C.P.Belliappa's Column
The Wild Cats’ Compendium: Cats of all Tribes
By C.P. Belliappa Dr Nima Poovaya-Smith (thamane Ammanichanda) has just launched a delightful book titled – The Wild Cat’s Compendium, […]
SANDOOKA: VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF COORG (KODAVA) CULTURE
By: C.P. Belliappa Kodavas ( Coorgs) are a micro-minority community in India, who live in Kodagu district (Coorg) in Karnataka […]
DR S A SUBBAIAH: CHRONICLING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KODAGU’S (COORG) FIRST IPS OFFICER
By C.P. Belliappa It was in 1961 that I joined Loyola College in Chennai for my PUC. A couple of […]
BREAKING NEWS: A FLASHBACK TO 1965…
By C.P. Belliappa It was the last week of December of 1965. All of us were at home in Gonikoppal […]
FROM THE ARCHIVES: WHEN A REVOLVER FROM COORG MADE NEWS IN BOMBAY
By C.P. Belliappa Koothanda M. Somaiah was born in around 1890s. Right from a young age he displayed a mind […]
PRINCE CHARLES WAS HOSTED BY GOVERNOR POONACHA ON HIS VISIT TO INDIA
By C.P. Belliappa Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne of United Kingdom, has visited India several times. […]
Review of an Eco-critical Essay on Coorg authored by Dr Subarna De
By C.P. Belliappa Dr Subarna De, an eco-critic and an early-academic, writes about Kodagu (Coorg) district in Karnataka in her […]
SHIKAR STORIES: TROPHY MARKINGS ETCHED ON THE BUTT OF COORG GUNS
By C.P. Belliappa While cleaning and oiling the guns in preparation for Kailpodh, the festival of arms, I noticed something […]
The Art & Creative Journey of Victoria Gowramma
By C.P. Belliappa My book ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’, first published in December 2009, has in the […]
NEW DISCOVERY BY COORG-BORN DR JAGADEESH MOODERA AND TEAM AT MIT
By C P Belliappa Quantum physics deals with the behaviour of subatomic particles and is arguably the most complex branch […]
POLLIBETTA REMEMBERS COORG-BORN LEEFE ROBINSON WHO WON VICTORIA CROSS
By C P Belliappa The first coffee estate in Coorg, named Mercara Estate, was started in 1854 by J. Fowler. […]
UNIQUE UK HONOUR FOR DR AMMANICHANDA NIMA POOVAYA, OBE
By C.P. Belliappa Dr Nima Poovaya-Smith (in picture) was conferred the prestigious Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 […]
COORG RAJAS: HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS
By C.P. Belliappa Two of my books, Nuggets from Coorg History (2008), and Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg […]
RECALL: K.C.MADAPPA FROM COORG WAS IN FIRST BATCH OF IAS OFFICERS
By C.P. Belliappa After India’s Independence, ICS was replaced by IAS. Sardar Patel was quite allergic to ICS, and he […]
MADIKERI’S CRYSTAL PALACE STILL STANDING TALL
By C.P. Belliappa Subedhar Cheppudira Thimmaiah, who was quite an influential personality in Coorg during the late 19th and early […]
PIONEERING POOVAIAH SISTERS OF COORG. ONE OF THEM TAUGHT INDIRA GANDHI
By C P Belliappa Codanda D. Poovaiah was one of the first lawyers in Coorg around the turn of the […]
LOL: COLONEL & THE PRIEST: THE ‘SPRITE’ BEHIND THE PRAYER
By C.P. Belliappa My friend Kalimada Rana Nanjappa, retired as a senior Captain in Air India. He held the coveted position […]
STAR-STRUCK: ‘NEE WAADA SMITH’ STARRING MGR?
By: C.P. Belliappa I first wrote this piece – ‘Nee Waada Smith’ – in January, 1985, and it was published […]
WHEN ‘MENASU-JEERIGE’ BECAME ‘MENA-SUJEE-RIGE’
By C.P. Belliappa My mother used to tell us this light-hearted story, and I’m sure many of my vintage would […]
CIRCA 1834: THE DAY WAR WAS DECLARED ON COORG
By: C.P. Belliappa Courtesy our friends Pemmanda Jepu and Jemy Ganapathy, we spent four wonderful days at the Ooty Club, […]
IMAGES OF COORG FROM THE PAST DATING BACK TO 19TH CENTURY
I came across four interesting images of Coorg dating back to early and mid nineteenth century. The first is a […]
THE THREE GERMANS WHO PIONEERED EDUCATION IN COORG
In 1836 twenty-five-year-old Rev Hermann Moegling (in picture on top), a German missionary from the Basel Mission, arrived in Mangalore. […]
TALE OF LAST COORG RAJA: LUCKY IN LOVE (13 WIVES), BUT LOST KINGDOM
By C.P. Belliappa On 24 April 1834, Chikka Veerarajendra (in picture), the last raja of Coorg, was ingloriously dethroned by […]
VICTORIA GOWRAMMA’S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER VISITS COORG
By C.P. Belliappa It has been a series of serendipitous discovery ever since I started researching and reconstructing the story […]
COORG-BORN NIMA POOVAYA-SMITH AWARDED THE OBE BY THE QUEEN
By C.P. Belliappa Dr Nima Poovaya-Smith (in picture) was awarded the prestigious Order of the British Empire (OBE) in this […]
TIPU JAYANTHI: IS CONGRESS INDULGING IN VOTE BANK POLITICS?
By: C.P. Belliappa Tipu Sultan is all set to haunt Kodagu once again this November. However, what is even more […]
C.P.BELLIAPPA’S COLUMN: MY SHUTTERBUG GRANDFATHER
By C.P. Belliappa My maternal grandfather, Biddanda Ponnappa Mandappa, lived in Palangala village near Virajpet. I remember Palangala during my […]
KODAVA AMERICAN CAELAN KONGANDA: A BUDDING AUTHOR AND GOLFER
By C.P. Belliappa As an 8th grader in the US, Caelan Konganda’s class teacher encouraged the students to write a […]
COLONEL BIDDANDA M. CHENGAPPA: AN ESCAPADE IN BURMA
(By: C.P. Belliappa) My maternal uncle, Col Biddanda M Chengappa, was 24-years-old when he joined the Army in 1941. After […]
A SLICE OF HISTORY: PLAYING HOSTESS TO GEN. CARIAPPA
By C.P. Belliappa It was in January 1949 that twenty-year-old Biddanda Leela (in picture with field marshal Cariappa and Sardar […]
They wrote India’s Constitution while Belli rode his tricycle
By C.P. Belliappa It was in December 1946, that a Constituent Assembly was constituted, and it took 3 years for […]
Book Review: New book on Rev. Richter, author of Coorg Gazetteer
“Book on Rev. Georg Richter (Review by: C.P. Belliappa) It is well-known that Reverend Richter left an indelible mark on […]
BOOK REVIEW: WHEN GOD BOWLS A GOOGLY
By: C.P. Belliappa Soon after purchasing the book – ‘When God Bowls A Googly’ – by Ashwath Aiyappa, I flipped […]
Princess Victoria Gowramma: From the Shadows of History
“Victoria Gowramma’s Rendezvous at Leeds By: C.P. Belliappa It was wonderful to be a part of two memorable events to […]
Project Elephant’ to tackle elephant menace in Kodagu
By: C.P. Belliappa Elephant menace has become a real and present danger for people in Kodagu and in several parts […]
C.P. Belliappa interviews Dr Nima-Poovaya Smith, founder of Alchemy, involved in promoting art in UK
“C.P. Belliappa interviews Dr Nima-Poovaya Smith, a prominent figure in the United Kingdom in the field of art and literature. […]
Milestone: Coorg Education Fund completes 150 glorious years
“SESQUI CENTENNIAL OF COORG EDUCATION FUND (By: C.P. Belliappa) The 150th anniversary (Sesqui Centennial) of Coorg Education Fund, the oldest […]
Dewan Kunta Basava and his blood-curdling sport
“Saga of the Somayandra Family (By: C.P. Belliappa) The following story is adapted from a narrative by Major Somayandra T. […]
Kutta men and their BMWs
“Kuttakke Hodavanu Ketta!?By: C.P. Belliappa It used to be a common refrain during the 1940s and 50s to tease those […]
How Coorg towns got their names? C.P. Belliappa finds out!
“HOW OUR TOWNS GOT THEIR NAMES (By: C.P. Belliappa) There was a time in Coorg history when Ammathi was known […]
Coorg Institute of Technology: A jewel in the crown of Kodagu
“GENESIS OF COORG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY(By: C.P. Belliappa) It was in 1997 that a delegation from Kodava Samaja, Bangalore (KSB) […]
C.P.Belliappa’s new ‘theory’ on origin of Coorgs
“COORGS ARE GAULS!(By: C.P. Belliappa) There are many theories about origin of Coorgs. I have been picking my brains on […]
British Largesse: The Story of Coorg Gold Medallions
By: C.P. Belliappa In 1837, three years after the British take-over of Coorg, there was a rebellion which is popularly […]
C.P.Belliappa’s book reading on Coorg Princess at Leeds fest
“Book Reading at Ilkley(By: C.P. Belliappa) In October 2011, I was invited by Dr. Nima Poovaya-Smith, Founder-Director of Alchemy, for […]
When General Thimayya was stumped by a movie star
The General, and the Movie Star(By: C.P. Belliappa) After he retired as the Chief of Army Staff in 1961, General […]
Belli’s input for the latest edition of Masti’s book on Kodagu Raja
“(By: C.P. Belliappa) Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s Jnanpeeth award winning historical novel – ‘Chikka Veerarajendra’ was first published in 1956. The […]
We are Coorgs, not Coorgis!
(By: C.P. Belliappa)How the name Kodagu originated is still being debated. As most believe, it is very likely that it’s […]
Kopi Luwak: Good to the last dropping
“Kopi Luwak, or Civet Cat Coffee, which in recent years has gained renewed attention worldwide, has been in existence since […]
Jai Ho, Jaya Appanna
“Over the centuries the great Indian epic Mahabharata has been translated into many languages all over the world. We now […]
N.K. Ganapayya: The great patriot of Kodagu
When The Commissioner’s Wife Was Piqued (By: C.P. Belliappa) Circa 1922, William Penn Barton was the Chief Commissioner of Coorg. […]
Corruption Vs. Scams
“There is a difference between corruption and scams. Corruption is societal and is all pervading in our country. Scams, on […]
Indian rope trick: Hole-in-one
“Hole-in-one(By: C.P. Belliappa) For a golfer, getting a ‘hole-in-one’ is a definitive feat about which he will brag for the […]
Sweet & sour: A flower by any name?
A Flower by Any Name (By: C.P. Belliappa) A little more than a decade ago I had been to Madurai […]
London discovery: Princess Victoria Gowramma’s descendants may be still around
More about Victoria Gowramma…(By: C.P. Belliappa)Recently I had an opportunity to launch my book – ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess […]
‘Dateline Coorg’ book review: Damocles sword hangs over Jamma-holders
P.T. Bopanna’s latest book – ‘Dateline Coorg’ – is out in print. Bopanna, a senior journalist, has come up with […]
Belli goes off the radar screen!
The Introduction(By: C.P. Belliappa) Recently I was the Chief Guest at a function. As is the norm, I was to […]
Home-stay mix-ups: All homes are not home-stays in Coorg!
HOME STAY MIX-UPS(By: C.P. Belliappa) Home-Stays have become so ubiquitous in Coorg that one can find umpteen places that offer […]
Rise And Fall Of The Coorg State:Belliappa’s point of view on the new book
Rise And Fall Of The Coorg State(Review by C.P. Belliappa) The merger of Coorg with Karnataka in 1956 in accordance […]
When the Union Jack was pulled down at Madikeri Fort
FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN KODAGU(By: C.P. Belliappa)British East India Company annexed the kingdom of Kodagu in 1834 after dethroning the last […]
Slum-Dog: Belli foxed by the mysteries of genetics
SLUM-DOG PINKI(By: C.P. Belliappa) The loss of two of our Alsatians within an interval of a month was quite devastating. […]
Belliappa traces bloodline of last Raja of Kodagu
Bloodline of Chikka Veerarajendra (By: C.P. Belliappa) A few days back I received an e-mail from Hyderabad sent by one […]
Belli’s vision of Coorg in 2050 A.D.
The other day a friend told me – ‘You write about the past. Why don’t you come up with something […]
Home Stay Mix-Ups!
Home-Stays have become so ubiquitous in Coorg that one can find umpteen places that offer hospitality on almost any road […]