Category Archives: World Opinion

12-year-old Bengaluru girl to perform at Carnegie Hall

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

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Bengaluru :

Performing at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, New York, is a dream for any musician. And a 12-year-old Bengaluru girl is all set to live this dream.

Nilanjanaa Jayant will join a handful of musicians like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain when she performs at the hall in October. The honour follows her victory at the Golden Voices of America competition.

In March, Nilanjanaa’s mother asked her to send an entry for the event. The girl sent a clipping of her performing Frank Sinatra’s popular jazz number Fly me to the Moon.

Declared a winner in the Musical Theater/Disney/Broadway/Jazz category a month later, Nilanjanaa will perform live the same song at Carnegie Hall this October. Winners in other categories will also perform with her.

Music and Nilanjanaa go a long way, recalls her mother, Sangeeta Ananth. “Even as a young girl, she’d hum the tunes of songs really well. When she turned six, we made her join Carnatic music classes. Though she was left-handed, she was expected to put the tala only with the right hand. This she couldn’t digest and refused to attend the classes.”

“I didn’t understand why I had to use my right hand,” says Nilanjanaa, who was later introduced to Bengaluru-based music school Taaqademy, founded by musicians Rajeev Rajagopal and Bruce Lee Mani.

“It was so much more fun learning music at Taaqademy. They encourage you to do what you want to rather than what you are expected to do,” said the 12-year-old.

The only child of JP Nagar residents Jayant Ananthkrishnan and Sangeeta Ananth, Nilanjanaa studies in class VIII at The Samhita Academy, Bannerghatta Road.

Not just Nilanjanaa, even her teacher Ragini Ramanathan will get a certificate of recognition from the Golden Voices of America for having trained her. “When she came to Taaqademy, she showed a lot of potential. Her voice was loud and clear and her pitch would hit the right notes. She is so determined to learn and so hard working that she wouldn’t give up even if she didn’t get it right after trying 3-4 times,” said Ragini, 25, faculty at Taaqademy.

For IT professional Jayant Ananthakrishnan, Taaqademy was the best thing that happened to his daughter.

“The experience with the music school has been very fulfilling. This success is the result of the training she has been getting there. Coming from a south Indian background, people kept advising us against western music, telling us that she will get used to using the right hand to put her talas. But we know we weren’t wrong in choosing Taaqademy,” he said.

“I have a bit of stage-fright. I’m just going to try and calm myself down before I get on the stage there,” said Nilanjanaa, gearing up for an experience of a lifetime.

Golden Voices of America

Golden Voices of America is an international competition, open to all countries for vocalists of different age groups. It began in 2009 under the American Fine Arts Festival.
Vocalists compete on this global platform and the winners get to perform at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall and at Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / Deepika Burli, TNN / April 27th, 2016

Narayana Murthy to ‘hunt’ his friends in US

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Science & Technology, World Opinion

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While a trip to the United States may not be unusual for Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy , the one starting this week promises to be different.

Kick-starting one of the biggest alumni hunts, Narayana Murthy and his team will be travelling coast to coast in the US to find and reconnect with the ‘missing’ alumni of the Mysuru-based National Institute of Engineering (NIE).

It is estimated that around 8,000 graduates from the institute who moved to the US – especially in the 1960s and 1970s – had lost touch with their alma mater and their colleagues over the years.

Given the prevalence of social media and various other channels of communication, it is now time to reconnect.

According to NIE principal Gowri L Shekar, NIE had been planning an expansion and had recently inducted Narayana Murthy as a board member. “It was Murthy’s idea to reach out and reconnect with the institute’s global alumni.

It is a fact that thriving institutes across the globe maintain a good relationship and are in contact with their alumni. So, we too are attempting to do this. Murthy, who is on the board of some top institutes in the world, including Princeton, suggested that we take a global tour to connect.

So, as per the plan, our team along with Narayana Murthy will begin our alumni connect in Austin on April 30 and conclude their trip in New York on May 7.

In a span of eight days, they will organize events in six US cities and meet with our alumni,” added Shekar.
Shekar said that Narayana Murthy is deeply involved in their efforts to reconnect with the institute’s alumni. “Narayana Murthy has asked us to concentrate on the San Francisco Bay Area and talk to the alumni there and build a connection. He said doing so will make us a healthier institution and will add immense value to the university.

“His knowledge of higher education is very significant as he is well aware of the industry. His mantra was that well-known universities in the West focus on their alumni and Indian colleges should follow suit. He spoke of adapting good practices of universities and the US alumni connect tour is part of it,” said Shekar.

Narayana Murthy passed out of NIE in 1967 with a degree in electrical engineering and was the highest ranking student from his branch. “One thing I remember was his punctuality, he would not miss a single class even on days when there was a strike or a bandh in Mysuru.

Narayana Murthy would often recall his mother’s words that he was studying in an aided college which was funded by the state government and hence bunking a single day would amount to doing injustice to tax payer’s money. So, Murthy religiously followed his mother’s words and never missed a class,” added Shekar.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Tech> Tech News / Sridhar Vivan, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 26th, 2016

IIMB team comes third in leadership contest at Yale

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

A team from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), has secured the third position globally at the Integrated Leadership Case Competition 2016, held at Yale University recently.

The IIMB team finished ahead of teams from Yale School of Management and MIT Sloan School of Management. The winning team was from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines, while the one from University of South California, United States, stood second.

The IIMB team comprised Rajat Mangla, Nakul Sehgal, Nitish Ranjan and Kshitij Chaudhary. According to a release from the institute, in round one the teams were asked to submit a video/PPT/essay on integrated leadership and its impact on a real-life problem.

The IIMB team was shortlisted based on a written submission that focused on integrated leadership in the automotive industry in light of the massive disruption caused by autonomous driving and cab aggregators.

Fifteen teams from 11 countries qualified for the next round, which was held at Yale University in New Haven. The teams were given a case study to solve in seven hours. The case study was about solving the challenges created by palm oil production in Indonesia.

The team from IIMB presented an innovative solution, creating a comprehensive action plan for all stakeholders in the case study.

Based on these presentations, three teams were selected for the final round in which the teams presented their solution to a panel of judges comprising experts from both industry and academia.

The team finished ahead of those from many reputed international institutions

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – April 20th, 2016

Six ladies from city enter into Guinness Book for Creating ‘Largest Crochet Blanket ’

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
From left: Vasanthi Bhaskar, Sujatha Badri, Navaneetha Jayaram Shetty, Devaki Ranganathan and Lalitha Suresh displaying the Guinness Certificates.
From left: Vasanthi Bhaskar, Sujatha Badri, Navaneetha Jayaram Shetty, Devaki Ranganathan and Lalitha Suresh displaying the Guinness Certificates.

Mysuru :

Six women from Mysuru were among the 2,500 women from across India, who recently made it to the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records for having created the ‘Largest Crochet Blanket’ measuring a staggering 11,148 square metres in size.

This was a pan-India initiative by the Mother India’s Crochet Queens Group, with women from many cities contributing towards this record.

Those from Mysuru who contributed to this world record are: Vasanthi Bhaskar, Lalitha Suresh, Kamalamma Sathyanarayana (not in pic), Navaneetha Jayaram Shetty, Devaki Ranganathan and Sujatha Badri.

The blanket, created by members of the Facebook group Mother India’s Crochet Queens, is made up of 8,000 individual pieces and is the size of one-and-a-half football fields, making it more than three times as big as the previous Guinness World Record, created by a group in South Africa.

This massive blanket was later segregated into 5000 individual blankets and donated to NGOs across the nation, according to Vasanthi Bhaskar.

The Facebook group was started by Chennai resident Subhashri Natarajan in August 2015 to connect with fellow knitting enthusiasts.

The project was a beautiful combination of social media and the old world charm of crochet, says Subhashri.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Friday – April 15th, 2016

Playgrounds is best short film at Los Angeles fest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
Proud entry:M.D. Pallavi and Shamik Sen Gupta’s Playgrounds was made on a shoestring budget of Rs. 3.2 lakh.
Proud entry:M.D. Pallavi and Shamik Sen Gupta’s Playgrounds was made on a shoestring budget of Rs. 3.2 lakh.

Kannada Sugama Sangeeta and theatre artist M.D. Pallavi and Shamik Sen Gupta’s Playgrounds was adjudged the Best Short Film at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) held from April 6 to 10.

The 18.08-minute short film has been selected for screening at eight international film festivals held across the country so far, besides winning gold in the Asian New Force category at 21 Incubator for Film and Visual Media in Asia (IFVA) Festival, Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Jigmet Wangchuk, cinematographer of No One Killed Jessica, handled the camera for Playgrounds . The story is woven around the child of migrant labourer in the booming metropolis. This toddler falls asleep in an auto while in a game of hide-and-seek. When the driver discovers the child, he sets about trying to return her to the parents. “It is a game of survival in a concrete arena,” says the log line of the film.

Playgrounds was made on a shoestring budget of Rs. 3.2 lakh and has been shot in suburban streets, low-income class neighbourhoods, streets, hospital, construction sites, and workers’ shanties juxtaposed against and separated from a massive building complex by a deep moat, emphasising the divide. “While in some of the locations we had permission to shoot, in several others we had to shoot discreetly,” said Ms. Pallavi.

It took some three months for the director duo to write the script. “We shot the entire film in seven days. Since the film commences in the evening and ends after midnight, we had to shoot mostly at night with very little artificial lighting,” she explained.

Interestingly the film has various languages – Dakhani Urdu and Tamil besides Kannada. “It is our intention to make a multilingual film to capture the authentic soundscape of the Indian urban spaces where you don’t hear one but multiple languages,” she said.

“We are surprised on learning about the award. We could not go to Los Angeles to receive it because of financial constraints,” Ms. Pallavi said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bengaluru – April 13th, 2016

From Austin Town to China

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

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A Kannada documentary traces the journey of underprivileged footballers from Bengaluru to China. The film, which won a national award, went largely unnoticed

A team of 14 boys from the shanties of Austin Town, who love football over anything else in their lives, recently created history by representing Bengaluru at the Great Wall Cup at the Olympic Nest in Beijing.

These underprivileged kids participated in an event where 30 countries competed for the trophy and returned with the runners-up cup. Their parents work as sweepers, maids, band members who play at funerals, and cooks in smalls hotels.

Moved by the spirit of these boys, Jacob Varghese, who has earlier directed Kannada hits like Savari, and Prithvi starring Puneeth Rajkumar, made Dribbling with their Future, a Kannada documentary on these children.

The film got the award in the Best Exploration/Adventure film category at the 63rd National Film Awards this year, but was lost in the cacophony of larger films.

According to Jacob, Dribbling with their Future documents the journey of the children to realise their dream of playing at the Great Wall Cup. Jacob believes his film should speak, rather than its creator.

“It is up to the audience to interpret and relate to it,” he says. So far he has made two short films –Andhyam (the story of a hangman), which went to many international film festivals, and Putti (the story of a seven year old girl, and her grandmother in a drought-hit village).

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Excerpts from the interview:

What made you want to move away from star-driven features to a documentary like this?

I was never in awe of any actor and I always treat them as a part of the crew. For me, they are mere actors and never stars or heroes.

There are a lot of people I come across in my life, doing extraordinary work, which makes them real heroes, unlike our reel heroes. And these people go unnoticed. Documentary filmmaking helps me bring their story into the limelight. That is really exciting.

What made you make a film on this particular subject?

The determination of the boys, who are all younger than 15, and participated in the football tournament crossing all hurdles, touched me to the core. The boys in Austin Town love to play football, at a time when boys of their age opt for cricket, which is more remunerative than football. I wanted to attempt making a documentary as there are so many compelling stories you see around, which need to be told. That’s why, when I heard of these boys, who come from underprivileged backgrounds, and learnt of their passion for this sport and the struggle they underwent to fulfil their dream, I decided to document their journey from Austin Town to Beijing.

Did you enjoy making this documentary?

I loved this aspect of filmmaking as a documentary filmmaker — the independence, no boundaries and framework for the shoot — I was comfortable with this genre. This allows me to explore newer avenues of filmmaking.

Had you expected an award for this film?

No, not at all. If I get an award, it is well and good. At the same time an award doesn’t make any difference to the approach I have towards life and filmmaking.

Why do you think your film went unrecognised?

Yes, there was confusion regarding the language of the film. The film has a voiceover in English and this led to all the confusion. I again wanted to make it clear that Dribbling with their Future is a Kannada documentary, as some people even now think that it was not a Kannada film. I didn’t want to publicise the award — it came my way. I made a film and the jury recognised that.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / Muralidhara Khajane / Bangalore – April 11th, 2016

Bengaluru Musician in John Lennon Contest Finals

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

Sandeep Boniface, a city-based musician, has been shortlisted for the coveted John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

His composition Moments of Bliss has been selected as one of the three entering the final round for the award. He is a music composer, singer, keyboardist and music teacher at Canadian International School, Bengaluru.

The contest, named after the former Beatles singer, was started by Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono in 1997. It is a platform for amateur and professional musicians across the globe.

Over the years, Sandeep got many offers to sing for Bollywood films, thanks to his association with musicians from around the country. However, he did not go down that road. “I did not want to cater to a particular market. I wanted freedom to make my own music,” he says.

Being nominated for an international prize has been a dream come true, says Sandeep.

“It is also a privilege to rub shoulders with fellow finalist and Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej,” he says.

Sandeep started learning piano at a very young age and performed for the first time at the local church when he was 10. “One of my earliest influences was the band Bee Gees. I was fascinated by their compositions and the harmony in their music,” he says.

Subsequently, works of French composer Eric Serra created an impact on him.

As a singer, Sandeep learnt a lot from Rab Halford, lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest, and Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

He has sung and composed music for numerous radio jingles, TV commercials, documentaries, films and plays. He has also worked with organisations like Nimhans as a music consultant. A couple of months ago, he set up his own recording studio named DJ Nitro Production.

“Winning the award will help me reach out to a global audience,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / Express News Service/ April 07th, 2016

City architect only Indian at Swiss clock-making competition

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru:

Dilip Sivaraman, a Benglauru-based architect, believes everything has a soul and requires a human touch. For the same reason, he found love in watches that run mechanically.

“I have always loved the fact that a watch can be powered by you. Till today, I wear the HMT winding watch and it works beautifully,” he said. Little did he know that this passion for watches would make him the only Indian finalist on a global platform for watch-making apprentices.

For Dilip, 38, buying a 1980s clock over a year ago meant revisiting the heritage of clock-making. “I am a purist. So, whatever I buy or have currently in my house is a throwback in time,” said Sivaraman.

However, finding it tough to set the timepiece right, Dilip took to exploring the world of clocks himself. He searched the internet and scoured through online books on clock-making.

Recalling the experience of reading digitized versions of over 200-year-old books, Dilip said, “Most of these were written when technology didn’t exist. While questioning the need for complete traditional clock-making, I decided to integrate the use of technology into it as well.”

Although it took him 18 months, Dilip successfully designed and recreated from the scratch a mechanical regulator clock, which he named Gato.

Last September, while doing a regular follow up on the Academie Horlogere des Createurs Independants (AHCI) website, Dilip chanced upon the AHCI young talent competition for young clock/watch making apprentices. “I showed them the design of my clock while informing them that I’m not a formal student or apprentice. For something that I did out my love for it, they let me complete the project and send in my entry by January,” said Dilip.

Being the only Indian to enter the global competition and emerging among the top ten finalists, Dilip not only received huge support from the watch-making community at Switzerland but also got to meet his icon and renowned high-end watchmaker, FP Journe at the Baselworld watch exhibition in Switzerland this March.

A resident of Murugeshpalya, Dilip has plans to take his passion forward, “I wanted to make a clock that’d last for the next few hundred years and not just perish. At AHCI, I was encouraged to join their community of watchmakers. They have offered to review my work. But, for now, I’m hoping to wind up with Gato and, hopefully, start my next project soon,” he said.

Encouraging Experience

When I started the project I had no idea that it would enter the competition. The clock wasn’t complete and I had to seek an extension of deadline from the event organizers. But when I presented my work at the AHCI competition, watch-makers came up to me asking if I was willing to sell it. That was very encouraging. I hope to see my clock being sold someday and contribute to independent watch making.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / by Deepika Burli, TNN / April 06th, 2016

Anaga for Asian Youth Chess Championships

Sports, Uncategorized, World Opinion

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Mysuru :

Former National U-7 girls champion, K.G. Anaga (in pic) from Kalale, Nangangud Taluk, is representing India in the Under-8 girls section in the Asian Youth Championships to be held at Mongolia from Apr. 5 to 15.

She is a student at Acharaya Vidyakula School, Kalale, Nangangud Taluk and is the daughter of Gopinath, who is a school teacher and her coach.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / April 04th, 2016

Bengaluru based girl, 13, bags gold medal and a ticket to meet US senators for her social work

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

All of 13, the young philanthropist, Nikhiya Shamsher from Bengaluru has bagged a gold medal and awarded with the stature of ‘National Honoree’ at the Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards 2016, held at New Delhi. Nikhiya has now been invited to Washington D.C to represent India in the felicitation events to be held on April 30, May 1 and 2.

She will be honoured at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. and will visit U.S Senators on Capitol Hill, share her experiences and ideas with the Spirit Honourees from other countries.

Nikhiya had competed with 4,000 participants in India and would be honoured along with 25 winners from 10 countries and 100 winners from USA.

The Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards is the extension of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the largest youth recognition programme in the United States that identifies and recognizes school students who have made a positive difference in their communities through volunteer community service, across the world.

Nikhiya is a passionate blogger, a national level archer and has been the brain behind her initiative ‘Bags, Books and Blessings’ & ‘Yearn to Learn’. While Bags, Books and Blessings aims to collect re-usable bags, books and school supplies for less privileged school children, Yearn to Learn aims to set up Science and Math Labs in schools and primary colleges that do not have them.

Nikhiya Shamsher, Grade 8 student from Greenwood High International School, said: “I am greatly honoured and humbled to win the gold medal. The cash prize will be utilized towards launching laboratories in more schools. I did not make the journey alone. Many people have supported me on the way. I am grateful to my parents, school principal and teachers for encouraging and mentoring me to achieve my goals. I am also grateful to my donors and volunteers who have made my journey fruitful. Just knowing that we have helped so many students in their educational journey is a wonderful feeling”.

Nikhiya, who had participated in the individual category, has been awarded the Gold Medal, a Certificate of Excellence and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / by Sreemoyee Chatterjee / TNN / April 06th, 2016