By: Kalengada Machaiah
I will be turning 30 in a couple of months from now and as I am getting older, there is this frustration that is building up in me on the state of affairs in Coorg. Its been 7 months since I moved to the neighbouring state of Kerala and besides the guilt of not making it home often enough (3 trips in 7 months is not something to be proud of). While some might say that I have no right to comment since I do not live in Coorg nor have I in any way contributed to any major cause even if it is monetary and hence I should not be a hypocrite. Well, that is my home and no matter where I am or what I do, my roots are right where it has always been.
This article is an attempt to put my side of the story and understand from my Coorg brethren if I am alone in my thoughts or if I am thinking what everybody else is thinking but not saying it out loud besides a conversation over a drink or two.
The past couple of years has seen some significant developments in terms of the Govt. of Karnataka’s so called initiatives in development activities in Coorg. I must say I am baffled that we are accepting everything being thrown at us in the name of making us an inclusive part of the state. The 80th All India Karnataka Sahitya Sammelana that took off in Coorg today is a plain and straight mockery of us Kodavas. How else would one explain the arrogance of the Government machinery in organising a Sammelana in a district that has largely been ignored in terms of basic infrastructure development?. Why should we normal Kodavas even put up with this kind of an arrogance when we do not even get our due or rather return of investment on taxes that we pay to the Government. I agree that Coorg/ Kodagu is an integral part of the State of Karnataka and besides the fight for our rights through organisations like the CNC, the Coorg Wildlife Society etc, there has never been a conversation on the actual state of affairs in Coorg. On one side, we have the lack of basic infrastructure and on the other side, the loss of our traditions and Cultural heritage.
Basic infrastructural development that is a minimum requisite is sadly the last thing on our Govt.’s development agenda. The Hunsur – Gonikoppal road has been in shambles since time immemorial so much so that people drive on this stretch simply because they do not have a choice. Its been nearly a year since we were promised that the road will be ready and sadly the stretch is as bad or worse at the moment. On one side, we have tourists coming in thousands to Coorg thereby creating an alternate means of an income to everybody concerned. And instead of developing this, we today have a scenario where money is being spent on activities that has no bearing on out lives whatsoever.
The Gonikoppal Dasara had a budget that does not help anybody besides some quick money for the organisers. This Sahitya sammelana is another example of making money from a social cause (if that is what it is). If the Govt. or our very own elected representatives are so interested in developing the Culture of Coorg, then why isn’t some money allocated to Kodava Culture itself. For example, I for one have never seen a “kolu mandu” on Puthari and I can say it is true for most of our generation. Is there any money been spent on preserving traditional practices and art forms of Coorg. God forbid a day where we have a DJ dropping a valaga tune at a Ganga pooja simply because we do not have a valaga team. With most of us living outside, we do not even have time to make it for our very own festivals and we actually only have 4 of them of any significance (Kailpod, Kaveri Sankramana, Karana and Puthari). So, while a large part of the blame is because of our indifferent attitude;we are playing right into the hands of the politicians who would like nothing than cutting us down to size and snatching away our land and culture from us and thereby our very existence.
There is a lot more that I can write home about and pent my frustration. But today it is about acceptance of who we are and where we would like to see ourselves 50 years from now. It is up to my generation to walk the talk and preserve whatever we have left. Agreed that we are a cosmopolitan and urbane,educated, liberal Community. We are global and exposed and we need to be pragmatic in accepting that we cannot expect all of us to marry into our own community. In layman terms, we are “modern”. But nobody can deny that we are facing a crisis that we better accept and try to rectify before we are walked over in our own land because of our ignorance and indifferent attitude.
