Monthly Archives: November 2020

‘Elephant Man’ Ajay Desai passes away in Belagavi

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, Travel
Elephant expert Ajay Desai (right) with a forest guard.  

He was a pioneer in the study of elephant movements using radio collar and a consultant to some State governments

Field biologist and wildlife conservation expert Ajay Adrushyappa Desai passed away in Belagavi on Thursday night. He was 62.

Family sources said he suffered a heart attack in his sleep. Mr. Desai is survived by wife and two children.

Fondly known as “Elephant Man”, he spent decades in the research of species specific behaviour of Asiatic elephants. He was a consultant to World Wildlife Fund and some State governments in resolving man-animal conflicts.

Mr. Desai’s family hailed from Konnur in Bagalkot district but had settled in Belagavi decades ago. After schooling in Belagavi, he joined the Bombay Natural History as a researcher. Mr. Desai spent years studying elephant track formation and herd leadership in Mudumalai and in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Desai was a pioneer in the study of elephant movements using radio collar. His studies included problems such as elephants entering agricultural fields and pastures. Based on scientific research, he argued that deforestation and destruction of wildlife habitations were forcing elephants to come to villages and towns seeking food and water. He advocated a holistic approach towards conserving nature and wildlife, along with forest areas. He also served as chairman of the elephant expert committee of the International Union of Conservation of Nature. “He was a wildlife photographer, scholar, and a conservation activist. But more than that, he was a great human being. His passing is a great loss to the cause of wildlife conservation,” said Jaideep Siddannanavar, wildlife photographer and a long-time friend.

‘A great loss’

Mysuru Special Correspondent reports:

Conservationists and wildlife activists described Mr. Desai’s understanding of elephant behaviour and ecology as monumental.

Sanjay Gubbi, a wildlife biologist and who along with Mr. Desai, was the member of the State Board for Wildlife said he was a true conservationist by heart and stood firm for wildlife issues.

His knowledge of elephants was unfathomable and Mr. Desai’s death was a great loss to conservation, Mr. Gubbi said.

Praveen Bhargav of Wildlife First recalled working with Mr. Desai on many committees of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and how his explanation and analysis of animal behaviour in general and elephants in particular provided insight to other members of the committee to formulate policy measures.

He also gave a report to NTCA on the imperatives of further investment to reclaim the Srisailam Tiger Reserve which was recovering from naxalism.

Human-elephant conflict

He was also working on policy guidelines to mitigate human-elephant conflict under the National Elephant Action Plan (NEAP) which was to be submitted in due course and the conservation community had lost a great friend in his demise, said Mr. Bhargav.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – November 21st, 2020

Exploring ancient skies

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Former Planetarium director studies stone inscriptions to understand past celestial events

Bengaluru :

Looking at the stone and understanding the sky is what she does. And she is leaving no stone unturned to understand the celestial events of the past. The celestial world has always fascinated B S Shylaja. And therefore, opting for astrophysics to understand the astronomical occurrences and phenomena was not at all surprising. In 1994, she joined as an educator in Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru. Till her retirement in 2017 as the Director of Planetarium, she taught basics of astronomy and astrophysics to graduate students.

But now she is busy studying inscription stones to know how much ancient people knew about celestial occurrences and how they followed and recorded some rare and common events. Usually Indian stone inscriptions are edicts for grants and donations of land and kind to individuals or temples. The tradition of getting edicts recorded on stone can be traced back to 3rd century BCE. Stone inscriptions have been studied, translated and published right from 19th century by Indian epigraphists, British scholars and is now continued by the Archaeological Survey of India.

However, these inscriptions also provide records of eclipses, solstices and planetary conjunctions, Shylaja informs. She has studied not only Indian inscriptions but extended her studies to South and South East Asia – Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand. This has thrown light on many new aspects such as the evolution of calendars independently from the influence of Indian system of time measurement as early as the 3rd century BCE.

Shylaja says, “We find a wealth of information on planetary positions in a limited geographical region. The words that are used to describe vary from place to place and from time to time. It must be possible to find many more records in India and nearby countries by a detailed scrutiny. Many interesting records of planetary conjunctions are also available.” This voluminous exercise has involved scrutiny of 38,000 inscriptions from 6th to 17th century and gathering of 1,100 useful information about celestial events.

The result of her effort has led to deciphering records of solar and lunar eclipses, solstices, equinoxes and planetary conjunctions. In all these cases, the dates and timings are meticulously written down while the details on the positions of planets are also available. She has also traced Kannada inscriptions to far off regions like Myanmar. She was assisted by Geetha K G (project assistant/co-researcher) for some discoveries in 2016.

Data was sorted out using software but was not an easy task. Astro-information was hidden as an adjective or as a simile in the long texts on praise of a donor/awardee.  Shylaja explains, “The event descriptions are very long, phrases are hidden, language tough with many technical terms. Simple phrases were hidden, difficult to scoop out. We undertook to scrutinize all inscriptions which require knowledge of astronomy and language command.

Our minute study has been useful in understanding observational tools and methods for eclipse predictions.” In the 2016 studies, Shylaja and Geetha mainly dealt with inscriptions found in and around Karnataka. Shylaja says, “A good number of Kannada inscriptions are found in AP, TN, Maharashtra and Goa. Many are bi-lingual. All inscriptions in Tirupati are in Kannada, Sanskrit and Telugu and at times, Tamil.

Three volumes from Tirupati cover 15-17th century — the peak period of Vijayanagar empire. During Krishnadevaraya reign, every auspicious event was used as an opportunity to offer gifts and donations.”


Most inscriptions begin with information about dates. In some, an eclipse is mentioned in the beginning of the text or at the end. The earliest stone inscription of total eclipse in 754 CE has been found in Pattadakal. In fact, European visitors learned the procedures of calculations from Indians. Records of total eclipses have made for an exciting study for Shylaja.

The mentions of totality in eclipse records have provided data for understanding the variation of the speed of rotation of earth over centuries. Now how has ‘time’ been marked on inscriptions? They are recorded as Saka Year, Samvatsara (a cycle of 60 years), lunar month, tithi (the phase of the moon) and Vara (the week day). “We see examples of the naksatra citation (each day is associated with a star, naksatra, the one closest to the moon among the 27), while in some examples, lagna, the ascendant zodiacal sign is cited, giving the time of the day,” Shylaja says.

GROUPING OF 6 PLANETS
There is one prominent mention of planetary grouping in 1665 when there was a solar eclipse. This is recorded as śadgraha yóga – grouping of six planets. They are sun, moon, descending node (Kétu) considered as planet and the other three planets. This occasion was used to donate special grants called “tulāpurushadāna”, which means gold of weight equivalent to the weight of the king was disbursed. This particular record pertains to the then Mysore Maharaja.

LANGUAGES USED         
Languages used in earliest inscriptions are Pali, Prakrit, Nagari and Sanskrit. Subsequent ones are in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Persian. Earliest Kannada inscription dated back 
to 450 CE.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Meera Bharadwaj / Express News Service / November 22nd, 2020

Chasing the dream

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Have a startup idea but don’t know where to begin? This city firm’s new TV show aims to provide just the platform you need.

Ranjith Royal

Bengaluru :

Whether it’s over coffee or idle chit chat at dinner, startup ideas always seem to be lurking around. However, many a times, while the pitch may sound promising, the idea does not go beyond that conversation. Here is a chance to see those ideas come to fruition.

A new platform, called India’s Biggest Start Up, which was launched on Friday by Bollywood star Sonu Sood on his social media pages, will give a chance to people to pitch their startup proposals and interact with top investors in the country. 

It will follow the lines of the popular American reality show, Shark Tank. All entries will be taken through the organiser’s website — kuberanshouse.com. The top 100 submissions will be showcased on national television. Sonu Sood, who will anchor the Hindi show, says he was thrilled with the idea when he was approached by the team around three months ago. 

The participants can submit entries in 15 categories in different sectors, like e-commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, fin-tech and biotech.  While the first 500 selections will get a fellowship certificate, the final 100 will get a chance to be trained by the judges on board and also get an investor for their project. “Many a times, the reason an idea does not work is lack of clarity or a proper pitch, which makes people lose out on a good investor.

But on this platform, you will not just get a chance to work on your idea but to interact with investors who will provide training,” says Ranjith Royal, the Bengaluru-based co-founder and COO of Kuberan’s House, which has conceived the programme.  The show will be produced by DR Talkies, which has earlier come up with Kannada reality shows like Dancing Star, Kick, and Dance Dance. 

They have already received over 1,000 entries, and are currently speaking to different business minds to bring them on board. “We are in talks with CEOs of companies like Paytm, Oyo group and Flipkart. These guys have been there long before anyone else, and are good at what they do. So participants can learn a lot from them,” says Ranjith, adding that the whole process will take 2-3 months.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 21st, 2020

Hello, Hollywood

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

Still reliving the experience of acting alongside Alec Baldwin in his debut film, B’luru boy Rohan Gurbaxani is now looking forward to three more Hollywood releases.

Bengaluru :

Even after acting alongside big names in Hollywood, Rohan Gurbaxani feels shy when people ask him about what it means to him to be living his Hollywood dream. The Bengaluru boy, after all, has shared screen space with Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman and Bella Thorne in Chick Fight, the action comedy that was released last week. 

Ask him about acting alongside Baldwin and he says it was a “surreal” feeling, with him soaking the same excitement that any of the star’s fans would have. “This was my first film, and he has done many. But we had this common ground where he also went to NYU and one of his professors taught me too. That was a nice conversation-starter with him. I, of course, observed him a lot, and learnt from him. He was such an approachable person,” says the 23-year-old. 

The newbie is now looking forward to his next film, Knuckledust, which is an action thriller releasing in December. It stars Moe Dunford and Gethin Anthony. The ball doesn’t stop rolling here. In 2021, he has two releases – RED 48, featuring John Malkovich and Tyrese Gibson; and Confession, starring Sarah Hay.  Gurbaxani may be currently living the life many dream of, but for him, acting in Hollywood was never the goal. “My initial dream, since I was in Class 8, was to go to New York.

I still don’t know why I picked the city. I never even participated in plays, but it was just a far-fetched dream,” says Gurbaxani, who has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has also trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Stonestreet Studios, and attended the Tisch Stanislavsky and Brecht program in Berlin. 

While he continues to revel in the experience, it was not easy for him to live away from home, “in isolation”. Luckily, he says, by the third month, the shoot for RED 48 had begun. “It was an interesting experience as we underwent three Covid tests every week. By the end, I had around taken 10 tests. There were Covid supervisors on the sets,” says Gurbaxani, who was a part-time Covid supervisor as well. 

He calls it unsettling to be based in two cities – New York and Bengaluru – but now Gurbaxani is back home after two years and is glad he could spend Deepavali with his family here. And the young lad is all praise for the city he grew up in.

“In Bangalore, I studied in two schools. I initially started off in a public school and then Class 8 onwards, I moved to an international school. I loved to dance and got a chance to join troupes. I don’t think my life would have been the same if any of these things had not happened,” explains Gurbaxani, who is currently also looking at projects back home.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 19th, 2020

Bengaluru teen singer Tanya Shanker releases new album

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Tanya Shanker   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Tanya’s debut pop-rock album ‘Battlefield’ is about teenage experiences

Shanker wrote a song about her mother, ‘Thank You Mum’, when she was 10. It fetched over 20,000 views within a fortnight. Tanya was elated. It was a small validation of the little girl’s talent. Four years later, she has released her first album — another significant step in her nascent career. Battlefield, released on November 14, is about the experiences and emotions that teenagers like her deal with. “The title is a metaphor for the mental chaos and conflicts,” she explains.

Tanya, understandably, is excited about releasing her début album. She started training when she was nine. “My parents were into music. So, I was inclined towards it. One of my early music teachers told me I could pursue a career in music. That is when I entertained the idea. It was crazy to see my single get 20,000 views,” she says.

Tanya now trains with her mentor-manager, Richard Andrew of Moksha Academy. “When I saw her five years ago, I felt she was talented but needed a lot of practice. She has improved a lot ever since. She is one of the few talents that gives me joy as a producer,” says Andrew.

Tanya has performed with several independent musicians, including Girish Pradhan and the Chronicles, Perfect Strangers, Carlton Braganza, and Ritwik Bhattacharya.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Praveen Sudevan /November 18th, 2020

Bridging the gap

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

How a hole in a boat led to the emergence of Bridge Man of India.

Gudaari in Odisha

Mangaluru :

For him, it was not a bridge too far. Though a mechanical engineer, he learnt — that too by chance —   that one can transform lives by building bridges. In the last three decades, he has built over 130 such structures, the latest one being built in Telangana.

Girish Bharadwaj (70), fondly called the Bridge Man, is seen as a messiah by many villages. His journey started with a hole in the bottom of a boat. For decades, the poor people of Aramburu, a remote village in Sullia taluk of Dakshina Kannada, were dependent on a country boat to cross the Payaswini river to reach the mainland for all their work.

Kanive in Kodagu, Karnataka

But whenever the only boat developed a hole in the bottom, the village used to come to a standstill until it was fixed or a new boat was built. Fed up, in 1989, the villagers decided to find a permanent solution to their perennial problem and approached Girish Bharadwaj, a young graduate in mechanical engineering who was running a fabrication unit, with a request to construct a footbridge to tide over the crisis.

Initially, Bharadwaj laughed at the villagers’ innocent belief that all engineers can build bridges. But he finally decided to give it a shot after the villagers refused to believe that a mechanical engineer can’t build bridges and also seeing their pathetic situation. With the help of engineering friends from other streams and referring to books on bridges, he designed a plan for a low-cost hanging bridge. It was a crowd-pooling project with some villagers even offering  ‘shramdaan’.

 Apart from other labour costs and sponsored construction materials, the project cost less than Rs 2 lakh. The villagers were immensely happy as the bridge ushered in a new life. Months later, the economical bridge caught the attention of a senior government official who had flown to Mangaluru from Bengaluru on some work and he called him.

After going through the bridge design, the official requested Bharadwaj to join hands with the government in providing connectivity to several isolated villages in Malnad and the coastal region.  The journey thus started took him to various parts of Karnataka and even Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha where he built more than 130 bridges in over 30 years and became popular as the Bridge Man of India. His contribution to the rural empowerment was recognised by the government and he was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 2017.

Fern Hill in Ooty, Tamil Nadu

Bharadwaj said he adopted the technology of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo, both suspension bridges and considered marvels of modern engineering, and simplified it to suit the local needs. His suspension bridges are cost-effective compared to conventional ones. Though they are built as a matter of temporary solution to last for 10-20 years, many of them have stood in good condition even after the estimated life. Also, the bridges saw advancements in designs over the years.

With his work, Bharadwaj has also built bridges in the hearts of several villagers as they consider him as a messiah who lifted them from their miseries. In most of the work sites, he and his team of 30-40 workers pitch camp till the work that takes 3-6 months, is completed. While a majority of bridges are government-sponsored, there are a few, constructed with funds pooled by the villagers. For such projects, he offers his services for free. In some cases, when the project could not be completed due to lack of funds, Bharadwaj has spent from his pocket to complete it.

Bharadwaj was delighted when he received an individual letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his support for Swachch Bharat in which he recognised his ‘Sethu Bandhu’ work to have empowered poor villagers and has connected them to the world of opportunities. Bharadwaj says the demand for footbridges is almost nil now as people with four-wheelers prefer big RCC structures. Now, Bharadwaj’s son Pathanjali Bharadwaj, who is an M.Tech graduate, is continuing the work.

FABRICATION WORKS
After completing his engineering from PES College, Mandya in mid 1970s, Bharadwaj had dreamt of becoming an MD of some factory. But his father who was an agriculturist, encouraged him to aspire to become an employer and provide jobs to others rather than being just an employee under someone. Thus, he set up Rational Engineering Works in Sullia which carried out general fabrication works and manufactured farm machinery

IN NUMBERS  

Bharadwaj has built 

95 bridges in seven districts of Karnataka

32   in Kerala

05 in Telangana

03 in Odisha

One more in Telangana is under progress now

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Vincent D’Souza / Express News Service / November 15th, 2020