Yakshagana Scholar Dr. Kabbinale Vasantha Bharadwaj, who was conferred with ‘Chittani Award’ during the valedictory of the three-day Badagu Yaksha Vaibhava, organised under the aegis of Innovative, Mysuru and Department of Kannada and Culture, Mysuru, at Jaganmohan Palace in city yesterday, is seen with LabLand Chairman Dr. Sudhir Shetty, Yuvaraja College Registrar (Evaluation) Dr. S.N. Hegde, Mysore University former Vice-Chancellor Dr. J. Shashidhara Prasad, Yakshagana exponent G.S. Bhat of Innovative Mysore, Bellipadi Yaksha Samskrutika Vedike President Dr. Bellipadi Satish Rai, Journalist Ravindra Bhat and others. Picture right shows a scene from Yakshagana ‘Sri Krishna Sandhana’ performed last evening.
Mysuru :
Expressing concern over the lack of recognition and exclusion of Yakshagana Poets in the history of Kannada Literature, Yakshagana Scholar and artiste Dr. Kabbinale Vasantha Bharadwaj said that the yakshagana-poets in Karnataka have not got the required space in Kannada literary history and added that while Himmela, Mummela, Chenda and others belonging to the Yakshagana troupe are being recognised, the poets have been neglected.
Dr. Bharadwaj was speaking, after being conferred with the Chittani Award, at the closing ceremony of the three-day Badagu Yaksha Vaibhava held at Jaganmohan Palace in city yesterday evening. Dr. Bharadwaj said that there are around 1,500 yakshagana-poets in the State who have composed around 5,000 literary works while unfortunately, a person who writes four lines for a film song gets more recognition and this has been the same even with the Kannada literary circles.
He further said that the poetry is the basis of Yakshagana and the poems become an inspiration to the actor while the actor’s enactment justifies the poetic elements in the composition. Dr. Bharadwaj dedicated the award to all the Yakshagana-poets in the State who still remain unrecognised even in the literary field.
Bellipadi Yaksha Samskrutika Vedike President Dr. Bellipadi Satish Rai, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said that Yakshagana is one of the most attractive forms of stage-based art forms and it would not be an exaggeration if he says that the people of coastal Karnataka have learnt Kannada language through Yakshagana. He further urged the people of Karnataka to protect the art form and added that the State Government should do its best to protect and propagate Yakshagana like how it is done in Kerala for Kathakali.
Former Vice-Chancellor of University of Mysore, Dr. J. Shashidhara Prasad, presented the Chittani Award to Bharadwaj.
LabLand Chairman Dr. Sudhir Shetty, Yakshagana exponent G.S. Bhat, Dakshin Kannada Zilla Sangha President V. Sreenivasa Rao, Yuvaraja College Registrar (Evaluation) Dr. S.N. Hegde and others were present.
The award ceremony was followed by the staging of the Yakshagana ‘Sri Krishna Sandhana.’ The three-day workshop was organised by Innovative, Mysuru and Department of Kannada and Culture, Mysuru.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Tuesday – July 06th, 2015
Members of Girgitle at the Bangalore Ultimate Open – 2015.
Girgitle — City’s first Ultimate team, talks about the sport, the spirit and its soul after their fiery performance at the recently concluded Bangalore Ultimate Open.
by Kedar Koushik
Frisbee is not native to India. It is neither steeped in the culture like Kabbadi nor is it an obsession like cricket. But over the last couple of years, Frisbee has become a sport that has garnered active participation from the young and is becoming as popular a game as in any other country. With more than 30 teams nationwide, India is following the footsteps of the United States, Europe and Japan.
Frisbee or Ultimate, as it is popularly known, is a sport that conveniently mixes the features of basketball, rugby and football. Seven players pass the Frisbee by slinging it to each other as they make their way up the field. When a player catches the disk, he or she cannot move. A point is scored when a player catches it in the scoring zone behind the baseline.
Several Ultimate-teams have sprung up across the country. While most of the teams are concentrated in the metro cities, the rest of them are not far away. Mysuru has now woken up from its slumber to this unique and exciting new game. For the past few months a group of young enthusiasts of the game has formed the first official Ultimate team of Mysuru — Girgitle.
Girgitle participated in its first official Ultimate tournament — The Bangalore Ultimate Open 2015 at Jain International Residential School on Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru, held between June 26 and 28.
After topping Group F that had teams like Blitz Legacy, Slip Disc, Disc Qualified and Teen Guna Lagaan, Girgitle finished 4th in the bronze pool after losing against Chakra in a relegation match. Girgitle are now seeded at 20 out of the 31 teams that took part in the tournament. For a team participating for the first time in an official tournament, Girgitle’s performance is both an achievement, an encouragement and a proud moment for Mysuru.
SOM spoke to a few players in the team about what makes them play the game, how they managed to form a team in a town that is quite new to the game and about the future that beckons the game.
The initial days: At a time when Ultimate was gaining popularity in metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, it was still a game that was unheard of here in Mysuru. There were people playing the Frisbee, but only as a time-pass.
Prajwal, a student of Mechanical Engineering at NIE College and a tri-athlete, was riding his cycle with a few of his friends. It was a regular affair for Prajwal and his friends to unwind by playing the Frisbee during their rides. He says, “It was in one of these rides that we decided to have a team of our own – the first one in Mysuru. Santosh, who is part of Bengaluru’s Ultimate team Disc-O-Dewane encouraged us to form a team and told us that he and his team would help them with the required training. Incidentally, Disc-O-Dewane has a lot of people who studied at NIE, so they were also excited about having an Ultimate team from Mysuru. With Santosh as our mentor, we were ready to have our own team.”
When asked about the name of the team – “Girgitle,” Pragna, Prajwal’s younger sister studying II PU at Sadvidya, who is also a part of the team, said, “The name was very accidental. We were looking for a name that would be unique and different and yet have that ‘Mysuru touch’ to it and Sandeep, our team mate suggested ‘Girgitle’ and we all agreed to it instantly.”
The “Spirit” of the game: With its roots in the psychedelic 60s, Ultimate stands apart with its emphasis on the ‘Spirit of the game.’
Prajwal says, “It is both difficult and easy to explain what the spirit is. Anybody who understands the game understands the spirit that encompasses the game.
“What makes Ultimate different from other games is that it is a collective-game that depends entirely on the conscience of the players. There are no referees or umpires in this game,” says Prajwal, “if a player commits a foul, s/he accepts the mistake and in case s/he doesn’t, then the team comes to a collective decision and the game moves on.”
Prajwal also added that most of the Ultimate tournaments have special prizes awarded to the Most Spirited Player and for the Most Spirited Team. At the World Championships of Beach Ultimate 2015, held in Dubai, the Indian team won the ‘Most Spirited Team award,’ and this for Prajwal and many sophomores like him, is a push that they just can’t resist.
Genders unite: Another factor that makes Ultimate, a game of and for the spirit is the fact that the game is played by both the genders. Pragna, the captain of the team Girgitle, says that this perhaps is the main reason for the sport to grow among the young.
“Being a non-contact sport, Ultimate, through its rules — though limited, treats each player with respect without discriminating on the basis of gender,” says Pragna, adding, “Usually, an Ultimate team will be having 3 girls to every 4 guys. Yes! It is difficult to get girls to play the game and the reasons are quite archaic and well known.”
Talking about the participation of girls in the games, Pragna says, “Conservative parents think that the game is rough and ‘dangerous’ but it is not. According to the rules of the game, body-contact is considered a foul, you are supposed to block the disc only when it is released from the hands of the opponent.”
An addiction: For those who have imbibed the spirit of the game of Ultimate, it is an addiction. For Krishna, who started playing Ultimate as a “casual player,” was so hooked to the game that he is now a part of the team Girgitle. “One throw and I was hooked,” says Krishna, a stock broker by profession.
“Once when I started playing the game, I couldn’t just stop touching the disc,” he says adding that as he progressed he wanted to get everything right.
Adding to Krishna’s views, Pragna says, “Anyone can join the team, or have their own teams. The only skill that is required is the love for the game and the spirit to hold the motivation.”
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – June 29th, 2015
Tipu Sultan’s notebook. Photo: Shiv Sahay Singh / The Hindu
The lovers of history and connoisseurs of artefacts are up for a treat as the Victoria Memorial Hall is going to display for the first time a notebook belonging to Tipu Sultan, the legendary ruler of Mysore.
The notebook written in Persian (Shikasta) touches on a variety of subjects but is mainly a treatise on the art of artillery. It is divided into eight chapters with introduction dealing with certain tenets of Islam and chapters dedicated to rules for horsemen and piyada (foot soldiers) of his army.
Each page of the notebook consists of nine lines of script. Some pages bear the stamp of the three royal seals while ten sketches explain the use of muskets with details on how to load and hold them.
Sahebzada Ghulam Mohammad, one of Tipu Sultan descendants, had donated the notebook to the trustees of Victoria Memorial in 1904.
“The notebook reflects his keen interest and the first hand information on the use of arms and artillery along with the fact that he was introducing modern equipment in his armoury. In fact Tipu Sultan was one of the few great kings who died fighting,” Gholam Nabi, head of VMH documentation and photography unit told The Hindu.
Mr. Nabi said the King of Mysore who wrote in Kannada, had dictated the contents of the note book to his calligrapher who wrote it in Persian. Historians believe that Tipu Sultan was one of the first kings to have made use of rockets in war as early as 1790s.
“The artefact is going to be part of an exhibition on ‘Life and Times of Tipu Sultan’ which we have been planning for quite some time. The exhibition is likely to be held at the end of this year,” Jayanta Sengupta, the secretary and curator of VMH told The Hindu.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Other States / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – July 05th, 2015
Dr. Srikanta, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Maharaja’s College, will present a research paper titled ‘Srirangapatna-shifting parametres of trade and commerce – 1595 to 1800 AD Article Study’ at the 13th Annual International Conference on ‘History and Archaeology: From Ancient to Modern’ to be held at Athens in Greece from June 29 to July 3.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Brief / Sunday – June 28th, 2015
Tennis is a global sport and Mysore has been producing talented tennis players from time to time who have gone on to represent the country in different levels.
One such player who has made her mark in the International level in the junior girls section is city’s Dhruthi T. Venugopal.
She has represented India in the junior level and presently taking part in the women’s circuit. Dhruthi has been consistently performing well in the ITF Tournaments.
Recently taking part in the $10,000 ITF Women’s Tennis Tourney in Grand Baie La Croisette Mary Pierce Indian Ocean Series in Mauritius from June 22 to 28, 2015, Dhruthi performed well. Teaming up with Snehadevi S. Reddy of India, she won the runner-up spot in the women’s Doubles event. Ilze Hattingh & Madrie Le Roux beat Dhruthi and Snehadevi 6-2, 6-4 in the final and clinched the title. Dhruthi is our ‘Star This Week.’
In the Women’s Doubles semi-final Dhruthi and Snehadevi beat Stamatia Fafalicou (Ger) & Jasmin Jebawy (Ger) 6-1, 6-0 to progress to the title round.
In the Women’s Singles, third seeded Dhruthi lost to South Africa’s Madie Le Roux 2-6,2-6 in the first round.
Dhruthi has been performing well in the International ITF circuit and National level tournaments. Dhruthi is the daughter of Venugopal and Vanamala of our city who encourage her to the maximum. Dhruthi trains in Pune and is coached by Sandeep Kirtane. Dhruthi is presently ranked No. 6 in the country and No.2 in the State in the women’s section.
She has represented India in the junior section and has also played in the Australian Open Junior Girls event. Dhruthi is an attacking player with a double handed backhand and is quite consistent in her performances in the women’s ITF circuit representing the country.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday – June 28th, 2015
M. Niranjan (a paralympic swimmer, who got the highest cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh) and other sports-persons are seen with Youth and Sports Affairs Department Secretary Nagambika Devi, Sports Authority of Karnataka Vice-President P.M. Somashekar, MLAs Vasu and M.K. Somaskehar, Youth Affairs Minister Abhayachandra Jain, CM Siddharamaiah, Cooperation Minister Mahadevprasad, Mayor R. Lingappa, ZP President Dr. Pushpa Amarnath and others during the prize distribution ceremony held at Platinum Jubilee Hall in city yesterday.
Mysuru :
CM Siddharamaiah yesterday gave away cash prizes worth Rs. 4.40 crore to 557 sports-persons who have excelled in International and National events during 2012 and 2013 at MMC Platinum Jubilee Hall in city. This was first such ceremony after the Siddharamaiah government took over and it hiked the cash prize amount.
M. Niranjan, a paralympic swimmer, got the highest cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh followed by chess player Girish Koushik (Rs. 15 lakh), P.N Prash-rifle shooting (Rs. 10 lakh), Vidya Pillai-billiards and snooker (Rs. 9.75 lakh), Chitra Magimairaj-billards (Rs.9.5 lakh), Varsha Puranik-roller skating (Rs.8 lakh), Damini K. Gowda-swimming (Rs. 7.75 lakh), Pooja R. Alva-swimming (Rs. 6 lakh) and M. Aravind-Swimming (Rs. 5.5 lakh). In all, 117 International level players and 444 National players got the prizes.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said his government is giving more importance to tap the potential of youth in sports and other fields as it is required for the development of society.
He said his government hiked the prize amount of National and International medal winners by several folds.
He said a lot of emphasis is being given to improve sports infrastructure like synthetic tracks, grounds and sports hostels to help sports-persons face the tough competitions and increase the participation in higher level events like Olympics, CWG and Asian Games.
Stating that the government is providing 100 engineering seats for sports-person and is also reimbursing their fee amount, he said the government is ready to give more facilities to them if the Department submits proposals.
Stating that he too used to play Kabbadi and other games during his schooling but could not continue in the college due to financial constraints, he said: ‘But times have changed now and there are more facilities for sports-persons.’
Youths and Sports Affairs Department Secretary Nagambika Devi said the State has the highest number of synthetic tracks in the country.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday – June 28th, 2015
CM likely to inaugurate; ‘Kuvempu Mobile Library’ to be revived
Mysuru :
The City Central Library (CCL) on Sayyaji Rao Road, established in 1915, is a treasure house for lakhs of knowledge seekers. Now, preparations are afoot to celebrate the 100 years of CCL.
Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Sir Mirza Ismail were instrumental in the construction of CCL. Janab M. Hussain, B. M. Shri, Rao Bahadur Ranga Iyengar, M. Venkatakrishnaiah, Rev. E. W. Thomson, N. S. Subbarao and B. G. Lakshman Rao were the other key players in establishing this library in the heart of the city.
CCL was inaugurated on October 15, 1915 by the then Mysore King Narasimharaja Wadiyar and since then lakhs of Mysureans have benefitted from the vast collection of books in the library.
Centenary celebrations
To mark 100 years of CCL, various programmes will be held from August 12, 2015 to November 14, 2015 in city, according to B. Manjunath, Deputy Director, City Central Library, Mysuru.
Chief Minister Siddharamaiah is likely to inaugurate CCL’s centenary celebrations on August 12, the National Librarians’ Day. The CCL’s Centenary Day valedictory will be held on November 14, the National Library Day.
Tenders have been invited by Public Works Department (PWD) to get the CCL building painted for the Centenary celebrations. New furniture is provided for the inner hall of the library.
An Editorial Committee has been constituted to bring out a Souvenir on the occasion. Articles written by litterateurs, members of the library and other prominent persons which have already been submitted will be featured in the Souvenir.
Mysuru District Publishers’ Association has come forward to sponsor the printing of the Souvenir.
The CCL in Mysuru was the first to introduce ‘Kuvempu Mobile Library’ in the State and due to various reasons the Mobile Library stopped functioning a few years back. Now the authorities have taken a decision to revive the Kuvempu Mobile Library.
Apart from this, it has been decided to construct a library building in People’s Park.
The CCL run by Public Library Department has 17 other libraries in city, 9 Seva Kendra Libraries, 5 Vachanalayas, one Community Children’s Centre and two affiliated centres. Around 50,476 people are registered members of CCL in city. CCL has a collection of over 55,000 rare books and it keeps adding new books every year. The library was handed over to the State Government in 1965, when the Public Library Act was passed.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Sunday – June 28th, 2015
Considering the heritage value of 86-year-old Johnson Market, which is proposed to be demolished, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has written to Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner G. Kumar Naik with a request to reconsider the decision to bring down the market.
The communication comes in the paradoxical backdrop of the market finding its name prominently in the first comprehensive heritage listing for Bengaluru and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announcing that tenders would be called to bring down the structure to make way for a modern multi-storeyed complex.
“From the time it was built when the British ruled us to the day when its heritage value was considered and included in T.P. Issar’s book The City Beautiful, Bengalureans know that Johnson Market is steeped in heritage value,” says Meera Iyer of INTACH, which had also included the market in its list of heritage buildings drawn in the 1980s.
Johnson Market also finds mention in the recent heritage structure listing backed by the Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums, undertaken by Hubballi-based ADEI Consultants.
Johnson Market made it into the heritage listing as “it is one of the few landmarks left in the area; a public realm with distinct architectural and urban design character. It reflects a strong associational value built through the ages, bridging the past and the present,” explained architect and urban designer Gitanjali Rao of ADEI Consultants.
“The market structure has not reached a complete state of deterioration which calls for pulling it down,” says Ms. Rao, although she suggests that the condition assessment for the building, even in a case of adaptable reuse, has to be done by bringing together traders, local people and experts along with local bodies for taking a decision.
‘No structural threat to the building’
Pankaj Modi, conservation architect of INTACH, says their first-hand “visual assessment” or the “architects’ scan” of Johnson Market done in January this year says, “It is stable, with no structural threat to the building seen.” What is required though is a redevelopment of the open spaces within the market and providing better infrastructure and services, says Mr. Modi.
“The plan is excellent with four large open pockets running through the length of the building. The building should be redone and made adaptable to include better flooring, lighting, along with new toilet blocks. The defunct water tank has to be made accessible to all. Imagine all this with cultural activity in the open spaces?” he says, underlining the fact that markets don’t really work on upper floors, as proposed by the BBMP.
* Johnson Market in Richmond Town was built in 1929 and was part of then Bangalore Cantonment.
* The market is Sir Mirza Ismail’s gift to the city, as recorded in T.P. Issar’s The City Beautiful
* Shaped like an aeroplane, Issar called this market the poor brother of Russell Market
* Earlier called Richmond Town Market, it was renamed Johnson Market after a Municipal Commissioner of the British times.
* The market has the evenings up and alive when the surrounding kebab joints spring to life, and the aroma of smoking meat on skewers goes well with Irani cafes, giving the market a distinct Hyderabadi flavour.
***
Such a heritage listing is crucial to a city where urban design, and land and building use come into play in urban contexts. The inventory leads us to special areas of importance when city plans and regulatory frameworks are being drawn up. The growth of a city can be guided by such ‘selection lists.’
Gitanjali Rao, architect and urban designer, ADEI Consultants, Hubballi
In association with the Kannada and Culture Department and the BBMP, INTACH can speak of the glory of Johnson Market with a plaque installed on its premises for the public to be aware of its heritage value. I had suggested to INTACH that heritage buildings and areas with a hoary history in Bengaluru could be highlighted by installing boards akin to the ‘blue plaque’ system of the U.K.
Chiranjeev Singh, former IAS Officer
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Rajani Govind /Bengaluru – July 03rd, 2015
The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), will be honouring the sports-persons who have represented India and also won medals in the national level for the year 2012 & 2013 with cash prizes at a function to be held at MCC&RI Platinum Jubilee Hall, J.K. Grounds at 4 pm.
Chief Minister Siddharamiah will inaugurate the function. District In-charge Minister V. Sreenivasa Prasad will distribute the cash prizes. Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports Abhayachandra Jain, MLA Vasu will be present on the occasion.
Mysuru’s skaters top the prize money list bagging a total cash prize of Rs.30,55,000. City’s roller skater Varsha S. Puranik, who represented India in the Asian Championships in China, will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 9.5 lakh in the women’s section and V. Varshith, also a roller skater, will be p represented with a prize of Rs. 5. 40 lakh in the boys section.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Saturday – June 27th, 2015
Team Karnataka topped the medal tally with 6 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze in the recently concluded 18th Sub-junior and 19th Sprint National Rowing Championship 2015 held at Bengaluru.
Among the medalists was Karthachira Nitya Devayya, who was part of a team event that won gold. Nitya is a student of class 9 and lives in Bengaluru. She is the younger daughter of Brig. and Mrs. Karthachira Kumar Devayya and grand-daughter of Col. and Mrs. Pattamada Ganapathy (Vijayanagar 3rd Stage, Mysuru) and Mr. and Mrs. Karthachira Ganapathy (Bogadi).
Nitya’s sister Sitara Devayya had represented Ernakulam district in the State-level swimming championship in 2011 and 2012.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Friday, June 26th, 2015
