Tag: Coorg
Coorg
Coorg is a district in Karnataka which is known for its coffee. A part of the Western Ghats, it is a biodiversity hot spot and has an abundance of bird and wildlife. Also known as the Scotland of India, it is home to the Kodava people who are considered to be a patrilineal ethno-lingual tribe that natively speak the Kodava language. Traditionally they are land-owning agriculturists with martial customs. They practice family exogamy and caste endogamy.
Kodava
The words Kodava (the indigenous people, language and culture) and Kodagu (the land) come from the same root word ‘Koda’ of unknown meaning. Some claim it means ‘hills’, others say it means ‘west’ but both relate to the Western Ghats’ location. Kodagu is called Kodavu in the native Kodava language. The community members were called Kodava by the other natives and Coorgs (or Coorgis) by the British. They are ethnically and culturally distinct people. For centuries, the Kodavas have lived in Kodagu cultivating paddy fields, maintaining cattle herds and carrying arms during war.
If you were a convoy of industrious insects going about your lawful business in the leafy channels of Coorg, you’d do well to keep a lookout. For, flying the Jolly Roger in these parts, are roving bands of the Oriental White-eye, avian pirates that descend on the unwary and decamp with their lives. In the […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Oriental White-eye, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | No Comments »
Imagine you’re out on a leisurely walk in Coorg and suddenly you hear the melodious strain of a flute wafting out of the woods. You wonder if it is some local minstrel, wandering, like a wood sprite, in the trees, or a modern day Krishna invisibly serenading his Gopikas… or if there is some precocious […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Indian Golden Oriole, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 10 Comments »
This is a tale about visual design in the natural world, and masterpieces created using proprietary Adobe technology. If you’re wide-eyed already, just hold your horses. This ‘Dreamweaver’ isn’t the popular web development tool, but a tech-savvy bird in Coorg, that goes by the name of Baya. The Baya Weaver is a master craftsman who […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Baya Weaver, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 7 Comments »
Our songs have always immortalised the ‘Lady in Red’, but in the animal kingdom, it’s the Lad in Red who never goes to an empty bed. Nowhere is it more true than in the hills and dales of Coorg, where a little male bird has captured a disproportionate share of female attention. It’s said that […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Red Avadavat, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 7 Comments »
When you see someone dressed in a flamboyant waistcoat of crimson-pink, wearing brilliant blue eyeliner to match with the blue lipstick on their bill, you know there’s a party somewhere in the jungle, and this is a gregarious regular on the Page 3 circuit. So you hop across to say “Hello”, and this handsome hunk […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Malabar Trogon, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 6 Comments »
In a land where a lot of the natives trace their ancestry to the Macedonian armies of Alexander the Great, there exists one bashful prince whose very name bespeaks roots in an Emerald Isle much closer to home. The Sri Lankan Frogmouth, so called because of his wide, gaping mouth that resembles a frog’s, is […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Sri Lankan Frogmouth, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 6 Comments »
If you’ve ever gazed at a pond in Coorg and gone “Look… what a beautiful Lotus…”, you may just have to eat your words. For, and forgive me all you Lotus lovers, if it’s a really gorgeous ‘Lotus’, chances are that it isn’t a Lotus at all. It’s most likely to be the much prettier […]
Tags: Coorg, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Water Lily, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Flora | 13 Comments »
The Panchatantra and Jataka Tales that have entertained children over millennia, are replete with stories of foxes and their inherent cunning. While the big bad wolf was the alpha villain infesting our imaginations, it was the fox with her bushy tail that symbolised an insidious presence that could beguile us, and insinuate herself into our […]
Tags: Coorg, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Foxtail Orchid, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Flora | 1 Comment »
When you think of flying sticks and tricks, you tend to think of Bruce Lee and his famous split-stick, the Nunchaku, or circus acts where clowns and magicians make simple sticks do their bidding. But have you ever known a stick that has a mind of its own, and can do things beyond the normal? […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Stick Insect, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Insects | 11 Comments »
Psychedelic yellowish-green outfits. Black bordered yellow face paint with black stripes. A crimson sash on the throat and forehead, teamed with red stockings. Scraggly, unkempt whiskers that haven’t seen a barber for ages! The hero of this piece is the quintessential rock star, down to the manic jerking of his head to his own beat. […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Orange County Resorts
Coppersmith Barbet, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 8 Comments »
-
A fortnightly photo-essay on Nature and Culture
