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When eggs were 30 paise!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

JagadishRajaBF26feb2017

Theatre personality Jagdish Raja reminisces over days gone by as he takes a tour of Bengaluru

I have been in Bengaluru for over 44 years and the places I have been to are many, in many times and for many reasons. Prabhat Kalavidaru in Jain Temple Street for English recordings for radio commercials. I do believe that it was I who introduced them to the ‘All Okay’ thumbs up sign, before it was stolen by the soft drink of the same name. Incidentally, the lad behind the glass window was Jaganath and yes, Jagu, was the name we shared! Old Bengaluru. Narrow lanes. Dosai stalls at every corner.

Ravindra Kalakshetra and soon after, Chowdiah We were the first English language theatre to perform in Chowdiah. Rental was ₹ 3,000 a day or just under ₹ 3 per seat. With tickets at ₹ 5, 10 and 15 we were, as the saying goes, quids in! We go back occasionally and yes, some of the faces are still there!

Russell Market: We ran a poultry farm with 6,000 birds laying about 4,000 eggs per day, 30,000 in a week. Our wholesaler had a tiny shop in the street running north west off the main building. We would go in to collect…expectant. Overjoyed that we were getting ₹10 for a tray of 30 eggs. That is right 33 p per egg. In those days I would tip all my tipsters not in cash but in eggs! And yes…Thomas is still there.

Bangalore Club: Where would we be without our old BC?! It was our second home. The boys, Gautam and Sumit, would stroll in after school and be served with a snack and a soft cold drink, without even asking for it. We knew all the bearers and they all knew us. Even today, there are a score or so who ask after us and about them – Gautam in Los Angeles, Sumit in Melbourne.

Bengaluru to us could be as far away as either of these two cities. We could make it to the Club in 20 minutes, top gear all the way, waving to people in cars as we passed. Today, it is a two-hour start-crawl-stop journey with pesky two wheelers oozing in left and right. But then what has Bengaluru got that Bangalore had not? Well, Bengaluru has sucked Whitefield in.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / February 23rd, 2017

Air ambulance used for intra-city transplant for first time in Bengaluru

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Science & Technology
The heart of a 45-year-old woman in Apollo Hospital, Bannerghatta Road was flown into MS Ramaiah Narayana Heart Centre
The heart of a 45-year-old woman in Apollo Hospital, Bannerghatta Road was flown into MS Ramaiah Narayana Heart Centre

HIGHLIGHTS

  • An air ambulance was used for the first time in Bengaluru for an intra-city organ transplant.
  • The heart of a 45-year-old woman in Apollo Hospital was flown into MS Ramaiah Narayana Heart Centre in Mattikere in just seven minutes
  • ________________________________

Bengaluru :

An air ambulance was used for the first time in Bengaluru for an intra-city organ transplant on Thursday. The heart of a 45-year-old woman in Apollo Hospital on Bannerghatta Road , was flown into MS Ramaiah Narayana Heart Centre in Mattikere in just seven minutes. Even with a green corridor, transporting the heart by road would have taken at least 30 minutes.

The recipient of the heart was a 51-year-old woman patient from Andhra Pradesh, in the city for treatment. Doctors advised the heart transplant for her as a last resort.

The donor, a native of Ramanagara district, had been on ventilator at another private hospital since February 19, before she was admitted to Apollo on Wednesday. After doctors at Apollo declared her brain dead on Thursday, her husband and her son, agreed to donate her organs.

While the other organs – kidney, liver, pancreas and cornea – were donated to patients at Apollo Hospitals, it was only the heart that was given to a recipient at another healthcare institute.

“Normally, when the transplant is done within an hour of harvesting the organ, the outcome is expected to be better,” said Dr Nagamalesh UM, senior cardiologist, MS Ramaiah Narayana Health Centre.

“I think this is the first time an organ has been airlifted and transported from one hospital to another in the same city,” said Captain Arun Sharma, managing director, Aviators Air Rescue, which provided the helicopter for the transport. A source from Aviators Air Rescue said that the cost of transporting the organ within the city came up to around Rs 85,000.

The company has deployed three helicopters for the southern region, which have flown more than 150 hours till date.

Patient transferred from Hubballi to Bengaluru in 100 minutes

Sumit (name changed), 51, suddenly collapsed when he was at a function in Hubballi on Tuesday, and was rushed to a hospital. Diagnosed with triple coronary artery blockage, the cardiologist recommended that he be operated on immediately. A resident of Bengaluru, Sumit’s family was keen to have the operation in the city.

To avoid further delays, the family decided to shift him using an Air Ambulance to the Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Bengaluru. The Aviators Air Rescue Ambulance team, which comprised a doctor and paramedic from Apollo Hospital, managed to move him from Hubballi to Bengaluru in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / by Niharika Alva / TNN / February 24th, 2017

Perfect wavelength

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

DrVageeshBF24feb2017

Dr. Vageesh, musician-musicologist, traces his career with Akashvani

It was good to see Dr. K. Vageesh receive the Ganakala Bhushana Award at the 47th Karnataka Ganakala Parishath proceedings recently in Bengaluru. The 62-year-old musician-musicologist-composer committed to his task at the helm of Akashvani for 36 years came up with an informative lec-dem as he explained the nuances of the much-debated Abheri and Karnataka Devagandari.

“Only a musician, who is also a musicologist can demonstrate such finenuances,” said Dr. R.K. Padmanabha, president of the Ganakala Parishath after honouring Dr. Vageesh with the Ganakala Bhushana Award. “Vageesh, who is integral to the much-appreciated AIR auditions, has studied, sung, reflected and worked with the grammar of music for more than four decades. The Parishath is happy to recognise his lifetime achievements,” announced Mr. Padmanabha.

Dr. Krishna Vageesh, top-grade artist of AIR, now on an extension as the Deputy Director General (Music) Prasar Bharati, New Delhi, was born in 1954 in Mysore. Belonging to a family obsessed with classical melody for generations, he also boasts a lineage of love for Sanskrit, the Vedas and divinity attached to temple histories.

Music was deep-rooted with grandfather Srirangachar rubbing shoulders with M.D. Ramanathan as his classmate. Vageesh also took guidance from Tiger Varadachari. “M.D. Ramanathan visited us at Kathwadipura Agrahara in Mysore, a traditionally erudite neighbourhood where we were brought up. He once heard me sing the Kamalamba Navavarana kriti and had prophesied that I would make it big,” reminisces Vageesh.

Mysore has always been a vibrant cultural hub. “The echoes of naada and Veda in the Agrahara where I grew up still linger in my ears,” says Vageesh.

Three awards

Vageesh’s entry into Akashvani was just by chance. “I was a senior chemist with SKF and was frequently recording for Akashvani. Y.S.K. Rao, then Director, who listened to me on one such occasion, said, ‘Why don’t you apply for a job in Akashvani?’ Soon I was selected through UPSC as Programme Executive at New Delhi Akashvani in 1980. I was put in charge of Yuvavani,” recalls Dr. Vageesh. “I am grateful to stalwarts such as veena Doreswamy Iyengar and R.K. Srikantan, who encouraged me to be part of radio broadcasting. I bagged three annual awards for my musical productions, Navras, Silence in Music and Haathon Ka Tharaana,” he says.

Although his aunt H.S. Mahalakshmi of the Tiger Varadachari school was his formal guru, this gold medallist in M.A. (Music) expanded his horizon with guidance from faculty stalwarts such as Prof. Ramarathnam, Gowrie Kuppuswamy and R. Vishweshwaran. “They helped me reach where I am today,” says Vageesh. “I used to observe all the old-time greats too and that included their mannerisms. I loved imitating them and even adopted some of their techniques in my presentations,” he says. This analytical mind helped me pursue a doctorate in Dikshitar compositions.”

Vageesh was a winner all along, from music competitions in school and college, to State and reputed music organisations such as the Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Karnataka Ganakala Parishath and the Music Academy in Chennai. Winning the AIR competition earned him a B-grade status as a youth artist.

Vageesh considers his stint as the Assistant Station Director in charge of the music section at the Directorate a precious opportunity as he watched stalwarts such as M.S. Gopalakrishnan, Emani Sankara Sastry, Madirimangalam Ramachandran and T.K. Govinda Rao conduct their orchestral productions. The years as the Deputy Director, National Programmes and Sangeeth Sammelan later, was a huge learning curve as he discussed the orchestrated pieces with sitar maestro Ravishankar, Vijaya Raghava Rao and Anil Biswas.

Vageesh’s phase as a composer began 15 years ago, with a kriti in raga Ranjani. He has to his credit 100 compositions as varnams, kritis and tillanas. “I have a few CDs of my compositions too,” says Vageesh, who conducts Tyagaraja aradhana at his residence in Bengaluru every year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / Ranjani Govind / February 23rd, 2017

National Exhibition of Art in city after 16 years

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A visual treat returns to Bengaluru after 16 years. Art aficionados will be able to relish 111 select works of artists at the National Gallery of Modern Art.

The 58th National Exhibition of Art, organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, opens on Friday and will be on till March 19. The exhibition will comprise painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, installations, collage works, and printmaking in mixed media. The Akademi had earlier said it would shift the carnival out of Bengaluru because of NGMA’s reluctance to host it in the absence of approval from the Union Ministry of Culture. But the efforts of many artists, especially of Chi. Su. Krishna Setty, Administrator, Lalit Kala Akademi, who vociferously pitched to have the exhibition here, have finally paid off. “We will get to see the cream of talent. We had a special jury of 10 members who chose 111 works out of 6,000 applicants. Among them, 15 were further filtered for the prestigious National Academy Award that would be given away by Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala on Friday. The awardees would be conferred ₹1 lakh cash and a citation,” Mr. Setty said.

“The award is a much-coveted one among artists as it earmarks the future potential of individual artists. We can trace the path of pioneers such as M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza, who were amongst the earlier Akademi awardees, who became icons of Indian art,” said Mr. Setty. While the Lalit Kala Akademi is spending nearly ₹1 crore for holding the event, the 111 artists would also take part in a special Art Conclave at the Chitrakala Parishath for nine days from February 25 to March 5.

“We have earmarked ₹80 lakh for the conclave where artists would create a new body of works where public is allowed to see and interact,” said Mr. Setty.

The art works selected for the exhibition reflect innovative use of mediums, diversity and relevance to subject matter in contemporary art, according to Mr. Setty. “Emerging trends and their influences are seen as paramount in the selected art works. Their style of rendition, creativity and new mode of expression in mixed media are a treat that people can get to see,” he said.

The awardees

Amongst the 111 chosen works, five are from Karnataka. “V.G. Venugopal’s painting in mixed media, painting of Suresh K. from Mysuru and the drawing work of Satish Multhalli from Haveri are a few ,” said Mr. Setty.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – February 24th, 2017

‘Promote solution, rather than technology’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Bengaluru :

Staqu is a brainchild of all tech-oriented co-founders. Since the beginning, we had all been super excited about Artificial Intelligence and the unique capabilities it possesses to solve the present-day conundrums. We had believed that the ground-breaking technology would be able to sell itself. Six months into the business, when we had hardly closed any sale, we realised it was time for some introspection and policy overhauls.

Instead of trying to sell the technology now, we disrupted that tunnelled vision of our own and started creating products instead, which explored the different facets of AI. The same led to the creation of our VGREP API, an AI empowered solution OEMs and e-commerce players could utilise to deliver a more intuitive and smart search experience to their users. Our first key collaboration with an OEM brand followed right after and that alone was the sign we needed to know we were on the right path.

These days, while unveiling the new features of this potent technology, we try to wrap it around a product and promote that solution, instead of the technology.

Atul Rai
Atul Rai

(The author is the CEO and co-founder of  Staqu, an Artificial Intelligence startup that allows users to search something by uploading its images)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Atul Rai / Express News Service / February 23rd, 2017

History of princely states do not feature in the larger Indian narrative, says Cambridge professor

Education, Records, All, World Opinion
David Wash-brook: History of princely states do not feature in the larger Indian narrative, says Cambridge professor
David Wash-brook: History of princely states do not feature in the larger Indian narrative, says Cambridge professor

Mysuru :

Professor of world history at the prestigious Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, David Washbrook said that the history of princely states – territories that entered into Lord Wellesley’s treaty of subsidiary alliance – had been relegated to the marginalia in the larger narrative of India’s modern nationhood.

Prof Washbrook on Friday delivered the keynote address during the Prof Achuta Rao memorial international conference at the Rani Bahaddur auditorium within the University of Mysore (UoM) premises on ‘Power, resistance and sovereignty in princely South India’. Organised by UoM, and the Prod DS Achuta Rao Centenary Programme, the conference saw discussion on the past and present of the princely states.

DS Achuta Rao was a professor of history at UoM, whose research into Mysuru’s past earned him accolades aplenty. Prof Achuta Rao passed away in 1965, aged 47. The conference was organised as part of a series of events to commemorate his centenary this year.

Washbrook opined that the Indian National Congress was so focused on fighting the British that it ignored the princely states till 1930. “They were then subsumed into a programme designed to obliterate their difference. Also, given the circumstances that prevailed in the early years of independence – partition and accession of states – also made post-independent India instinctively hostile to the traces of princely privilege and power. Perceived as feudal relics, India’s maharajas were meant to fade into history, while the societies they held dominion over were meant to blend into a single, homogenous and continuous national modernity,” he added.

Although the princely states, and their rulers, did not essay prominent roles in the political struggle against colonialism, particularly after 1857, they led the country in terms of social development, Washbrook said. “The strides these territories made in education, public health and other sectors put the backwardness of British India to shame. It’s scarcely a coincidence that cities such as Bengaluru and Vadodara, which were part of erstwhile princely states, should be leading centres of science and industry today. The history of the princely states may be more relevant to understanding India in the 21st century than it ever was in the 20th,” Washbrook said.

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Janaki Nair delivered a talk on ‘The making of the modern Mysore Matha’, while associate professor at the University of Tokyo Aya Ikegame lectured on ‘Was power transferred to whom? Princes and gurus in modern Mysore’, at the conference.

UOM registrar Prof R Rajanna also inaugurated an exhibition on the life and works of DS Achuta Rao.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Mysore News / TNN / February 18th, 2017

29-ft terracotta tree to adorn UAS-B campus

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion
Masterpiece Students working on artist John Devaraj’s artwork at the Indian Agricultural Science Congress in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Masterpiece Students working on artist John Devaraj’s artwork at the Indian Agricultural Science Congress in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

Titled tree of life, artist attempts to enter Guinness Book of World Records

The sprawling campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru is set to have a 29-ft-tall terracotta tree, which is claimed to be the world’s tallest terracotta structure.

Bengaluru-based artist John Devaraj is trying to create the tree, titled ‘tree of life’, with the involvement of scientists and students of the university. Mr. Devaraj plans to seek entry for this structure into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The process of creating the tree of life has begun at the Indian Agricultural Science Congress, where nearly 2,000 scientists are deliberating on the theme ‘climate smart agriculture’. The creators of the tree are not only getting mud impressions of leaves from different species of trees on the university campus, but also the signatures of scientists on it. “It is like an endorsement from scientists and dignitaries that they would commit themselves to protecting farmers,” says B.N. Sathyanarayana, university Head of Horticulture Division, who is co-ordinating the artwork.

Mr. Devaraj said: “Our tree of life tries to send a message that the society will stand by farmers when the agriculture sector is going through crisis,” he says.

The artist has also come out with two paintings on either side of the entrance to the venue. While one depicts the bountifulness of nature, which was extracted by humans, the other represents a sorry state of affairs in which a farmer is being crucified to his plough.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by B S Satish Kumar / February 23rd, 2017

Guinness record for SDMIT’s Rubik’s Cube mosaic builders

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
The team of students from SDM Institute of Technology, Ujire, receiving the Guinness certificate at Dharmasthala recently.
The team of students from SDM Institute of Technology, Ujire, receiving the Guinness certificate at Dharmasthala recently.

SDMIT Cubers, a team of students from SDM Institute of Technology, Ujire, recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the ‘Largest Dual-sided Rubik’s Cube Mosaic’, measuring 14,981 sq m and involving 4,500 Rubik’s Cubes.

Led by Prithveesh K., a final-year engineering student, the team attempted the record on October 2 last year at the Indraprastha Indoor Stadium, Ujire. Mr. Prithveesh said the mosaic was constructed vertically, depicting images — of Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean — on both the sides using 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cubes. The team began working at 7.30 a.m. and completed the 15-foot mosaic around 2.30 p.m.

Mr. Prithveesh said Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade had offered financial support for their effort, which was also backed by SDM Society secretary B. Yashovarma and SDMIT principal K. Suresh. The certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records was received on February 15 and handed over to the team members by Mr. Heggade recently.

The team also included Sharathkrishna K., Viresh Baragi, Shantinath Bharatesh Khurd, Shivakumar T., Prajwal Patil, Vinay T., Swapnil A. Arali, Prahlad M.M., Harikrishna V., Shayeel S. Naik, Sathwik S. Paranjape, Stephen K.A., Madhur G., Karthik M., Mallanagouda Meti, Sujay Suresh, Sanjaya Holla, Rohan R. Gumathanavar and Shiva H..

Mr. Prithveesh said he has been promoting ‘cubing’ through various workshops and he entered the India Book of Records for training 500 students in solving different kinds of Rubik’s Cubes in 2015. He hails from Cherkady village in Udupi district and is the son of agriculturist Shyam Prasad.

He said, “I want to make Rubik’s Cube more popular in India and hope to create another Guinness record at my home town Udupi.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correpondent / Mangaluru – February 23rd, 2017

‘Ladder man’, star attraction at farm science congress

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Science & Technology
Rural entrepreneur Keshava A. runs a factory in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada that employs 50 people.
Rural entrepreneur Keshava A. runs a factory in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada that employs 50 people.

Keshava, who is visually challenged, has sold one lakh ladders

Keshava A., 41, is popular as ‘ladder man’ in rural areas of Dakshina Kannada district. Lightweight foldable aluminium ladders designed by him help even women and children climb the tall areca palms or harvest pepper from climbers on tall trees. Not many know that he is visually challenged.

Mr. Keshava was the star attraction for scientists from different parts of the country at the ongoing Agricultural Science Congress here, where he has set up a stall.

“I dropped out of college while doing PU as my vision was affected owing to glaucoma. Now, 90 per cent of my vision is affected and I cannot see anything clearly even if it is very near to me,” said Mr. Keshava.

Pursuing his dream

The vision problem, however, did not come in his way of pursuing his dream of helping farmers climb tall areca palms. “As a person from the farming family, I was witness to the problems of farmers because of lack of skilled labourers who can climb areca trees. Hence I designed a lightweight ladder which can not only stretch for 40 to 50 feet, but also have a firm grip on the ground,” he said. He has so far sold over one lakh ladders.

About his vision problem, he said, “When I started my enterprise, I was able to see the objects if they were very close to me, but my vision deteriorated in the course of time. It is not an obstacle as I have continued to innovate and also improvised the ladder models.”

He has a full-fledged factory in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada which manufactures a range of farm equipment, including ladders, mango/coconut harvesters, sprayer extensions, and arecanut huskers. He has employed 50 people and registers a turnover of about ₹3 crore a year. “According to me, disability is actually a psychological issue and not a physical barrier,” said Mr. Keshava. He is now trying to motivate his 10-year-old son who too is affected by vision problem.

The head of the Agricultural Engineering Department of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, said, “He is the real hero as he has been successfully operating his enterprise despite being visually challenged.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by B S Satish Kumar / February 23rd, 2017

Women folk artistes dance their way into a male bastion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

As many as 600 women artistes will present all major folk forms of the State for three days starting Tuesday. What makes the event special is that many of them are forms traditionally performed only by men.

Marali Janapadakke (back to folklore) on the premises of Ravindra Kalakshetra on Tuesday will have women performing not only Sobane (sung during auspicious occasions like weddings), but also performing Veeragaase and Karadi Majalu rarely performed by women.

According to Pichalli Srinivas, chairperson, Karnataka Janapada Academy, it is an attempt to attract young women to the rich folk art traditions, some of which are on the verge of extinction. All performers are trained by the academy and this will also empower women economically, he said, considering the demand for folk artistes in even events like IPL.

He said that ₹ 1.30 crore has been spent on this project. Folk experts, including Padma Shri award recipient Sukri Bomma Gowda have trained them. Workshops were conducted in five revenue divisions. “All artists will be given folk instruments and costumes to help them perform on their own in future,” Mr. Pichalli said.

“Young girls are now beating Tasharam Dolu, a drum women traditionally were not allowed to touch,” said Mr. Pichalli. Other forms to be displayed include Puravantike, Halakki Suggi, Veeramakkala Kunita, Koragara Dolu, Mulluhejje Kunita, Nandi Dhwaja Kunita, and others.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the three-day programme of the academy to re-invent dying folk art forms on the premises of Ravindra Kalakshetra on Tuesday. Apart from performances, experts in nine traditional folk arts will make a presentation on the richness of various traditions, including Manteswamy, Male Madeshwara, Mylaralinga, Biligiriranga, Halakki and so on.

Transgenders too perform

In what can be described as first attempt of the kind, transgenders have also been trained in folk forms. Over 40 selected transgender artistes in four groups have undergone rigorous training in Goravara Kunita, Veeragaase, and Dollu Kunita. “We hope that this will help the community earn through folk arts,” said Pichalli Srinivas, chairperson, Karnataka Janapada Academy.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bengaluru – February 21st, 2017