Puttari namme (Huttari festival) - Coorg

"Wish you all a Happy Puttari Namme"

Today we celebrate Puttari at Coorg (Kodagu).

Puttari ( Huttari ) is the traditional harvest festival known for a variety of folk songs and dances being displayed. It is observed in November / December. Each village presents it own set of discipline and dances during the annual fairs at its temple, which is the main center of cultural activities.

When the Paddy crop is ready for harvest, the villagers chant "Poli Poli Deva" and a little crop is cut, bound in small bunches and is handed out to all those present during the occasion. The bunch of Paddy crop will be taken home by the folks and is preserved as a sign of prosperity.

More about "Puttari"

Puttari means new rice, and is the rice harvest festival (also called huttari in adjacent Kannada-speaking country). This takes place in late November or early December. Celebrations and preparations for this festival start a week in advance.

On the Puttari day, the whole family assemble in their ain mane (the common family house) which is decorated with flowers and green mango and banana leaves. Specific foods are prepared: thambuttu, puttari, kari, and poli poli. Then the eldest member of the family hands a sickle to the head of the family, and one of the women leads a procession to the paddy fields, with a lit lamp in her hands. The path leading to the field is decorated. A gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of the harvest, with chanting of "Poli Poli Deva" (prosperity) by all the people present there. Then the symbolic harvesting of the crop begins. The rice is cut and stacked and tied in odd numbers, and is then carried home, to be offered to the gods there.

The younger people then burst firecrackers and revel, symbolizing prosperity. Groups of youngsters then visit the neighboring houses and show off their dancing skills, and are given monetary gifts. A week later, this money is pooled and a community dinner of the entire village) is celebrated. All the family members gather for this meal. Dinner normally consists of meat dishes such as pork and fish curry. Alcoholic drinks are also served at such feasts.

A Good Leader knows the Team's Colors

Leadership can be a very challenging task.

As leaders we don't always get to choose who is on our team. In fact very often a leader inherits a team, of which most of the members have been there far longer than the leader, and may even know more about the work than the leader. Whatever the situation, one of the responsibilities of a leader is to motivate the team to all work together towards the common goal. This can be a daunting challenge. So often the team is comprised of very diverse members, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and work styles. The team dynamics are also often complicated by internal disagreements and personal conflicts. The leader, not only has work with this group of people, but also needs to achieve the results expected by their superiors.

Leaders can great benefit by being able to identify the types of personality characteristics of team members.

By understanding the basic personality types, the leader can use individual strengths of members for the good of the team, as well as assign tasks that individual team members naturally excel in. A leader can also learn to communicate in a way that is motivating, by taking into account the needs, values and working preferences of different team members. A good leader will see the greatest results by working and utilizing the strengths and working style characteristics of the personalities on the team. By correctly positioning the individual member strengths and compensating for weaknesses, the leader can bring the team into a productive balance and harmony.

A brief overview of the different values and working styles of the four main personality types demonstrates the importance of this knowledge being part of the successful leadership toolbox. The four types of personality will be described using the colours Gold, Blue, Green and Orange .

The strong Gold employee takes work and responsibility very seriously. Gold personalities want to contribute, be part of the team, and to be successful and productive. They respond well to recognition, rewards and incentives. However Gold team members need well defined responsibilities and structure, firm expectations and timelines as well as being reassured from authority that they are on the right track.

The strong Blue personality needs an open, social atmosphere to be able work well. Relationships are very important for them, and they need the freedom to be able to nurture relationships with coworkers, customers and employers.. Conflict and intense competition are painful for a strong Blue, but they will thrive in a positive, creative, service orientated atmosphere.

A strong Green personality is more noted for expertise rather than people skills. They are excellent working with facts, data, research and analytical projects. Greens shine in their ability for designing, understanding complex systems and strategy. Facts are of utmost importance for the Green, but they have a weakness for routine follow through and are somewhat insensitive in social interactions.

Orange team members are noticeable by their energy, skill and creativity. A key factor for an Orange is the freedom to be able to use their skills and abilities. If there is too much structure, or their boss is very authoritarian, the orange personality feels blocked and does not function well. Orange personalities like people and work well in a spirit of teamwork, competition and camaraderie. They are action orientated, though and become impatient with prolonged talking and detailed administrative tasks.

A leader, by knowing the colors of his team, can use this knowledge to blend the team members into a unified, well coordinated picture poised for success. By facilitating each team member to function in their areas of natural strength and motivating them by communicating in a way that inspires harmony and team work, the leader is well on the way to achieving extraordinary results.

Website of Kodava Student Association of Mangalore

Check the new website of Kodava Student Association of Mangalore.

http://www.kodavastudentsmlr.co.in/

Rally De Coorg

Vikram Mathias and Murthy of Bangalore won first place in the Rally de Coorg.

Rally the Coorg was organised by Tata Coffee Ltd and Motors Sports amidts coffee estates. The duo covered 110 km in 1 hour 41 minutes 41 seconds.

Chikmagalur’s Girija Shankar Joshi-Prajwal Pai won second place (1:48:10), Sujay-Bharath (III, 1:51:03) , Den Thimmaiah -M S Ravindra of Kodagu (IV, 1:51:39) and Majda -Vinayak (V). In gypsy category, Agarwal-Iliaz (I), Aravind-Arun (II), Venkatesh Babu -Lakshmikanth (III). In 1600 CC category Girija Shankar Joshi -Prjwal Pai (I); 1,400 CC category Sujay-Bharath (I), Majda -Vinayak (II) and Manju -Jeeva (III). In Rally start cup category Den Thimmaiah - M S Ravindra (I), Shefeeq-George (II), Raghuram-Balram (III), Jairam-Anjay (IV) and Hari-Ashwin (V). As many as 25 competitors had taken part in the rally. The rally passed through Palibetta, Emmegundi, Hosalli. The sixth stage rally will be held in Nasik on January 20.