Nitin Kushalappa M P (Mookonda Nitin Kushalappa)
Education
Mookonda Nitin Kushalappa did his schooling from Clarence High and St. Joseph’s PU.
Kushalappa studied BE in Telecom, from Vishwesvaraya Technological University at CMRIT in Bangalore.
He holds an international project management certification (PMP) from Project Management Institute (PMI) which is valid since 2016.
In 2018, he completed his MA (Master of Arts) in History and Archaeology from Oceanik, Kuvempu University.
In 2020-2021, he completed EPGDM (Executive Post graduate Diploma in Management) in Finance from Alliance University.
Script discovery
Late in 2021 and early 2022, Kushalappa put together the characters found in two 1371 CE temple inscriptions of Kodagu (at Bhagamandala and Palur) into an alphabet pattern and named it the thirke script, after the Kodava word for a temple. This alphabet is also known as the Old Kodava script. These results were published in the Star of Mysore and the Deccan Herald.
Researcher
In 2022, he was selected as the research guide for the India Foundation for Arts (IFA)’s Kodava Living Virtual Museum project (aka Sandooka).
Early Life
Kushalappa was born in Virajpet, in Kodagu (Coorg), as the son of Kodava parents M K Sunny Poonacha and Damayanthi Pushpa (nee Muckatira). He was brought up in Bangalore along with a younger sister.
Career
Kushalappa works as a software engineer and has made 22 apps and games for the iPhone.
Featured in the news
Moral stories from the South, The New Indian Express, February 27, 2023
https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2023/feb/27/moral-storiesfrom-the-south-2551192.html
Tales from the hills, The Hindu, April 02, 2014 https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/tales-from-the-hills/article5862863.ece
Udaya News – interview in Kannada on TV (please ignore all the ads)
My friend and fellow author Dr. Siddharth Nirwan from The BookBakers (our common book agent) made this book review vlog for The House of Awadh and a few other books by our other author friends.
The following podcast in which I am interviewed about my book “Dakshin: South Indian Myths and Fables Retold” was made on Spotify by book reviewer Rati Ganesh https://open.spotify.com/episode/52dfDM0Gt6mFM4rWcfQv5T?fbclid=IwAR1Mp6r18LQD7efJIoEKNcIeELxsYw4e4WE77YPJvlJPFhLZagtixJTU92A
For those of you who don’t know me, I have had speech disorders early in life. Also, I speak four languages – Kodava, Kannada, Hindi and English. As part of the Kodavaame team, here I am giving a short conclusion to a programme in Ammathi.
Again, as part of the Kodavaame team, I am giving a lecture on the history of Kodagu (Coorg) and the Kodavas (Coorgs) this time in Kaveri College, Virajpet, Kodagu.
My interview on the Puththari (harvest) festival of Kodagu by Cheranda Sanjay Ponnappa, on Karnataka Tak’s YouTube channel. Karnatak Tak is India Today’s Kannada division.
In 2018, I helped make a video on Puththari, the harvest festival of Kodagu, with assistance from cameraperson and recorder Raghavendra (Raghu S Raghav of Mysore), TV anchor and lawyer Puliyanda Anu Chengappa, Poomale newspaper owner and editor Ajjinikanda Mahesh Nachaiah and others. The video was shot partly in my grandparents’ home with members of my family (Mookonda) and native hamlet (Mundoni keri, Bilugunda village) and in the Virajpet Kodava Samaja. as well and partly with archive footage.
World Folktales and Fables week: Myths and Legends worth retelling, Mint Lounge, 21, March 2023 https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/books/world-folktales-fables-week-myths-and-legends-worth-retelling-111679285873453.html
Book excerpt, Scroll.in, February 16, 2023
https://scroll.in/author/23878
Book suggestion, Mint lounge, March 2023
https://lifestyle.livemint.com/web-stories/march-new-releases-111679991905506.html
Aspiring Author, January 24, 2023
The Lead: The uniqueness of Kodava culture, Deccan Herald, February 18, 2021
https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/the-lead-the-uniqueness-of-kodava-culture-952561.html
Dakshin by Nitin Kushalappa, mentioned in Penguin’s children features:
https://penguin.co.in/category/childrens-features/
Book review and interview by a young reader
https://housefullofbooks.substack.com/p/ninad-talks-nitin-kushalappa-about
Sandooka Kodava Virtual Museum work, The New Indian Express, May 29, 2022
Sandooka Kodava Virtual Museum work, Mint Lounge, June 14, 2022
Sandooka Kodava Virtual Museum work, Deccan Herald, May 17, 2022 https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-your-bond-with-bengaluru/online-museum-to-archive-stories-about-kodavas-1110197.html