Members from the Institute of Karate and Allied Arts (IKAA), headquartered in Mangalore, won the top honours at ‘Beat Down 2014’ a two-day national level martial arts extravaganza organised by Wakayama Karate-Do India at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore recently.
As many as 22 students from the institute took part in this competition, led by senior instructors Sensei Derick Kishan (Malpe), Sensei Clement Sequeira (Puttur), Sensei Ashok Suvarna (Karkala) and Sensei Dayananthan (Bangalore). Over 2,500 competitors from all over India in different styles of Karate, Tae Kwon do, Wushu, Kung fu and so on participated in the competition.
IKAA bagged 18 prizes which included 16 individual events and two team events. In the team events, two teams from Banaswadi emerged victorious by bagging the first place in the men’s team Kumite and the third place in Black Belts Team Kumite.
The uniqueness of the winning team is that most of its members are Mangaloreans who moved to Bangalore a few years ago for pursuing their careers in different fields, but their passion for karate and martial arts still continues to be very strong. In spite of being occupied and busy with their full time jobs in multi-national companies, they make it a point to continue their training on a regular basis and not lose touch with the art they learnt in Mangalore during their college days.
Derick Kishan runs a full time karate institute in Bangalore while Clement Sequeira, Ashok Suvarna and Daya conduct karate classes during their free time and weekends, assisted by other black belts and senior instructors in Bangalore. They also conduct several self defense and safety awareness workshops and sessions for corporates, schools and general public specially focused towards women and children’s safety. The winners in the competition are as follows:
Team Kumite (Fight) Colour Belts – First Place
1. Deviprakash Bhandary
2. Suraj Acharya
3. Bhavish Kumar
4. Arkodeb Chakraborty
5. Merwin D’ Almeida Team Kumite (Fight) Black Belts – Third Place
1. Clement Sequeira
2. Gopal V
3. Amarnath PV Shetty
4. Sunil Rai
5. Roshan Rao
6. Sukesh P Gowda Individual Kata: First Place
1. Sanvi
2. Ayush Individual Kumite (Fight)
First Place
1. Kushal Babu
2. Sharan Kumar
3. Shreyas
4. Deepika
5. Bhavish Kumar
6. Deviprakash Bhandary Second Place
1. Merwin D’ Almeida
2. Roshan Rao
3. Sunil Rai
4. Sukesh P
5. Arkodeb Chakraborty Third Place
1. Gopal V
2. Suraj Acharya
3. Madhusudhan
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / Monday – July 23rd, 2014
City based music institute, Sri Veena Vani Music School (SVMS) located in Banahankari has received a green signal from Guinness Book of World Records’ for its dream of gaining the title of Guinness.
The SVMS is planning for a Carnatic classical keyboard performance in the month of October 2014 and enter the Guinness Book of World Records . The program is to ensemble about 500 key board players, collectively performing the national anthem, national song and a Carnatic piece of music in a western instrument on one stage.
The committee of Guinness Book of World Records has communicated with the city based music school and confirmed the participation of its judges and members and they will be arriving to city in October.
B Gireesh Kumar, president of the school told dna,”We have received the official confirmation of participation from Guinness Book of World Records and asked us to pay the registration and judge fee of 8,700 US dollars. Committee has also confirmed the time for the event and it would be in October,” he said.
After getting inspired by the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records as largest keyboard ensemble created involving 175 keyboard players in USA on July 2013, the city based music school Sri Veena Vani Music School in Banashankari has been aiming to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by playing the western keyboard by over 500 keyboard players and singing Carnatic Classic Music by over 500 singers on the same stage.
Speciality of the event is, an attempt is made to adapt keyboard a full fledge western musical instrument to Carnatic Music and for the first time over 500 keyboard players and 500 Carnatic classical singers will perform on the stage by singing only swara for about 40-45 minutes during the third week of October.
The largest keyboard ensemble consisted of 229 participants and was conducted by M.S. Martin and organized by Sangeetha Sriram at Chennai Trade Centre in Chennai, India, on 16 January 2014. And now Sri Veena Vani music school wants to break that record and want to create such a record in Bangalore with over 1000 musicians including singers and musicians.
Now the school has started this unique model for all keyboard music aspirants who would want to be a part of the event and providing training for age groups from 7-60 years. The lessons are imparted via video, through online modules including Skype and Offline classes and also in the Institute premises, Gireesh added.
source: http://www.dnaindia.con / DNA / Home> Bangalore / Place: Bangalore, Agency: DNA / Monday – July 21st, 2014
Sanskrit scholar Bannanje Govindacharya is seen launching the website as Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji, Vid. Seshadri, Vid. H.M. Shingappa and Sudharma editor K.V. Sampath Kumar look on.
Mysore :
The country’s first Sanskrit newspaper Sudharma launched its website www.sudharmasanskritdaily.in to mark its 45th anniversary celebrations at a function held at Vidyashankara Kalyana Mantapa near Gun House here on Sunday.
The newspaper was conceived by K.N. Vardaraja Iyengar in 1970 with the objective of reviving the language by bringing current events to readers in Sanskrit. The daily is now being managed by his son K.V. Sampath Kumar, who doubles up as a reporter-cum-proof-reader and editor.
“The launch of the website marks a major milestone in the annals of our newspaper, which has a print subscription of 3,000 copies, but over 1,00,000 people access the e-paper from all over the world,” said Sampath Kumar and added the e-paper could now be accessed through its website.
Renowned Sanskrit scholar Bannanje Govindacharya, who was the chief guest, launched the website. Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji, Principal, Maharaja’s Sanskrit College, was present.
On the occasion, a set of books in Sanskrit were also released.
Vid. H.M. Shingappa, retired professor of Maharaja’s Sanskrit College and Vid. Seshadri of Sri Lakshmivenkataramanaswamy temple were felicitated.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 21st, 2014
Dr. C.G. Betsurmath, Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, is seen leading a team of postal trainees in front of Kote Anjaneya Swamy Temple during the Heritage Cycle Rally which began from Town Hall premises here yesterday morning.
Mysore:
The trainees of the Postal Training Centre (PTC), Mysore, explored the heritage of the city on cycles yesterday.
The cycle rally, organised by the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, was flagged off by Veena Kumari, Director of PTC from the Town Hall premises at 7 am. It was led by Dr. C.G. Betsurmath, Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage.
The participants covered Clock Tower, Chamaraja Circle, K.R. Circle, Lansdowne Building. Banumaiah’s College, Mysore City Corporation, Jaganmohan Palace, Parakala Mutt, Commercial Tax Office, Lokayukta Office, Oriental Research Institute, Crawford Hall, Maharaja’s College, Yuvaraja’s College, Maharani’s College, Metropole Hotel, Railway Station, Divisional Railway Office, K.R. Hospital, Govt. Ayurveda College, Central Library, Devaraja Market and the Dufferin Clock Tower on cycles.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Betsurmath said that yesterday’s rally was the second with the first being the rally conducted for the staff of Indian Overseas Bank.
He said that there were demands for such rallies from other institutions and offices and added that trainees of Administrative Training Institute (ATI) would participate in the next rally on Sunday.
Resource persons in the rally included retired professor of the Department of Ancient History, University of Mysore, Dr. N.S. Rangaraju, Deputy Director and Heritage In-charge Gavi Siddaiah, journalist Echanur Kumar and Curator in the Archaeology Department L.L. Gowda.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 21st, 2014
A lovely green patch at the site of the soil biotechnology plant at Herohalli tank / The Hindu
Water mixed with sewage is being treated through a process called Soil Bio-technology and let into the Herohalli tank.
When a city hits a plateau with regard to water availability it perforce needs to become innovative in identifying alternative options. Right now many problems exercise the minds of citizens and institutions; garbage, sewage in stormwater drains and lake destruction are on top of them.
As you drive west out of the city on Magadi Road, a little after Sunkadakatte Cross you see a tank on your right. This is Herohalli tank, with a water-spread of about 14.50 hectares. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been working to restore it. The tank has been fenced to protect it from encroachment; a bund has been created to enable walkers to go around it. A major stormwater drain brings in water mixed with sewage as well as debris including plastic. An underground sewage line runs across the periphery of the tank too. This sewage line carries about 6 to 8 million litres of waste-water daily. The water from the storm drains is not enough to fill the tank.
A quite but dedicated team of engineers from the BBMP and a competent and young team of designers are working to resuscitate this water body. A new technology called Soil Bio-technology or SBT is being applied for the first time in Karnataka at a scale of 1.50 million litres per day treatment.
Use of strainers
Using the concept of sewage mining, the SBT system taps into the sewage line and draws 1.50 MLD into a small wet well. From here the water is strained using 20 mm and possibly 10 mm strainers to remove solids, plastics, grit and large sediments. This will be collected and removed separately. The remaining waste-water is then allowed to percolate gradually through a specially prepared bed of soil and stones which harbour million of good bacteria. These bacteria eat away at the carbon in the sewage and also change the composition of nitrates and adsorb phosphates to clean up the water.
As the water trickles down the special medium, it is collected at the bottom. If necessary it can be re-circulated to allow the bacteria to have another go at cleaning it up. The treated sewage that comes out of the system is crystal clear and meets the requirement necessary to be led into the tank.
From the top the SBT plant looks like a garden, beautifully landscaped and full of colourful flowers and grass. There is no smell and no unsightly scenes. The SBT plant occupies 2,000 square metres as a foot-print, a really small component of the tank. Eventually Herohalli tank will receive treated waste-water and will be full. This water, cleaned by nature, will in turn recharge the surrounding aquifers and be available as additional supply to the local residents. Bangalore will have converted sewage water into usable water using the SBT and the tank as nature’s kidneys.
Sewage flowing in the stormwater drains can also be diverted to the SBT plant and then allowed into the tank. The design provides for it.
There are problems though. Plastics and garbage thrown into the storm drains end up clogging the bars and creating a backflow in the drains. These also end up in the tank. Sewage flow is sometimes mixed with industrial waste-water. This is highly toxic and cannot be treated. What the SBT plant does for now is to allow this water to flow past and then pick up only domestic sewage.
None of the problems are of a nature that cannot be overcome. All we need is community participation and institutional responsibilities. What the city now realises is that everything is tied up — garbage management, stormwater management, sewage management, lake restoration and groundwater recharge. Citizens and others should visit the SBT plant and Herohalli tank, understand how an eco-system can be managed and try to do the same for the water bodies in their neighbourhood. The time to seize this challenge and overcome it is now or else we will have lost our lakes and will run out of water for the city.
source: http://www. thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Habitat / by S. Vishwanath / Bangalore – July 25th, 2014
Tennis is a global sport and Mysore has been producing talented tennis players from time to time who have gone on to represent the country in different levels. One such player who has made his mark in the National and International level in the junior boys section is city’s C. Vasisht.
A trainee at Davis Cupper Prahalad Srinath’s Tennis Academy, Vasisht won the U-18 Boys Singles title in the M.P. Prakash All India Championship Series Tennis Tournament at KSLTA courts on Friday in Bangalore. He is our ‘Star This Week.’
Vasisht, a Mysorean, has shifted base to Bangalore and presently trains with Mysorean and Davis Cupper, Prahalad Srinath. Vasisht ranked No.2 in the State in the U-18 section and No.19 in the country, encouraged by his parents, has been performing well in the National and International circuit. A former trainee at R. Nagaraj’s Tennis Centre in Mysore, this lad has been making a steady progress in the junior ranks in the country.
In the final of the M.P. Prakash Championship Series Tennis Tournament in the Boys Under-18 Singles event in Bangalore on Friday, 16-year-old Vasisht beat Mayukh Rawat of Uttarkhand 6-1, 6-3 and clinched the title. In the semi-finals, Vasisht beat Raghav Jaishinghani of Madhya Pradesh 6-3, 6-2 to progress to the title round. Vasisht demolished the fifth seed Raghav Jaisinghani of with a clinical display, in about 105 minutes, in the semifinals.
The lanky Karnataka youngster overpowered his rival with solid forehand winners and delectable backhand slices.
Vasisht beat S. Manish in the quarter-finals 6-1, 6-3 and in the pre-quarter-finals had a good 6-0, 6-0 win over Avilash Mishra.
Vasisht has represented India in the junior ranks and has been making steady progress with good performances in the ITF tournaments in the circuit both in India and abroad. He aims to work hard under the guidance of his coach and reach greater heights in this sport.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / July 20th, 2014
Budding danseuse Anoosha Sri’s story is special for reasons way too many. A dancer, actor, singer, swimmer and a pianist that she is, Anoosha is aptly gifted, well-trained and highly intelligent. She has several good endowments all in the bag and no wonder; her feats are big as the girl is still all of 12!
Though lass of many hats, we wish to tell you about one special feat of Anoosha’s today. The girl is all set to present her Bharatanatyam Rangapravesha. Wondering what is special about it, as way too many of them often present Rangapravesha performances? Anoosha’s Rangapravesha is an achievement in itself as the girl has been tutored through Skype — the widely used voice-over-IP service and she has gained expertise to reach up to the stage of performing a Rangapravesha in the beautiful traditional Indian dance form in just a year’s time. Having decided to learn it this unique way as she happens to be a resident of Louisville, USA, Anoosha’s classes began through online training by noted city-based dancers Badari Divya Bhushan and Dr. Anjana Bhushan last July.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” says Bhushan, talking of his favourite Skype student who is here to meet him in person for the first time, ever since he began training her last year. “My academy has been tutoring students via Skype since a few years now. We tutor about 16 students from countries like Berlin, USA, Dubai and Australia of whom, Anoosha is one who is excellent and my favourite. I never agree to teach students via Skype easily as it’s strenuous for the student as well as us tutors since we need to adjust to each other’s country’s timings,” explains he, “But before I decide to say yes, I interview the student over phone. And when I did it with Anoosha, I found that she is really interested in learning and had perfectly done her homework about the art and was not wanting to learn the dance just for the sake of gaining a so called degree in Bharatanatyam, which many receive but do nothing than simply add it to their personal bio-data.”
According to him, Anoosha who was already trained in the basics of Bharatanatyam by tutors Akila Iyer and Smitha Paily at the US seemed to be really interested in learning it with momentousness and they thus began her classes and that too in Tamil (their mother tongue) during weekends since July last year. Such was her keenness that in just a few months’ time, Anoosha requested Bhushan to tutor her for more hours, jut to expertise the skills better, says the tutor. And slowly with time, she picked up several skills to perfection all by Skype which was amusing to watch and she even performed at a couple of events in the US by learning exclusive moves for different dance shows, he adds.
But how is it that she developed such keen interest in this Indian art though born and brought up in the USA? “I love this dance form the most as I believe it is the hardest one to learn as well as to be executed,” explains the little girl who is getting all geared up to present performances at several places in India after her Rangapravesha in Bangalore this weekend. Anoosha is here exclusively for these performances along with her parents Srinivasa and Mayura, both engineers at the USA.
Talking of her achievements, they explain: “It was at the age of 3 that she first performed on stage. She sang at an event. But we always saw that she loved dancing as she used to dance for every music that played on TV. And we thus decided to get her trained. However, we wanted her to learn the same more precisely under more able guidance and that is when we came across this online training by Bhushans which we took to. We are extremely happy she has learnt so much from them in such a short period of time.”
And their happiness about their child’s achievements knows no bounds as dance is not the only thing she excels in. Apart from this, Anoosha is a talented pianist who has been part of an International Piano Composition Contest and was rated excellent for her composition, she is well-trained in both Karnatak and Hindustani Classical music, is excellent at academics because of which she skipped two grades once she joined school and she is a prize-winning essayist and the 12-year-old is a member of the National Junior Honour Society, Donna Wilkinson Chapter, too. “All her teachers at her schools too are extremely proud of her back in the US, which makes us feel wonderful about her,” gushes Anoosha’s mom who can go on and on about her little daughters achievements with excitement brimming in her eyes.
You can watch her sway in the traditional dance form at the Guruvandana programme to be held at Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore on July 25 from 6 pm onwards. —AN
Anoosha’s feats: 2012-2014: Member of the National Junior Honour Society, Donna Wilkison Chapter
2014: Won Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest; Participated in the Tuttle Memorial Music Competition at Cleveland, USA.
2013 and 2014: Won an honourable mention and rated superior for her composition in International Piano Composition Contest.
2013: Value of Life Award Essay Contest winner; Invited to the grand recognition ceremony at Duke University USA, based on ACT Test Scores as part of the Duke Talent Identification (TIP) programme.
2010-2013: National Piano Playing Auditions – National Member.
2010: Won Kentucky Tamil Sangham Tamil Competition.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>Feature Articles / July 20th, 2014
The University of Mysore (UoM) Academic Council which met here yesterday, gave nod for direct admission of students who have completed ITI to degree courses.This decision follows after Davanagere University granted permission for ITI and JOC passed students to join Degree courses such as B.A, B.Com and BBM.
The other decision taken by the Council included allowing a Singapore-based University to start an International Centre of Physical Biology at UoM, making Computer knowledge and PU education mandatory for candidates seeking appointment to non-teaching posts, granting affiliation to degree colleges started by the Government at Bettadapura, Saragur, Talkad, Chamarajanagar, Terakanambi and Arehalli and bracing itself to implement ‘Connect to India’ scheme as suggested by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
VC Prof. K. S. Rangappa presided over the meeting, which also took the historic decision of providing admission to students from Hyderabad-Karnataka (HK) region. With the decision, the UoM becomes the first University outside HK region to allot 8 per cent seats to students from the backward region under the provisions of article 371(J) of the Constitution.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>General News / July 19th, 2014
by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Anchaeology, University of Mysore
Gulbarga, which is now a district of Karnataka, had a chequered history from ancient times. It was the habitat of stoneage man as evidenced by the stone tools found in various sites. Sannati in this district was a flourishing Satavahana site as evidenced by parts of Buddhist stupas and Buddha images as discovered in archaeological excavation. Asokan inscription also has been found in Sannati. It has also yielded a large number of ancient coins.
The Rashtrakutas, who ruled over Deccan and made incursions even to north India, had their capital at Malkhed which was located in Sedam taluk of this district. Subsequently, it came under the rule of the Chalukyas of Kalyana. When Mohammad Bin Tughlaq invaded this part of Deccan, Gulbarga came under his rule.
It came to prominence when Alauddin Hasan Gangu Bahman Shah founded the Bahmani kingdom in 1347 AD. It became his capital and continued to be so under various kings of this dynasty. When Bahmani kingdom was divided into five States, some parts went to Adil Shahis of Bijapur and Barid Shahis of Bidar. During the Deccan invasion of Mughal emperor Aurangazeb, Gulbarga was included in his empire. After the death of Aurangazeb, the Asaf Jahi dynasty became prominent and it was included in it. It was included in the province of Nizam of Hyderabad.
In the meantime, the parts of this district came under different chiefs known as Nayakas. The district was included in the kingdoms of Surapura Nayakas. This hunter community chiefs of Surapura were very brave and under the leadership of Venkatappa Nayaka rebelled against the British and he was put to death and the latter took away his kingdom and handed it over to Nizam of Hyderabad.
The famous Salar Jung introduced many reforms and Gulbarga became a part of Surapura district. In 1873, Gulbarga was made into a separate district. In 1956, some taluks of this district were transferred to Andhra Pradesh and the remaining taluks formed parts of Gulbarga district and it was included in Mysore State, now Karnataka.
Gulbarga district has a respectable place in literary and cultural history also. The author of Kaviraja Marga belonged to this place, poet Ponna and Devara Dasimayya belong to the district. It is also considered to have had connections with poet Lakshmisha, saint Akshobhya Tirtha of Dvaita philosophy, Pushpadanta, the author of Mahapurana etc. Thus it had a glorious history and it became more famous because it became the capital of the Bahmanis in the medieval period, and for its Islamic buildings. Two such buildings are examined here:
Jamia Masjid (mosque) at Gulbarga is a unique mosque with a special feature not seen in other buildings of this type. Hence, it is famous all over the Islamic world. According to a Persian inscription, this mosque was completed in 1367 AD during the reign of Mahmad Shah Bahmani. He was the second Sultan of the Bahmani dynasty and he was successful in consolidating the political power of the Bahmani dynasty. He also introduced many administrative reforms and his period saw peace and prosperity. Architecture received great patronage during the period. This mosque was designed by an engineer- cum-artist from Persia, namely Rafi. He was a hereditary architect from the town of Kazvin in north Persia. The uniqueness of this mosque is that it has no open courtyard and the entire structure is covered. It is believed that this is not according to the Islamic tradition and hence people did not favour it and consequently this type of building was not repeated and for this reason this mosque became unique. The architect has designed it in such a subtle way as to show the harmonious blending of Persian and Indian elements in an undistinguishable way.
The mosque is built on a rectangular base of 216 ft in length and 176 ft in width. It has cloisters on its three sides. The other western side has a nave under a high dome. The entire area is filled by rows of aisles forming sixty-eight bays each having a cupola for its roof. In effect, the entire area is made into a vast closed pillared hall. The main dome which is an elegant structure and huge dominates the vicinity. The interior of the central dome is artistically ornamented with foliage designs. These attest to the long experience and superior technical knowledge of the artists. The decoration over the arches adds a grace to the entire building. The exterior walls have tall and slender arches repeated at regular intervals. This provides a graceful façade to the building on all the four sides.
Inscriptions in Persian at different places add a charm because of the fine calligraphic characters. With all these characters, the Jamia mosque is a unique monument. It has a dargah or tomb of saint Haji Hafeez Jamaluddin Ul Harmain. He was the grandson of Ghouse Azam Dastagir. He lived in Iraq. He was a famous philosopher and a learned man and was highly respected in the Islamic world for his knowledge and saintly living. Devotees go to this mosque to pay homage to this saint. Even today Jamia mosque attracts visitors in huge numbers.
Gulbarga has a large number of tombs of the rulers of the Bahmani dynasty and they are found in two groups. The first group consists of simple tombs beginning from the first ruler Alauddin Bahman Shah. The second group is more famous because of the architectural embellishments and innovations. As a group they are referred to as Haft Gumbaz or seven domes in local parlance. Actually it consists of the tombs of the four sultans beginning from Mujahid Bahmani who died in 1378 and of his successors. Firoze Bahman Shah (1397-1422) was a peace-loving sultan and sent an embassy to Timur in 1401 and thereby became the head of the Deccan, Malwa and Gujarat. He invited a large number of Arabs and Persians to his kingdom and this is reflected in the architecture of the period. This King died in 1422 and a tomb was built in the same year for him.
This tomb has many unique characters. It expresses the architectural features of Tughlaqs in addition to local innovations. The most important character of this tomb is the introduction of double domes over the structure. Normally only one dome is found over the structure. There are also two chambers. The arrangement is such that one dome and corresponding chamber is for the Sultan and the other one is for his family.
The structure measures externally 150 ft in length and 78 ft in width and the height of the walls is 42 ft. Above the latter are two hemispherical domes of 30 ft. The two symmetrical domes at the top are very elegant and add a special charm to the building. But what is more imposing and charming are the outer walls which give the appearance of a double-storeyed building. This is achieved by introducing a series of arches at the ground level.
Over these rises the walls with similar arches with pierced window designs. Above is a moulding on which is a parapet with row of decorations. A slight projection after the two alternate arches at the central level is very elegant. The smooth stucco work for which the Deccanese artists were famous all over the Islamic world is easily seen in abundance at this tomb. From all these architectural members, decorative embellishments and double domes, this tomb of Firoz Shah Bahmani is considered unique and a beautiful edifice.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>Feature Articles / July 19th, 2014
Prestige Group head Irfan Razack buys a 4000-sq ft plot once owned by the late Ambaram Fakirbhai. The property is just a block away from a shop from where the rags-to-riches story of the construction group began
Irfan Razack says he bought the property since it is close to their first store, Prestige Men’sStore, on Commercial Street
Virgin land in the heart of the city is priceless. Those with ramshackle old buildings on them command a hefty price. But the benchmark was raised on Monday when a plot on upscale Commercial Street was sold for Rs 62,500 per square foot — the highest in the city so far.
Irfan Razack, head of the Prestige Group, the top realty firm, purchased the 4,000-sq ft plot from the heirs of late Ambaram Fakirbhai, the textile businessman who once owned large swathes of land in the area now known as Indiranagar. Razack was the lone bidder in the auction.
The plot, which bears municipal registration numbers 15 and 16 and includes a dilapidated building, was bought for a staggering Rs 25 crore at a public auction. This is the second largest realty deal in Bangalore in the last fortnight; the previous one was an eight-acre plot in Koramangala which sold for Rs 345 crore.
“The going rate around Commercial Street is in the Rs 40,000 – 45,000 per sq ft range,” a realtor who monitors transactions in the central business district said. “But the Ambaram deal is a real stunner.”
The Prestige Group are not saying what they plan to do with the plot just as yet, but a source said, “The area is close to the hearts of the Prestige Group founders as they started with a cloth shop on Commercial Street close to the Ambaram plot. By buying land a stone’s throw away from their old store, they have shown that they want to stay attached to their Commercial Street roots.”
Confirming the transaction, Razack told Bangalore Mirror, “The property is very close to my property – Prestige Men’s Store. I bought this because there is only one property between this and our property. The Prestige Men’s Store is a family business run by me and my brothers (two of them). It was a matter of pride to buy a property on this street.”
On the exorbitant price, Razack indicated that he had little choice. “The court had fixed a minimum price of Rs 25 crore for the property,” Razack said. “We were the only ones to participate in the bidding as two others who had registered their names, didn’t participate. Though the price is on the higher side, I don’t think I will regret my decision five years later. It is a family deal and my company has no role in this. This was a personal decision.”
The auction brought the curtains down on a 43-year-old feud by heirs of Ambaram over the land. “Since the heirs could not reach a consensus on sharing the prime property, the court decided to auction it,” sources said.
According to the copies accessed by Bangalore Mirror, the original propositus was Ambaram Fakir Bhai. He married Jeeva Bai and after her death, he married Girija Bai. They had six sons — Thakurdas, A Venilal, A Ramanlal, A Sukhlal, A Krishna, A Narayan — and five daughters — Umiya Ben, Vichkore Ben, Parvathi Ben, Narmada Ben and Tara Ben.
After the death of Ambaram, his eldest daughter, Vichkore Ben, filed a suit for partition of her 1/12 share in the estate left behind by her father. Though the suit was still pending, she sold her right, title and interest in favour of four of her brothers — Krishna, Venilal, Sukhlal and Narayan. Similarly the other four daughters received a certain sum of money from these four brothers in lieu of their share in full and final settlement. Thakurdas and Ramanlal were each allotted 1/7th share.
The above suit culminated in final decree proceedings initiated by Thakurdas in 1981. A commissioner was appointed to work out the modalities of actual partition. He reported to the High Court that the properties were not divisible and that it should be disposed in a public auction. Dispute arose in regard to the mode of partition of shop premises No 15/15, Commercial Street and premises No 27 F, E and D of Hospital Road. It resulted in a civil revision petition before the High Court (CRP No 2920/1973).
All the brothers, however, had reached an agreement that Thakurdas and Ramanlal were to be given first option to purchase 5/7 share of the parties to the suit by depositing Rs 10.71 lakh in the trial court on or before November 14, 1974. When they failed to deposit the amount, the other brothers – Venilal, Sukhlal, Narayan and Krishna — purchased the share of Thakurdas and Ramanlal by depositing a sum of Rs 1.75 lakh each.
Since the four brothers did not have funds, they had obtained a loan from Vijaya Bank to buy their bothers’ shares. It was also agreed that immediately after the purchase of share of Thakurdas and Ramanlal’s shares, premises bearing No 15 and No 16 of Commercial Street and premises No 27 F, E and D of Hospital Road will be substituted as security for the repayment of the loan in place of the individual properties of Venilal and Sukhlal.
Property was locked for 15 years
The three brothers entered into possession in April 1976, while another brother, Narayana, took actual possession of the entire premises in 1978. But he kept the premises under lock and key for 15 years, rendering it unfit for human habitation. Moreover the loan obtained from Vijaya Bank had not been repaid despite repeated reminders. A fresh suit was filed in 1991 for partition of the property. The suit was contested and during the pendency of the suit, two brothers, Venilal and Sukhlal, died.
During the pendency of appeal, parties decided to settle the matter amicably and they filed a compromise petition before the High Court on September 5, 2005. The court decided to auction the property.
Earlier bids unsuccessful
The court’s reserve price for the Commercial Street property was set at Rs 12 crore, while that of the Hospital Road properties was Rs 6 crore. All bids were to commence for a price higher than the reserve price indicated above.
Advocate K N Krishna Rao, representing the family members of Ambaram, told Bangalore Mirror, “During 2005, the Hospital Road property was sold for Rs 18 crore at an auction, but there was no buyer for the Commercial Street property. The Commercial Street property was again put up for auction in 2008 and again there were no bidders. Finally on Monday, the auction was conducted with the initial bid amount of Rs 25 crore and if was successful.”
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cove Story / by Atul Chaturvedi, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / July 23rd, 2014
