Category Archives: Amazing Feats

From daily wage earner to head radiographer

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

If you meet the general manager of the radiology department at Columbia Asia Hospital, it’s hard to imagine that Anto Ramesh Selvi D started out as a daily wage labourer.

Anto Ramesh Selvi D completed the radiography course in 1994
Anto Ramesh Selvi D completed the radiography course in 1994

Bengaluru  :

If you meet the general manager of the radiology department at Columbia Asia Hospital, it’s hard to imagine that Anto Ramesh Selvi D started out as a daily wage labourer. Hailing from Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, he lost his father to a heart attack when he was 10 years old. “My mother was a nursing assistant at a hospital. She raised my younger sister and me with great difficulty. I wasn’t a great student. I dropped out of my college when I was in the third year of my BSc,” recalls the 50-year-old.

He couldn’t find a clerical job due to his low academic score and started working as a daily wage worker at an electronics repair shops and at construction sites. This went on from  1989 to  1992. Later, with help from his uncle, he came to Bengaluru with his friend to write an examination at the CSI Hospital, for an admission in a radiography course.

He says, “I didn’t get through. Since it was a mission hospital, my uncle requested people to give me the job since my mother was the sole earner in the family.” His uncle’s request bore fruit and Selvi joined the 1992 batch. This period was full of doubts as he wasn’t sure if he could survive staying in a hostel and manage expenses. Luck, however, was on his side and he passed out as ‘the best outgoing student’.

Despite completing the course in  1994, he wasn’t able to find a job. He took up a part-time job at Jain Hospital for a salary of `300 a month. During his time there, he continued to apply for different jobs until he finally got the job of a technician at Jindal Charitable Hospital. He worked there with an earning of `1,000 a month, before he resigned to pursue further studies in CT/MRI, through a six-month course in Salem. “When I completed the course, Jindal Hospital called me back and increased my salary to `3,500. They had also provided a 2BHK flat in their quarters,” he says.

In  2000, Selvi married his childhood friend and moved to Bengaluru. During this time, he applied for a position at Columbia Asia Hospital. This was in 2005 but all the vacancies were filled. Selvi was told to try again the next year. The following year, he eventually got selected, and now earned a salary of `12,000 a month.

While he was confident about his technical knowledge, Selvi faltered in his computer and communication skills. Over time, he widened his computer, management and also communication skills. “The hospital helped a lot too. They would go through my draft e-mails before I sent them,” he says. Interestingly enough, though Selvi struggled with academics in school, he now holds degrees in BSc (Physics), DTT, MRIT and MBA.

He also ran a hospital in Doddaballapura, Bengaluru rural, from 2011 to 2013 where he was in charge of all aspects of operations and management. However, Columbia Asia asked Selvi to return as the general manager of the radiology department. It has now been five years since he took over as the general manager of the department for all branches of the hospital in India. “My biggest takeaways are to keep trying and the importance of giving people a chance,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damodaran / Express News Service / January 07th, 2019

Karnataka’s Bapuji Vidyaniketan School charges Rs 7 per day as fee

Amazing Feats, Education

The school has 140 children, most of them coming from poor economical background.

Students attend a PT class in Bapuji Vidyaniketan school.
Students attend a PT class in Bapuji Vidyaniketan school.

Hubballi :

This school in Hubballi charges Rs 7 per day for  LKG and UKG students. The school does not take donation and is run by a retired art teacher. Bapuji Vidyaniketan School in Anand Nagar is successfully running in its third year and the school collects Rs 5 per day for pre-nursery students and Rs 7 per day for LKG and UKG students.

The school has 140 children, most of them coming from poor economical background. The school has all the basic facilities including toilets, play area and CCTVs.

This is the dreamchild of Wallimahammad Dharwad, a retired art teacher from Hubballi who decided to establish a school that does not take donation and whose fee structure is affordable.

“There are nine teachers in the school and the fee collected is used to pay salaries to the teachers. We teach both Kannada and English. The school also gets donations from the local businessmen in Hubballi and Dharwad and many young teachers who come here to teach students for free,” he said.

“When I was studying, my family had difficult times. I wanted to leave studies due to financial issues. Hence, I decided to do something for society and came up with the fee structure. For instance, when I say for UKG the parents have to pay Rs 210 per month, they are exhilarated and ensure that their wards do not leave school,” he said.

He said, “I have seen many families stopping their children from going to school due to high fees. We take Rs 500 at the time of admission and the money is used for the children stationery and other purposes. We also provide free uniform.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Kiran Balannanavar / Express News Service / January 03rd, 2019

Karavali Gaurava award for Hilda Rayappan

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
Prof Hilda Rayappan
Prof Hilda Rayappan

The Dakshina Kannada District Karavali Utsava Samiti has chosen social activist Prof Hilda Rayappan for the Karavali Gaurava Prashasti 2018-19.

A press release from Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar has said that the award will be present to Prof Rayappan in recognition of her contribution in the field of social service, education and women’s empowerment, among others.

Prof Rayappan  will be given the award during the valedictory of the Karavali Utsav at Panambur beach on December 30.

Prof Rayappan was a professor at School of Social Work Roshni Nilaya. She is the founder and managing trustee of the Prajna Counselling Centre, which was launched in 1987 and was the first counselling centre in Mangaluru. She has been providing shelter to poor destitute children at Makkala Kuteera and Chinnara Tangudana and has been engaged in rehabilitating child labourers by imparting them education.

Through the Prajna Counselling Centre, Prof Rayappan has been providing short stay home for needy women. The Centre is also running Santwana, a women’s helpline in Mangaluru.

In addition, women self help groups have been started that have been helping women to achieve financial independence. She is the recipient of many honours such as ‘Best Student Award’ on the 125th anniversary of the University College, ‘Social Service Award’ during the Taluk Kannada Sahitya Sammelana 1997, ‘Women Empowerment Award’ by St Agnes College in 2000 and others.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Naina J A / DH News Service / Mangaluru – December 30th, 2018

This constable in Karnataka leads hundreds to donate blood and pledge organs

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

The 29-year-old constable has made it his mission to encourage and educate people about organ and blood donation and sign them up for the cause.

KarabasappaBF30dec2018

Haveri :

As a policeman, it is Karabasappa Manohar Gondi’s duty to save lives. Tackling crime is, however, not the only way the constable tries to achieve it. Gondi is often the first contact point for most people in the area whenever the need for blood donation arises.

The 29-year-old constable, currently attached to Adur Police Station in Hangal taluk of Haveri district, has made it his mission to encourage and educate people about organ and blood donation, and sign them up for the cause.

For the last five years, he has been spreading awareness about the subject on every possible occasion in the area, and has led over 670 villagers in Hangal taluk to pledge their eyes while 11 people, including women, have pledged to donate their bodies. His mobile number is now widely in circulation, and he is often the first person called up by people during a medical emergency.

Gondi, who is now a household name in his native village of Akkialur of Hangal taluk and the surrounding region due to his zeal to save lives, has created a group of about 1,500 like-minded people who are ready to donate blood at any time. His efforts have led to a number of people becoming regular donors, such as Akkialur Virkat Mutt pontiff Shivabasav Swamiji, who donated blood for the fifth time on December 6, and Tanaji Gorphade of Adur village, who has donated blood 30 times so far.

Gondi’s wife and his three-and-a-half-year-old son, Hoysala, have also pledged their eyes and other organs.

All the people who have pledged their eyes are enrolled for the cause with M M Joshi Eye Hospital in Hubballi. His efforts have led to a restoration of eyesight in nine persons who suffered from corneal defect in Hubballi and Sirsi.

Agricultural labour Fakkeriappa Talwar of Gejjihalli village in Hangal Taluk, who injured his right eye while he was cutting maize crop, cannot thank him enough. “I’m a poor man and did not have the means to pay Rs 40,000 for an eye transplant. Hence I approached Karabasappa and got my eye operated upon. I am thankful to Karabasappa for the favour,” says Talwar, who underwent an eye transplant in August this year at Shankar Eye Hospital, Shivamogga.

Karabasappa02BF30dec2018

Gondi’s commitment to the cause took roots in his mind when he faced a sight problem in childhood. He underwent laser eye surgery in 2009 before joining the police department. “I always thought of doing something for the society in terms of eye care and eye donation,” says Gondi. “After I joined the police force, I started organising eye camps in my free time and convinced people to sign up for donations.”
Gondi organised the first eye check-up camp and donation drive at Akkialur five years ago.

He now holds an eye camp for villagers on the last Sunday of every month. He also visits schools to make children aware of the significance of blood and organ donation. In the last few years, he has also started using the social media to promote the cause. Gondi has Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts on which he posts updates about eye camps, etc.

“In the beginning, it was not easy to persuade people in small towns and villages about donating their eyes. I had to convince them slowly before villagers started signing up,” says Gondi, who is a graduate and a diploma holder in education. He often takes the help of mythological stories to dispel superstitions and taboos from people’s minds, narrating to them, for instance, how Bedara Kannappa donated both his eyes to Lord Shiva.

“Initially it was very difficult to influence them, and they even made fun. But I did not lose hope,” he says. “I ask people to pledge their eyes on occasions such as marriages, anniversaries and birthdays. This will send a positive message in the society,” he adds.

Gondi’s mobile phone numbers — 8861118881 or 8088318888 — are also used by people during a medical emergency.

“Gondi has a large network of friends who have enrolled themselves for blood donation. The group comprises about 1,800 blood donors in eight districts of Karnataka. Whenever any patient requires blood, we call Gondi and we are never disappointed,” Shankar, a villager from Adur, says.

Inspiring Act

All the members of Gondi’s family have pledged their bodies to Haveri Sindagi Shantveereshwara Ayurveda Medical College. Inspired by their act, several families from Akkialur, Haveri and Shiggavi have also come forward to sign up for organ donation at the college. Mahantesh Salavatagi and Parvatewwa Shankrappa Bellad, both residents of Akkialur village, say, “We have pledged to donate our eyes willingly. No one should suffer from lack
of vision.”

Green Thumb

Karabasappa Gondi is also passionate about environment conservation. He has so far planted 16 trees at his house in Akkialur village in memory of his ancestors.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Gangadhar Hugar / Express News Service / December 30th, 2018

Home is where his service is needed

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

ShivajiBF27dec2018

Shivaji Chatrappa Kaganikar travels from village to village helping people

Shivaji Chatrappa Kaganikar has no place he can call home. But every place is home for this social worker who has has served Belagavi district for nearly five decades in several fields.

Shivaji Kaka, as he is fondly called, has just turned 70 and was recently given the Devaraj Urs Award.

Born to poor landless shepherds at Kadoli village in Belagavi district, Shivaji Kaka had a difficult childhood. He took odd jobs all along his school and college days to support his family. He briefly joined a PSU as an assistant after BSc., but his calling was something else.

Influenced by Pune-based Gandhian and Sarvodaya activist Sane Guruji, he travelled to Maharashtra to meet Guruji and Vinoba Bhave. Back in Belagavi, he found a group of social workers, including Srirang Kamat, Sadashivrao Bhosle and Ram Apte, and got down to work.

Mr. Kamat, who headed the Belagavi district Khadi Sangha, offered him a job as a gobar gas technician. Shivaji Kaka did the job so well that within five years, half the families in the villages of Kattanbavi and Nagenahatti had adopted gobar gas plants. “They were erected 40 years ago. Nine out of them are still working,” Shivaji Kaka says with pride.

He later worked on promoting watershed development in various places and the water-scarce village of Kattanbavi now has enough water to support three crops, thanks to his efforts. Lakhs of trees were planted through ‘shramadana’ (contributory labour) inspired by Shivaji Kaka. “What is more important is that most of them are surviving. It means that people who planted them took care of them too,” he says.

Later, as a volunteer of the adult education programme in the ‘70s, he opened hundreds of literacy centres and evening schools for women and farm labourers. He helped set up scores of anganwadis too. He led anti-arrack protests in several villages.

He continues to guide farmers in watershed development or permaculture.

Currently, he spends most of his time organising MNREGA workers. Apart from the Zilla Khadi Sangha, Shivaji Kaka’s work has been supported by German funding agencies, the Tata Trust and NGOs such as Jana Jagaran and Jivan Vivek Pratishtan.

‘No permanent address’

Sharad Gopal, of Jagruta Mahila Okkoota, says: “He does not have a phone or a permanent address. Whenever he has to make a call, he stops anyone, literally anyone in the street, or enters any shop and requests them if he can use their phone and they are more than willing,” she says.

It is difficult to find him in one village after two days. He keeps moving. “That is because there is work to be done in every village,” says Shivaji Kaka.

Does he ever feel sad about some youngsters not being worried about environment destruction or other crucial issues? “No. Sane Guruji taught us that we should do our work and not worry about tomorrow,” he says, with an unpretentious smile.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnatka / by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai / Belagavi – December 26th, 2018

Sulagitti Narasamma laid to rest with state honours

Amazing Feats, Records, All

Padma Shri Award winner Sulagitti Narasamma was laid to rest with state honours at Gangasandra in Tumakuru on Wednesday evening.

Sulagitti Narasamma, 97, a native of Krishnapura in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district had conducted thousands of deliveries as a midwife free of cost in the rural areas of Pavagada taluk.

She passed away at BGS hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The body was kept at Glass House in Tumakuru for the public to pay tributes. Several Ministers and former Ministers paid their respects to the departed soul.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Tumakaru – December 26th, 2018

Agriculture labourer gets Mangaluru Press Club Award

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Records, All
Amai Mahalinga Naika from Amai village in Bantwal taluk.
Amai Mahalinga Naika from Amai village in Bantwal taluk.

Amai Mahalinga Naik single-handedly drilled tunnels to get water for his land

Amai Mahalinga Naik, who single-handedly worked to irrigate his two-acre land and succeeded in raising a small plantation has been chosen for the Mangaluru Press Club Award, 2018.

Mr. Naik, 73, a resident of Amai village near Adyanadka in Bantwal taluk, was chosen by a panel of Balakrishna Gatti, Vasanth Kumar Perla and Nagaveni Manchi for the award, Club General Secretary Ibrahim Adkasthala said in a release. The award would be presented during the Press Club Day to be celebrated on January 5 at Urwa Church Hall.

An agriculture labourer and expert in climbing areca and coconut palms, Mr. Naik was working in the fields of Amai Mahabala Bhat. Realising his desire to own agricultural land, Mr. Bhat donated him two acres of land four decades ago; but being on hill slopes, it lacked accessibility to water sources.

Unmindful of the obstacles, Mr. Naik began drilling tunnels to fetch water as he was aware open well would not yield any water on the hill slope. He drilled not one, but seven tunnels and at the end, he got water that was suffice to raise his small plantation. He also built a water storage tank digging the ground on the land.

The slope terrain helped Mr. Naik introduce the drip-irrigation network in the field through gravitational force. He was engaged in his routine palm climbing for half a day and spent the rest of his time drilling tunnels. Mr. Naik also fell off a tree 14 years ago. Though he survived the fall, he could no longer climb palms and restricted himself to his field work.

With the help of his wife Lalitha and their three children, Mr. Naik has now raised areca, coconut, banana and pepper crops on one acre of the land and forest in another acre. As many as 300 areca and 75 coconut palms and 200 banana plants are on his field. He only uses conventional manure and does rainwater harvesting on his land. All these measures Mr. Naik implemented without taking any bank loans, depending solely on his work as a labourer.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – December 18th, 2018

A dropout because of poverty, he now helps poor students

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

As a young boy, Ningappa Gatin (43) was unable to study further than SSLC due to financial crunch.

Dharwad:

As a young boy, Ningappa Gatin (43) was unable to study further than SSLC due to financial crunch. Since the past decade, he has been giving away his remuneration of Rs 5,000 per month to meritorious and poor students. Till date, 300 students have received Rs 2 lakh from him.

A member of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat and president of the Standing Committee of Social Justice, Gatin does not want anyone to quit studies like he did. But he had to discontinue studies after the fourth standard. After a gap of years, he completed SSLC. But he could not afford college.

Gatin’s political journey began when he became a member of the Murkatti Gram Panchayat in 2005. Since then, he had not used a single rupee of his remuneration for his own use. Every year, he organises a programme, Pratibha Puraskar and distributes the remuneration to needy students. He has been giving away small cash prizes to meritorious and poor students selected by school teachers and committee members.

“The importance of education cannot be overstated. It can be the catalyst needed to pull families out of poverty. It is the most important for development. As I faced hard days and could not fulfil my dreams, today I am extending a helping hand to the poor and needy,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Mallikarjun Hiremath / Express News Service / November 30th, 2018

Malavalli lake man Express wrote about, among 63 to get Rajyotsava award

Amazing Feats, Records, All

Former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva, National Public School founder K P Gopalkrishna and Sandalwood actor Jai Jagadish are among the other awardees.

82-year-old Kaamegowda has created 14 ponds in his village Daasanadoddi | pandarinath b
82-year-old Kaamegowda has created 14 ponds in his village Daasanadoddi | pandarinath b

Bengaluru :

Kaamegowda, the 82-year-old shepherd from Daasanadoddi village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district, got glad tidings on Wednesday when he was informed that his four-decade-long effort to create 14 ponds in his village, had been recognised by the state government. On Thursday, Kaamegowda will be among 63 recipients of this year’s Rajyotsava award, to be given by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru.

Former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva, National Public School founder K P Gopalkrishna and Sandalwood actor Jai Jagadish are among the other awardees.On July 15 this year, The New Indian Express had first reported on Kaamegowda’s inspiring tale in a story titled ‘Shepherd from Karnataka builds 14 ponds on barren hill, turns his village green’.

Kaamegowda, who has not had any formal education, dedicated 40 years of his life to digging, creating and maintaining 14 ponds on a hillock in his village. Thanks to his efforts, the ponds remain full of water, even during the scorching Mandya summers.
“Let there be more lakes,” he said, upbeat at having been recognised by the government.

“It is a service to mother nature and I must not take credit. We humans can afford to buy water but animals and birds cannot,” he told TNIE on Wednesday. True to form, Kaamegowda said that the `1 lakh purse that the Rajyotsava award carries would also be spent on the upkeep of the ponds.

When TNIE first visited his house, Kaamegowda, who sleeps in a cattle shed under a mosquito mat, said that his family had given up on trying to convince him to stop spending on the ponds. His stubborn dedication to seeing the water bodies develop meant that he would spend all cash awards and other money that he received into the effort instead of spending it on mending his house, in severe disrepair. True to form, Kaamegowda on Wednesday said that the `1 lakh purse that the Rajyotsava award carries would also be spent on the upkeep of the ponds.

In a modest tone, he added that repairing his house was last on his list of priorities for the moment. “These gestures are our contribution to nature which has given us so much. Till I am alive, I can only think of the ponds,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / November 29th, 2018

Azim Premji conferred highest French civilian award

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji receives the highest French civilian distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), from Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler, in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji receives the highest French civilian distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), from Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler, in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Azim Premji, philanthropist and Chairman of Wipro Limited, on Wednesday received the highest French civilian distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) from Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler.

Speaking on the occasion at the Wipro campus, Ziegler said the award was bestowed on Azim Premji for his outstanding contribution to developing the information technology industry in India.

“Also, for his economic outreach in France, and his laudable contribution to society as a philanthropist through the Azim Premji Foundation and Azim Premji University,” he said.

TheLegion d’Honneur , instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.

The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order of the Legion of Honour.

In his acceptance speech, Premji said he is extremely honoured by the award bestowed on me. “The vibrancy of the French democracy and its diversity is an inspiration to all across the world,” he said.

Wipro’s association with France spans over 15 years and the company enjoys a close relationship with several French organizations. Nearly 65% of Wipro’s employees in France are locals.

France is a key market for Wipro and the company is committed to continues investments there. Large French digital companies already have a strong footprint in India, employing over 1.3 lakh people at their R&D centres and facilities.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business> Business News / by N.V. Vijayakumar / DH News Service, Bengaluru / November 28th, 2018