Category Archives: World Opinion

Google’s tribute to engineer par excellence

September 15, 2018Amazing Feats, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

A doodle dedicated to Sir M. Visvesvaraya, on his 158 th birth anniversary.

A special doodle, featuring Sir M. Visvesvaraya wearing the Mysuru peta against the backdrop of an engineering marvel

Google honoured one of the greatest Indian engineers, Sir M. Visvesvaraya, on his 158th birth anniversary with a special doodle, featuring him wearing the Mysuru peta against the backdrop of an engineering marvel, the Krishna Raja Sagar dam, built across the Cauvery river.

Visvesvaraya oversaw construction of his design for the dam and lake, which was at that time the largest reservoir in the country, providing drinking water to several cities.

Google.com, in its tribute on Saturday, said, “Living by the phrase ‘Work is Worship,’ Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya — fondly known as Sir MV — devoted his life to engineering. A master of irrigation design, the world-renowned civil engineer became so respected in his field that India celebrates Engineers Day each year on his birthday. While some sources cite his birth year as 1861, after speaking to his family, we’ve learned that Sir MV was actually born a year earlier.”

Visvesvaraya was born to a humble family in a small village Muddenahalli in Chickaballapur district in Karnataka. His father, a Sanskrit scholar, passed away when Visvesvaraya was very young. “According to stories passed down over generations, Sir MV had to walk over 60 km to Bengaluru to attend United Mission School, eating the food served in temples around the city, and studying under street lamps,” Google said in its post.

After completing his schooling, he earned a B.A. from Madras University in 1881, and went on to study civil engineering at the College of Science in Pune. As a young graduate, Visvesvaraya took up a job with the Public Works Department of the then Bombay Presidency, and later joined the Indian Irrigation Commission. He is credited with establishing extremely intricate systems of irrigation in the Deccan area. His flood protection system for Hyderabad and his irrigation plans for Visakhapatnam made him something of a celebrity.

He was conferred knighthood by the British Empire under King George V. In 1909, he became the Chief Engineer of Mysore and three years later, the Dewan of Mysore.

In 1918, he resigned from the post in protest over the Maharaja’s decision to set aside state jobs for non-Brahmins. By this time, he had helped establish the University of Mysore, the State Bank of Mysore, Bangalore Agricultural University, Mysore Chamber of Commerce, among other institutions.

He was known for his love for the Kannada language, and was instrumental in setting up the Kannada Parishat.

True to the title of his autobiography ‘Memoirs of my working life’, his devotion to work continued till the last days of his life. He was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1952. He passed away in Bengaluru on April 12, 1962.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / September 15th, 2018

Sagar basks in Wimbledon glory

July 18, 2018Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Sagar S. Kashyap with Wimbledon official Adrian Wilson. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Is the first-ever Indian and Asian to officiate as chair umpire

Mysuru’s Sagar S. Kashyap, an AITA official, became the first-ever Indian and Asian to officiate as a chair umpire in Wimbledon — during the junior boys’ singles final between C. Tseng of Chinese Taipei and Great Britain’s J. Draper.

While checking his mails on Saturday, Sagar found a special one from the Chief of Umpires’ Office of Wimbledon. It said that he would be the chair umpire for the junior boys’ final on Sunday.

After dealing with the excitement, Sagar was lucky enough to get some sleep and then embark on probably the most important match of his career, yet. And this will remain in his memory forever.

Sagar, 31, did his Engineering from Vidya Vikas Engineering College, Mysuru, and played the game at the Mysore Tennis Club and Nagaraj’s Tennis Centre. He is a qualified ITF Badge referee and has officiated in all the Grand Slams.

In 2015, Abhishek Mukherjee and Sagar were the line umpires for the men’s final between Novak Djokovich and Roger Federer.

This was the first time that India had two officials during any final at the Wimbledon.

He is only the third and also the youngest Indian to be selected for a Wimbledon final.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Tennis / by C.K. Muralidharan / Mysuru – July 17th, 2018

CMU holds 3rd India alumni meet in city

July 17, 2018Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

The Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a private research university based in Pennsylvania, organised its third India alumni meet here.

The meet, named CMU India Conclave 2018, was themed “Future of Work”, and comprised of fireside chats, panel discussions and networking sessions.

Most of the discussions were centred around the future of the work, with emerging technologies as the driver. “At CMU, we have a strong technology related alumni. So, that is why, in the given situation, you are seeing this theme,” Rashmi Gowda, one of the organisers of the event, said.

CMU organises biennial all-India meetings for its alumni. The first event was held in Mumbai and the second one in Delhi, which was organised on a much smaller scale.

India, which has the largest alumni base of CMU outside the US, has almost 2,000 alumnus from the university.

Devi Shetty, founder and chairman of Narayana Health, was the keynote speaker at the event.

Other panelists and speakers, which included both CMU alumnus and guest speakers, were ITC Infotech MD and CEO Sushma Rajagopalan, Mindtree CEO and MD Rostow Ravanan, Anand Anandkumar from Bugworks; Shyam Vasudevarao from Renalyx, Tushar Vasisht from Healthifyme, Amit Gupta from Yulu, Prashanth Prakash from Accel, Ravi G from Flipkart, Neeru Sharma from Infibeam, Siddhartha Agarwal, from Bhoruka group, among others.

The event also hosted child prodigy Saad Nasser as its panelist on transportation. Aged 16, Nasser dropped out of school at the age of 10 to follow his ambition of automobile engineering and co-founded Ati Motors.

“The aim of the event is to help network the alumni group and also facilitate the knowledge transfer,” Rashmi said.

Founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools, the university became the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1912 and began granting four-year degrees. In 1967, the Carnegie Institute of Technology merged with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to form Carnegie Mellon University.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> In Brief / by DH News Service, Bengaluru / July 15th, 2018

Got a WW1 story? Share it

July 15, 2018Records, All, World Opinionadmin

School students study a WW1 memorial. | Photo Credit: Handout E Mail

These will be presented during a six-month-long travelling exhibition in schools and public spaces

World War I may have been fought in the trenches of Europe, but under the Raj, India did not escape the horror of the war. And in Bengaluru, monuments bear witness to the people who had laid down their lives in the battle.

A mule that had served faithfully was given its freedom in the then British Cantonment, and its hooves have been preserved in the Madras Engineer Group (MEG) campus. The Mysore State not only sent soldiers to war, but also helped by donating money. The Bangalore torpedo, a device created by Lt. Col. R.L. McClintock, who was attached to Madras Sapper and Miners of the India Army, was used during WW1 to explode barbed wire in trenches.

There are many such little known stories connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru to the WW1. ReReeti, a non-profit organisation that works towards revitalising museums and heritage sites, is trying to spread awareness beyond our textbooks. Under an initiative named ‘White Pepper Black Pepper’, the organisation is collating information on WWI, which will be presented during a six-month-long travelling exhibition in schools and public spaces. The exhibition will be rolled out in August.

In its attempt to collect stories, ReReeti is reaching out to people who either have memorabilia, photos or anecdotes related to the war that can be added to the exhibits.

“WW1 was unique for India in the sense that the largest volunteer army sent to WW1 was from India. ReReeti conceptualised the project to commemorate some of the lesser known parts of history – India’s contribution to the WW1 with a greater focus on Bengaluru. We are trying to collect stories and information, not just about what happened at the war front and what the soldiers went through, but also what happened to the families who were left behind in the city,” said Tejshvi Jain, founder of ReReeti .

During their research, the ReReeti team stumbled upon stories of how the entire city contributed to the WW1 and the memorabilia for the soldiers who lost their lives.

“A fund was created to support the soldiers and families of the martyred. We were able to map seven WWI memorials in the city, including Pioneer Corps Memorial on Brigade Road, Sapper Memorial inside MEG Centre, the Statue of the Unknown Soldier at the National Military Memorial, the cenotaph at St. John’s, the memorial at St. Joseph’s Boys High School, a plaque remembering students and teachers of Bishop Cotton School who fought in the war and the Imperial Service Troops Memorial at Munireddypalya. We also discovered a ‘tipperary’, or tea room, built for soldiers during the war years in the St. John’s premises,” said Ms. Jain.

The organisation has been working with three partner schools in Bengaluru to curate the exhibition. “We have been conducting interactive sessions in the partner schools on India’s role in the war. The students researched and worked on sub-themes, visited memorials, and tried to experience and empathise the different perspectives of soldiers and their families who were involved in and were impacted by the war. Much of this will become part of the travelling exhibition,” she said.

The exhibition draws elements from WW1. Apart from visual content such as photos and information boards, it will offer a sensory experience to visitors.

“We will be setting up two tunnels connecting two rooms to recreate the atmosphere similar to the trenches dug during WW1. To provide realism to the setting, the sight, smell and sound of the trenches will be mimicked,” said Ms. Jain.

The project is being crowdfunded.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Sarumathi K / July 12th, 2018

Sayõnara traffic jams: Japan to install smart signals across Bengaluru

July 12, 2018Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Project aims to reduce waiting time by 30 per cent

Tenders will be floated in September; only Japanese firms will be allowed to bid for the project which will hopefully be completed by December 2019

If the anarchy on the roads doesn’t drive you out by then, you’ll see Japanese efficiency at play in Bengaluru’s traffic signals by December 2019.

After helping Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand with its traffic systems, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will inject approximately Rs 72 crore into building smart network signals in Bengaluru.

“Especially, in 2022, three years after the completion of this project, this new system will help reduce congestion length, currently reaching 550m at longest, by 30 per cent, at interchange facing heavy congestion, and contribute to enhancing the convenience of urban transportation and revitalising the local economy,” the Japanese embassy in New Delhi had said after its ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu, had signed the MoU in December with Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, S Selvakumar.
Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) will be the nodal agency for the project, which entails the following components: a) Bengaluru Traffic Information Centre (B-TIC) which will serve as the central nervous system; b) GPS probe system for BMTC buses, taxis etc which will give information to B-TIC about vehicle location and speed etc; c) Queue-length measurement sensors (QMS) which will analyse the traffic density; and d) Automatic traffic counters and classifiers which will inform B-TIC about the nature of traffic so that signals can be streamlined and made real-time.

What’s more, only Japanese companies are eligible to bid for this process. Tenders will be issued in September and the installation will be completed by December 2019. The bidder will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system for five years.

An official from DULT said, “We will install the QMS along 82 junctions where it will also have the CCTV cameras installed. The QMS will measure the length and size of the vehicles and it will analyze the exact number and type of vehicles. We will install these sensors for every 50, 100 and 150 meters distance of the roads so that it can analyze the actual traffic congestion and it will update the integrated traffic management centre (BBMP, BMTC and Traffic Police). Along with this, we will also install Variable Message Signs in Silk Board, KR Puram Bridge and Trinity Metro Station where it will give a heads-up display of traffic congestion and estimated travelling time for certain destinations. It will be based on real-time inputs received at the traffic management center. Currently both BMTC and traffic police have their traffic management systems but this one will be an integrated traffic management centre that will ease congestion in the city,” he said.

JICA’s Intelligent Transport Systems have helped several cities in Southeast Asia but this is the first time that MODERATO (Management by Origin-Destination Related Adaption for Traffic Optimization) systems will be installed outside of Japan, said N Murali Krishna, Special Officer, DULT. This system will be installed at 29 junctions of MG Road, and Hosur Road and will help alleviate traffic troubles by coordinating the signals and factoring in pedestrian crossing. Basically, through its various components, this system will provide a signal-less (or green) corridor to motorists at the three stretches.

“Currently, the traffic signals installed along the roads has a fixed signal timer irrespective of the number of vehicles along the roads. But with the Japanese technology, signals will automatically change according to the number of vehicles along the road in a particular junction. For example, if there is less number of vehicles on one side and more on the other side of the road, the signal will automatically give more signal time for the road that has more vehicles and less signal timing for the road that has less number of vehicles. We have identified 12 intersections in MG Road, 9 intersections in Hosur Road and 8 intersections on as they always witness heavy vehicle movement,” Krishna said.

Now if only they could bring the cherry blossoms here.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cover Story / by Manoj Sharma, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / July 12th, 2018

Champion for change

July 7, 2018Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Bengaluru-based YouTube content creator Niharika Nm on representing India in YouTube’s Creators for Change initiative for the second year in a row

Amidst the sea of entertainers on the global platform that is YouTube, Bengaluru-based Niharika Nm has made it to the forefront. The third-year engineering student was recently chosen as one of the global ambassadors of Creators for Change — a YouTube initiative, which uses influencers to generate awareness and engage their audience regarding relevant social issues.

This is the second time she has been chosen for the initiative, and this year Niharika will be representing India alongside three other big names in the industry — All India Bakchod (AIB), MostlySane, and Girliyapa. Her first experience with Creators for Change involved her being flown to London by YouTube to attend their Social Camp. “It’s basically a camp in which influencers from around the globe are trained on how to make an impact with their content; to create videos that make a difference,” says Niharika, adding that being in such an environment pushes creators to learn about different cultures and helps them realize that the same problems exist in every country, just to varying extents.

But why make videos on YouTube? Niharika says she has always had a love for theatre. Growing up, she had always been attracted to plays and movies, but the idea of being a part of such productions seemed too wishful. She recollects having been introduced to YouTube when she was in Class 10, but it was nearly three years later that she started expressing herself on the Internet through her videos. She gained popularity through short, funny skits, entertaining viewers with her own brand of observational comedy. Two-and-a-half years later, she has amassed 136K followers.

When asked at what point she realized she had made it big, she answered, “I remember going to the mall and having fans run up to me, asking to take pictures. It was surreal, mostly because a lot of them were my age, or slightly younger.” This incident occurred after her second video, ‘Types of Students Before an Exam’, went viral, garnering her 10,000 new subscribers in just one week. “My dad was even sent a link to one of my videos through Whatsapp by a friend. That was when I knew I had made it,” she says.

The Creators for Change initiative, which was launched in 2016, aims to tackle problems such as xenophobia, hate speech, extremism, and destroy social stigmas. It allows YouTubers to stay true to themselves while addressing issues, sometimes those that they have faced themselves. The social impact videos made by the chosen creators have garnered over 60 million views, and camps connected to the initiative have trained nearly 15,000 young people at over 200 locations across the globe, according to the official YouTube Creators website. The initiative’s mission includes teaching young Internet users how to tackle hate speech, identify fake news, break stereotypes, and spread positivity in their communities through workshops.

Niharika is no stranger to hate herself. “Hate is a by-product of becoming an influencer. I almost quit when I first started on YouTube, because the hate was that intense; it definitely got to me.” The overwhelming support from family, friends and fans motivated her to keep going. She was also greatly supported by Tanmay Bhat of AIB during the early stages of her channel. “I couldn’t believe that someone so influential in the industry was rooting for me, it was unfathomable.”

____________________________

Hate is a by-product of becoming an influencer. I almost quit when I first starter on You Tube ____________________________

Niharika says balancing college and her online persona is a challenge. “I essentially have no time to hang out with my friends. If anything, I get to spend quality time with them once every few months between my college schedule and YouTube. It is harrowing, but on the other hand, so worth it.” She is now looking forward to completing her degree so she can commit herself to creating videos and use her influence in the right way..

Niharika’s video with Creators for Change, 2017, titled ‘Things People Should Stop Saying to Women’, tackles everyday sexism and has garnered over 408K views.

Her next video for the initiative is set to release sometime in September, 2018.

The chronicles of Hatworks

July 4, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

This boulevard on Cunningham Road offers a blast from the past

Do you sometimes wish the world of Narnia were real? That there was an ordinary door you could walk through into an strange, wonderful world? Well, something similar happens on Cunningham Road. The Hatworks Boulevard seems nothing more than a billboard on the outside but when you walk in, you discover a whole new world.

Initially, the home of the Maneckjee family, now a cottage and a commercial space for various stores which deals in clothing, beauty, crafts, desserts and art, this bungalow is over 200 years old. Stone pathways paralleled with luscious greenery, high roofs of Burma teak, French windows, tall original wooden door frames, Italian floor tiles moulded into fleur patterns are some of the architectural elements that makes this place a walk to remember.

Rishad Minocher, oldest grandchild and one of the owners of the colonial-era house, says: “This is my family’s ancestral home. The property belongs to my grandfather who went to the UK to study hat making and returned to set up the business.” The imperial hatworks specialised in making hats for the armed forces, polo and horse riding, and also for the Maharaja of Mysore.

They were the pioneers in making the sola topee in India, which provide the wearer protection from the sun. They also made skull caps, velvet hats and other kinds of headwear, he adds.

“My grandfather was the first to develop the pre-tied Mysore peta donned by the Maharaja of Mysore” says Rishad. The business continued until the early 80s. In 2004 Imperial Hatworks was changed to Hatworks Boulevard.

“I am a firm believer that the house has a life of its own,” Rishad says. The Minochers have done their best to preserve the building. The original stone gate posts, high-raised Mangalore tiled roofs and a blue roof are some of the elements preserved. The tiles used here have also been used in the Mysore Palace and the Bowring Institute as well.

The house also boasts of the Poliphone, an ancient musical instrument, preserved as a show piece. There are some grand old trees at Hatworks Boulevard including mango, banana, raintrees, gulmohar and tamarind.

Where we discover hidden and not so hidden nooks and crannies of the city

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Homes and Gardens> Spaces / by Beaulah Sahana A / June 18th, 2018

A desi keyboard for Indian languages

July 3, 2018Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Guru Prasad with his Ka-naada keyboard for Indian languages | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Simulator Guru Prasad has developed a keyboard suited for Indian languages

A small room on a terrace in Uttarahalli, Bengaluru, is bursting with a big idea. It is the office of KaNaada Phonetics Pvt Ltd which has just launched their new product, ‘Ka-Naada’, in April this year.

Ka-Naada (ka-naada.com) is a patented keyboard layout available as both hardware (with a USB cable) and software. It groups letters according to phonetics, creating a more intuitive interface for languages based on the Brahmi (the common ancestor of Indian scripts) script. The keyboard is available in multiple languages: Kannada, Gujarati, Gurumukhi, Malayalam, Tulu, Oriya and more. A user can switch languages, using the keyboard of one script to type in another. The current keyboard requires QWERTY for certain commands, such as the control and function keys. The future version of Ka-Naada will have these commands as well.

A long time coming

The idea was born in 2009 when Guru Prasad — a simulator based in Orlando, Florida — saw children struggling to learn their mother tongues. With a Ph.D in industrial engineering (simulation systems) he is an expert in simulation, network architecture, distributed systems and systems modeling. The QWERTY keyboard, he determined, was unfit for Indian languages. Navigating a keyboard meant for English disrupted ‘native thinking’. He worked predominantly with linguist Professor BVK Sastry at theYoga-Samskrutham University in Florida, and a few others, to find a solution. The Ka-Naada keyboard layout was finalised by 2011, the first prototype was done by 2012 and the first full keyboard, by 2015. It was an uncomfortable square shape, and had to be redesigned to be rectangular.

KaNaada has received funding from associations such as Kannada Praadhikaara and ITBT (Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology of Government of Karnataka) and design assistance from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Centre of Excellence, IISc. They received their patent in 2017.

“The response, particularly, has been very overwhelming,” Prasad says. “It is highly intuitive for users, right from the get go. Children, particularly, are thrilled to use it. I have heard comments like, Maine aankhe band karke, type kiya (I was able to type with my eyes closed), from them. For adults, there were some training issues because they are so accustomed to QWERTY. We are trying to work to come closer to that keyboard ergonomically.” While maintaining their current layout, the company is experimenting with the size and qualities of the keys and keyboard for the most user-friendly combinations.

For Prasad, the most fascinating part of his journey has been reviving the script of his mother-tongue — Tulu. “The language came alive. All of a sudden, we have a user interface for Tulu. It is the same with Kashmiri (in the Sharada script) and for all the other languages that might go out of use. This might be a boon, that we can keep them alive through our children.”

Increase accessibility

The entrepreneur lights up when asked about the potential of his product. It could open up job opportunities for those in the rural areas who do not know English. It could be a key learning device, and he plans on introducing a toy keyboard for children to use, as they learn their mother tongue. It could be used in government offices, for desktop publishing, or by visually-impaired users. It will soon be available in foreign languages, including Malay, Sinhalese, and Nepalese, which are all Brahmi-based.

As his dreams grow, so does his work. Currently, the entrepreneur is juggling production, research and development, and marketing. He receives his supplies from vendors across the country and is co-sharing a production facility in Bengaluru. However, a large machine has been ordered in anticipation of a full-scale production unit. He has now tied up with NGOs and is working with overseas students who come as part of a Youth Ambassador programme to distribute the keyboard in various rural schools in India.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Technology / by Priya Saraff / July 02nd, 2018

India’s biotech queen Kiran Mazumdar elected to MIT board

June 30, 2018Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Bengaluru:

India’s biotech queen Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw got elected as a full-term member of the MIT Corporation, the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), her company Biocon announced on Thursday.

“I am honoured to be elected as a full-time member of the MIT Board and look forward to contributing to its journey of making a difference in solving challenges of the world,” she said. “Shaw is among the eight members who will serve the five-year term on the Board from July 1,” said the city-based biotech firm in a statement here.

She is also on the board of directors of the US-India Business Council and the board of trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute at California’s Claremont.

Shaw was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2006.

source: http://www.nyoooz.com / Nyooz / Home> Bengaluru / by Siyasat / June 29th, 2018

Bengaluru turns the spotlight on German play scripts

June 29, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

And the stage is set for the newest edition of German Spotlight in Bengaluru.

Over the past four years, this arts project has facilitated a lot more than just a cultural exchange between India and Germany. It’s a discourse between actors, directors and playwrights of two countries that aims at helping the audience “discover the fact that people around the world have more in common than we think”.

A collaboration between Sandbox Collective band Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, the 2018 edition of the initiative will showcase English translations of four German plays in the form of dramatized readings.
Debosmita Dam, who is spearheading the project alongside Nimi Ravindran, says, “German Spotlight is a cultural exchange of a different kind. The scripts chosen for the dramatized readings are written by contemporary German playwrights, who are quite excited about their work being presented to the Indian audience. Although there is no set theme for the readings, the stories – which are made accessible through an online bank at Goethe-Institut – are interesting and quite relatable.” In the past, some of the German Spotlight scripts had been staged as full-length theatre productions in the city.

Laced with interactive sessions before and after the act, dramatised readings have been quite popular among theatre lovers of all age groups in the city. “It’s a curious storytelling format that the audiences usually find to be more engaging than watching a play at an auditorium, as they can almost visualise the scenes and be part of the experience,” adds Debosmita, who is also directing one of the four acts, titled Norway Today.

The show is opening on June 30 with the reading of Peer Pleasures, directed by Karen D’Mello. Speaking about the experience, she says, “Rehearsed play readings give a lot of freedom to the actor as well as the director to explore varied modes of acting within the performance. It’s a flexible format – something like the experience between writing a short story and a novel. Cut to Peer Pleasures, although it’s a German script, the story holds universal relevance. The plot is set in 2006, when SMS was the preferred mode of communication. It was fun to work around the basic emojis of that time.” The cast of this play includes artistes Honey Raza, Nisha Abdulla, Pranay Pandey, Sneha Ram, Vishnu Narain and Sunayana Premchander.

The four plays…

Peer Pleasures – directed by Karen D’Mello
The play is about six university students struggling to find their way through their dreams, their longing for love and their insecurities in the quest for something permanent.

Nightblind – directed by Kanchan Bhattacharyya

It deals with issues of familial discord, friendship and abuse in a relationship from a young and urban viewpoint.

The Jazz Conductor – directed by Lekha Naidu

The play speaks of music and war and hope. It brings to life the romance and nostalgia of the Jazz age, love for theatre and the good-old family amid unspeakable horrors.

Norway Today – directed by Debosmita Dam

This story is essentially a conversation between two young people, who belong to a generation where most of their interactions happen through technology.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / by Reema Gowalla / TNN / June 29th, 2018

Bangalore First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Bengaluru, Kannadigas and all the People of Karnataka – here at Home and Overseas