The historically significant war memorial ‘French Rocks’ at Harohalli in Pandavapura of Mandya district is in a pathetic condition.
Officials start evicting encroachers of the area
Evicting the encroachers from the historical war memorial at Harohalli in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district has finally begun.
The memorial, known as ‘French Rocks’, was set up in memory of French soldiers, who had come to Pandavapura to help Tipu Sultan during his battles against the British. Tipu Sultan had granted a plot to the French army for establishing a burial ground for soldiers.
The war memorial once had at least 65 graves of different styles and structure.
As the graves were architecturally significant and contained the details of names of deceased soldiers, age and their ranks and file etched in marble plaques.
Nevertheless, the local people had encroached a major portion of the graveyard by demolishing several graves.
Historians had been requesting the district administration to protect the memorials by evicting the encroachers.
A team of revenue officials, led by Assistant Commissioner of Pandavapura (Revenue) H.L. Nagaraju and tahsildar B. Shankaraiah visited the war memorial on Wednesday and cleared the encroachments. The team had destroyed various crops cultivated at the graveyard. Mr. Nagaraju said the taluk administration would initiate steps to facelift the memorial soon.
“We will first remove the weeds and then protect the graves,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by M.T. Shiva Kumar / Mandya – August 27th, 2015
Over 2,000 members of Jain community comprising all the four sub-sects — Sthanakvasi, Moortipujak, Terapanth and Digambar Jain Samaj — took out a huge rally in the city here today to protest against the Aug. 10 ruling of the Rajasthan High Court that Sallekhana or Santhara, a religious practice of Jains, is illegal and a punishable offence.
The agitating members said that the order had deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the entire Jain community and it should be reconsidered. They noted that the Sallekhana could not be termed as an act of suicide nor it can be construed as ‘death by willingness.’ Sallekhana was a vow which was accepted by mendicants or householders according to their own wish as per the strength of the body and in tune with religious scriptures. It was a practice that was being followed since time immemorial.
Leaders of Jain community stated that as per Article 25 of the Constitution, to accept any religion, to profess it and or to propagate, is the fundamental right of any Indian citizen. Hence, the act of performing Sallekhana should be accepted as Fundamental Right of Jains.
Earlier in the morning, the members of the Jain community — men dressed in white and women representing various Mahila Mandalis attired in different hues — assembled at the Mysore Palace North Gate from where the rally commenced. Later, it passed through Ashoka Road, Mahaveer Circle, Gandhi Square, Shivarampet, D. Devaraj Urs Road and reached Deputy Commissioner’s Office to present a memorandum.
In the memorandum, they urged the Deputy Commissioner to apprise the authorities concerned to see that the Jains were not barred from following their religious rights.
The Terapanth Jain Muni Gyanendramuniji Maharaj said in his discourse that members of the Jain community would not commit violence on themselves or on others by taking recourse to Sallekhana. It was a practice to purify one’s soul and for destroying the ‘karmas.’ Prohibiting it would amount to denial of the fundamental rights allowed in the Constitution.
Calling upon the members of the community to unite on this score, he said the community would challenge it legally. Munishree Sujethakumar Maharaj was also present.
Jains regard Sallekhana or Santhara to be the highest form of passage or death and in a way not the same as suicide. It is done in full consciousness and in peace and it does require that the practitioner fast unto death. Jain texts say it is the ultimate route to attaining Moksha and breaking free from the whirlpool of life and death. The vow of Sallekhana or Santhara is taken when one feels that one’s life has served its purpose. The rationale behind Sallekhana comes from the Jain belief in karma, rebirth, asceticism and spiritual purification.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – August 27th, 2015
Fr. Dr. Antony Kariyil has been appointed as the new Bishop of the Mandya Diocese of Syro Malabar Church.
Antony Kariyil was born in Chalil near Cherthala, Alappuzha district in Kerala, in 1950 and became a priest in the year in 1977. Fr. Kariyil has a doctorate in Social Sciences and had decorated various Ecclesiastical positions of significance.
He has been serving as the Director of Rajagiri Engineering College in Kochi prior to the current appointment. An researcher of merit, Fr. Kariyil has several publications to his credit, including two books ‘Church and Society in Kerala: A Sociological Study’ and ‘Thiruvayassu.’
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – August 27th, 2015
Farmers looking at various organic products displayed at the stalls during the agriculture fair at Kolhar town in Vijayapura district on Monday.— PHOTO: RAJENDRA SINGH HAJERI
For the last five years, Kolhar town of Basavanabagewadi taluk is witnessing a unique type of jatra. During the fair, an association of progressive farmers arranges a Krishi Mela (agriculture fair) for educating the farming community about the importance of organic farming.
“It is a one-of-its-kind event which is purely by the farmers, of the farmers and for the farmers. Unlike any other agriculture fair which organised by government, here, only the farmers contribute to the event,” said Siddu Balagonda.
The progressive farmer who is behind the unique event says that for the last five years he has been organising the fair with the help of other farmers in the town during the Uppashappa temple fair. He said that they noticed that during the annual religious fair, hundreds of people, mostly farmers were arriving to the temple.
“We thought of using the opportunity to hold an event which could help the farming community.
Thus, we chose to organise an agriculture fair on the issue of organic farming as it has become the need of the hour,” Mr. Balagonda said.
Winner of ‘Krishi Pandit’ and a recipient of many such awards, he said that owing to excess and unabated use of chemical fertilizer, the soil is losing fertility and commodities are becoming unhealthy.
‘Save soil’
“The best way out to save soil and have healthy food is to switch over to organic farming.
“The fair essentially focuses on this critical aspect where every year we call the experts and progressive farmers to make farmers aware of its significance for the present and future generation,” he said.
To a question, he said that the farmers have contributed around Rs. 7 lakh for holding the event.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Firoz Rozindar /Kolhar (Vijayapura Dist). / August 25th, 2015
The students of the NMAM Institute of Technology with the trophy at 38th series State -level Student Project Seminar and Exhibition at Adyar in Mangaluru recently.
The NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, was adjudged for the Best Performing College of 2014-15 during the 38th State-level Student Project Seminar and Exhibition organised by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management at Adyar on August 20 and 21.
In a press release issued here, Niranjan N. Chiplunkar, principal of the NMAM Institute of Technology, said the award was presented by president of Institution of Engineers (India) Muralikrishna Reddy at the event. The project ‘Ethanol production from pure glycerol using Bacillus cereus ’ by final year B.E. students Samiyabanu, Krupa and Deepak, was awarded best project in the Biofuels category.
Another project ‘Unipolar SPWM-based Reactive Power Compensator’ by students Nishanth, Sourabh, Apoorva and Madhumita, was awarded best project in the seminar category. About 97 engineering colleges all over the State participated in the seminar and exhibition.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – August 25th, 2015
Thousands of people participated in the funeral procession of MLA Venkatesh Naik at Arakera village in Deodurg taluk, Raichur district, on Monday. PHOTO: SANTOSH SAGAR
Veteran Congress leader and MLA of Deodurg constituency in Raichur district, Karnataka, A. Venkatesh Naik (79), who died in a rail accident near Penukonda in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, at about 2.10 a.m. on Monday, was laid to rest with State honours at his native place in Deodurg taluk. As per the customs of his community, his mortal remains were buried in his land at Juttalamaradi village at 6.30 p.m. He is survived by wife, two sons and three daughters.
Venkatesh Naik’s eldest son and Raichur Lok Sabha member B.V. Naik, along with his younger brother and president of Raichur District Central Cooperative Bank Rajashekhar Naik, performed the final rites. His grandson K. Shivanagowda Naik and other family members were present.
Ministers Sharan Prakash Patil and Shivaraj Tangadagi, Koppal Lok Sabha member Sanganna Karadi, MLAs Shivaraj Patil, Hampanagowda Badarli, Hampayya Naik, Manappa Vajjal, Raja Venkatappa Naik, A.B. Malaka Reddy, MLCs N.S. Boseraju and Halappa Achar, Tungabhadra Command Area Development Authority chairman A. Vasanth Kumar, Deputy Commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil and Superintendent of Police Chetan Singh Rathor were among the dignitaries who participated in the funeral.
Earlier, the mortal remains of the leader were kept at the Congress party office in Raichur for 30 minutes and then at his home at Arakera in Deodurg taluk for two- and-a-half hours for the public to pay their last respect. Over 10,000 people participated in the funeral procession from his home to the burial place.
Born on June 6, 1936, Venkatesh Naik entered politics through the Congress in 1968 in the local body elections. He was Gram Panchayat president twice, APMC director and Zilla Parishat member before entering national politics through the 1991 Lok Sabha polls. He represented Raichur constituency in the Lok Sabha for four times, in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He had lost the constituency to Raja Rangappa Naik of Janata Dal in 1996.
In a bitter electoral battle in the 2013 Assembly polls, Venkatesh Naik defeated his grandson K. Shivanagowda Naik, who had contested on the BJP ticket in Deodurg constituency, by a margin of 3,700 votes. He had also played an instrumental role in earning a thin-margin victory for his son and Congress candidate B.V. Naik against his grandson and BJP candidate K. Shivanagowda Naik in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Raichur constituency.
Earlier, he had served Deodurg taluk Congress Committee president for two terms and Raichur District Congress Committee for one term.
Venkatesh Naik tasted defeat twice in his political career: in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls against Raja Rangappa Naik of Janata Dal and in the 2008 Assembly polls against K. Shivanagowda Naik who was then in the Janata Dal (Secular). He was denied the Congress ticket in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the Congress candidate Raja Venkatappa Naik was defeated by the BJP candidate Sanna Pakkirappa in the election.
“Venkatesh Naik was a literary enthusiast and had deeply studied Jaimini Bharata, a version of Hindu epic Mahabharata, authored by noted Kannada poet of 16 century, Lakshmisa. He spoke less and did more,” Bheemanagowda Itagi, a long-time associate of Venkatesh Naik, recalled.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Kumar Buradikatti / Raichur – August 24th, 2015
Shining bright in the dark room The Majolly Project is proving its mettle with its first single.
Bands get a few gigs, go into the studio and think of an album. For us it is backwards with our debut single getting us recognition.
Bengaluru knows Neecia Majolly as a reputed concert pianist, Western classical and music theatre vocalist, conductor, teacher and composer. Until recently, however, not many knew that Neecia also dabbled in progressive rock and classical electronic music with her band, The Majolly Project.
“Yes! This is new territory for me since I’ve always been associated with classical and choral music,” she tells MetroPlus.
“To be very frank, I’ve always wanted to be a rock chick since I was a teenager!” she laughs. “It is just that I’ve been classically trained and I’ve been good at it. But TMP has been a long time coming. I’ve been trying for years to get this together in a completely opposite direction to what I was doing so far. It was so difficult to find the right and committed musicians. It was only in September last year that I got the two other musicians together and we started off with TMP.”
Neecia adds: “A lot of people are surprised that Neecia Majolly has an alter ego – classical musician by day and rock chick by night,” she laughs heartily. “Playing classical music has its own creativity in terms of interpretation, but this has brought out a whole new side of creativity for me since it is something of my own. I am also not trying to appeal to popular tastes. But people like it so far.”
Their first single got two golds at the recently held Global Music Awards, making them the only winners from India.
Released in June, their single titled ‘Dark Room’ has also received a nomination for Rock Song Of The Year by The International Music and Entertainment Association.
While Neecia is songwriter and arranger for TMP, Ashwin Shekhar is on percussion while keyboardist Anish Thomas Panikkar does the programming as well.
“It is really exciting for us since this is our first single and we did not expect it to get so much attention. I don’t think this is something bands in India do often. This is quite special for us. In fact I think we are working backwards. Bands get a few gigs, perform for some time, go into the studio and then think of a single and an album. For us it is backwards with our debut single getting us recognition,” she says.
‘Dark Room’, a poignant dark composition of voice and piano, is a very personal song, says the composer. “It’s got something to do with a lot of what I was experiencing as an artiste. People like me find it best to take that personal experience and express it in the form of music. ‘Dark Room’ is a result of that experience. Many say it’s very haunting and touches people where it needs to.”
Neecia adds that all their upcoming singles deal with personal issues. “Mostly by this month end, we will release our second single titled ‘White Bone’ that dwells more on the influences that TMP exudes in the classic progressive rock soundscape. Dark Room, though our first single, touches only a little of the sound that TMP is all about. It is personal and connects with people. The second single is very powerful. It’s on the illegal ivory trade that we feel strongly about.”
The multifaceted artiste points out that they have a bunch of songs ready for an album. “I just hope that someone becomes kind to us and funds our album,” she beams. “It’s not easy to do an album all on your own. So we will wait and see now that we have people’s attention.” On the sound, she adds that none of their songs are feel good. “None of them will make you snap your fingers or clap your hands or feel happy. This is serious stuff,” she admits.
The song, however, fits well with the listening audience in Bengaluru. Neecia agrees: “Bangalore has much more of a taste for rock and metal than any other city. In Bangalore, there is an audience for everything. We are luck that way. It is also easier now for people to listen to music, thanks to social media and online platforms.” She adds that earlier a lot of bands used to play covers. “No one is really keen on that anymore. That also is an inspiration for bands like us to do our music. The audience accepts and loves it when bands play their own music. These changes are good for us.”
Looking ahead, Neecia says the awards and nomination has given them validation for their efforts. “I want it to be as big as we can,” she sums up. Check out The Majolly Project on Facebook, Reverbnation, Soundcloud and Youtube.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Allan Moses Rodricks /Bengaluru – August 22nd, 2015
“No clues, No clues,” came the fervent pleas from a crowd of 1,200 students from 200 schools, as they competed for a place in the finals of the Times NIE Quizomania 2015-16. It was held jointly with the State Bank of India at The Cathedral High School, Bengaluru, on Thursday.
The excitement and tension was palpable from the word go, as quizmaster Giri ‘Pickbrain’ Balasubramanium took them through 20 questions in the preliminary round, before 12 schools made it to the semifinals. Presidency School, RT Nagar, walked away with the winning trophy.
They also got an impromptu cash prize of Rs 10,116, from Vijaya Kumar, general manager-network II of SBI, St Mark’s Road.
From Viv Richards starting his cricketing career from K Chinnaswamy Stadium to RBI governor Raghuram Rajan starring in the Oscar-winning documentary ‘Inside Job’, to Fauntelroy being Donald Duck’s middle name, the students had answers to almost all the questions.
Chief general manager of SBI Rajni Mishra said: “Some of the questions bowled me over; the children know so much today. I am often asked where I see India going economically, and today I can say that India is going to be No 1 in the world soon. We will have brilliant scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders,” she said.
Isabella Simon, principal of The Cathedral High School, said quizzing is a fun way to learn and gather information. CEO of Greycaps India Pvt. Ltd Giri Balasubramanium said he was delighted to see so many girls taking to quizzing. “Girls opening up to a mind sport like quizzing is a fantastic new trend. The comfort level the youngsters have with all the information around them is also amazing,” he said.
The winners, Aymen Maqsood and Bavadharini Manohar attributed their success to the 40-minute quiz they have in school every day, and reading the newspaper. The prizes to the winners were sponsored by Vedantu.com. General manager-network I, YV Ramana Murthy was among those who gave away the prizes.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Santrupti Rajankar, TNN / August 21st, 2015
Raam Reddy with his awards at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland
Just weeks after Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan won laurels at the Cannes film festival, another Indian film has won two awards at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. Thithi, directed by Bengaluru-based Raam Reddy bagged the Concorso Cineasti del Presente and the Swatch Award for Best First Feature.
The film, in Kannada, features actors previously unheard of and was shot in Karnataka’s Mandya district. It tells the story of how three generations of sons react to the death of their grandfather, Century Gowda. The film then leads up to the thithi ceremony that is held eleven days after the death.
Raam, from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, is a 25-year-old filmmaker who has previously directed short fiction films, including a Telugu short called Ika. He studied direction at the Prague Film School and has also published a novel.
In a press statement, Raam said that capturing “India’s soul on film” was something he had always dreamt of. “Some of the characters in the film have become symbols to me — of how life can be lived simply, unequivocally, with grace — and I feel blessed to have had the chance to immortalise them,” he said.
Deepak Timmoji and Tangachan Androz with the Border Security Force officials during their expedition..— Photo: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With the objective of creating public awareness against corruption, communalism and environmental pollution, Deepak Thimmoji, an architect, and Thankachan Andrews, a farmer, had launched an expedition on motorcycle from here in 2012. Based on the video clippings they had captured on the mobile phone and cameras during their expedition, a short film in English language of 57-minute duration, titled ‘Dream Ride’ has been produced.
They had started from Shivamogga on June 8, 2012 on their motorcycles of 500 cc capacity each. In the 44-day journey, the duo travelled 12,000 kilometres. As part of the expedition, they visited 19 States, including Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Daman. During the journey, they interacted with students in educational institutions and with gram panchayat members, focussing on the need to conserve environment and end corruption.
Mr. Andrews told The Hindu that as creation of awareness on environmental pollution was the primary objective of the expedition, they avoided using plastic water bottles. “As the increase in human needs is blamed for the destruction of environment, we kept our needs at minimum leve6l during the expedition. We slept in tents that were set up on the roadside and cooked food on our own,” he said.
Mr. Thimmoji said, the motorcycle expedition also helped them understand the plural culture and rich natural diversity of the nation. The short film would motivate the youths to take up similar adventures, he said.
The film is produced by ByZero productions. Mr. Thimmoji said, the short film would be screened on the campuses of educational institutions and adventure and sports clubs. The DVD of the short film would be released at Kuvempu Rangamandir here on August 21. The programme will commence at 5.30 p.m. A travelogue in Kannada, authored by Mr. Thimmoji covering the experiences during the expedition, would also be released on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Veerendra P.M. / Shivamogga – August 20th, 2015
