Daily Archives: February 1, 2015

Techies to help make digitised Kannada books accessible

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

WikiBF01feb2015

They will also create 5,000 Kannada Wiki pages based on these books

Hyderabad-based Osmania University Digital Library has 2,133 digitised Kannada books, but they are not easy to access because their titles are not listed in the Kannada script.

Three young techies from Karnataka — Om Shivaprakash H.L., Pavithra Hanchagaiah and Devaraj K. — are now setting right this anomaly by not only transliterating the titles and names of authors and publishers into the Kannada script, but also embarking on creating 5,000 Kannada Wiki pages related to these books. The trio has created a crowd-sourcing platform called ‘Samooha Sanchaya’ (http://samooha.sanchaya.net) to get help from people to transliterate, so that the work can be completed faster.

In the next phase, the team is planning to take up a similar project with 3,335 Kannada books in the Digital Library of India, a total of 7,19,327 pages.

“We hope to enhance the reachability of digitised books and also add value to Kannada Wikipedia by contributing Wiki pages,” says Mr. Shivaprakash, who heads the team. Along with this, the team is also launching its own book site ‘Pustaka Sanchaya’ (http://pustaka.sanchaya.net) in a few days which hopes to provide exhaustive bibliographic information.

Mr. Shivaprakash says that access is a problem across languages in digitised libraries. “In all existing digitised projects, they have not taken care of the accessibility of regional language books. They should have got the book names indexed in the respective languages,” he says. “We can help people do the same exercise in other languages if they need help in making books easier to search and find.”

The same team has put together Vachana literature of the 12th Century and Dasa literature on an online platform designed to help researchers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Bageshree S / Bengaluru – February 01st, 2015

City’s Thejkumar for Qatar Open Intl. Chess Tourney

Sports

Mysuru :

IM M.S. Thejkumar of South Western Railways, Mysuru, the highest ranked chess player from Karnataka (Rating 2443), will be representing India in the Qatar Open International Chess Tournament to be held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 5.

A total of 156 players are taking part in the tournament including Grand Masters Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Anish Giri, Alexei Shirov, Gata Kamsky, Pentala Harikrishna and Pavel Eljanov.

Taking part in the tourney from India are a total of 22 players — GM P. Harikrishna, GM Abhijit Gupta, GM B. Adhiban, GM Surya Shekar Ganguly, GM Sandipan Chada, GM G.N. Gopal, IM Ghosh Diptyan, GM D. Harika, IM Karthikeyan, GM R.R. Ankit, IM C.V.R. Aravindh, GM Debashis Das, GM Shyam Sundar, IM Das Sayanthan, IM Thejkumar, GM Neelotpal Das, GM Sundarrajan Kidambi, IM S. Gagare, WGM Mary Ann Gomes, IM P. Konguvel, IM S. Vijayalakshmi and IM Kathmale Sameer.

The total prize money of the tourney is 89,300 US$. The winner gets 25,000 US$, runner-up 15,000 US $ and third place winner 10,000 US $. The top 20 players will get cash prizes. The tournament will be of 9 rounds.

Thejkumar is sponsored by Yashasvi Shankar of Saanvi Technologies, U.S.A. and www.mysoresport.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>  Sports News  / Tuesday , November 25th, 2014

City’s Senior Artist Satyanarayana passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

SatyanarayanaBF01dec2014

Mysuru :

City artist S. Satyanaraya (55), who was actively involved in the fields of painting, film industry and commercial art for over four decades, passed away at his residence in Ramabai Nagar here yesterday.

He leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter. Last rites were performed at the foot of Chamundi Hill yesterday.

Satyanarayana was one among the noted artists who have worked for the promotion of the art that is declining due to advent of technology. Satyanarayan, who was working at Mysuru’s Ratnam Arts, had also served at Murugan Arts, Classic Advertising Company, Rival Arts – Mumbai, Rangashala – Mumbai and Madras. He has also worked at several studios in Hyderabad. He was also credited for having created many banners, sign boards, stage works and cutouts of many film actors.

Condoled: Sri Kalanikethana School of Art, Vijayanagar 2nd Stage, has condoled his death.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>  General News  / Tuesday , November 25th, 2014

Making their mark in stone

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence
King Edward VII statue installed (1919) at the North-Western point of the Queen’s park at Cubbon Park . Photo:G R.N. Somashekar / The Hindu
King Edward VII statue installed (1919) at the North-Western point of the Queen’s park at Cubbon Park . Photo:G R.N. Somashekar / The Hindu

The statues of Cubbon Park bear testament to conquerors who left more than just a memory in the country

They came. They saw and they conquered. But ironically, the conquests and achievements of many great people are only but a memory. People rise and people fall. Only their memories remain buried in the annals of history. However, some are more fortunate and are remembered better – thanks to monuments and places named after them or in this case – having a statue erected for them.

The city of Bangalore boasts an array of interesting statues of phenomenal people and one of the prime locations to spot them is the historic Cubbon Park. The large lung-space in the heart of the city bears testament to five of the most remarkable personalities to have etched a mark in Bangalore and India’s histories. With a history of its own – the park is home to the statues of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, Major General Sir Mark Cubbon, Rajya Dhurandhara Sir K. Sheshadri Iyer and Sri. Chamarajendra Wodeyar.

The Hindu
The Hindu

The Queen Victoria statue welcomes visitors to the park near the corner of Mahatma Gandhi Circle. Sculpted by Thomas Brock in England and shipped to India in 1905, the 11-foot statue was inaugurated by George Frederick Ernest Albert, the Prince of Wales (later King George V), on February 5, 1906. The Queen, who used the additional title of Empress of India, is the most notable sight in the garden.

Victoria statue at Cubbon Park. Photo: K. Murali Kumar / The Hindu
Victoria statue at Cubbon Park. Photo: K. Murali Kumar / The Hindu

A noble tribute to the member of the royal family of Great Britain to hold the prestigious crown for the longest time from the age of 18 for almost 64 years, the statue has the Queen holding a scroll and an orb. Alexandrina Victoria was given the title Empress of India after the dissolution of the East India Company following which she took reign of the administration of the subcontinent. Marked for restoration, the statue has a finger missing while the orb has lost its cross.

On the other corner of Queen’s park is the King Edward VII statue. Often ignored due to the stagnating Metro construction that has overridden the park’s beauty, the statue of the King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India between 1901 and 1910, lies neglected in a layer of dust and dirt. The statue was unveiled by Frederic John Napier Baron Chelmsford, the Viceroy and Governor General of India, in November 1919.

The bearded king, who was responsible for modernisation of the British Home Fleet and reorganisation of the British Army, was known to be a peacemaker. But with the World War I beginning just four years after his death, many believe the Germans paranoia increased because of the British King’s massive transformation of the forces. He toured the subcontinent while being the Prince of Wales in 1875 but King Edward VII never visited India after he took over the throne. His short reign and subsequent passing over of the mantle to his second son George V saw only a time of peace, often credited to be the golden age for the upper class in Europe and America. He was also one of the first Kings to become social with people believing in the seeing and being seen by the people.

The statue of Major General Sir Mark Cubbon adorns the terrace garden and is part of the Karnataka High Court. The British Army officer who became the British Commissioner of Mysore state moved the capital from Mysore to Bangalore and is respected for creating a prosperous government here. The statue of Sir Cubbon seated on a horse was unveiled by the Commissioner of Mysore Lewin Bowring.

A fading tribute to these foreigners who left a lasting impression on the destiny of the country, these statues may not stand the test of time, but they will remain in the weathered memories of Bangalore’s residents.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Allan Moses Rodricks / October 31st, 2014

Down the memory lane : R. K. Narayan and weighty school bag

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

2006 Bill in Rajya Sabha still pending or shelved?

VijayBF01oct2014

by K. Vijaya Kumar, Former Jt. Director of Information & Publicity

The school bag debate has come to a forefront due to Mysore’s NGO ‘Pratham’ and A.J. Stationery of Ashvini Ranjan taking up a study covering about 3,000 students which has revealed that weight of their school bags varies from 8 kg to 4.5 kg. Hence, it is reported, that child right activists want to move High Court to bring a law to reduce the weight (10% of the total weight of the student). But, before this they met recently Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar in Mysore who has assured them that a Pilot study/scheme will be undertaken in CM’s Varuna Assembly Constituency and State Government will take appropriate action in this regard and to wait for the outcome.

RKN and School Bag

This takes my memory back when our R.K. Narayan (RKN), the famous writer, was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1986, nearly 30 years ago, who in his debut (and ONLY) speech raising weighty school bag issue made a fervent plea for reducing the inevitable “daily burden” of children. He observed their school bags weighing over five kg made many children “hang their arms forward like Chimpanzees and like a pack-mule.” He even went to the extent of pleading “abolition of school bag” as a National Policy by an ordinance if necessary.

When I met RKN once in Mysore after this Session, he told me that he will be happy to see the day when children walking straight without burden on their back and be satisfied for being in Rajya Sabha.

“Wisdom to be the end of learning”

Expressing his distress over the Education System that did not leave the children “any room to play or dream,” (The same he had expressed in his very early book Swami and Friends) his was a passionate criticism of the system wherein weighty school bags bends children back rather than exciting their creative minds of imagination. His longer vision on Education was “Wisdom to be the end of learning.”

Learning without burden

This only issue raised by RKN during his six years tenure in Rajya Sabha (1986-1992) led to a National Debate leading newspapers of the country highlighting his plea in the RS. Public opinion and parents’ awareness resulted in the formation of a Committee by the Central Govt. headed by a known Educationalist Prof. Yashpal, to recommend changes in the School Education System. The report of the Committee ‘Learning without Burden’ stated that young children should not be compelled to carry heavy bags to schools.

It is unfortunate that a Bill known as Children School Bags (Limitation on Weight) Bill 2006, introduced in Rajya Sabha was later shelved. If RKN were to be alive (he died in May 2001) he would have really felt sad to know the fate of this Bill.

Thanks to Pratham and A.J. Stationery

The recent study undertaken by Pratham and A.J. Stationery of Mysore not only has brought the issue to forefront again but also gives some solace to the soul of RKN. It is heartening to note that People’s Legal Forum has taken up this cause with experts favouring a legislation on the lines of the Bill in Rajya Sabha. Former VC of Kuvempu University Prof. P. Venkataramaiah is also associated in this endeavour. Viren Ranjan (son of Ashvini Ranjan) of A.J. Stationery who was part of the study has pointed out that Pratham Mysore had Indianised the ‘Loose Leaf Concept’ practiced world wide. Under this concept, students only need to take loose sheets to school and bring it home and file them.

What a great relief, if introduced, will it be to students and their mothers particularly who carry bags of their children (in the Apartments) till the Bus point ! Myself a daily witness to this plight.

[SOM had published an editorial titled ‘Burden off the back’ in its issue on Sept. 11, 2014]

e-mail: kumarkv59@gmail.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Thursday  , September 25th,  2014

NIE goes on Air

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

NIEBF01oct2014

Mysore :

One of city’s premier engineering college, National Institute of Engineering (NIE) has got yet another feather in its cap with the launch of an online campus radio. The radio, which is the brainchild of nine students, has been launched to socialize and entertain the NIE family.

The team consists of H.K. Anirudh, Karthik S. Rao, N. Pradeep, P.D. Divakar, B.L. Abhishek, M.S. Anusha, Anushree Anil, N.K. Amrutha and H.S. Anusha.

Speaking to SOM, the NIE team shared about the birth of NIE AIR thus: “During various events which took place in the college we faced communication problems. We had to spend too much on calls and SMS to intimate students about meetings and discussions. The message did not reach the masses; hence it was unfair for those who were interested. We also lacked proper communication between seniors and juniors.”

“We are glad that many of our students are being placed in good companies with good packages but unfortunately their experiences and achievements are not being shared with others. The information about internship opportunities, scholarships, sports and placements was not being conveyed properly. Considering all these problems we, the team of 9 came up with this solution,” they added.

“On a boring day when we were hanging out at the coffee shop we felt that we needed a change of some kind from this regular schedule. That was when we came up with a small idea of setting up a ham station in our campus, which then morphed into a live audio streaming internet radio. Now, with this new concept we realised we could provide a solution to some of the problems that our students faced.”

NIE-AIR is a campus community radio which entertains its listeners by the constant streaming of songs and providing them information regarding various events, the cultural fests, internships, placements and also the various activities and news about Mysore, maintaining the balance between the knowledge and Entertainment.

NIE-AIR runs from 8 am to 8 pm everyday keeping its listeners constantly updated by switching between knowledge based announcements and entertainment at regular intervals.

The day begins with a small playlist of pleasant songs. It is then followed by few of the important announcements during breaks. The list of songs once again continues to stream after these announcements providing the entertainment to students.

The major plus point in implementing this method of radio is they are not required to have any kind of licencing from the broadband or any of the different modulation stations. They make use of the website www.nieair.in that they created solely for this purpose and stream the songs and announcements live from a single source of point to which the people can tune in to avail the various facilities provided by it.

The students have expressed their gratitude to NIE which extends a helping hand in their ventures and guides them to become successful entrepreneurs. They hope that this community radio will continue to remain a success in future also.

Visit www.nieair.in for online campus radio

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  / Thursday , September 25th,  2014

Stamp to be released for 110th anniversary of Hudson Memorial Church

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

A stamp will be released on Sunday to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Hudson Memorial Church, a Kannada Protestant Christian Church and a major landmark in the city. M.S. Ramanujan, Chief Post Master General, Karnataka Circle, will release the stamp.

Speaking to presspersons on Friday about the event, S. William Jones, Presbyter in-charge, Hudson Memorial Church, said the programme will commence with a special worship service, followed by a procession by the Church congregation members along with schoolbands, from Hudson Memorial Church to Hudson Community Centre on Mission Road. On the occasion, a website www.hudsonmemorialchurch.com will also be launched.

The Church will hold various competitions including a painting exhibition, choreography, Ikebana competitions for women on Saturday. Scholarships and awards to meritorious students would be given, Mr Jones said.

source:// www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by C. K. Suryanarayana / Bangalore – September 26th, 2014

LINK TO THE PAST – Ancient map of Bidar unearthed in London

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
Historian and painter Rehman Patel says illustrations on the political and social history of India are included on either side of the map. / The Hindu
Historian and painter Rehman Patel says illustrations on the political and social history of India are included on either side of the map. / The Hindu

The map is included in an atlas produced by Colonel Jean Baptiste Gentil, Military Adviser to the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula

In exciting news for historians, an ancient atlas, which includes a map of Bidar, prepared by French officer Colonel Jean Baptiste Gentil, Military Adviser to the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula (1763 to 75), was found tucked away in the India Office Library at London. The map shows Bidar, which was once a capital city of the Bahamani Kingdom and an educational centre with historical importance.

Historian and painter Rehman Patel, who reproduced the map, said that in the interests of preserving the historic post and throwing more light about the history of the Bidar and its cultural heritage, the State government should put pressure on the Union government to bring it back to India and place it in Bidar.

Illustrations

He added that Col. Gentil had utilised the services of local artists to produce a series of illustrations on the political and social history of India.

Dr. Patel pointed out that illustrations were included on either side of the map. They reveal the representatives of different Sufi orders and thick forests with drawings of wild animals. These drawings also include Bidri craftsman and the different wares that were produced in Bidar. The bespectacled artisan at the bottom left of the page is portrayed as engraving a floral pattern on the side of a globular huqqa, with his wife and pet parrot looking on.

The illustration is reinforced by having a caption: ‘Fabrique de Beder ou on incruste en or et argent’ (Beder workshop for inlaying in gold and silver).

At the bottom right corner, there is a drawing of the types of wares produced: ‘vases incrustes’, or ‘inlaid vessels’. These include a globular huqqua on a stand, a bell-shaped huqqua, spittoons, boxes, a ewer and wash basin.

Reference to Bidriware

Dr. Patel said so far, the earliest unambiguous reference to Bidriware was in the Chahar Gulshan, written in Persian in 1759 AD. This includes a statistical account taken, on internal evidence, from an earlier compilation of about 1720 AD.

Book II of the Chahar Gulshan is ‘an account of five Subhas (administrative divisions) of Deccan’, one of the five being Bidar, referred to by its Bahmani and Mughal names. A manuscript in the British Library has the following passage: ‘The subah of Mohammadabad called Zafarabad (Bidar).

Bidar was also known from an illustration in an atlas produced in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh in (1770 AD) under the Nawab of Awadh (Oudh) Shuja-ud-Daula, who ruled from 1754-75 AD. During this period, Bidar was under the control of Muhammad Ghauth Saif-ud-Daula, but he died shortly after his appointment, and his brother Saif Jang Najm-ud-Daula Bahadur became the governor in his place.

Dr. Patel said that enquiries at the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Bidar revealed that the district administration did not have a copy of the manuscript and the atlas produced by Col. Gentil.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by T. V. Sivanandan / Gulbarga – September 01st, 2014

Jawa and Yezdi ride to Hampi to promote road safety

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, Travel

Bangalore :

The first all-India Jawa and Yezdi Ride to Hampi will be held between August 15 and 17 in support of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India’s (FMSCI) Action for Road Safety campaign.

Organised by the Jawa and Yezdi Club of Hyderabad (JAYCOH), close to 60 riders from across the country have confirmed participation for the ride to the ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire in northern Karnataka on Independence Day.

The motorcyclists from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Nasik on their vintage machines will ride out of their respective cities on the morning of August 15 and reach Hampi by the evening.

Pune has the most participants at 24, followed by Hyderabad at 16.

“It is a very encouraging sign when motorcycle clubs and independent groups take the initiative to promote road safety,” FMSCI President J Prithiviraj said.

“India has the world’s largest number of road accident casualties. We need to work towards improving road safety awareness in the country,”Prithiviraj added.

The FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) had launched its Action for Road Safety global campaign in support of the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety. The FIA’s initiative aims to lower the alarming figures associated with global road accidents and to spread the safer motoring message.

The FMSCI has adopted and is implementing FIA’s Action for Road Satefy global campaign.

All participating vehicles will carry FIA Road Safety Campaign sticker to create awareness on the importance of road safety. The riders will distribute pamphlets propagating road safety and take the FIA Road Safety pledge – 10 Golden Rules – in front the Queen’s Bath, a World Heritage monument in Hampi.

“We thank the FMSCI and Hosepet Round Table 231 for being associated with this ride to promote road safety awareness,” said P Jaiveer Rao of JAYCOH. “Our Jawas and Yezdis being vintage motorcycles, we felt the a World Heritage site like Hampi.

source: http://ww.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports> Others / by Sunil Subbaiah, TNN / August 14th, 2014

Vijendra wins inter-district Chess Championship

Sports
The winners in the Inter-District chess championship conducted jointly by the Mysore District Chess Association jointly with Hoysala Karnataka Sangha seen with their prizes and certificates along with the guests. (Sitting from left) M M Biddappa (Vice-President, MDCA), Prof. S K. Ananda Thirtha (President, MDCA), P Baradwaj (President,Hoysala Karnataka Sangha), S Vijay Prakash (Former State Ranji cricketer), H T Raviprakash (Treasurer, MDCA) and M Nagendra (Hon. Secretary, MDCA).
The winners in the Inter-District chess championship conducted jointly by the Mysore District Chess Association jointly with Hoysala Karnataka Sangha seen with their prizes and certificates along with the guests. (Sitting from left) M M Biddappa (Vice-President, MDCA), Prof. S K. Ananda Thirtha (President, MDCA), P Baradwaj (President,Hoysala Karnataka Sangha), S Vijay Prakash (Former State Ranji cricketer), H T Raviprakash (Treasurer, MDCA) and M Nagendra (Hon. Secretary, MDCA).

Mysore :

Former State Champion Y.G. Vijendra of Mysore with 7 points from eight rounds clinched the Inter-District chess championship title in the tournament conducted jointly by the Mysore District Chess Association (MDCA), jointly with Hoysala Karnataka Sangha, here on Sunday.

V.P.S. Darshan of Mandya, S.N. Jatin (JSS HS, SJCE Complex) and D. Arun tied with 6.5 points, but based on their tie-break scores secured the places from second to fourth respectively. Seven players tied with 6 points each and took the places from fifth to eleventh respectively. The prizes to the winners were given away by S. Vijay Prakash, Former Karnataka Ranji Trophy player. MDCA President, Prof. S.K. Ananda Thirtha, M. Nagendra , Hon. Secretary, MDCA and other office-bearers of MDCA and Hoysala Karnataka Sangha were also present.

Final Placings: 1. Y.G. Vijendra (8 pts); 2. V.P.S. Darshan (6.5 pts- 32); 3. S.N. Jatin (6.5 pts-31.5); 4. D. Arun (6.5 pts-29); 5. L.Vivekananda (6 pts-33.5); 6. M.P.Ajith (6 pts-33); 7. H.R .Manasa (6 pts-32.5); 8. C. Pavan (6 pts-30); 9. R. Sharan Setty (6 pts-29) 10. M. Bharath (6 pts-24.5); 11. Venkatesh Babu N (6 pts-22.5).

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News  / August 26th,  2014