Best of South First's community and culture stories. (Supplied)
Putting the spotlight on the stories from the southern states is what South First stands for. Staying true to its vision, the platform highlights tales of the community, heritage and culture across this landscape.
The past year, we came across a treasure trove of inspiring stories. From the ordeals of Channapatna toymakers, journey of Andhra’s teen adventurer who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice to Bengaluru-based aerospace engineer Vinay Kumar’s initiatives to make people aware of the Constitutional values… the list goes on.
As 2023 comes to a close, we pick the best of the lot for a quick read.
From Basmati Rice, Nagpur Oranges to Darjeeling tea, our country has over 418 GI tagged products. But how do people get them unless they travel to the places where they are made? The answer is Bengaluru. The city houses India’s first store which sells only products with Gi Tags. First of its kind in India, Gi TAGGED in HSR Layout has created a network of Gi-tagged products across India. The store, sprea3d across floors, showcases over 180 Gi-tagged products.
Cartoonu Habba (Cartoon Festival) held annually in Kundapur brings together cartoonists, enthusiasts and students under one roof since 2014.
Children at Cartoonu Habba. (Supplied)
Featuring cartoon drawing workshops, contests, exhibition and discussions, the event is organised to inspire youngsters into cartooning. The highlight this year was an interaction between popular editorial cartoonists — Sandeep Adhwaryu, Sajith Kumar, Panju Gangoli and Satish Acharya. In an engaging session, they spoke about their work, journey so far, working style and challenges.
On a Friday afternoon, OG MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston sat down for a freewheeling conversation with us. The multi-hyphenate trio (including George Calombaris) were in India for a collaborative project with Bengaluru-based food platform Conosh. The series entailed ticketed seven-course pop-up dinners and masterclasses in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru over eight days.
Maran Nagarajan, Selvakumar M, Ratnakumar N and Gaurdian George shared a dream — to start a company of their own in their hometown. The four friends, who spent over a decade working abroad, saw their collective aspiration take shape in 2006. Together they started Kaar Technologies, a global SAP (Systems Application and Products) consulting organisation. A market leader in SAP consulting, the Chennai-based company has grown to become one among the top Indian companies collaborating with SAP in digital transformation, implementation of ERP and automation of core business processes using SAP’s native On-Prem and Cloud technologies.
A small town in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka, Channapatna comes alive during Dasara.
The greater prominence of the Channapatna toys can be traced to patronage from Tipu Sultan. (Supplied)
Culturally unique and eco-conscious, the Channapatna toys, far from regular toys, are a traditional handicraft that date back at least 200 years. Owing to its cultural relevance, quality, and non-toxic production methods, the GI-tagged toys remain a constant for Navaratri Golu or Gombe Habba decor, and as gifts. While the festival time sees a rise in sales, it remains a struggle for the rest of the year.
Debapriya Das is a Bengaluru-based economist-turned belly dancer. For five years, she worked as a research economist at one of the think tanks in Bengaluru. Her projects were themed around topics related to development economics and climate change adaptation. Cut to now, she is the artistic director at Nrityakosh, an oriental and fusion belly dance school in the city.
19-year-old adventurer Naga Satish Pasupuleti’s determination led him to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro not once, but twice in just three days, making him the world’s youngest mountaineer ever to achieve this feat.
He also set a record for completing the first leg of the climb (5,400 metres) in an astonishing eight hours and 50 minutes. Braving treacherous paths, including the steep Umbwe route, he embraced the challenge head-on. Now, basking in the euphoria of his recent achievement, Satish reflects on his journey.
40-year-old Manimaran’s life took a significant turn when the financial burden of his sister’s marriage pushed his father to seek advances from a brick kiln owner in Thiruparankundram. For four long years since his father’s passing, a vicious cycle of debt and exploitation bound them to the clutches of their callous employer. The turning point came when Manimaran resolved to break free from this oppressive cycle. With the government’s intervention, this brave step led to the eventual release of Manimaran and his family from bondage in 2016 and they began their journey to rebuild their lives. Drawing inspiration from his father’s culinary skills, Manimaran developed his own talent. He became a master of various dishes, from traditional Chettinad cuisine to delectable Chinese and continental delicacies.
In India, where cricket is a religion, supporters often reserve their enthusiasm for mainstream matches. However, in the world of deaf cricket, the players compete in empty stadiums. There is a lack of cheer or signs of support. Yet, the Tamil Nadu Deaf Cricket team’s aspirations remain crystal clear — they seek an equal playing field.
On 3 December, 2023, Swarnalatha J received the Sarvshresth Divyangjan Award from the President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
Swarnalatha (Instagram)
From facing mistreatment within her household due to her gender, enduring an accident, surviving sexual abuse by her uncle to discontinuing her education to support her other siblings, and losing her father to suicide, Swarnalatha’s life has unfolded as a series of challenging segments, compelling her to cultivate resilience in the face of taxing trials.
Going the extra mile to educate people about Kattaikoothu isn’t just a choice but a necessity for Thilagavathi Palani’s life. Recognised as the first female Kattaikoothu artiste, she manages her troupe – Sri Krishna Kattaikuttu Kuzhu, situated near Kanchipuram. Celebrating her 20th year since embarking on her journey of learning, performing, and eventually teaching this art form, she shared her experiences with South First.
Divya is a Desludging Operator (DSO) and one of the few women providing commercial septic tank services in Chennai. While she takes immense pride in the work she does, she didn’t fully grasp the importance of her profession until about five years into the job. Now, Divya has grown more diligent in her work, gaining a heightened awareness of its intricacies and responsibilities. Perhaps it is her diligence and work ethic that has earned Divya a sterling reputation among her customers, lorry owners, and workmen alike.
For the past few years, Sumathy has been helping those in her community by stitching school uniforms and other garments. Meanwhile, her husband Gopi, employed at a rice mill, has been instrumental in overseeing the installation of solar panels in the community. Gopi and Sumathy were once bonded labourers, rescued after enduring five gruelling years in a tree-cutting unit. It wasn’t until 2020 that they were liberated, thanks to the intervention of the district administration and the Tamil Nadu government. Today, they aspire to support individuals, ensuring they can access their fundamental human rights with dignity and respect.
When the principles of democracy, fundamental rights, and the values in the Constitution of India are relegated to the long-forgotten, redundant pages of History textbooks, the onus falls on the citizens to become custodians of this wealth.
Vinay Kumar. (Supplied)
This was the realisation of Bengaluru-based aerospace engineer Vinay Kumar, who believes that one need not have great power to execute great responsibility. But as citizens, it must be our natural response to persevere, protect and preserve the health of a democratically governed society. Aware that the conventional way to achieve this might receive a dim response, Kumar decided to pursue the unusual path — of juxtaposing culture with the values in the Constitution of India.
Bengaluru-based Arun Chandran set up Trycle, an e-learning platform, along with Sujitha Rajagopalan, in 2020. During his early days in Bengaluru, he realised that the talent pool in tier 2 and 3 cities didn’t have the means to quality guidance to enter the job market. It was during her travels for recruitment across the south when Rajagopalan witnessed a gaping disparity between skills, talent, language, and prospective offers. Aware that there is no better herald of change than a unified force, the duo formed a fruitful collaboration, one that is equipped with Chandran’s technical know-how and Rajagopalan’s operational expertise.
In Bengaluru-based aerospace engineer Vinay Kumar’s attempt to make people aware of the Constitutional values, he launched the Reclaim Constitution initiative on 26 January, 2023. Using copies of artwork from the Constitution and quotes from the Constituent Assembly debates, Kumar and his team — of doctors, scientists and designers — created postcards and distributed them around the streets of Bengaluru. But this wasn’t enough, he realised. So he embarked on a cultural route to spread the wisdom behind the constitutional values. For Navaratri 2023 celebrations, Kumar commissioned artworks of the Founding Mothers of the Constitution of India to be included as Golu dolls across community celebrations.
Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Prof Rajeev Gowda, ex MP, and the Vice Chairman of the State Institute for the Transformation of Karnataka and Brand Bengaluru inaugurated 35 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Metro feeder service buses.
Feeder buses to connect newly opened Purple Line metro stations. (Supplied)
These buses now facilitate the connection to the new purple line section from KR Pura Metro station to ORR (Silkboard) and Whitefield that was thrown open to the public on October 9 2023. Making this dream of lakhs of Bengalureans come true is the team at #Personal2Public, an initiative to inspire the citizens to switch to public transport at least twice a week in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
On 18 September 2023, UNESCO recognised Karnataka’s ancient Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebid, and Somnathapura as World Heritage Sites. For the last four years, Meera Iyer, Convenor, INTACH Bangalore, and her team, Government of Karnataka (GoK) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have sweat their brows to prepare the dossier for Karnataka’s Hoysala temples to be nominated at the World Heritage Convention. The results of which are grand and for the world to see.
Until five years ago, historian Meenakshi Devaraj’s knowledge and application of kolam was limited to the four pulli kolam. But as someone inquisitive about local culture and history, Devaraj began researching the chronology of kolams in Tamil Nadu. To her dismay, she found that the sikku kolam is a dying art form. Following her investigation, all she needed was a purpose and platform and a partner in the form of Sridevi Seshabhattar. Soon, the duo brought the sikku kolam alive on a Kanjivaram saree, dedicating it to Andal and the month of Margazhi.
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![[Left] File photo of BJP MLA Harish Poonja, who has been booked, and [right] Poonja sitting for a protest in front of Belthangady Police Station in the early hours of Sunday, 19 May, 2024.](https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media.thesouthfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Harish-Poonja-and-Belthangady.jpg "Harish Poonja and Belthangady")
