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This book tries to answer the question ‘Are Kodavas (Coorgs) Hindus?’ I have involved some of the finest researchers from Kodagu (Coorg) who are knowledgeable in the matter, to find the answer to this pertinent question. To that end, this book is a seminal work on the religion of the Kodavas. Being a journalist, I have tried to present the findings of both those who claim that Kodavas are Hindus, as well as those who maintain that Kodavas are not Hindus. The idea is to enable readers to draw their own conclusions, rather than thrust any particular line of thinking on them. This is perhaps the first time since the world-renowned social anthropologist Prof M.N. Srinivas wrote his monumenta...
This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).
Hindu theology views rivers as goddesses who confer blessings and spiritual purification and their release from the grip of the demon of drought is a recurring theme in the mythology. India is a country blessed with many rivers, but of these, seven are considered to be particularly important. Known collectively as Saptaganga, Sapta Sindhu or Saptapunyanadi, the Ganges, Yamuna, Sindhu, Sarasvati, Godavari, Narmada and Kaveri rivers are invoked at the start of every ritual. They weave through sacred narratives about gods, sages and heroes and define the physical, spiritual and cultural landscape of Bharatavarsha.
Ever since the merger of the Coorg State with Karnataka in 1956, there has been a blame game in Kodagu as to who were the leaders or leader responsible for the ‘sell-out’. It is not the purpose of this book to engage in any such blame game. Being a journalist, I have tried to analyse objectively the circumstances leading to the merger and its aftermath. My task was made difficult due to the fact that not much of written records were available on the unfolding drama resulting in the merger. As none of the dramatis personae in the drama wrote their memoirs, there have been many grey areas in documenting the developments, culminating in the merger. In the circumstances, I invited C.P. Belli...
Since Coorg is the biggest grower of coffee in India, I zeroed in on the subject of coffee. During my youth in Coorg, I was fascinated by the legend of Mr Ivor Bull, a pioneer planter and the founder of the Consolidated Coffee Estates Ltd., Pollibetta. Though Mr Bull had returned to England in 1954, he had become part of the local ‘coffee folklore’ and was remembered with affection by the local planters. Rightly so, because it was Mr Bull who had encouraged the Coorg planters to grow oranges, cardamom and pepper along with coffee. The inter-planting vastly improved the economic condition of the small planters. I did not want to focus my writing on the cultivation of coffee because coffee has been grown in India as a commercial crop for nearly two centuries and planters are familiar with it. In this book, I have tried to give the reader, the coffee grower and the coffee lover in particular, an insight into the romance of coffee – it’s fascinating history, many charming facets of coffee culture, its symbiosis with nature and what makes it such a captivating brew. This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).
Journalist P.T. Bopanna’s ninth book ‘Round and About with P.T. Bopanna’ is a compilation of articles written in a lighter vein. Bopanna says that, being a chronicler of Kodagu (Coorg) involving documenting facts, there was hardly any scope for engaging in humour or tongue-in-cheek write-ups in his previous books. Hence, he decided to put together his articles and anecdotes written with a pinch of humour. The title of the book was inspired by the daily column ‘Round And About’ by the late Behram “Busybee” Contractor, one of India’s best known humour writers. When Bopanna was doing his journalism internship with Mid-Day newspaper in Mumbai, Busybee was working there. In a tong...
As a journalist based in Bangalore, I have taken active interest in the affairs of Kodagu (Coorg) in the last quarter of a century. In fact, I started my journalistic career as the Coorg Correspondent of The Hindu newspaper at Madikeri in 1981. Though based in Bangalore all my working years, except for my brief sojourn at Madikeri, I had been writing from time to time on Kodagu matters. Through my writings, I was able to make the voice of Kodagu heard in the corridors of power in Bangalore on important issues. I was the first to report on the Union government’s move in 1993 to withdraw the exemption given to Kodavas (Coorgs) and Jamma-holders to possess firearms without licence. The Centre...
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