family room. While staying at the homestay, you can take a stroll through the 200-acre farm dotted with coffee, cardamom and pepper plantations. You can also unwind on the hammock while taking in the aroma of coffee.
Dig Your Forks Into Traditional Kodava Dishes
At the School Estate, you can have an unforgettable dining experience in the lap of nature. The menu comprises traditional Kodava dishes prepared with ingredients sourced straight out of the farm. The estate also offers delectable English breakfasts and comforting cakes.
Handpick Coffee Beans And Play With Baby Elephants
During your stay at the estate, you can indulge in a plethora of experiences like handpicking coffee beans, fishing and golfing. You can also go on cycling tours to the nature trails nearby. The Thithimathi and Dubare elephant camps, home to the majestic Asian elephants, are also near the estate. You can play with the baby elephants here under the observation of the mahouts.
Transported to the estate already? To book your stay, click here.
source: http://www.curlytales.com / Curly Tales / Home> Discover> Travel> Travel Discovery / by Suchismita Pal / September 16th, 2022
Beanly, an early stage consumer brand in the coffee space and an early stage D2C startup known for innovations in the coffee category closed their seed investment from a clutch of angel investors who are marquee names in their fields.
Founded by Rahul Jain and Samayesh Khanna, Beanly has the vision of making quality coffee convenient while making sure it tastes fresh months after its been ground and packed.
Beanly is on a mission to simplify coffee for an everyday consumer and at the same time make it fun for them !
Beanly as a brand is known for its manufacturing prowess and is the first start up in coffee space to introduce nitrogen infused coffee to keep it fresh and also pour over coffee etc
Made with the finest arabica beans sustainably grown in Karnataka, India, Beanly offers a range of category-first products backed by science and is freshly roasted in New Delhi. The products are available on the brand’s website and in numerous other online marketplaces. The company plans to use the funds to grow its presence across online and offline channels.
“We’re excited to further our mission to make quality coffee a household staple. We have white labeled our products for several coffee players over the last 3 years and watched the freshly brewed category develop immensely” the founders said. “We now think the time is right to focus on our brand and build Beanly’s presence online and offline”.
Driven to become a major player in the segment Rahul & Samayesh added, “As part of that mission, we’re committed to elevating the undervalued but significant coffee industry in India ”.
Investors in the seed round include many seasoned entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs like media entrepreneur Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman at BW Businessworld and exchange4Media Group, Deep Bajaj & Mohit Bajaj, Founders at Sirona Hygiene, Insurance Veteran and Startup Investor Rohit Jain, Vikash Chowdhury, and Abhishek Ravi.
Dr. Annurag Batra added, “coffee consumption is growing in India at a rapid pace. Beanly is well positioned to accelerate and trailblaze that coffee culture”. He further added,” I have known Samayesh and Rahul for a long time and I have seen the speed at which they innovate”.
“Both Samayesh and Rahul are incredible founders who love coffee like no one else we have ever met! Their passion and drive are infectious. The kind of innovations they have brought in the category and wish to bring in the future has the potential to disrupt this segment and hence we decided to support them” added Deep Bajaj.
Beanly aims to be amongst the top three coffee brands in the country in the next 24 to 36 months and is ramping up its manufacturing, operations and retail presence in digital and all retail formats with this investment and is likely to raise more capital in the first quarter of 2023 for its Uber scale up.
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source: http://www.up18news.com / UP18News / Home> City-State / by Up18News / November 26th, 2022
“Utharkand, Telangana, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh have become separate states after a long fight. Why should Kodagu not get an autonomous council?,” he questioned.
Madikeri :
“I will fight for your (Kodagu) separate existence within Karnataka state but with an autonomous council,” declared former minister and economist Subramanian Swamy in Kodagu. He was addressing the gathering at the 32nd Codava National Day celebration in Madikeri on Saturday. The event was hosted by Codava National Council (CNC).
Subramanian Swamy in his speech assured CNC about the organization’s goal of achieving geo-political autonomy through a legal battle. “Great injustice has been done to you (Kodagu/Kodavas). But keep fighting,” he added. He assured to file a petition in the Supreme Court shortly to get Geo political autonomy status to Kodagu. He stated that he will seek support from his legal advisor Satya Sabarwal. “Utharkand, Telangana, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh have become separate states after a long fight. Why should Kodagu not get an autonomous council?,” he questioned. He assured that Kodagu will be an independent council by November next year.
Meanwhile, speaking with the media Swamy said, “The former minister Chidambaram has faced serious charges in many cases followed by Rahul Gandhi in the young India case. Prisons wait for them.”
He commented on the Modi regime and spoke, “I am not opposing Modi. But his policy of appeasing China is opposed by me. He should not allow the Chinese to occupy our territory. India should fight back. I also oppose some of the wrong economic policies of the present government. No one in BJP has the guts to question the wrong policies except me. Even the PM has failed to declare Ram Setu as a heritage spot despite several appeals by me.”
Virat Hindusthan Sangam national secretary Jagadish Shetty, Supreme Court advocate Satya Agarwal and CNC president NU Nachappa also spoke. Several resolutions including the demand for ST tag for the Kodavas were passed during the session.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / November 26th, 2022
Farmers in North Karnataka are now trying to grow coffee and if proven to be of good quality, it will be a game changer for the region.
Gaddi Guddappa, a farmer from Huvina Hadagali in Vijayanagara district, has cultivated coffee on his eight acres of land successfully.
Bengaluru :
When someone says coffee from Karnataka, three names immediately come to mind: Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, and Sakleshpur in Hassan district. But something new is brewing in an unexpected corner of the State: farmers in North Karnataka are now trying to grow coffee and if proven to be of good quality, it will be a game changer for the region.
Gaddi Guddappa, a farmer from Huvina Hadagali in the Vijayanagar district, has cultivated coffee on eight acres of land successfully. Mr. Guddappa told The Hindu, “I bought the plants from Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga four years back and this year, I have got the yield of 1,600 kg of coffee from my eight acres of plantation.”
According to him, the coffee which he had grown is the first in the district and also in the North Karnataka region. Many farmers in his district are visiting his plantation every day to learn about and see the coffee beans grown. “For me, it was a very new crop and I didn’t know the outcome of it. I learnt how to grow coffee by visiting Chikkamagaluru. Many people from my area who were working in the coffee estates there had told me about it. I bought Arabica-Chandragiri variety coffee from Shivamogga nursery and started to grow it,” Mr. Guddappa added.
The farmer is using arecanut palms and a few other kinds of trees as shade for coffee plants
Initially, Mr. Guddappa was growing arecanut on his land. He then started to grow coffee in the middle of the arecanut farm, as traditionally, all coffee is shade grown. He is using arecanut palms and a few other kinds of trees as shade for coffee plants while growing pepper as intercrop. “I am the first person to cultivate coffee in this region. This year, a few farmers in Lingsugur in Raichur district and Bagalkot district have also started growing coffee,” he said.
Coffee Board testing it
Coffee Board officials recently visited Huvina Hadagali and collected samples of the coffee for quality testing. K.G. Jagadeesha, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Coffee Board, told The Hindu, “Since we got the information that coffee is grown there, our officials have visited the village and taken samples. Only after proper analysis of the coffee yield and quality will we be able to comment. Testing is going on and it will take time to give our scientific analysis of the crop.”
According to Mr. Jagadeesha, coffee plants can be grown anywhere. However, the quality has to be met to the proper standard for the coffee to be marketable and drinkable. “We don’t want to recommend anything based on physical observation. We want to go by extensive testing of the coffee beans. As a responsible agency, we have to see everything, including long-term sustainability, but we are exploring,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by Darshan Devaiah B.P. / November 25th, 2022
