Category Archives: Uncategorized
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City’s Senior Gynaecologist Dr.Nirmala passes away
Mysuru :
City’s senior Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and former Professor & Head, Dept. of OBG, JSS Medical College, Dr. G.S. Nirmala (85), daughter of late G. Shankar Chetty, a Public Prosecutor during the old Mysore State and a resident of V.V. Puram, passed away early this morning at Aaditya Hospital following brief illness. Incidentally, today is her 85th birthday.
A spinster, Dr. Nirmala leaves behind a sister, brother and a host of relatives and friends.
Dr. Nirmala was a popular figure in city and was often seen in her vintage black Fiat car.
Dr. S. Sudhir, Senior Surgeon, JSS Hospital, Dr. Mahesh Kumar and Dr. Chitralekha of Chitra Hospital were among those who paid their last respects to the departed soul.
Last rites were performed at the foot of Chamundi Hill in city this afternoon, according to family sources.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 09th, 2016
Anaga for Asian Youth Chess Championships
Mysuru :
Former National U-7 girls champion, K.G. Anaga (in pic) from Kalale, Nangangud Taluk, is representing India in the Under-8 girls section in the Asian Youth Championships to be held at Mongolia from Apr. 5 to 15.
She is a student at Acharaya Vidyakula School, Kalale, Nangangud Taluk and is the daughter of Gopinath, who is a school teacher and her coach.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / April 04th, 2016
The Tuluva Story, Told in 3,000 Exhibits
Bantwal :
The coast is not just about beaches, fish curry and shrines. Thanks to historian Tukaram Poojary, this agrarian town houses a museum showcasing Tulu culture and attracting the attention of experts worldwide.
The Rani Abbakka Tuluva Baduku Adhyayana Kendra (Centre for Research on Tuluva Life and Culture) has on display more than 3,000 objects.
Tukaram Poojary, who teaches history at of SVS College here, is our own Indiana Jones. When he is not teaching, he travels to remote places, looking for objects relating to the history of Tulu life and culture.
“It is not just the objects that interest me but also the historical and social conditions that produce it,” he says.
Ward off Tigers
The museum exhibits a tiger-chasing instrument, perhaps the last in the world. It is meant to drive away tigers, and not to kill them. “It symbolises ahimsa. This region was ruled by Jain chieftains who believed in non-violence,” Poojary says.
The instrument vanished sometime in the 19th century when the British came hunting. They saw tigers as game, and had no qualms about shooting them down.
Another object from the 19th century is a cradle made of five types of wood. “The infant is flanked by two woods, and the head and foot get two other varieties. The bottom, holding the weight of the infant, is made from the wood of the jackfruit tree,” he says.
The wood, interestingly, is used in funeral pyres. Since it is freshly cut, it does not fully burn during the cremation. “Relatives save it to make a cradle,” he explains, hinting at a philosophical cycle of death followed by life.
Daring Rani
The centre is named after the first Tuluva queen Abbakka. Building an army of fishermen, she destroyed the first Portuguese flotilla that arrived on Indian soil.
She is famous for using the flaming arrow for the first time in this part of the country. History talks about three Abbakkas between 1530 and 1599, but the one who defeated the Portuguese at Ullal lived around 1556.
“I have no doubt Rani Abbakka was the first woman general of the Indian struggle against imperialist forces,” says Poojary, comparing her in greatness to Chand Bibi of the Adil Shah lineage and Razia Sultana of Delhi’s lineage of slave rulers.
Some historians say Abbakka is like William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter who led an army against the tyranny of Edward Longshanks, a 13th century English king.
“Though they belonged to different hemispheres, they fought alienation and tyranny. Abbakka’s spirit makes her legacy worthy of a national museum in the land where she lived and fought,” says Poojary.
In 1555, the Portuguese sent Admiral Don Alvaro da Silvereira to fight Abbakka Devi Chowta, queen of Ullal, after she refused to pay them a tribute.
She defied the invaders’ first command. With her army, she set fire to the Portuguese flotilla of galleons with burning arrows.
Arab, Jewish Links
British linguist and historian Elizabeth Lambarn found three objects in the museum sharing their Tulu names with Arabic and Hebrew.
“Petari is a chest for valuables, pataya a place to store grains and spices, and tali a large platter which the Muslims use to eat food together,” historian Tukaram Poojary says.
This shows that the Tuluvas of the Karnataka coast had socio-cultural exchanges with Arabic and Hebrew-speaking countries, he explains.
Poojary’s field trips into the interior parts of the coastal districts are yielding more and more objects. A library of books on Tulu culture, with research papers and anthologies, is also getting bigger.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The News Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by M. Raghuram / April 03rd, 2016
Gandhi Bhavan celebrates Golden jubilee
Mysuru :
“It is distressing to note that the principles preached and practiced by Gandhiji, who is being praised by renowned personalities across the world, are vanishing in the very country where the Mahatma was born,” rued Prof. Ravi Verma Kumar, Senior advocate of Karnataka High Court here this morning.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Gandhi Bhavan of the University of Mysore (UoM), said to be one of the oldest Gandhi Bhavans in India (started in 1965), at Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Senate Bhavan in Manasagangotri in city.
Regretting that many intelligent students at various Universities across the country, who undertake many progressive activities, were being attacked and branded as anti-nationals for fighting for Freedom of Speech and Expression, the senior advocate said if Gandhiji was alive today, even he (Gandhiji) would have been branded as an anti-national.
Veteran freedom fighter and Gandhian Dr. H.S. Doreswamy, President of Karnataka Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, Bengaluru, Dr. H. Srinivasaiah, Mandya Gandhi Bhavan Founder-President Dr. G. Madegowda and Gandhian Shanthi N. Badriah were felicitated on the occasion.
Gandhi Bhavan Director Prof. S. Shivarajappa, UoM Registrar Prof. C. Basavaraju and others were present on the occasion.
About UoM’s Gandhi Bhavan: It has a rich history of association with Gandhians and institutions committed to promoting Gandhian philosophy. It also has a collection of books that date back to the pre-independence era and is in the process of establishing a Gandhi Museum to preserve archival materials belonging to Gandhian era and other documents throwing light on Gandhiji’s works.
The foundation stone for the Gandhi Bhavan in city, which was laid on Sept.9, 1960 by the then Chief Minister B.D.Jatti, was inaugurated by former Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai on Jan.31, 1965.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 01st, 2016
Call for Commemorative Coin, Stamp for UOM
The collection of stamps and coins is a good hobby which a few pursue. One such philatelist-cum-numismatic is S. Amrutesh, who has kept a low profile after settling down in Mysuru. Very keen to know what efforts the University of Mysore (UoM) was doing to bring out the commemorative stamp and coin during its Centenary celebrations, this shy, reticent, passionate collector opened up to Senior Journalist N. Niranjan Nikam to share his rare collection and the journey thus far.—Ed
by N. Niranjan Nikam
If the physically challenged young man had not cajoled me to start the stamp collection, I would never have started this wonderful hobby at all and my life would have been poorer today,” said the tall, erect, shy 83-year-old, even as he started looking at the many stamps and coins, he had spread on the table, through the magnifying glass.
This passionate collector who retired as Manager, Circulation, Times of India, Mumbai, after 36 years of service, settled down in Mysuru almost 24 years ago, was very excited when he heard about the Centenary celebrations of the University of Mysore. He took the stamps of the three Universities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai released in 1957, during their Centenary celebrations and rushed to a Professor in the University asking him whether he could do something to bring a commemorative coin and stamp of our University also.
The philatelist-cum-numismatic was very pleased to hear that the University was making all efforts to bring out both the coin and the stamp this year when it completes its Centenary.
Recalling the days when he first landed in the then Bombay to start his work as an apprentice at the Times of India in 1956, the very calm, composed and reticent S. Amrutesh said, “I used to walk on D.N. Road every evening after work and there were all these stamp dealers who were showcasing their wares in shops and makeshift stands. This boy who was differently-abled and was dealing in stamps of all hues and sizes would change the display every three or four days. One day he called me and asked me whether I collected stamps. I replied in the negative.”
The young man would not leave the passerby alone. He told him, “You just start collecting.” But the problem for Amrutesh was he did not have money to buy the stamps. The dealer asked him how much he could afford and he told him not much. He gave Rs. 60 worth of stamps and asked him to clear it in instalments. “I could afford only Rs. 5 a month for which the young man agreed!” he chuckled.
Asked whether he had any other influence on him, Amrutesh said that his uncle who was a Hindi Professor in the University of Mysore was a collector of stamps. But he always used to show a few collections and immediately hide them. When one is young it is common to show interest in collecting matches, marbles, stamps, coins, peacock feathers, dry leaves and flowers keeping them in-between sheets of books, pencils, pens, erasers, sharpeners and the list can go on.
A majority, however, give it up as one grows and the interests change. The passion for such hobbies is something that one needs to cultivate. “Once when the Gandhi Centenary stamp was released, I stood the whole day in the queue as it snaked its way from the GPO to the VT Station. I finally managed to buy the stamps worth Rs. 50 in the evening at 5.”
There are more than 5,000 stamps in his collection. When one looks at them each one is eye-popping. I was privy to a couple of hundreds only as Amrutesh has stacked them in all available spaces in his home — on the lofts, in the almirahs, in the old aluminium trunks and nooks and corners!
The collection of stamps includes First Day Covers. The Royal Mail First Day Cover issued when it completed 500 years is really eye-catching. The Magna Carta, 1215 — Foundation of Liberty reads, “No Free Man Shall Be Seized or Imprisoned…Except by the Lawful Judgment of his Equals or By The Law of the Land. Magna Carta, 1215.”
There is history, romance, knowledge, ideas and excitement when one embarks on such journeys that last a life time. “One day when my husband was out at work, I got a mail from England from my brother-in-law. In the eagerness to read the letter, I just tore the cover open only to realise that it was a First Day Cover featuring Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s Royal Wedding,” said Jayanthi Amrutesh and added, “I was terrified and grief-stricken to face my husband when he returned. All he did was had tears in his eyes. I promised myself that I would never again repeat the mistake.” But she was happy that her brother-in-law sent a new set which she proudly displayed to me.
Amongst the collections, one which caught my eyes again was the new UN Stamp Supporting Gay Rights, a hot topic these days on LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) which the world body has taken note of. “I had asked my son Karthik who lives in the US to send it to me, once he receives it himself at his home, as I was afraid that if I asked for it directly, it would be stolen, something that I had experienced before,” said Amrutesh.
There is also a special commemorative stamp on Mahatma Gandhi printed on Khadi in 2011, as also on First Man on the Moon-1969. The list of stamps include cinema, sports, defence, musicians, composers, freedom fighters, christmas, soccer, birds, wildlife, politicians, tribes of India, sadhus and seers, actors of the likes of Madhubala, playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar, countries that include Pakistan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.
The brochures that are brought out along with the release of stamps are very informative. For instance, when you read about Nabakalebara, a stamp released in 2015, it gives so much of information that I was inspired to write on it in a Kannada magazine, said Jayanthi.
Coin Collection: Asked when the coin collection began, Amrutesh said that he started collecting them after his retirement. Taking out a collection of coins of England, America and our own country’s old coins which take us back to the ‘good old days,’ when we still used to see the annas, paise (mooru kasu) and the rupee had cent per cent value, Amrutesh said that he has more than 500 coins and still counting.
The Rs. 1000 commemorative coin of Brihadeeshwarar Temple when it completed its 1000 years is a rare collection.
In the present day when hardly anyone writes in post cards, inland letters or airmails, how does one maintain interest in stamps? This question does bother Amrutesh. The attitude of the Postal Department is also something which leaves a lot to be desired.
“The fear of stamps being stolen is always there. Once, I complained to the Royal Mail, England, that I had not received the stamps and the First Day Cover they had sent me. I had written to them after a lot of hesitation thinking that they would ignore my complaint. But I promptly received a fresh set with no questions asked,” he said.
Sadly the same is not true in our country. “I have not received any fresh set of stamps in the last six months. The Post Office in Saraswathipuram is very non-committal,” he added.
He sometimes thinks of quitting but the moment he sees on the internet the stamp on Geological Survey of India released a couple of months ago, “my heart flutters and I feel that I should continue,” said the octogenarian with agony in his voice, even as he answers a phone call from a young stamp collector wanting to know when he is going to get the new set of stamps.
If one is interested in stamp collection, his advise to the collectors is to open a “Philately Deposit Account,” by paying a minimum of Rs. 200 in the Post Office and they would get all the details about the stamps.
However, whether it is philatelist-cum-numismatist Amrutesh, the coin collector R.M. Chetty of the Senior Citizens Forum, Rajarajeshwarinagar or Sanjay Kansal, the coin expert from Delhi — their common interest is to see that the University of Mysore comes out with the Centenary Commemorative Coin and Stamp.
We only hope the Ministries concerned are listening to the call of the collectors.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / March 11th, 2016
Rotary Kadamba Theatre Award for Mandya Ramesh
Mysuru :
Cine actor and Theatre Director Mandya Ramesh has been selected for Rotary Kadamba Theatre Award – 2016, given jointly by Rotary Mysore North and Kadamba Rangavedike.
A native of Mandya, Ramesh, who was interested in theatre since his childhood, was trained at Ninasam. Later, he joined Rangayana under the guidance of B.V. Karanth and worked under directors like C. Basavalingaiah and Prasanna.
He made his debut on silver screen through Shiva Rajkumar starer ‘Janumada Jodi’ and went to act in many movies. Mandya Ramesh won the State Award for Best Supporting Role for the movie ‘Nagamandala.’ He has also built a theatre of his own in Mysuru — ‘Natana Rangamandira’ which has been catering to the needs of many theatre buffs in the city.
The Rotary Kadamba Theatre Award-2016 will be presented by Film Director Nagabharana at a function to be held on Mar. 18 at 6.30 pm, according to a press release from Rajashekara Kadama, President, Kadamba Ranga Vedike.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / March 08th, 2016
Chennabhairadevi, The Pepper Queen of India Who Ruled for 54 Years
Bengaluru :
Stories of kings and queens always attract the young and the old alike. Indian history is abundant with interesting tales of brave queens. In India, where women strive to emulate Sita, and are often docile and meekly submit without resisting , there were valiant women taking up arms against enemies and often succeeded in their attempts. One such brave ruler was Rani Chennabhairadevi, the queen of Gerusoppa, who ruled for 54 years — the longest reign by any Indian woman ruler.
Gerusoppa, situated on the banks of the river Sharavathi in Uttara Kannada, was under the control of the Vijayanagara kings. In the decentralised Vijayanagara empire, various regions were ruled by royal families known as Mahamandaleshwaras. By the early 1550s, Chennabhairadevi, who belonged to the Saluva dynasty, became the queen. As per the inscriptions, her kingdom extended from south of Goa to Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Malabar. This region is known not only for harbours like Bhatkala, Honnavar, Mirjan, Ankola and Baindur but also for pepper.
Honnavar and Bhatkala served as internal and international, flourishing trading centres. Arabian horses and weapons were imported from the West. Pepper, betel nut and nutmeg were exported to European and Arab countries. Chennabhairadevi found herself at confrontation with the neighbouring rival kingdoms as well as the Portuguese. The attempts of the Keladi kings and Bilgi chieftains to pull the queen down proved futile.
The queen had to resist the Portuguese who tried to grab the ports and take over the trade. She was at war with the Portuguese in 1559 and again in 1570. She crushed the Portuguese army with her intelligent battle strategy. One of the Portuguese chronicles states that during the war of 1570, the Portuguese attacked Honnavar and burnt it to the ground. After the decline of Vijayanagar, Chennabhairadevi dealt with the Portuguese diplomatically, who nicknamed her ‘Raina de Pimenta’ — the Pepper Queen.
A letter sheds more light on the importance of pepper trade with the Portuguese. Affonso Mexia, the Portuguese Captain of Cochin, writes to the King of Portugal: “Between Baticala and Goa there are certain places called Onor, Mergen and Ancola, from which I hear 5,000 crusados worth of pepper are annually shipped… These places are under the dominion of Queen of Guarcopa… This pepper is larger than that in Cochin, but is lighter and not so hot. It appears to me that we ought to secure…”
Queen Chennabhairadvi was a Jain. The Chaturmukha Basadi of Gerusoppa is attributed to her. She gave grants to Shaiva and Vaishnava temples too. Saraswath Brahmin businessmen and skilled Konkani craftsmen took shelter in her kingdom to escape Portuguese persecution. Jain scholars Akalanka and Bhattakalaka were under the Queen’s patronage. She is credited with building the Mirjan Fort and is believed to have lived there for several years.
The Keladi and Bilgi chiefs adopted ‘Unity is Strength’ formula. Matrimonial alliances brought these two families together. The combined forces of Keladi and Bilgi attacked Gerusoppa, finally defeating the Queen. Gerusoppa came under the control of Keladi. The ageing queen was taken prisoner to Keladi and she breathed her last in prison. If the strategy of unity was adopted against the foreign intruders, India’s history could have been different.
Queen Chennabhairadevi projects herself as a powerful woman, when other women stayed indoors under submission. She was the contemporary of the Queen Elizabeth I of England and succeeded in ruling for the longest period against all odds.