Category Archives: Records, All

First Gujarati Leader in America

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Sir,

The occasion of Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to the US brings to mind “Virchand Raghavji Gandhi,” a barrister and religious scholar, who is widely regarded as “the first Gujarati leader to make a public visit to the US.”

A prized archival photograph showing “Virchand Gandhi (turbaned at extreme left) with Swami Vivekananda with a flowing turban in the centre at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893.”
A prized archival photograph showing “Virchand Gandhi (turbaned at extreme left) with Swami Vivekananda with a flowing turban in the centre at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893.”

Virchand Gandhi (1864-1901) represented Jainism at the World’s Parliament of Religions (Chicago, 1893), where Swami Vivekananda made his immortal speech. Virchand Gandhi delivered more than 500 lectures on religion and philosophy across the US and Europe, and is often hailed as the Father of American Jainism.

Mrs. Howard, an American woman, became his foremost disciple, almost like Sister Nivedita in the case of Swami Vivekananda, and was among the first converts to the tenets of Jainism under his influence.

—S. G. Seetharam

Gita Road

25.9.2014

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Voice of the Reader / Tuesday,  September 30th,  2014

PIO’s thesis to detail sex workers’ life in Mumbai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

Mangalore  :

India-born German Chaya Maria Schupp, who has been searching for her biological mother from the past decade, is also another mission — documenting the lives of sex workers in Mumbai.

She is pursuing her doctorate thesis on the subject as part of an exchange programme between the University of Kassel, Germany, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The thesis will document the lives of women in the red-light areas of Mumbai and how they cope with home and work.

Chaya, who started working on her thesis in 2011, plans to submit it early next year. “Only half of the work is done. I have interviewed countless sex workers and have come to understand their plight,” she said.

The major focus of her thesis is to study the system. Though Germany has many red-light districts, Chaya does not want to comment on it or compare it with the one in Mumbai.

According to her, women have been pushed into sex trade majorly due to poverty and violence at home. “There are different hues of women I have seen. Many of those who have joined voluntarily due to poverty do not enjoy it. Some come to make a fast buck. Some are forced into it. Some are happy and others unhappy,” said Chaya, who has studied women’s issues. “I like to study issues affecting women. My focus has been violation of women’s rights,” she said.

Chaya was six when she was adopted by a German couple.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / Stanley Pinto, TNN / October 03rd, 2014

Dasara milking contest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

Bangalore cow bags first place, yields 30.9 kgs milk

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Mysore :

Bangalore cow bagged the first place in the cow milking competition organised by the Raitha Dasara Sub- Committee as part of Dasara festivities held at J.K. Grounds in city yesterday.

The cows were milked twice, once in the morning and once in the evening and the measurements were totalled in which Lakshman Hogebandi of Bangalore emerged as winner.

Results: Lakshman Hogebandi of Bangalore won the first place by milking a total of 30 Kgs and 900 grams. Second place was bagged by Jagadish of Mysore who milked 30 Kgs and 300 grams. Third place was bagged by Satish of Naganahalli, who milked 28 Kgs and 800 grams and the fourth place went to Bangalore resident Byanna Lohit Yadav, who milked 26 Kgs and 850 grams.

Prizes were given away by Co-operation Minister H.S. Mahadevaprasad in the presence of ZP President Dr. Pushpa Amarnath, Corporator D. Nagabhushan, Jt. Director of the Dept. of Animal Husbandry Venkatesh, Dr. Shashidhar and others.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General  News / Monday,  September 29th,  2014

Bhavan’s another achievement

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

Pages from History

Former Governor Rama Jois (extreme left) is seen with Governor Vajubhai Vala, BVB Bangalore Chairman N. Ramanuja, Mysore Chairman Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy during the release of e-Book at Bangalore.
Former Governor Rama Jois (extreme left) is seen with Governor Vajubhai Vala, BVB Bangalore Chairman N. Ramanuja, Mysore Chairman Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy during the release of e-Book at Bangalore.

by Prof. A.V. Narasimhamurthy

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 was a great day for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) in general and those of Bangalore and Mysore in particular because on that day our new Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala released e-Books of 11 volumes of English original of the History and Culture of the Indian People prepared directly under the direction of Kulapati K.M. Munshiji and the Kannada translation of the same 11 volumes prepared under my Editorship at Mysore. The latter is in 25 volumes. This has a background of its own. Sixty years ago Munshiji observed that there was no history of India written by a competent person or persons. The so-called histories attempted by individuals were far from satisfactory. Some were written from colonial angle while others were written by nationalist angle. Some others were to highlight either the Hindu or Muslim community or British contribution. Cambridge History of India was started to remedy these defects but it had a major problem of the paucity of competent writers to write on Indian history. Thus, it also languished. Many other smaller attempts do not merit serious attention.

At that juncture came Munshiji who felt the inadequacy of so-called Indian histories. He did not keep quiet murmuring over it but thought of tackling the problem in all seriousness. He strongly felt that Indian past should be described by her own historians so that they might catch a glimpse of her soul as Indians see it. In his own words as a result I have seen and felt the form, continuity and the meaning of the Indian past. History as I see it is continuously lived by Indians. Attempts to comprehend what has happened in the past forms no small part of our modern struggle. There is a conscious as well as an unconscious attempt to carry life to perfection to join the fragments of existence and to discuss the meaning of the visions which they reveal. It is not enough, therefore, to conserve, record and understand what happened; it is necessary also to assess the nature and direction of the momentous forces working through the life of India in order to appreciate the fulfilment which they seek.

He further elaborated it by stating the scope of history as follows: To be a history in the true sense of the word, the work must be the story of the people inhabiting the country. It must be a record of their life from age to age practiced through the life and achievements of men whose experiences become the beacon light of tradition, physical and economic conditions, political changes and vicissitudes which create the forces and conditions which operate upon life through characteristic social institutions, beliefs through literacy and artistic achievements through movements which helped or hindered the growth of collective harmony to make it an organic unity. Thus it must unfold the values which age after age have inspired the inhabitants to develop their culture and express it. Such a history of India is yet to be written !

In Indian parlance, history is Itihasa meaning as it happened in the past. It means that history is a record of events as they happened. Munshiji not only understood these principles but put them into practice. Another significant contribution of Munshiji is the way in which these volumes were planned and executed. He gave adequate importance to political history but gave more prominence to cultural history. He recognised various periods in the writing of our history from Vedic Age to the history of freedom struggle. This has attracted the historians all over the world.

It is practically impossible for a single historian, however scholarly he may be, to write a full history of India. That is why he picked up the best sixty scholars of that period to write different aspects. For example K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, a great scholar in South Indian history, was entrusted with the responsibility of writing on South Indian history and culture. Habibullah was requested to write on Muslim polity. This gave authenticity to the various chapters. That is sterling quality of the entire series. R.C. Majumdar was a towering personality in the study of Indian history of that period and naturally he was given the responsibility of being the Chief Editor. It is an education by itself to read the foreword or preface written by him to each of these volumes.

Munshiji had pointed out certain defects. We were told about the successive foreign invasions but little about how we resisted them and less about our victories. We were taught to decry Hindu Social system but nothing about how it brought about a synthesis of cultural forces. Alexandar’s short-lived invasion was described in glorious terms but nothing about how it failed to produce any tangible results on us. The heroic rule of Samudragupta, Harsha were discussed in a summary fashion but details were described of the bloody thirsty invasions of various periods. Our struggle for Independence was given the name Sepoy Mutiny to undermine its influence. The British historians cleverly introduced the concept of divide and rule and highlighted the part played by Dravidians against the Aryans, the Muslims and even the British. Dissatisfied by all these mistakes Munshiji planned and accomplished eleven volumes of our history. This has not been surpassed so far and as it appears now, this may not happen at all. Thus it may be considered as the magnum opus of Kulapati K.M. Munshiji.

It was the good fortune of Vidya Bhavan that Chief Justice E.S. Venkataramaiah (ESV), who was the chairman of BVB, Bangalore, showed great interest in this project. He felt that the benefit of the message of Munshiji should be made available to the Kannada readers. It was my good fortune that I was selected to be the Chief Editor of Kannada volumes in 25 parts. The first volume was released in 1997 and ESV passed away. Fortunately, N. Ramanuja of HMT fame took over the Chairmanship of BVB, Bangalore and he evinced active interest in the scheme and it was completed as planned, under the title Bharatiya Janateya Itihasa Mattu Samskriti. Dr. Mathoor Krishnamurthy and H.N. Suresh, present Director, gave full support for this project. It was completed in 2005 after eight years.

In accordance with the modern development, these 25 volumes were planned in e-book in a single disc under the guidance of N. Ramanuja. The entire project was supported financially by M.P. Birla Institute of Management and the work was done with the help of Arjun of Sriranga Digitals. This fine work was released by the Governor of Karnataka. On that day, I was sitting by his side along with Ramanuja. He praised me and appreciated my efforts being the Chief Editor of the Kannada volumes and asked many clarifications. I was impressed by his simple living and high thinking. In his speech he said that it is my good fortune to be sitting by the side of a scholar and looked at me. I became overwhelmed by affection when the Governor said, ‘Professor you may take as much time as you want but tell us about history.’ Ramanuja and I requested him to pay a visit to BVB, Mysore and he readily agreed. Thus, we are waiting for the visit of the Governor to Mysore Bhavan shortly. Thus, I had a pleasant and useful occasion after spending about three months in America. Lastly, I bow to Kulapati K.M. Munshiji for this great opportunity.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Sunday,  September 28th,  2014

Global demand for humble charakas

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, World Opinion

Bangalore-based company is the only in Karnataka to obtain permission to make the miniature models

The 145 Gandhi Jayanthi will be special for 6,500 children of Sri Vani Education Centre in Rajaji Nagar, as they will receive a miniature model of a charaka (spinning wheel).

Bangalore-based Swadesh Enterprises, the only company in Karnataka to obtain permission from Khadi Bhandar Sabarmati in Gujarat to make miniature models, has taken the responsibility of handling this big order.

Swadesh Enterprises started as a small venture by Sri Charan Bhaskarachar three years ago. It now employs 25 workers crafting six models of charakas at a unit at Banavara in Chikmagalur district. The charakas are gifted as mementos in India and abroad.

“We receive orders from Indian consulates across the globe. Recently, we received a huge order from the consulate in Peru,” says Mr. Sri Charan.

Miniature models crafted by him were presented to United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited India recently.

What made Mr. Sri Charan, a documentary film maker, switch over to making miniature model of charakas? A native of Bhadravathi, he was influenced by Gandhian ideals as his father Khadhi Bhaskarachar was a staunch follower of the Father of the Nation.

Once he needed a charaka for a documentary. It was after much difficulty that he got one made. It was then that he decided to switch to making charakas. Initially, he crafted every component with wood. But this made spinning difficult. Then he opted for a steel spindle. Everyone, including officials of Khadi Gramodyoga, appreciated his model. To meet the increasing demand, he established Swadesh Enterprises. “Now I make over 3,000 pieces a month,” he says.

The charaka has become a most sought-after memento at public functions. “While a micro model costs Rs. 500, a bigger one crafted with teak will cost Rs. 5,000. Some demand charakas fitted in hand-crafted boxes, which costs a bit more,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bangalore – October 02nd, 2014

Country’s First Electric Bus Launched in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel
BMTC launched an electric bus at Shantinagar Bus Station on Thursday; Right: A view of the interiors | Sudhakara Jain
BMTC launched an electric bus at Shantinagar Bus Station on Thursday; Right: A view of the interiors | Sudhakara Jain

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) introduced the country’s first electric zero-emission bus in the city on Thursday.

Although the bus has been in Bangalore for over a month now, it was officially launched by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy after getting the required permissions from the Transport Department.

The bus will run on a trial basis for the next three months. During this time, it will operate along various routes, beginning with one from Majestic to Kadugodi that is likely to cost `80.

Plans are also afoot to run the bus along the airport routes. The charging point for the bus is at the Volvo depot at Majestic.

“We will study whether the bus is economical and if it can function efficiently in the city. When the battery is fully charged (six hours), the bus can run for about 250 km, which is ideal for BMTC. However, this needs to be tested. We also need to see how it fares on various roads in the city and which routes are best suited to operate the bus,” said BMTC managing director Anjum Parvez.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that though the bus is expensive, it is likely to be a good deal as a long-term investment.

“The bus costs about `2.7 crore and this is expensive. But this is one bus in the entire country. Once the demand for the bus goes up and more people express interest in purchasing it, the rates are likely to come down. Moreover, the research and development wings of various bus manufacturers are working on this and it is some only time before the initial cost of the bus is reduced,” he said.

When asked if the state government would be willing to share the cost or offer subsidies, Reddy said, “We will consider various options if the bus is found to be suitable for the city. At present, it is on a three-month trial and following this, a decision will be taken on whether or not to purchase the bus,” he said. He added that what was important was that pollution levels would be brought down by using electric buses, hybrid or CNG-operated buses. The bus, manufactured by Build Your Dreams (BYD), was brought to India by Utopia Pvt Ltd. At least 5,000 such buses are operational in countries such as the United States, Netherlands, Switzerland and some European countries.

GOING GREEN

Zero emission

No oil required

Costs Rs 2.7 crore (Volvo Rs 88 lakh)

Fare from Majestic to Kadugodi – Rs 80

Runs for 250 km with 6 hours of charging

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service- Bangalore / February 28th, 2014

London: Mangalorean Keith Lobo bags English Asian Business Award

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

by Raj Francis Pereira – UK

London :

Keith Lobo, son of Richard and Christine Lobo of London is the first Mangalorean to win the prestigious English Asian Business Award for the year 2014. This event was compered by the Lloyds Banking Group on 29th of September 2014 at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester UK.

The “English Asian Business Awards” is awarded to accolade the resoluteness, strenuous effort and personal achievements of English Asian Business men and women at the forefront of their industries. Each year, the competition has become more excruciating as the event itself has grown into a highly reverenced occurrence, where the best and most effulgent are adored.

KeithLoboBF02oct2014

Businesses from across the UK gathered at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester to celebrate success at this year’s Lloyds Banking Group English Asian Business Awards. There were 16 awards presented, a triumpher from each category. Keith Lobo was a finalist in the new business of the year category.

Over 300 attendees, including golden glove champion and actor Joe Egan, Author Fiaz Rafiq and DJ Noreen Khan, the black tie event was hosted by Miss United Kingdom Supranational, Rachelle Perez along with businessman and chef director at Mushtaq’s Restaurant, Ajmal Mushtaq.

Attending the black tie event on the night the judges decided who the victor was, they had secret shoppers and researchers scouting the business who were finalist. Within the catergory the other finalist were the following:

New Business of the Year award is for a business which has been prosperously operating for approximately 24 months and was set up despite the negativity that subsists in the current climate. The following were the nominees under the incipient business category.

LOBO Meat & Poultry (London)

Timber Door Merchants (Keighley)

Tipu Sultan (Birmingham)

GMR (Birmingham)

Usortd.com (London)

Scarlet Bindi (London)

Gift Wellness.co.uk (Derby)

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Keith Lobo of Lobo Meat & Poultry was announced the winner for new business of the year 2014 in the evening. A very jubilant Keith Lobo accepted the award. In his brief speech he expressed his thanks to his parents for their fortification and being such a great inspiration. He also thanked his wife Sushma Lobo for being a woman behind his success.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Raj Francis Pereira – UK , London October 02nd 2014 / DaijiWorld.com – Thursday, October 02nd, 2014

A red letter day

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

Looking overjoyed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was clapping persistently till he moved to make the announcement, was effusive in his praise of ISRO scientists for making India the “first” country to succeed in its maiden attempt to reach the Red Planet. Addressing scientists and engineers of ISRO at its Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) facility here said the organization has achieved the “near impossible,” and prevailed though the “odds were stacked against us.” “Of the 51 missions attempted across the world so far, a mere 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed.” Indian scientists, through their hard work and dedication, had stretched the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination. He described the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) as an indigenous pan-Indian effort, stretching from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar, and Faridabad to Rajkot.

Mr. Modi said the efforts of India’s space scientists are deepening governance, strengthening the economy and improving lives. “ We have dared to reach out into the unknown. And have achieved the near impossible. Travelling a mind-boggling distance of more than 650 million, or 65 crore kilometres, we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination. We have, accurately navigated our spacecraft, through a route known to very few,” he added.

Recalling former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s vision twice during his speech, Mr. Modi said it was his vision which led to the launch of Chandrayaan-I and which in turn led to the mission to Mars.

“Through your achievements, you have honoured our fore-fathers and inspired our future generations,” he told the space scientists.

MOM Team Proud, Satisfied
This was not the sole achievement of the day, for the colour camera onboard Mangalyaan took five pictures of Mars, which would be received at Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) facility near Bengaluru later today. “It is as good as being told that I am the father of a child. These pictures will convince tax payers that the expenditure on Mangalyaan is acceptable,” Dr. Ashutosh Shyamsingh Arya, principal investigator for the colour camera and a scientist at Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, told Deccan Chronicle. Besides beaming pictures of Martian soil and movement of sand dunes on the planet back to ISRO, the colour camera would be used to send out pictures of comet Siding Spring during its fly-by in October 2014.

For Mrs. Neelavathi, head of the team from ISRO’s Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru, which assembled transmitters for Mangalyaan, it was total satisfaction as systems designed by them worked flawlessly. “We are happy that the systems functioned as predicted and that the spacecraft has reached the right orbit,” she said.

As for the question about how Mangalyaan would help scientists, Prof. Jitendra Nath Goswami, Director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad said the instruments onboard could answer questions on evolution of Mars and the universe, and the million-dollar-question of life on that planet. “The results will certain be the icing on the cake of this great achievement,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

The Orbiter, says Dr. S. K. Shivakumar, Director, ISAC, is in “extremely good health” after entering its orbit. “We saw good synchronization of all systems and therefore we are very happy with the performance of Mangalyaan,” he said.

 

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source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Technology> Science and Trends / DC / by B. R. Srikanth / September 25th, 2014

NIE goes on Air

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

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Mysore :

One of city’s premier engineering college, National Institute of Engineering (NIE) has got yet another feather in its cap with the launch of an online campus radio. The radio, which is the brainchild of nine students, has been launched to socialize and entertain the NIE family.

The team consists of H.K. Anirudh, Karthik S. Rao, N. Pradeep, P.D. Divakar, B.L. Abhishek, M.S. Anusha, Anushree Anil, N.K. Amrutha and H.S. Anusha.

Speaking to SOM, the NIE team shared about the birth of NIE AIR thus: “During various events which took place in the college we faced communication problems. We had to spend too much on calls and SMS to intimate students about meetings and discussions. The message did not reach the masses; hence it was unfair for those who were interested. We also lacked proper communication between seniors and juniors.”

“We are glad that many of our students are being placed in good companies with good packages but unfortunately their experiences and achievements are not being shared with others. The information about internship opportunities, scholarships, sports and placements was not being conveyed properly. Considering all these problems we, the team of 9 came up with this solution,” they added.

“On a boring day when we were hanging out at the coffee shop we felt that we needed a change of some kind from this regular schedule. That was when we came up with a small idea of setting up a ham station in our campus, which then morphed into a live audio streaming internet radio. Now, with this new concept we realised we could provide a solution to some of the problems that our students faced.”

NIE-AIR is a campus community radio which entertains its listeners by the constant streaming of songs and providing them information regarding various events, the cultural fests, internships, placements and also the various activities and news about Mysore, maintaining the balance between the knowledge and Entertainment.

NIE-AIR runs from 8 am to 8 pm everyday keeping its listeners constantly updated by switching between knowledge based announcements and entertainment at regular intervals.

The day begins with a small playlist of pleasant songs. It is then followed by few of the important announcements during breaks. The list of songs once again continues to stream after these announcements providing the entertainment to students.

The major plus point in implementing this method of radio is they are not required to have any kind of licencing from the broadband or any of the different modulation stations. They make use of the website www.nieair.in that they created solely for this purpose and stream the songs and announcements live from a single source of point to which the people can tune in to avail the various facilities provided by it.

The students have expressed their gratitude to NIE which extends a helping hand in their ventures and guides them to become successful entrepreneurs. They hope that this community radio will continue to remain a success in future also.

Visit www.nieair.in for online campus radio

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  / Thursday , September 25th,  2014

CM to present State Sangeetha Vidwan Award tomorrow

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

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Mysore :

Noted Hindustani vocalist Pandit Indudhar Nirody has been selected for this year’s State Sangeetha Vidwan Award given during the Dasara Festivities.

The award will be presented to him by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah during the inauguration of Dasara cultural programmes at the Palace premises tomorrow at 6 pm.

Pt. Indudhar Nirody resides at # 222, Kumaravara, 1st Cross, Kamakshi Hospital Road, Saraswathipuram, Mysore. He can be contacted on Mob: 94806-29238.

Profile: Born on 11th July, 1935 at Puttur (Dakshina Kannada), Indudhar Nirody was initiated into Music at a young age by his father, Nirody Sunder Rao and had the preliminary lessons in Music from Gawai Shri Pitre Ramarao at Udupi. Later, on migration to Mumbai in 1951, he received training from Pandit Gurudatt Heblekar in Mumbai. At the same time he also came under the tutelage of stalwarts in Hindusthani Classical Music, Acharya SCR Bhat, Acharya KG Ginde, Pandit Dinkar Kaikini and Pandit Chidanand Nagarkar. He received intensive training under them for well over two decades.

It has been his good fortune that being one of the senior-most disciples of his mentors, he had the opportunity of giving vocal accompaniment to his Gurus in their concerts on most of the occasions and also had a very close association with them all those years. This has helped him to assimilate and imbibe some of the finest aspects of Raagadari Sangeet in his Music.

Nirody is a stickler to the tradition. However, he improvises his music with great imagination giving importance to the aesthetic contents of the Bandishes. His renderings are marked by transparent sincerity, embodied with appropriate Bolalaps, Behelaves, rhythmic Upazas and clear-cut Taans. He has performed at various centres in the country and received laudable appreciation from the connoisseurs.

In the year 1955, at the age of 20, he won the First prize in the All India Music competition conducted by the All India Radio and received the coveted prize at the hands of then the President of India, Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad. He was conferred the award “Gaurava Prashathi” by the Karnataka Sangeeth Nrutya Academy, Government of Karnataka in the year 2005 in appreciation of the valuable contribution made by him in the field of Music. He also received the Mysore District Rajostava Prasasthi of Government of Karnataka for the year 2008. Apart from these, he has been honored by several other prestigious Institutions — Sawai Gandharva Vishwastha Samsthe, Kundgol, Gaana Bharati, Saptaswar Balaga, Swara Sankula, Sangeet Kalakar Mandali, Bangalore and others. He was also conferred the title of Sangeetha Kala Tapaswi by Sri Purandara Tyagarajara matthu Vaggeyakarara Aradhanosthava Samiti, Mysore in 2003.

He is a “Top” grade artiste of All India Radio and has been performing since 1955 in AIR and later in Dooradarshan as well.

He was a senior Executive in Life Insurance Corporation of India and retired from the services in the year 1995. Since then, he has been devoting his full time towards development of Music.

Pt. Nirody has embarked on the work of audio-recording all the compositions (about 1900) published by Pt.V.N.Bhatkhande (6 volumes) under the name Hindusthani Sangeeth Paddhati – Kramik Pustak Malika. This is getting completed soon and would be available for the benefit of music lovers.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  / Tuesday  , September 24th,  2014