Monthly Archives: December 2013

Mangalore doctor re-elected to AOMSI

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Mangalore :

City based oral and maxillofacial surgeon Manjunath Rai has been re-elected as the honorary general Secretary of Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons of India (AOMSI) for 3 years term.

Election for the new office bearers was held during the 38th national annual conference of AOMSI at Bubaneshwar, Orissa. Dr Rai is having the rare distinction of being the youngest person to hold the post of honorary general secretary when he was elected unanimously in 2010 for a term of 3 years.

Presently, he is the vice principal and head, department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, KVG Dental College and Hospital, Sullia. He is also the consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Father Muller’s Medical College and Hospital. He is a practitioner running a successful practice at Rai Dental Specialty clinic in the city. He is also the elected Senate member of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore from the Professor category. He has made the City proud by organising the First Asian PG convention in August 2013 at Mangalore.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore> Health Sciences / by Vinobha KT, TNN / December 06th, 2013

Yoga tourism in Mysore can be a big money-spinner

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel, World Opinion

by N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC

BallalBF18dec2013How many of you are aware of the fact that Mysore is the yoga capital of India? About 4 to 5000 students stay in the city for a period of three months throughout the year getting training in about 10 centres spread across the city. It is also a well-known fact that several Hollywood stars and celebrities have got their yoga training from masters teaching at these very centres. Think of the economic benefit of this form of tourism to this great city if the number of students double.

But as usual, our officials of Department of Tourism are laid back and are not taking advantage of this phenomena to bring in more yoga tourists to Mysore. The fact that Mysore is an important destination for yoga is not at all publicised and even our own people are not aware of this. It is not necessary that we depend on only foreign tourists but well-heeled gentry from our own country can come here for training. Yoga tourism can be a big money-spinner and since it involves local talent, it will ensure the overall benefit for the city.

But where is the festival of yoga being held in India? Surprised ? It is not in Mysore but in “Goa.” Ironical but true. We have a pro-active tourism officials of that State who capitalised on this idea and are holding a festival of yoga in their State in the month of December 2013. Better late than never, let us at least try to recreate these festivals which are called “Life spirit festivals” next year in our city to capitalise on the advantage of being the yoga capital of India.

There are 5 yoga festivals planned currently all over the world and I would like to enumerate them for the benefit of readers for them to get an idea of the variety on offer.

1. Zambhala in Goa, December 2013: This festival planned on December 21 and 22 is supposed to be the biggest yoga festival in India. The two-day event promises to bring in 70 of the best yoga teachers, spiritual teachers, practitioners and healers from all over the world. That is not all; the festival also has special sessions on sufi-whirling and special workshops on new and different meditation techniques, crystal healing, chanting and also star-gazing.

2. Bali Spirit Festival in Ubud, March 2014: This festival started in 2008 and now has become a hot tourist spot for practitioners of various forms of yoga, meditation and other spiritual healing. The festival has about 150 day-time workshops by top instructors and special “bhakthi” series of devotional music. This festival has some special classes for children also.

3. Berlin Yoga Festival, June 2014: One of the largest 4-day festivals of Europe, the festival presents health related, philosophical and special emphasis on sports aspects of yoga therapy. Yoga experts from all over the world share their experience in the interactive sessions.

4. Wanderlust Festival at Oahu, Hawaii: This fest brings together Chefs, DJ and other forms of music therapy and also combines music and meditation along with hiking, all-night chakra-spinning sessions and tasting of farm to table dinners.

5. Caribbean Yoga Conference at Jamaica, Jan. 2014: This four-day festival is hosted at Jamaica. One learns the core spiritual values of ayurveda practice, that is sahana, seva and sangha. This festival has a nice circus yoga programme, an enjoyable event for children.

I have a suggestion. The Department of Tourism officials can go on a jaunt to at least two of these festivals to find out as to how these international events are planned and executed.

We have three revered Godmen — Sri Ravishankar Guruji, Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev — who would go out of the way to help develop Mysore. They have a huge following and any festival held with their blessings would automatically become a success.

Mysore has only one activity, that is Dasara and one more big event in the form of yoga festival can be a big money-spinner for the city. A vibrant yoga festival, world class, held year after year means tremendous economic benefit for the local population. But this event need not be a government-sponsored one. It can be a private enterprise also. All the ten centres of yoga training can come together, hire an event manager and do this, with active support from the Seers. There is no use waiting for our government which is in a hibernation mode to get up and act. They will wake up only by next June or July for next year’s Dasara.

We have a huge agarbathi industry, which can also sponsor this event with professional help to ensure that this event can be a profitable venture. A win-win venture. Think of the TV coverages and advertisements; both national and international. I sincerely appeal R. Guru, Chairman, Rangarao & Sons, to give active support for such an event. Sir, once you give the green signal, other like-minded Mysoreans will follow. Let us not wait for this government to wake up. Let me at least dream of an international yoga festival for next year at Mysore and hope it comes true.

[e-mail: ananthballal@ yahoo.com]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 12th, 2013

Krishna Samrat Dr.Devagi Prafulla Chandra passes away

Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature

Shimoga :

Well-known agriculturist and technologist Dr. Devangi Prafulla Chandra passed away at a private hospital here yesterday following heart attack. He was 80.

He leaves behind his wife Sathyavathi Prafulla Chandra and two sons, Savyasachee and Ikshu, who are doing well in the field of agriculture.

Former Forest Secretary A.C. Lakshman, who has condoled the death of Dr. Devangi Prafulla Chandra, has said that Prafulla Chandra had become a legend during his life time for his perseverance, innovative successful experiments and a great missionary in different fields of agriculture.

He went on breaking records after records for production of paddy, and sugarcane. He broke the State record, improved them continuously, set National record and ultimately reached a world record. Prafulla Chandra was honoured by the food and agriculture organisation in 1988, an honour first of its kind to an Asian. He was given a State award by the Govt. of Karnataka for his life time contribution to the field of agriculture.

He was also a walking encyclopedia on agriculture. His farm was an open agriculture university whose doors were open to farmers 24×7. His innovative experiments lead to the development of new ovens where firewood consumption was considerably reduced. He had proved that the Areca leaves are sufficient for curing Areca nuts. This was a great contribution from the point of forest conservation. He was able to save thousands of acres of forest fire wood trees from felling.

His services were used by the Govt. of Karnataka in many forms. He was a member of Senate Agricultural University Bangalore and served in different Boards at the State and also at National level.

He was the recipient of honorary doctorates from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwar and Kuvempu University, Shimoga for his work towards technology transfer to rural development.

He is the brother-in-law of renowned Kannada poet and literary personality, the late Kuvempu.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 12th, 2013

WADIYAR: A Profile

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

WadiyarAProfileBF17dec2013

Born to Jayachamaraja Wadiyar and Tripura Sundarammanni couple on Feb.20, 1953, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar completed BA degree in Political Science from Maharaja’s College and acquired Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Mysore.

During his student days, Wadiyar also captained the Mysore University Cricket team and was known for his friendly relationship.

After being coroneted as the Yuvaraja in 1974, Wadiyar got married to Pramodadevi in 1976 and later got elected to Lok Sabha from Mysore Constituency in 1984, 1989, 1996 and 1999 on Congress ticket, during which period, he strived for conversion of Mysore-Bangalore Railway track into Broad Guage.

In the changed political scenario, Wadiyar quit Congress and joined the BJP to unsuccessfully contest from Mysore Parliamentary Constituency, thus facing first defeat of his illustrious political career.

After serving as the President of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) between 2007-2010, Wadiyar, teaming up with Brijesh Patel swept the elections to the KSCA earlier this month in Bangalore winning all the 24 seats.

Besides taking active part in sporting activities, Wadiyar, who evinced interest in other activities passed an examination on Western Music at the Trinity College of Music in London.

Wadiyar, who served as the Chairman of Chamarajendra Art Gallery in Jaganmohan Palace, Lakshamma Ammanni Education Trust, Jayacahmarajendra Education Trust also performed as a visiting lecturer in the Department of Political Science in Manasagangotri.

Besides having the hobby of collecting antiques, watches and fancy cars, the late scion had actively taken part in activities of Mysore Race Club, Bangalore Turf Club, Delhi Race Club and many other sporting bodies.

He was also the Chairman of Mysore International Travel Agency, Manjunatha Packaging Works, Gayathri Enterprises, Saraswathi Enterprises, Venkateshwara Real Estate Agency etc.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 11th, 2013

Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat remembers art connoisseur Wadiyar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

( Left -1) City’s renowned artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat interviewed by K.B. Ganapathy, Editor -in-Chief, Star of Mysore.( Right - 2) The Wadiyar couple with artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat. [Pic by by S. Thippeswamy]
( Left -1) City’s renowned artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat interviewed by K.B. Ganapathy, Editor -in-Chief, Star of Mysore.( Right – 2) The Wadiyar couple with artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat. [Pic by by S. Thippeswamy]
by K.B. Ganapathy

I first met Mahaswami at the Palace along with the Taranga Kannada Weekly Editor Santosh Kumar Gulwadi. That was for the purpose of interviewing Wadiyar for an article on his Private Durbar. He was shown some of my paintings, including Ganjifa paintings. He went through those paintings showing keen interest and said that his great-grandfather Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was in fact the creator of 18 Ganjifa card games and also wrote the slokas for those paintings on each card,” said the renowned city artist Ganjifa Raghupathi Bhat, who is responsible for reviving the Ganjifa paintings, which was on the verge of extinction.

Recalling his memories about Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the last scion of the Mysore Royal Family who died yesterday in Bangalore, Bhat said that Wadiyar had visited his art museum Chitra Saale in Srirangapatna about three times, twice with his wife Pramodadevi and spent about an hour going through the exhibited art works with great interest and even wrote his opinion in the visitors book.

Bhat recalled Wadiyar calling him and asking him to get a few artists from the artists camp that was going on at that time. Accordingly, Bhat took artists Srihari, Vijay Hagargundi, Nagure and another two to the Palace. Wadiyar received them warmly, served them with coffee in silverware and went through their paintings rather critically.

Bhat was astonished at the immense knowledge about paintings Wadiyar displayed when the latter chanted a Sanskrit sloka ‘Kauthuka Nidhi’ from the book ‘Srithatva Nidhi’ written by Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, on seeing a painting of Devi. Looking at the colour of the saree of the Devi he asked the artist as to the basis on which he had used that particular red colour when according to the sloka the colour should have been of yellow shade. Wadiyar also suggested a minor change required in the crown of the Devi as per the tradition.

Raghupathi Bhat, who used to be called to the Palace by Wadiyar to discuss about matters relating to paintings and even about book-bindings to restore old books, was proud to disclose that he had made a portrait in water colour of Wadiyar which was published in The Times of India on the occasion of his 55th birthday.

Raghupathi remembers with nostalgia the suggestion made by Wadiyar that he (Bhat) should shift to Mysore as there was greater opportunity for developing the museum and also scope for his creative works. Bhat says that he took Wadiyar’s suggestion seriously and that was how he moved to Mysore for good. And Wadiyar was one of the first persons to congratulate Bhat when he got the President’s National Award as an artist.

According to Raghupathi Bhat, the Wadiyar dynasty was a blessing to the world of art and also artists whose number increased in old Mysore under their patronage. Expressing deep sorrow at the untimely passing away of Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, Bhat mentioned about Wadiyar’s appreciation of the gold-leaf restoration work he had executed in the Palace Durbar Hall and part of Kalyana Mantap this year.

“I feel, I have lost a father figure in Wadiyar’s death,” said Bhat his eyes going wet.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 11th, 2013

Stage set for animation festival in Mysore

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The event will feature some of the best names in animation industry such as DreamWorks Animation.

The Association of Bangalore Animation Industry will stage ABAI 2013, India’s first exclusive film and digital arts festival for animation, VFX and gaming on December 6 and 7. The event will unfold at three venues in the Manasagangotri campus of University of Mysore — Senate hall, humanities auditorium and the open air theatre — on both days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event will feature some of the best names in animation industry such as DreamWorks Animation. Feature films, short films, game cinematics and visual effects will be featured. Raman International Institute of Information Technology (RiiiT), an IT finishing school here, has given local support to the event.

Addressing presspersons here, ABAI convener and executive committee member Archana Krishnamurthy said the animation industry in India is growing and needs talent to keep it going. There are plenty of employment opportunities in the field. Mysore can become the animation hub over the years. The combination of art, culture, technology and heritage works well for this industry. For this reason, ABAI has been brought to Mysore.

Animation is used in the fields of education, medicine, defence etc. It is used by the corporate world for training and assessment. But, there is not much awareness about animation and this needs to be addressed seriously,” Ms. Krishnamurthy said.

Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spiderman, Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and the Avengers, along with Sharad Devarajan of Graphic India, will showcase Indian superhero Chakra.

Ron Diamond, member of the Academy of Motion Pictures will present ‘The Giants’ First Steps’ and the ABAI special edition of ‘Show of Shows’. Shelley Page of DreamWorks Animation will present her ‘Eye Candy Show’.

There will be a screening of Shilpa Ranade’s ‘World of Goopi and Bagha’, a film based on Satyajit Ray’s Goopy Gayne Bagha Bayne. The 3D animation film ‘The Croods’ will also be screened. Animation artistes from the State have contributed significantly to making the film.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysore – December 05th, 2013

CNR to scientists: Have we done enough for youth?

Leaders, Science & Technology

Bangalore :

As he turned 80 on Sunday, Bharat Ratna C N R Rao expressed his concerns about the future of the country and asked the scientific community if it had “done enough for the younger generation”.

In his address, after being felicitated by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Science Research (JNCASR), Prof Rao said in the years to come, India will have the largest population of youth, with one billion people below 30 years of age.

“But have we been fair to the younger generation? Have we done enough for the country’s young people? That is something we need to introspect on,” he said.

Stating that this aspect has been worrying him, he said: “I have even been writing to the Prime Minister seeking additional investments to improve human resources in the country. The future, in my opinion, is bothersome for the country and we need to do something.”

Saying that science has given the society so much, Rao wondered if the scientific community had reciprocated similarly. “Have we lived the way scientists should live? Are we worried about humanism?” he asked.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India> Scientists / TNN / December 02nd, 2013

Delivery by cycle saar, at your doorstep

Business & Economy

Cycling enthusiast initiates bike messenger service that can pick up stuff you forgot and deliver it to you at the office

India’s first biker-messenger service will be launched in the city on Monday. ‘Cyclercity’, a venture by Rajiv Singh will have anything delivered to you. This eco-friendly service, apart from functioning as a courier service, will also deliver a bouquet of flowers, forgotten cell phones, chocolates, car keys, forgotten files and pays your bills. It’s eco-friendly, fast, cheap and has a pick-up service that no other courier service has.

Speaking of the venture Bangalore-based Singh said, “The service is quite popular in the West, but this is the first of its kind in India. We are only a phone call away. Anybody who wants a service can call us or fill an online order form and we will direct our nearest bike messenger to the pick-up location. The package will be delivered on priority.”

Singh, a cycle enthusiast, said the idea came when he was stuck in a traffic jam. After his MBA, he had a seven-year stint in a corporate after which he came up with this idea. The office is situated at R T Nagar. As of now, the area around 10 km from MG Road will be covered. Based on the success of the initiative, Singh has plans of expanding it to other areas as well.

When asked about the manpower, Singh explained, “We have hired people from an NGO called Unnati that is located in K R Puram which has people from villages across Karnataka. They have been given training on how to cycle on busy roads and manage traffic.”

Managing time would not be much of a challenge, Singh said. “Cycling is actually the fastest mode of transport as far as reaching your destination is concerned. You can cycle amidst heavy traffic jams, through narrow roads and shortcuts and reach the destination in the shortest time. We have customised cycles to suit the needs of the particular employee and they have all been coloured green to look environment friendly.”

Right now, the firm has seven cycles and the service will be between 9 am and 9 pm. The service men have been given their own uniforms and would work every day apart from Sundays and public holidays.

Singh claims that the cost is also much lower than that of any courier service. It starts at Rs 25 to cover a distance up to 5 km for a package that weighs up to 100 gms. The price varies based on the distance and the weight of the package.

Service men will sit at retail shops, parks and bus stands in and around the area and would undertake any delivery given to them, Singh said.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Vandana Kamath / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / December 02nd, 2013

Facebook to make first Indian acquisition with Bangalore-based Little Eye Labs

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

LittleEyeLabsBF15dec2013

Facebook is reportedly all set to make its first ever Indian acquisition soon. Talks are apparently on for Facebook to acquire Little Eye Labs, a Bangalore-based startup.

According to a report by the Business Standard , the deal is being facilitated by Indian Software Products Industry Roundtable (iSpirt). The Indian software product think-tank tries to help Indian companies find global buyers. As far as Little Eye Labs goes, the startup builds performance analysis and monitoring tools that identify and fix issues faced by Android app developers.

The company was founded by Bangalore-based programme analysis enthusiasts, Giridhar Murthy, a former Apple employee; Kumar Rangarajan who has worked with IBM and HP; Satyam Kandula, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and Lakshman Kakkirala, also a former IBM and Yahoo! employee. CrunchBase shows Little Eye Labs currently has seven employees. The company had earlier received between $100,000 and $200,000 from GSF Accelerator, a start-up incubator.

The deal is being struck as part of the M&A connect programme by iSpirt. The firm had launched the programme’s hot-line for product companies to help them be acquired or raise funds. iSprit was kicked off in February this year after it broke out of Nasscom. The talks were reportedly conducted in Palo Alto, US, back in May. Besides Facebook, IBM, Cisco and VMware participated too.

If Facebook ends up purchasing Little Eye Labs, it will be a big push for not just iSpirt, but other startups in India, aiming to be noticed globally. Besides trying to get Facebook to see Little Eye Labs’ potential, iSpirt is reportedly working on match-making three more deals on similar lines currently.

source: http://www.tech2india.in.com / Tech 2 / Home> News> General / by Nishta Kanal / December 02nd, 2013

Students across twin districts attempt yoga Guinness Record

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

Mangalore

It was a marvelous sight as nearly 70,000 students in educational institutions across Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts simultaneously performed yoga in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

More than 2000 students of Sharada Vidyalaya gathered in their school ground to attempt the record.

‘Yoga for Future 2013’ has been organized by Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Shantivana Trust in association with Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Yoga and Ethical Education, Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat and department of public instructions.

The students made an attempt to beat the present Guinness Book of World Record created when 29,973 students from 362 schools performed Suryanamaskar for 18 minutes at Vivekanand Kendra in Jiwaji University.

The demonstrations included Suryanamaskar, chanting of Surya mantras, Thrikonasana, Parshwakonasana, Shashankasana, Pavana Mukthasana, Sarvangasana, Vajrasana, Makarasana, Bhujangasana and Dhanurasana.

There was one yoga instructor for every 50 students, and the entire event was videographed.

Health Minister U T Khadar who was present on the occasion said, “I love yoga. I do yoga whenever I have time, which is not very often. I congratulate everyone for being part of this attempt for Guinness World Record.”

Additional deputy commissioner Dayanand and others were also present.

Udupi/Beltangady/Kundapur :

As many as 2,960 students of SDM Institutions, Ujire gathered at Ratnavarma Heggade stadium alone and performed Yoga. The historic moment was watched by Dharmasthala’s Harshendra Heggade and Hemavati Heggade.

In Kundapur, students attempted the record at Gandhi maidan and other places. As many as 3,625 students gathered at MGM grounds at Udupi and performed yoga. Altogether, 44,117 students from across the district were part of the event. District incharge minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, Sri Sugunendratirtha Swamiji of Puttige Math, Sri Laxmivaratirtha Swamiji of Shiroor Math and others witnessed the event in Udupi. Youngest film director Kishan Shrikanth is the brand ambassador for ‘Yoga for Future 2013,’ which is being held at 50 centres under the guidance of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikar Dr D Veerendra Heggade.

The event has been organized by Dharmasthala Shantivana Trust. As the yoga is being held in various centres, the success of the attempt will be known only later.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MD) / Friday – December 13th, 2013