Visakhapatnam :

Their culture and cuisine is very different from that of Vizag and they account for just a small portion of the city’s population. However, the 300-400 Kannadigas, who are mostly concentrated in and around the Gurudwara junction in Vizag, have made the Port City their home.
The Kannadigas are chiefly employed in public sector undertakings such as the steel plant and banks, as well as enterprises such as the Railways and the Navy.

This culturally active community displays its rich traditions and heritage at the Kannada Kala Sangam in the city through programmes such as folk dance and theatre, including Yakshagana and Bhootkala, and also through the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi and Mosurukudike (Sri Krishna Janmashtami), with the world-famous Carnatic music featuring during festivals. Artistes are also flown in from Karnataka to perform at the Kannada Kala Sangam on special occasions, said Vijaya Kumar, the joint treasurer of the Sangam.

Vishnumurthy Bhat of Udupi in Karnataka, who is in the city for the last seven years and is employed with a nationalised bank, is the secretary of the Kannada Kala Sangam.

“I have extended my stay here by postponing my transfer because my children are studying in the city. Vizag has good schools and hence I’m not in a hurry to rush back to work at my native place,” said Bhat.

The Kannadigas are a floating population here and try to make the most of their stay in the city. “We get everything here except perhaps the Kannada cuisine in restaurants,” he quipped.

That is one of the few things that the Kannadigas, who are in love with the beauty of the city, miss — the cuisine from various parts of Karanataka such as Mangalorian food, Mysore sweets and Bangalore cuisine.

“Each part of Karnataka has its special cuisine, such as the neer dosa (wafer-thin dosa kneaded with water), kori roti (dry rice flakes in chicken gravy), semedaidya and of course the famous Mysore-Pak sweets. There are hardly any authentic Kananda eateries in the city,” lamented Mangalore’s D Deepak, an employee at a corporate house who has been in the city for the last four months.

“The food here is quite different from our part of the country. We use a lot of coconut and banana in our food, including the use of coconut oil. However, overall, I’m enjoying my stay in the city,” he said.

Though the culture and cuisine are vastly different, Kannadiga brother-sister duo B Madhushree and B Srinidhi are all praise for the city and her warm people.

“I could learn Telugu in less than a month because of its affinity with our language and I have many Telugu friends and neighbours who are warm-hearted, soft and polite. I also like the scenic beauty of this tourist place,” said Madhushree, a class eight student of Sri Satya Sai School and a Carnatic classical singer.

For her brother Srinidhi, an intermediate student, it’s the perpetual peace and clam prevailing in the city and non-congested roads that helps Vizag score over other cities. “I’ve been in the city since the fourth standard but have never seen any political unrest or major problems in the city. The city also has good academic institutions. However, the biggest turn-off is the industrial pollution, which is getting worse with each passing year,” said Srinidhi.

source:  http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Sulogna Mehta, TNN / March 31st, 2013

The author of Akshaya Netra, with name and fame in media circles for his lucid presentations about persons and events in which they figure, is in more than one sense the book’s ‘ghost author.’

On his own admission, he embarked upon the task of narrating about an individual who dared his visual impairment (being blind) by leading a life that mocked at the disability, having convinced himself that if he did not record what the central figure of his work, Prof. M.S. Venugopal, went through in life that would amount to a betrayal to the society. The narration in first person makes Venugopal the ‘true author’ of the work, but for his being sightless.

The author has captured the saga of life’s vicissitudes that the subject (Venugopal) of his book faced with aplomb by adopting the anecdotal route as narrated to him from memory. In that sense, the work is a hybrid case of an autobiography not actually written by its own author.

The crisp script presented in 10 concise sections generates a feeling in the reader that Venugopal is himself narrating his travails and ultimate successes in all his pursuits in a one-to-one communication. While his realisation of being sightless is told in a matter-of-fact outlook, his triumphs of achieving his goals in life are told with consummate humility.

The reader is served a sumptuous fare of details of innumerable occasions that Venugopal braved to the extent of visualising those trying occasions as crystal-clear graphics. Once begun, it is well-nigh impossible to put the book away until page 112, its last page.

Prof. Venugopal, now a familiar figure among the literati of Mysore, through the pen of his biographer Ravindra Bhatta, may be inclined to agree with the thought of this reviewer that his message to everyone in society is this: It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. The world may be full of suffering, but it can also be full of overcoming. Also, avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure to that danger (a quote from Helen Keller, the legendary deaf-blind icon). —BRS.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> Feature Articles / March 31st, 2013

The city was awash with colour and life came to a grinding halt as people celebrated Holi on Wednesday.

A festive mood prevailed in the city throughout the day. Shops, business establishments and hotels downed shutters, and public and private vehicles were off the road until evening, as youngsters and revellers took to the streets in the morning itself.

No untoward incident was reported anywhere in the district.

The government had not declared a holiday on Wednesday and attendance at its offices was thin.

Nationalised banks suspended operations for the day.

Competition

Bidar Special Correspondent writes:

Holi was celebrated with joy across the district on Wednesday. Some residents set up temporary shelters to provide drinking water to revellers. Several NGOs distributed buttermilk and lemon juice, while yuvak mandals put up tents and served snacks.

The members of a youth club organised a ‘dahi handi’ competition in the old city.

Official reception

Government employees gathered at Durga Darshini, the Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer’s residence, to play Holi.

There, they were met by Dr. Jaffer, Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer, and Sunil Panwar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, among others.

Bandeppa Kashempur, MLA, joined a group of Lambani women in their dance in the celebrations organised outside his house. Residents of villages and tandas in the taluk participated in the celebrations there.

Rahim Khan, MLA, played Holi with villagers who visited his house on Ring Road.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Gulbarga, March 28th, 2013

Tribute to music

The ESSAE Music foundation had organised music concerts – a veena and a vocal – by young artistes of Bangalore.

First Ashwin Anand opened his Veena recital with the Kambodhi swara jathi. It has charana and is practised on a daily basis by artistes of Mysore School. The Karnataka Kaapi Swara Jathi is known for its very difficult sangathies, set to khanda atha thala and ‘Ateetha Edupu’! ‘Neerajakshi’, the Saveri varna in jhampe thala is shining with datu swaras. The keertane ‘Inthashodha’ is one of the best compositions in the raga Rishabhapriya. He concluded his veena recital with the legendary jinjoti thillana. It was a classical treat sans gimmicks.

Impactful rendering

S Ramani and K S Giridhar, disciples of S Shankar, senior musician, opened their vocal with the Bhairavi swarajathi. ‘Mayamelara’, the Natakuranji varna in Khanda Triputa, was full of ‘Ragabhava’. ‘Rama Ninnu’, the Anandabhairavi keertana, was small in size but was rendered with good impact. ‘Nadiridiri Dheem’ – the Thodi thillana is a less-known composition and concluded with ‘Shiriye’ in jinjoti. These young artistes presented compositions of Veena Seshanna impactfully. M P Aditya on violin and B R Srinivas on Mridanga supported them.

Pleasing vocal

The Bangalore Ladies’ Association had organised music and dance programmes on Saturday evening in connection with its Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Triveni Saralaya and Kavitha Saralaya, popularly known as ‘Saralaya Sisters’, who gave a vocal duet, were accompanied on the violin by M S Govindaswamy, on mridanga by V S Rajagopal and on ghata by M A Krishnamurthy. Their opening piece itself had the right tempo and the ‘Akhilandeswari’, the popular kruthi on Devi, was also pleasing. Their treatment had a touch of class and the ‘Rama Rama Guna Seema’ reverberated with good sangathies.

With their good voices and neat presentation, they earned the appreciation of the assembly. ‘Hari Kunida Namma’ was lively and the ‘Maitrim Bhajata’ is a favourite patriotic song.

Hunnime Sangeetha

It was the turn of Dr Vaishaly this time to perform in the series ‘Hunnime Sangeetha’ at the ‘Kadu Malleswara Udyanavana’. Clear rendition of raga with subtle ambience and the subsequent aesthetic articulation for Rageshree showed her prowess and competence.

Her methodical approach to the raga (Vilambit Ek Taal and Drut Teen Taal) with an aesthetic touch brought a composite picture of the melody. A number of Kannada compositions – both devaranama and vachana – followed, with popular appeal. Maadi Maadi Kettaru (Basavanna), Aadalu Pogona Baro Ranga (Sripada Rajaru) Baraiah Ranga (Purandara Dasaru), Kayada Kattaleya (Akkamahadevi) – were bristled with melodious sangathies. Panchakshari Hiremath and Hanumanthappa Hugar accompanied on Harmonium and Thabala, respectively.

Evocative, crisp dance

Nirupama Rajendra, the popular dancer, who is well versed in both Bharathanatya and Kathak, gave a solo Bhara­t­h­a­n­atya recital. A Ganapathi Stuthi gave her a bright start. The opening, with Kannada lyrics, was followed by the well known ‘Mudaka Rathna Mo­d­a­kam’. She performed with gay abandon, in the ‘Lokadharmi’ beautifully.

The piece de resistance, however, was a piece from the ‘Kumara Sambhava’. The well-known story was depicted with lively visuals, and had crisp movement and of course was attra­c­ted by Karnas, a result of intense research by Dr Padma Subram­a­n­yam. The ‘Vatsalya Bhava’ was well-depicted in the evergreen devaranama ‘Jagadodd­a­rana’, dramatising the situations with visual appeal. The concluding thillana in Kadan­a­kutuhala (Dr M Balamurali Krishna) was crisp and evocative.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> Art Review / by Mysore M. Subramanya / April 01st, 2013