Retired Palace artist passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mysore, Dec. 23 :

The scholar of Mysore Traditional Painting M. Ramanarasaiah (91), who retired as a Palace artist, passed away at Vidyaranya Hospital in Chamundipuram here in the wee hours of today after a prolonged illness.

He leaves behind his wife Jayamma, two sons and six daughters. Among his children, Subba Narasimha, Chandrika Padmanabha and State awardee Sudha Venkatesh too have followed the footsteps of their father in Mysore Traditional Painting.

One of Ramanarasaiah’s daughters-in-law Suma Krishna is also an artist of Mysore Traditional Painting. A large number of artists, well-wishers and relatives paid their last respects to the departed soul at his residence in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage today. Last rites were performed at the foot of Chamundi Hill this noon.

A profile

Born in 1922, Ramanarasaiah is the son of Venkatanarasaiah, chamberlain and middle echelon revenue and administrative officer in the erstwhile princely State of Mysore. His mother was a housewife and named him after her father who had been a rich landowner.

Ramanarasaiah completed his SSLC in the then famous English medium high school in Mysore run by a Methodist Mission. At the time his favourite subject was science. Venkatanarasaiah wanted his son to become a doctor or a scientist. But the environment of his upbringing had cast on him a strong spell. While at school, he had kept up his study of painting. So with the conviction that no other pursuit would suit him, he decided to continue his education in a school of painting.

The Chamarajendra Technical Institute in Mysore was also famous as an art institute and was established in 1869 as a part of the Dept. of Handicrafts and Technology. In 1932, owing to the then Prince of Mysore and other distinguished persons of the day, a fine arts school was started as part of this Institute. Liked by his teachers and adored by his friends, Ramanarasaiah was shaped into a fine artist and by deeply ingraining in himself all about the world of art, a highly proficient Ramanarasaiah graduated with a first class in 1947. He then created a 5ft. high oil painting of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

During the days of royal patronage, he completed numerous oil paintings. The Maharaja presented these works to different royal families and notable persons. His paintings of kings and renowned persons are exhibited not only in Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery (28 paintings) but also in Mysore’s elite families and Mutts.

Among his finest creations is the 7’x12′ likeness in oil of the Maharaja’s last Durbar on display at Jaganmohan Art School. It gained a high status as an example of historical art.

He was appointed at the Jayachamarajendra School of Painting and worked hard for the school’s overall development from 1961 to 1978.

Ramanarasaiah’s works have been exhibited in Tirupati, many cities in India and abroad. He has been honoured with many titles like ‘Varna Chitra Kala Chatura’ by Vyasaraja Mutt. He was feted during the 1981 and 1993 Dasara; in 1993 Karnataka Lalithakala Academy honoured him.

He is the recipient of M.T.V. Acharya award for his contribution to art.

He mastered the Mysore & Tanjore traditional styles and trained about a thousand students, in the process becoming a scholar-artist, who dedicated himself for the phenomenal growth of Mysore traditional style.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / December 23rd, 2012

A man of CARacter

Business & Economy

On one hand, he parties hard, on the other, he is a man of business. A 27-year-old Bharat is a dual-faceted Gemini, heading the operations at Leo Motors. With his immense enthusiasm and dynamic persona, Bharat has become quite a success in what he does– selling Maruti Suzuki cars.

Hardly six months into business, Leo Motors has chalked out an impressive number by selling over 100 cars a month. “Our vision is to offer our customers the ultimate vehicle buying experience by providing the right motoring advice and support. Our focus is simple: To strive for 100% customer service. We provide information, advice and assistance customised to each individual client, whether they are purchasing their first car or upgrading to a bigger car,” he says. With a qualified team of sales and service executives, backed with state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive stocks of cars, workshops and on-site spare parts warehouses, Leo Motors offers customers an ideal car owner experience.

This success, however, comes with a lot of learning and hardships. Despite hailing from a family of businessmen, selling cars has remained an unexplored territory. “We started off with granite business, and slowly we got into car sales and it’s a whole new ballgame. We made mistakes and we are still learning,” says Bharat, who, unlike many young entrepreneurs, have celebrities as their role models. “My dad is my role model. I have seen him struggle. The troubles and traumas he had to undergo in running a business is the best lesson I have learnt. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon. I had to learn things the hard way,” he admits.

Despite being a thorough businessman, the young car dealer knows how to mix work and play.“While I don’t get much time for hobbies, I ensure that, at least on Saturdays, I am out with friends. I frequent City Bar and Sky Bar at UB City and dance to my heart’s content. I am also actively involved in bike rides and bike races and go on long rides with my friends,” says Bharat.

Although not an avid reader, Bharat does keep himself abreast of the new trends in the auto industry. “My employees are well-versed with the car industry. They share their observations and ideas with me. I think our dealership is a success only because of our employees,” he says. Highlighting the most interesting trend, Bharat says that people are no longer looking for high-end models. “Customers look for simple, affordable cars that can be used for the entire family. The focus today is more on entry and mid-level cars,” he says.

Ask him about his dream car and Bharat says: “I cannot wish for a car that can fly or that can be driven under the sea. But any day, I would love to own a Ferrari. I also love the cars in the James Bond and The Dark Knight series. Batman is my all-time favourite superhero. I wish I could get to drive the Batmobile,” laughs Bharat.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / Daily News & Analysis / Home> Money> Report / by Caroline Diana, Place: Bangalore, Agency:DNA / Wednesday, December 26th, 2012

Aeromodelling takes wings here

Education, Science & Technology

Hubli :

Students of BVB College of Engineering & Technology (BVB-CET) are learning the techniques of manufacturing an aircraft, helicopters and other safety measures to be incorporated in an aircraft.

The robotics and automation department of BVB College’s initiative has formed the Aeromodelling Club to provide a platform for engineering students to learn how to make aircraft models.

Students will not only get first hand information on how to make an aircraft, but will also be given a chance to create their own aircraft or helicopter by utilizing the available resources in the club and make it fly in their leisure time.

Taking advantage of the club, some students have already created 15-20 different aircraft models. Over 50 students have enrolled with the club and spend their weekends poring over aircraft models and plans.

Speaking to TOI, Chandrakant Narayan Shet, coordinator of Aeromodelling Club, said: “we set up the club with the intention of providing real time experience of making aircraft models to college students, club. Balsa wood, circuits, controller, transmitters, receiver and servo motors and other things are used to design the model aircraft.”

There is no fee to be a member of the club. “We are also planning to train students in making quarter copter which can be used to take aerial photographs or video graph,”Shet added. “Right now the training is for our students. We are ready to guide other college students,” he added.

Mahantesh Bali, 3rd semester student of robotics and automation department, BVB College said: “We get real experience while making of aero models. Recently, I designed a boomerang copter model with the help of the resources available in the club.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hubli / by Srinivas Reddy, TNN / December 27th, 2012

Sheraton Bangalore Hotel GM wins General Manager of the year award by Hotelier India

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All

Martin Wuethrich, GM, Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway was awarded as the General Manager of the Year-2012, upscale business hotel category at The Hotelier India Awards in Gurgaon, New Delhi. The Hotelier India Awards is a celebration of excellence; that recognizes individuals who have made a remarkable difference in the field of hospitality.

On receiving the award, Martin Wuethrich, GM, Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway said “Winning an award is always a very nice feeling. It is always good to know that your effort has been recognized. Our objective at Sheraton is to delight customers; this award re-iterates that we are working towards our strategic objectives.”

Representatives of 100 + hotels participated in the awards ceremony and the winners were chosen according to their contribution to the Hotels performance above and beyond their call of duty.  The judges reviewed stories of integrity, innovation, customer focus, responsibility, accountability and respect when selecting the winner for each category.

source: http://www.voyagersworld.in / Home / Monday, December 24th, 2012

UAS Raichur develops e-SAP tablet to check pest attacks

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Bidar :

Scientists at the University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS), Raichur, have developed a unique IT-enabled handheld device that will provide information to farmers  in real time on pest-related problems.

The device, Electronic Solutions Against Agricultaral Pests  (e-SAP), has a web-based application system which facilitates flow of information from the farmer to the farm scientist and back. “The idea behind creating e-SAP  was to help the extension worker, who is not an expert, to collect specimens right from the farmer’s field and send it to the scientists and experts in real time,” Prabhuraj A Associate Professor of Entomology at the College of Agriculture, UAS Raichur told PTI.

e-SAP will make the work of the extension service worker easy, enhance their efficiency and at the same time provide the farmers with solutions right in his field in real time, Prabhuraj, who has this technology, he added. “This technology targets one of the critical requirements of a crop cycle, pest management. e-Sap has features that can bring the farmer, extension worker, scientist and policy maker on the same plane, thereby, helping to find solutions that are more practical and in lesser time,” he said

e-SAP is currently being run on a pilot basis in Raichur district in Karnataka covering 4,000 farmers and about 10,000 hectares in 5 taluks since last year. “The technology is not very costly. We developed about 15 such tablets and the software for Rs 59 lakh. The costs of a single tablet is Rs 25,000, which can come down if it is produced on a mass scale,” Prabhuraj said.

e-SAP is unique in the sense that it has a voice-based application system, which guides the farmer and the extension worker in the local language about how to collect the data and the specimens, he added. That apart, it also allows the extension worker and the farmer to do a survey of the pest attack or related problems right in the field, which is then automatically synthesised in the form of graphs and tables along with the decision support intelligence.

Another highlight of e-SAP is the image-based model, that captures high quality images of pests and their symptoms and then guides the user in identifying the pest. This coupled with audio assistance makes it very easy to handle.

“There is an intuitively built pest specific survey to quantify the damage caused, which is based on images and also utilises the images captured by the extension worker from the affected field. This survey helps the expert is ascertaining the extent of damage and suggest remedies,” Prabhuraj said.

e-SAP devices provide continuous feed to the handheld devices with latest  farm technologies , modifications and recommendations, he added.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / Home> News> Technical> Hardware / PTI / December 25th, 2012

Unravel secrets about Tipu Sultan in Kere Thonnur

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

 

While a lake provides relief from the Mysore heat, temples at  Kere Thonnur  shed new light on Tipu Sultan’s legacy, shares, Arjun Kumar…

The inner sanctum of the Narayana temple was cloaked in inky darkness which my eyes could not penetrate. That did not deter the elderly priest from walking swiftly past me, his eyes either better accustomed to the dark or his soul more enlightened to see the Lord where I could not.

A moment after he entered the Lord’s chamber, the darkness was broken by a tiny spot of light. The spot quickly increased in size and intensity in the process dispelling darkness from all but the corners of the inner sanctum. If I sound a shade philosophical, put that down to to the influence of Kere Thonnur. I go into a region mentally preparing myself to find traces of  Tipu Sultan , a man who spent more time at war than at peace, and a man who – as some historians say – was a religious fanatic.

And then I tumble into Kere Thonnur. There is no trace of conflict here, no broken fortifications as there are in nearby Srirangapatnam and no tombs of warriors, old or new.

Instead, I drive past a mix of well-built houses and mud huts, glance quickly at what looks like an old wall on my right and go on to the hill yonder. It is a very short drive up the hill. On the way I pass a group of people happily splashing around under a mini waterfall. I find myself wondering what the source of the cascading water could be.

That question gets answered at the top of the hill for on the other side is a lake, an expanse of clear blue water. The water is clean, something quite remarkable in today’s age. On a weekend, there are a couple of dozen people milling about, enjoying the water and vista.

The cool water invites me to jump in for a swim and as I look around I find half-a-dozen people who accepted similar invitations and taken the plunge.

The water of the lake is deep in parts but there is no one to warn people to be careful. Instead, there is a partially submerged idol of  Nandi  – Shiva’s celestial bull – which looks ready to pray for your soul if you venture too far.

This place is called the Thonnur Lake, also known as the Tirumala Lake. That it is not crowded is because it has not been discovered by the residents of Bangalore and Mysore.

I go back to the village and this time, I drive slowly. And I stop at the place where I saw the old wall, leaving my vehicle to walk up for a closer look. I end up circumambulating the old wall on the track and find a huge gateway looming before me. It stands by itself at a distance from the wall, looking like part of a building block puzzle someone forgot to put in.

On the left is a gap in the wall, which is the doorway to a temple. This is the Krishna Gopal Swamy temple, one of several in Kere Thonnur dedicated to the God  Vishnu  or his incarnations.

Passing through that doorway, I find myself in a large courtyard at the centre of which is the main shrine. On my right is a pillared structure which looks like a shelter for devotees to gather. All around the inside of the old wall – which looms up to about 15 feet in height – runs a pillared corridor with small shrines at the corner. The most interesting feature of this temple is the set of drawings on the walls. These are outline drawings and not full paintings. Gods and goddesses, elephants and birds are all depicted here.

Unfortunately, the flaking of plaster from the walls has severely damaged some drawings while in other places, blurring of the outlines has caused the image to become barely visible.

Across the road from the Gopal Swamy temple is the Narayana temple. Like the former, this temple too has a high wall around it. The most striking feature of this temple is the solid stone pillar in front of it.

About 40 ft in height, the pillar has iconography representing Vishnu on all four sides. Between the pillar and the temple entrance is a small stepped tank, used for cleansing.

Of singular architectural importance in this temple is that the inner sanctum is protected by a wall at the back.

The space between the wall and the shrine thus forms a  parikrama  where devotees can move around the shrine in ceremonial prayer . Within the sanctum, the place comes alive when the priest lights a small lamp. As the flame gradually increases and touches the far corners of the sanctum, I look around in wonder at the idols tucked away into alcoves all around, forming a protective army for the main idol of Vishnu.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Life & Style> Travel / by Arjun Kumar, TNN / September 27th, 2012

A 17th century bell that continues to chime

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Mysore :

St Bartholomew’s Church , the oldest church in Mysore, is preserving a bit of history that dates back to the 17th century.

Bartholomew’s Church was established in 1830 for Europeans in the region. The single-storey church is known for its history and architectural qualities, but its fascinating association with the past is not quite well known.

A well-kept secret, the place of worship on the ever-busy Bangalore-Nilgiri Road is home to a relic from 17th century. The Church Bell which is still in use was cast in France in mid 17th century for the French Army Base Church  at French Rocks Erode village (now Pandavapur), some 25km from Mysore. After Mysore ruler  Tipu Sultan  was defeated in the war in 1799 and his ally, French Army, left from the area and the capital was moved to Mysore.

About 125 years later, the French Rocks church was broken down when Mysore administrators started building Irwin Canal (now Visvesvaraya canal). The dismantled materials from the church was gifted by the British Army to the then Chaplain Rev G A A Wright of this church. In this way, the majestic bell came to adorn this church, according to a stone plaque at Belfry of St Bartholomew’s church.

Some records claim that the church was reserved for European worshippers for sometime and British VIPs while they were touring the region. It is also said that governor general Lord William Bentinck while on visit to Mysore in 1834 visited this church.

Wilson Dev Prasad, a senior member of Bartholomew’s church, told TOI that before the present Belfry was constructed in front of the church in early 2000, the bell was at the rear end of the church.

According to the commemorative inscription, the foundation stone for the Belfry was laid on October 30th 2002 and was dedicated on December 30th, 2002, by Rev Dr C L Furtado, then Bishop of Church of South India, Karnataka Southern Diocesan. Rev Premkumar Soans was presbyter-in-charge of the church then.

Bartholomew’s Church presbyter-in-charge K P Devkumar says the bell is used every Sunday before the church service commences, during celebrations and marriages. He confirmed that the church bell is over two centuries old.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Mysore /  by Lawrence Milton & H M Aravind, TNN / December 08th, 2012

His 99th Xmas is coming

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

So you can understand when he finds the festival ‘stale’. Here he recalls the memorable ones to Khushali P Madhwani

Ashley Homes is an old age home situated on an isolated street in Horamavu. It is here that I met, Allan Arthur Wash, seated in the sunny verandah of the home, with an edition of Bangalore Mirror in hand. He was following the story of the “Chinese making a move on the Japanese” – it must’ve brought back old memories for he spent three years in a Japanese prison as a soldier.

Ramrod straight, an open smile and twinkling eyes match is suave self dressed in clothes as neat and crisp as rice paper. “I was always told to patch up your clothes, polish your shoes and dress your hair,” reminisces this retired army officer. And he’s been following it for the last several decades.
Wash was born in Madras on March 13, 1914. Yes, he has an elephantine memory and can rattle of time, date and year without any difficulty. He lost his father when he was a boy. His mother couldn’t support him and his sister, so he was sent to a “home in Madras called Civil Orphan Asylum” where he could “live and study too. I studied in this school till 1923.” Christmases were mostly spent in the hostel. “On Christmas day we would be served pulao, chicken, sweet, fruit custard and bread pudding.”
At 17, he began working as a telephone operator. “We had to plug the receiver and shout loudly and people would scream loudly to us. I couldn’t do it,” Wash recalls. Two years later, Wash joined the army. Today four medals – Campaign medal, star medal, victory medal and independent medal – keep him company, reminding of the bygone days.
After his stint in Bangalore, he was posted in Malay, Singapore. In 1924, he was captured by the Japanese and remained imprisoned for the next three years. “The Christmas I spent in captivity was a poor Christmas,” says Wash.”I remember eating maize and palm oil.” After three years of incarceration, he returned to India. “I lived in Hyderabad for sometime before moving to Bangalore. “The Bangalore today is not the same as I remember it. As I see it, it is the dirtiest city in the country,” he says. Wash today receives 30,000 as pension, which he passes on to his 62-year-old daughter who cares for him. “At this age what should I buy and what should I spend it on? The Lord has kept me free from wants,” he says.
While in the army, Wash married Pamela in Mysore. He had four girls and four boys. After retiring from the army, Wash worked at Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore. “I didn’t like civil life. Today, the civil officers are highly corrupt,” he says. In 1962, the government gave Wash eight acres of land on which he built a house. His family stayed with him on this farmhouse till 1978. “Some of Pamela’s people, her brothers and sisters joined us in the farm in 1971 for a memorable Christmas. “They made sweets. We had all kinds of meat dishes…” recalls Wash. But, his all-time favourite Christmas meal, he says, will always be the custard and roast chicken prepared by his wife. Oh, yes and he also remembers what she wore on the Christmas of 1968, “She wore a gorgeous red and black checked plaited dress stitched by a good ladies tailor from Goa.” That Christmas, Wash’s eight children and grandchildren joined them in the celebrations. When the kids were little, they would set up a tree at home, decorate it and give their Rugrats gifts. “The girls got dolls and the boys got toy trains,” he says.
In 1975, Wash spent Christmas in Mysore with an Anglo Indian German gentleman and his brother, who threw a grand party for all friends. The hosts were dear friends of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, who looked after them. “Srikantadatta Wadiyar was a little boy then. I got some novels and something to take home… I think it was a vase,” says Wash. In 1986, Wash and Pamela entered Little Sisters of the Poor in Mysore. After nine days his wife passed away. Like last year, even this year, Wash intends on going to his daughter’s house for Christmas to be with his children and grand children.
“Christmas has become stale because it is the same thing over and over again. It is the same meal, same recipe only the environment and company changes,” says Wash. Celebrating 99 Christmases will get to me too, I guess /
source: http://www.BangaloreMirror.com / Home> Sunday Read> Special> Story / by Khushali P Madhwani / December 23rd, 2012

Kannadigas from America treat theatre buffs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's

‘Ranga Dhwani’ from LA is staging two plays in city

When the stage at Dhvanyaloka here on Saturday was opened for theatre connoisseurs, it was not just an usual weekend feature, but unveiling of talent of non-resident Indian (NRI) Kannadigas.

Ranga Dhwani, a theatre troupe from Los Angeles, USA, led by Vallish Shastri, is staging plays in the city of palaces. What could endear them to the theatre buffs is, it’s also their maiden performance here.

English novels

‘Tirugetu’, a Kannada adaptation of James Hadley Chase’s ‘There is always a price tag’ and ‘Yamana Call Centre’ are being staged. ‘Tirugetu’ was staged at Dhvanyaloka on Saturday at 7 pm. On Sunday, they will be staging ‘Yamana Call Centre’  at JSS Women’s College, Saraswatipuram at 11 am and  Dhvanyaloka on Bogadi road at 7 pm.
Professionals

Vallish, who was supervising the arrangements for the show, told Deccan  Herald, his six-member troupe was eager to showcase their skills on stage. The artistes here are professionals from different backgrounds, but wedded to the field of art.
Vallish, a native of Hassan, is a software engineer who has his own IT firm ‘V3 Consultants’ in LA.

He had his nursery in acting at Benaka Troupe in Bangalore and for eight years there was no stopping him. In the year 1989, he flew to West Asia and stayed in Saudi Arabia for eight years.

He was also away from his tryst with stage. However, he renewed his ties with stage when he moved to New Jersey. After three years, he shifted to LA, where for the past 12 years he has remained fully active on the stage.

Schedule

Says Vallish; one play in a year has been their schedule and till now have staged 10 plays, including a children’s drama ‘Govina Kathe’ based on ‘Punyakoti’. ‘Jo Kumaraswamy’, ‘Paschaththapa’, ‘Yamana Call Centre’, ‘Hollywoodnalli Yama’, ‘Tirugetu’, ‘Krishna Sandhana’ are among others. ‘Yamana Call Centre’ is a take on the IT-BT life and is loaded with comedy.

“Mysore was on our mind for long, but time was the only hindrance”, explains Vallish. It was due to Srinath Vashishta, an actor on small screen who has his own Kala Vedike Trust, and Mandya Ramesh of Natana, Ranga Dhwani is in the city.

The other members of the troupe; Kannadigas settled in LA are physician Dr Kavita
Kotrappa, Somashekar, chief manager with a finance company dealing with stocks, and Girish Kannalli a software engineer, all hailing from Bangalore, Jagannath, a civil engineer from Hassan, and Vidya, wife of Vallish, having her roots in Shimoga.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> District / Mysore, DHNS / December 22nd, 2012

Karnataka tops in online shopping

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Bangalore, Dec 20 (TruthDive) :

Karnataka topped the list of users who shopped online.

Google India search results reveal that Karnataka web users spent more time on the web for utilitarian services and the visual web in the country when compared to Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal according to searches conducted in India featured in Google India annual Zeitgeist.

The highest searches show a growing interest by the residents of Karnataka in ‘Flipkart’, ‘online shopping’ and ‘online recharge’ with HQ in Bangalore. Flipkart services are featured in the top three fastest rising keywords in Karnataka.

Tripura, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Pondicherry and Orissa users used the keywords online shopping more despite them having few offline retail stores. Bangalore was pushed back by Bhubhaneswar and Vizag to search for online shopping. It searched ‘online shopping India’, ‘online mobile shopping’, and ‘shoe online shopping’.

Smartphones and tablets are what Bangalore spends searching for most of the highest amount of time online. Dell laptop, iBerry tablets, Nikon and Canon’s digital camera and Samsung TV sold the most.

On eBay it was Sony with 20% of market share across the televisions.

eBay takes 43 minutes to sell a TV but a tablet sells every 11 minutes and a mobile handset sells every two minutes.

Models and budgets provide customers of eBay India’s range of gadgets easy access to the best deals.

Sales have gone up by 27% in this quarter in non-metros where it fills in distribution gaps in their city. E-commerce is said to replace direct selling in coming months. Meanwhile, the Government has put the e-commerce firms under scanner to known about their investors.

E-commerce firms in India are suspected to be acting as retail agents for brands abroad and doing business much before FDI in multi-brand retail was approved. ED has already sent notices to these firms.

source: http://www.truthdive.com / Home> Business> Exclusive> Headlines> News / by Ayyappa Prasad / December 20th, 2012