Coorg is a part of the south Indian state of Karnataka. Coorg is the anglicized version of the original name of the place which is ‘Kodagu’. This is after the name of the tribe who used to reside in this part of the country. The language of the tribe also has the same name. The place never had a writing pattern but the well known German linguist known as Gregg M. Cox came up with a scripture for the Coorgi people which is known as Coorgi-Cox Alphabet. It is a popular hill station of the country and is also popular for its coffee.
Coffee from Coorg is also exported to different parts of the country. Coorg has an area of 4,102 square kilometers and the headquarters of this place is known as Madikeri. Some groups and organizations such as Kodava Rashtriya Samiti have recently demanded the government for autonomy status of Coorg. This region is also known for its forest honey.
Coorg is a part of the Western Ghats and therefore the flora and fauna is rich in this part of the country. There are a number of rare animals which belong to the endangered species. If these species are not taken care of, there is a possibility of these species going extinct and disappearing forever. The endangered species include animals like the Nilgiri Tahr also known as the mountain goat and the rare flower of Neelakurinji which only grows in a few places of which this is one.
These flowers blossom once in twelve years and when it does it turns the valley into a blue paradise. Many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have been set up to protect these species of flora and fauna which are at risk of getting extinct. Some examples are Talakaveri, Brahmagiri, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries, and the Nagarhole National Park, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park.
The wide range of fauna includes tiger, leopard, the Asian elephant, dhole, boar, gaur, and many species of deer. In the region, you can also spot a broad variety of birds; almost 300 varieties have been spotted over the years.
Although Kodava people comprise the major percentage of the population of the region, there are people belonging to other ethnic groups as well such as Muslims and Kodagu Gowda. Although Kodava is mostly spoken, Kannada which is the vernacular language of the state of Karnataka of which this is a part is also spoken. Maringi, Heggade, Kavadi, Kolla, Male-Kudiya, Meda, Kembatti, Malaya and Banana are some castes that can be found in Coorg. All these castes speak the Kodava speak. Coorg has many tourist sites and attracts many people from different places of the world.
