‘Kayaka Bandu’ Sadashiva at the site where planting of saplings has been taken up under the MNREGA at Honna Kiranagi village in Kalaburagi district.— PHOTO: Arun Kulkarni
Sadashiva is man Friday for the villagers of Honna Kiranagi and neighbouring villages. He is looked upon as saviour by the landless farm labourers who find it difficult to get employment, as agricultural operations have come to a standstill owing to the failure of rains.
Mr. Sadashiva, who is in his twenties, has enrolled himself as ‘Kayaka Bandhu’ in Honna Kiranagi Gram Panchayat. He was instrumental in persuading the officials of the panchayat to use Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act funds to take up large-scale planting of the saplings of trees along the boundary of the 1,600-odd acres acquired for the proposed supercritical thermal power plant.
10,000 saplings
The gram panchayat has completed planting nearly 10,000 saplings with these funds. While planting along 50 per cent of the boundary was completed last year, the villagers have now taken up planting of 10,000 saplings along the remaining 50 per cent of the boundary, stretching more than 10 km.
Chief Executive Officer Anirudh Sravan said of Mr. Sadashiva, “I have rarely come across such an enthusiastic person who has taken such an initiative to help so many people who badly required employment.”
When this correspondent visited the site, more than 550 workers, a majority of them women, were digging trenches for planting saplings and for tapping rainwater. Mr. Sadashiva, who was a farm labourer, told The Hindu that he knew the difficulties faced by people to get work and that was what inspired his initiative.
He also helps those who do not have bank accounts to open savings accounts in a bank in the village by filling applications with introductions. He also helps people get Aadhaar cards and runs a night school for landless agricultural labourers in the village. Now, nearly 50 landless agricultural labourers who were unlettered can write their names and affix their signatures.
Sadashiva is looked upon as saviour by landless farm labourers of Honna Kiranagi and neighbouring villages in Kalaburagi district
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by T.V. Sivanandan /Kalaburgi – July 30th, 2015
Want to wake up to the birds of Munnar or watch the beauty of New Zealand’s glaciers without leaving your seat? With their second album ‘Nature and Places’, the father-son duo ‘Instrumental Conversations’ takes listeners through a global musical tour. But what’s unique is that an untrained IT professional became a recording artiste, and the family worked tirelessly to turn dreams into reality.
Multi-instrumentalist Ravi CA started the band with his son Rahul. His journey started in his school days, when he taught himself to play the guitar and harmonica. As a teenager, his first exposure to rock music was ‘Sultans of Swing’ by ‘Dire Straits’. He spent hours mimicking Mark Knopfler’s rhythmic solos. Since he was self-taught, he was not limited by terms such as ‘Western’ and ‘Indian’ music. He began playing publicly while at Christ University.
He loved music, but in the 1980s music was a limited career option. So, as he transitioned into the corporate world and got married, music remained a hobby. As years passed, he realised that he was ready to make music a full-time endeavour. “I don’t measure success by money or titles. If you have a roof over your head and fulfill your responsibilities, you can pursue your passion,” he says.
But he had real responsibilities towards his wife and two children. “They were supportive, but guarded. Your family has to be comfortable with your plan,” he says. Ravi worked for four more years, saving every extra rupee. “The key to following your dream is planning and management,” he adds.
In 2008, Ravi left his job, giving himself a one-year deadline for success or failure. While his ultimate dream was to record music, he and his wife first started the ‘RaGa School of Music’, partly as an income-generator, partly to share music with others. They started the ‘Music Gear’ shop a few years later, where he indulges his love for carpentry by repairing broken instruments. After the year passed, Ravi knew there was no looking back.
His teaching style is built on his own experience with music. He teaches “the instrument, not a style”.
While he never doubted his purpose, there were many strenuous moments. The family overcame financial struggles, personnel issues and the stress of running two businesses. But finally, Ravi and Rahul were able to start ‘Instrumental Conversations’. Inspiration for the album ‘Nature and Places’ came to him one early morning in Munnar, when he recorded bird calls and decided to build a song around the sound. Every track on the album has authentic sounds from different locations.
“I want to recreate places close to me, and places that others find special,” he says. Ravi uses gentle guitar solos, sound effects and ambient keyboard melodies to mimic the atmosphere of each area. The songs also weave in reflections on life, like his tribute to Bengaluru, which reflects his concern over the City’s changes. Although Ravi has many other plans for the future, including writing and teaching, he plans to focus on music for now. At the very least, he hopes to leave a legacy that convinces others to not waste their potential.
“People today rush to achieve goals, but they don’t know what those goals are. I want to help people understand a balanced view of life and success. I see life as a journey where I keep going and keep learning,” he says.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Lisa Pauline Matackal, Bengaluru / DHNS – July 30th, 2015
Errol Fernandes (standing at the back), a Ideal Jawa Rotary High School (IJRHS), KRS Road, Mysuru, won Gold medal in U-14 Karate 55kg category in the 2nd Students Olympic State Games-2015 held at Lions Club Indoor Hall in Davanagere recently.
He is seen with K. Jagadeesh (Physical Education Teacher), Beena Singh (Principal) and S.P. Shobha (Co-ordinator).
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / July 24th, 2015
With numerous research centres and educational institutes, Bengaluru was never far in the calendar of late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
With numerous research centres and educational institutes, Bengaluru was never far in the calendar of the former President late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Whether it was the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) or the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the city was the home for Dr. Kalam when he started his career in the 1960s.
Eventually, he did leave a mark in a small part of the city. In an unassuming apartment complex for Central government employees besides the Airport Road in Yelahanka, the Bharat Ratna winner owned one of the 603 flats.
School and college students paying homage to the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at a condolence meet in Mangaluru on Tuesday. Photo: K.S. Manjunath. / The Hindu
Roja, Dr. Kalam’s grandniece who lives in the complex, left for Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, soon after learning about his demise on Monday night.
“It [Dr. Kalam’s death] is yet to register in my mind. The whole family is in shock. He was an active man, and since he stayed constantly in touch with me, I’m sure he had no ill health until the heart attack,” she told The Hindu over the phone.
Even after he became the President, his association with the city did not confine to just ribbon cuttings and inauguration speeches. In November 2005, Dr. Kalam addressed the joint sitting of the State legislature and urged the members to protect the greenery of Bengaluru and focus on metro railway (which was then only a proposal) to decongest the city.
On June 13 this year, he spoke at several events here, including at the inauguration of the National Oncology Conference, and Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge India Design Contest 2015.
Speech, hearing and visually impaired students, and children from tribal communities in Karnataka, who were on their maiden expedition to the Himalayas, interacting with the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi in 2006. Photo: Special Arrangement
Meeting with budding trekkers
Shankar Bennur writes from Mysuru:
It was an unbelievable experience for over a dozen speech, hearing and visually impaired students and children from tribal communities in from Karnataka when Dr. Kalam spent over one-and-a-half hours interacting with them at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2006.
These students went to meet the ‘missile man of India’ before going on their maiden expedition to the Himalayas, which was called ‘Hope’.
It was one of the ambitious expeditions of the International Academy of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (IAMAS), Mysuru, and the organisers were keen to meet the eminent visionary since he was a great source of inspiration, especially to the youth. “Being the President of India, he spent his time inspiring the budding trekkers. Indeed, it was an unforgettable experience,” adventure enthusiast D.S.D. Solanki, founder-member of the IAMAS, who was part of the expedition, said on Tuesday.
On the occasion, Dr. Kalam spoke on ‘dreams, courage and vision’ and quoted a few lines from the English translation of an Assamese poem to encourage the special needs students, he recalled.
Dr. Kalam signed his autograph on the caps of the entire team — students and IAMAS volunteers, who wore them until they reached Yankar Pass, the summit.
Citing an instance of how Dr. Kalam read the young trekkers’ minds, Mr. Solanki said the participants were longing to take a group photo with the President but their cameras were not allowed inside the bhavan. “Sensing our feelings, Dr. Kalam asked his office photographer to take photographs. His office later shared the photographs on our request,” he recalled.
A packed schedule in Kolar in 2011
Vishwa Kundapura writes from Kolar:
Dr. Kalam had visited Kolar, Chickballapur and Malur to participate in programmes organised by educational institutions.
He inaugurated BGS Polytechnic at SJC Institute of Technology in Chickballapur on August 29, 2010. On December 28, 2011, the former President had a hectic schedule — he delivered the keynote address at the silver jubilee celebration of Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College at Tamaka, on the outskirts of Kolar town, inaugurated JSS Educational Institutions at Malur and participated in an interaction with students at C. Byregowda Institute of Technology at Toradevandahalli, near Kolar.
At all the programmes, he adhered to his favourite way of communication — interaction, during which he posed faith in the capacity of human beings. At the Malur programme, Dr. Kalam exhorted students to “set a goal and study hard”.
Lehanya, a class six student of Baldwin School in Kolar who interacted with Dr. Kalam a month and a half ago in Bengaluru, was upset on Tuesday. She was one of the students selected by Baldwin Group of Institutions to interact with the former President at an event in Bengaluru on June 12.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Mohit M. Rao / Bengaluru – July 29th, 2015
Namma Park in Vasanthnagar is an apt example of how citizens’ intervention can change the face of a public space.
Only months ago, the park spread over 4,000 sqft on 10th Cross was choking with plastic bottles, broken liquor bottles and garbage.Today, the place has undergone a sea change –greenery everywhere, walkways clearly laid out and residents relaxing on benches.
In early April, Friederike Fokuhl, a German teacher in Bengaluru, was appalled by the park’s condition.
Realizing that it hadn’t seen a broom for years, Friederike and her friend Reshma Nargund, a social worker, started cleaning the park every day from 7am to 9am.
“We got in touch with BBMP and learnt this park was categorized as `underdeveloped’ and, therefore, got no funds. That’s when we decided to clean it up,” said Nargund.
In a month, the Vasantnagar Residents’ Welfare Association (VRWA) also joined in. Soon, people descended on the park, armed with gloves, brooms and garbage cans. The park was tidied, gates were fixed and saplings planted.
However, more needs to be done. For instance, some benches are broken and a few pathways require repair; thanks to a garbage dump on the adjacent street, rats frequent the place.
Infrastructure upgradation, pest control and improvement of soil quality will perk up the green space further.
“We weren’t aware that citizens and corporates could adopt parks from BBMP. I urge fellow Bengalureans to come forward and look after their neighbourhood,” said Raj Kumar, secretary, VRWA.
Samantha King, a freelance architect, has come up with an aesthetic design for the park. “Even though it’s in a much better shape now, it’s not visually appealing.The design is viable, sustainable, easy to maintain and cost-effective; it’ll be an inclusive space for the entire community ,” she said.
Watson’s, a neighbourhood restaurant, has decided to host a fundraiser for Namma Park on August 2, 4pm. All patrons can contribute and the amount generated through the event will be used for uplifting the park.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by Surya Harikrishnan, TNN / July 29th, 2015
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), with a mandate to protect and conserve cultural heritage, will be tasked with the work of restoring the original house of Jnanpith awardee and literary giant late Shivaram Karanth at Balavana, Puttur.
According to KA Dayanand, director, Department of Kannada and Culture, the department has sent request to Intach to this effect this month. The restoration would cost Rs 29 lakh.
Balavana is one of the most celebrated places of historical interest in Puttur. The litterateur’s house at the Dr Shivaram Karantha Balavana, Puttur, about 50 kms from here, has been converted into a museum and houses rare photos of Karanth and the prestigious Jnanpith award received by him for his novel ‘Mookajjiya Kanasugalu’. Karanth lived and created his works through observation, hard work and devotion which earned him the titles “Nadedaaduva Vishwakosha”, and “Kadalateerada Bhargava”.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / July 26th, 2015
Participants of the beginners’ boater cross event of the Malabar River Festival at Kakkayam in Kozhikode on Friday. Special Arrangement
The beginners boater cross event as part of the third edition of the Malabar River Festival was held at the Kakkayam Reservoir in Kozhikode on Friday. Rakshit Singhal from Bangalore emerged the first place winner in the contest. Siddharth Sharma of Jaipur and Sandeep Thuppad from Bangalore came second and third respectively. Twenty five participants from different part of the country took part in the competition, which started at 10 a.m. A large number of visitors had thronged the place to witness the event.
According to V.D. Joseph, chairman of the Kerala State Kayaking Academy, one of the organising partners of the festival, the beginners race was held, more than a competition, as a demonstration event to establish the fact that kayaking could be done by anyone if a little bit of training was given. “The event must have definitely inspired many youngsters here to make their splash into the white-waters in a kayak,” he said.
According to P.G. Rajeev, secretary of the District Tourism Promotion Council, Minister for Tourism A.P. Anilkumar will formally open the Malabar River Festival being organised by the DTPC at Thusharagiri on Saturday. The international white-water kayaking championship, the main event of the festival, will take place on Saturday. Around 50 Kayaking athletes, including paddlers of international repute, are participating in the event. The four-day event will conclude on Sunday. Noted travel documentary host Santhosh George Kulangara will be the chief guest of the valedictory function on Sunday.
Details can be had from www.keralarafting.com, www.kayaksession.com, Manik Taneja 09740067323, (Kayaking), and V.D. Joseph 9447637079 (Malabar River Festival). Interested may register for the event online atwww.malabarfest.com.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – July 25th, 2015
City’s chess player H.A. Amogha, a Gold Medalist in National Chess Tournament, who has secured 23rd rank in Karnataka CET, was felicitated by Chess-lovers in city recently.
He is the son of H. S. Arunachala and A. Savitri.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Monday – July 20th, 2015
Twenty-one-year-old Vasudhesh H. Bhat of city has bagged 17th rank in the final examination of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India held in May 2015.
He has secured 29th rank in the All India CA IPCC (Integrated Proficiency Competence Course) held in May 2012, completed all the examinations of Company Secretary (CS) Course in December 2014 and also served as Secretary to the Southern Indian Chartered Accountants’ Students Association (SICASA), Mysuru.
Apart from academics, he has cleared the senior examination in Classical Flute under the guidance of Vidwan A.V. Prakash and has participated in various Kavi Goshti (Poets’ Meet), including Dasara Chiguru Kavigoshti.
Vasudhesh Bhat is the son of K. Haridas Bhat (Automotive Axles Limited) and Vasanthi Haridas, natives of Kadandale village in Mangaluru, presently residents of Vijayanagar 2nd Stage in city
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – July 20th, 2015
Golf is a popular sport in the world sporting scene. The game needs excellent skill combined with concentration from the individual player to reach greater heights in this game. Our city’s 28-year-old Sonam Chugh, a product of the JWGC, has done everyone proud with her achievements in playing the game of golf as well as being an official of repute. Sonam recently represented India in the 22nd World Corporate Golf Challenge at the Oitavos Dunes Golf Course in Cascais, Portugal, on July 5 and teamed up with Shashidhar Reddy to win the top honours. Sonam and Shashidhar Reddy saw off 31 other teams to win the 22nd World Corporate Golf Challenge Trophy.
Sonam also is a qualified International Certified Rules official and is the youngest and the first women referee to achieve this feat in the country. She is our ‘Star This week.’ Sonam Chugh is a product of the JWGC, Mysuru. In a World Corporate Tournament that was played in the Stableford format on a par-71 course, Sonam Chugh (handicap 3) scored a total of 66 points over two days (34, 32) while Reddy (handicap 5) collected 62 points (33, 29). The two, representing Ramesh Swiss Watch, posted a total of 128 to claim a seven-point victory.
This was the second time when corporate Indian team won the prestigious World Finals title after Credit Suisse in 2008. There were other teams like Jet Airways (2014), Close-up, HUL (2011) and Swiss Military (2010) who came close and finished 2nd.
Sonam Chugh and Reddy reached the World Finals after edging out 13 corporate teams in the National Finals of the Take Solutions Corporate Golf Challenge held at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April this year.
All 26 golfers who made it to the National Finals were winners from three regional qualifiers held in Delhi & NCR, Mumbai & Pune and Bengaluru.
Sonam Chugh is a Post Graduate Diploma holder in Marketing Management & a Masters in Science Communication. She is the daughter of V. Prakash and Leena Prakash of Mysuru.
She has also published a book “Networking & Golf – A research paper to validate the question – ‘Is Networking through golf’ A Myth or Reality? And the same has been published by LAP LAMBERT in April 2012 and is available for sale in Amazon. Sonam finished among the top two referees in the Grade ‘A’ level in the Referee Exams held in 2015 and was sent to St. Andrews in Scotland in February 2015, where she completed her certification and became an International Certified Rules Official.
Sonam is the first International certified Rules Official among women in Karnataka and along with city’s Paramjith Singh (Level A-International certified rules official) has achieved this status. City’s Dr. Karumbiah (Level ‘A’) and Drishti Karumbiah (Level ‘B’), all from JWGC, are the other certified Rules Officials, who have qualified as National Rules referees.
Sonam intends to work hard in the days to come and officiate in as many tournaments as she can in the National and International circuit and improve on her knowledge in the game of golf.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday – July 19th, 2015
