Musings on singing Doctors of GCC

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology
(L to R) Dr. C. Umesh Kamath, Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa
(L to R) Dr. C. Umesh Kamath, Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa

 Mysore :

Last Sunday evening was quite enjoyable for me, enjoying the old Hindi and Kannada songs, going Down Memory Lane. The opportunity came with the annual Geeth Gaatha Chal (GGC) Doctor’s Musical Nite, a brainchild of Dr. C. Umesh Kamath of Kamakshi Hospital, Kuvempunagar. This time the venue was the MMC Platinum Jubilee Auditorium in J.K. Grounds.

I was surprised at the change of venue because in the past years, except twice, the venue has been the Karnataka Kalamandira, on Hunsur road. It was an ideal auditorium for programmes such as this where admission was free and open to all, with good acoustics and plenty of parking space inside the campus and the spillover along the road on two sides of the building. What happened this time? I put this question to the Organising Chairperson and the moving spirit behind this popular programme Dr. Umesh Kamath. The answer did not surprise me: “It is under repair.” In fact Kalamandira was under repair in 2009, 2010 and now 2014 and that was the reason GGC was shifted to J.K. Grounds Hall.

Yes, Turkey in the 19th Century used to be called the ‘Sick Man of Europe.’ Likewise we can call this Kalamandira the ‘Sick Building of Mysore.’ Even when money is provided, our Ministers, MLAs and officials are incapable of getting Kalamandira renovated at one go and in time. A non-performing Government, always ready with untenable excuses. The repair and the renovation work has finally taken off beginning Jan. 1, 2014 by the PWD and the completion period is April, 2014 according to official sources.

However, there was another genuine, stronger reason for shifting the venue. Last year it was held on January 6. I was present at that Musical Nite. A senior Police officer too was there. The programme was progressing beautifully, everyone was enthralled at the mesmerising music and songs from artistes performing like professionals.

It was a programme by the doctors where the singers are all doctors and their own family members. It was a Doctor’s Musical Nite programme, called appropriately Geeth Gaatha Chal, by the doctors, of the doctors and not ONLY for doctors but for all. Old, Hindi and Kannada film songs were sung by the lead doctor singers led by Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha and Dr. P.A. Kushalappa on a stage magnificently mounted with video screens and best sound system. We were all enjoying the show, but then suddenly a shrill voice of protest was heard from behind the hall with an agitated man barging on to the stage with just a couple of men in tow making unreasonable, uncalled for demand on the organisers and to stop the programme. There was a brief period of confusion but they were pacified and the programme continued. I don’t think any complaint was made nor anyone taken to custody by the Police. Therefore, there was no guarantee this time too such incident would not occur. So GGC shifted the venue which is private and made the admission by invitation. I saw some guards posted at the entrance to shoo off uninvited trouble-makers like it happened last year.

How sad, because of a few anti-social elements Mysoreans are denied of a good, enjoyable musical programme! Let it be. After all, ours is too liberal a democracy where one can create troubles like this with impunity !

Despite this ‘protective’ measure, the hall was full. The stage was further upgraded with new technology and props. As they say, rain or shine, the show must go on and the show began on dot at 5 pm. In Mysore probably after our Suttur Seer Sri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji, it is Dr. Umesh Kamath who respects punctuality.

Hitler said in his belligerent mood that war was first born in the mind of a man. That was the mind of a war-monger. But in the case of a music-lover, music is first born in the mind of a man. So it was with Dr. Umesh Kamath who on coming to India in 1998 after years of service abroad and joined Kamakshi Hospital. Being fond of music, though not a singer himself as I learn, he would invite singer friends to his huge bungalow for tea or dinner and thus prompt them to sing. A kind of chamber music. The news of his interest in music, that’s matched equally by his wife Dr. Rekha Kamath, spread among the fellow doctors, so also the appetising aroma from their kitchen. As a result, once in 1999, there were about 50 doctors hungry for music and of course, a sumptuous dinner. It was sheer ecstasy, but for the tired couple it was agony next day.

It was then the decision was made by Dr. Umesh Kamath to hold a Doctor’s Musical Nite, christening it as Geeth Gaatha Chal after the name of an old film, eponymous to the programme, once in a year so that he could throw it open to all doctors. A programme by a doctor for the doctors. The next year in 2000 it was held at Ganabharathi’s Veene Sheshanna Bhavan on Adichunchanagiri road in Kuvempunagar to a full house. The lead singers were, now legendary Dr. M.S. Natashekar and Dr. A.L. Hemalatha. One is blessed with the voice of Mukesh, the other with the voice of the Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar. One more doctor singer joined them in 2002, who has also become a legend in the GGC team, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa.

Like we say about film stars being discovered by so and so director, we can say Dr. Kushalappa (Prakash for his friends) was discovered by Dr. Umesh Kamath. It seems, Dr. Umesh Kamath was invited for a dinner at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club in city and was surprised to see Dr. Kushalappa singing film songs in his own Kishore Kumar style setting the stage alive, if not ablaze, with his body movements. Now Dr. Umesh Kamath has an unbeatable combination of Mukesh, Kishore and Lata with their golden voices. The mould is cast for an annual show of Doctor’s Musical Nite and the ‘Geeth Gaatha Chal’ lives on …

Later Dr. V. Ganesh Rao joined bringing in the flavour of more Kannada songs while perfecting the technical props on the stage. My Rotarian friend Dr. S.K. Ghori, who was also with the team this year, made himself very conspicuous by his unique characterisation for a couple of songs, specially one from Raj Kapoor’s film drawing huge applause from the audience.

The venue of the nite was shifted to Kalamandira in 2001 as the Veene Sheshanna Bhavana was found too small for this big programme.

I felt sad when many of my friends and readers of this paper asked why the ‘admissions reserved’ unlike in the past. On my part, I told them, “Come, I will tell them to let you in.” How I wish our Police are bold enough to handle these trouble-makers so that they will not dare to trouble in future. After all, the organisers spend over Rs. two lakh for the free show, apart from the preparations months in advance.

Finally, how can I forget the flavour of the show, the ‘sutradhara’ par excellence. Syed Aftab Ahmed, the anchor. Everytime he appeared on the stage, he breathed life into it by interacting with the audience. His ability to speak fluently both Hindi and English, roller-coaster movement on the stage and above all the elephantine memory to remember those innumerable names from the world of Hindi films going ‘Down Memory Lane’ is amazing.

Tailpiece: As I drove home from the venue a thought crossed my mind: Would the next generation of young doctors and public remember the old Hindi and Kannada songs? Not surprisingly among the audience I saw a majority belonging to my age. And my age is…. Now, Dr. Umesh Kamath has a new task of attracting young doctors and also youngesters to GGC.

e-mail: kbg@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Abracadabra……Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / February 11th, 2014

Bangalore team wins Rs 6 lakh at Tapmi quiz

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Mangalore :

The team “Beasts At The Back” from Bangalore won the first prize of Rs 6 lakh at the Quiz on the Beach (QOTB), the flagship event of Atharva held at the beautiful Kaup beach with the stunning backdrop of the Arabian Sea, on Saturday evening.

The winning team consisted of participants Arvind V and Siddharth from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore and St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore respectively. This was the 11th edition of QOTB and 26th edition of Atharva, the annual international B-fest of TA Pai Management Institute (Tapmi).

The second prize of Rs 3 lakh was won by Aditya Bagri and Saransh V from S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai and the team of Ranjiv Ravi and Ajay Srinath from ISB came third to bag the third prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh.

Conducted by the quiz master Navin Jaykumar of the Landmark Quiz fame and Anustubh Datta, the finale resulted in a culmination of five months of quizzing extravaganza consisting of online rounds and city qualifiers in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai . Over 700 participants from across the globe participated and vied for the prizes worth Rs 13 lakh. The prize money this year was 13-fold increase over the previous year.

QOTB had gone international this year with an online round to cater to a global audience. The winners of the International Round of QOTB were Adithya Sriram Sankaran and Shreyas Rajagopalan from ESCP Europe. They won prize money of $500.

Overall QOTB had participants from colleges across the world like IIM Indore, TISS , NMIMS , NITIE, IIT Madras , IIM Bangalore , NIT-K Surathkal , Wichita State University, San Diego State University, National University of Singapore , ESCP Europe, BITS Pilani Dubai, University of Houston, etc.

There was a footfall of 800 people at the Kaup Beach. Udupi District Superintendent M.B. Boralingaiah, Assistant Superintendent of Police Annamalai, Managing Director- India at Group FM Prakash Gurumoorthy, Mohan Narayanan founder and CEO of Kubos Consultancy, Ashwin Raghuraman COO India Innovation Fund were present at the event.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 02nd, 2014

Celebration and Jubilation mark 60th birthday of Shenoy Brothers of Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

More than 2000 guests treated with mouth-watering cuisines

Mysore :

They are no Karan-Arjun or Krishna- Balram but both share a strong relationship from the past 60 years depicting the same affection as that of brothers whom we have seen on television or heard about in stories of Bhagavata. At the time when families no more live together, here is a family that lives, eats and breathes together. Yes, I am talking about one of city’s well known families… The Shenoy’s of famous Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works.

Yesterday it was a festival atmosphere among the members of various communities at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall on JLB Road when they came together to celebrate the 60th birthday of city’s industrialists M. Ramanath Shenoy and M. Jagannath Shenoy of Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works, who are twins. It was a rare occasion where people from different walks of life came together to celebrate their 60th birthday.

The felicitation committee headed by Dr. C. Umesh Kamath had organised a grand event to celebrate 60th birthday of industrialists who are known for their philanthropy apart from taking care of their employees.

Both Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy were given a Poorakumbha Swagatha accompanied by Naadaswara on their arrival at the venue. The event began with both couples M. Jagannath Shenoy, his wife Kusuma Shenoy and M. Ramanath Shenoy, his wife Vasumathi came on the stage after seeking the blessings of Surendra Bhat, a senior member among the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community. Later, the event began with rendering of invocation by Rajesh Padiyar, who took the members present on a devotional journey.

Industrialists from Mysore and Mangalore, politicians, businessmen and well-wishers had come to wish both the brothers on their 60th birthday which is considered to be a great occasion among the Hindu community. Vishwanath Bhat, a close friend of Shenoys, spoke about Jagannath Shenoy and his achievements, also about the meaning of celebrating the 60th birthday of an individual.

The event was presided by K.V. Kamath, former Chairman of ICICI Bank along with his wife Rajalakshmi Kamath. Incidentally, K.V. Kamath is the co-brother of Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy. More than 1,000 people had assembled at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall to felicitate and greet the Shenoy brothers. Tributes were also paid to the parents of the Shenoy brothers on the occasion. Vijayraghavan, one of Jagannath Shenoy’s friends, spoke about their school days and the pranks they played when at school and home.

Speaking on the occasion, Jagannath Shenoy, thanked all those who were involved in organising the event. He also remembered tough situations and challenges he faced while taking over the management of Mangalore Ganesh Beedies.

Thanking his co-brother K.V. Kamath for his guidance when the company was in trouble, Jagannath Shenoy said that company had to take loan of Rs. 114 crore to solve a legal matter. “It is when Kamath helped me and till today he has been guiding me all through,” he said.

Jagannath Shenoy also added that the company cleared all the liabilities within the given time and today the turnover is around Rs. 550 crore per year. He advised the youngsters to respect parents and elders. Speaking about his company, Jagannath Shenoy said that the Government of India has announced the deadline to close the tobacco industry by 2020. But, till now the Government has not come out with any alternative programme for those involved in the beedi industry. “There are around 65,000 people dependent on the industry and the company has been paying Rs. 3.5 crore every week towards wages. But, if the industry is shut, there is no alternative for these workers who are not educated. Let government come with an alternative job for these beedi workers,” said Shenoy.

Later, K.V. Kamath said that nothing was made easy for Jagannath Shenoy and whatever he got was only on merit. “He wanted to change things in 1993 and be an entrepreneur. His hard work and dedication has brought him to this level and I feel very proud of him,” he added.

GSB Sabha Vice-President Mahesh Shenoy, Secretary Mahesh Kamat, Dr. C.D. Srinivas Murthy, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, Vijaya Vittala Vidyashala Secretary Rtn. R. Vasudev Bhat, Canara Bank Deputy General Manager Dr. S.T. Ramachandra, music patron Rtn. K.V. Murthy, Industrialist B.R. Pai, MLA Vasu, MLC G. Madhusudhan, former MLC Thontadarya, Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, Rtn. Parthanath, Dr. C.K.N. Raja, Kamakshi Hospital Administrator Dr. K.R. Kamath and others were present.

More than 2,000 guests were treated to 12 kinds of cuisines specially prepared for the occasion. A total of 10 cooks were brought from Mangalore to prepare the special dishes.

The menu included Ghee Rice, Kurma, Gobi Manchurian, Khichdi and desserts.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 08th, 2014

Hasan Mansur passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders
Hasan Mansur
Hasan Mansur

Hasan Mansur, a veteran human rights activist, passed away in Bangalore on Wednesday morning.

Prof. Mansur (1930-2014), who retired as the Head of the Department of English in Bangalore University, was closely associated with People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a host of other human rights initiatives, and fact-finding efforts in Karnataka and elsewhere.

Prof. Mansur was one of the founding members of the Karnataka Civil Liberties Committee (KCLC) in 1984. He went on to work for the PUCL, with which he was associated till the end.

His role at PUCL

In a press release, the PUCL State committee has said that Prof. Mansur played a significant role in broad-basing the concerns of PUCL and taking it beyond the traditional human rights issues to focus attention on violations of socio-economic rights, including the right to housing and the right to water.

Prof. Mansur was also one of the founding members of the Karnataka chapter of the Indo-Pak People’s Friendship Forum and was associated with trade union movements since the 1950s.

Speaking to The Hindu , Ramdas Rao, his colleague at the university and a co-activist in PUCL, said: “I admired Prof. Mansur for the way he brought together literature, politics and human rights.” Recalling his love for literary greats like James Joyce, Pablo Neruda and T.S. Eliot, he said: “He could quote large chunks of Joyce’s Ulysses and Eliot’s Four Quartets and continued to teach to the larger community of his friends even after he retired.”

Prof. Mansur leaves behind his wife, Hasnath Mansur, and a son. Funeral prayers were held at Arab Lane Mosque on Richmond Road on Wednesday evening. admired Mansur for the way he brought together literature, politics and human rights: Ramdas Rao.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – February 13th, 2014

Bangalore on the page

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Fact finding missionThe research was tough and interesting, says Sumana Khan / photo: k. MURALI KUMAR
Fact finding missionThe research was tough and interesting, says Sumana Khan / photo: k. MURALI KUMAR

Sumana Khan’s historical thriller, The Revenge of Kaivalya, revels in city reference, from Jyothi Nivas College, to Malleswaram18th Cross. The author tells MINI ANTHIKAD CHHIBBER she had fun featuring all her favourite haunts

T he Revenge of Kaivalya (Westland, Rs 350) was fully realised before it was picked up by publishers. Sumana Khan’s historical thriller is set in different time zones and places —there is present day Bangalore and Sakleshpura and a mystery 450 years in the making. “The book didn’t come together immediately,” said Sumana before a reading at Easylib, the online library. “It was put together; a bit like mosaic tiles.”

When it came to publishing, Sumana did her research and realised that while “Indian readers have always been open to genre fiction, they are not open to Indian authors writing genre fiction in English. That has changed since. I self-published Kaivalya with CinnamonTeal. It was my editor there who said it should be published. I approached Westland and here it is.”

The 39-year-old author who went to school in Malleswaram (Cluny Convent) and MES College admits to enjoying putting in Bangalore references. Café Coffee Day near Jyothi Nivas College, Baskin Robbins in Malleswaram 18th Cross, Regal Bar in J.P. Nagar, Puttenhalli Lake, Anekal all have walk-on parts in the book. “Oh yes I did have fun with the Bangalore bit. Most of the places (especially the eateries) are my favourite haunts. The main reason for setting the scene in Bangalore was because I know the place and this was essential to bring in authenticity especially since the action is quite fast-paced. And there’s always a thrill for a reader to recognize the places – the connect is instant.”

After working for a decade in Wipro, Sumana moved to the UK in 2009. “I am back to academics. I am pursuing my masters in Psychology. I enjoy reading thrillers and horror. I thought when I gave writing a shot, it would have to be something I like to read.”

Kaivalya follows multiple storylines. In Sakleshpura, there is the larger-than-life Dhruv, the forest officer who is investigating a strange death, Tara who is studying paranormal phenomena and the newly wed Shivaranjini whose life is turned upside down when she unknowingly picks up a pendant. In Bangalore there is Neel, whose swanky penthouse in Sarjapur reeks of burnt flesh, his friend VJ who is in the film business and is in urgent need of money to close a property deal in Sakleshpura, a tough cop, Shakti, and the mysterious gangster Matchu. Back in time, there is Kaivalya’s story. Set in Sampigepura, in the outskirts of Hampi, Poovamma finds and adopts a strange, gifted girl, Kaivalya, whose tragedy is in tandem with the Battle of Thalikote, in 1565 which resulted in the rout of the Vijayanagara Empire.

“The research was tough and interesting,” Sumana comments. “For information on the Vijayanagara empire, I referred to Robert Sewell’s A forgotten Empire . I have never been to Sakleshpura. I have a lot of friends who are avid trekkers. And the rest is all caffeine-fired imagination.” Admitting that reigning in such a vast canvas was tough, “especially the resolution,” Sumana says “it was a fascinating journey.”

Explaining the unusual name, Sumana says: “Kaivalya is more of a yogic concept. It is a state of absolute Samadhi, if you will, where one is completely detached; a blissful alone-ness, the attainment of moksha. This ‘perfect’ state of the soul is referred to as Kaivalya in Jainism. It is far more complex in the metaphysical sense. One can say Kaivalya is a state of being. It found a strong resonance during the Vijayanagara era, which was the golden era for Vedantic philosophies and literature.”

Attempting to describe the rationale behind Kaivalya’s anger, which prompts her to follow the object of her revenge through 400 years Sumana says: “For a rational person, no circumstance can justify such anger and vengefulness. When blinded by such vitriolic anger, reason and logic take leave and one ends up doing things that are destructive. In Kaivalya’s case, she is complex and mystical character and the strength of her emotions – both positive and negative – are beyond human. In a way, I also draw inspiration from our Asuras. Be it Hiranyakashyapu or Ravana, they were extremely accomplished in terms of intellect, talent, mental prowess. But when that very same positivity is turned inside out into something negative it results in catastrophe.”

Counting Stephen King and Charlotte Bronte among her favourite writers, Sumana says the history of Karnataka is largely un-mined in fiction. “At least when it comes to historical fiction in English.”

The reason for setting the scene in Bangalore was because I know the city. And there is always a thrill for a reader to recognize the places.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Mini Anthikad Chhibber / February 13th, 2014

Star gazing in style

Education, Science & Technology

Wah! Good news and great opportunity for Mysoreans! It is the right time for the star gazers to fix the stares for night sky observation. Astronomical Observatory of University of Mysore is providing wonderful opportunity for Mysoreans to explore the heavens effortlessly. It is an incomparable endeavour by the Department of Physics, University of Mysore, establishing an observatory to impart excellent astronomy education.

Celestron 11 inches telescope of the Department will certainly reach every individual of Mysore to understand the joy of star gazing.

AstronomyBF12feb2014

For the general public, the Department provides opportunity to observe the night sky with ease. The observatory is open to the general public on every Friday from 7 pm to 8.30 pm.

The Department of Physics, University of Mysore has an observatory with a strong astronomical telescope to clear understand the essence of skywatching.

The Astronomy section of Department of Physics is active from the past three decades. The department had a small 6 inch telescope useful for sky watching. But this Department presently has a robust 11 inches telescope highly beneficial to locate deep sky objects. A small observatory is set up to make sky observations comfortably. The observatory has a powerful reflecting telescope Celestron 11 telescope”.

The telescope has Celestron’s acclaimed Schmidt – Cassegrain optical system. It is a portable telescope housed in the observatory which was recently inaugurated by Dr. Sreekumar, Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.

This telescope combines new Sky Align alignment technology, advanced engineering, and a bold new design.

In fact, Celestron’s Professional Computerized (CPC) series with revolutionary Sky Align alignment technology redefines everything that amateur astronomers are seeking. It offers quick and simple alignment, GPS, unsurpassed optical quality, ease of setup and use, advanced ergonomics and enhanced computerisation.

— Prof. S. A. Mohan Krishna, Amateur Astronomer

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / February 06th, 2014

Crafting new designs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Meet architects Farah Ahmed and Dhaval Shellugar, who love to come up with out-of-the-box ideas

FarahAhmedMPos12feb2014

Farah Ahmed and Dhaval Shellugar are the people behind the Farah And Dhaval Design (FADD) Studio on St. Mark’s Road, which started in 2012. So, what’s new about them?

BarMPos12feb2014

For starters, they like working with offbeat and natural material such as burnt rust cement or bricks. “Cement, when it is waxed, looks so gorgeous that you will be surprised that it is cement,” explains Dhaval.

He adds that he always had a passion for architecture. “My father was into automobile accessories. The products at his store always intrigued me and I would find myself creating something new with the material he had. Then, I decided that I had to study architecture at Rachana Sasand’s Academy of Architecture in Bombay, after which I worked with Sandeep Khosla.”

Farah, on the other hand, was an artist. She says she always had leanings towards design. She studied in the U.S. and the turning point came when “I was gifted a camera which drove me into photography. Strangely it was never about people, but more about landscape and forms and textures. I was so inspired by nature that I found myself always creating an abstract composition.”

The young architect started exhibiting her works and lived as an artist before she interned with Sandeep Khosla, where she met Dhaval and the duo decided to start FADD.

She went on to study at Istitutio Marangoni in Milan. “I feel interior designing is a different manifestation of the same kind of creativity that I used in my art work. The only difference is in architecture, the physical space becomes my canvas,” explains Farah.

Coming to their work they say that Indians are fascinated with new designs. And with the world becoming smaller, resources are always “at our disposal”.

Dhaval says one should also always keep a tab on global trends. “That way you will be in sync with the latest in the market. No, we do not have a signature style for that will just put us and our thinking in a box. It is more like playing with form and function and yet keeping it minimal.”

They talk about the challenges they face in their profession. According to Farah it is “changing people’s set notions about designs. They think if something is expensive then it is classy. That is not always true.”

FlowerBoutiqueMPos12feb2014

Dhaval says for him the challenge was designing the florist shop, Flower Box in Indiranagar. “We wanted to create a special look for the flowers, which are so colourful by nature. So we had to create an intensive design that would not kill the beauty of the flowers. We studied Zen and Ikebana and other flower arrangements to come up with something unique for this store.” The duo used shades of white and grey and found that the “flowers simply pop out from the shaded backgrounds”. A Kerala houseboat designed for a business man in Goa is also close to their heart.

For more on the architects, log on to www.faddstudio.com or call 22223661.

This column features those who choose to veer of the beaten track.

SHILPA SEBASTIAN R.

People think if something is expensive then it is classy. That is not always true

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metro Plus / by Shilpa Sebastian R. / February 12th, 2014

Tribals land jobs at eye clinics

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Backward Kudubi youth are being employed in eye hospitals to be set up across Udupi by a charitable trust

tribalsBF11feb2014

The Kudubis, one of the most backward tribes living in Udupi district, are all set to witness a white collar transformation. A few among the new generation kids have landed jobs at an eye hospital, one as an optometrician, unlike the parents, who are mostly daily wagers.

S Jayaram Shetty, chairman, Parvathi Mahabala Shetty Charitable Trust, Shiroor, told Bangalore Mirror: “The formal inauguration of our new eye hospital will be held on Feb 2. The speciality is that we have employed youth from the local Kudubi community. There are about 25,000 Kudubis living in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.”

The first Kudubi who will be serving at the hospital is 21-year-old Ravi, son of daily wagers Chandra Naik and Rukmini Bai. Ravi’s father was closely associated with Shetty’s family as a labourer.

Shetty said, “This boy too is closely associated with our family. Most of our family members are doctors and he has closely watched them. People from this tribe never went to school. But they are a very clean community and Holi is the only festival they celebrate.”

Shetty’s brother Dr Sundaram Shetty, chairman, Globe Eye Foundation, Bangalore, noticed the boy had the potential. Once Ravi completed his PU from Durgaparameshwari Pre University College in Mandarthi, he saw to it that he was trained in optometry. “Ravi completed his diploma at the same institute and will soon be joining the hospital at Shirva — a village in Udupi district which is about 100 kilometers from Mangalore. While he was being trained at Bangalore, he even worked at Siddi Eye Care Clinic, Indiranagar, in the evenings and earned some money. Among the eight students who took up the course, he stood first,” Shetty said, with pride.

Ravi said, “Till I reached class five, I was not interested in studies. I gradually developed interest and was helped by the Shetty family. I am really happy that I have got a job. People in my community are trying to understand the value of education. I am an example to many from our community.”

Now, Ravi’s mother forces kids around to study. “My younger brother Sudhakar is in class nine and another brother Ganesh works as a coolie. Ganesh has been sent to a driving school by the hospital and we are hoping that he too will be absorbed by this hospital as a driver. I now dream of working for a while and then doing BSc,” Ravi said.

Shetty said that the hospital will also have a telemedicine counter — where doctors from Narayana Hrudalaya and Narayana Nethralaya will be connected. Ravi will be handling the fundus camera. He will also be visiting nearby schools to screen children.

At the hospital, doctors from Bangalore will be visiting for eight days a month. The hospital also plans to set up 7-8 vision centres in Udupi where people can go and get their eyes screened. For this the hospital has already given a two-month training to three youth — Suresh, Lakshman and Harish — from the Kudubi tribe. They have studied upto SSLC.

Since the inauguration of the hospital was delayed by six months due to monsoon, the boys have gone back to masonry. They will return as soon as the hospital begins functioning and will be provided a month’s training in Bangalore. Interestingly, all the masonry work at the hospital is being undertaken by the Kudubis. “We are willing to train Kudubis. In fact are looking forward to these children from the backward community. We have a burning desire to do something so that they can be trained,” said Shetty.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Other / by Deepthi Shridhar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / January 29th, 2014

IIM-Bangalore makes debut in FT Global MBA Ranking 2014, IIM-Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business slip

Education, Records, All

SUMMARY :

For the first time, IIM-Bangalore has found a place on the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking list.

Premier B-schools Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-Ahmedabad) and Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad have slipped from their current positions to lower ranks in the Financial Times (London) Global MBA Ranking-2014.

For the first time, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-Bangalore) has found a place on the chart at 68th position. With this, it has become third such Indian institution to have figured in top 100 management schools globally.

According to Global MBA Ranking-2014 released yesterday by FT, rankings of IIM-Ahmedabad and ISB slipped to 30 and 36, respectively, from their last year’s positions of 26 and 34 respectively.

ISB had slipped 14 points to rank 34 last year as against 20th position a year before. Similarly, IIM-Ahmedabad had slipped 15 places at 26th rank from 11th position in 2012. In 2011, IIM-Ahmedabad ranked 11th and ISB 13.

When contacted, a senior ISB official pointed out that ISB was the youngest institution to find a place in global MBA rankings in 2008.

“Since then ISB has consistently been ranked among the best globally. Our programme continues to provide the highest quality of learning and professional opportunities to our students, which is what institutions can and must focus on.

“In the recent years, a key factor affecting Indian schools has been the weakening of the rupee and its corresponding impact on the PPP (Purchasing power parity) exchange. This has affected the weighted salary parameters which accounts for 20 per cent of the ranking criteria. It seems Indian schools have been disproportionately impacted by this, relative to schools from other countries”, the official said.

Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and London Business School occupied first, second and third positions, respectively in this year’s ranking.

With respect to weighted average salary, IIM-Ahmedabad student is paid an annual USD 1,57,459 (86 per cent increase over last year) while his ISB counterpart is drawing USD 1,17,308 (130 per cent hike) whereas the student of debutant IIMB is being paid weighted salary of USD 1,25,249 per annum.

The ranking is based on two surveys of the business schools and their alumni who graduated in 2010. MBA programmes are assessed according to the career progression of their alumni, the school’s idea generation and diversity of students and faculty, FT said.

“This is the fifth time (that) Harvard has topped the rankings since the survey began in 1999. Stanford Graduate School of Business remained second, while London Business School leapfrogged the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania, pushing the latter into fourth place. Columbia Business School and Insead are joint fifth”, FT said in its website.

To compile the 2014 ranking, FT surveyed 23,000 alumni from 153 business schools across the globe. More than 10,000 MBA graduates completed the survey, a response rate of 47 per cent, according to FT.

source: http://www.financialexpress.com / The Financial Express / Home> Jobs / by PTI / Hyderabad – January 29th, 2014

Wipro Recognized as a Best in Class Outsourcing and Consulting Service Provider for 2014 by ‘Consumer Goods Technology’ Readers

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

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Bangalore, Karnataka, India and East Brunswick, United States (WIPRO)

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT), a leading global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company, today announced that it has received Readers’ Choice Awards from Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) magazine.  Wipro has been ranked among the Top 4 providers in the ‘Outsourcing’ category, a move up by two places from rankings published in January of 2013.In addition to the list of top providers in each category, CGT also spotlights companies that received special honors from readers. In the Breakout Favorites, Wipro was voted the Customer Experience Leader in the Consulting category, a recognition that identifies the one company that received the highest average user satisfaction rating in a category.”It is an absolute honor to be ranked favorably in these categories. This clearly reinforces Wipro’s continued commitment and opportunity to the consumer goods market,” said Srini Pallia, Senior Vice President & Global Head – Retail, Consumer Goods, Transportation & Govt. Business Unit, Wipro. He added, “Helping our Consumer Goods (CG) customers best understand their consumer is of utmost importance to us. Our vision is to continually innovate and provide transformational capabilities in technology, infrastructure and business operations, to enable CG organisations to create better connections and improve their consumer experience, operational efficiency and profitability.”CGT’s readers recorded their votes on the consumer goods industry’s preferred solutions and service providers across 12 categories, which reflect the vast landscape of IT investment opportunities available today.

Wipro’s Consumer Goods expertise spans areas of Packaged Application Services, Application and Infrastructure Management, Business Process and IT Consulting, Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing. Wipro’s dedicated Consumer Goods practice has deep expertise working with Tier 1 companies in the areas of Sales & Marketing, Value Chain Optimization, Digital Transformation, and Analytics driving Insights, across the Food & Beverage, Home & Personal Care, Apparel & Footwear and Agribusiness & Tobacco segments. Wipro provides Systems Integration, Consulting and BPO services, and some of Wipro’s leading solutions for the consumer goods industry include Promax Trade Promotion Management & Optimization solutions, Market Mix Modelling amongst others.

source: http://www.moneylife.in / moneylife / Home / January 30th, 2014