Tulu poems and renditions trending on Facebook

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

A screenshot of the #Tulukabhite campaign started by writer-cum-artiste Shashiraj Kavoor on Facebook.

A screenshot of the #Tulukabhite campaign started by writer-cum-artiste Shashiraj Kavoor on Facebook.

It Is not just #samyochane [a campaign initiated by music composer Pravin D. Rao] that is trending on Facebook. #Tulukabithe, by writer-cum-artiste Shashiraj Kavoor, is catching the attention of poets, writers, singers and music lovers on the social networking site.

The campaign was started by Mr. Kavoor on April 23 inviting writers to upload their poems, to which musicians are responding in their style.

The campaign features not just new poems but even those of well-known writers such as Kayyar Kiyanna Rai, Amruth Someshwar and Mandara Keshava Bhat.

Mr. Kavoor, an advocate and who has been a lyricist for many Tulu films and has two Tulu poem collections to his credit, said that the idea of starting the campaign came to him after he saw how two of his Kannada poems were rendered by four singers in the #samyochane campaign.

“This made me start the present campaign to showcase the richness of Tulu literature. Apart from a new touch to the popular Tulu poems, singers have presented new poems in a way that reflects the ethos of this land,” he said and appreciated the support of 20,000 friends [on Facebook] for the success of the campaign.

“Some of the videos of the songs posted on my FB wall have more than 2,000 views,” he said.

Among the songs with a good number of views include the Tulu lullaby Tunkuve Tottil… by Narayana Kille sung by Supriya Raghunandan. Songs by Pallavi Prabhu, Ravindra Prabhu, Muralidhar Kamat, Pramod Sapre and “Mime” Ramdas have also been well received.

“I am continuing this campaign till the end of the lockdown. Anybody with interest in Tulu art and music can take part,” he added.

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Shashiraj Kavoor started #Tulukabithe after two of his poems were rendered on #samyochane campaign

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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Raghava M / Mangaluru – May 29th, 2020

NLSIU alumni help migrant workers travel from Mumbai to Ranchi

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Arrange charter flight on Sunday; another to Bhubaneshwar planned for Wednesday

Joining in citizens’ efforts to help stranded migrant workers reach home, alumni of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru successfully sent home 180 workers from Mumbai to Ranchi on Sunday. This was the second chartered flight arranged by the alumni between the two destinations; the first one on May 28 helped 174 people reach home.

The ‘NLS mission aahan vahaan’ was conceptualised by the NLSIU Bengaluru batch of 2000. One of them, Priyanka Roy, who now has a corporate law practice in Mumbai, told The Hindu that they decided to focus on regions that are not easily accessible from Mumbai.

“There is a huge database of workers from every State. We were largely concentrating on the eastern States because they are not easily accessible from Mumbai. On Wednesday, another flight will carry workers from Mumbai to Bhubaneshwar,” she said.

The alumni ruled out buses and railways as the former would mean long and tedious journeys while the latter would end their intervention with handing over a list of names to the authorities concerned.

“We wanted to make a meaningful intervention and fill in the gap. So we started talking to airlines. We decided to charter flights. The Jharkhand government has been making great arrangements for last-mile connectivity due to which people are able to reach home in 24 hours. We are working with a lot of NGOs too,” Ms. Roy said.

On Sunday’s flight, there were infants as young as 17 days old, as well as a senior citizen, who does not even own a phone but was able to reach the airport after a cab was arranged for her.

The first flight was entirely crowd-funded by the NLS alumni network, but since then they have been getting funding from corporates and others for subsequent initiatives.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / May 31st, 2020

Two Mangaluru hospitals get ICMR nod for COVID-19 testing

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Experts from both hospitals have been trained at NIMHANS

Father Muller Medical College Hospital in the city and K.S. Hegde Hospital in Deralakatte have received approval from ICMR for conducting COVID-19 sample tests.

The laboratories at both the hospitals have begun conducting RT-PCR method of testing for COVID-19.

Experts from both the hospitals have undergone special training at NIMHANS, which is the mentor institute for COVID testing in the State, the hospitals said in separate press releases.

The release from Father Muller Medical College Hospital said that the test will be done only for suspected cases as per ICMR protocol on prescription by physicians with proper documentation using ICMR RT-PCR app.

A dedicated kiosk for sample collection is also available at the hospital for out-patients. Specimens are transported to the laboratory through proper cold chain and safety protocols, the release said.

K.S. Hegde Hospital said that Amit Kelgi from its Department of Microbiology has been appointed as the Nodal officer of the testing facility The Viral Transport Medium would be provided to all recognised health centres free of cost to collect the throat swab sample. Tests will be done at affordable cost as per government guidelines and test results will be reported by expert staff on the same day, the release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – May 23rd, 2020

Ananya Cultural Academy celebrates its silver jubilee

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RaghavendraBF28may2020

Founder RV Raghavendra speaks of the exhaustive library, the 2,500 programmes in the last 25 years and the help extended to musicians during the lockdown

RV Raghavendra, founder of the Ananya Cultural Academy, which turns 25 today, (May 27) was disturbed by the plight of musicians and performers who had no means of earning a livelihood during the lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Raghavendra organized financial assistance to deserving artists helping nearly 105 artistes throughout Karnataka. “We will be disbursing around ₹12 lakh to people connected with music, dance, folk arts and light music. We have distributed ₹7 lakh from March.”

The monetary help was possible through donations from Raghavendra, Ananya’s Arogyadhara Medical Help Scheme and through donations. “Just one announcement on Facebook garnered an unprecedented response from the music-loving public.”

Ananya is a self-funded, non-profit cultural organization. It was established in 1995 to propagate and nurture different art forms. Jnanpith Awardee Dr. UR Ananthamurthy was its founder-chairman. Since its inception, Ananya has been working in the fields of music, dance, literature and painting.

“Our activities are multi-dimensional. We organise music, dance and visual art (Ananya Drishya) shows. We have individual performances, festivals, lec-dems, workshops, thematic programmes and interactive sessions. We have a well-defined space for young and upcoming artistes. With artist SG Vasudev as the present chairman, we look back at over 2,500 programmes in the last 25 years.”

After a Masters in Geology from University of Mysore in 1973, Raghavendra obtained PhD in Geo-Chemistry from IISC in Bengaluru. He established Geological and Metallurgical Laboratories (GML), an industrial test house for various industrial materials, in 1980. “The profits from the business helped me run Ananya all these years.”

Born in 1952 in Chitradurga to RN Viprakallachar and Susheela Bai, Raghavendra says though he does not come from a musical background, his mother’s informal renderings of devotional songs at home did have a strong bearing on his personality. “After moving to Mysore for my Post Graduation, I started attending concerts. Coming to Bangalore only increased my craving for all genres of music and dance. I soon became a member of every possible music club in the city.”

Ananya has been publishing Ananya Kalasinchana, a music magazine in English for 23 years. The magazine is now available for free online. “My wife, Pramila Bai, a former professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at IISc, helps me run the magazine. We have articles on music, dance, literature and interviews. We have a 7,000-strong subscription base.”

Raghavendra has over the years collected books, audio-clips and photos of classical musicians. To make the collection accessible to the public he started Ananya Sangraha, a reference library, in West Park Road, Malleswaram. “People who attended our concerts at Ananya auditorium in Malleswaram were encouraged to make use of the material at Ananya Sangraha.”

The collection includes nearly 15,000 hours of live programmes and rare recordings by yesteryear and present day artistes. “I started collecting music three decades ago. Audio recordings such as composer Mysore Vasudevachar’s vocal rendering of kritis, Mysore composers’ Javalis, pieces by Mallikarjun Mansur, Violin Chowdiah, Veena Doreswamy Iyengar, Rudrapatnam RK Srikantan, Alathur Brothers, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Lalgudi and MSG amongst others are part of the collection. We have digitised almost 6,000 hours of music as of now. Music from South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal in several dialects are part of the collection, which has music in nearly 25 languages.”

Ananya Sangraha also has a vast collection of books — nearly 10,000 titles including rare ones such as a Kannada translation of Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini by Anandarama Udupa and edited by SK Ramachandra Rao. “This is one of Dikshitar’s greatest works. Practicing musicians, theorists, editors and publishers have continuously drawn inspiration from it. We are lucky to have this monumental work in translation.” Ananya also has the work of nearly 50 composers, books on instrument playing techniques and sahitya (lyrics) ideologies.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Ranjani Govind / May 27th, 2020

ITI Ltd. makes face shields; to be provided to healthcare setups, local administration

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The company plans to provide face shields to airports, municipal corporations, police departments, state governments, corporates in the second phase

To strengthen the government’s Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and to prevent the spread of coronavirus, ITI Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Communications, has started manufacturing face shields at its Bengaluru-based unit.

The 3D designed face shield provides protection to the facial area including eyes, nose and mouth from sprays and droplets. The indigenous face shield allows for hassle-free respiration.

Commenting on the steps taken by the company, R.M. Agarwal, Chairman & Managing Director, ITI Limited, said, “ITI has joined the fight against coronavirus as the number of positive cases in the country are increasing everyday and being country’s first PSU we have an obligation to extend help to corona warriors across the country. The company is now capable of producing half a million face shields a month which may be extended to 1.5 million face shields per month in the coming days”.

“In the first phase, the company is providing these face shields to various healthcare setups, educational institutes, NGOs and local administrations on complementary basis. In the second phase, we are planning to provide these to various organisations such as airports, municipal corporations, police departments, state governments, corporates etc.,” Mr. Agarwal added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – May 26th, 2020

Bengaluru-based violinist becomes vocal against corporates for asking free services from musicians

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

At a time when artistes have found themselves in a precarious financial position, this hasn’t gone down well with many.

Dr Jyotsna Srikanth
Dr Jyotsna Srikanth

Bengaluru :

Exposure doesn’t pay bills’ is what up and coming artistes retort when they are asked to play pro bono. But this is something renowned classical musicians have also been facing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

At a time when artistes have found themselves in a precarious financial position, this hasn’t gone down well with many. Taking up the issue, violinist-composer Dr Jyotsna Srikanth, who is also the artistic director of London International Arts Festival, has lashed out on social media against corporates and event management companies for asking artistes to play for free.

“They want to either promote their own page or ask us to perform as part of a recreational activity for their employees. They even refuse to include a digital tip-jar where the viewers can contribute as per their wish to the artiste,” says the medical doctor-turned-musician who has also played the violin for nearly 300 films under music directors like Ilaiyaraaja.

Srikanth recalls how two weeks ago, she was invited to perform by an organisation for their members and she asked them to include a tip jar. “They agreed. But five minutes before going live, they said it should be a free performance. Is this fair? If this is happening to senior musicians, what about upcoming ones?,” she wonders.

According to Manasi Prasad, classical vocalist and museum director, Indian Music Experience, this expectation to perform free for exposure existed even earlier, and has only amplified now. “The idea began during the lockdown when we thought this would encourage people to stay indoors. But now it seems the assumption is that free online concerts will continue indefinitely,” says Prasad, who points out that while some artistes are uncomfortable with the idea of tip jars, seeing it as a compromise on dignity, it could benefit others.

“If the artiste is comfortable with it, then it should be considered,” she asserts. While musician Praveen D Rao has heard of these instances, he looks at it differently. “For many, this is the only source of livelihood. Until now, online concerts were a small part of a musician’s life. I feel these shows are a trial run for bigger concerts. For instance, there was an online show recently where 49 artistes performed, and this was to be showcased to sponsors for a bigger festival in August,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / May 24th, 2020

Free app to help dementia patients and caregivers

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It has been developed by the Nightingales Medical Trust

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the restrictions accompanying it, have been especially taxing for people suffering from dementia and their caregivers, for whom this time has been physically and psychologically burdensome.

To ensure a support system for them, the Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT), an NGO working with the elderly and for those with dementia, has developed Demkonnect, a mobile application which is aimed at providing access to care and support related to dementia. This app is available on Android and iOS and is free of cost.

According to NMT, the nature of the disease tends to cause disorientation and makes those who are affected more vulnerable. This has a direct impact on the stress levels of caregivers. Family members, who have now turned into full-time caregivers, have noticed symptoms of dementia, like memory loss and behavioural changes, but are unable to visit a specialist and seek a formal diagnosis due to the lockdown and the fear of contracting the virus, a release said.

The application has options based on the need of the user.

“The Memory Screening option enables the user to assess their loved ones or themselves through a range of questions which would advise them on how to go forward based on the score. This could then be followed up with a consultation with a dementia care expert, through the chat option or through a video call. This is specially intended for those who are unable to visit a specialist for a diagnosis. Family carers, who are facing challenges at home or have queries regarding care of a person with dementia, can opt for the consult-an-expert option, which would enable the user to chat with a dementia care expert any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” the release explained.

Users can learn from the experiences of other family carers and share their own experiences through the Communities option.

With day care centres closed, the Demkonnect app has a few brain games to keep patients engaged and a Reminiscence album, which can help the user reminisce by discussing memories and past experiences using prompts such as photographs. The app aims to remove the stigma associated with dementia by educating users about the disease, the release added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / May 26th, 2020