After a long career rat race that took him across the country and the globe, life has come full circle for Chandrakantha Rao, 53, of Inna Village near Padubidri, about 50km from here.
After being the director & president, Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises of Aditya Birla Group and managing operations in nine countries, he retired when he turned 50 and settled down at his Praakruti Fruit Farm – a modern model farm with a 1,250 sqft wood house.
He and his wife, Supriya, moved 14 times all over India in the first 24 years of his career and even all over the world in the last five years. And all the while, one question remained on top of his mind: Where to?
Rao said: “What you see around the fruit farm today is a result of my search for that question. It is a model farm getting developed just to show case possibilities in the fertile land of the coast. It started with a dream of putting our quiet village Inna on the map and to create a world class farm to show case possibilities.”
Rao, who completed his graduation from NIT-K with distinction in 1983, wanted to hang his boots when he turned 50. And he worked towards this end. “That was the plan. As soon as I felt independent I decided it to call a day. Once you decide, then you will work towards reasonable financial independence. I was quite clear that I wanted to retire at 50,” he said and added, “The company thinks I’m on sabbatical.”
He quit in 2012 and returned to his village where did his school.
The farm house – built of Green Teak and designed by his Thai friend Nattapoom Raksakul — was completed in 2011. The house is named “Su Kantha I” – derived from Su-priya and Chandra-Kantha) and `I’ from Inna.
Rao visited several progressive farms in Kochi, Karkala, Naravi, Hiriyadka, Belthangady, Puttur and Kundapur and designed the farm with the help of Amit Soans of West Coast Nursery at Uchila. His farm has an acre each for cultivation of mango, chikoo, rambutan, guava, mangosteen and coconut.
He said that an excellent farm cannot be complete without a farm house. A small team from Thailand (Kanchanpuri) guided a local team of 12 carpenters to complete this project in less than three months.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / March 02nd, 2015
AshaBhat returned to her alma mater, RV College of Engineering, for the first time after being crowned Miss Supranatural in Poland last December. The 22-year-old was in college for the inauguration of 8th Mile, the college fest. Like a true beauty queen, she was thankful (and less nostalgic, unlike an alumnus) and talked about her days as a newbie in college three years ago. Apparently, the lady “didn’t know anyone” and “approaching the teachers was always difficult”. Oh, that’s the story of 99 per cent of the student population. Of course, things have changed for Bhat in the last four months. Along with the crown came attention (and new found confidence to approach old teachers), which she said was all new to her. “But nice.”
Lit lite
THE Lahore Literary festival which concluded last week was a resounding success. Lahoris queued up by the hundreds to cock a snook at the terror threats and hear some excellent panel discussions. Your diarist, a guest of the festival, was particularly delighted to see the re-emergence of two ladies of a certain vintage into the limelight. We spotted Meher Tarrar, she of the Shashi Tharoor fame, hobnobbing with the Indian contingent. In her heyday, Tarrar had acted in a film or two and her journalistic avatar was a fairly recent one, we were told. The other woman, Tehmina Durrani, of equal renown, was not to be physically espied but was very much a guiding spirit behind the LLF. Those with long memories might recall her as the author of My Feudal Lord, a pulpish bestseller that recounted her years of abusive marriage to powerful Pakistani politician Ghulam Mustafa Khar. With that one book, she became something of an icon on both sides of the border. Tehmina has since moved on. She is now married to Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s brother who is also the chief minister of Punjab and a great patron of the LLF. Tehmina, whose taste in men clearly runs to the powerful kind, has told her friends that even though Sharif has married again, she is treated well. Phew!
Hair matters
Doppelgangers, they are — Michael Antony Dias of Mad Orange Fireworks and musician Vasu Dixit of Swarathma. People talk to Dias thinking he is Dixit and vice versa. Blame it on their almost identical funky sky-scraper hairdo. While the duo has a hearty laugh over the mistaken identity, people around them are left confused. Perhaps, a haircut would help. But that’s asking for the moon, isn’t it? Especially when it concerns these two.
Tailpiece
If the diarist were Srinivasan Narayanan, former director of Mumbai Film Festival, the diarist would be doing cartwheels now. The prestigious Sundance Institute has partnered with Drishyam (Narayanan’s baby), a production company, for the Sundance Institute screenwriters lab that will be held in Goa from April. After films like Margarita, With a Straw and Umrika (won the audience award in the world cinema dramatic category at Sundance this year; and from Drishyam’s stable) and Masaan came out of Sundance Screenwriters Lab, one can only think of the gems that will emerge after the Goa Lab. 2015 seems like a good year for Indian cinema.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Code 560 / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / March 01st, 2015
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch the facility on Sunday
Henceforth Kannada bookworms need not keep heavy books for reference. They can just download NewsHunt App on their cell phones and access over 30 classic works of Kannada for free, thanks to the Department of Kannada and Culture that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NewsHunt, for making available its publication to the mobile phone readers.
Cell phone users can browse, download and read the largest collection of works brought out by the Department of Kannada and Culture in the recent years, including; Kaviraja Marga Mattu Kannada Jagattu by K.V. Subbanna, Uttara Karnatakada Janapada Kathegalu, Kanakadasara Kavya, Aramane by Kum. Veerabhradappa and Shataka Samputa .
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will dedicate the facility on Sunday, besides re-launching the website onVachana and Dasa literature. According to the Director of Kannada and Culture K.A. Dayananda, the attempt is aimed at making volumes of Kannada classics available to younger generation, who don’t have time to refer to hard volumes, but can browse and read on their mobile during their leisure time. Similarly e-readers can access 26,000 Vachanas besides over 13,000 Dasa keerthanas. They can also listen to Vachanas and Keerthanas in musical form by visiting kannadasiri.in website.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bengaluru – March 01st, 2015
Dr Narasimha Pai, Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiology, KMC Hospital Ambedkar Circle, here has been made fellow of the elite panel of American College of Cardiology (FACC).
The certification and citation will be officially presented to him at the annual convocation of the college on March 6 in San Diego, California.
“KMC Hospital Mangalore is proud to have Dr Pai on the panel of consultants in Interventional Cardiology. We congratulate him on his achievement” said Dr Anand Venugopal, Medical Superintendent.
Every year, the American College of Cardiology recognizes selected cardiologists from around the world, based on their long term contribution to the field of Cardiology, and inducts them as a fellow of American College of Cardiology (FACC). American College of Cardiology is the foremost professional society, representing heart specialists in the UD and throughout the world. Based on their outstanding credentials, achievements and community contribution to cardiovascular medicine, those who are elected to fellowship can use fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) as a professional designation.
Fellow of the ACC generally are adult cardiologists, paediatric cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, researchers and academicians or specialists in the cardiovascular – related field.
Candidates are selected to the elite panel of FACC based on letters of sponsorship from other fellows or faculty, who attest professional competence and commitment to excellence that are at par with the best international standards.
source:http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 27th, 2015
City-lad M.Vikas, a 10th standard student of Ramakrishna Vidyashala, Mysuru, taking part in the 60th National School Games Federation of India’s Diving Competitions held at Gujarat recently won the bronze medal in the U-17 section for Karnataka.
Vikas is a being trained by Ramakrishna Vidyashala, Mysuru’s Diving Coach Guruprasad.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Monday – February 23rd, 2015
Success story: Musthafa believes it was team work all the way that helped.
Musthafa P.C, a school dropout who went on to study at IIMB, quit his software job to start an enterprise that sold idly-dosa batter. His is a success story that has trickled down to his 600 –odd rural employees too
A young techie who could just about make himself daal, rice and papad in his bachelor days now runs a company with a 70 crore turnover that provides almost five lakh idlis a day to hungry Bengalureans. Most young working people in the city in a rush, simply fish out the now-famous “iD Fresh” readymade idly/dosa batter from their refrigerator for their quick breakfast fix.
While Bengaluru is where all this began for techie-turned-entrepreneur Musthafa P.C, his idlis and dosas find a place on the breakfast tables in households in Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and even Dubai! And it’s not limited to idlys and dosas anymore. Their oeuvre now includes parotas, chapattis and chutneys too, all made without chemicals and preservatives, Musthafa is quick to add.
It started in a small corner of the city’s Thippasandra locality where Musthafa’s cousins ran a grocery store. “This was eight years ago, and a local supplier would sell idly/dosa batter in an unbranded plain plastic bag tied up with a rubberband, on weekends. There was a great demand, but they couldn’t keep up the quality. That’s when I felt there was a gap in the market,” says the 42-year-old Musthafa, CEO of iD Fresh Food, one of the new-age food startups in the city.
And then, one can conclude, the Malayali business instinct kicked in!
The enterprising cousins set up a 50 square foot kitchen — “our so-called factory” laughs Musthafa, and started a trial in 10 stores in and around Indiranagar. “In a year’s time we were selling 100 packets of batter a day.” During that time, Musthafa had quit his plum job to study his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B). “I did a proper survey and found that Bangalore then had a production requirement of 5,000 kg of batter a day.” The sales and the survey gave them the confidence to set up a 600 square foot kitchen in Kaggadasapura, where Musthafa pumped in six lakh from his savings. They were still using regular household grinders to make the batter. “I had a high-profile job in Dubai. I had worked with Motorola, Citibank, had lived in the U.K., and then later even worked with Intel. But I wanted to come back to India to pursue higher studies, spend time with my parents, and give something back to society,” says Musthafa of making the proverbial switch.
It is with this intent that Musthafa is very particular that they identify “smart guys from rural areas who are unemployed” and provide them opportunities in their company. Today they employ 650 such people from the eight regions they work in across India. “I come from a life of poverty in Wayanad (Kerala) where my dad was a coolie, and breakfast was a luxury. I was a school dropout after I failed my sixth standard. The teacher persuaded me to repeat the class and continue my studies.”
No one supported his decision to quit the IT industry; it was a job that had brought stability to the family, helped him build a home and marry off siblings. Even his wife’s family was upset that he was becoming a “rice merchant”.
But by 2008, his company had expanded into a proper factory in Hoskote, with the help of the Karnataka State Industrial Development Council (KSIDC). Custom-made grinders were brought in from America. “With Indian grinders, cleaning is the most difficult task. Moreover the small grinders would take an hour to grind a kilo of dal. So we had to import these large, modified grinders that self-sterilise at the touch of a button.” Musthafa swears the actual batter making process is “the same that your mom uses at home, starting with the soaking”. “We are only professional assistants to the homemaker. Our products will always be ready to cook, not ready to eat. So they don’t reach the dining table; they first go into the kitchen. If the idli is good, the homemaker gets the credit; if the idli turns out bad, iD takes the credit!” All the products, he says, are first tested on his children aged 12, nine, and five.
Business is of course growing phenomenally with venture capital (VC) firms wanting to invest in them; 60 companies evinced interest in pumping money; mostly American. Finally Helion Venture invested Rs. 35 crore in their expansion plans. “We are targeting expansion to 10 Middle-Eastern cities over the next five years. As well as expanding into north India, especially Delhi.” While initially a friend named it iD for “idly-dosa”, Musthafa says it now stands for their “identity”.
Every employee in the company is an entrepeneur like he is, believes Musthafa.
Musthafa makes it a point to stress on the fact that it has been team work all along the way; first his cousins came on board, then his engineering classmates and then family friends, to start the operation in various cities. “We don’t work on an employment basis; there is no fixed pay. Every employee is a micro-entrepreneur. For example, each area sales team is given a vehicle and “they have to maintain their own profit and loss account,” explains Musthafa. Whitefield, Jayanagar, Indiranagar and Koramangala is where they do their best business, he says. They have a SAP-based backend platform so that they have a zero inventory model – 90 per cent of the products are sold on the same day; a mobile app keeps track of sales patterns in each store.
Musthafa’s personal favourite from his company is the wheat parota. “We eat our idli and dosa once a week at home, then three days of wheat parota,” he breaks into a boyish grin.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Bhumika .K / February 26th, 2015
Tennis is a global sport and Mysuru 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 is presently taking part in the women’s circuit. Dhruthi has been consistently performing well in the ITF tournaments. Recently taking part in the 25,000$ ITF Women’s Tennis Tourney in Delhi from Feb. 16 to 22, 2015, Dhruthi qualified for the tournament proper and lost in the pre-quarter-finals in the Women’s Singles and Doubles events. She has took part in the ITF Tourney in Eqypt in the previous month and performed well. She is our ‘Star This Week.’
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, presently ranked No. 41 in the country and No.3 in the State in the women’s section, has been performing well in the ITF women’s circuit. Dhruthi has represented India in the Junior section and has also played in the Australian Open Junior Girls event. Dhruthi, taking part in the 25,000$ ITF Women’s Tennis Tournament in Delhi from Feb. 16 to 22, 2015, lost in the pre-quarter-finals in the women’s singles to Slovakia’s Tadeja Majevic 2-6, 4-6. In the first round, Dhruthi beat Katherina Lehnert (Phi) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0.
In the qualifying rounds, Dhruthi beat Abou Zekry of Egypt 6-3, 6-2 and entered the main draw. In the second round she beat Ching-wen Hsu (Tpe) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and in the first round got past China’s Yukun Zhang 6-1, 6-3.
In the Women’s Doubles event, Dhruthi, partnering Snehadevi Reddy of India, went down to the Japanese pair of Miyu Kato and Riko Sawayanagi 1-6, 2-6. Dhruthi also took part in the three legs of the Sharam El Sheikh 10,000$ ITF Women’s Tournament held at Egypt and performed consistently and entered the main draw in two tournaments after playing the qualifying rounds.
In the tournament held from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 at Eqypt, Dhruthi lost finals in the qualifying round in the Women’s Singles going down to Federica Prati of Italy 6-3, 6-7 (10), 3-6. In the first round, Dhruthi beat Russia’s Ekaterina Lavvikova 7-6 (4), 7-6(4). Dhruthi was ranked No 4 in the country in the Junior Girls (U-18) section and is now taking part in the women’s circuit. 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 – February 22nd, 2015
Star of Mysore (SOM): How would you react on being picked up by Mumbai Indians for this year’s IPL?
Suchith: I am very happy and excited to be part of Mumbai Indians team. Initially, I thought chances of me getting into the team were difficult, as Mumbai Indians had already picked Pragyan Ojha and Akshay Wakhare. But, with the team management deciding to pick me, I believe it is a golden opportunity for me to excel.
SOM: What inspired you to play cricket?
Suchith: At first, I started off with gymnastics at the University Sports Pavilion. After my gymnastics classes, I used to watch people play cricket and that is how I developed my interest towards the game. I joined MUCSC and later shifted to Mysore Gymkhana where I was trained by Sudhindra sir and Ravindra sir. I also got a lot of support from Club Secretary Subramaniam sir while I was playing for Mysore Gymkhana.
SOM: How did your parents react on you being selected for Mumbai Indians?
Suchith: In fact, it was my father who informed me about being selected for Mumbai Indians. I was travelling from Indore to Bengaluru after playing a match and that is when my father informed me. My parents are very happy on me being picked up by Mumbai Indians. K.V. Shantha, my mother, was glued to the television and was praying for me when the auction was going on. They have always supported me in all my endevours.
SOM: What do you have say about KPL?
Suchith: Karnataka Premier League (KPL) has been a launch pad for the budding cricketers. The tournament has definitely helped many youngsters to showcase their talent. It’s not only me, players like Shishir Bhavane and K.C. Cariapppa have been benefitted a lot from the tournament. I hope that more players would emerge in the future.
SOM: Whom do you idolise as cricketer?
Suchith: Daniel Vettori! He has been the most successful left-arm spinner in the modern era. He is very accurate and has set a landmark for the cricketers across the world.
SOM: What do you expect being a part of Mumbai Indians team?
Suchith: I expect to gain a lot of experience, learn work ethics and ways to handle pressure. I would like to give my 100 per cent, both on and off the field, to improve my skills as a cricketer. Playing for Mumbai Indians will be exciting as I would be sharing the dressing room with some of the best cricketers in the world and also learn a lot from greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Sunday – February 22nd, 2015
Amirbai’s tale is one of inspiration / by Special Arrangement
Amirbai Karnataki is one of the earliest Kannada singer-actress who made it big in Hindi cinema. She went to Bombay when women artistes were labelled ‘fallen’, but with grit and passion Amirbai became a star and sang 380 songs in 150 Kannada and Hindi films
For someone who didn’t belong to the gramophone generation but the golden period of radio, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mukesh, and Rafi ruled our hearts and constituted our imagination of a film song. The same AIR, during a light music programme, had played “Ninnane Neneyuta Ratriya Kalede”. This, was a carbon copy of Lata’s memorable “Saari Saari Raat Teri Yaad Sataye”, but the voice was starkly different. It had a heavy nasal tone, and the flawless rendition had a simplicity to it. The charming song left an indelible mark and I felt I had to recover her voice from pages that were unknown to me. Amirbai Karnataki was an unheard voice for the Seventies: she was long gone, and had faded into the archives of black and white era of early films. She was someone who lived on in personal memories of people who had known and heard her.
Amirbai Karnataki (1912-65), who sang 380 songs in 150 films, was an early singer and actress of Hindi cinema. This singer who sang the unforgettable “Main to pavan chali hoon bole papiha” and “Bairan Nindiya Kyon Nahi Aaye”, was born in Bijapur in Karnataka. During the 1930s Amirbai was a prominent name along with stars like Suraiyya, Shamshad Begum, Noor Jahan and Zohrabai Ambalewali.
When Lata Mangeshkar came on to the scene, many of these singers moved into the background and for the later generations they remained unknown.
Born into a family of artistes, Amirbai’s parents Ameenabi and Husensaab worked for a theatre company and even ran one for many years. Growing up years for Amirbai and her five siblings was filled with music and theatre, what with many of her uncles and aunts being top musicians and actors in theatre. She lost her father early and her uncle, Hatel Saheb took care of all the children.
During those years, Bijapur was part of Mumbai Presidency and the sangeet natak tradition in these parts was flourishing. The famous Balagandharva’s company and several other theatre companies camped at Bijapur; Amirbai and her sister Goharbai, trained as they were in classical music, impressed these companies with their singing and they began to not only sing for several of them, but also act.
As Rahmat Tarikere writes in his biography of Amirbai Karnataki, Amirbai moved from Bijapur to Mumbai, from theatre to films. But the exact date and nature of these movements and transitions are hard to tell. The story of Amirbai is a sum total of several happenings in a historical period as there are few definitive documents to lead us to any accurate picture. Painstakingly put together by the biographer, Tarikere says that when Amirbai reached Mumbai (it was perhaps the year of Alam Ara’s release, 1931), women who worked in films, theatre and music were still seen as “fallen”.
Women artistes were often ridiculed as “free women” and among the several women performers, Amirbai and her sister Goharbai too, tried to free women of this stigma. In fact, families not only disowned such women, but there were instances of women being killed for choosing the arts.
In fact, Rahmat Tarikere says that the kind of fight these women put up with the social circumstances of those days is no less significant than the freedom struggle itself. If women artistes, in the later years, earned fame and reputation, it was because of the sacrifices these women made. Ironically, two very popular films “Basant” and “Kismet” in which Amirbai acted deals with the plight of actresses.
Amirbai became a very reputed singer and actress of her times. She was highly paid, and even built a theatre Amir Talkies in Bijapur. She travelled the length and breadth of North Karnataka giving programmes related to theatre and cinema.
A singer who sang some of the finest love songs, had a very unhappy love life though. Tarikere writes how her husband, a Parsi actor who played villain in those days, Himalayavala, abused her physically and emotionally. She had to suffer several assaults from him and even separation became a painful affair. Unable to recover from the trauma, she went into oblivion for several years, and later Badri Kanchawala, with his love and care brought back peace into her life.
At the age of 55, Amirbai passed away; Karnataka had been unified by then and the rest of Karnataka hardly knew of her. Even the newspapers reported her death four days later. It was only later that people have slowly learnt of Amirbai’s greatness and how Gandhiji was immensely fond of her rendition of “Vaishnava Janato”.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Deepa Ganesh / February 27th, 2015
Examples of children of devadasis qualified with higher education are seen very rare following poor social and financial background of these families. In such conditions, Suvarna Shanta Madar, 36 year old devadasi daughter from Kokatnur village in Athani taluk has achieved doctorate degree fighting all odds came in her way.
After completing B.Com from Karnataka University Dharwad with fifth rank in 2002, Suvarna completed her MA. She did not stop there by deciding to pursue PhD on devadasi system with which she suffered from. Karnataka State Women’s University, Vijayapur awarded her doctorate degree last year for doing PhD in the subject ‘An Economic Study of Rehabilitation Programme of Devadasis in Athani Taluk’.
She did research on five government schemes for the eradication of devadasi system and the welfare of devadasis including the schemes for providing housing, pension, rehabilitation and make them self reliant. Professor S S Peerzade in Economics department in women’s university guided her to pursue PhD.
“Pursuing the education was not a smooth task for me. I used to sell coconut, turmeric, oil, flowers and other things sitting in-front of goddess Renuka Yallamma temple in the village till the school time and after returning from school. It was the business providing us bread and butter. There are lot of hilarious experiences I have experienced in my childhood and adolescence being a daughter of devadasi. Poverty was our biggest enemy. As I had experienced the worries of devadasi system and being a daughter of devadasi I chose this subject”, Suvarna said speaking to the TOI.
In 1993-94 state government conducted the survey of devadasis and after that mother of Suvarna began getting Rs 500 monthly pension. The pension amount gave lot of solace to their day today financial problems for survival. Suvarna has two sisters and one brother. One sister is a police constable while another is a staff nurse on contract bases. Brother is daily wage worker. Suvarna works as a guest lecturer at the local 1 stgrade college.
Shanta Madar, mother of Suvarna is very happy with daughter’s achievement. Speaking to the TOI she said she wanted to look her daughter doing a permanent government job. Suvarna said “I have not married so far to achieve something. My first priority is getting a permanent job which is my mother’s dream too”, she said.
Considering the achievement of Suvarna Madar, district officer on devadasi rehabilitation programme M K Kulkarni has wrote letter to the Women’s Development Corporation fortnight ago to bring a book of Suvarna Madar’s thesis submitted for PhD and print at least 1,000 its copies. He has also appealed to honour both mother and daughter on state level platform on Women’s Day. “It’s not a small achievement for any devadasi daughter and it is encouragement for others too”, Kulkarni said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Ravindra Uppar, TNN / February 13th, 2015
