The World of the Kannadiga

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Roopa Iyer has taken on the job of representing the state at the World Kannada Conference in London in August this year. Will this be another contentious event?

Yet another Kannada conference at yet another venue. Coming up in London on August 27 and 28 is the World Kannada Conference 2011 — Europe. It is being organised by Sangama, an association of NRIs living in Europe. As Karnataka representative for the conference Roopa Iyer, classical dancer, actor and filmmaker, will decide on participating artists and the culture extravaganza.The sammelana has listed some serious aims too. It will explore how non-resident Kannadigas of Europe can contribute to the economic growth of Karnataka. It will raise funds to build Kannada Bhavana in UK and support Kannada schools at Karnataka. So far, Puneeth Rajkumar and Ramya have been roped in as brand ambassadors. We spoke to Roopa on being part of the event.

There have been many Kannada sammelanas — small and big — of late. How will this be different?
This will be the first of its kind in Europe. And we have good causes —the Kannada Bhavana will act as a centre for spreading Kannada art and culture and also house a library of Kannada books. We will give a boost to Kannada schools in the state. Also, we will target youngsters as it’s the younger generation which carries forward a legacy.

Showcasing Karnataka’s art and culture effectively is a tough job.
We are bringing together the State’s senior-most artistes in films, literature, sports, dance and music — people who are truly responsible for building the current-day culture of Kannada. We are not going to project only young celebrities.

Often such conferences are fraught with rivalry and bickerings. There is also criticism that accomplished artists who are not aggressive about self-promotion tend to lose out in the race for representation.
Proper planning, time-management and taking care that each guest gets due respect, sufficient time and a proper platform will avoid such problems. As for artists, we are looking out for genuine achievers, grassroots workers and unselfish personalities who have contributed to the richness of Kannada culture.

Many Indian cultural events held abroad (this one’s in London) are viewed as an excuse for a foreign jaunt rather than serious promotion of art.
I agree, this happens. We can’t question such people if they come as part of the audience. But our guests — people whom we will invite and take with us — will be genuine achievers. We will invite about 400 persons. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his son Raghavendra have already agreed to support and attend the sammelana.

source: http://bangaloremirror.com / by Aruna Chandaraju / Wednesday Mar 23rd, 2011

The hyphen in Indo-American

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, , , , , , , , , ,

A K Ramanujan strode both the English and Kannada worlds of literature with equal ease. Coming up is a collection of his works in Kannada

 

Is it more than that or is it only my love of words/when his photos move and words cry/ and the coffee house acts as the centre stage where folks make love eating apple pie/and his absent presence defines silence that speaks.

This is one of the poems I wrote while trying to come to terms with A K Ramanujan’s sudden, shocking death on 13 July 1993. His ‘absent presence’ continues to define silence. And he taught me to listen when  silence speaks.

Thirteen years later, Manohara Granthamala has brought out his Collected Works in Kannada (686 pages, Rs 500).

That’s almost 10 years after his Collected Works and Unpublished Works was released in English. In 2003, poet and close friend of AKR, Aravind Krishna Mehrotra, explored Looking for A K Ramanujan in the book A History of Indian Literature in English.

I remember sharing with Mehrotra that with AKR, there is NO language divide; his poems, writings, translations in English and Kannada are one continuous thread and some ideas first taking birth in one language, then take form in another language. Just as some thoughts stayed with him through time and one can see him pondering over it, again and again, and finally coming to a totally different conclusion.  In fact, it gives me a sense of freedom to pick up a thought from my Kannada poem and present it in a totally different dimension in English.

Never a translation
When they ask me at poets’ meets to name the ‘original’ Kannada poem whose translation I am reading, I feel at a loss because it is not a ‘straight’ translation of the Kannada poem but something totally new. AKR’s poems are like that. For instance, if he is talking about a Jain monk in a Kannada poem, in English he would present it in a different manner. It can never be termed a translation.

Hence, the Collected Works of A K Ramanujan should include English and Kannada works, where they speak to one another, reflect, support or start a dialogue of sorts. That is how he wanted a collection to be. He had once told me to “arrange the poems in a collection where the poems engage in a dialogue and each page is a continuation of the previous one even though they carried different poems. The different poems are nothing but pauses in a conversation.”

We wrote letters to each other in poems. Those were the pre-internet, pre-satellite phone era and after writing a letter and posting it, one had to wait for seven days for it to reach and another seven days to get a reply. If he was travelling, it would take another couple of weeks more. The pauses were longer than the conversations. But they were definitely intense.

Way ahead
Reading AKR now would make many a younger poet feel he was way ahead of his time in terms of thought, style, structure and use of language.  That is precisely why the Collected Works is much needed. His collections were sold out so quickly that even in those days, one had to look for a copy and came away disappointed many times. There was nothing flashy about his books. They were just like him – simple and elegant.  His Hokkulalli Hoovilla (No Flower in the Lotus), Mattu itara kategalu (And Other Poems),  Kuntobille (Hopscotch) and a novella Mattobbana Atma Charitre (Someone Else’s Autobiography) were not bulky in size but massive in content.

They called him ‘the hyphen in the phrase Indo-American.’ His colleague Walter Hauser described AKR as ‘a man of rare gentleness, of a deep and sensitive humanity.’  It is just one accurate description. There are several others.  Professor U R Ananthamurthy always refers to AKR as his ‘Guru’.  AKR invited Chandrashekhar Kambar to Chicago.

Right start
Once he read a poem of mine which was published in a Deepavali special edition,  much appreciated by others, and pointing his finger somewhere after 10 lines, he said, “Your poem starts here!”

In his last letter, he had written a poem about death. He wondered “who knew the electricity would go just as we were beginning to look into each other’s faces.”  We are still grouping in the dark.

Collected Works : A K Ramanujan will be launched in the first week of July in Bangalore by Manohara Granthamala

 

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / by Prathibha Nandakumar / Lounge / Fri Jun 24th, 2011

 

Surgery Pumps New Life Into Her

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Wockhart doctors perform rare operation that helps 13-year-old girl’s left ventricle pump more blood to the body

 

Looking at her sitting with quiet dignity, facing the glare of harsh lights, you would never guess what her tiny heart has been through.

Indira, 13, a farmer’s daughter from Kodagu, was born with her heart on the right side of her body, while the heart’s pumping chambers and arteries had got inter-changed.

She got a ‘new life’ after Dr Devananda from Wockhardt Hospital and his team performed three surgeries her – all within a year which has worked miracles for the child.

Ever since she was a year old, Indira used to fall sick frequently. She made trips to many hospitals, where she was prescribed medicines for for ailment. When she grew older, she had difficulty in breathing and used to turn blue after even after a little work.

Options open

Fortunately, Dr Devananda met her and explained to her family that surgery was the only chance for her survival.
Indira’s heart was unable to pump blood to the entire body as her ventricles had got interchanged. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs and the left ventricle to the rest of the body. As her left ventricle wasn’t strong enough to pump blood at required pressure, doctors had to train her heart by creating obstructions in the blood flow to increase blood pressure.

There have been only a handful of cases in the world where the ventricle has been trained to pump blood after the age of 12. As her parents could not afford the surgery, the Needy Heart Foundation stepped in along with Wockhardt Hospitals to facilitate the same. The final step, the ‘double switch’, was completed successfully. The girl was on artificial ventilation for two weeks as she had developed pneumonia after her surgery, on May 26 this year. Before the final surgery, doctors had given her a 25-50 per cent chance of survival. But Indira insisted she wanted the surgery and her parents relented.

Dr Prakash Vemgal, who monitored her after surgery till her discharge, spoke about how, after the tubes were removed from Indira’s mouth and she could speak, she told doctors that her birthday was on June 16.  A surprise party was arranged for her and she cut the cake.

After speaking to the press, she quietly left with her mother in an autorickshaw.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / Monday, Sept 22nd, 2008

 

A Prestigious Fellowship for her Skills

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A photo of an Asian Open-bill Stork by Nikitha. 

A photo of an Asian Open-bill Stork by Nikitha.

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) of London has picked N.V. Nikitha from Mysore for a fellowship for her skills in the nature category.

The honour is doubly special for Nikitha because her father, N.T. Vijayakumar, a forest official, who is the Deputy Director of the Chamarajendra Zoological Garden (Mysore zoo), got an RPS fellowship a year ago.

“I would never have become a photographer, but for my father’s encouragement,” Nikitha, who has finished her final B.Com examination, told The Hindu.

More than 15 pictures of birds shot by her were sent to the RPS by an agency of the RPS in Bangalore in January 2011. And, on March 23, 2011, she was informed that she had been chosen for the honour.

The distinction that young Nikitha has got is laudable also because only 11 persons in the world are chosen by RPS for it.

This year, of the 11, four from Karnataka have got the RPS honour, and Nikitha is one of them. The other three are Siddarth Malik, Ramu Mastaiah and Hanumantha Ramakrishnaiah.

Mr. Vijayakumar said that Nikitha was only the third woman photographer from the country in the nature category to have won the RPS honour. The others were Devi in the late 1970s and Asha Jaykumar in 2000.

Nikitha attributes her passion for nature photography to her father. When Mr. Vijayakumar was the Assistant Conservator of Forests at Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary in 2003, Nikitha started watching birds.

Then in 2005, she followed it up with bird photography.

There was no stopping her afterwards as she went on a photography spree from 2005 to 2010 touring Hesaraghatta in Bangalore, Attiveri Bird Sanctuary in Haveri district, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near here, various parts of Kodagu and the Karanja Nature Park here.

About the international recognition for her photography skills, she says, “It is again my father who coaxed me to apply for the international recognition.”

Nikitha has taken the pictures of Asian Open-bill Stork, Black Kite, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Spoonbill, Great Cormorant, Kestrel, Great Thick-knee, Little Egret, Paddyfield Pipit, Little Grebe, Pied Kingfisher, Purple Swamphen, River Tern, Spot-billed Duck and Spot-billed Pelican.

Nikitha, besides pursuing her passion for photography, also wants to take up MBA.

Her father got the Royal Photographic Society fellowship a year ago

source: http://thehindu.com / by Jeevan Chinnappa /National / Karnataka / Mysore / Jun 08th,2011

A Lake and its Many Legends

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A lake, in the vicinity of a temple built for the Pandavas and Draupadi in Sullia taluk, is surrounded by many legends, dating back to episodes from the Mahabharatha. The area also makes for a great getaway, reports Ronald Anil Fernandes
Epic connotations: The 31 forms of the serpent god found near the serene ‘Yaksha Sarovara’. Photos by the authorTemples for gods and demi-gods dot the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The coastal region has umpteen structures dedicated to a plethora of gods and goddesses. 

Apart from many temples dedicated to a variety of gods (devasthanas), the region is well-known for temples dedicated to demi-gods (daivasthana). The region has a temple dedicated to Koti-Chennaiah (also known as garadis), a temple for the sun god and one for Mahatma Gandhi too.

A unique daivasthana is the temple where the Pancha Pandavas and Draupadi are worshipped. Idols of the five Pandavas (Yudhishtira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva) and Draupadi are worshipped at the temple.

All the six idols, a satya kallu (the stone of truth), yaksha peeta (the seat of yaksha) and 31 nagana kallu (various forms of the serpent god carved in stones) were found in the same area just a few years ago.

Localites chanced on the idols when they were working in an arecanut plantation. They found three stones dedicated to the serpent god. When they dug up the place, they found a total of 31 stones pertaining to the serpent god, two stones pertaining to the yaksha peeta, the stone of truth and six idols. Then they decided to hold an ashtamangala prashne following which a daivasthana was constructed in 2008.

‘Yaksha kere’

Though the Sri Krishna Yaksha Pandava Nagabrahma Kshethra at Keddotte (‘kedu’ means tank and ‘oate’ means a kind of bamboo) in Kunthoor village (believed to be the village where Kunthi lived), about eight kms from Alankar on Uppinangady-Subrahmanya road, was constructed in 2008, a lake located next to the Kshethra has a long history.

The lake, which once measured 60 acres, has today been reduced to 11 acres, because of silt accumulation. Localites Vishwanath and Shivaprasad point out that here is a belief that those who are suffering from skin diseases will be cured if they use the water.

Legend has it that when the Pandavas lived in the forest adjacent to the lake, a deer took away the stick used to make fire from a sage’s home (also in the forest) with its antlers. Then, he requested the Pandavas to trace the deer and get back the stick. The Pandavas followed the hoof marks of the deer throughout the day and strayed deep into the forest.

Yudhishtira , the eldest of the Pandavas, wanted to drink some water before carrying on the chase any further. Sahadeva, the youngest brother volunteered to fetch the water.

He spotted a lake nearby. When he approached the lake, he heard a voice (of a Yaksha) which told him that he would die if he drank water without answering his questions.

However, Sahadeva did not bother and drank the water from the lake and died. The other brothers too are said to have died in a similar manner. On seeing that all his four brothers were missing, Yudhishtira went in search of his brothers, to find them all dead.

However, as he answered all the questions that the Yaksha posed to him, he is believed to have brought back all his four brothers alive. Hence the name ‘Yaksha Sarovara’ (also known as Visha Sarovara).

There are other stories too pertaining to this lake, and according to one such story, there is a treasure in the lake and the snakes guard it.

Though the State government has promised Rs one crore to de-silt the lake and spruce up the area around it, villagers feel that it may require around Rs five crore to safeguard the lake and retain its historical significance.

Fear of submergence

Till not so long ago, Kurumbi Anekattu Parisaravadigala Horata Samithi President Padmanabha Gowda and the rest of the villagers were worried that the lake may be lost if the proposal to construct a dam across River Kumaradhara is implemented. Following the recent High Court order against hydel power projects in Western Ghats, their fears have been allayed.

The river, Kumaradhara, flows about one kilometre away from this lake and the region is filled with huge rocks. There is a long black mark on one of the rocks and villagers believe that it was an impression made by Draupadi’s saree when she dried her saree there.

Perabe Gram Panchayat’s Vasanth Gowda said that a lot of fish (kari meen) are found in the lake at certain times of the year. Apart from the many legends around the lake, the surroundings of the ‘Yaksha Sarovara’ (Visha Sarovara, Keddotte) as well as the banks of River Kumaradhara, make for a great place to unwind. You can lose yourself in the backdrop of the lake and the chirping of birds and the sounds of the breeze.

The region once ruled by Ballals and later occupied by Malekudiyas is today peopled by local Gowdas. There are 14 houses in the vicinity and all the families are related to each other.

How to get there

Travel via Uppinangady (60 kms from Mangalore and 300 kms from Bangalore) and take a turn towards Subrahmanya. You will reach Alankar, a small town, about seven kms from the highway (NH-48). Continue on the same road for about four kms till you get a small board that indicates the way to Keddotte. If you travel for four kms on the bumpy, mud road in the dense forest, you will arrive at a fork.

The path to the left takes you to the Yaksha Sarovara and the daivasthana while the one on the right takes you to River Kumaradhara. Take the help of local people, or chances are you might get lost in the forest.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / by Ronald Arun Fernandes / supplements / Spectrum / Travel /

Kodagu Celebrates Arjun’s Selection as Hockey Captain

Leaders, Sports, , , , , , , , ,
Arjun Halappa, lad from Kodagu will lead the Indian Hockey team in the Sulthan Ajhlan Shah Cup hockey tourney to be held in Malaysia, next month.
Indian Hockey team captain Arjun HalappaIt is after several years that a Kodava will be leading the Indian Hockey and with this selection, Kodagu district has a reason to celebrate as hockey has been an inseparable part of Kodagu culture. 

Arjun is the son of B K Halappa and Pramila from Somwarpet. Arjun has been playing in the hockey team for the last 11 years.

With Arjun Halappa leading the team, he becomes the 6th Kodava to lead the India Hockey team, after M P Ganesh, B P Govind, M M Somaiah, B P Subramani and A B Subbaiah.

Basking over his son’s achievement, proud father B K Halappa speaking with the reporters said that he was sure that his son would get the opportunity to lead the Indian team one day or the other.

Mother Pramila, recalling Arjun’s childhood days, said that he used to take part in school-level hockey tournaments and had led the team at various levels. “I am sure he will excel as the captain of Indian Hockey team. It is a big responsibility but I have great confidence that he will do his duty with all dedication,” said Pramila.

Arjun’s wife Bhavana expressing her feeling said that Arjun has gained lot of experience after being in the team for 11 years and captaincy for him can be a platform to revive the glory of the national game.

However, the hockey fans who have always felt that Arjun should have been selected as the captain long back, still have a reason to rejoice because it is better late than never.

 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / DHNS / Somwarpet / April 07th, 2011

 

 

Making Mark at Natl Circuit

Sports, , , , ,
Tennis Having won three singles and doubles titles in the last two months, Vasisht Cheruku of Mysore is sure to top the national rankings, observes Manish
Vasisht Cheruku practising at the Nagaraj Tennis Centre, Mysore. Dh photo by Anurag Basavaraj“ Nothing can be a substitute for hard work. I had to put in the time to get back. And it was a grind. It meant training and sweating out every day. But I was completely committed to working out to prove to myself that I still could do it,” were the words of legendary tennis player and former world number one Andre Agassi that could serve as an inspiration to a budding tennis player from the city, Vasisht Cheruku. 

Having won the ‘Ramesh Desai Memorial Tournament’, a national title tournament held in Mumbai recently, Vasisht has made his presence felt in the Under-12 and Under-14 categories.

Speaking to City Herald, Vasisht’s coach and mentor R Nagaraj pointed out the lad had a powerful forehand that could help him reach the top of the national rankings to be announced by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).

Stellar performances

Ranked third in the country in the Under-12 category, Vasisht will be hoping to reach the top spot in the coming month, with his stellar performances during the past two months.
Vasisht has emerged champion in three singles and doubles titles each in the seven tournaments held during the last two months.

He also surged ahead  to two singles finals and one doubles final. Vasisht has won the Championship Series organised in May 2011 at Mumbai and also the Under-12 singles and doubles title at the Super Series organised by Harvest Tennis Club in Jassowal, Punjab.

However, his biggest success has been being runner-up at the Asian Ranking Tennis Tournament in the Under-14 category beating the likes of Escobar Moises of UAE, S Gokul of Tamil Nadu and Udayan Bhakker of Rajasthan.

Vasisht has won several doubles titles teaming up with Sumit Pal Singh of Jammu and Kashmir.

Strength

While Vasisht’s strength lies in playing on hard court, Nagaraj said that the upcoming tennis player has been working hard in improving his game in backhand.

Nagaraj mentioned that his serve has also been the focus of practice sessions at the Nagaraj Tennis Centre. Assistant coach Deepak Kumar said Vasisht has the ‘fighting spirit’ needed to win titles, he has emerged winner even after being a set down.

Vasisht said that he has the continuous support of his father Vinod Reddy and mother Asha.  However, he said, his major improvements in the game has been due to coach R Nagaraj and assistant coach Deepak Kumar.

Asked about his role model in tennis, Vasisht named 16 Grand Slam singles title winner Roger Federer as his favourite.

 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / by Manish / Mysore City Herald

 

 

Common Man’s “Sweet” Doctor of Mysore

Leaders, Science & Technology, , , ,
service Physician Dr V Lakshminarayan who has received wide acclaim for his research publications in international journals is a common man’s doctor in city. Through his selfless service, he is a household name in Mysore, writes Eswar Singh K R
Dr V Lakshminarayan being felicitated at a programme organised by Mysore Clinical Society on the occasion of the release of his book on diabetes and its effects at a programme, in Mysore. dh photoDiabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The sedentary lifestyle and food habits are increasing the risk factors for the younger population to become prone to diabetes, even as more youngsters are found positive for high level of blood sugar. 

One name that is synonymous with diabetes in Mysore is Dr V Lakshminarayan’s. For more than three decades,  Dr Lakshminarayan is treating patients with diabetes and at the same time doing his study on the patterns of diabetes, its effects and finding ways to improve the health of diabetics. A majority of his study has been published in reputed journals in India and abroad.

Lakshminarayan was presented Vaidya Rathna award in recognition of his service in the medical field.

His study on Efficacy of Safety of Valsartan in Preventing the Progression of Nephropathy in Indian diabetes miletus patients received wider acceptance, including from American Diabetes Association.

Talking to City Herald, Dr Lakshminarayan said Microalbuminuria (MAU), the condition where the albumin exceeds 30 mg in urine requires attention. It is the earliest clinical sign of diabetes nephropathy. Many studies suggest that MAU is an independent risk factor for both cardiovascular disease, CKD and ESRD.

Over a period of 10-15 years, the improper treatment of diabetes is bound to affect kidney, which can lead to the end-stage renal disease. “Once a patient reaches ESRD,  medicine will not be of much use. The patient has to either undergo dialysis twice a week or have to go for the transplantation of kidney.

Therefore, early treatment is necessary to prevent ESRD detecting MAU in early stage by Micro Albuminuria test,” says Dr Lakshminarayan.  The 68th scientific session of American Diabetes Association held at Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, Los Angeles, United States in 2009 declared that the study was beneficial in preventing progression of diabetes nephropathy at the stage of micro albuminuria in DMT patients.

The ADA journal also published Lakshminarayan’s study which  said that no adverse effects were found in any patients treated with Valsartan for 16 weeks.   Dr Lakshminarayan has also made elaborate study on relationship between diabetes and sexual dysfunction and other subjects.

He was the personal physician for Rashtrakavi Kuvempu for about a decade. Though, Kuvempu was not a diabetic, Dr Lakshminarayan treated him for hypertension and other general old-age related health disorders. “The service that I rendered for Kuvempu will be an unforgettable memory in my life,” the physician says.

Dr Lakshminarayan who currently runs Shreehari Diabetes Foundation on Anikethana Road in Kuvempunagar has served in various capacities in State government and in medical education field. He is widely regarded as common man’s doctor due to his selfless service in medical field. Lakshminarayan, who is a lifetime member of American Diabetes Association is invited as the honorary delegate for the annual ADA conference to be held at United States next week.

 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / by Eswar Singh K R / June 20th, 2011/ Mysore City Herald

 

 

Postal Van that Runs on Power

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, , , , , , , , , ,

BANGALORE:

Campuses across the country could run electric postal vans  if the department of science and technology (DST) makes IISc’s innovative electric postal van a model. Researchers at IISc’s Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing are excited by the idea of approaching DST while already having approached a few private companies to commercialize their in-house product.
To keep IISc campus green and clean and save energy, which can be the case with all campuses in the country, researchers led by Prof Anindya Deb have designed an electric postal van that will begin operations in two months time.

Deb explains the van is special for two reasons. “The van has been made based on the unique space frame body design. In simple terms, it is a lightweight van made out of aluminium tubes integrated through innovative engineering. The aluminium tubular frame keeps the van very light. There is no use of steel, a feature of conventional vehicles. The van is also special because it runs on battery __ an electric motor powers the van which makes it an eco-friendly product too.”

The van, named Vidyut, is 4 metres long and weighs around 800 kg. The batteries weigh 300 kg. “To offset weight of the batteries, we have used lightweight aluminium to design the van. An 800 kg vehicle spread over 4 metres makes it light,” Deb explains. For every battery charge, the van runs 60-70 km and can be charged once in three-four days if used within campus. The van approximately costs Rs 5-6 lakh.

The van is a boon to IISc as the existing van has postal boxes which are at a height of almost 6-6.5 feet making it very difficult to reach out. The new van is at the height of a car __ around 4 feet __ and has 100 mail boxes inside it ensuring easy reach.

Funded by IISc, the design of the van, which took five years, is a dream come true. “We made this van with less than 10 people. We have a workable product with virtually no manpower. We are not a company and we don’t have the privilege of having hundreds of engineers. We’re researchers primarily and not product manufacturers,” Deb explains.

Can the van be used in the city and can it be commercialized? “The van is a real product. It can be modified to run in the city, which requires certification from the automotive institute in Pune and the regional transport office concerned. Technically speaking it can be run on the roads.

“We have in fact driven the van in the city when we needed to get the paint job and maintenance work done. It performed like any other conventional vehicle. We have also run it inside the campus. The vehicle is primarily meant to be run inside campuses and can be replicated in campuses around the country.

“We have approached some companies on commercialization. In fact Ratan Tata  had evinced interest and I even drove him around campus. But what we need is support to market and commercialize it as I and my team are primarily academics,” Deb says.

The team is securing insurance for the van to offset damage. This being an experimental, research van, it has a permit from RTO to be run without registration within campus. It will need to pass certification tests and registration to run outside. The van has successfully run simulation tests for crash worthiness.

QUOTE CORNER

“A literature survey we did indicates the design of this van is special. It is not seen everywhere in the world. To that extent we have attempted a product different from existing ones.”

__ Anindya Deb

MAIL BOX

Innovation: Lightweight aluminium electric postal van

How it works: Battery-driven, runs 60 to 70 km

Utility: Can be used as postal van in all campuses

Cost: Around Rs 5-6 lakh

The Team: Anindya Deb conceptualised and designed the van, technician Eaganathan did mounting works, Sigbathullah fabricated mail boxes, S K Sinha looked into electricals, N D Shivakumar took care of fabrication and a host of students helped

OTHER FACTS

* Van will make two rounds __ morning and evening __ deliver and collect mail from and to a central point in the campus

* Mail boxes have numbers indicating the departments/centres to which mail is delivered and collected

* Van will deliver and collect internal mail between departments and external mails

* Van has been derived from the original plan and concept of a small car project undertaken by two students, funded by IISc, private company Hydro Aluminium and Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

* Patent filed for design and technology used in it

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by Prashanth G M / TNN / Jun 14th, 2011

Toil to Beat Bangalore, Obama tell US Children

Business & Economy, World Opinion, , , , ,

US President Barack Obama has exhorted American students to toil harder at school, and has told them that their success would determine the country’s leadership in a world where children in Bangalore and Beijing were raring to race ahead.

Obama has repeatedly said that American schools would have to ensure that they continue producing leagues of top professionals, so that the American hegemony in human resource continues in this century.

“At a time when other countries are competing with us like never before, when students around the world in Beijing, China, or Bangalore, India, are working harder than ever, and doing better than ever, your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it’s going to determine America’s success in the 21st century,” Obama said. “The farther you go in school, the farther you’re going to go in life,” he told students at a school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Last year, while announcing an end of tax incentives to US companies which created jobs overseas, Obama had launched the ‘Say no to Bangalore and yes to Buffalo,’ slogan. Since then, he has time and again brought up the competition presented by developing countries like China and India while asking Americans to rise to the challenge to keep the American supremacy alive.

“You’ve got an obligation to yourselves, and America has an obligation to you, to make sure you’re getting the best education possible,” Obama said in his latest remarks.

He said preparing the students for success in classroom, college, and career would also require an enormous collective effort from teachers, principals as well as the administration.

Asking students to work harder than everybody else and seek out new challenges, he said his call was directed at all Americans alike. “… I’m not just speaking to all of you, I’m speaking to kids all across the country.”

 

source: http://www.emirates247.com / By Agencies / Published Thursday, September 16th, 2010