Category Archives: Uncategorized

Merc club rolls out in city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Uncategorized
Some 60 Benz owners and authorised mechanics have come together to share expertise on the art of Mercedes maintenance 

K Subramani, 65, would always wonder why Benz classic car owners hadn’t got together, like the Yezdi or the Enfield group, despite there being a sizeable population of Merc owners in Bangalore. He need not wonder any more.

The Mercedes Benz India Group was formed a fortnight back with an initial membership of 60 in Bangalore and 200-odd members all over the country, to bring together passionate auto enthusiasts who want to preserve the classic cars. And Subramani, who has been driving his special edition w140 S500 Merc for 14 years, is one of the seniormost members.

The group, which has also roped in authorised Merc mechanics, has already met once. “We believe in encouraging, sharing, supporting, and enabling newbies and mature auto enthusiasts through the maze of the Indian classic and vintage scene. We have members across all age groups who will meet once a month with their classics. The group’s motto is to empower and equip the average enthusiast to enjoy motoring,” says Pramod Monnappa, committee member.
Apart from planning rallies, the once-a-month meet is aimed at sharing ideas and expertise, tackling problems, high governance standard and all activity related to preservation.
According to Nandish Palrecha, owner of a 1994 S320 w140, who is into retailing and distributing mobile phones, those whose cars are as old as 20 years come under the niche group. There are around 20 varieties ofclassics which are 15-20 years old.
“A Merc is generally the first point of success and is still the most sought-after vehicle. Our group has a healthy mix of people and seniors come with a lot of experience,’’ says Palrecha.
For Subramani, MD of United Exports which exports silk furnishings, his 14-year-old bullet-proof limousine is his second car. “I got to know about the group through Nandish,” he said. “At the first meet, we exchanged views about the problems, and how they can be solved without going to the garage. In fact, the Merc is a simple car and a lot of the problems can be fixed with the help of the internet,’’ he said.
In all these years, not once has Subramani thought of changing his 12-cylinder, petrol-driven car. “My bullet-proof limousine is exceptionally good and I will change it only if S600 is released in India,’’ he signs off.
To know more, contact: nandishpal@gmail or nikhil0673@gmail.

source: http://www.BangaloreMirror.com / Home> News> City> Story / by S. Kushala (kushala.satyanarayana@timesgroup.com / Monday, October 08th, 2012

A toast to The Lalit Ashok’s chefs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Uncategorized

What better way to celebrate an occasion than over food and wine with friends. And so, when it was time to celebrate the achievements of certain chefs in the city, Bangalore’s glitterati headed to The Lalit Ashok to make it an evening of fun and bonhomie.

Everyone raised a toast to Chef Nimish Bhatia, who was recently promoted as the Corporate Executive Chef, and cheered for Chef Subodh Goyal who is the hotel’s new Executive Chef.

The city’s gourmets enjoyed a delectable spread as they reminisced over their favourite memories with Chef Bhatia. We spotted stand up comic Rubi entertaining her friends while Abhay, Alok and Rishad were also seen having a good time with their pals.

source: http://www.articles.indiatimes.com / Home> Life & Style> Parties / TNN, October 07th, 2012

City Doctor-Couple awarded in the US for contribution to Ayurveda

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology, Uncategorized

Captions: 1) Dr. N.V. Krishnamurthy (left) receiving the award. 2) Dr. Poornima Krishnamurthy receiving the award.

Mysore, Oct.6:

City’s doctor couple Dr. N.V. Krishnamurthy and Dr. Poornima Krishnamurthy, Directors and Chief Consultants of Prajna Kuteera Ayurveda Centre and Abhijna International Academy of Ayurveda and Yoga, Mysore, were presented the Aryabhata award for excellence in ayurveda research and Dharma award for outstanding contribution to promotion of ayurveda globally, respectively.

The awards were presented to the couple at a glittering ceremony at Los Angeles, USA recently by AAPNA (Association of Ayurveda Professionals of North America). The ceremony was a part of the 4th Intl. Ayurveda Conference on Skin, Spa and Beauty at Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Poornima was also conferred upon the ‘Vachaspathi Award 2012’ for her presentation on The Beauty Concepts in Ayurveda, a paper prepared based on extensive research and documentation over the years. Her paper presentation was adjudged the best amongst all presentations from ayurveda practitioners who had attended from all over the world.

The couple, both gold medallists from the University of Mysore, are prominent scholars in ayurveda and yoga. They have been treating generic and degenerative diseases of patients from all over the world. Dr. Krishnamurthy is also the Head of the Department of PG Studies in Panchakarma at JSS Ayurveda Medical College.

Their medical institutions Prajna Kuteera and Abhijna Academy in Ramakrishnanagar and Keragalli have been rendering yeomen service to needy patients. The institutions are a part of Swami Vivekananda Research Institute of Medical Sciences and Rural Development Centre, Mysore

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / October 06th, 2012

India’s Karnataka begins electronic auction sales of manganese ore

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Uncategorized

Singapore (Platts)

Indian state-owned trading company MSTC Ltd has begun electronic auction sales of minehead stocks of manganese ore available with Karnataka miner Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores (Smiore).

The auctions are on the lines of the iron ore e-auction sales the trader has been holding in the southern Indian state since September 2011.

An estimated 25,000-30,000 mt/month of manganese ore is expected to be auctioned over the next two to three months, Platts learnt from the Indian Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, which is overseeing the auction.

The first e-auction for manganese ore was held on September 21 in which some 27,560 mt were sold, a Bangalore-based monitoring committee official told Platts. The second auction is yet to be scheduled but is planned for the third week of October. Smiore has about 80,000 mt of manganese ore stock available to be auctioned over the next three to four months, the official added.

In the September 21 auction, the booking price of most cargoes was at a premium of about 25% on average over the respective floor price for lot sizes of 500 mt. Larger-sized cargoes were mostly sold at floor price levels, bid documents show.

The floor price for ore cargoes containing 36-68% Mn had been set at Rupee 6,500/mt ($125/mt). A 500 mt lot of this ore grade was sold at Rupee 7,950/mt and another at Rupee 7,800/mt.

A 4,012 mt cargo of the same ore grade was auctioned at Rupee 6,500/mt to SAIL Refractory Unit, a part of state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (Sail). All prices are on ex-stockyard basis. Royalty charges of 4.2%, VAT of 4%, and forest development tax of 12% are additional.

Smiore had been forced to suspend manganese mining operations in addition to iron ore production when Karnataka’s mining ban took effect in August 2011.

Prior to the ban, the company had had environmental clearances to mine up to 600,000 mt/year of manganese ore though production itself had averaged only 300,000 mt/year.

With the Indian Supreme Court and allied investigative authorities reassessing ore production limits in the wake of the illegal mining scandal in the state, Smiore would be permitted to mine only up to 180,000 mt/year of manganese ore when it is allowed to resume mining operations, a Bangalore-based company official told Platts.

It could take another two months for Smiore to resume manganese ore production, the official added.

Smiore operates a 4,000 mt/month silico-manganese smelter at Vyasanakere in Karnataka’s Bellary district, some 60-70 km east of Sandur. The works hosts two furnaces of about 2,000 mt/month capacity each but only one furnace is presently operational, producing about 1,500-2,000 mt/month of silicon manganese, the official said. The furnace is fed with manganese ore from stocks presently available with Smiore.

Although MSTC has been conducting e-auction sales for Karnataka-origin iron ore since September 2011, it was only in May this year that the Supreme Court permitted the sale of silico-manganese ore from Smiore’s stocks, Platts noted from the company’s announcement to the Bombay stock exchange earlier this year.

Only domestic end-users are permitted to bid in the auction sales while traders and exporters are barred from participation.

source: http://www.platts.com / Singapore (Platts) / Home> News & Analysis /  October 03rd, 2012

–Anitha Krishnan, anitha_krishnan@platts.com –Martin O’Rourke, martin_orourke@platts.com

KVG Bank opens all-woman branch in Dharwad

Business & Economy, Uncategorized
Hubli, SEPT. 30:

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVG Bank) opened its all-woman brach at Malamaddi in Dharwad.

According to Muralinath Gupta, general manager, KVG Bank, “Women form an important part of our organisation and we have converted one operational branch as women branch.”

Shilpadevi Shettar, wife of Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, opened the branch.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Industry & Economy> Banking / by Our Bureau / September 30th, 2012

Pasha, the Jumbo Tailor

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel, Uncategorized

The Dasara elephant gracefully carries the ambari weighing about 800 kgs during Jumboo Savari, unmindful of its pain and irritation to the skin. However, there is a caretaker for the jumbo, who sees to it that the gentle giant does not get hurt in the process of carrying the howdah. The success of whole Dasara procession lies on his craftsmanship.

Elephant tailor Pasha, who stitches the gaadi, namda, chaapu for placing the howdah on the back of the pachyderm, works gently with the awl (large needle) ensuring that the elephant does not get injured.

His work is not an easy one, which should be carried out with patience. He first measures the length and breadth of the elephant’s back and then stitches the accessories.

Pasha was entrusted the job in 1971. Though he officially retired in 2006, the Forest Department seeks his skills every year for this unique work of stitching the decorative and protective covering for not only the howdah-carrying elephant but also for all other jumbos taking part in the procession.

Before retiring, he was the mahout of elephant ‘Sarala.’ His guru Sulthan Saab was the mahout of ‘Biligiriranga’ which carried the howdah in the jumboo savari earlier. He began stitching gaadi when he was a young boy and then went on to sew gaadi to Rajendra, Drona and now Balarama, Gajendra and other elephants.

Pasha is now passing on his tailoring skills to Balarama’s mahout Thimma, Arjuna’s mahout Vasantha and Masthi, mahout of Abhimanyu. Though his successors are now ready, Pasha hesitates to leave his favourite vocation.

Pasha’s life has not been a rosy one. Once an angry elephant broke his knee when he was in Bangalore for Rajyotsava function. After the incident, fearing his so

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Feature Articles / September 25th, 2012

Thambis celebrate 178 years in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Uncategorized

Bangalore:

They were one of the earliest settlers who made Bangalore Cantonment their home. The Madras Sappers came here in 1834 and this year, the Madras Engineer Group & Centre is celebrating its 232 years since raising and 178 years in Bangalore.

As you walk into the campus of the MEG & Centre on the banks of Ulsoor Lake, you can spot the series of milestones that make its evolution. From battles in Egypt in the early 17{+t}{+h} century to the Seringapatnam battle, Sappers have had a wide reach.

They took ‘Bangalore’ to the world much before IT happened. The city became a common word among World War I and II when Sappers invented the Bangalore torpedo. These were long tubes filled with explosives which could clear minefields and enemy barbwires.

During the Kargil conflict, Sappers scaled hostile heights and cleared the ground littered with mine and other obstacles for other troops.

They played a pioneering role in Bangalore’s development. They built many buildings in Cantonment, including the Oriental Building and BRV Theatre. They still desilt Ulsoor Lake regularly and play a prominent role in preserving the water body.

“As Sappers, we are primarily combat engineers. Our job is to ensure the momentum and mobility of our own troops and to delay and restrict advance of our adversary. From the era of handling and planting explosives, constructing bridges quickly, over the years we have graduated to modern warfare where nations are strengthening their nuclear capabilities,” said Lt Col Sanjay Sharma, who looks after training at MEG & Centre.

“A recruit is made to undergo rigorous training and the overall development as a combat engineer and an intellectual warrior is monitored with precision. On successful completion of training here, a Sapper could be posted anywhere in the country — from the highest battlefield in the world, Siachen, the desert of Rajasthan or jungles of North-East India,” he added.

Distinctive headgear

In the early days, Madras Sappers comprised soldiers mostly from South India and the men were referred to as ‘Thambi’ (younger brother in Tamil). “Over the years, we’ve had people from North India too but even a man from Punjab or Rajasthan is called a Thambi,” said an officer of the regiment.

The Sappers’ headgear is a gift from the Cheshire Regiment during the battle of Meanee in 1743. They adopted the headgear since then.

Filed by: Arun/ Cleared by: S Prasad/es

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN, by Arun Dev / September 28th, 2012

Making a real difference

Amazing Feats, Education, Leaders, Records, All, Uncategorized

Muscat:

He’s one of the wealthiest men in the world -“ he’s India’s third wealthiest man and the world’s 36th -“ but what gives Wipro chairman Azim Premji immense joy and fulfillment is devoting time and money to philanthropy.

That, of course, is evident through the innumerable acts of generosity he has indulged in all through the 40 years he has headed Wipro. Premji, in fact, is one of the first industrialists in India to devote a significant portion of his wealth to philanthropy (he donated $2 billion for the purpose of improving education). This money has been used for activities of the Azim Premji Foundation that works to promote education in rural India as well as the Azim Premji University in Bangalore.

For Azim Premji, the chairman of Indian multinational Wipro, social responsibility is a serious vocation, which is why they have appointed a full time CEO for their philanthropy movement, as he revealed to Times of Oman in an exclusive interview, while also lavishing high praise on the Oman government for creating a business-friendly environment . /Photo by Jun Estrada


The Wipro founder, who considers social responsibility his greatest duty in life, sheds light on his philosophy of philanthropy thus: “I have been lucky to have created quite a lot of wealth and feel that it should be used for the betterment of the society.-

Azim Premji was in Oman recently on an official visit when Times of Oman caught up with him.

Why this emphasis on education?
Premji replied, “We figured that we have a certain social responsibility and decided to focus on one area. So we focused on education. Through our foundation we focused on school education in the villages of India. Since the beginning, we worked in close partnership with various authorities, to help contribute to the improvement of the quality of education. We found the need for change and the need for improvement in the education sector was the most pressing there. That’s why we’ve been single mindedly focusing on education for the last 10 to 11 years and the good thing is that we have found success.-

Informing that the group is scaling up its operations now, Premji said, “We are using Azim Premji University for training teachers and for training in leadership and community development. We are taking young people with about two to three years experience, preferably from small towns, in the hope that at the end of the two-year course they’ll go back and use the learning in leadership in the places they come from.-
The university, he informed, has around 68 world class professors on the role.

“We have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the talent we have been able to recruit. This goes to show that if we want to do sustained and honest work, people want to be part of the team. They think there’s a lot of pride, learning, and a sense of being able to contribute to that atmosphere,- he explained.
Premji believes that good education is crucial to building a just, fair, compassionate and sustainable society.

“We want to contribute significantly towards improvement of education in India, and through that towards building a better society. Next year we plan to launch a four-year bachelors’ programme.-

He is happy that his team has been making a difference.
“Our programme, called Wipro Applying Thought in School, has covered a million programmes so far accumulatively. The intent of this initiative is to improve the quality of education -“ so that opportunities and possibilities are expanded for everyone.-

Talking about a programme called Mission 10X launched in 2007 for engineering schools, Premji said, “India sees around 700,000 engineers graduate every year of which only a third are employable by the industry. The rest are not employable because the curriculum is primarily not current and professors are not taught well or up to date on technology. The Mission10X is basically a not-for-profit initiative created by Wipro to enhance employability skills of engineering graduates.-
Wipro has dedicated some 15 full time professors for this purpose from its training and leadership institute.

“We have also covered 30,000 professors. We feel if we can bring up the quality of teaching in the engineering students, the quality of students will improve, which in turn will result in the eligible students going up by 50 per cent,- he explained.
As for the philanthropy meet Premji hosted along with Bill Gates and Ratan Tata in Bangalore recently, he said, “This will be an annual event with workshops in between. There is a lot of wealth in our country. So we thought let’s together assemble corporates that have shown a track record of philanthropy and get some common understanding with them.

“We started off with this thought and now, as per the need, we have appointed a full time CEO for this philanthropy movement. Four to five of us are funding in terms infrastructure and people cost. We have formed four groups (education, healthcare, water and agriculture). Each group has a chairman who is a member of the large core group. We’ll have small workshops throughout the year so that more specialised discussion can take place.

“We are satisfied with the interest we got and what we are doing. We are all serious people because we didn’t want a tamasha. We had shown a track record of doing serious work and we hope to see success. We have started and plan to expand it. But we hope to do something which has a possibility of success.-

Recently, his wife, Yasmeen Premji, launched her first book, Days of Gold and Sepia and Azim Premji looks very proud of this endeavour. “I have read the book twice. It is an interesting book which is well written. I am not saying that because she is my wife. It has to be good; she has taken 20 years to write it,- he told Times of Oman.

On investing in India, Pemji said, “I think you have to have faith in India. It is a sound democracy. The voter is mature. Besides, the leadership is there in the country so it can change or get modified. Politicians can see the threat of survival and change themselves in terms of survival. Overall, I am optimistic. Besides, we wouldn’t be investing so much in India if we were frightened.-

About his impressions about Oman, he said, “I think it’s a country which has a great future. Government and companies are open to do business here, which is why they are open to meet companies.-

And at this note, he concluded: “I will back to Oman within a year.-

source: http://www.TimesofOman.com / Home> News / by Mrudu Naik, mrudu@timesofoman.com / September 13th, 2012

Paintings of Tipu’s death & Hindu temple for auction at UK

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Uncategorized

Mysore, Sept. 12

Mullock’s Auctions, United Kingdom, will be auctioning a selection of Indian artifacts, some after the annexation of Mysore by the British, including an important 18th century watercolour of a Hindu Temple and a painting of Tipu Sultan on Sept. 27 at Ludlow Racecourse, Shropshire, UK. A British School painting depicting death of Tipu Sultan dating to 1828 is expected to fetch 2000 – 3000 pounds.

Another 18th century water-colour painting of Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple in Mysore by British artist Lt. James Hunter will also be auctioned. James Hunter was a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery under Cornwallis during the Third Anglo-Mysore War where British and Company troops defeated Tipu Sultan.

The watercolor was published in the book Picturesque Views in the Kingdom of Mysore in 1804 and is expected to fetch between £600 to £800. Other notable pieces include several early books on Mahatma Gandhi and historical documents relating to India.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / September 12th, 2012

Sample mouth-watering sweets

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Uncategorized

When it comes to South Indian sweets, Dharwad pedas are something that one craves for. The sweet has become a brand in itself.


And for nearly 14 years, ‘Mishra Sweets’, located opposite Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, has been sourcing authentic Dharwad pedas from Dharwad for its customers. But that’s not all, this old sweet shop has a lot more to offer.

It has traditional sweets like kaju katli, boondi ladoo, gulab jamun, Mysore pak, sohan papdi and modern ones like Horlicks barfi, Cadbury burfi and Mango barfi.

Anyone who comes here for the first item, goes for the Dharwad mishra peda.
Ajay Hari Dubey, who runs the shop, says that in all these years, he has never compromised on the quality of ingredients or the taste.

“Honesty is important for us,” says Ajay, while adding, “And it is that honesty that reflects in the sweets as well.”

Apart from the pedas, customers also prefer other traditional sweets like kardant, which is made of pure ghee, jaggery, coconut and dry fruits.

“Even the kunda is very popular here. This is a popular Belgaum sweet, which is prepared from milk and khowa,” explains Ajay. The crowd pours in as early as nine in the morning and during festivals, the place is filled with  regulars who come for pedas and other traditional items.

“Since we don’t make Dharwad pedas here, we generally take orders a day or two in advance and source it to our customers,” says Ajay.

Though the sweet shop is located on the main road and parking could be a bit of a hassle, Ajay says that majority of his customers are people who live in and around the neighbourhood.

“When we first moved in here, we were the only sweet shop in the locality. But now the City has changed and so has the area. The floating crowd is very rare. Most of our customers are regulars, who have been coming here for a long time,” he adds.
Within a year of the opening of the store, namkeens and chaats too were included in the menu.

Chakalis, mixtures and samosas and kachoris are made here itself and sold fresh. “We also have the regular chaats like masala puri, paani puri, dahi puri and sev puri,” says Ajay.

Soon the eatery is planning to expand by offering its customers bakery items as well. “There is always scope for improvement but for us at ‘Mishra Sweets’, the mantra has always been to be honest in whatever we do or serve,” wraps up Ajay.
‘Mishra Sweets’ is located at No 28, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, Opposite the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium. For details, call 22124988

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> Metrolife / by Megha Shenoy / September 08th, 2012