These mango trees date back to Tipu’s era

May 12, 2014Uncategorizedadmin

LUSCIOUS: Syed Ghani Khan in his orchard at Kirugavalu village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district. / The Hindu

Kirugavalu farmer has 116 mango trees which are 200-year-old

This farmer from Kirugavalu village in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district has preserved 116 mango trees dating back to the times of the then Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.

Carbon dating and other scientific assessment by the Genetics and Plant Breeding Department of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, have shown that these trees are more than 200 years old.

This 20-acre orchard, popularly known as ‘Bada Bagh’, is said to have been raised by those in the palace of Tipu, who was a great lover of fruits, especially mangoes. The orchard was later gifted to a farmer by Tipu. Syed Ghani Khan (39), who has inherited this from his forefathers, is preserving it with care.

According to Mr. Khan, the trees yield exotic varieties of fruits. “While some trees yield fruits that taste like sweet lime, others produce fruits with cumin flavour. There are some trees that yield fruits resembling the shape of fish,” he said.

In great demand

Till recently, his family used to sell the fruits locally. But from the last two years, he has been selling the fruits at organic outlets in Mysore apart from exporting them to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where they are in great demand and also fetch a premium price.

In fact, Mr. Khan, who was passionate about becoming a curator at an archaeological museum, he did his graduation in archaeology and museology. But he had to return to his native village from Mysore to take care of his farm and support his family after his father became bedridden due to an ailment. “I then decided to turn my exotic farm itself into a live museum and started working on it,” he said.

Paddy varieties too
Mr. Khan also pursues another avocation passionately. He collects native varieties of paddy and grows them mainly to preserve those rare varieties. “Presently, I have a collection of about 600 native varieties of paddy, including ‘rakta dham’, ‘naadikeli’ and ‘jugal’,” he said.

His efforts paid off as his farm caught the attention of Delhi-based Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, which has started registration of the exotic varieties of mangoes in the garden. He will get legal right over the plant species after the registration.

Mr. Khan was also honoured with the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition’ award by the authority in 2012.

Mr. Khan now wants other farmers to grow these rare varieties of mangoes. He, however, is unable to take up propagation of these rare varieties systematically by constructing a poly-house as it requires big investment. As none of the government agencies offered him any help, Mr. Khan himself started an organisation to train farmers and students about local varieties of crops.

He is looking forward to getting government assistance to take his mission forward and ensure that these exotic varieties of mangoes are grown in the orchards of many more farmers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by B. S. Satish Kumar / Bangalore – May 12th, 2014

Asteroid named after Bangalorean

May 12, 2014Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Amar A Sharma gazing through a telescope atthe Nikaya observatory near Hosur

by: S Shyam Prasad & Niranjan Kaggere

Although he has never met Amar A Sharma, David H Levy has named asteroid 380607, he first spied in 2004 after the city-based amateur astronomer.

Bangalorean Amar A Sharma joined a galaxy of Greek gods, Roman heroes and even Dr Spock, the Vulcan in Star Trek, by having an asteroid named after him. David H Levy, the world’s elite US astronomer, has named an asteroid he discovered after Amar, making him the first Indian non-scientist amateur astronomer to receive the honour.

Surprisingly, Levy and Sharma, a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout, have never met in person and only interacted online over the last several years. Levy, discovered asteroid 380607 over a course of 10 years in his Arizona observatory. The International Astronomical Union has officially named the asteroid, ‘380607 Sharma’ last week, bringing the 29-year-old Amar and Bangalore’s name on the top of India’s amateur astronomy list.Sharma says it is “more than a dream come true”. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Sharma said, “Levy is among the elite amateur astronomers in the world. He must really like me for naming it after me. He must have met so many eminent people in the field, but he decided to name it after me. Many people aspire for such an honour. You are always hoping that someday someone will recognise your work. He could have named it after anyone. But that he has chosen me, gives me a special feeling.”

Sharma moved to Bangalore with his parents in 1997 and studied high school in AV Education in JP Nagar before completing his BSc in National College. His interest in astronomy began after a visit to Bannerghatta National Park in 2000. “I looked up and saw millions of stars and my love with astronomy began. This kindled my curiosity. The first chapter in my X syllabus was named ‘Universe.’ This made me turn my head to the sky. In 2002 I visited the Nehru Planetarium and met members of the amateur astronomers club ABAA.”

Amar went on to co-found the Bangalore Astronomical Society in 2006. He is now pursuing his activities independently while working at the Yoga Nikaya Observatory off Hosur. He was also the first sole discoverer of a celestial object in modern times from India. “It was an accidental discovery,” says Sharma about the variable star, Mira, he discovered in June 2012 using a CCD camera. “People in India do not usually get the chance to discover things by themselves.”

Not Seen The Asteroid

There are uncertainties about the size of 380607 Sharma. “It needs a special telescope to see this asteroid,” Sharma said. “A medium-sized telescope with a CCD camera can capture it. With the equipment I have or even from Nikaya Observatory, there is very little chance of me seeing it. It can be seen with professional telescope setups in India, but who will spare precious time for me? I will hopefully find someone willing to take a photograph of the asteroid for me. It is very difficult.” Amar’s biggest dream is to become the first Indian to discover a comet.

Most Fascinating

Amar says that astronomy is the most fascinating, but the most ignored subject in India. “I have dedicated my life to astronomy. For many it is a hobby, for me it is a job to spread the knowledge of astronomy to people. For the last 12 years, it has been the burning passion inside me and grows each day.”

The 29-year-old is currently writing a book which he says will be an in-depth narration of astronomy for all age groups. “Astronomy is my mission in life. I have seen most things out there. The book will tell everything I have learnt and hope it is an inspiration for everyone.”

David Levy had discovered an asteroid, between Mars and Jupiter, in 2004. The same asteroid has been found yet again on the same orbit recently. It is mandatory for astronomers to name their discoveries in the Solar System by registering with the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the US. Astronomers are supposed to provide documentary evidence of details of their telescope, camera, time and place besides explaining about the latitude and longitude of the observatory. The IAU committee will verify the documents and discovery before making it legal and consider for publication. While it is common for astronomers to name their discoveries after them, Levy has chosen to name it after Amar Sharma as he was impressed by the Bangalore lad’s interest in astronomy. The IAU committee has ratified the naming of asteroid last week.

WHAT IS AN ASTEROID?

planets between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter orbiting around the Sun. Their dimensions range from a few centimeters to several kilometres. There are millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt, many of them yet to be identified.

Asteroids are formed of left over rock and other material mass during the formation of Solar System. These objects were too small to make a planet and most of them are made of rock, carbon and other metals. Depending on their surface composition, asteroids have been classified in to several types. While it is common in the field of astronomy to name a comet after its discoverer, asteroids can be named after anybody by their discoverers.

Newly discovered asteroids are generally given a provisional name (largely in numbers) denoting the year of discovery. An alpha- umeric code suggesting the half-month of discovery and the sequence within the halfmonth will also be used to identify the asteroid. Once the orbit of the asteroid is confirmed, it is given a number and later could also be given a name suggested by their discoverer.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cover Story / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau / May 01st, 2014

Wipro awards USD 1.19 mln to promote science in US

May 12, 2014Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Wipro, India’s major IT company, has awarded a grant of USD 1.19 million to promote science and teacher education leadership in the US.

According to a statement, Amanda Gunning and Meghan Marrero, of Mercy College School of Education, have been awarded the USD 1.19 million grant to lead the Greater New York Wipro Science Education Fellowship (SEF).

Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft of the University of Massachusetts originally earned the funding to run the SEF in a one-year programme with Boston teachers.

It has now grown to a two-year programme in three states.

The SEF supports three cohorts of 20 science teacher fellows from five local districts during a two-year fellowship that focuses on leadership in science education.

In a statement, Mercy College said the goal is to keep good teachers in the classroom and develop their leadership skills as opposed to putting them in administrative roles.

Major tenets of the professional development include vertical and horizontal articulation across districts and lesson observation and study.

In year two, each fellow will lead professional development in their own district and work on a district-wide initiative of his or her choosing.

This programme has met success in its implementation thus far in Massachusetts and New Jersey, it said.

“The Wipro SEF is an amazing opportunity for Mercy College to support our local districts and improve science teaching and learning from within,” Marrero said.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Washington – April 30th, 2014

Chess Champ : M.S. Thejkumar

May 10, 2014Records, All, Sportsadmin

Mysore has been producing talented Chess players from time to time who have gone on to represent the country in different levels. Mysore’s IM M.S. Thejkumar, with a present rating 2460, is the highest ranked player in Karnataka. He recently took part in the National Rapid Chess Championship 2014 held at Ahmadabad from Apr. 26 to 28 and finished runner-up. He is our ‘Star This Week.’

Thejkumar, a employee with the South Western Railways, Mysore, has been consistently performing well in the National and International tournaments and has been steadily increasing his rating points and needs another 40 points to get the Grand Master title.

Representing Karnataka in National Rapid Chess Tourney in Ahmadabad, Thejkumar tied with GM Sriram Jha with 8 points from 11 rounds. As both of them tied also in their tie-break scores (70.5), they played two games in the play-off and both ended in a draw. In the final game, GM Sriram Jha triumphed and clinched the title with a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and IM Thejkumar won Rs. 25,000 cash prize.

In the tourney, Thejkumar had wins over Raje Anil, D. Shreyansh, WGM Kulkarni Bhakti, Kulkarni Rakesh, Sharma Dinesh and Thanki Hemal Karsangi. He drew with M Dustageer Ibrahim, Matta Vinay Kumar, GM Sriram Jha and J. Ramakrishna. He had a single loss against Syed Anwar Shazuli.

An Ekalavya awardee,Thejkumar is the first Karnataka player to win the National ‘B’ Chess Championship. He has also finished fourth in the National Premier Chess Championships this year and is part of the Indian team.

Thejkumar is being sponsored by Yasasvi Shankar of Saanvi Technologies, USA and www.mysoresport.com. The Karnataka Government is also supporting him by providing him the needed help for taking part in overseas tournaments from time to time.

He will be participating in the forthcoming National ‘B’ Chess Championships at Himachal Pradesh from May 9 also and also in the International GM tournament in Mumbai.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / May 04th, 2014

Tindipotha gastronomic delight from a food truck

May 10, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Traveladmin

by Phalgunn Maharishi

The residents of Mysore, especially in the neighbourhoods of Bannimantap and Rajeev Nagar are now familiar with a big truck parked on the roadside near JSS Dental College with shining lights and people surrounding it eating costly food. But wait a minute! Costly food in a big truck? Well, it seems to be costly as the big truck sells fresh American-Mexican food but that’s not really costly. “A Mysorean can now fill his stomach with some classy food for just Rs. 80 on an average,” said Syed Manju while speaking about his big boy “Tindipotha.”

Syed Manju previously held the position of an Area Manager handling Public Relations and Marketing for 28 years in Costco, USA, the Number 3 retailer in the world which directly competes with Walmart, before heading towards Mysore to come up with his dream boy. “I had a passion towards cooking due to which I quit the job and came to Mysore with an interest in doing something unique, something which never existed here. That’s when Tindipotha was born,” commented Syed Manju while speaking about how it all started. The ecstatic and energetic Syed Manju keeps travelling back and forth between Mysore and Bellingham (90 miles north of Seattle in the United States) where his wife (Diane Houston), little girl Zara (16) and a little boy Iyan (14) lives.

Originally born in Channapatna and brought up in Mandya, Syed Manju is a self made man. He studied B.Sc and Diploma in Film Acting. He soon landed into Kannada Film Industry during his late 20s by directing films like Neenakkaga and Kanoonige Sawaal after which he travelled to USA for a trip to stay with his brothers and sisters for a while. Manju said, “Don’t ask me how, but I got my green card over there” with a wink and also added, “I never wanted to be there forever. Infact I had plans of directing more films in Kannada, but my fate made me stay there,” with a sweet smile. The last film produced by Manju was Appaji starring late Dr. Vishnuvardhan in the lead role released in 1996.

Coming back to Tindipotha, it all started roughly an year ago when Syed Manju and his brother Rafi Manju bought an old truck and got it rebuilt in Mandya to bring the new fancy boy to the streets of Mysore. “I was scared in the beginning. It was something new, something which the Mysoreans never experienced before. A new food to a new market. We had to prepare American-Mexican style foods with the ingredients available in Mysore and it didn’t seem easy for us in the beginning. But we did it and still doing it. It’s been an year and we are doing good,” said Syed Manju while speaking about Tindipotha.

Tindipotha has recently transformed itself from being just a food truck into a youth junction where we can find college going kids spending their cool evenings eating the sizzling new dishes like Nachos, Chicken Melt, Roti Lapat, Gilli Chicken, Turpi Chicken, Rollito, Apple Dream, Lava Pie, and many more summing up to over twenty different types of food.

“My brother Rafi Manju manages the front end and cash while my nephew Syed Umair Manju is our grill master. He even looks after the crew. Farhan, the cousin of Umair, assists the crew inside out and Tausif does all the deep fry and plating. Siddique and Atiq have been newly added to the crew and are learning ropes. Tausif, Siddique and Atiq are all family friends. We are all family and its a family business. The whole crew, except me and my brother, are college going kids,” said Syed Manju while introducing the team of Tindipotha.

People love the food. We had an interactive session with some regular customers of Tindipotha who expressed their hearts out. Bashar and Abdur Razzak, who stay in Bannimantap said, “This is really nice. It’s different than what we find elsewhere. We don’t find such tasty food at any other place, especially the Nachos! We come here for Nachos,” when asked to express how they feel about Tindipotha. Areb and his friends Mohammed Fahad and Rakshad, who come all the way from Bangalore just to eat at Tindipotha, said that they still haven’t yet got over the taste of Chicken Melt. The trio commented, “Its been a year and we still come here to eat the same thing,” with a laugh. Dental students Alley and Ahmad, who are from Iran visit Tindipotha atleast twice a week and mentioned that they love the tasty food and also the hospitality given to them by Syed Manju and his crew.

While speaking about the unpredictability of such food business in a city like Mysore, Syed Manju said, “Usually weekends are the busiest days for us, yet we can never predict. Sometimes customers ask me, which is the best dish prepared here! Well, I tell them to close their eyes and put their finger on the menu and we will serve it. If they don’t like the food, let them not pay us but if they like it, they need to pay us double.” He also added, “We are different from other eating places in the city saying that we smile at our customers which we can never find in any other hotels in Mysore. We also appreciate each and every customer, thank them and enquire in person whether they liked the dish. The food is also custom made for every single customer according to his likes and dislikes and we keep changing the taste one plate at a time.”

Tindipotha is for sure a place to be cherished and one of its kind in Mysore. It’s both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food truck with some tasty healthy and classy American-Mexican food at low prices. Do you want to try some different custom made food? Just head towards Tindipotha in Bannimantap near JSS Dental College between 7 pm and 11 pm any day! For more details, type in TINDIPOTHA in facebook and you will get the fan page.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / May 04th, 2014

Tipu Sultan remembered

May 10, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, Alladmin

Srirangapatna :

The 216th death anniversary of Tipu Sultan organised by Hazrath Tipu Wakf Estate Development Committee was held at Gumbaz in Srirangapatna this morning.

Hazrath Tipu Wakf Estate Development Committee Chairman and MLA Tanveer Sait offered floral tributes to the tomb of Tipu Sultan located inside the Gumbaz.

Hazrath Moulana Hafiz -o-Qari-Inayath Ur Rahman, Khateeb-o-Imam, Masjid-e-Aqsa, Gumbad-e-Shahi recited versus of Holy Quran and prayed for Hazrath Tipu.

Hazrath Moulana Mahmood Ul Hassan, Moulana Ayub Ansari, Moulana Akbar Shariff, Iqbal Pasha, Allah Bakash Bakshi, Jameel Ahmed Ashrafi, Mohammed Abdul Salam, Khaleel Ur Rahman, Abdul Khader, Ibrahim Shariff, Haseena Shariff, Syed Akram Pasha, Mohammed Rafiq, Pansari Mujeeb Ahmed, Estate Officer Mohamed Ayub and others were present.

In another programme organised by Mysore City (District) Congress Committee at its office on Sayyaji Rao Road, MLA Vasu regretted that Tipu Sultan’s history had been distorted and said that even today the idol given by him to the Nanjangud Temple was being offered puja which showed his affection towards all religions.

Vasu urged the Tipu’s critics to study about Tipu in detail before passing any comments.

MLA M.K. Somashekar, former MLA Mukhtarunnisa Begum, Mysore City Congress Committee President C. Dasegowda, former Mayors Arif Hussain and Ayub Khan and others were present. Members present offered floral tributes to the portrait of Tipu Sultan.

It was on this day Tipu Sultan died fighting against the British Army in the year 1799. His body was found among the dead near the Ranganatha Swamy Temple.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 04th, 2014

Orthopaedic Surgeons from South India meet in city

May 10, 2014Education, Science & Technologyadmin

Mysore :

The Annual CME (Continuing Medical Education) programme of Orthopaedic Association of South Indian States (OASIS) organised by Mysore Orthpaedic Surgeons Trust (MOST) under the aegis of Karnataka Orthopaedic Association (KOA) began at Hotel Regaalis in city this morning.

The CME was inaugurated by OASIS President Dr. K.R. Thyagarajan. The day-long event is being held under the theme ‘Come and Enrich’.

About 200 delegates comprising Orthopaedic Surgeons from South India are participating in the meet.

Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) Past President and Pro-Chancellor of NITTE, Dr. M. Shantharam Shetty, IOA Past President Dr. Devadoss, First OASIS President Dr. A. Sreenivas Rao, OASIS Secretary General Dr. R. Ravishankar, CME Organising Chairman and Past KOA President Dr. Sharath Rao, CME Organising Secretary and KOA President Dr. N. Nithyanand Rao and others were present on the occasion.

Renowned Orthopaedic Surgeons from across South India will be giving lectures on recent innovations in Orthopaedic Dept.

Dr. A. Sreenivas Rao delivered his inaugural lecture of the topic ‘Diagnostic Dilemma between infections and tumors’; Dr. Devadoss spoke on ‘Management of Pauwels Type III fracture neck of femur in young adults’; Dr. M. Shantharam Shetty on ‘65-year-old fracture neck of femur- Challegnes’; Dr. Sharath K. Rao on ‘Non-union fracture neck of femur in young adult and current conecpts’; Dr. Edward Nazarath on ‘Dilemma in sub-trochanteric management plating versus IMN’ and ‘Proximal humerus fracture – Current concepts in management’; Dr. Monappa Naik on ‘Distal femur fracture and current concepts in management’ and ‘Distal humerus fracture – Current concepts in management’; Dr. Chethan Nagaraj on ‘Multi ligamentous injuries of the knee – Current concepts in management’ and ‘Recurrent dislocation – Current concepts in management’; Dr. Purushotham Shastry on ‘Proximal tibia fractures: Plate fixation versus intramedullary nailing’; Dr. Amrithlal A. Mascarenhas on ‘Cervical myelopathy – Decision making in managemen

t’ and ‘Lumbar spondylolisthesis – Current concepts in management’; Dr. N. Nithyananda Rao on ‘Ankle fracture – Current concepts in management’; Dr. Surendra Kamath on ‘Talar fracture and current concepts in management’ and ‘Humeral shaft fracture – Plating versus IM nailing’; Dr. V.J. Purushotham on ‘Distal radius fracture – Current concepts in management.’

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 04th, 2014

Mangala remembers Scarlett ‘Kempamma’

May 8, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, World Opinionadmin

T. Scarlett Epstein, also known as 'Kempamma'. — T. Scarlett Epstein, also known as ‘Kempamma’.

The people of Mangala, a village in Mandya district, chose to re-christen T. Scarlett Epstein “Kempamma” when she came to their village in the ’50s. They were unaware that the first name of the young woman roughly translated to the Kannada variant they had picked and that her study on their village was to bring her international renown.

Dr. Epstein (OBE), who passed away in U.K. at 91 on April 27, had a lasting connection with Mangala and Kalenahalli where she stayed in the ’50s during the course of her Ph.D on the socio-economy of Mysore villages, with renowned sociologist late M.N. Srinivas as her guide. She kept in touch with Mangala all her life, her last visit being in 2010. The villagers held a condolence meeting when they heard of her death.

From AustriaDr. Epstein’s journey to academia was nothing short of an adventure. The social anthropologist and economist was a Jewish refugee from Vienna who left Austria in 1938, as a high school girl, after Germany annexed it during World War II. She eventually made her home in the UK, working as a labourer in a clothes factory as she studied, slowly gaining a foothold in academia, she reveals in her autobiography, Swimming Upstream. Her visit to Mangala was the first leg of her long and illustrious journey.

Manjamma, an elderly resident of Mangala, recalls Dr. Epstein as someone who was always interested in studying the routine activities of rural women. “She learnt to put rangoli and got used to our ragi mudde and naati chicken curry,” she says.

Though she later worked in others parts of the globe and published over 15 academic works, her link to Mangala was special, recalls T. Thimme Gowda, a former bureaucrat who hails from Mangala and worked with Dr. Epstein on her field studies. “I was a boy of seven when she first visited our village,” he says.

In KannadaHer Ph.D work, as well as two of her important works rooted in Karnataka — ‘South India Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’ and ‘Village Voices’ — have been translated into Kannada and brought out by the University of Agricultural Sciences, says Mr. Gowda.

“When she visited the village in 2010, she was worried about the large-scale migration because of agrarian distress and wanted to write about it and also do something to prevent it,” recalls Mr. Gowda.

source:http//www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Bageshree S. and M.T. ShivaKumar / Bangalore – Mandya, April 29th, 2014

In the company of two Governors

May 8, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leadersadmin

Pages from History

by Prof. A.V.Narasimha Murthy

Dr. Channa Reddy was the Governor of Lucknow University and at the suggestion of Prof. B.N. Puri, we went to the Raj Bhavan and called on the Governor. When I was introduced by Prof. Puri to His Excellency, I told him, ‘Sir, I have met you twice in Hyderabad; once in the company of Mallampalli Somasekhara Sharma and on another occasion with Oruganti Ramachandariah, both my gurus.’ He was pleased and told me, ‘in that case why are you not talking to me in Telugu.’ The Governor continued, ‘you are fortunate that you were a student of Mallampalli. He is a great man. You know, he is not even a graduate but his book History of Reddi Kingdom is an authoritative book on the subject. Four doctorate degrees can be awarded to that research work. When I had recommended his name for professorship at the Andhra University, the authorities turned it down on the ground that he has no Master’s degree and a doctorate. Finally, I got him selected as a Visiting Professor…’

The other day I was reading my own book Chadurida Chitragalu in Kannada published on the occasion of my 75th birthday by Talukina Venkannaiah Smaraka Publications of T. S. Chayapati. It contains 75 anecdotes relating to me which incidentally throw light on the contemporary academic and social scene. Fortunately this book was welcomed by Kannada readers and it has become out-of-print and its next edition is due. I thought I should share with my readers two of the incidents which I considered interesting.

Lucknow University in Uttar Pradesh has a renowned Department of Ancient Indian History and I used to visit that University for many official purposes. Prof. B.N. Puri was the Professor at Lucknow University and on his invitation I visited the University. At that time, Dr. Channa Reddy was the Governor and at the suggestion of Dr. Puri we went to Raj Bhavan and called on the Governor. I was introduced by Dr. Puri to His Excellency, the Governor. I told him, ‘Sir, I have met you twice in Hyderabad; once in the company of Mallampalli Somasekhara Sharma and on another occasion with Oruganti Ramachandariah, both my gurus.’ He was pleased and told me, ‘in that case why are you not talking to me in Telugu.’ He turned towards Dr. Puri and said, ‘hope you don’t mind if we talk in Telugu.’

The Governor continued, ‘you are fortunate that you were a student of Mallampalli. He is a great man. You know, he is not even a graduate. But his book History of Reddi Kingdom is an authoritative book on the subject. Four doctorate degrees can be awarded to that research work. What a pity! When I had recommended his name for professorship at the Andhra University, the authorities turned it down on the ground that he has no Master’s degree and a doctorate. Finally, I got him selected as a Visiting Professor. I felt the Andhra University should have considered itself proud to have such a great scholar on its faculty.’ Thus he expressed his unhappiness over the way in which the University behaved.

Subsequently, he remembered with respect many of his Professors working at the Andhra University. He continued, ‘you are from Karnataka. There was a great visionary by name R.R. Diwakar, a scholar and Statesman. He planned a work called Karnataka Through the Ages and it was published under his guidance. After seeing that wonderful volume, I told many Professors and Vice-Chancellors to take up the work Andhra Through the Ages. But nobody took any interest in it and such a book has not been published for Andhra so far and again he felt sad about it.

Finally, he turned towards Dr. Puri and said what is the purpose of your visit. Dr. Puri talked about some official matters and added that it will be good if Prof. Narasimha Murthy is nominated for Selection Committees of the Universities in UP. He smiled and said no problem. It was done and I was nominated as the Chancellor’s nominee which gave me opportunities of visiting Lucknow, Banaras Hindu University, Allahabad, Garhwal etc. We took leave of the Governor. Dr. Puri was highly pleased. After my retirement I have not visited Lucknow University nor Dr. Puri. Only memories remain.

Dr. T.N. Chaturvedi was the Governor of Karnataka and I knew him as a great scholar in Ancient Indian History prior to his becoming the Governor. I used to meet him at functions and talk to him. Infact he released my book on Sringeri at the Gokhale Institute, Bangalore, and had praised my book. As General Secretary of South Indian Numismatic (coin) Society, I wanted to arrange the annual conference at Dravidian University, Kuppam. Dr. Gangiraju Lakshminarayana was its Vice-Chancellor. As soon as I told him that I was a student of Mallampalli and Oruganti, he got up from his seat, hugged me and said, ‘You are a fortunate person.’ Immediately he agreed to my suggestion of holding the Numismatic Conference at Kuppam.

He added, ‘I have been trying to arrange the visit of His Excellency Dr. T.N. Chaturvedi to our University. But travelling by road is very tedious and hence it has not materialised. I will be grateful if you can request Dr. Chaturvedi to inaugurate this conference.’

I went to the Raj Bhavan and personally invited the Governor. His Private Secretary suggested the Governor not to accept the invitation because of the tedious and hazardous journey to Kuppam. Further it is outside the Karnataka State. I lost hopes. But His Excellency, the Governor, turned towards me and said, ‘but I cannot say no to Prof. Murthy; let us somehow manage.’ As I felt happy, the Secretary was disappointed. After a couple of days, I met the Governor and handed over the printed invitation. ‘I will definitely come,’ he assured me.

One day before the conference, I went to Kuppam to look into the arrangements and I was satisfied by the arrangements made by the Vice-Chancellor. The Governor arrived at 10 am on 21.1.2006 at the venue and he inaugurated the conference and made a good speech about our coins. He even traced the antiquity of our coinage during the Vedic period when a gold coin called Nishka was used. He referred to the coin reforms made by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Finally he referred to the British coins and post-independent era coins. He called upon the coin collectors to collect as many coins as possible and save them for posterity as they have a heritage value.

I felt very happy as he mentioned my name three times during his speech and I also felt proud. That year I was awarded the P.L. Gupta Medal for my contribution to South Indian Numismatics. I received that medal from T.N. Chaturvedi.

The inauguration was over and it was lunch time. The Police and the Collector had arranged his lunch at the Vice-Chancellor’s Bungalow and the invitees were the Police and Revenue Officials. As soon as he saw them, he called the ADC and told him to invite me, Krishhnamurthy, Conference President and others so that he could talk to them over lunch. All of us had good lunch in the exalted company of the Governor with lot of academic discussions.

After some rest, he sent for me and said, ‘Prof. Murthy, I would like to meet the delegates for sometime over a cup of tea.’ It was arranged and he mixed freely with all the delegates and enquired about their collections. Some of the specialists showed some coins which he saw with the help of a lens and appreciated their efforts.

It was time for him to leave for Bangalore at 5 pm. His car came and I went upto him and thanked him profusely. He said, ‘special thanks to Prof. Murthy for having given me an opportunity to inaugurate this conference and thereby educating me regarding our ancient coinage which is a valuable heritage.’ The car left and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lakshminarayana was supremely happy and said, ‘my desire of getting the Governor Dr. Chaturvedi to our University was fulfilled by you, Prof. Murthy; I am grateful to you.’

We were in regular correspondence till Dr. Lakshminarayana retired from the Vice-Chancellorship of the Dravidian University. He had invited me to deliver special lectures at this University.

Almost after many years, the memories of these two events with two enlightened Governors are still green in my memory. That gives me the satisfaction of having accomplished a responsibility that was expected of me. Perhaps that is my strength.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / May 03rd, 2014

Bangalore boys come first in aero competition

May 7, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Bangalore :

Bangalore, the aviation capital of India, has often had its young opting for careers in aerospace, many displaying their skills at various forums. Two teams from Bangalore only reaffirmed this fact by bagging the first two places at the recently concluded (April 12) Boeing India-IIT national-level aeromodelling competition.

The four Bangalore boys — three from ASC College of Engineering, and one from BMS — competed against 560 participants to clench the contest.

At one point, Tabrez Nadvi Anser, Pavan MJ, and Vignesh Arul of ASC College, who bagged the first place, stared at a missed opportunity. “Selection for the finals was to happen at four zones, IIT Madras (South), IIT Kharagpur (East), IIT Bombay (West), and IIT Kanpur (North). Unfortunately, we couldn’t enter the zonal-level competition at IIT Chennai, as it coincided with our semester exams. We finally got permission to participate from the East zone, and our college helped us with the funding,” Tabrez told TOI.

In the zonal round, Pavan said, the team focused on design and building of the remote control (RC) aircraft, keeping in mind the ability to glide. “We did not buy a ready-made aircraft,” Tabrez added.

Having qualified for the finals with 12 other teams from various zones, the four shifted their focus to flying and acrobatic flying, as per the problem statement given by the organizers. They built a depron-made 3D RC aircraft which performed all manoeuvres as planned. “Eventually, we won because of our strategy which was duly acknowledged by the jury,” Tabrez said.

While team ASC was busy clearing hurdles at the zonal levels, Mohammed Shadman Alam was steering a solo show. “While other teams had at least two participants, with the upper limit set at four per team, Alam did everything alone,” said one of the organizers.

At the end, the battle was between the two Bangalore teams, and Alam came second. “Going alone has its perks. I could conceive and design what I wanted, and also perform manoeuvres I liked. Also, if something were to go wrong, the blame would be all mine, and so was it with the credit,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / by Chethan Kumar, TNN / April 30th, 2014

Bangalore First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Bengaluru, Kannadigas and all the People of Karnataka – here at Home and Overseas