Category Archives: Records, All

Konkani musician honoured with eighth Kalakar Puraskar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Norbert Gonsalves, a musician, being presented the Kalakaar Puraskar award set up by Thomas Stephens Konkani Kendra, the Carvalho Gharane, and Mandd Sobhann in Mangalore on Sunday. Photo:  R.Eswarraj / The Hindu

Also part of the event was an exhibition of currencies from a collector who presented notes from 220 countries

On Sunday evening, several Mangaloreans enjoyed an evening of Konkani culture. At the event, Norbert Gonsalves was awarded with the Eighth Kalakar Puraskar set up by Thomas Stephens Konkani Kendra, the Carvalho Gharane, and Mandd Sobhann for having presented 600 performances on musical instruments many of which are no longer in use.

A music programme titled “Geet Mandovi Zuarichem” (“songs from the Mandovi and the Zuari”) followed. Led by Ramananda Raikar, the Goa-based group, consisting of Shwetha Manjrekar, Ashish Gaonkar, and Mangesh Shetye, sang Konkani songs.

Also part of the event was an exhibition of currencies from a collector who presented notes from 220 countries. Richard Lobo, the collector, said it included currencies from countries which no longer existed such as Biafra and Guernsey, countries that had changed names such as Zaire (erstwhile Congo), Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Burma (now Myanmar). There was a Rs. 100 note issued in India in 1951 and a 100 trillion note from Zimbabwe. Louis Pinto told The Hindu that on December 2, a theatre festival would be held at the same venue where “Kalakul”, a Konkani theatre group floated by Mandd Sobhann, consisting of 10 artistes, would present plays in the evenings from 6 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Also, he said that to encourage young talent and popularise Konkani dance, “Jagotik Konknni Songhotton”, “Konkani Prachar Sanchalan”, “Nach Sobhann”, and “Mandd Sobhann” are organising “Yaya Indi-ya Mayaya”, which the organisers claimed as the first all-India Konkani dance contest. The semi-finals would be held on May 18 and the finals on May 19 next year at Kalaangann, Mangalore. Anyone could compete and only the song for the dance has to be Konkani. The auditions will be held in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Honnavar, Kasaragod, Udupi, and Mangalore. There are two categories: group and duet. For details, call 8147265859 or www.manddsobhann.org.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Special Correspondent /Mangalore, November 05th, 2012

Pankaj Advani: Eighth World title and more to come

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Sports

Bangalore:

Pankaj Advani’s eighth World title, the seventh in billiards, has been a long time coming, but his repeat win over one of the legends of modern era, Mike Russell, in Sunday’s final at Leeds, cemented the 27-year-old Bangalorean’s place among all-time greats.

His last World title was in 2009, also at Leeds and the opponent he beat in the final was also Russell. However, Advani drew blank the following three years with the exception of the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and the Asian billiards titles (2010, 2012).

It was a difficult period when Advani went through a roller-coaster ride that threw up a whole range of questions, from technical flaws in his game to powers of concentration to pressure due to public expectations.

Advani’s mentor and long time coach Arvind Savur believed that his ward’s losses had more to do with a drop in confidence level rather than flaws creeping into his game.

Thus, Sunday’s win over one of his idols would have come as a great relief for Advani for more reasons than one as he had opted to skip a professional snooker event in China whose dates overlapped with those of the World billiards tournament.

“I am so pleased to have won my eighth World title. I took a gamble while choosing to play the World Championships here in Leeds and not the International Championship on the professional snooker tour and I am glad that paid off.

“I took a tough decision earlier this year to play both Billiards and Snooker at the highest level, and I am glad that I have been able to maintain top form in both.

“This victory, like every other shall be treasured yet has its own special meaning given the unique challenges I have faced this year. This win is a testament that if you follow your heart, nothing’s impossible,” said Advani in a statement.

Proficiency in both snooker, in which he won the IBSF World championship crown in 2003, and billiards, has set Advani apart from the rest of the pack. This summer, he turned professional in snooker and almost immediately made a mark by defeating the likes of former World No.1 Steve Davis and John Higgins besides a bunch of higher ranked players.

Yet, Advani’s love for billiards has always been very pronounced and it reflected in his decision to travel to Leeds rather than China this month.

Now that he has won as many as eight World titles at such a young age, sky is the limit for Advani and he has the makings of a legend, though the billiards connoisseurs are waiting for a 1,000-plus break that would cement his berth in the pantheon of the three-ball game.

Savur, himself a legend, opined that his ward definitely should be included in the list of all-time greats, if only for his achievements, but notching a four-figure break was subject to many factors.

“First, I am extremely happy and proud that he won his eighth World title and that too by defeating a player like Russell. Pankaj definitely is among all-time greats because he has achieved so much at such a young age.

“As regards the 1,000-plus breaks, he is capable of it, but whether he gets the opportunity remains to be seen since it is all too rare these days that matches are played over four hours or even five as was the case in Leeds.

“You need to get into the zone to make such mammoth breaks that also demand intense concentration. In Pankaj’s case, he has all the attributes and definitely there is a lot of scope for improvement.

“No player is perfect. Pankaj has admitted that there are a few technical improvements or adjustments he can make. But then, you need time to try out and given his busy schedule, he has not been able to work on those aspects.

“However, I will say that he is bound to get better with age and I am sure, he will be achieving a lot more in the future,” said Savur.

Fact File

Born: July 24, 1985, Pune

Major Achievements (International):

2012 – Won World Professional Billiards title (time format).

2010 – Won Gold medal (billiards singles) at 16th Asian Games; Silver at IBSF World billiards (point format), bronze at IBSF World billiards (time format); Gold at Asian Billiards.

2009 – Won World billiards (Leeds, UK) and Asian Championship.

2008 – Won World billiards (point and time formats), Asian billiards and Australian Open billiards.

2007 – Won IBSF World billiards (time format)

2006 – Won Gold medal (billiards singles) at Doha Asian Games.

2005 – Won IBSF World billiards (time and point formats) and Asian billiards

2003 – Won IBSF World snooker championship

National Awards: Padma Shri (2009), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2005-06), Arjuna Award (2004).

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Home> News / by IANS / October 30th, 2012

V Harikrishna bags three honours at Big Kannada Music awards 2012

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Mumbai:

Music Director V Harikrishna bagged a total of three awards at the Big Kannada Music awards, held recently at the Jnana Jyothi Auditorium in Bangalore.

V Harikrishna won two jury awards in the categories Big Music Director (Jogayya) and Big Musical Hit Movie (Paramathma) accompanied by a popular award in the Big Josh Song category for 123 Vishnuvardhana (Vishnuvardhana).

Lyricist Jayanth Kaikini picked up two honours including the jury award for Paravashanaadenu (Paramathma) and a popular award for Big Feeling Song for Neeralli Sanna (Hudugaru). Other winners included artistes like Avinash Chebbi, Mamta Sharma, Indu Nagaraj, Yogaraj Bhat and Alex Paul.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon four music stars- playback singer PB Srinivas, devotional  vocalist Vidyabhushana, light music singer Ratnamala Prakash and instrumentalist Kadri Gopalnath. The station also gave away a special award titled Kannadigara All Time Big Golden Song to ‘Huttidare Kannadanadalli Hutta Beku’ from the movie Aakasmika.

Conducted by Big FM, the  awards acknowledge, applaud and recognize the talent of the Kannada music fraternity. The awards were adjudged by an eminent jury panel comprising of stalwarts from the Kannada music industry like Rajan (music director), V Manohar (music director) and Manjula Gururaj (playback singer).

The occasion was graced by big names from the world of music like Manjula Gururaj, Ratnamala Prakash, Padmashree Kadri Gopalnath, B Jayashree, Harikrishna  and Ricky Kej amongst others.

RJs Rashmi, Shruthi, Mayur, Rohit hosted special acts while an unplugged medley of classic songs was performed by Akanksha Badami, Anuradha Bhat and Deepak Doddera accompanied by RJ Mayur and Somashekhar Joyce.

The full list of award winners:

http://www.radioandmusic.com/radioandmusiclinx/y2k12/oct/The-ful-%20list-of-award-winners.pdf

source: http://www.radioandmusic.com / Home / by RnM Team / October 29th, 2012

 

Meet city’s young wizard of Mythology

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Child wizard Aditya Venkatesh.

Aditya with his parents Jyothi and Venkatesh.

He is just 10-year-old but his memory power is phenomenal. Meet Aditya Venkatesh, a student of Mansarovar Pushkarini Vidyashram in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage, who has mastered the Hindu mythology and also learnt about Roman and Egyptian mythology.

Any kid of his age would be fascinated about the video games, Chota Bheem, Dorae-mon and Tom and Jerry, but this kid is more fascinated about mythology. Not that Aditya doesn’t watch cartoons or play video games, he is as normal as the other kids. He loves playing tennis and is also a fitness freak.

Speaking to the SOM, Aditya said that his passion for mythology developed at the age of two when his grandmother used to read out mythological stories from a Tamil magazine and also his parents who read out stories from Amarchithra Katha collections.

According to Aditya, the interest on mythology grew when he was placed 194 in the National Science Olympiad held at Bangalore during 2010. He was awarded CDs containing mythological details which triggered him to develop passion towards his favourite subject. “I want to learn more about God and foreign mythology. This apart, I want to study the custom and tradition followed in foreign countries,” he adds.

The first book on mythology which Aditya read on his own was Ramayana. Since then he has never stopped. He has completed a series of Amarchithra Katha and other books on Hindu Mythology. He has also read books on Roman and Greek mythology and currently Aditya is studying about Egyptian mythology. “I have completed reading The Helen of Troy from Greek mythology, Rise of Colosseum from Roman mythology and Sun God’s Secret Name from Egyptian mythology,” said Aditya.

He does not just read the books and let it go. But he studies them in depth and remembers all the stories and characters. Aditya can tell stories about the characters in mythology which nobody has come across. The way in which he tells the story is fascinating and mesmerising. Aditya, who is currently reading books on Egyptian mythology, has plans to study Chinese mythology next.

Aditya’s parents, Jyothi and Venkatesh have been of great support to him in pursuing his passion. Venkatesh, who is a software professional, gets him books related to mythology along with his normal school books. “I give a lot of credit to Aditya who has brought a change in my life. It is because of him I have been following rituals and traditions. He has told me the reasons why one has to follow the traditions which I was not aware. This apart, his interest in mythology has really fascinated me,” said the proud Venkatesh.

Venkatesh also plans to take Aditya to Cambodia, who wants to visit the Lord Vishnu temple located in Angkor. Not only this, Aditya wishes to visit Rome and Greece to learn about the ancient traditions and customs. Venkatesh said that he has reserved around 200 sq. ft. to set up a library at his new house which is being constructed at Vijayanagar.

Apart from his passion towards mythology, Aditya also plays tennis and aims to participate in marathons. He has also been a brilliant student in his school. Calling him a child prodigy would be too simplistic. The only apt word to refer him would be “Child Wizard of Mythology.”

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers /  October 27th, 2012

Curtains come down on Flower Show

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

Caption: Landscape In-charge of BEML Keerthinarayan and his team of gardeners receiving the overall trophy from Shashikala Nagaraj, Director of District Horticulture Society, at the valedictory of Dasara Flower Show in city on Thursday. Dean of Horticulture College Dr. Venkatesh and Dy. Director of Horticulture M.N. Nagaraj are also seen.

Mysore, Oct. 27

The 10-day flower show organised by the Dept. of Horticulture as part of Dasara festivities at Curzon Park adjacent to Kote Anjeneya Swamy Temple came to a close on Thursday.

The valedictory function was marked by distribution of prizes to winners of flower arrangement competitions in various categories. BEML won the first prize in 24 categories and bagged the attractive ‘Moodagooru Subbanna, Puttaveeramma Overall Rolling Shield.’

Prizes and certificates were also issued to institutions and individuals including industries, educational institutions, lodging houses, private houses, hotels, government, semi-government and private persons who won prizes in various competitions in which as many as 573 participants took part.

Sarada Vilas Educational Society and SDM Institute for Management Development bagged the award for gardening while Co-operative Horticulture Director, Ooty and Mysore, secured the award for arranging flower plants.

Dixit bagged most of the awards in various competitions held for children as K.Rathna, a resident of T.K.Layout, got the award for arranging pots while J.G. Basavaraju and H.N. Vasanth of Ramakrishna Nagar bagged the award for maintenance of big and small private gardens respectively.

Best Industrial Award was given to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation as Shyamala Prasanna won the award for maintenance of Best Private Garden.

Mahadev, gardener of BEML, said women can grow vegetables in pots and these organic vegetables would be sufficient for a household for three months.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / October 27th, 2012

TIE LUMIS excellence award for Skanray

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Caption: Vishwaprasad Alva, Managing Director, Skanray Technologies, Mysore, receiving the TiE Lumis Excellence Award-2012 at the TiEcon 2012 awards ceremony in New Delhi on Sept. 28 as other dignitaries look on. The award is instituted by TiE Delhi- NCR & Lumis Partners in 2008. Skanray Technologies is a city-based Primary Healthcare Devices company. TiEcon 2012 is India’s largest entrepreneurial conference.

Mysore, Oct. 16

The Mysore- based Primary Healthcare Devices Company, Skanray Technologies, won the TiE Lumis Excellence Award-2012 at the TiEcon 2012 awards ceremony in New Delhi on Sept. 28.

This award was instituted by TiE Delhi- NCR & Lumis Partners in 2008. Skanray bagged the award after rigorous scrutiny from 100 entries and the selection was based on the business strategy, competitiveness, business scalability & potential and financial stability of the business.

The Jury for this award included Rohtash Mal-Equitigro, Subinder Khurana and Sandeep Sinha-Managing Partner at Lumis Partners, Pradeep Gupta- Chairman Cybermedia.

Vishwaprasad Alva, Managing Director, Skanray Technologies received the award on behalf of the Skanray family.

Geetika Dayal, Executive Director – TiE Delhi NCR said, “The idea of these awards instituted 5 years ago was to discover path-breaking ideas that are transforming into great businesses and are potentially sustainable. It is heartening to see how the winners each year are showing unprecedented promise.”

TiEcon Delhi 2012 under its theme ‘Thriving in Chaos’ showcased not only the success and grit of entrepreneurs who have overcome all odds but also engaged with policy makers and investors to create a blueprint for India’s entrepreneurial ambitions. TiEcon 2012, India’s largest entrepreneurial conference, included more than 1,000 intellectuals from across the world like intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs, startups to engage in rich dialogue with other dynamic entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, industry executives, and thought leaders over two full days of networking, inspiring talks and idea sharing.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / October 16th, 2012

Mysore hotels in India’s Top 100 business hotels’ list

Business & Economy, Records, All

Caption: 1) Royal Orchid Metropole 2) Windflower Resort and Spa

Mysore, Oct. 16

Two hotels from city — Windflower Resort and Spa and Royal Orchid Metropole — have featured in Conde Nast Traveller’s India’s top 100 business hotels list.

Conde Nast Traveller is a premier travel magazine. The city hotels feature amidst other majors like the Oberoi and Grand Hyatt Mumbai, Vivanta by Taj in Bangalore, ITC Royal Gardenia in Bangalore and Radisson Blu Plaza in Delhi.

The magazine has summerised Royal Orchid Metropole as: “This historic hotel was built by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1920, its location in the heart of the city makes it a great base to visit companies like Wipro and Infosys Technologies.”

And Windflower Resort and Spa as: “On the outskirts of the city, this hotel makes for a good base for mixing business with leisure. Its spa offers 30 different treatments that are sure to make any work trip pleasurable.”

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / October 16th, 2012

Top CBSE School In Whitefield Honoured With 17 Awards : GIIS Bangalore

Education, Records, All

Global Indian International School (GIIS) is one of the best cbse school in Whitefield, Bangalore is the winner of Seventeen (17) National and International Awards for Excellence in School Education.

It is most trusted Bangalore cbse schools, well acknowledged as the Asia’s leading international school that offers Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE; India’s leading curriculum), and the Global Montessori Plus Programme. GIIS Bangalore, best international school in Bangalore is an initiative of Global Schools Foundation, established with a focused dedication towards shaping well-rounded global citizens.

One of the top cbse school Bangalore, Giis Bangalore has power packed curriculum, worldwide presence, international knowledge exchange programme, holistic learning and development, multiple intelligence teaching methodology and lots more. This CBSE school in Whitefield has won 17 awards for academic excellence and best practices. Its  network of schools spread over 20 campuses across 7 countries grooming thousands of students from 52 nationalities to become future leaders.

With the mission to cultivate and nurture young minds into global leaders of the future, the  top cbse school Bangalore following high standards in governance, established academic criteria, and well-administered management processes. Giis Bangalore is best international CBSE school in Whitefield, Bangalore that nurture students into men and women, who will be leaders of distinction, committed to spirit of excellence, through high quality education imparted by globally experienced and caring teachers building strong virtues and values while focusing on all round development, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Looking for Admission To CBSE school in Whitefield near Sarjapur main road? GIIS Bangalore – the best international school in Bangalore has invited applications for school Admissions (2013-2014) for Nursery to Class V. To apply top cbse school Bangalore, simply click on “Admission Registration Form” available at the GIIS official website, select the branch and then click on “Admission form for Nursery to 5” option to proceed further in the registration process. Fill the registration form carefully with relevant details and click to submit.

source: http://www.prlog.com / October 20th, 2012

First tiger park declared ESZ in Karnataka

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel

The decision of the Union Government to declare Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Bandipur National Park in Karnataka as eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) gives impetus to the efforts of conservation and also to help protect the tiger habitat in the wild.

Bandipur Park is located between where the Deccan Plateau meets the Western Ghats and the altitude of the park ranges from 680 meters (2,230 ft) to 1,454 meters (4,770 ft) and is one of the very sensitive eco zones in the country with highest tiger population.

This is the first tiger reserve which has been declared as ESZ in the country. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in its notification dated October 4, 2012, has declared it as ESZ.

As per the SC order, the delineation of the ESZ was mandated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. As per the provision an initial draft ESZ plan was drawn through thorough analysis of wildlife corridors, ecologically important areas, and needs of people. Further, extensive public consultations were held with MLAs, MLCs of the area, village communities, and local body members before drawing up the final ESZ plan.

This assumes importance since Bandipur is in a very crucial part of the tiger conservation landscape connecting other wildlife habitats such as the Nagarahole and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves and Waynaad Wildlife Sanctuary. These continuous areas host the highest density of tigers, their prey species and Asian elephants in the world.

source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / Home> Bangalore / Sunday, October 14th, 2012

Winners of best article on Humanitarian issues

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Mysore, Oct. 15:

Rohini Mohan, contributor to The Caravan magazine has won the first prize of Rs. 50,000, Ramachandrareddy Patil of The Week the second prize of Rs.30,000 while Supriya Sharma of The Times of India and Soma Basu of The Statesman shared the third prize of Rs. 20,000 each of this year’s All India Journalist Competition for the best print media article on humanitarian issues. The award distribution event was held in Delhi on Oct. 12 after a panel discussion on the theme, “Reporting on the fate of victims of armed violence – Humanitarian stories.”

H.K.Dua, MP and senior journalist, was the moderator and chief guest. The panelists and jury members included Pamela Philipose, Director, Women’s Features Service; Amitabha Roy-chowdhary, senior editor, Press Trust of India and M. Gandhi, Professor, Jindal Law School.

The awards, which have now been bestowed for five years running, were instituted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Press Institute of India (PII) for articles published in an Indian national or regional ne-wspaper or magazine in English or any of the Indian languages.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / October 15th, 2012