Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Music conference of Bangalore Gayana Samaja

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The 49th annual music conference of the Bangalore Gayana Samaja will be held from October 21 to 28.

According to a release from the Samaja, veteran musician, scholar, musicologist, performer, teacher and composer Dr. T.S. Sathyavathi has been elected as the conference president.

The eight-day programme will feature demonstrations, music workshops by stalwarts in the field of music in the morning sessions, and there will be music concerts by popular artistes and upcoming artistes in the evening.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / September 04th, 2018

A hundred years in service to their school

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
The alumni association of St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School will organise a centenary year programme from August 31 to September 2. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The alumni association of St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School will organise a centenary year programme from August 31 to September 2. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

If this school has a rich history spanning 160 years to boast about, so does its alumni association. From reconnecting old students to helping the current ones, the association does its bit to strengthen the school and it has been at it for a hundred years.

To celebrate this milestone, the Old Boys Association (OBA) of St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School is organising a centenary year programme from August 31 to September 2 on the school premises on Museum Road. The idea of forming an association of alumni of the St. Joseph’s Boys High School, which was established in 1858, was initiated in 1901.

“But, it took shape only in 1918 after the first World War. The first general body meeting of the association was held in 1919. From just a handful of former students who started the association, the OBA today has over 7,000 members,” said Jyotinath Ganguly, member of the managing committee of OBA and a student of the 1975 batch.

Apart from offering academic scholarships to students, the association has also been giving scholarship for sports. “It provides midday meals to underprivileged students and provides health and accident insurance to the teaching and non-teaching staff,” said Mr. Ganguly.

The OBA also made a significant contribution for the reconstruction of the school and got a modern sports complex built.

“The fact that we alumni have been able to maintain strong ties with the school for this long is very unique. Many eminent personalities have been part of the association, including former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid, former acting President of Singapore J.Y. Pillay, NetApp Ceo George Kurian, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia, Olympic gold medal winners in hockey Walter D’Souza and Jansen Patrick among others. They have helped drive our initiatives,” he said.

As part of the centenary celebrations, the OBA plans to release a coffee table book describing the journey of the association along with a special postal cover and a centenary souvenir.

The book will be released by Rahul Dravid. Gala events for the former students has also been planned.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – August 29th, 2018

Award for NGO in disability sector

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Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre has been selected as one of the four winners of the ninth NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards

The Bengaluru-based non-profit Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC) has been selected as one of the four winners of the ninth NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards, which recognises individuals and organisations working in the field of disability.

DEOC has been selected under the newly introduced NCPEDP-MPHASIS Javed Abidi Public Policy Award. “The centre comprises a truly multi-disciplinary team and has, over the years, acquired the reputation of being a thought leader in the disability sector,” read a release from NCPEDP.

“The DEOC team spends a considerable amount of time on research based work and on training various stakeholder segments and thus adding to the information/ knowledge/ awareness in the field of disability. In this field, where there are very few subject matter specialists, DEOC’s role has been crucial in addressing this lack. DEOC is, perhaps, the only organisation now in India that has the capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders across different disabilities and to bring universal design elements into every aspect of development,” the release added.

Rama Krishnamachari, director, DEOC, said since 2007, the centre has been able to bring in important policy interventions. “For example, earlier, inclusion of persons with disabilities meant only recruitment. But real inclusion is accessibility, and putting a framework in place. In higher education too, admission under the quota is not enough. People should get accommodation in the classroom, exams, hostel, etc.” she said.

The DEOC facilitated the development of a system for providing appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities in the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).

The Election Commission of India has also been selected under the companies/organisations category.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / August 03rd, 2018

A museum in the shape of a human face

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology
An artist’s impression of the speech and hearing museum in the shape of a human face, planned at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing in Mysuru. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
An artist’s impression of the speech and hearing museum in the shape of a human face, planned at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing in Mysuru. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

It will give an overview of speech and hearing, and problems affecting communication

A museum in the shape of a human face is coming up at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) here.

Reckoned to be one of a kind, the museum has been proposed at a cost of ₹5.21 crore to spread awareness on vocal and auditory functions, besides pathological/ dysfunctional conditions, and preventive measures.

AIISH Director Dr. S.R. Savitri told The Hindu that the institute has got the status of Centre of Excellence (COE) from the Union government; and the museum will give an overview of speech and hearing, and the problems affecting communication.

It is also planned to introduce a section on the contribution of ancient India in the field of phonetics, linguistics etc., a note from the institute said.

The basement of the museum representing the neck of a human being will have three floors each with a mezzanine. The floor, walls, and ceiling will have interactive display systems.

The museum has been planned in such a way that visitors feel as if they are entering through the brain and coming out of the lungs, larynx and the oral tract, experiencing how speech is produced, and language is encoded and decoded.

Likewise, visitors will get the feeling of entering the ear system and getting into various parts of the human ear to reach the brain, in order to learn how one listens and understands. The floor of the museum will be fitted with sensors which will lead to the central nervous system through various cranial nerves. When one touches the sensor of a particular nerve end, the sensor will glow showing the path leading to the end of the nerve, the institute’s note said.

The ceiling will have an audio-visual display showing the functions of brain. There will also be posters or large screen projections that are colourful and informative, according to the institute.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – July 20th, 2018

Mridangist B.K. Chandramouli no more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Vidwan B.K. Chandramouli at a lecture demonstration on "Laya in Mrudanga and Konnakool Specialities and Similarities", at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall on October 06, 2015. | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy.
Vidwan B.K. Chandramouli at a lecture demonstration on “Laya in Mrudanga and Konnakool Specialities and Similarities”, at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall on October 06, 2015. | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy.

His last rites are on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Harishchandraghat. Chandramouli is survived by his wife Jayanthi, son and daughter B.C. Harini.

Senior mridangist of Carnatic tradition B.K. Chandramouli, 70, died on Friday at his residence in Rajajinagar in Bengaluru.

He was suffering from liver cancer for the last few months, said his son and mridangist B.C. Manjunath.

Referred to as the “Hero of Laya” in Karnataka, a host of young percussionists trained by him recollected the master strokes the vidwan wielded. He was one of the rare left-handed mridangists whose diversity of tone and texture stood out even during larger tala-vadhya ensembles.

He was a child prodigy and his mother Rajamma Keshavamurthy initiated him into music as a toddler. By eight, Chandramouli had started to accompany well-known musicians. Even before his graduation he had his pakkavadhya for most of the leading musicians of the 1960s and 70s, including R.K. Sriantan and T.V. Shankaranarayanan. He was, for long, associated with the forming of the Karnataka Ganakala Parishath.

“My father was trained under veterans like Gopal Rao, Palghat Raghu and Ayyamani Iyer,” says Mr. Manjunath. “He always told me that even when his gurus came to know of his dominant left-hand, the three teachers never tried changing this. He moulded into his own style.”

He was one of the rare percussionists and Konakkol (verbal percussion) artists who had accompanied four different generations of artistes.

Chandramouli nephew and llautist Amith Nadig said that Chandramouli had not just travelled widely, but had trained nearly 500 percussionists. “His lec-dems were veritable classes that both the music lovers and the uninitiated looked forward to,” says Mr. Amith. He said that Chandramouli was a pioneer in Konakkol vocabulary and had researched into the 400-year-old art.

The mridanga vidwan was also known for his organisational capabilities especially as he was associated with the Tyagaraja Gana Sabha and the Malleswaram Sangeeta Sabha.

His last rites are on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Harishchandraghat. Chandramouli is survived by his wife Jayanthi, son and daughter B.C. Harini.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – July 20th, 2018

Kannada poet Vyasa Rao passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
M.N. Vyasa Rao. File
M.N. Vyasa Rao. File

Noted Kannada poet and film lyricist M.N. Vyasa Rao passed away at his residence in Bengaluru on Sunday morning.

He was 73 and is survived by his wife, daughter and a son.

Vyasa Rao collapsed after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while having his breakfast and died in his house, sources said.

A bank employee by profession, Vyasa Rao entered Kannada film industry as a lyricist in 1975 in the hit film Shubhamangala directed by thespian Puttanna Kanagal. The songs he wrote for the film — “Suryangu chandrangu bandare munisu” and “Nakondla Naku” — remain classics even today.

He worked as a lyricist for many Puttanna Kanagal films and later expanded his repertoire. Many of his other poems are also known as ‘bhaavageetes’ (light music).

Vyasa Rao was also a novelist and had authored several detective and literary novels in Kannada, apart from writing short stories.

He was also a recipient of Karnataka Rajya Sahitya Academy award for his short story collection “Maleyalli Neneda Maragalu”.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru – July 15th, 2018

Bengalurean gets crowned in plus-sized modelling contest

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A Bengaluru resident, Sameera Dahiya was crowned the second runner-up at the Miss North India Plus Size 2018 held in Chandigarh on July 8.

Bengaluru  :

A Bengaluru resident, Sameera Dahiya was crowned the second runner-up at the Miss North India Plus Size 2018 held in Chandigarh on July 8.

The second edition of the event included three rounds including a three-day grooming session. Out of 800 women who auditioned for the contest, only 50 were shortlisted.

Conceptualised by Hardeep Arora, the event aims to encourage plus-sized women to embrace their bodies, and prevent body shaming.  The pageant provides plus-sized models a stage to walk the ramp.

A biker and yoga instructor, Sameera’s tale is an inspirational one. “When you travel, it gets difficult to follow a healthy routine. Before I started riding, I weighed 65 kg. Now, I weigh 20 kg more than my ideal weight. Because of a medical condition, my weight hasn’t budged in the last two years,” says Sameera, who was into sports and fitness for 12 years.

In 2016, she quit her software engineering job and decided to turn her passion for biking into a profession. “I am a professional motorcyclist and I participate in racing and off-roading competitions. I teach women biking, and 60 per cent of 300 participants we have, are plus-sized,” she says, adding that over the years, she’s come to understand that size is not a point of concern.

She highlights the importance of accepting your body type.

“This is not just for women. Plus-size men also face similar challenges. Being a slightly larger is not a curse, you just need to take care of your health,” she says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / July 11th, 2018

Infosys Foundation to fund IRs.200 crore for metro station

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Dr. Sudha Murty, chairman, Infosys Foundation, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Dr. Sudha Murty, chairman, Infosys Foundation, in Bengaluru on Saturday.

It will maintain the tracks and station for 30 years after completion of the project

The Infosys Foundation is looking to fund ₹200 crore for the proposed Konappanna Agrahara Metro station at Electronics City under the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s Phase-II project.

A memorandum of understanding between the Infosys Foundation and BMRCL will be signed on July 19, said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday. Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty met him at his home office Krishna. Apart from donating a huge amount to Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, the foundation also has played a major role in the Education sector.

On the occasion, Ms. Murty said her foundation would also take up maintenance of the metro rail tracks and the station for a period of 30 years after the completion of the project.

“It is a win-win situation for the both the company and the BMRCL. A concourse from the metro station to the IT park will give a hassle-free access to the metro station,” said Ajay Seth, managing director, BMRCL. Infosys will reportedly also provide the land for the metro station.

“Linking the metro with IT corridors like Electronic City is very crucial as it will help people commuting to tech parks for work. The State government had given the green signal to raise funds for the project under the innovative financing scheme where companies reach an agreement with BMRCL to fund the project to build a the metro station near their campus,” Mr. Seth added.

In the past the BMRCL had reached an agreement with companies — such as Intel Technology India Pvt. Ltd., Embassy Group — to fund the construction of metro stations at Kadubeesanahalli and Bellandur on the ORR line (Silk Board to K.R. Puram). The companies also get naming rights, commercial and advertisement spaces at the metro station for certain period and others. However, the terms of references may differ for each company funding the project.

source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / July 08th, 2018

Champion for change

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

NiharikaBF07jul2018

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.

Niharika02BF07jul2018

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.

 

Information centre to create awareness on conservation

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The nature information centre near M.M Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
The nature information centre near M.M Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

First such facility to benefit local communities; to be inaugurated today

A nature information centre, focused on creating awareness among local communities as against the conventional practice of catering to tourists, is set for inauguration at Yellemaala village of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajanagar district.

Established by the Nature Conservation   Foundation, it is the first such facility that will benefit local communities, school and college students living on the fringes of the protected areas and forests.

Apart from creating awareness among the public, it will help educate local political and social leaders who have an influence on wildlife conservation, according to Sanjay Gubbi, a wildlife biologist from NCF and the one who has envisaged the concept.

The information centre is named after the tree Terminalia arjuna, called Holematthi in Kannada, and is located on the edge of the M.M. Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuaries, and is also close to the Biligirirangana Tempe (BRT) Tiger Reserve.

Mr. Gubbi said the centre will have information in Kannada about local flora and fauna, different kinds of wildlife habitats found in M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, all of which are depicted in an artistic form.

Apart from information on plant-animal interactions, threats to wildlife, relationship between insects and food plants, and other scientific information presented in simple understandable language, it also has games about nature, targeted at children.

As Chamarajanagar district has the highest number of tigers and elephants in Karnataka , there are dedicated sections that provide information about these species, in addition to facts about otters, East Indian satinwood tree, edible plants found in the forests and other such interesting information. Behaviour and life cycle of wildlife species are explained in a story format to make it more interesting.

Nature artist Sangeetha Kadur has designed and curated the centre, and many local youths were involved in the project. Chamarajanagar MP R. Dhruvanarayan will inaugurate the centre on Friday.

V. Yedukondalu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, said the centre will also be used by the Forest Department to promote conservation through outreach programmes.

Since the local community co-exists with animals, share the same landscape, and are dependent on natural resources for their survival, educating them on such issues also makes them stakeholders in conservation which will augur well for environment and wildlife protection, said the official.

This is reckoned to be important as conservation efforts by the forest department cannot succeed without local support.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – July 06th, 2018