Veena, the beneficiary of Lions Club’s donation of an autorickshaw, is seen overwhelmed with emotion in front of the gifted autorickshaw along with her mother Lakshmamma.
Mysore :
The first woman auto driver in city, Veena, was all smiles today as she got an autorickshaw from Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City at a function organised at the premises of Mangalore Motors on Dewan’s Road here today.
The Lions Club, which felicitated Veena during Women’s Day celebrations recently, had agreed to get her an autorickshaw and the keys of the same were handed over to Veena by Kiran Bolar, Proprietor of Mangalore Motors and President of Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Veena, 39, mother of two daughters, said that she was deserted by her husband 10 years ago and was living with her mother since then. She said that she was unable to eke out a livelihood by driving a rented auto and was now happy to have one of her own.
When asked about the behaviour of male auto drivers with her, she said that they were very cordial and had no qualms.
Club Vice-President C.H. Mallepura, Secretary Gangadharappa, Treasurer K.S. Kumar and Veena’s mother Lakshmamma were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 02nd, 2014
Karnataka’s top ranked chess player from city, IM M.S. Thejkumar of South Western Railways, won Chaturya 1st Satara FIDE Rating Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2014 held at Satara on June 28 and 29.
Thejkumar, sponsored by M/S.Saanvi Technologies, USA and www.mysoresport.com had an unbeaten record in the tournament and with his performance in this tournament has added 6.3 points to his present rating of 2446.
Thejkumar won his last round match against Soham Dattar of Pune and won a cash prize of Rs.15,000 along with a trophy.
He had wins over Dalal Ambar Abhay of Goa, Mokashi Rohit of Sangli, L. Saurabh of Nagpur, Gopal Rathod of Sholapur, Bhambhure Shantanu of Pune, S. Bartakke Amardeep, Kulkarni Rakesh and Soham Dattar. He drew his lone game against WFM Pujari Rucha of Kholapur.
Bhambure Shantanu of Pune finished second with 7.5 points and was followed by Kulkarni Rakesh (7.5 pts), WHM Pujari Rucha and B. Amardeep of Railways with 7 points each.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com/ Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / July 01st, 2014
Cricket is the sport followed by many in the country. The sport has grown such a way that it is regarded as a religion in our Country. Every child is seen playing the game with a ball and bat along with his friends in the streets of every town and village in India. Most of them dream of pursuing the sport in a professional level and to represent the country in International level.
Today, women’s cricket in India is gaining momentum and the current Indian Women’s Cricket Team is regarded to be one of the strongest in the world. With players like Julan Goswamy , Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra and others having made a mark in cricket world, every young girl now dreams of donning the Indian colours. One such talent is M. Sowmya Naik.
Having started to play cricket at a young age, Sowmya travelled from Mysore to Bangalore to attend coaching classes. Though, the family’s economic status being poor, Sowmya’s father M. Mahadev bought her a cricket kit to encourage her interest in cricket. Unfortunately, Mahadev died owing to illness, but not before his encouraging words asking Sowmya to work hard towards her goal to play for the country.
Initially, Sowmya went around Bangalore visiting various cricket academies with a willingness to learn the sport. Later, she found out that Kapil Cricket Academy located at Rajajinagar in Bangalore catered to women cricket and approached the academy. Observing her interest in the sport, the academy took her and nurtured her talent.
During one of matches played in Hyderabad against Chennai, she was noticed by the members of Amateur Federation of India of Gujarat and was invited to join their cricket academy in 2012. She was also made the captain of the U-22 team and since then she has been performing well.
Sowmya has already played against Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka including six T20 matches. She was also adjudged the Women of the Match, Best Bowler and Best Batswoman of the tournaments held at Nepal and Bhutan. Sowmya has also shown her skills behind the stumps as a wicket keeper. Currently being trained under B.D. Verma, General Secretary, Amateur Cricket Federation of India, Gujarat.
Sowmya, speaking to Star of Mysore, expressed her desire to start a women’s cricket academy in Mysore and also to coach the girls. She mentioned that a coaching camp had been started at Raghavendranagar in city.
Sowmya said that she would seek permission from Karnataka Exhibition Authority to conduct coaching classes for girls at Dasara Exhibition Grounds.
She also expressed of reaching greater heights on being given a sponsorship. Such a talent from city must be encouraged and city’s philanthropists must come forward to help Sowmya in her endeavour to scale up her professional cricketing career.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com/ Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / by M. T. Yogesh Kumar / July 01st, 2014
“We both have an in-born desire to engage ourselves in our fields of interest and work hard. I am interested in academics and Yadu in arts. We both have the ambition to live, survive and come up in life.”
He is the body and she is the soul. That’s how the couple Prof. M. N. Gopalan and Yadugiri Gopalan live together. Suffering from paralysis from past fifteen years, Gopalan, who is a Ph.D holder, is presently trying his hands at his D.Litt Degree. Prof. Gopalan has seen a tremendous cure, yet he barely steps out of his home. If so he does, his wife Yadugiri has to be with him holding his hand. Yadugiri Gopalan looks after her husband day and night, yet finds time to practice, portray and involve herself in numerous creative and art competitions in and around the city. The couple are supporting each other to fulfil their desires and ambitions. He is 80 and she is 70 now…
by Phalgunn Maharishi
Unfortunately, the Gopalan couple have no children. Yet they say, “We both ourselves are children for each other.” Prof. Gopalan added, “I am her son and she’s my daughter.” Enthusiasm has not faded away from the couple. They both, in spite of their current circumstances, still want to achieve something more. While talking about the sources of their wide interests, Prof. Gopalan said, “We both have an in-born desire to engage ourselves in our fields of interest and work hard. I am interested in academics and Yadu (in short for Yadugiri) in arts. We both have the ambition to live, survive and come up in life.”
Prof. Gopalan was associated with IIT Bombay for thirty five years from 1960 to 1995, before which he completed his B.Sc Honours in Statistics from Maharaja’s College and M.Sc in Statistics from the University of Mysore. After the completion of his studies, he joined the Bureau of Economics and Statistics in 1958 and later stepped into IIT Bombay. While talking about his tenure at IIT Bombay, Prof. Gopalan recalled, “I had joined IIT Bombay as a technical assistant in 1960 and after consistent promotions, I landed with the post of a lecturer. I was then granted a paid leave for two years to pursue my Ph.D at IIT Madras where I coached M.Tech students part-time. Later, I was appointed at IIT Bombay as an assistant professor and then, I retired in 1995 as the HoD for Interdisciplinary Programme in Reliability Engineering, which is a part of Total Quality Management.”
Mr. and Mrs. Gopalan came into each other’s life through arranged marriage. When they got married in 1965, Gopalan was a lecturer at IIT Bombay. When Gopalan shifted to IIT Madras to pursue his Ph.D in Reliability Analysis of Systems, Yadugiri Gopalan came back to Mysore to pursue her PUC in Fine Arts at Lalitha Kala Academy. She has practised Karnatak Music and Light Music under the able Professor Gauri Kuppaswami, Vidushi H. N. Manjula and H. R. Leelavathi. She has also specialised in Embroidery and Rangoli. Her attractive rangoli designs can be found in their home on the floor and also on walls!
It can surely be mentioned that if you come across any fancy dress competition, rangoli competition or any other cultural programmes in the city, you are sure to find Mrs. Yadugiri Gopalan there with her own unique dress. “My husband feels very happy when I return home bagging a prize. Yet, he has always motivated me to participate in such competitions, not just to win. But I have won more than 200 prizes till now,” said Yadugiri Gopalan and giggled with a wink. With no waste of time, Prof. Gopalan commented, “I am her personal assistant you see! I follow-up all her competition and programme dates,” with a million dollar smile.
Yadugiri said, “He cannot come and watch my stage performances live due to health issues. But he does enjoy it when we receive the photographs. That’s my husband!”
Both Mr. and Mrs. Gopalan are known in their own fields of interest. Prof. Gopalan has been a respectable fellow member of various professional bodies like “The Institution of Engineers,” “Operational Research Society of India,” “Systems Society of India” and “United Writer’s Association of India” and many honours have been bestowed upon him by various organisations for his contributions in the field of education and literature. A few such honours are “Sir M. Vishvesvaraya Award,” “Sahithya Sindhu,” “Sadbhavana Award,” etc. He is also the recipient of “Life-time Achievement Award” conferred by the Operational Research Society of India at Delhi in 2007. He also served as an Emeritus Fellow of the All India Council for Technical Education and University Grants Commission (UGC).
Apart from this, he is into writing too and several articles by him have been published in various newspapers, magazines and journals. He, even today, upon special requests visits many schools with his wife to address the students about various educational facilities and to ward off the societal problems and eradicate social evils. His D.Litt degree application is currently in process and the topic is Interdisciplinary Programme Connecting Management Science and Philosophy.
Yadugiri is no less than her husband. She has so far won a number of awards from various organisations in the city for her unique talent and enthusiasm. “Karakushala Praveene,” “Sthree Kala Prapoorne,” “Kala Tapaswini,” “Kala Saraswathi,” “Kalaratna Prashasthi” are a few among many. She portrays many historical and societal personalities to spread and mould the younger generation and love for the Nation.
When a person visits their residence at Saraswathipuram, he is surely going to come out with an increase in his knowledge and a whole lot of freshness. Such humble and society-oriented couple are surely worth giving a hand and applaud and say proudly, these are our Mysoreans !
source: http://www.starofmysore.com/ Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / July 01st, 2014
Open air exhibition on traditional terracotta and sculptures soon
Mysore :
The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), a National Museum of Mankind at Southern Regional Centre (SRC), Mysore, is developing an Open Air Exhibition on traditional terracotta and sculptures at its premises on Irwin road in city.
In this connection, stone sculptors (craftsmen) from Karnataka and Orissa are taking part in a workshop at IGRMS since May first week.
In all, five artists each from Odisha and Karnataka are participating in the workshop. They are: Sudarshan Sahoo, Dharnidhar Rantaray, Alokkumar Swain, Kshetra Mohan Maharana and Ashokkumar Swain (all from Odisha); L. Basavaraja, T.R. Puneeth, Satish B. Badiger, S. Nagendra and H.P. Shankar (all from Karnataka).
The Orissa sculptors are creating the temple architecture of Orissa tradition while the Karnataka sculptors are creating the folk traditions.
The sculpture workshop will conclude in a week and the art works will be displayed for the public, according to a press release from V. Ashok Vardhan, Officer-In-Charge.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com/ Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 01st, 2014
The Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Mysore, is emerging as one of the premier training institute in the country by augmenting the infrastructure and training facilities in the last three years.
In order to place ATI Mysore and streamline the Training activities, ATI had applied for ISO 9001:2008 Certification and all the process have been completed.
A team under the leadership of Rajesh Iyer and 4 members TUV InterCert SAAR IndiaPvt. Ltd. visited ATI on June 17 to assess and audit the Institute as per the ISO norms and standards for recommending ATI, Mysore for ISO 9001:2008 certification.
The team has appreciated the efforts of ATI in imparting training to Officers of the Government of Karnataka and also for other States.
The team also visited State Institute for Urban Development (SIUD) and Abdul Nazir Sab State Institute of Rural Development (ANSSIRD) which are located in the same premises. The team was pleased with the Audit and compliance of ATI, ANSSIRD and SIUD to qualify for ISO Certification.
Based on the team’s report, ATI, ANSSIRD and SIUD, Mysore have received the ISO 9001:2008 Certification in Design of Training, Preparation of Reading Material, Impart of Training and Provide Work related Input to Government Officers deputed for training for 3 years. The certificate was formally received by Dr. Amita Prasad, Director-General, ATI, yesterday from the representative of TUV InterCert Saar India Pvt. Ltd (Group of TUV Saarland Regulation).
source: http://www.starofmysore.com/ Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 01st, 2014
Chief Editor B A Viveka Rai, flanked by associate editors Muddu Moodbelle (right) and Vaman Nandavar at the Mangalore Darshana project office in Mangalore | RAJESH SHETTY BALLALBAGH
Mangalore :
A team of erudite scholars, at the behest of Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim, began work on a gigantic project chronicling 2,000 years of Mangalore’s history.
The 1,000-page ‘Mangalore Darshana,’ to be published in two volumes, will highlight plurality of Mangalore, Chief Editor of Mangalore Darshana, Prof B A Viveka Rai said.
The book begins from Christian era where Roman geographer Claudius Ptolemy mentions the Netravathy river. Govinda Pai in one of his works also quotes Ptolemy, said Rai.
From Alupa dynasty, the first kings who ruled Mangalore from sixth century to 14th century, the narration will cover arrival of Portuguese in 1526, rise of Hyder Ali and beginning of British rule in Mangalore from 1799 onwards.
Information available in travelogues of Abdul Razak (a Persian ambassador who visited Mangalore in 1132 AD), Scottish doctor Francis Buccaneer (who visited Mangalore in 1801), is being utilised to liven up the account.
Rai said a sea trader Abraham Ben Yaju’s account of his stay in Mangalore, including being married to a local woman Ashur, his metal industry, lifestyle from 1132 to 1149 which was in old Arabic was translated to English two years ago.
People from different parts of world, including Jews, came and settled in Mangalore. Before Islam became an institution country wide, many in Mangalore were converted to Islam, he said.
Archives on Mangalore
Besides history, geography, geology, epigraphy, socio-cultural development in the region, the unique influence of natha cult, transport, media, industries, administration, heritage buildings, sports, visit of Gandhiji, Tagore, hotels and more will be included in Darshana, associate editors Vaman Nandavar and Muddu Moodbelle said.
On their approach, Rai said discussions were still in formative stages. “The framework, strategies keep changing, but we have a vision and know what needs to be done,” he said.
Chronicling history is nothing new to Prof Rai. While serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, he chronicled 50 years of the state’s history.
As the V-C of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), he initiated work on chronicling history of Mysore and his successor published Mysore Darshana in four volumes.
It was his work in Mysore Darshana that was noticed by Ibrahim.
“The DC asked us to complete Mangalore Darshana within a year and most importantly spared us a headache of maintaining accounts,” he said.
Unlike anything before they had done, Mangalore Darshana project is challenging, admits Rai.
Unlike Mysore Palace, Mangalore has had no culture of maintaining archives.
A previous compilation of Mangalore’s history, ‘Sturrock Manual,’ borrowed for a doctoral thesis was never returned. “We will have to tap information outside Mangalore and India. For instance we will be at Asiatic Society of India in Kolkata to know about plants,” Rai said.
“I am lucky for the fact that I have good network of scholars who will not turn down my request,” he said.
The work will begin with interview of elderly residents to shed light on life in bygone era. Next experts will contribute 100 articles of 10 pages each about Mangalore.
“We hope that an archive of Mangalore will be a byproduct of this initiative,” Rai said.
It is Payback Time
Mangalore: Prof Viveka Rai, who returned from Germany in October 2013, where he serves as guest professor, Chair of Indology, University of Wurzburg, is presently translating Basava’s vachanas to Tulu. He is bringing out a volume (300 pages) on classical Kannada in English translations with Prof C N Ramachandra. He is also working on another book, translating English grammar to Kannada which will be completed within a week. Despite being pre-occupied with close-academic work, he was still drawn to Mangalore Darshana because he loved the subject. “I have lived in Mangalore since 1968 and the city has given me everything,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Harsha / June 30th, 2014
The decoction of leaves of the Paradise tree is being used as a complement to chemotherapy | Wikipedia
Paradise tree, a native of South and Central America and now grown widely in Karnataka, is fast becoming a tree of solace for many cancer patients in the state. The decoction of leaves is being used as a complement to chemotherapy, with patients vouching that it drastically improves the quality of life and even cure the cancer.
The leaves are sourced from Bangalore, where two retired agricultural scientists, Syamasundar Joshi and Shantha Joshi, are engaged in popularising this tree and the decoction. They do it without taking any money, charging patients only labour cost.
“We just want people to grow this tree. It is like taking health insurance,’’ said 73-year-old Syamsundar Joshi. The scientist duo said that the tree was originally brought to India to tide over the edible oil crisis. They noticed the plant was anti-bacterial, anti-tumorous and was good for gynaecological problems.
It was effective for cancer patients and the scientist couple found that the decoction could also bring down side effects of chemotherapy, minimise appetite loss and ensure fast recovery.
Shyla Ramdas of Vazhuthacaud here, who had heard about this decoction, was at first hesitant to give it to her husband, a stage-four cancer patient, who had malignancy in and around his intestine.
“The doctors were not very hopeful about his case and he kept on losing weight. But once he started taking this decoction, he was much healthier, driving the car and generally managing on his own. He even gained back the weight he had lost,’’ said Shyla.
Scientifically, validations are yet to come but isolated studies have shown that several compounds such as the quassinoids in Simarouba has anti-tumour and anti-leukemic (against blood cancer) action. Glaucarubinone, one such compound, has been found to have activity against drug-resistant mammary tumours in mice and anti-leukemic activity, again in mice. It has also been found to improve mitochondrial metabolism and extend lifespan in the nematode, Caenohabditis elegans.
Most patients that ‘Express’ talked to were willing to let chemotherapy or surgery take credit for their recovery, but in their hearts, believed that it was the Simarouba leaves that made them better. Simarouba glauca is the scientific name of the tree, the local one being ‘Lakshmitaru.’ The leaves are considered to be very effective in curing cancer of first and second stages, whereas in later stages, improvement in quality of life is what is expected. But for Lakshmidevi Pillai of Thrissur, who was suffering with an ovarian cancer that had spread to kidney and intestine, these leaves seemed to have worked.
‘’I had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, but on my last check-up date on October 28, they said everything was fine with me. I continue to drink the decoction,’’ said Shyla, who got her treatment in Gujarat, where her husband worked. Many of the patients, like Pearly Karun of Vazhuthacaud, came to know of these leaves from friends or relatives.
Pearly, whose malignancy had spread from the uterus to the lung, still had a 0.4 cm big tumour even after her chemotherapy.
“I used to feel drained but after starting on this decoction, my fatigue just disappeared. My stamina increased and I have become at least ten times more active now. I am sure that whatever is left of my tumour, will go away,” Pearly sounds confident.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Reema Narendran / ENS – Thiruvananthapuram / January 18th, 2013
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday asked parents to have a small library at home to encourage their children to read books.
“Every home should have a small library with a minimum of 10 books to inculcate the reading habit in children,” Kalam said at a function to mark the sesquicentennial (150 years) of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School here.
Citing the importance of education, he said parents should take sincere steps to increase the collection of books every now and then. “And they should make their wards refer to the books at least an hour a day,” he added.
Paying a tribute to his science teacher Siva Subramaniam Iyer, Kalam said he was inspired by him to become a rocket scientist. “When we were in Class 5, he took us to Rameswaram beach to show students the birds’ flying pattern. He also had a model aircraft to show us the similarity. This eventually inspired me to become a rocket scientist,” he added
Hailing the significance of the Bishop Cotton Schools, the former president said: “One hundred and fifty years is a long time for a school. In astronomy, it’s equal to the number of time taken by the Earth to orbit around the Sun. But most importantly in its every orbit, a star is born.”
Earlier in the day, Bishop Cottons Girls’ School, founded in 1865, celebrated a Holy Communion service on St Peter’s Day at its Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton auditorium. Archbishop of Dublin Dr Michael Geoffrey Jackson, Bishop Cotton Boys’ School principal John K Zachariah and Bishop Cotton Girls’ School principal Princess Franklyn presided over the service. The day was named after the school’s patron saint and inspiring role model.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> /City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / TNN / June 30th, 2014
This danseuse runs a dance school with a difference. Her dance school takes pride in being a one- of-its-kind institute that aims to transform budding young students to talented and informed artistes. Brought into existence in Mysore by the young and capable Anitha Yathiraj, Nrutya Vidyapeetha is distinctive, not just for it believes in nurturing every individual artiste to awaken the dancer within, but for the Bharatanatya Training School is run and managed by both the founder of the institute as well as parents of the students training in it.
“I believe in providing quality education and thus, my dance school is run differently,” asserts Anitha, a disciple of city based danseuse Kripa Phadke and dance exponent K. Muralidhar Rao. “I do not believe in publicising much about the school and believe in paying individual attention to each of them.”
Having grown extensively in Mysore in the last 13 years, Anitha’s dance school has various branches across the city, some of which are being run by her own students. According to her, Indian classical dance is a very special form of dance that speaks about the richness of Indian culture and is important to educate the students about the art form the right way.
To maintain precision, the danseuse has included in the committee of the dance school, parents of her students and also some alumni of her institute. “I involve them in the committee for I believe as parents of my students, they have a major role to play in managing the institute, which they trust will guide their children rightly. And all those who are associated with my school are very dedicated and cooperative. It is because of them, arranging programmes and performances from my institute is always fun.”
For this distinctiveness, this small yet exceptional institute was recognised and has collaborated with the University of Paris since five years from where, students come down to learn Bharatanatya every year.
“Students of the University come down to learn Bharatanatya during their summer time which is between July and September. During their visit, I train them according to a special syllabus I have framed for them, who are then certified by Nruthya Vidyapeetha,” says Anitha, adding, “however, for me, it is not the collaboration with the foreign University that means special but it’s the special bonding with my Indian students is what I enjoy most. Most of them do not even know about the institute’s collaboration with the Paris Varsity. My students enjoy the individual attention they receive and I too love spending time with them.”
Apart from running the dance school, Anitha sometime before has also remained a dance tutor in schools like the De Paul International Residential School and Green Valley International School, a casual announcer in Akashavani and is a Post Graduate in Kannada literature.
That apart, she also has several students who exclusively come down from places like Bangalore and Hassan once a week or 15 days to learn the art from her. “They come and learn classes for hours at a stretch, according to the time they can manage to spend here. I am glad they are so dedicated towards their interests,” Anitha feels. And for all her achievements, she reveres her family’s support without which, she says, things would have really been difficult for her. Now a mother of one and still beautifully managing several dance training classes, Anitha is a resident of Vijayanagar 4th Stage, Mysore. Reach her out on: 94483-32200.
— AN
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / June 29th, 2014
