Monthly Archives: February 2018

Remembering Gopalakrishna Adiga

Chaduranga
Chaduranga

Chaduranga, a writer and director, was Gopalakrishna Adiga’s close companion. They addressed each other in the singular and had no secrets between them. This is a piece that Chaduranga wrote when Adiga passed away in 1992.

M. Gopalakrishna Adiga and I were friends for over 50 years. It felt like he was a part of my body itself. A companion with whom I shared my inner most feelings. When Devraj Urs (former chief minister of Karnataka) passed away, I was enveloped by the same emptiness as I am now in Adiga’s death.

The days Adiga and I spent in Mysore are fresh in my memory. Even when we were poor, we shared the groundnut and coffee on which we subsisted, wrote together, read and discussed together. Just as we loved each other, we respected each other. With all our differences and individual opinions, we remained intimate.

When Adiga wrote his first novel Akasha Deepa (Sky Light), he read it in Mysore’s Anand Bhavana. I had teased him, “this has gone straight into the sky, not on the earth at all.” Responding to the novel, “The prose is good, it is poetic. But there is no life in it,” I had told him. Adiga didn’t take offence to my blatant criticism. “You are right,” he agreed with me and took the novel home. Then he came with the manuscript of his second novel, “Anathe”. He read this also in Anand Bhavan. This was a novel that gave me happiness. You could see the influence of Shivaram Karanth in it, yet, it retained Adiga’s signature style.

Adiga was a man of enormous self-esteem. I have not met another human being who was like him. Call it arrogance if you please. It is important for a writer to have this quality. But his self pride was not the kind that looked down upon others, it was that which treated everyone like an equal: he had a rare dignity that didn’t treat the self as any different from the other.

Many lines from Adiga’s poetry have been guiding beacons of my life. “Ninage Neene Geleya, Ninage Neene” (You are your own friend, You for yourself) has filled me with so much courage. And the line, “Iruvudellava Bittu Iradudaredege Tudivude Jeevana” (Life is about yearning for all things that you do not have), has conveyed so many things to me!

In those days, “Yaava Mohana Murali Kareyitu” was my favourite poem. I used to constantly hum it in the bathroom. Aa. Na. Kru. would make me sing this and experience a great deal of happiness.

“Where is he now, that friend whose shoulder was the one to lean on.”

November, 1992.

Translated from Kannada by Deepa Ganesh

These essays — Gourish Kaikini, Chaduranga, and Ramachandra Sharma (on Page 11) — have been published in Mohana Murali (2009), a collection of essays on Gopalakrishna Adiga, edited by N. Vidyashankar and M. Jayaram Adiga

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment / February 15th, 2018

Preservation of statue is in expert hands

GomateshwaraBF28feb2018

ASI has been giving chemical wash and chemical treatment to the statue since Independence

There is a belief that the holy bath of the Gomateshwara statue, using sugarcane juice, sandalwood paste, and milk during the Mahamastakabhishekha is essential to preserve the 58.8-ft monolithic statue at Shravanabelagola. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), however, does chemical wash and chemical treatment regularly as part of its conservation efforts.

Experts from the Science Branch of the ASI did chemical treatment of the statue a few days before the scaffolding for the Mahamastakabhishekha was erected. D. Ambethkar, Deputy Superintending Archaeological Chemist, told The Hindu, “We will repeat the treatment once the anointing ceremony is over.”

Alkaline cleaning liquids are used to clean the statue. Once the event is over, experts will wash the statue again and treat it with water repellents. “Water repellents are used to avoid moisture penetration,” he said.

Mr. Ambethkar said that pouring sugarcane juice, coconut water, or sandalwood paste on the statue would not harm it in any way. At best, it would clear the dust deposited on the statue. Further, he said abhisheka of statues or idols is quite common among Hindus and Jains.

The statue was installed in 981 and since then the anointing ceremony has been conducted once in 12 years. This is the 88th ceremony. The ASI has been conducting chemical wash and chemical treatment of the statue whenever the anointing ceremony has been held, since Independence.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Satish G.T. Hassan / February 27th, 2018

Celebration of Kannada ‘power’ at BIFFes

Posters of Kannada films at the 10th Bengaluru International Film Festival at Orion Mall in Bengaluru on Monday.   | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Posters of Kannada films at the 10th Bengaluru International Film Festival at Orion Mall in Bengaluru on Monday. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

12 films are in the competition section of the Kannada cinema category

The tenth edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) has become a carnival for the celebration of the eight-decade-old Kannada film industry.

Reservation, directed by Nikhil Manjoo, which bagged the Rajat Kamal for the best Kannada film, and T.S. Nagabharana’s Allama, recipient of best make-up and best music direction national award, are among the 12 films in the competition section in the Kannada cinema category.

Beti (which dispels the myth that gender discrimination has religious sanction and cultural intolerance) by P. Sheshadri, Dr. Sukanya (about female foeticide)by Srinath Vasistha, March 22 (on water conversation) by Koodlu Ramakrishna, Mooka Hakki (on cow slaughter) by N. Manjunath, Mookanayaka (which discusses relationship between art and social life) by Baraguru Ramachandrappa, Moodalaseemeyali (on patriachy) by Shivarudraiah, Neeru Tandavaru (on water and caste system) by Asif Kshatriya and Nemodaya Boolya (a Tulu film set in a village nearly two centuries ago) by Gangadhara Kirodian are competing for the coveted prize.

In a further proof of the celebration of Kannada films, renowned film maker N. Lakshminarayana, who was influenced by directors De Sica and Satyajit Ray, is being honoured with the screening of Bettada HuvuAbachurina Post OfficeNaandi and Uyyale. These movies are milestones in Kannada film and art cinema. Naandi, for instance, was the first ever Kannada film to be screened in an international film festival.

Besides these films, Bhakta KanakadasaMithileya SeetheyaruEdakallu GuddadameleAvale Nanna HendtiChigurida Kanasu and Vijayanagarada Veeraputra are being screened in the homage section to pay tributes to departed artistes Krishna Kumari, B.V. Radha, Edakallu Chandru, Kashinath, Parvathamma Rajkumar and R.N. Sudarshan.

In its attempt to remember classics, BIFFes has chosen Samskara by Pattabhirama Reddy. The path-breaking film is supposed to have pioneered the parallel cinema movement in Kannada. In 50th year of making Samskara, Tom Cowan, the renowned cinematographer from Australia who worked for this film, shares his experience.

Besides these, mainstream Kannada films are being screened in the popular entertainment section.

Tulu film in Asian section

Paddayi, a Tulu film by national award winning director Abhaya Simha, is competing in the Asian Section. This is one among the Indian language contingent including Paathi (The half) by debutant Chandran Narikkod, which arrests the attention with its straightforward presentation, and Ashwathama by Pushpendra Singh, which explores undertones of superstition. Paddayi is a modern day adaptation of the epic drama Macbeth by Shakespeare.

Similarly, Hebbettu Ramakka by N.R. Nanjunde Gowda is the only Kannada film figuring in the Indian cinema section. The film deals with a village woman standing up to the patriarchy and caste systems of her village.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Muralidhara Khajane / February 26th, 2018

Bengaluru-based firm saves kids with birth defect

Bengaluru :

The year is 2012. Dr Meenakshi Bhat, a clinical genetics consultant at Centre for Human Genetics, approached the country’s premium research institutes to devise low-cost nutrition products for children with the birth defect Phenylketonuria (PKU), but to no avail.

Enter Bengaluru-based Pristine Organics, and today at least 5,000 children aged below 9, and who are suffering from 27 different conditions, have benefited from ‘Metanutrition’. This is a formula powder for those whose body cannot turn food into energy for the lack of specific enzymes or proteins.

On the sidelines of Blue Ribbon Rare Diseases Symposium held here, Dr Meenakshi told The New Indian Express, “It costs Rs 16,000 to get a tin of this powder meant for PKU-1 children from outside India. Pristine offers it for Rs 1,000.”

PKU is a birth defect that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in the body. Untreated PKU can lead to brain damage, intellectual disabilities, behavioural symptoms or seizures. Treatment includes a strict diet with limited protein. It can last for years or be lifelong. In India, one lakh children are diagnosed with it annually. In December last year, Pristine was one of the five companies that the country’s food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) gave licence to, to manufacture specialised diet for inborn errors of metabolism (IEM).

Of these five companies, Pristine was the only Indian company. In India, the prevalence of IEM is one in 2,497 newborns. Children affected by IEM don’t survive beyond the age of one, due to complications caused by protein build-up in the body.

Shruti Kumbla, senior nutritionist, Pristine Organics, said, “Previously, parents would import it from US-based Nutritia, Abott, Mead Johnson Nutrition and Switzerland-based Nestle that would cost a lot.”

Low-cost nutrition solutions for children suffering from rare diseases can do wonders if Indian companies take up manufacturing, Dr Meenakshi said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Suraksha P / Express News Service / March 15th, 2018

Women as game-changers

The 8th International Women’s Conference will host women from all over the world who share the objective of a stress and violence free society

Since its first edition in 2005, the International Women’s Conference (IWC) has hosted over 375 speakers and 5,500 delegates from over 100 countries. This February (23-25) in its eighth edition, it is all set to host 500 women delegates from diverse backgrounds and professions, across the world.

“This year’s theme is ‘Life: A Mystical Journey’. In the past we have dealt with a wide variety of subjects from women in technology to women in leadership, and exploring inner beauty. This time, our chairperson, Bhanumathi Narasimhan, wanted to explore the mystical aspect, through spirituality. We will have sessions on everything from the relationship between science and spirituality to 360 degree views on behaviour patterns,” says Chinky Sen, one of the lead organisers of the conference.

The 2018 edition of the conference will feature a range of speakers from actor Rani Mukherji to environmentalist Vandana Shiva; Mridula Sinha, Governor, Goa; Adriana Marais, theoretical physicist, head of innovation at SAP Africa; Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe, founder director of Center for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya to Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman, State Bank of India; and Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder-Chairperson Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation.

“Women are leading peacemakers. They work together towards creating a stress-free, violence-free society. The conference is a message in peace and unity,” says Bhanumathi Narasimhan, Chairperson, IWC.

The goal of the conference, which is hosted at the Art of Living International Centre, is individual development and collective action and to ‘facilitate partnership-building and leadership development among women leaders globally’.

“The sessions at the conference will be engaging and exciting. Among the highlights this year, is an exclusive dialogue with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Founder, Art of Living), called ‘Mind Matters’. There are some interesting sessions on topics such as ‘Intuition, Innovation and Creativity’; on life as a game, a play, a war; and the session on 360 degree behaviour patterns will also address how they can be changed through yoga and meditation,” says Sen.

The conference is also associated with the Art of Living’s ‘Gift A Smile’ project, which offers education to over 58,000 students in 435 free schools across 20 Indian states. Girl children comprise 48 per cent of the student demographic and 90 per cent of the students are first-generation learners.

This year the conference will also support the creation of open-defecation free districts in India. The project involves two phases. In the first phase, the organisation will work towards sensitisation and awareness, on the importance of health and hygiene. “We have already reached out to 12 gram panchayats in seven states. We will be presenting the report in the conference. We will then build toilets in the second phase.”

The organisation plans to build over 4000 toilets. In keeping with another social impact tradition, the conference will also include a signature campaign on violence against women and on gender equality.

The IWC in its previous editions, has worked on initiatives such as constructing homes for the underprivileged, creating awareness on environmental care, organising a movement to stop violence against women, and empowering women through skills training. It has also worked with the World Bank Institute to develop empowerment schemes for women in vulnerable nations and expanded vocational training for widows in Iraq.

The 8th International Women’s Conference will take place between February 23 and February 25 at the Art of Living International Centre on Kanakapura Road. For details visit artofliving.org/iwc.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Harshini Vakkalanka / February 20th, 2018

Theatre Olympics comes to Bengaluru

24 world-class performances to be staged over 15 days from Tuesday

As the city is gearing up for the weeklong Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) from Thursday, it is all set for a mega theatre event. The 8th Theatre Olympics, organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) along with the Department of Kannada and Culture, will be held for 15 days here from Tuesday.

This is for the first time the country is hosting the largest international theatre festival, and Bengaluru is one of the co-hosts. Plays will be staged at Ravindra Kalakshetra and at Kalagrama, Mallathahalli Road, Jnana Bharati campus, from 7 p.m. till March 6.

The event will provide people of the State a chance to watch 24 stimulating world-class performances, including six specially invited plays from renowned theatre maestros — Kabeer (Shekhar Sen), Esranga Rod (Pranjal Saikia), Madaiah the Cobbler (Ramaswamy Prasanna), Gunamukha (C. Basavalingaiah), Parindey(Satish Anand), Krapp’s Last Tape (Jaroslaw Fret, Poland) — and international productions The Method of National Constellations (Michal Stankiewicz), Women of Passion, Women of Greece (Tatiana Ligari, Greece), and Arrived(Adrian Schvarzstein, Lithuania).

The other plays that will be staged include Kuthirai Muttai (Sanmugaraja), Karnabharam (Chandradasan), Abayab (Nebakumar Banarjee), Allasani Peddana(Akella), Jathegiruvanu Chandra (Hulugappa Kattimani), Actress Are Not Allowed (V. Arumugham), Moment Just Before (Liju Krishna), Laagi Chhute Na(Veena Sharma), Mahabharath (Anurupa Roy), Prof. Kelfa’s Factory (Ranhang Choudhury), Tansen (Govind Singh Yadav), Dhaubar Ratani (Bidyut Kr. Nath), and Antariksha Sanchar (Jayalakshmi Eshwar), Indur O Manushi (Bebashis Biswas), and Naganandam (Kavalam Padmanabhan).

C. Basavalingaiah
C. Basavalingaiah

The 8th edition of Theatre Olympics, according to C. Basavalingaiah, director of NSD Bengaluru chapter, is “a celebration of universal friendship and human values by showcasing theatre traditions of India and the world. It is an attempt to bridge the borders across countries through the call of theatre and engage in creating a global village.”

Over 450 performances

The Theatre Olympics, which opened in Delhi on Saturday, will span 17 Indian cities with over 450 performances, seminars, and youth forums in which 25,000 artistes from 31 countries will participate, said Mr. Basavalingaiah.

The festival, spread over 51 days, will be held in cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Imphal, Varanasi, Chandigarh, and Thiruvananthapuram.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / February 18th, 2018