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Built in 1900, this fruit station The Nilgiri Cane What will end corporal punishment?
has had distinguished visitors like
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Smt There is a mention of the Nilgiri cane if one were to study the subject
of canes and whips a shade deeper, attributing the origins of this light,
Indira Gandhi, Sri Kamaraj and
thin swishing rattan cane which delivered maximum impact with little
countless dignitaries from within effort, to parts of Eastern India. It is said that the Europeans took this
the country and abroad. Its set- ‘handy’ tool back home with them to discipline their horses and their
ting is modest and the environ students. Caning of 'errant' students used to be a norm in the Nilgiris,
rejuvenating. see photo >> particularly in the older institutions, surely a legacy passed down from
British (and Irish) times and the then founders of these schools.
Toda tradition The cane has been spared in these times, for obvious reasons, but
the child has not been spared other forms of punishment - slaps,
Among the traditionally pastoral kneelers, benders, standing on the chair, running laps around a
Toda community living atop the building, read more >>
Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil
Nadu, South India, the buffaloes
they herd are divided into domes-
tic and temple animals. Ordinary Promote your business online. Get in touch
with us for promotional features and also to
laymen (not women) tend the design and edit your newsletter. Write to
former, milking them in the thelocaleditor@gmail.com or call +91 9790590570
morning and evening. read more >>
Sacred Buffaloes, Dairies and Dairymen in South India
contd. from previous issue
Anthony R. Walker
Milking the Buffaloes: Domestic and Temple Among clarified into ghee), he will pour a little
the traditionally pastoral Toda community living atop buttermilk obtained f rom his previous
the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, South India, churning into the bottom of his milking vessel
the buffaloes they herd are divided into domestic and to act as a coagulant. Even when milking the
temple animals. Ordinary laymen (not women) tend domestic herds, Toda view this procedure as more than
the former, milking them in the morning and evening. utilitarian. Indeed, if a dairyman does not intend to churn his
Special dairymen-priests are responsible for the temple milk but to drink or sell it unprocessed, he will substitute a little
animals. The tasks of lay and priestly dairymen follow water for the buttermilk coagulant. He describes his action as
the same, relatively simple, pattern. We will begin with “so:sturm” (the colon here indicates a long preceding vowel), a
those of the former, discovering subsequently how the word that we might translate as “custom”, but a “necessary ritual
work of the latter is embellished with—anything but act” is the better gloss. It seems that besides its utilitarian function,
simple—ritual activity. the buttermilk coagulant (for which the Todas have a special word,
Before the Toda herdsmen begin their milking, they pep) symbolizes continuity from one milking to the next.
release the calves from their special sheds to suckle first Manufacturing Butter and Ghee Todas churn their milk in a
and then drive them away from their mothers’ teats with bulbous, short- and wide-necked red clay pot that sits on a ring
a small rattan herding stick. The calves will be permitted of woven rattan, or else some other forest creeper. These pots
to return once the milking operation is finished. were once obtained from neighbouring Kota exchange partners
The milk is drawn into a cylindrical vessel, traditionally (mentioned last week), but for a long time now they have been
a two-noded section of a giant bamboo stem that Todas purchased for cash in the Nilgiri markets.
stick is twirled by using the palms of both hands, while Milk: Toda herdsmen have evolved an
the larger one requires the use of a rope pulley. The ingenious way to keep a buffalo in milk, even
initial products of the churning—butter and though she has lost her calf or, in the case of
buttermilk—are stored in red earthenware pots, similar a male offspring, is about to have it taken from
but smaller than that in which the milk is churned. her.
Both products are among the Todas’ favourite dietary When a calf dies, it is imperative quickly to introduce a
items. Most butter, however, is turned into ghee (clarified surrogate so as to keep its dam in milk. The dairyman skins the
butter). Women, who are not involved with churning dead calf ’s carcass, cleansing the inside of the hide with salt before
the milk itself, may lend a hand in the manufacture of hanging it from the roof of the calf shed. When milking time
ghee. The butter is set inside an earthen cooking pot comes round, the dairyman selects a surrogate calf, rubbing salted
and heated over the household fire. Once it has liquefied, water, milk and lemon grass (Cymbopogon citrates) onto its back
a few grains of rice or millet are added to the pot to before wrapping the dead calf ’s skin around it, securing it firmly
absorb some of the proteid constituents of the butter. around the belly with a length of rope woven from forest creepers,
Later this specially-soaked grain will be relished as and, finally, rubbing further saline water, milk and lemon grass
another favourite Toda delicacy. Once the butter has onto it.
clarified, it is stored in a special, single-noded, bamboo Todas maintain that the salt and milk pacify the buffalo when
container, which Todas call a po:lmachok. she licks the calf, while the lemon grass prevents her from sensing
In days gone by Todas used to churn most of their milk. that this is not her own offspring. As the surrogate calf ’s head
This was because butter and buttermilk were major remains uncovered, the dairyman must take care to prevent the
ingredients of their daily diet, and ghee their principal adult buffalo from smelling this part of its anatomy and thereby
commodity for exchange with other traditional Nilgiri detecting the stranger. He achieves this by introducing the calf
Translocation:
A valuable exercise in conservation.
Indian Food Sense may be ordered directly from the author at a special price of Rs 200/-
contact the author: rndavidar@gmail.com
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St Joseph’s Boy’s Hr Sec. retains Inter School shield
Wellington:'For the 22nd year, in succession, St Joseph’s Boys Hr Sec School Coonoor won
the English Speaking Schools’ Association of the Nilgiris organised Inter School Athletic
Meet championship. Stanes Hr Sec School, Coonoor were placed runners-up. St Judes,
Kotagiri won the overall trophy in the Girls divisions, with St Hilda’s School Ooty being
placed second, overall. In the Girls Divn. 5 meet records were broken, four of them by St
Hilda’s athletes. In the Boys Divn. 6 meet records were broken this year.
Mr. D Hegde, Vice President for the year 2010-11. purchase of Fevibond tubes by local schoo
ntly in over-the-counter
e in the district on the
Unnatural increase rece
Mr. Nataraj, a coffee planter from Chikmagalur District in Is volatile substance abus dability make this also varnishes, lacque
Karnataka, is connected with the Coffee Industry and served on was wrong
giris: ‘I knew something d up at 8
counter and its affor young. Most adhesives, glues, rubb
option viable among the apparently glue and shoe polis
the Committee of Karnataka Planters’ Association and was its en these school boys turne ers of teachers in local schools are being in a compounds contain to
ed the shutt
m before I had open unaware of the issue, let alone
y shop, waiting there to buy
20 pieces behavioural hydrocarbon. It is em
Chairman during 1998-99. He has been in the UPASI Executive the glue.’
position to spot symptomaticlocal school cause of mortality an
changes in the child. A the situation, younger population.’
tials shop in
Committee since 1997-98 and has represented India at the World Suresh, who runs an essen do som e Principal when informed of aign will help
oono or then deci ded to alarming VSA is also being r
believes an awareness camp d students
and came up with
but is wary if hitherto uninforme elsewhere in recent m
Spice Conference as Vice Chairman of the Spices Board. He is a vestigatio ns
distributors
sults: It seems some local sive might venture an attempt out
of curio sity. based in Kochi, wr
f a particular brand of adhe s in a Indian Express’ onlin
permanent invitee of the Turf Authority of India. The retailer who sold 20 piece the a clinical p
ad rece ntly stop ped single morning has remo and quoting g boys w
ved
ocking it on being tipped products from his shelf this that youn r the glu
Mr D Hegde, a tea planter with 34 years of experience, is a Director ff that young students feels it necessary to fix woul d smea
dical wh
were buying the glue not problem soon. There ares get a perio the P
of The United Nilgiri Tea Estates Co. Ltd (Chamraj Group). He o paste items but to get estimates that over 1500 shopct. earlier this year,
in the district sell this produ had to restrain sta
‘high’ by sniffing or prod uct
was Chairman of the Nilgiri Planters’ Association (NPA) and The nhaling the substance! In a detailed repo rt in Dec
s,
sellin g the
me rampant.
A prominent retail outlet 2008, The Dept. of Paediatric . beca comp
Planters’ Association of Tamil Nadu (PAT) during the years 1994- n Ooty town, has issued Indira Gandhi Med ical Instt
e sniffing,
The seve rest
substance a
clear instructions to storective Shimla, had recorded: ‘Glusubstance out of a massive car
96 and 2002-04 respectively. He has been in the UPASI Executive personnel not to sell corre
i k t g adhesives to students.
‘We
(VSA ) refer s to the
ile
more commonly called volat deliberate due
Unco
to
nfirm ed repo
Committee from the year 2000. Mr Hegde has also served as
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Honorary Wild Life Warden.
Promotional feature
How they got into the business is a progressive
A series on one of the district’s oldest institutions, primarily dedicated If a school student has to be
hospitalized as a result of being beaten
to the upliftment of the Anglo-Indian community in India. by his/her mentor for a minor
misdemeanour, if petty officials use
The history of Mountain Home School takes abusive language and in other ways
According to school records, Forest View, at one
harass members of the public, if
you to Alma Cottage in Tent Hill, Coonoor, time, held classrooms and dormitories and was power-hungry office bearers in an
where members of HMSI (Home Missionary rented out as well, especially for the Anglo-Indian organization rig elections to
Society of India) first started a Children’s Home members of the faculty; it was also used as a continue to wield clout, then where
in 1911. The Society then purchased Forest View dining room until very recently. are we heading?
in 1912 for a sum of Rs.10,000. In 1920, In 2007, the building was irreparably damaged The above are only isolated examples
Mountain Home block was purchased (see box) in the monsoonal deluge and a decision was of the increasing instances of the
giving the school its present name. taken to rebuild the entire structure as part of misuse of power in our district.
the Centenary Projects undertaken by the Needless to say, the victims are more
Forest View came to stand as a monument of often than not, women and children.
the long term vision of the Protestant Anglo- HMSI. Today it stands rebuilt. It now houses
Hegemony, exploitation and the rule
Indian community at the turn of the 20th century the chapel, dedicated to the Glory of God on 27
of might over right are not new
as it represented HMSI activity in the region. September 2008, the KG Block and a Multi- concepts. But surely, in a democratic,
The determination of the founders was to take purpose hall on the first floor. civilized and educated society, those
care of Anglo-Indian children in need, and do it in position of power should realize
pics & info, courtesy: Mountain Home School
independently of any support from outside the that great responsibility goes with it.
community; it brought a sense of belonging, The Mountain Home Block , the oldest We may pride ourselves that ours is a
ownership and independence to the community building on the Mountain Home school violence-free district, but violence is
that made Bishop W. F. Oldham say when he campus was constructed in 1897 by Mrs not confined to (bomb-blasts and
heard of HMSI vision for a Children’s Home, and Mr Minchin. gun-shots) physical violence alone.
It was sold to Saheb Maharban Dostan The above-cited incidents are all
“The chief reason for my rejoicing in such a
Sri Sri Sri Hari Hara Maharaj Doe Rajah examples of violence and “ the stupor
movement is that this Society will help to of power.”
demonstrate, will help to prove, an independence of Kallikote and Atagad in 1909.
As Chinua Achebe, the award-
that is worthy of the community. I want to say, The HMSI (Home Missionary Society
winning Nobel Laureate said: ‘This
you cannot direct your efforts in a more promising ofIndia) purchased it in 1920 from world (read country, district,
channel than caring for the children. If there is to Saheb Maharban Dostan Sri Sri Sri organization, institution, even home
be any substantial result as the outcome of your Ramachandra Mardaraj Deo for the sum if you like) belongs to the people of
activities, it will be in the endeavouring to save of Rs. 20,000. the world; not to any little caucus.’
and bring to the Master, the children of the Indu K Mallah, Ooty
community.”
President, HMSI, Mr Richard H Thomas giving away back to home page
prizes for outstanding performances in sports and games.