Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Retired employee displays rare collection of Butterfly stamps

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Top : Hanumantha Nayaka displaying his collection. Bottom :Children taking a look at the rare stamps on display.
Top : Hanumantha Nayaka displaying his collection.
Bottom :Children taking a look at the rare stamps on display.

It a universally accepted truth that each and every person has his own hobbies. Some excel in public life through their hobbies and one such person is retired Government employee K.M. Hanumantha Nayaka, who had put up eye-catching butterfly stamps on display at Ideal Jawa Rotary School on JLB road under the aegis of Mysore Philatelic Association and Numismatics Society in city yesterday.

Seventy-one-year-old Hanumantha Nayaka, a retired clerk at Maharaja’s PU College, took to collecting stamps at the age of 14 and has so far collected stamps issued exclusively in honour of butterflies by countries like United States of America, Brazil, Australia and England.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, he said butterflies were magnificent creatures which are necessary for the ecological equilibrium in nature and are very important for pollination and added that butterflies play an important role in the reproduction of plants.

Hanumantha Nayaka said that he does not organise exhibitions to win awards or for money and added that he organ- ised exhibitions at various schools to spread awareness about Philately.

Ravindra Kumar, Director, Mysore Philatelic Association and Numismatics Society, said stamps were being printed in 215 countries in the world which is related to almost all subjects and added that many persons in city were involved in its collection.

He further said having more than 1 lakh stamps was not a big issue, but the quality of stamps and its importance was essential in grading its value.

Ravindra Kumar said that Hanumantha Nayaka after retirement indulged himself in collection of various stamps which is an achievement and added that Hanumantha Nayaka has involved himself fully in the same.

It is to be appreciated that though Hanumantha Nayaka is 71 years of age, the enthusiasm he shows in stamp collection is of a 20-year-old.

These rare stamps will be on display on the first and third Sunday of every month.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / June 08th, 2013

Mangalore: Hungarian Dr Alexandra Szoke enchants city with Bharatanatyam

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

Mangalore :

It was an evening of enchanting display of beauty blended with grace and breathtaking talent, as Dr Alexandra Szoke from Hungary performed Bharatanatyam for first time in the city on Saturday June 22.

The programme was organized by Sanatana Natyalaya dance academy at its auditorium in Ballal Bagh here.

Dr Szoke, with just one year of training in Bharatanatyam, captured the audience attention with her stunning performance. The members in the audience appreciated the fact that an Indian classical dance had been mastered by a Hungarian and executed with such elan.

Dr Szoke and her husband Ian Cook have made the city their second home ever since they came here 18 months ago on research work. She was impressed with Bharatanatyam and learnt the art form under the tutelage of Sharadamani Shekar.

As a mark of respect and gratitude, Dr Szoke honoured her tutor Sharadamani Shekar on the occasion, and also Muralidhar Rao who was tutor of Sharadamani. Dr Szoke and her husband too were felicitated.

Dr Chinnappa Gowda, Mangalore University registrar spoke on the occasion and lauded Dr Szoke for showing immense interest in the art and mastering it in such a short period of time. He further said that she was an inspiration to youngsters in India.

Dr Szoke in her address thanked all those who helped her achieve her goal, especially her tutor Sharadmani Shekar, Sanatana Natyalaya for giving her an opportunity to learn the dance and perform, and Radhika Shetty, founder of Nrityaangan Charitable Trust and performing artiste in India and the USA who helped her along the way.

Srilatha Nagaraj compered the programme. Dr Szoke’s husband Ian Cook was present.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / by DaijiWorld Media Network – Mangalore / Sunday, June 23rd, 2013

Non-stop dance in city to enter Guinness record

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

 

ChandrakumarBF11jul2013

Mysore :

Chandrakumar Nayak, a Second Division clerk at Forest Department, Ramanagar, is on a mission to enter Guinness Book of World Records by dancing for 15 days non-stop.

Chandrakumar, who started his record attempt in Mysore on a stage erected next to the Palace Anjaneyaswamy Temple on Wednesday, aims to dance continuously for 15 days, during which he takes 15 minutes break once in 8 hours and resumes his dance. A native of Kanakapura, Chandrakumar has donned the Lord Shiva costume and has been dancing to different songs which are composed on Lord Shiva.

Earlier, Chandrakumar had attempted similar record twice by dancing continuously for a week. He will be sending the recorded CD to the Guinness Record officials after completing the attempt.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 05th, 2013

Their song aims to motivate women

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Hubli :

Protests? Writing on women  empowerment? These are passe. Two musicians in Hubli chose to be different. Neill Braganza and Akshay Nagmule are trying to encourage women and instil confidence in them through their inspirational song ‘Adhira’ (fearless) based on women empowerment. The song is not only meant to motivate women but also a wake up call to officials to check atrocities on women.

What motivated them to write this song? Said Akshay Nagmule: ”We hadn’t met a common friend for three years. We went to see him. We were shocked to learn that his sister was raped. We met her. She stopped going to college and sank into depression. We tried our best to cheer her and boost her confidence but she showed no sign of returning to normal life. This incident made me compose this song which can motivate depressed women into leading a life with dignity.”

Akshay said: ”Neill and I worked on the song. While I wrote the lyrics, he tuned it. I sung it before my friend’s sister several times. After listening to it, she slowly started putting her life back on track. Now, she has decided to go college.”

Neill Braganza said we should begin by educating the children in schools on how important it is to respect the girl child. We feel good to see women standing up for their rights and shining in all sectors. We thought this song might be the powerful medium to convey our ideas. As we are passionate about music, we have composed this song and dedicated it to our friend’s sister,” he said.

The song is composed in Hindi to reach out to more people. The song has received a good response as it has been uploaded online. There are plans to translate the song into Kannada. Akshay and Neill are taking this song to big cities.

Song of courage

Khogayi hai teri jeene ki tamanna….(the first line)

(the last stanza)… Mat reh udaas…

Haan haq hai tujhe jeene ki apni ye puri zindagi

Tera haq tujhse koi nahi cheen sakta

Kyun ki tu hai… Adhira!

(You have lost the will to live … don’t be sad… you have the right to live, no one can snatch away your right, because you are fearless).

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubli / by Mallikarjun Hiremath / TNN / June 18th, 2013

Kasargod: Foundation for Govinda Pai Memorial on June 23

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

Kasargod : 

Office bearers of Govinda Pai Memorial Committee informed at a press conference held here on Friday June 21, that union petroleum minister, M Veerappa Moily, will be laying the foundation stone for the construction of ‘Gilivindu’, a cultural hub being built as memorial to Rashtrakavi Manjeshwar Govinda Pai. The building, which was conceptualized several years ago, will come up at Manjeshwar in the district where the late poet’s house stands.

“The foundation-laying function will be chaired by MP, P Karunakaran. MLAs, P B Abdul Razack and N A Nellikunnu, zilla panchayat president, Shyamala Devi, district collector, P S Muhammed Sagir, will be among the dignitaries who will grace the function. The project cost of this cultural hub, including museum, open air theatre, indoor theatre and library, has been put at Rs 3.8 crore.

This project will be jointly funded by Kerala and Karnataka state governments besides the central government.

District collector, P S Muhammed Sagir, additional district magistrate, H Dineshan, information officer, K Abdul Rahman, B V Kakkillaya, and others were present at the press conference

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Stephen Kayyar / Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod (SP) / Saturday – June 23rd, 2013

Mangalore: Ashwin, Meghna win top honours at ‘Mr & Miss Devadiga’ contest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Mangalore :

Devadiga United in association with Karnataka Rajya Devadiga Sangha hosted the maiden ‘Mr and Miss Devadiga 2013’ contest at Devadiga Samaja Bhavana, Mannagudda here on Saturday June 29.

In ‘Mr Devadiga’ category Ashwin Kumar from Bangalore was declared the winner while Amrith Raj from Mangalore was the first runner-up and Anush Pratheek was the second runner-up.

In ‘Miss Devadiga’ category Meghna Nagesh from Mangalore was declared ‘the winner while Kishori Devadiga from Mumbai was the first runner-up and Neha Devadiga from Mangalore was the second runner-up.

The contest was held online and the winners were selected through a combination of public voting and decision by jury. The grande finale was held on June 29.

The event began with a saxophone concert by National Award winner Meghana Saligrama and Abhin Devadiga.

Thrilling dance performances by ‘Boyzone’ dance crew and ‘Sizzling Guys’ as also by Pratheeksha and Jasmita entertained the crowd. Young and talented rappers of Mangalore Yashas Devadiga and Melric also performed.

The programme was hosted by TV anchor VJ Vineeth along with Deepa L D.

The top ten contestants in both categories were judged by Dayanand Kukkaje, ace photographer of Daijiworld, Disha Dinakar, ‘Miss Mangalore 2012’, Ameeta Devadiga, creative director of Cinevistas, Darshan Kapadia, CEO of Premier Entertainment, and Prasanna Devadiga, CEO of DeWallet.

Vaman Maroly, vice-president, KRDS, Sri Ramachandra Devadiga, general secretary, KRDS, Hemanth Devadiga, Chirag Mangalore Builders and Developers, Dayanand Kukkaje, and Disha Dinakar were present during presentation ceremony.

Team Devadiga United’s Pavanesh Devadiga and Amith Devadiga and team initiated and organized this successful event.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> News / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (BG) / Sunday – June 30th, 2013

Carving life with inanimate objects

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Artist Shridhara S poses with his elephants carved out of single pieces of chalk | Suresh Nampoothiri
Artist Shridhara S poses with his elephants carved out of single pieces of chalk | Suresh Nampoothiri

How creative can you get with a piece of chalk besides scribbling on a board? Moreover, it is reduced to dust after use. But here is an artist, Shridhara S for whom a chalk piece is not just another material but a source of inspiration and a beacon of hope. This artist has carved 1,050 elephants that are just one centimetre long in different colours on chalks. His feat got him an entry into the Limca Book of Records earlier this year. Shridhara who is currently working as an art teacher in Bishop Cotton Boys’ School is also looking for support from individuals and organisations to add more feathers to his cap.

When asked him what inspired him to take up the project of carving elephants on pieces of chalk, he said, “As I work in a school, I have to constantly monitor children especially during exams. In order to keep myself occupied, I would take a piece of chalk and carve it to pass time.” Mesmerised by the beauty of giant elephants in Mysore Zoo, he decided to carve elephants on chalks.

It was not an easy task for him to carve animals initially as he had to give it a perfect look not losing out on any of its features including ears, trunk, tail, tusk and other parts of its body. According to him, patience, creativity, concentration and perseverance helped him to achieve wonders in his life. His patience was tested when he carved 1,050 elephants as nearly 2,000 chalks were damaged while carving. “Over a period of time, carving had a negative impact on my eyes as it involves a lot of intricate and detailed work. I took over six minutes to carve each elephant and spent over three hours everyday on this project,” he added. He has carved elephants with pink, white, purple, green, blue, orange and yellow chalks by using just a ball pin and blade.

When asked about the nature of the theme, he said, “The intention behind choosing elephants was to spread awareness on how important it is to protect them as they are a part of our environment. Human beings have encroached their habitat. Hence, it is our duty to protect them as they are a gift of nature.” Through these carvings, he often tries to convey the message ‘Save Elephants and Save Jungle.’

Apart from his art works, his hand made replica of currency notes also earned him a place in Limca Book of Records in the year 2008. He drew over 40 different currencies and stamps from countries like India, Malaysia, Nepal, England, America, Saudi Arabia and others without using any mechanical instruments or lenses. “On April 1, I played a prank with my friends by painting two different currencies on one note. Spotting my talent, one of my friends encouraged me to paint notes with just water colours, brush and a pencil.”

Encouragement from school authorities and family helped him to achieve what he is today. This artist who spends two or three hours on his art works every day said that he would carve Ganesha on soap. He also expressed his discontent over the fact that though the current generation is enthusiastic about art and craft, many parents refuse to encourage students to take up art as a subject.

“Parents appreciate art work but they are hesitant to let their children explore their potential in the field of art and craft,” said Sridhara.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Nivedita K G / Express News Service – Bangalore / June 19th, 2013

Two city students shine in International Olympiad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
Milan Bidare, P. Rajas
Milan Bidare, P. Rajas

Mysore :

Two students from Mysore have done the city proud by bagging top ranks in International English Olympiad (IEO) and National Cyber Olympiad (NCO) conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) in association with the British Council and BBC Knowledge.

Milan Bidare of Manasarowar Pushkarini Vidyashrama in city, who was ranked first both in State and International-level under the International English Olympiad category, received a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 while P. Rajas of JSS Public School, Jss Technical Institutions Campus (SJCE), ranked first in State and 17th in International-level under the National Cyber Olympiad category.

SOF had organised its 16th International Awards ceremony at Delhi recently to felicitate international winning students, teachers and Principals of Olympiad exams for the academic year 2012-13.

Justice R.C. Lahoti, former Chief Justice of India, was the chief guest. Prof. Y.S. Rajan, Distinguished Professor at ISRO and Chairman of NIT, Manipur and Charlie Walker, Director-Programmes, British Council India, were the guests of honour.

Awards were given to top 3 international rank holders from classes 1 to 12 for the four Olympiad exams conducted by SOF.

Winners from classes 7 to 12 were given a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 each, the rank 2 holders won Rs. 25,000 each and rank 3 holders got Rs. 10,000. Winners from classes 1 to 6 were awarded i-Pads. In addition, attractive gifts were given to all the winners. The top 10 Principals and top 40 teachers whose students put up an excellent performance were felicitated with cash awards, mementos and citations.

Mahabir Singh, Founder and Executive Director, SOF, said 24,000 students from 1,050 cities across India and 14 countries have been awarded for achieving top State-level ranks. In addition, close to 3,50,000 students have been awarded “Medals of Excellence” for achieving top rank in their respective schools.

SOF spends about Rs. 8 crore towards awards, scholarships and training programmes. For the academic year 2012-13, around 25,000 schools had registered for the 4 Olympiads.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / June 21st, 2013

International awards for Puttur students

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Mangalore : 

Students from Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada district have won international awards for their essays.

Rashmiparvathi K. of Vivekananda College in Puttur was awarded gold medal for her essay on the use of coconut palm petiole.

Addressing the media here on Friday, Badanaje Shankar Bhat, her guide for the essay, said Rashmiparvathi’s essay on ‘Coconut palm petiole – its uses for enriching the soil nutrients and its antimicrobial properties,’ has been awarded the gold medal at the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering, and Environment) Project Olympiad 2013 at Houston. The Olympiad was conducted from May 8-13.

Sindhura Shankar, another student from Ramakrishna High School in Puttur, was awarded the gold medal for her essay on ‘A herbal substitute for hazardous chemical pesticides’ at the International Environment and Sustainability Olympiad at Middelburg in the Netherlands. The Olympiad was conducted from June 2-7. Bhat guided both the students to prepare the essays.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / By The Hindu Bureau  ..vinayak.ajk@thehindu.co.in /  Mangalore – June 14th, 2013

Love of language binds Sanskrit gold medallists

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Bangalore :

If you thought there would be no takers for Sanskrit at the graduate and post-graduate level, sample this – 166 students have enrolled in the master’s degree programme at Karnataka Samskrit University and 249 are pursuing the degree programme. Of the 166 students, nine bagged gold  medals on Friday, during the convocation ceremony of the 2011-13 batch.

Gowri Hegde is the only girl to bag the gold medal and the only one to achieve the feat in Alankar Shashtra, her specialization. When asked why she chose to study Alankar Shastra, she says, “Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. Both my parents are familiar with it. I had to pick from Kannada, English and Sanskrit but I chose to learn the root of all languages, which was an exciting thing to do.”

Hedge belongs to Honnavar in Udupi district and her father is an agriculturist. Her dream is to be a Sanskrit teacher. “Though there are fewer job opportunities in our field as compared to other languages, the best option for a Sanskrit student is to teach the language,” she added.

Contrary to Hedge’s opinion, Nagendra Pawan RN sees a huge opportunity in research work in the field of linguistics. “I have grown up amid Sanskrit culture, although I knew nothing about the language and its roots in my childhood. When my father asked me to study Sanskrit in college, I took it up. Now I realize that it was the right thing to do. Job opportunities may be few, but research in linguistics is a great field to work in,” he told TOI. He is a gold medallist in Vyakaran Shastra.

Nagendra’s friend, Vijayananda Adiga B wants to be an astrologer. His father and father are astrologers by profession. “I was destined to become an astrologer. My father and Dr Kottemane Ramkrishna inspired me to learn Sanskrit. I will pursue a PhD in Jyotish Shastra.”

Other gold medallists, Srikrishna Bhat (Poorvaneemamsa Shastra), Bhimsena Gopalachar Guttal (Nyaya Shastra), Mahesh G Bhatt (Krishna Yejur Veda Shastra) and Naveen Bhatt S (Advaitha Vedanta Shastra) are already working in PUC schools or Gurukulams as Sanskrit teachers. Their fathers are either priests or astrologers but they want to preach the language among city students.

History of the varsity

Karnataka Samskrit University was set up in 2010 by the state government under the Directorate of Samskrit Education. The varsity has two constitutional colleges – Chamarajendra Samskrit College in Chamarajpet, Bangalore and Mysore Samskrit College. It has 28 other affiliated colleges across Karnataka.

The government has identified 100 acres of land for the varsity in Kuduru hobli, Magadi taluk. The directorate includes 354 recognized Sanskrit pathashalas in the state. The undergraduate programme comprises 17 Shastras and the PG course has 16 Shastras. The vice-chancellor announced during the convocation that PhD programmes will be started from this academic year.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com /The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / June 15th, 2013