About this ebook
Bopanna says that, being a chronicler of Kodagu (Coorg) involving documenting facts, there was hardly any scope for engaging in humour or tongue-in-cheek write-ups in his previous books. Hence, he decided to put together his articles and anecdotes written with a pinch of humour.
The title of the book was inspired by the daily column ‘Round And About’ by the late Behram “Busybee” Contractor, one of India’s best known humour writers. When Bopanna was doing his journalism internship with Mid-Day newspaper in Mumbai, Busybee was working there.
In a tongue-in-cheek piece, the author recounts how decades ago, one of the main qualifications for a Kodava girl before being considered eligible for marriage, was to know how to prepare otti (flatbread made from rice). The book also features a ‘contrarian’ point of view from a young Kodava girl who is upset with the mindset of a section of the people in Coorg, prejudiced against “overeducated, over-achiever” Kodava girls.
The successful girls are being blamed for Kodava boys remaining unmarried because they are not able to find suitable girls for marriage. “They were girls who had made the mistake of paying importance to education, gotten themselves good degrees, great jobs and careers, and overall had comfortable, respectable, independent lives.”
The books also mentions the dishes that the Kodavas (Coorgs) prepared to fortify themselves during the harsh monsoon - dishes like mudre kanni (horse gram gravy), kembu kari (a curry made from colocasia leaf) and baimbale (bamboo shoot) curry.
Though most of the articles are Coorg-centric, Bopanna has also narrated anecdotes from his long experiences as a professional journalist. They include, barging into a function attended by Prince Charles, lunch with nuclear scientist Dr Raja Ramanna, and meeting the legendary Russian test pilot Viktor Pugachev.
Bopanna has also given a humorous spin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to grow long hair during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Since the book is for light reading, Bopanna has profiled Devaiah Bopanna, the Mumbai-based writer, who is well known for writing satire. Devaiah who hails from Coorg, was once a head writer with All India Backchod, an Indian comedy group.
The foreword for the book has been written by Prasad Bidapa, the iconic fashion guru of India.
The cover has been designed by Bhakti Saraswat-Devaiah. A computer science graduate from the BMS college of Engineering, Bengaluru, Bhakti is a User Experience Designer by profession.
This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).
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About the author
P. T. BOPANNA, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST
In his nearly four-decade-long journalistic career, P.T. Bopanna has worked for various Indian national dailies. Bopanna, born in Kodagu district on June 30, 1950, started his journalistic career as the Coorg Correspondent of The Hindu in 1981.
He worked for 12 years with the Times of India, Bengaluru from 1984, and 13 years as Special Correspondent of The Pioneer from 1996 based at Bengaluru.
An economics graduate of the Madras University, Bopanna has a Master’s degree in Political Science from Karnatak University and a post-graduate diploma in Journalism from Bhavan’s, Mumbai.
Bopanna is the author of nine books. His first book ‘Discover Coorg’ was published in 2006 and has run into three editions. The book has been translated into Kannada.
His second book ‘Rise and Fall of the Coorg State’ created a record of sorts for a book on Coorg in English. The book was reprinted within two months of its release. The book has been translated into Kannada and Kodava languages.
In 2010, Bopanna came out with two more books – ‘Dateline Coorg’ and ‘Coorg: Land of Beauty and Valour’, a coffee table book.
‘The Romance of Indian Coffee’, a book which takes a 360 degree view of Indian coffee, was published in 2011.
In 2015, Bopanna's book 'The Romance of Indian Coffee' won the international Gourmand award and was chosen as the ‘best book on coffee in the world’.
His other books include, Are Kodavas (Coorgs) Hindus?, My Coorg Chronicles and Coorg Role Models.
Bopanna has also won two awards given by the Bangalore Reporters’ Guild.
He runs the highly successful website www.coorgtourisminfo.com, the first news and tourism portal started by him in 2005. Besides, he hosts six other websites, including www.coorgnews.in.
Bopanna brought out a 35 minute long DVD on Coorg called 'Discover Coorg Video' which features tourist spots, homestays, jewellery, and golf ranges in Coorg, the Kodava family hockey festival, the Kodava culture, including the traditional Kodava folk dances, and the Kodava wedding.
He is a social media activist with more than 25,000 members and followers in his various Facebook groups and pages. Bopanna successfully ran a social media campaign in 2012 to rebuild the state highway between Hunsur and Gonikoppal towns in Karnataka.
