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‘COORG PERSON OF THE YEAR’ TITLE HAS BEEN CONFERRED TWICE ON NON-COORGS

By P.T. Bopanna

The ‘Coorg Person of the Year’ title is not confined to the Kodavas (Coorgs).  Non-Kodavas living in Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka are also eligible.

Though Kodavas are a dominant community in Kodagu, I have always held Kodagu belongs to all communities living in the district.

Keeping this inclusiveness in mind, the Coorg Person title has been conferred twice on non-Kodavas.

While Virajpet-based medical practitioner, Dr S.V. Narasimhan won the title in 2013, a Chennai-based industrialist, Ashok Kumar Shetty, won the title in 2018, for his extraordinary role during the 2018 landslides that rocked Kodagu.

Dr Narasimhan, the author of the book “Feathered Jewels of Coorg”, practices medicine at Virajpet town. He pioneered the concept of spreading wildlife conservation messages in the last few decades through his unique hand-painted cards.

He has been drawing and colouring message cards since 1983 for the cause of wildlife conservation.

Dr Narasimhan has done 310 coloured illustrations in his book – Feathered Jewels of Coorg – first published in 2004 by the Coorg Wildlife Society, Madikeri.  A revised and enlarged edition was published in 2008. His book is a treasure trove of information on bird species found in Kodagu with their zoological names as well as their names in English, Kannada and Kodava languages.

The other non-Kodava to win the Coorg Person is Ashok Kumar Shetty (in picture below), owner of Sincona Estate, on the Madikeri-Somwarpet state highway, near Makkandur.

In the worst-ever landslides to hit Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka in 2018, a 450 metre-long stretch of the highway was washed away, forcing villagers and students to trek through hills to reach their homes. Taking pity on the plight of the villagers, Shetty offered nearly two acres of his land to the Public Works Department for restoring the highway link.

Considering the fact Shetty’s own estate was damaged by landslides, his decision to part with the land for restoring highway connectivity, was truly an extraordinary gesture.

He hails from an agricultural family in Dakshina Kannada district. He is a graduate of the Regional College of Engineering, Surathkal (now known as National Institute of Technology) in mechanical engineering.

Shetty single-handedly established Shet- Dass Group of Companies, which encompasses nine automobile parts and assemblies manufacturing units in Chennai.