The stealth superbug, decoded

Records, All, Science & Technology

A team of scientists in Bengaluru is behind the genome sequencing of Candida auris, a fungus that has caused disease outbreaks in five continents this year.

EMERGING THREAT: “A paper by the scientists has shown that many cases have been misdiagnosed in India.” Picture shows the structure of the fungus. Photo: Special Arrangement
EMERGING THREAT: “A paper by the scientists has shown that many cases have been misdiagnosed in India.” Picture shows the structure of the fungus. Photo: Special Arrangement

 

On November 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a leading public health institute in Atlanta, U.S., reported 13 cases of infection by the deadly fungus Candida auris in several parts of the country. Apart from the U.S., outbreaks have been reported this year in eight countries across four continents — India, Pakistan, South Korea, Kuwait, South Africa, Colombia, Venezuela and United Kingdom.

A paper by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has shown that many cases of Candida auris have been misdiagnosed in the country. In 2015, a team led by Utpal Tatu, professor of biochemistry, IISc, completed the genotype sequencing of Candida auris, widely considered an emerging superbug fungus as it does not respond to conventional antifungal drugs. The genome data were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. and is now considered as the reference genome across the globe.

India, an epicentre

Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by Candida species, often seen in patients whose immune system is compromised, such as AIDS patients or in case of transplants, malignancies and the use of catheters. Most of the infections are hospital-acquired, especially in ICU settings.

The first case reported was in Japan in an external ear canal infection in a patient in 2009. Since then, most cases have been invasive in nature and India has one of the highest number of infections caused by this superbug, says PhD student Sharanya Chatterjee, a member of the IISc team who studied isolates of Candida from a private hospital in Bengaluru. She found that in many cases, the fungus had been misidentified with another Candida species, Candida haemulonii.

Dr. Tatu’s team was among the first to report the high rate of misdiagnosis of Candida auris. “Current diagnostic procedures to detect fungal infections cannot detect Candida auris, which is resistant to common antifungal treatment. In several patients, by the time we had made the correct diagnosis, it was too late,” says Ms. Chatterjee.

The team of scientists has developed a diagnostic tool to detect Candida aurisusing polymerase chain reactions. “The rise of more virulent forms is connected to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics,” says Dr. Tatu, adding, “The strain found in the United States was resistant to even the third class of antifungal treatment.”

Highly resistant fungus

One reason for the high resistance to existing drugs is that this species has a higher number of drug efflux pumps compared to other species, says Ms. Chatterjee. Drug efflux pumps are proteins that prevent other drugs from crossing the cell membrane. The IISc team’s research was published in the September 2015 issue of BMC Genomics.

Sudarshan Ballal, director, Manipal Hospitals, which provided the isolates for the study, says the research highlighted the need for clinical-academic collaboration. “We have been able to dissect a fungus found commonly in hospitals and study it at the genome level. Some fungi look alike at macroscopic level, but their genotype could be very different, sort of like twins,” he says, adding, “If you know it is Candida auris from day one, you could start off with treatment which it is sensitive to.” Dr. Ballal agrees with Dr. Tatu about indiscriminate use of antibiotics as a possible cause: “Killing all kinds of bacteria gives space for fungi to grow.”

Dr. Tatu and his team of researchers feel that it is high time officials took note of the situation. “It is very difficult to establish how many cases have been misdiagnosed in India as very little study has been done on this, and since most patients who acquire Candida are already quite ill, a delayed diagnosis could be fatal,” he says.

Echoing Dr. Ballal, Dr. Tatu says the emergence of superbugs is a small example of the lacunae between academic research that studies the current disease scenario and current clinical practices, and shows the need for greater collaboration between the two. Apart from Candida auris, Dr. Tatu’s team is also studying numerous other infections, their evolutionary origins, diagnosis and treatment, with a view to filling this gap.

cinthya.anand@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Health / Research Health / by Cinthya Anand / November 27th, 2017

Telemedicine takes advancements in healthcare to distant corners

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

The absence of advanced healthcare services in Kalaburagi had pushed Gaurav (name changed), into a state of panic, after he developed recurrent headaches following a minor fall he suffered last month. Although the report of a CT scan at a local hospital revealed nothing alarming, Gaurav was determined to seek a second opinion. He decided to make use of the telemedicine service available in the state; the images of his brain were transmitted to doctors at a Bengaluru-based teleradiology centre, who diagnosed the problem as subdural hematoma (clot in the brain). He was subsequently referred for a neurosurgical evacuation – a procedure that involves evacuating the hematoma through a small hole. “Staying away from Bengaluru has always been a handicap to getting advanced healthcare services. However, the rapidly expanding telemedicine facility ensured early detection of my problem, and I was cured,” said Gaurav, who underwent a surgery at the Gulbarga District Hospital.

Gaurav is among the many beneficiaries of telemedicine, which has helped many citizens in remote areas of the country seek medical opinion from some of the leading doctors. Meenamma (name changed) was worried sick when her two-day-old baby’s breathing became laboured, and developed poor perfusion – process of delivering blood to a capillary bed – and listlessness. The neonatologists felt it was sepsis. But, the doctors called for a cardiac screening to make sure that the baby did not have any problems in the heart. While conducting the test, the sonographer decided to consult a senior cardiologist, not present at the hospital. However, using tele-echo, the senior doctor was able to take a look at the result of the test, and subsequently diagnosed a coarctation – narrowing of the blood vessel going to the body. The baby was put on medication, and referred for a surgery.

Cardiac paediatrician and co-founder of Teleradiology Solutions, the first-of-its-kind company established in the country, Dr Sunita Maheswari said that the organisation was working with the Karnataka health department to take teleradiology services to the rural interiors of the state. “We already cover four centres in the state. The drive was recently launched by the state government at Bowring Hospital, Bengaluru. We have reviewed scan reports of at least four million patients from across the world in the past 14 years. We started working with the Indian government this month, and we deployed services for district health centres in Tripura. From our headquarters in Bengaluru, we help patients from as many as 16 countries,” she said.

Pointing to the acute shortage of radiologists in rural India, Sunita added, “India has only 10,000 radiologists. Through teleradiology, we can take their services to other areas, where there are hospitals and diagnostic centres, but no radiologists. Also, telecardiology will help patients avail opinion of experts, who are elsewhere. It is one of the leading methods of reaching patients in rural areas, suffering from cardiovascular disorders.”

Teleradiology Solutions works with four hospitals in the state. At a recent discussion on telemedicine held in Bengaluru, head of department of forensic medicine at Victoria Hospital, Dr Devdass PK said that they had managed to analyse and send 3,500 reports through telemedicine facility.

Enabling counselling from the comfort of home

Anuradha (name changed), 45, of Mysuru badly wanted to rid her teenage son of his online addiction. She wanted to put an end to his habit of frittering away entire days, surfing social media and playing games, while paying no heed to family members. Uncomfortable with the idea of taking her son to a counsellor, Anuradha sought recourse to telepsychiatry. Aided by a Bengaluru-based telecounsellor, she managed to curb her son’s addiction to gadgets. “My son is now behaving normally with the members of the family. He was able to receive help without having to leave home,” she added.

Professor in the department of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), Bengaluru, Dr Manjunath N said, “Telepsychitary was introduced here six years ago. It was made possible through the Karnataka Telemedicine Network Project, introduced by the health department in 2001. Telemedicine service at Nimhans covers 25 district hospitals and six taluks. Although direct consultation with our psychiatrists is yet to begin, we continue to provide help to rural patients.”

Telecounselling eliminates the need for a patient to be physically present in the counsellor’s chambers, and also provides privacy, opined Aruna Arumugam, a telecounsellor with Healtheminds. “Also, it is accessible to those patients who cannot otherwise seek help. We get patients from West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan, seeking help mostly on relationship issues, parenting challenges and depression,” she said.

Opthalmological services made available in rural areas

Karnataka Assisted Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (KIDROP) was launched in 2008 by Narayana Nethralaya as a postgraduate teleopthalmology programme. Since 2010, along with the state health department, Narayana Nethralaya has managed to take retinopathy of prematurity screening to 36 centres across the state, along with wide field digital imaging services.

Chairman of Narayana Nethralaya, Dr Bhujang Shetty said, “KIDROP has trained technicians to screen infants in peripheral centres, where there are no specialists using Retcam Shuttle. They can store and subsequently upload images from the rural centres using an indigenously developed internet-based PACS system. This system delivers images live to the remote expert, who then sends the report to the technician.”

E-healthcare centres benefit nearly 40,000 patients

For the past two years, Narayana Health (NH), in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), has been looking to take telecardiology, teleconsultation and tele-ECG services to rural areas. So far, its e-health centres have managed to reach 39,624 patients in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

“The e-healthcare centres (eHCs) are designed such that they can be fit and deployed within a standard shipping container. Or, they are retrofitted to a pre-existing clinic, depending on the community’s existing infrastructure. They are fully equipped with workstations, open electronic medical records, biometric patient identification and integrated diagnostic devices,” a source at Narayana Health said.

“The HP cloud enabled technology allows for data – clinical and administrative – to be monitored across sites via a dynamic dashboard. Teleconsultation with relevant physicians from NH unit hospitals have been established at these eHCs, and dedicated internet services at all sites ensures seamless connectivity to the geographically linked healthcare facility. Outreach activities such as community screening programmes and customised medical programmes are organised with specialist support based on the dominant disease prevalence and incidence in the eHC location and catchment areas,” the source added.

‘We’re training doctors in telepsychiatry’

Since its inception six years ago, only 2,000 patients have availed the services of the telemedicine facilities at Nimhans. Professor at Nimhans’ psychiatry department, Dr Manjunath N attributes the underwhelming response to the lack of trained psychiatrists in telemedicine. “Though patients with common and chronic mental disorders are willing to discuss their problems through e-consultation and e-counselling, lack of doctors trained in manning telemedicine services for psychiatry is the problem. Trained professionals who can offer psychiatric services to rural patients from Bengaluru would solve the problem. We are also training resident doctors in telepsychiatry to overcome the problem of scarcity,” he added.

‘Well-trained technicians, and the will to invest is all we need’

At our vision centres, we make use of a portable Slit Lamp Biomicroscope connected via LAN network to the base hospital, which helps doctors diagnose chronic conditions such as retinopathy of prematurity, a potentially blinding eye condition that affects newborns, irreversible corneal conditions like keratoconus and diabetes-induced retinopathy. All it requires are well-trained technicians and the will to invest in quality equipment.

Dr Siddharthan KS | consultant at cornea and refractive services in sankara eye hospital.

‘Services will boost medical tourism in state’

A prior screening through telemedicine ensures that the patient is screened properly, and helps us confirm if the patient has to travel to avail services at the hospital. Many a time, it has saved patients the trouble of travelling to our hospital. Moreover, teleconsultation also increases the comfort and confidence level of the patients with their doctors, who are far away. This is a boost to medical tourism, since it makes it easier for patients to know more about their doctor.

Dr Harsha Rajaram | vice president at columbia asia hospitals

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Chennai News> Bangalore News / by Sreemoyee Chatterjee / TNN / November 28th, 2016

Bengaluru boy Vishnu Raj Menon is Mr India 2016

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Menon will now compete in the world pageant, which Rohit Khandelwal won last year.

Hrithik Roshan and Mr World Rohit Khandelwal, with Mr India World, Vishnu Raj S Menon, and the runners-up. Photo: Yogen Shah
Hrithik Roshan and Mr World Rohit Khandelwal, with Mr India World, Vishnu Raj S Menon, and the runners-up. Photo: Yogen Shah

Last year, Rohit Khandelwal made history as the first Asian man to win the title of Mr World. This year, it’s up to Vishnu Raj S Menon from Bengaluru to make India proud.

Menon was crowned as Peter England Mr India World by Hrithik Roshan last evening at a star-studded event. Viren Barman and Altamash Faraz, both from Delhi, were announced as the first and the second runner-up respectively at the finale of the pageant.

16 contestants from all over the country had to go through various grooming sessions that were mentored by eminent panelists from the fashion and film industry of India.

Rohit Khandelwal passed down his ‘crown’ to Menon after a tough competition from the others, at this gala event attended by many celebs like Kirti Kulhari, Gurmeet Choudhary with wife Debina Bonnerjee, Sana Khan, Madhurimma Tuli, Sharad Kelkar, Freddy Daruwalla, Ankita Shorey, Adah Sharma.

“I am very inspired. This competition is not just about looks. This shows lots of characters. These people, while doing their jobs, took out time and disciplined themselves to reach this far. I think that is commendable. I think, if they can achieve this, they can achieve whatever they want in life,” Hrithik told TOI about his experience at the event.

Now we have the global pageant to look forward to. Here’s hoping Vishnu Raj S Menon can bring home the prestigious title, just like his predecesor, Rohit Khandelwal did.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> News> Lifestyle > What’s Hot / November 25th, 2016

City’s first ever Railway station Director keen on improving passenger experience

Records, All

Bengaluru :

It has been a few weeks since Bengaluru’s first Station Director assumed office. The post, created by the Railway Board in just 12 stations in the country presently, is aimed at transforming A-1 railway stations into centres of excellence.

Santhosh Hegde
Santhosh Hegde

Seated temporarily in the Station Manager’s room at the Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna railway station, Santhosh Hegde, a 2010 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service official, spoke to Express about ‘this highly challenging job.’

Prompt grievance redressal of passengers will be the primary goal of this junior-level administrative officer.

Put simply, the Director will have a team drawn from the Civil, Electrical, Mechanical,Signalling and Telecommunication departments.

Explaining how it could improve service, Hegde said, “Normally, if a passenger has a complaint like say a light bulb not working in a retiring room, this is conveyed to the person in-charge at the station. He in turn relays it to the concerned department head and they need to assign the job to a staff member. The process of finally setting right the issue takes some time.”

The creation of a team exclusively for the purpose, will ensure accountability and a much quicker redressal of issues, he added. An interesting new role assigned to a station-in-charge is that of raising non-fare revenue through advertisements and other commercial ventures.

Cash available
Cash imprest will be made available by the Railways to all Station Directors to enable execution of tasks at the station. “This will help in attending to grievances immediately. Getting money sanctioned even for small things follows a process in Railways and this could also be done away with,” Hegde said. The new Director’s experience has largely been in the Operations Department of the Freight section in Hubballi Railway Division.

However, it will be interesting to watch if the new position would end up creating friction with heads of various railway departments as staff need to be picked from there and the role is suddenly thrust by the Ministry across various Railway Divisions.

Apart from KSR, the stations where the Station Directors have been posted are Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Mumbai Central (in Mumbai); Delhi and New Delhi (in Delhi); Secunderabad, Chennai Central, Howrah, Sealdah, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by S Lalitha / Express News Service / November 26th, 2016

Sharjah: Multitalented Ganesh Rai to be honoured with ‘Global Man Award’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Dubai :

Multitalented former president of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah, B K Ganesh Rai is being bestowed with the ‘Global Man Award 2015’ for his contributions to Kannada language, literature, art, folk and social service both globally and in India and is the only one chosen from the UAE for this award. The award will be presented to him during the 12th Vishwa Kannada Samskruthi Sammelana and 13th anniversary of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah celebrations to be held on November 19 and 20 at Al Boom Tourist Village, Sharjah, UAE.

Ganesh Rai is the name that flashes in the minds of every Kannadiga specially in the UAE when it comes to matters of creativity. Multitalented, one can call him “Sakala Kala Vallaban”, be it different forms of painting, from miniatures to wall size, various forms of sculptures, from paper pulp to plaster or parry’s, large stage settings, tableaux, palatial sets, photography, videography, brochures, digital banners, souvenirs, models… you name it and you will find the skills in this great man, Ganesh Rai. He will simply smile and says yes without any hesitation, as for him work is worship and so he does it with ease. He is a good speaker too, a recepient of “Karnataka State Best Teacher Award” in the year 1993.

Hailing from Madikeri, Coorg, Ganesh Rai was born to Thulasiamma and Krishnappa Rai who themselves sound ‘Krishna Tulasi’, close to the Lords. Madikeri has gifted to the world this unique personality called Ganesh Rai who always keep saying “Elladaru iru, yenthadaru iru, yendendhigu nee Kannada vaagiru. (Live wherever you want to, be whatever you want to be, but remain a Kannadiga forever).”

Professor of art, B K Ganesh Rai needs no introduction in this part of the world. He is a person who rises above boundaries of colour, caste, creed, religion and language. Be it a request for art, stage setting, designing, printing, executing brochures, logos, invitations, souvenirs, sculpture, decorating stage from any corner of people, any corner of UAE, at any point of time, you will find only one person who creates with a smile and executes in spite of his busy schedule. ‘Sirigannadam Gelge, Sirigannadam Baalge’ – he never forgets to say that when completing his speech in any of the respected podiums he addresses.
Ganesh Rai’s Work – Service without Boundaries

* Turnkey project management for almost all social organisations without linguistic barriers
* Conceptualization, designing, printing and distribution of invitations
* Creation of giant size banners, stage backdrops, stage settings, cut-outs, posters etc.
* Creative journalism writing to various web media flashing timely news around the world
* Publication of high profile visit reports of specially invited artistes and guests from India
* Master of ceremony (MC) par excellence with easy flow of language and literature
* Conceptualization of ‘Certificate of Honour’ for dignitaries, high profile guests, artistes etc.
* Concept, design and execution of various souvenirs to almost all the existing Associations in UAE
* Creating sculptures especially Ganesha idol every year, Narayan Guru idol and many more
* Paintings of deities, brush arts, pencil art, charcoal art and various naturalistic creations
* Assumed and discharged active role as president of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah in 2004
* Conducted first blood donation camp for Karnataka Sangha Sharjah in association with MOH
* Attends all blood donation camps organised by various associations and spreads awareness
by creating banners, role-ups and notices for blood donation camps and providing media news
* Compiled, created and released brochure of all Karnataka-based organisations’ blood donations. Brochure released by M K Lokesh, Ambassador of India
* Record of Indian blood donors presented to governments of India, UAE and Karnataka
* Helping the unfortunate deceased Indians in formalities of sending the mortal remains to India
* Enlightening and spreading the essence of Kannada as a soldier of Karnataka to Kannadigas
* Attained appreciations and accolades from almost all Karnataka based associations, and from Tamil, Malayalam and other Indian associations
* Won accolades from NMC Group where he is serving as creative art director
* Supported people of Bangladesh during the flood and natural disasters and helped those affected by the calamities.

Rai, a BCom graduate of Government College, Madikeri, a fine arts diploma holder of Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Art6s, an art master certificate holder from Kalanikethan School of Arts, Mysore and Mahalasa School of Arts, Mangaluru, is very well supported by his charming wife Manjula Rai, beautiful daughter Aishwarya Rai and handsome son Monish Rai.

 

Below are some of the creations for which he has been applauded:

Rai’s creations in India

Sculpture / Statues: Created Pushpanjali, Elephants, Lion and Carving Designs in the year 1974 at Govt Junior College Madikeri – Courtesy P P Ayyanna, principal, and unveiled by Field Marshal K M Cariappa

Ganapathy Statues: From 1979 onwards he has created more than 350 statues (2ft – 12 ft) for Karnataka Electricity Board Madikeri 1979-1995, Archana Ganapathy Festival, Virajpet, Angala Parameshwari Temple, Virajpet, Sri Rama Mandir Dechoor Madikeri, Hindu Yuva Shakti New Extn, G T Circle, Madikeri.

Paper Pulp Statues: Created paper moulding statues 8ft-12ft of different styles at Madikeri Dasara Festival, Gonikoppal Dasara Festival, viz, Ganapathy, Natya Ganapathy, Durga Parameshwari, Lakshmi, Saraswaty, Cauvery, Subramanya, Veera Hanumaan, Soorya Bhagavan with Seven Horses, Shanmuka Tarakasura vadhe, Vishnu Bhagavan, Narada, Thumbura, Shiva Linga, Lions, Tigers, Swamy Ayyappa, Maha Kali and many more. Also at Kanchi Kamakshi Temple Gouli street Madikeri, Kote Mariyamma Temple new Extn. Madikeri, Dechoor Sri Rama Mandir Madikeri, Kote Ganapathy Temple Madikeri, Kundurumotte Chamundeshwari Temple Madikeri Uma Maheshwari Temple Gonikoppal, Sree Hanuman Garadi, Beltangadi, South Canara, Bhuvaneshwari Statue – Kannada Rajyotsava celebration – Virajpet etc.

Concrete Moulding Statues: Created 9 ft Cauvery Statue both front and back faced double dimension in front of Cauvery Kalakshetra Madikeri, St Michael Statue (9 ft) at St Michael’s Church Madikeri, St Mary Statue at Kedamalloor Church – Virajpet, Nandi Basava – Arameri Kalancheri Mata statues, Raghavendra Swamy Statue at Raghavendra Temple – Mantralaya, AP, Karu Mariyamma / Nandi / Shiva Linga statues at Karu Mariyamma Temple Madikeri, Swamy Vivekananda 12 ft statue at Cauvery Krupa Madikeri and Prabhavali at Ganapathy Temple Virajpet

Wax Statues: Created Ganapathy, Lakshmi, Sarswathy, Cauvery statues at Madikeri.

Oil Colour/Water Colour Paintings: Created Birth Place of Cauvery oil color canvas painting for Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Board, Chennai. Also created Field Marshal K M Cariappa lifesize oil colour painting, Gopala Krishna Gokale lifesize oil colour painting for Govt Junior College Auditorium Madikeri, Coorg landscape paintings in oil colour for Public Library Virajpet, Jayaprakash Narayan oil colour portrait for A B Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India, Omkareshwara Temple by night oil colour painting for Lalitha Kala Academy Bengaluru and many painting collections in Delhi, USA, Australia, France, Dubai etc.

Besides, he has participated in a number of art exhibitions in several places right from 1977.
Souvenir Cover Page Design and Logos

Created souvenir pages for 54th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, Madikeri, Madikeri Kodava Samaj Amruta Mahotsava (80 Years), Karnataka Police Centenary Celebration, St Anne’s Church 200 years Celebration, Kodagu Dist Honey & Wax Co-op Society Virajpet.

Created logos for Kodagu District Co-op Central Bank, Kodava Sahitya Academy, Kodagu Zilla Parishat, 54th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, Taranga Virajpet, St Anne’s High School Virajpet, Many more commercial company

He was responsible for multi-coloured picture, offset printing at Shivakasi which was the first time a multi-coloured picture was published in Kodagu (1980)

Birth Place of River Cauvery – Released by Field Marshal K M Cariappa.
Tala Cauvery – Poster released by A Ramaswamy, former deputy commissioner, Kodagu
Tala Cauvery – Triveni Sangama, Theerta Kundike – Picture cards released by M K Poovaiah
Tala Cauvery – Raja Seat Madikeri, Abbi Falls Madikeri – Greetings cards released by R Gundu Rao, the then chief minister of Karnataka
Cauvery – Amar Chitra Katha (pictorial book) Kannada, English, Kodava language released by M C Nanaiah, the then law minister of Karnataka government.
Aishwaraiswara Kubera Lakshmi, Framing picture – Released by Shekar Shetty of Arab Udupi Group of Hotels UAE


Organisations Served

President –Kodagu Kala Parishat / Kodagu Art Masters Association
Secretary –Bharat Scouts and Guides Taluk Association
Secretary –Kodagu District Bunts Association
Founder Member – ‘Taranga’ Cultural Association Virajpet
Technical Advisor – Field Marshal K M Cariappa Statue Committee, Madikeri
Rai’s activities in United Arab Emirates from 1996 onwards

Served as creative art director at Mirrage Advertising, Winning Communivations, Modern Graphics and now currently serving as creative director in Gulf Public Relations Advertising – Signage Division, NMC Group

Public Service

President – Karnataka Sangaha Sharjah 2004 – 2006
Entertainment Secretary – Karnataka Sangha Dubai 2000-2002
Art Director – UAE Tulu Koota Dubai, Sangama Kalavidaru UAE
Organising Committee Member – UAE Bunts -2000-2001
Blood Donation Camp, 2006 – Karnataka Sangha Sharjah and Gulf Medical College Hospital, Ajman and Ministry of Health, Sharjah


Art works created in UAE: Digital banners created with the concept of Karnataka art and culture and Indian traditional art for Karnataka Sangha Dubai, UAE Tulu Koota, Karnataka Sangha Sharjah, UAE Bunts, Mogaveers UAE, Billawas Dubai & Northers Emirates, Billawas Dubai, Gulf Billawa Sangha, Daiji Rang Mandir, Symphony Music Institute – Ajman/Sharjah, Sangama Kalavidaru UAE, Nama Tuluveru UAE, Vishwakarma Seva Samiti UAE, Devaadiga Sangha UAE.

Logos created in UAE for Karnataka Sangah Sharjah, UAE Tulu Koota (decennial), UAE Bunts, Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha, Al Ain Kannada Sangha, Dhvani Pratistana UAE (silver jubilee), Mogaveers UAE, Sangama Kalavidaru UAE, Gulf Kannadiga Forum, Devadiga Sangha UAE, UAE Tamil Sangam, Mangalore Konkans (20 years), Daiijiword website, Kannadadhvani website

Stage settings and gateway creations in UAE with the concept of Karnataka art and culture and Indian traditional art for Karnataka Sangah Dubai – Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore setting in 2001, Mysore Palace setting in 2002 (Karnatakotsava – Vishnuvardhan Kannada cine star), UAE Tulu Koota – Tulunadu setting.


Tableaux, gateways and souvenirs designed

* UAE Bunts Souvenir Cover page design – 1999
* Karnataka Sangha Dubai Souvenir – “Gaana Vaibhava”2001 , “Chandana” 2010
* Karnataka Sangha Sharjah – “Saadhane” – 2006
* Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha “Rajata Rashmi” – 2006
* Mangalore Konkans Dubai 2003 – 2010
* Billawas Dubai & Northern Emirates “Suvarna Kedage”- 2007
* UAE Tulukoota – “Sangama” 2000
* St Mary’s Church Dubai – 2005
* St Francis Assisi Jebal Ali – 2007
* St Michael’s Church Sharjah
* SMC Malayalee Catholics
* Tamil Sangam Ras Al Khaimah
* SMC Fr Daniel’s Hon Souvenir
* Dhvani Pratistaana UAE – “Kannada Naadu Nudi Rakshane” Cover
* Karnataka Sangha Sharjah -” Suvarna Karnataka Picture Card”

Besides, he has written and conceptualised a book titled ‘Footprints – A fascinating journey’ to Padmashri Dr B R Shetty.
Awards

Honoured at Govt Junior College Madikeri 1974 at Field Marshal K M Cariappa unveiling ceremony of sculptured art work, Main Gate GJC Madikeri
Karnataka State Best Teacher Award – 1993 by Karnataka Teachers Benefit Fund Bangalore
Karnataka Rajyotsava District Award -1987 by R Gundu Rao, the then chief minister of Karnataka
Gold Medal -1987 at Lakshadeepotsava Dharmasthala by Dr Veerendra Heggade
State Level Honouring – 1993 – at Gokrananatheshwara Temple Mangaluru, by Sri Pejawar Swamiji
Dr Shivaram Karanth Shilpa Kala Rathna Award – 1983 at Karnataka Electricity Board – Madikeri, by K A Somanna, state commissioner, Bharat Scouts – Karnataka
Kala Praveena Award – 1984 Ganapathy Utsava Samiti Gandhi Nagara Virajpet by Sri Shanthamalla Swamiji, Arameri Mata
Kala Kirana Award – 1990 at Angala Parameshwari Temple Virajpet, by M K Poovaiah, president, town muncipal council, Virajpet
Honoured at 100 years Karnataka Police Celebration – 1984 by P S Ramanujam, DIG Mysore
Honoured at Lalitha Kala Academy, Bangalore -1991 by P R Thippeswamy, president, Lalitha Kala Academy Bangalore
Honoured at Madikeri Dasara – Navaratri festival by M C Nanaiah, the then law minister Karnataka
Honourred at Sarva Dharma Sammelana – Arameri Math, by Shiva Kumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Math,Tumakuru and Shantha Malla Swamiji Kalncheri Arameri Math
Honoured at Madikeri Dasara Utasav Temples by Kanchi Kaamkshi Temple, Kote Mariyamma Temple
Honoured by Kodagu Bunts Association 1993 at Rotary Hall Madikeri
Honoured at Vishwa Bunts Convention -1993 at Art Exhibition – Chitra Kala Parishat Bangalore by Dr Shivarama Karanth and Jeevaraj Alva, the then minister of Kannada and culture, Karnataka
Awards in UAE

Was honoured with ‘Mayura Award’ by Karnataka Sangha Sharjah in 2009
Received ‘Prathiba Puraskar Award’ at Vishwa Kannada Cultural Convention in 2009
Honoured at Nama Tuluveru ‘Tuluvere Parba 2012’
Honoured at Kuvempu Utsava 2012 at Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha
Honoured at UAE Bunts Satyanarayana Pooja by Dr. B.R. Shetty in 2015
Honoured at UAE Tulukoota Silver Jubilee Celebration in 2015
Honoured at Devadigas Dubai Celebration in 2015
Honoured at Ramakshatriya Sangha in 2015
Honoured by Shri. Veerendra Hegde at Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sanga Rajyotsava Celebration 2015
Other than the above there are innumerable events Ganesh Rai has contributed selflessly to in one or the other way which was noticed and appreciated by the concerned on various occasions.

In my view, Ganesh Rai should be considered as a great asset to the Kannadigas in the UAE and India as well, for his contribution so far. With his sheer enthusiasm and commitment towards Kannada and Tulu language, he is promoting community spirit from so many years in this part of the world. He deserves all accolades and appreciation from the government of Karnataka which should recognize his service towards Kannada/Tulu language, art, folk and literature packed with a unique blend of artistry, social awareness, commitment of service to humanity and honour him soon.

Wishing him more success in his future endeavors.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Shodhan Prasad / Dubai – November 19th, 2015

PES University to launch another satellite

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Barely a month, after 250 students launched a nano-satellite PISAT, under the mentorship of PES University staff, another group of students have started work on developing another satellite at the university, the PISAT-2.

While the earlier satellite, which entered orbit on September 26 on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is a stabilised imaging satellite, PISAT-2 will have an ultraviolet imager that will stare at a single point in space for the lifetime of the mission.

“The goal is to search for variable sources, those that change in brightness. These may include explosive events like supernovae, exotic events such as planets falling into their parent stars or events in our neighbourhood such as nearby asteroids or comets,” a statement from PESU said.

Students will work with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) on the project which will be supported financially by the university. The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has also evinced interest in funding the mission, sources said.

With an outlay of Rs. 2.3 crore, 18 to 24 months have been set for the launch.

“PISAT-1 was developed for Earth observation while PISAT-2 will help us head towards deep space exploration,” said Ajay Kumar, a student working on the project.

Explaining the difference between the two missions in terms of technological expertise, Divya Rao, a mentor for the project said, “PISAT-2 will be more advanced in terms of technology like the control systems onboard as well as the composition of the satellite which will have space grade components on board.”

Chancellor of PES University, M.R. Doreswamy said that the institute was committed to extending support for the design and development phase of the satellite. PISAT-1 in the meantime is functioning as per parameters and is healthy. The team will continue to use the satellite for earth observation in the coming months, a team member said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / Staff Reporter / November 21st, 2016