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Coorg
Birthplace of the River Cauvery and home of some of India’s
bravest soldiers, Kodagu is noted for its scenic beauty. Hiking,
cross-country, or simply motoring down mountain trails in
Coorg, the visitor encounters panoramic views of the morning
mist rolling down thickly wooded hill slopes and the undulating
paddy fields and neat rows of coffee bushes resplendent under
the blue skies.
Now a flourishing agricultural center, Kodagu produces cash
crops of coffee, rice, orange, pepper and cardamoms.
With its misty mountains and dense forests, Coorg
seemed like a little corner of England to the British. They
left behind a legacy, which is still an important source of
national wealth. The well laid coffee plantations in Coorg
account for almost half of Karnataka’s coffee production.
And Karnataka continues to be India’s largest producer of
coffee. Other reminders of the colonial past are the spacious
estate bungalows, many of which still have British names and
the meandering roads that wind through the district.
In March and April it’s coffee blossom time in Coorg. Stretches
of these now-white flowers waft a heady fragrance and their
massed magnificence is an unforgettable sight. When the blossoms
turn into berries, the bushes are cropped. The cherry-red
fruit is then pulped, the separate coffee seeds dried and
sent to the curing works.
Coffee bushes are sheltered from the sun’s direct rays by
tall sentinel-like trees over which the dark green pepper
vines trail. Pepper and cardamoms from Coorg were much sought
after by Arab traders who landed in the Kerala coast long
before the advent of Islam in India.
THE KODAVAS
It is the Kodavas’ strong sense of clan that draws scattered
families together at festival and weddings. Kodavas practice
the cross-cousin marriage system and their wedding are celebrated
with pomp and feasting, usually during the marriage season
from March to June. The bridegroom wears a white kuppia and
a red and gold head-cloth draped over his white turban. All
the men-folk wear red and gold sashes with ornamented daggers
or swords tucked into the folds of the sash, over the traditional
black kuppia. There are no priests and the marriage is solemnized
before the traditional lamp, in the presence of elders who
shower the couple with rice confetti.
The festival season starts with Keil Poldu day in September,
when the martial race that produced two great Indian soldiers—Cariyappa
and Thimmaiah—worship their weapons. On Cauvery Sankramana
day in October, thousands gather at Tala-Cauvery temple on
Brahmagiri Hill to witness the rise of the fountainhead of
the River Cauvery. At a precise moment predicted by astrologers,
water gushes out of the little well fruit around the spring.
On a full-moon night in November or December the exuberant
Kodavas gather to celebrate the Huttari festival or the harvesting
of the paddy crop. The head of the family cuts the first sheaf
of paddy to the accompaniment of much music and dancing. The
mistress of the house lays it reverently before the lamp that
burns constantly in their home.
Places of Interest
Coorg is a region of scattered villages and hamlets, with
a few townships standing out. Postcard pretty with their red
tiled cottages and purple flowering shrubs, the Kodagu
towns have an old-world charm about them. Madikeri,
the district headquarters at an elevation of over 5,000 feet
above sea level, provides access to some excellent picnic
spots including the picturesque Abbey Falls. Visitors
can trek to the top of Tadeyendamol, the highest peak in the
region and view the Arabian Sea in the distance. Alternatively,
one may simply follow the mountain trails dotted with little
shrines—some beside waterfalls and others on the banks of
rivers. Besides, the Nagarhole National Park provides
excellent opportunity for wildlife viewing.
Kodagu has a few temples that are worth visiting. The
Bagamandala Temple at the confluence of the Cauvery–Sujyothi
Rivers is built in the multi-roofed Kerala style. The Omkareshwara
Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is almost 200 years old and is
a surprising blend of Islamic and Gothic styles.
Famed for their hunting skills, the Kodavas have now
turned ardent conservationists, assuming guardianship of their
homeland’s natural wealth. Today, if you hear shots ringing
out in Kodagu, rest assured that some Kodavas are only testing
their marksmanship on the coconuts up in the trees. Recently,
the camera is replacing the gun as more and more people succumb
to the lure of this beautiful, unsullied Eden and its fun
loving, hospitable people.
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