Yearly Archives: 2015

Workshop on conservation of palm leaf manuscripts on March 1

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

The Oriental Archive Research Centre would be would be organising a one-day workshop on conservation of palm leaf manuscripts here from March 1.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, S.A. Krishnaiah, Director of the Centre, said that there was a need to train youth in the techniques of conserving palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions and ancient paper documents having historical value.

If these items were not protected, a slice of history would be lost forever. Many palm leaf manuscripts in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts were in Tulu. The participants would also be exposed to all subjects connected to preservation of manuscripts.

The Centre aimed at giving hands on training to 25 persons in the first stage. In the subsequent workshops, it intends to increase the number of participants to about 100. Students who had studied history and literature had been selected in the first phase. Those interested in this work could email: prachyasanchaya@gmail.com

The resource persons for the workshop are Jayasimha from Mythic Society, Bengaluru, T. Murugeshi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology, MSRS College, Shirva, Venkatesh Jois, inscription expert from Keladi, Radhakrishna Bellur, Vighnaraj S.R. and M.J. Thomas, experts.

The one-day workshop would be of an intensive nature. There would be follow workshops in the coming days for the team trained.

Dr. Jayasimha would deliver the keynote address at the inaugural function. Manohar Shetty, social worker and Dr. Jayasimha would be felicitated on the occasion, Prof. Krishnaiah said.

Nagaraj G.S., Yadav V.K., lecturers, Ramanji from Namma Bhoomi, were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – February 26th, 2015

Castlerock railway station has turned darling for movie makers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nature, Travel
Doodhsagar falls.
Doodhsagar falls.

Belagavi :

Castlerock railway station located amid dense forest of Western Ghats and just 15kms away from famous Doodhsagar waterfalls has become the darling of movie makers since the actor Shah Rukh Khan starrer bollywood blockbuster Chennai Express and Kannada movie ‘Maina’ released an year ago.

Scenes of the historical railway station and surrounding attractive sites in both movies have made this area popular and caused for increase in the number of travellers, especially adventure lovers. Castlerock is a hamlet with just around 2,000 population located in North-Kannada district. It’s located just 75 kms away from Belagavi and within 2kms from Goa border.

Before independence, this rail line was the link between British held India and Portuguese held Goa. Said to be that, British government had laid railway tracks up to Londa in Karnataka border. However, on the request of Portuguese, the meter gauge link was extended up to Vasco-da-Gama in Goa around at the ending years of 19th Century. This link was using for transportation of goods.

There was a check-post at the Castlerock railway station where one couldn’t cross the border without passport. Said to be that, restriction of passport had relaxed for some years in between but it was again imposed with the Goa Liberation Movement intensified. Despite Castlerock railway station was under British ruled area, it built and managed by the Portuguese government. The roofing of the station has turbulence structure. Roofing structures of Kulem, Sanverdum, Madgaon, Vasco-da-Gama and Mormugao railway stations in Goa are also same which built by the Portuguese. This meter gauge was developed into broad gauge in 1990s.

There are over 800-railway employees serve at Castlerock railway station in different departments like- operating, engineering, signal, inspecting of works (IOW) and electrical. This station is meant for transportation of goods. Manganese and iron ore from Hospeth is transported to Mormugao port. At present around 40 goods trains pass through this station while hardly two or three passenger trains. The number of goods trains have been reduced after imposing ban on lifting iron ore in Ballary district. Speaking to the TOI, station superintendent D Revanasiddappa said there is demand for more passenger trains especially during rainy season, when travelers make rush to see Doodhsagar waterfalls.

In this small hamlet, there is a railway institute, railway English medium convent school, railway health unit etc., for railway employees. According to senior railway manager R K Sinha, rainy season is continued for five months- May to September in this area. These days are very boring, as children can’t play out of home besides fungus captures buildings and even cloths due to constant moisture. Leeches are the big problem during raining which the load shedding is common, he said.

Apart from Doodhsagar waterfalls, there are also popular waterfalls in Kuveshi and Aveda, just 6-7kms distance from Castlerock. Train passes through Desur, Khanapur, Gunji, Londa and Tinaye Ghat railway stations to reach Belagavi to Castlerock.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by Ravindra Uppar, TNN / February 25th, 2015

Gandhian A.B. Javarappa passes away

Leaders

JavarappaBF25feb2015

Gandhian and senior Congress leader A.B. Javarappa died in a private hospital in Mysuru on Wednesday due to age-related problems.

Eminent Gandhian and senior Congress leader, A.B. Javarappa, 84, died in a private hospital in Mysuru on Wednesday due to age-related problems.

Mr. Javarappa had served as president of the Primary Land Development (PLD) bank, Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and Agricultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing Society (TAPCMS) in K.R. Pet.

The last rites will be performed at his native village Akkihebbal in K.R. Pet taluk of the district on Thursday, his family sources said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Mandya – February 25th, 2015

Puttur Man Shows how to Build Cool Homes with Mud Bricks

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Puttur1BF25feb2015

Puttur :

Call it green revolution or a new building technique—Chidananda Rai of Puttur shows how to build a dream house which is cooler and at 40 per cent the cost of construction. He has introduced a brick that is not burnt or mined from the laterite plates of the coastal areas. In fact, the brick is produced from your neighbourhood mud. He calls it the mud brick.

Perching on a hillock in Bolwar on the outskirts of Puttur town, Rai’s brick plant has machinery that no conventional brick producer has.

There is no furnace or a big pile of firewood, but just a mechanical sieve, and a pounder which compresses the loose soil into a hard brick.

But will it take the pressure of weight as well as brave the rain and shine?

When asked, Rai explained: “Mud has an extraordinary quality when it is compressed with moisture. This is a simple technique: freshly dug mud is sieved and mixed with a compound of 10 per cent of cement and two chemical additives, directed into a mould and compressed under a 30 tonne pressure. And we have a brick that is as solid as a laterite stone and perhaps stronger than the burnt brick. The bricks will have to be cured under moist conditions for three days and they are ready for taking the load.”

Puttur2BF25feb2015

This product can be termed a green housing technique unlike the conventional ones.

In the case of burnt brick, the makers use tonnes of firewood which denude forests and the burning of wood creates environmental pollution. The laterite stones that are generally used in construction in the coastal region are mined from the laterite blocks which leave large voids in the ground. Moreover, laterite stocks don’t last forever, Rai said.

Rai displayed a strength report issued by the National Institute of Technology Karnataka.

He said the certificate has mentioned that the mud brick had 16.8 psi (pressure point) load-bearing capacity which was as good as the laterite stones. People who have used mud bricks have told me that their houses were relatively cooler inside. The bricks have ridges that alleviate the need for using cement between the blocks.

They are placed on each other with the help of the ridges and to make them more stable a thin coat of cement grout is used.

Since there is no need of plastering it, the wall is ready for painting which saves nothing less than 40 per cent of the cost of construction. There is no need for sand too, he added.

He has found a market in Kodagu district where mud bricks are being used for constructing homestays and other buildings. This is because a load of sand costs nothing less than `25,000 against `7,000 per load in the coastal areas and in Mysuru, he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by M Raghuram / February 17th, 2015

Hayabusa rider plans big for 2016

Nri's / Pio's, Sports

Mangaluru :

City-born UK Bangalore-resident Sushanth Shetty, 28, is aiming high on adventure next time round.

Sushanth in a self-challenge- The East India Express – planned a 12,000 km ride across 12 countries, and seven time zones – alone and in 15 days. But his goal went awry due to certain variables he could not control. His next adventure in 2016 will be well planned and executed.

Sushant who was in Mangaluru, told TOI: I’m working on something big which needs lot of funds. That’s why I cannot reveal what it is as of now. The plans should firm up in the next six to seven months.

This is the first visit of Sushanth along with Patrick”- the Hayabusa to his home-town. I visited Manjeshwar, my dad’s home town and later to mother’s place Sajipa, near Ira village (Bantwal Taluk). I took Patrick where I thought he would not go. He enjoyed it and so did I running him on the red-dust laden quarry roads. I did not think he would take it, he did sportingly.”

Regarding his East India Express ride, what he would do differently, if he had a go at it again? Pakistan is unreliable for the next decade. Interestingly if I had been granted entry, the day I would have reached Lahore there was a bomb blast. Imagine that. I just wonder what would have happened to my plans. But since that did not happen, I would prefer a hotel for solitude between the rides and would have lied to ride earlier part of the year as the bitter cold made my progress difficult. If it was warm I would have covered more distance. As far as Patrick – I would not change him for anything,” Sushanth said.

While Sushanth will leave for UK in two weeks, his Hayabusa would leave India for UK in about two months’ time after getting him serviced at a dealership in Bengaluru.

On Tuesday Sushanth went to Moodbidri where he met some enthusiastic bikers and then rode three Ghats – Agumbe, Kudremukh and Charmadi. He will rest at one of his friend’s estate in Sakleshpur and reach Bengaluru by Thursday.

A Josephite, Sushanth did his mechanical engineering at MS Ramaiah Institute and then MS in Motorsports Engineering from Coventry University, UK. He is working for Ford Europe.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home>City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 24th, 2015

Soak in ragas of glorious past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Bengaluru :

Bengalureans can now walk into the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and treat themselves to vocal and instrumental music of legendary singers, free of cost.

Carnatic and Hindustani musicians like Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, Shemmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M S Subbulakshmi, N Ramani, T R Mahalingam, D K Pattamal, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan will be available at the newly set-up digital music archive.

Vikram Sampath, executive director, IGNCA, southern region, said: “I started working on the project soon after I took charge of the centre a year ago. R T Chari, MD of TAG Corporation, shared 1,000 hours of live recordings of Carnatic music since the 1930s.They are from his collection that he has put together in the past 30 years, digitized and catalogued.”

The collections include concerts of artistes like Chembai, Subbulakshmi, K V Narayanaswamy, Alathur Brothers and M D Ramanathan.

Vikram, too, donated his collections from the Archive of Indian Music (AIM). “They include recordings on gramophone discs from 1902 in Hindustani and Carnatic music, folk music, movies and plays. Works of Gauhar Jaan, Peara Sahab, Kesarbai Kerkar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Salem Godavari, Bidaram Krishnappa, Veene Sheshanna, Bal Gandharva, K L Saigal, P Kalinga Rao and speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose are part of this collection,” he said.

Chari also helped IGNCA develop user-friendly software that allows users to select songs by using parametres like raga, genre and names of composers/singers. They are categorized in alphabetical order. He has also donated paintings and murals of Indian music icons to adorn the walls of the archival unit. The unit, reprography and library are open from Monday to Friday between 9.30 am and 5.30pm. Contact: executivedirector.igncasrc@ gmail.com

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by G S Kumar, TNN / February 24th, 2015

Yaduveer to wed Trishika Kumari

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

YaduveerBF24feb2015

Mysuru :

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar at a royal ceremony at the Amba Vilas Palace yesterday, is likely to enter into wedlock with Trishika Kumari, daughter of Harshavardhan Singh, the Yuvaraja of Dungarpur, Rajasthan and Mahesri Kumari.

Trishika Kumari and her family members were among the dignitaries who witnessed the adoption ceremony of Yaduveer at the ornate Kalyana Mantap where, co-incidentally, the marriage of Pramoda Devi and Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar took place 39 years ago in 1976.

According to Palace sources, the wedding of Yaduveer is expected to take place after the coronation, which is expected to be held after Ugadi festival.

Sources also said that the Royal families of both Dungarpur and Mysuru are expected to meet after the coronation to discuss the wedding dates. It is said that the marriage ceremony is likely to take place during November this year after the Dasara festival.

Meanwhile, Yaduveer, who is currently pursuing his under-graduation at University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA, majoring in Economics and English, will complete his course by May 2015. The coronation will take place only after he receives his graduation certificate.

Yaduveer, who has also the responsibility of conducting this year’s Dasara festivities at the Mysore Palace, is expected to be coronated before the commencement of the festival.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Tuesday – February 24th, 2015

Hubballi ICAI bags all-India best branch award

Business & Economy, Records, All

Hubballi :

The Hubballi branch of the Southern India Regional Council of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has been adjudged the best branch for 2014 at an all-India level for its outstanding services.

ICAI Hubballi chairman Hitesh Kumar Modi told reporters here on Sunday that this is the fourth time that the branch has been awarded. “The Hubballi branch achieved its objective of enhancing the value of the profession by organizing various professional programmes last year. An auditorium with a seating capacity for 450 was inaugurated on December 6, 2014, to facilitate various seminars and conferences of different organizations. A library and an information technology laboratory have been opened for students. Coaching classes for CA examinations are being conducted by the branch regularly.”

He said various workshops and seminars were also organized to help members stay up to date on the auditing of banks, cooperative societies, income tax, service tax and value added tax during the year. “Social programmes like blood donation camps, free distribution of books to students, women empowerment programmes and Swachh Bharat campaigns were often conducte.”

The city branch has won the ‘most active branch award’ and the ‘highly commanded performance certificate’ by the parent institute since 1993.

RR Joshi, chairman of Southern India CA Students Association, said the students wing of the Hubballi ICAI has been awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation-2014 at the national-level by ICAI, Delhi.

ICAI office bearers Nandaraj Khatavkar, YM Khatavkar, Prakash Kadur, G Shivakumar and others were present.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / TNN / February 16th, 2015

Aequs expects more business at its SEZ plant

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Aerospace components manufacturer Aequs said it is sitting with an order book of $150 million over five year period and investment commitment of five more units at its SEZ facility in Belagavi.

Aequs chairman and chief executive Aravind Melligeri told Deccan Herald the company’s SEZ has 10 units operating. “We have 250 acres of land, of which 25 acres are for the SEZ. We have already made investment of $30 million to the facility,” said Melligeri.

Aequs established an aerospace industrial hub in 2009 at Belagavi. “We have developed 130,000 square metres of facility from the 65,000 square metres in the last two years. This year we are planning to add 120,000 square metres of property,” he said. The company has already developed 40 per cent of the SEZ land and 50 per cent of the land outside.

Aequs, which began its operations in 1997 as an engineering services company called QuEST Global Manufacturing based out of the US, entered into manufacturing of aerospace and defence components in 2006.

“We import 100 per cent of raw materials and 100 per cent of cutting materials. Even though we have a tie-up with HAL, we export 99 per cent of our products,” he said.

He said the company is into the automotive and oil and gas business. “These verticals help us in balancing the business cycle. Aerospace requires long gestation period in getting business returns. Oil and gas are short cycle, and auto medium cycle,” he said.

“Aerospace sector is a $80 billion-$100 billion industry globally and India is only touching at a few hundred million dollars right now,” said Melligeri.

Even though the high cost of capital, weak infrastructure and power support continue to be a challenge in India, the industry is gaining momentum with the growing skill sets of the country.

He said Aequs is the largest player in machining. “We can touch five per cent of the market in this segment. We are competing in a global scale and there is a cost advantage in India,” said Melligeri.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business / by N.V. Vijayakumar, Bengaluru / DHNS – February 21st, 2015

Lakshman Rau passes away

Leaders, Records, All

LakshmanRauBF24feb2015

Bangalore :

N. Lakshman Rau, former Administrator of the then Bangalore City Municipal Corporation and son of late N. Madhav Rau, former Dewan of Mysore, died here on Friday. He was 88 and is survived by his wife, Indira, and three daughters.

Family sources told The Hindu that Mr. Lakshman Rau had more or less maintained good health until the very end. In a way, he was the architect of new Bangalore, which has earned the sobriquet, “Garden City.” Mr. Lakshman Rau enjoyed good relations with several Chief Ministers, and he and his brother, the former Chief Secretary N. Narasimha Rau were quite popular both in the Government and the higher echelons of society. Trees were planted along many roads on the advice of Mr. Lakshman Rau to the then Chief Minister, late Ramakrishna Hegde. Mr. Rau was Home Secretary in the Devaraj Urs Government.

Mr. Rau, who developed all the 10 residential blocks of Jayanagar, did not own a house or even a housing site in Bangalore. He died at his daughter’s residence near Banaswadi. The two boulevards bisecting Jayanagar (South End Circle onwards) were developed by him. In recent years, the Government sought his services for preserving tanks and lakes in the city, and he prepared a report, “Lakes of Bangalore.” The Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi, in a condolence message, said: “Mr. Rau was an able administrator and a man of dynamic action.”

The Minister for Water Resources and Transport, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, and the Commissioner of the Bangalore Development Authority, M.N. Vidyashankar, have mourned Mr. Rau. The former Chief Secretary to the Government G.V.K. Rao and the former Chairman of the Bangalore Urban Arts Commission M.A. Parthasarathy visited his residence.

The cremation took place in the afternoon at the electric crematorium at Kalpalli.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Online edition / Saturday – June 11th, 2005