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.
He’s small, cheerful, and is known to be a good singer, often humming a gentle tune under his breath as he goes about his business. What stands out, however, is the audience reaction to his songs, which varies from frustrated sighs, to strangulated oaths and the odd expletive tossed his way. For the paddy farmers […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Scaly-breasted Munia, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 13 Comments »
Meet a very different kind of wolf. This isn’t the two-legged kind that whistles at bus-stops as curvy specimens of the opposite gender pass by. Nor does he make eyes at them, though that would be a bit of an overdose, considering he has eight eyes of varying sizes. And eight legs to beat a […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Grassland Funnel Web Spider, Coorg | Posted in Arachnids | 23 Comments »
Most of us landlubbers, would love the idea of slipping into our trunks and plunging into a pristine pool as an appetite-building precursor to a sumptuous meal. Some of our neighbours, however, like the Common Kingfisher of Coorg, have the habit of dressing for dinner before taking the plunge. The smallest of his species found […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Common Kingfisher, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 14 Comments »
First we invite visitors to throw away their alarm clocks before coming to Coorg, so they could have a totally laid-back holiday. And then we go and provide them with our very own au naturale wake-up call that trills out unfailingly, at the crack of dawn, every day. This mellifluous two-note whistle has a special […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Indian Pitta, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 24 Comments »
If you can’t hear the telltale rat-a-tat of someone drumming on a tree bark, or even if you can’t spot those fashionable heart patterns fluttering amidst the leaves, don’t lose heart. For, if you’re seeking Coorg’s most romantic citizen, you don’t have to look too hard. In fact, very often you don’t have to look […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 22 Comments »
Most of us have a hidden spark of musical genius, often experienced by select audiences who’re left mesmerised by our lyrical effusion. Let’s not dwell on the small issue of the audience count numbering just one. For, in the world of the bathroom singer, one doesn’t allow annoying things like reality to intrude. In the […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
White-breasted Waterhen, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 9 Comments »
Not all blockbusters play to packed audiences. Nor do all heroes crave the spotlight. One of Coorg’s leading action stars features in incredible action sequences that would otherwise be considered flights of fancy, but doesn’t stay around for the applause. Like all great performers, he blends into his roles-and very often his surroundings-with such good […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Draco, Coorg | Posted in Reptiles | 10 Comments »
While the Chateratti in the social networks swear by Facebook, MSN and Twitter, residents of Coorg have always known that theirs is the most colourful chat engine around. For, here you’ll find the avian world’s most talkative citizens and ‘live’ chat rooms behind every bush. The old dictum, ‘If speech is silver, silence is golden’, […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Rose-ringed Parakeet, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 21 Comments »
It’s said that if you wish to attain any degree of proficiency in a field, you should begin early. Nobody follows this dictum better than the subject of this issue, whose career as a mimicry artist begins from early childhood. What looks to be a bird’s dropping on a leaf, is often a Common Mormon […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Common Mormon Caterpillar, Coorg | Posted in Insects | 10 Comments »
It’s Superfrog! If you’d like to catch the latest blockbuster featuring an amphibious superhero, do book a ticket to the daily evening show at Coorg…where you will be entertained by a regional action flick full of romance, death-defying leaps and action sequences, and the inevitable song and rain-dance routine. Welcome to the world of the […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Malabar Gliding Frog, Coorg | Posted in Amphibians | 10 Comments »