The first Kodava Family Hockey Festival was organized in 1997 by Pandanda Kuttappa (Kuttani) and his brother Pandanda Ponnappa. The Kodava Hockey Academy (KHA) has come a long way since then with the Silver Jubilee tournament being held in Madikeri last year.
Speaking to some of the organisers of the past Family Hockey Festival and senior hockey professionals who have represented the country, it was evident that it is time to take stock of the way the festival has evolved. There were a few important suggestions for improving the Organization, Objectives and the Overall Outcome of this excellent idea of Founders:
- First things first, the process for “elections” in Not-For-Profit Community Organizations needs to be revisited. Even, in the highly power charged and political BCCI, the newly elected President Mithun Manhas was the consensus choice, after informal discussions between the various stakeholders. The fact is that he is an accomplished cricketer and so was his predecessor Roger Binny. This concept should be extended to all such Kodava Organizations that serve the community, without politics and unwanted electioneering or one-upmanship.
- The families who have been allotted the Hockey Festival have started indulging in ostentatious showcasing of the event, which was definitely not the intention of Kuttani.
- KHA should set the ground rules for raising funds. The trend of seeking political funding for the tournament, defeats the purpose and nature of it being a family/community event.
- As is well known, the construction of temporary spectator stands constitutes a substantial part of the cost of the tournament. This is normally outsourced from outside of the community. Perhaps it is time for KHA along with the Ahikla Kodava Samaja(AKS) to create an integrated complex. It is a well known fact the Kodava families have donated land in the past, to set-up government schools, which is languishing. With some effort, surely KHA and the community can set-up an Integrated Sports Stadium of National stature on such land.
The transformation of KHA into a Trust would also help realize this vision, as it could benefit from CSR contributions and institutional support. At the same time, complete transparency in maintaining and publishing accounts will be essential to build confidence and gain the trust of the wider public. Ultimately, being a community event, the surplus could be transferred to create a corpus to provide scholarships and development of the game amongst Kodavas. This would encourage children and youth to take up the sport, thereby sustaining the community’s proud and long-standing hockey legacy. – CLN Newsdesk
In the much anticipated elections of the Kodava Hockey Academy, the team led by Pandanda Bopanna, son of the late Pandanda Kuttappa, the founder of the Kodava family hockey festival – won the elections.
A total of 473 Kodava families who have been part of the hockey festival over the past 25 years were eligible to vote. Out of these, 448 family representatives cast their votes on Sunday at Triveni School, Virajpet. The voting process, which began at 10 am, continued until 8 pm, after which the results were declared.
For the post of President, Pandanda Bopanna was elected. For Working President, former Olympian Cheppudira S. Poonacha was elected. Kundyolanda Ramesh Muddayya was elected as Vice President from Madikeri Taluk; Koothanda Suresh Appayya from Virajpet Taluk; and Bachinadanda Pradeep Poonacha from Somwarpet Taluk. Kulletira Arun Baby was elected as Secretary, and Nayakanda Deepu Changappa as Joint Secretary.
I have always maintained that Kodavas and the Sikh community have several character traits that are similar – great military traditions, sports, agriculture, fun loving and so on. I would like the Kodavas to build sports infrastructure like we have in Patiala. Especially for hockey, our senior players run many academies – surely at least one can be set up in Coorg. I am told that KALS has excellent sports facilities.
Maybe tying up with the Sainik Schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Schools in Coorg to train kids during holiday season is a way forward. It will be good to see more representation from the Kodavas at the National level!!
I find the comments to the article as enjoyable and informative as the article itself!
The most profound observation is that the Family Hockey Festival belongs to the Community and not any Individual nor Family allotted the Annual event. This being the case, KHA must get more involved in the Annual event and not just be the “Allotting Agent”. There must be some boundaries set on:
– Fund raising
– Location and ground preparation
– Development of a longer term vision for Donors and their association with the game within the Community.
– Limit the number of venues and eventually develop at best two locations for setting up good facilities
– Invest in infrastructure that avoids annual wasteful expenditure of temporary stands
– Involve former National level players to develop not just Hocket, but other sports
Must congratulate CLN for the topics chosen for circulation – readers must engage in constructive dialogue through this platform.
The news from CLN is insightful and suggestions are most relevant. The recent elections of the Kodava Hockey Academy elections could have been far more seamlessly conducted. The impression that the world has about the Kodava community is that we are “Strongly United” especially after the phenomenal success of the Kodava Balo Nadp, where rank and file walked as ONE.
Given that there was an overwhelming majority who voted in favour of the elected Committee, it would have been much nicer if all concerned could have met and chosen “consensus” candidates – including deserving members from the opposing camp!
However, the more serious recommendation is that the Academy must ensure complete transparency in its financial dealings; including the families who are allotted the Annual Hockey Festival. Transparency is not a choice- it is the foundation on which trust and accountability stand. Only then can the Academy and the Family Hockey Festival truly honour the spirit of the Kodava Hockey festival’s intent being one that BELONGS TO THE COMMUNITY
The Kodava Family Hockey Festival has grown into a remarkable tournament featuring in the Guiness Book of Records, reflecting the pride, unity, and sporting spirit of the community. It is good to see the new leadership under Pandanda Bopanna (literally the Founder Father’s Son)and his team.
The suggestions are well intentioned – transparent governance, consensus-driven approach in elections and Annual Plans. A natural extension is the need to manage costs wisely, regulate fundraising without over-reliance on political support, and ensure the event stays true to its original spirit.
The idea of creating an integrated sports complex with community participation is avail essential, as it can provide lasting value not only for Hockey but for other sports like Badminton, Tennis, Boxing, etc so that future generations of Kodavas can benefit.
The comments made by senior players and collated by CLN are good and relevant. Pandanda Kuttappa (Kuttani Anna) had tremendous foresight in using sport for community building. It was meant to be *SIMPLE, AFFORDABLE, APOLITICAL and run like a COMMUNITY CARNIVAL.* Please retain the integrity of that vision 🙏🏼
Thank you for the thoughtful insights on the Kodava Family Hockey Festival. It’s clear that while the festival has grown significantly since its inception, there’s a need to revisit its core values and streamline its functioning. Key suggestions like transparent elections, regulated funding, avoiding political influence, and creating permanent infrastructure through community collaboration are timely and necessary. Transforming KHA into a Trust with transparent accounts and a focus on youth development will ensure the festival stays true to Kuttani’s original vision and sustains Kodava hockey pride for generations.
Well once gain a well timed and thought provoking editorial by CLN.
I full agree and concur that finally it’s not an individual or family which matters here. It’s the GAME OF HOCKEY which should and must benefit over the years and professionals in the game should run the organisation so that in the long years to come the GAME BENEFITS and Pandanda Kuttani’s vision of growing the game and nurturing international class hockey players from Kodava Community becomes a reality.
Yes the next important thing which needs to be pushed is to form a TRUST with 80G benefits so that big corporates could easily donate to Claim tax Benefits. I am pretty sure the present team led by PANDANDA BOPANNA would have thought on same lines and would strive to form a TRUST TO GROW THE GAME OF HOCKEY IN KODAGU AND MANY KODAVA CHILDREN COULD BE NURTURED TO SHINE IN THE NATIONAL TEAM.
The game shall also benefit in a big way when transparency and accountability form the core of the TRUST. Politics should be consciously kept out of this TRUST so that the general Public and corporates get that much desired trust to donate. This can happen only though TRANSPARENT LEADERSHIP.
WISHING PANDANDA BOPANNA AND HIS TEAM ALL THE VERY BEST TO TAKE HOCKEY TO GREATER HEIGHTS.