A Cafe that Serves Food, a Heritage Tree and Art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
An informal seating around a lychee tree and a gallery creates an atmosphere where art meets conversation, says Leena
An informal seating around a lychee tree and a gallery creates an atmosphere where art meets conversation, says Leena

 Basavanagudi  :

Art has been a passion for Leena Chethan for as far back as she can remember and over the years, it has solidified in two projects that offer artists, collectors and curious collectors, an opportunity to grow closer.

The portal Tangerine Art Space (tangerineartspace.com) promotes Indian contemporary art in the virtual realm and  Leanin’  Tree Art Café, serves European and Tex-Mex treats and the works of  young artists in a physical space designed around, yes, a tree!

LeenaBf15apr2015

Laughs Leena, “Yes, the café is built around a 100 year old fruit bearing lychee tree and that was the primary reason why I chose this space. The seating is on the tree deck and gives you a feeling of being seated on a machaan. Of course there are attendant problems. The tree is home to a wide range of birds, squirrels, ants etc and I’d like to keep it intact for them and not go trigger happy with a disinfectant or disturb the delicate ecological balance. Also, to keep the feel of the tree deck, we have to let go of any type of roofing.”

So if it is warm or noisy in the street outside or if it rains, you have to grin and bear it. Leena says, “This place is not for those who seek air-conditioned luxury. Those who understand the spirit of the space have become regulars.”

For the longest time though, it was convenient to only run a virtual business. Leena says, “Our art-buyer base is mostly in Mumbai, Delhi and overseas and it suited me perfectly to function from a virtual space all these years. Basically, that meant MAKING MONEY without the overheads! I was a one-woman army handling sales, PR, logistics, packaging, client relations, exhibitions, enquiries, artist communication, curation and them some.”

A certain pragmatism has always accompanied her creative decisions and she says, ‘‘I come from a management background. My decision to work with the contemporary art field stems from my understanding of art’s value in the present market and its potential for growth in future. Art market prices today are only the tip of the iceberg and I am convinced that Indian art will grow in leaps and bounds in the near future and the biggest beneficiaries of this bull run will be those who have invested in the right artists at the right time and at the right price.” She is astute enough to understand that,“In our times, art is not separated from commerce. Art has grown beyond the definitions of aesthetics.” It has, she says, now become an integral part of the economic structure of our society. “Those who INVEST in contemporary art with a clear judgment are going to be benefited in the long run. Art is not temporal, hence its value lives beyond ages,” she opines.

To take art into the physical dimension of an art cafe was natural for her. Leena  explains, “I’ve been married to a coffee planter for a little less than 20 years and have lived on a plantation for a good decade, before moving to Bengaluru. I consider myself a coffee and an art evangelist and Leanin’ Tree Art Café is a coming together of these two things. I am passionate about what I do and this is my true calling. The objective is to provide a regular café goer with an experience beyond eating and drinking. Its primary aim is to promote art by providing a gallery experience in an environment that is more accessible and less intimidating than a regular art gallery.”

Taking up a physical space was long overdue but the fact that galleries today are near empty throughout the day, bothered her. “With an art café, however, we’re able to bring in the footfalls and get to unleash the art on the unsuspecting guests! I consider my job done when I’m able to familiarise at least a fraction of our visitors with the names and works of a few artists,” she smiles.

She would also like to host poetry/book reading sessions, art discussions, creative training and workshop sessions at the cafe. The space is slowly but surely acquiring a cult reputation with young couples, students, techies, architects and art lovers. Leena recalls, “A lady celebrated her seventieth birthday with her family here!”

However to all those who come to her looking for investment ideas, she says, “Buy art that you love and can live with. While art can produce significant returns financially, the best returns are made when you buy with a passion for the art itself and not merely with the aim to INVEST.’’

And what guides her own choices when she showcases artists? She answers, “Aesthetically speaking, all the artists presented in our exhibitions demonstrate original thoughts and styles. They are either young fledgling artists poised for fame or those who have already established themselves.” Art she says is not just for the aesthetes but those who enjoy looking at something that engages their eye, provokes a thought over a cup of a coffee with a fruit laden tree swishing in the breeze.

For more details, please visit www.tangerineartspace.com or mail leena@tangerineartspace.com, or call +91-98862-18518.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Reema Moudgil / April 15th, 2015

Bike ambulances launched; air ambulances by year end

Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel
View of Bike Ambulance First Response Unit (FRU) inaugurated by the Health Minister U.T. Khader in Bangalore on Tuesday. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. / The Hindu
View of Bike Ambulance First Response Unit (FRU) inaugurated by the Health Minister U.T. Khader in Bangalore on Tuesday. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. / The Hindu

Two companies had evinced interest in taking up the air ambulance project in the State, the Minister said.

The much-awaited two-wheeler ambulances will hit the streets in the State from Wednesday. Health Minister U.T. Khader, who launched 30 first responder bike ambulances in the city on Tuesday, said his department was working at introducing air ambulances in the State by this year end.

Two companies had evinced interest in taking up the air ambulance project in the State, the Minister said.

Terming the bike ambulance project as a “platinum ten minutes” trauma care initiative, Mr Khader said the bikes will be flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday.

Aimed at reducing deaths due to road accidents, the platinum trauma care initiative is useful for negotiating heavy traffic in urban areas where it will be difficult for four-wheeler ambulances to reach the accident spot at the earliest.

Of the 30, 21 will be stationed at strategic locations in the city and one each in the districts of Mysore, Mangaluru, Kalaburgi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Davangere, Tumkuru, Vijayapura and Shivamogga.

The initiative will be implemented through GVK-EMRI, the organisation that is running the 108 Arogya Kavacha ambulance service. The bike ambulance rider will be a trained paramedic who has a driving licence. “The paramedic will reach the spot in ten minutes and give first aid and start resuscitation measures to save the victim till the four-wheeler ambulance arrives,” he said.

Each bike ambulance will carry 40 medical items including stethoscope, pulse oxymeter, bandages and IV normal saline apart from 53 basic drugs. The government has spent nearly Rs 2 lakh on each of the bike ambulances.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Afshan Yasmeen /Bengaluru – April 14th, 2015

In the company of writers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

NisarAhmedMPOs13apr2015

This photograph was taken in 1984 when the renowned Kannada poet, Prof KS Nisar Ahmed, was the president of  Karnataka Sahitya Academy. A felicitation function had been arranged for Masthi Venkatesha Iyengar, the  Kannada writer who had bagged the prestigious ‘Jnanapeetha Award’ for that year. 

It was a memorable  function in which many prominent writers  had participated. After the function, some of the close friends of Nisar Ahmed, including myself, gathered to congratulate him on arranging the function in a fitting manner. It was then that this photograph was taken.

Nisar Ahmed had started writing poetry in Kannada when he was studying MSc in Geology at the Central College  in the fifties. His poetry had caught the attention of his teacher and Kannada scholar GP Rajarathnam. He happened to read and correct his poetry and got it printed in the magazine of the Kannada Sangha of Central College. Later, poetry became his forte and he brought out one poetry collection after another.

He wrote prose too and translated two of Shakespeare’s plays. But he is recognised as a poet mainly as he has been writing poetry through all the literary movements of Kannada.Though his mother tongue is not Kannada, he has been writing in Kannada only.

Nisar Ahmed had also told the literary critics that he does not need any concession just because his mother tongue is not Kannada. He is also known as ‘Nithyostava Poet because his lyrics appeared in the first cassette of modern Kannada poetry under the same title. Since then, Nisar Ahmed has been a household name as one of the most popular among contemporary Kannada poets.

He was the president of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy between 1984 and 1987 and launched several programmes to take literature to the common people. In order to encourage young writers, many workshops were organised and lectures by eminent writers were arranged. He also organised a literary programme in every district and taluk head quarters and involved the local writers and the people  in creating awareness about the current literary trends. He started the English edition of the Academy’s quarterly journal ‘Aniketana’.

It was devoted to the English translation of Kannada literary pieces. Thus, it enabled the non-Kannada readers also to get an understanding of Kannada literature through translations. I remember that he had organised a seminar as the president of the Academy in Kanakapura of Bangalore Rural District in 1986 on the last quarter century of modern Kannada poetry in which stalwarts of Kannada literary world including Prof M Gopala Krishna Adiga, Prof  LS Seshagiri Rao, Dr Ramachandra Sharma, Dr Kamala Hampana had participated.

In the evening, there was a poets’ meet under the chairmanship of poet Dr Pu Thi Narasimhachar. It is worth mentioning that the seminar was attended by the people of Kanakapura in large numbers and actively participated in the interaction with the speakers of the seminar.

This photograph assumes importance for another reason. Two writers of yesteryears, namely the late Prof VM Inamdar and Prof Venugopala Soraba, are present in it.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Prof. M S Raghunath / DHNS – April 06th, 2015

As darkness looms, weavers spin success story

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Hubballi :

At Vishwanath Kenchi’s handloom unit at Gajendragad in Gadag district, the steady clacks of the looms belie all expectations. At a time when the handloom sector appears to be losing the fight to power looms, the 43-year-old has taken 75 weavers under his wing to ensure that their livelihood isn’t affected by the winds of change.
Kenchi’s organization – Adishakti Kaimagga Nekarara Sahakari Sangh Niyamita – which boasts of a flat structure, has been receiving a steady stream of orders since its inception as a self-help group in 2007. In the cooperative society’s success story lies a potential model for the handloom sector’s revival.

The climb to self-sustenance, though, wasn’t smooth. Kenchi found himself without work in 2007 when a cash-strapped Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation (KHDC) stopped giving him assignments. Hundreds of weavers were left in the lurch and were forced to migrate at the time.
But even in the face of such hardship, Kenchi decided to stick to his ‘family profession’. Work orders were few and far between, but he drew courage and solace from his handloom. Soon, a few others joined his self-help group.

During a visit to Heggodu in January 2008, Kenchi was inspired by theatre director and activist Prasanna, who has, time and again, taken up the cudgels for handloom weavers. Prasanna helped him and other weavers land more orders.

Things soon began to look up. “To meeting the growing demand, we had to buy another loom,” says Kenchi, who had to drop out of school after Class 3.

The Gajendragad resident was also egged on by the Deshpande Foundation in Hubballi. The NGO conferred on him the Navodyami Award in 2011. “Apart from the cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, it helped him get a bank loan of Rs 5 lakh.”

The loan was used to buy 3,634 sqft of land in Gajendragad to help the weavers expand their business.

Shrikant Chuncha, an employee of the sangh, credits the flat structure of the organization for the success of its business model. “As all employees are also members of the sangh, we get profit dividends, besides our wages, at the end of a year,” he explains.

Shadimbi Shantagiri, another employee, says members are paid Rs 17 per metre. “We weave about 10 m per day. Some of us manage to go up to 20 m.”
Another worker, Drakshayani Ashapur, 50, says flexible working hours between 6am and 6pm help a number of women find part-time JOBS.

Gururaj, Kenchi’s son, says the sangh has 251 members and 75 members-cum-employees. “We plan to create about 1,000 JOBS here by 2020. We produce saris, and clothes for shirts and coats.”

Orders come from Charaka, a women’s cooperative society specializing in natural dyes and handloom weaving founded by Prasanna, KHDC and other organizations from across the state, he says.

The sangh has prepared a proposal, seeking 6-7 acres of land from the department of handloom and textile. “We provide insurance cover to weavers and scholarships to their children with the help of government schemes,” says Gururaj.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Sangamesh Mena Sinakai, TNN / April 10th, 2015

Performance Institute Crosses Milestone

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
From In Such A State, adapted from U R Ananthamurthy's Avasthe. The centre, founded by actor-director Prakash Belawadi, is presenting six plays
From In Such A State, adapted from U R Ananthamurthy’s Avasthe. The centre, founded by actor-director Prakash Belawadi, is presenting six plays

Banashankari /JP Nagar :

Centre for Film and Drama (CFD), which turned 10 last August, will stage six plays, Tuesday onwards, as part of a milieu of events spread across this landmark year.

“We wanted an institute for training in integrated media and production,” says co-founder Prakash Belawadi. Now, he says, this has become so commonplace that even the term ‘convergence’ has gone out of use.

When CFD took off, its facility on Millers Road had, in addition to a performance space, an art gallery. But in 2010, it was mandated as a trust under Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy, and the school building coming up in its premises in Banashankari Stage II will be ready by the end of this year, the actor-director estimates.

Since its opening production, Brian Friel’s Translations directed by Mallika Prasad, in 2004, the group has averaged about four productions a year. And the selection of plays, on the whole, Belawadi says, are concerned with identity and identity crises.

“All our actors and directors are people who are interested in theatre as well as literature and other arts, and work with other groups in Bengaluru as well. So most of our plays are not only Indian, they are also very Kannadiga,” he says.

Like many of his peers, he rubbishes the notion that the technology that has led to this media integration has robbed theatre of this audience and artistes.

“I’ve been in theatre for about 30 years and every year, someone asks me about this. If anything, mainstream Kannada cinema is at risk because you can’t experiment in film and serials the way you can in theatre and get away with it,” he says.

But the journey so far for CFD, as it is for anyone in the field of theatre, hasn’t been free of hardship, nor is it likely to be. “One of the main challenges is that you’re constantly borrowing, trying to make things work in the box office because there is hardly any sponsorship in theatre,” he says, adding that this ensures that those who stick to theatre, usually, are the ones who love it most.

But while this passion for theatre remains in the artistes, Belawadi has observed that it has rather fizzled out in those who write about it.

“Earlier, staging a play was a risk, and reviewing it was equally risky,” he recalls, adding that critics were also people who were part of the theatre community, like himself.

“They deeply cared about it, and would get hated for the kind of reviews they wrote. This kind of engagement with the writer is something I miss,” he says. And this, he notes, is a problem common to cinema and music as well.

Even at the institute, he says, though he and the other faculty would like to train students in the art of theatre criticism, few are interested. “Most come to learn editing or acting,” he says.

So what does he feel is the solution to this? Conferences that facilitate interaction between members of the theatre community and those who write about them, and discussions of fresh scripts, he replies.

Plays next week

Tuesday – Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen

Wednesday –  Aatankavaadiya Aakasmika Saavu (Kannada)

Thursday – The Other Side Of History, a translation of Baaki Itihas by Badal Sircar

Friday – Badal Sircar’s Bogola Charit Manas (Bengali)

Saturday – In Such A State, based on U R Ananthamurthy’s Avasthe

Sunday – U R Ananthamurthy’s Avasthe (Kannada)

About the centre

Centre for Film and Drama offers year-long courses and works from Suchitra Film Society, Banashankari. Phone: 99868 63615

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Chetana Divya Vasudev / April 11th, 2015

Fellowship award for Chauhan

Records, All, Science & Technology

O.P. Chauhan, scientist, Defence Food Research Laboratory, has secured the ‘Bioved Fellowship award 2015’ for his contribution in the field of food technology from Bioved Research Institute of Agriculture and Technology.

Mr. Chauhan’s research areas include post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables, high pressure processing, pulsed electric field processing, microwave dehydration, vacuum frying and modified/controlled atmosphere packaging/storage of fruits and vegetables.

His research findings have appeared in over 60 international and national peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

He has authored five international and six national book chapters.

Apart from this he has seven patents to his credit. — Staff Correspondent

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / Mysuru – April 12th, 2015

Mangaluru beauty to promote breast cancer awareness

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Mangaluru :

When she was 12, she knew she would do something big. Thirteen years down the line, Aafreen Rachel Vaz, the first runner-up at fbb Femina Miss India 2015, has done it.

She will launch her own institute – Early Detection for a Better Future (EDBF) – which will work towards spreading awareness about breast cancer among Indian women. The institute, which will be launched on Tuesday, will concentrate on breast cancer. It will, later, bring under its umbrella other diseases which can be detected early.

“I do have a reason (for taking up breast cancer) – but that reason just served as a trigger. I lost a loved one at a very young age in Mumbai simply because it was misdiagnosed. I don’t think misdiagnosis on cancer should lead to someone’s death,” Aafreen, a third-year medical student at AJ Institute of medical science, Mangaluru, told TOI.

Aafreen’s resolve was strengthened when she won a scholarship from the Royal Society of Breast Cancer, New Zealand, and worked in the field for a year. She completed her Bachelor in Science with a major in physiology from the University of Otago, New Zealand, apart from doing a one-year course in radiation therapy from the same university.

Miss India was not even on cards; it happened by chance. Aafreen had directed a 45-minute film, ‘The Untrodden Path’, to enter a competition at Jipmer, Puducherry. Just then, Campus Princess, a pageant of the Times Group, was held. Aafreen was chosen winner, giving her automatic entry into Femina Miss India.

“I knew it was a one-month thing and studies would lag. But what better platform to launch many things which I dreamt of early, and why would not I go for it?” said Aafreen.

“It’s selfish to promote an NGO for a cause from which I will get a lot of satisfaction,” she quipped.

How will she balance her studies and handle the new responsibility? “The stress factor will be governed by my plan of action and how well my college is going to work with me. If I feel the stress is taking me to a point where I can’t handle it — I doubt it will happen — I will take a break from studies. But I will complete it (medicine). I have not thought about specialization, but oncology or psychiatry would be the choice,” Aafreen said.

Her Mangaluru roots are “too complicated to explain”. But her father would love a good chat in Konkani, she said, adding her parents were very happy to hear about her success. “I came to know that my mother had a shrill voice when she screamed with joy over the phone from New Zealand,” said Aafreen.

Getting into medicine was made easier by her parents, who asked her to go for what she is naturally good at, what she would enjoy doing and be successful at. “I’m good at human body systems. I’m lucky that my cause and my chosen career path go hand in hand.”

She will not refuse offers from Bollywood, Aafreen said. “I have been given offers, but my present commitment will not allow. Acting is natural to me as it has helped me get out of many a situation.”

She plans to hold a women’s marathon in Mangaluru soon to promote EDBF and raise awareness on breast cancer. “This will happen in a couple of months as I will away with Miss World commitments.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / TNN / April 07th, 2015

MIT solar flair will provide impetus to rural Karnataka

Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has roped in city-based Selco Foundation to run pilot project to ultimately benefit Karnataka

The MIT software will help minimise cost of installing solar micro-grids fo 10-50 kW to ensure uninterrupted power supply
The MIT software will help minimise cost of installing solar micro-grids fo 10-50 kW to ensure uninterrupted power supply

​US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Selco Foundation in Bengaluru are sowing the seeds for large-scale rural solar electrification in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The aim is to pepper rural landscapes with well-placed 10-50 kW solar power micro-grids to directly supply uninterrupted power supply at minimal cost to small clusters of houses in villages.

The idea is to install solar power micro-grids in villages so that larger electric supply grids using conventional thermal/hydel power could more easily meet the growing urban demand for power in future.
Selco Foundation, a non-profit organisation focusing on enhancing quality of life and wealth creation in rural India through sustainable energy applications, is scheduled to run a pilot project in Munger district in Bihar to test an MIT-developed software tool that automatically analyses ideal locations for installing micro-grids.
According to MIT, a team of its graduate students and data scientists developed a software tool that identifies houses from readily-available satellite imagery and automatically analyses precise locations for setting up solar micro-grids in villages.
An MIT News Office release on the project said once the locations of houses are determined the computer runs thousands of combinations on where solar panels, battery packs, and distribution wires could be located.

This allows the team to pick configurations that provide power to the greatest number of houses with the least wiring to minimise costs.
Niraj Marathe, project lead, Selco Foundation, told Bangalore Mirror, “If proven accurate and effective, it can be used by project developers as an affordable planning tool as it will consider optimum costing as basis for planning and design of a (solar power) micro-grid system.”
In a pre-pilot trial run conducted by MIT in an unnamed Indian village, it was found that the process indeed saved considerable time and money otherwise spent in sending teams from village to village to identify locations.
The MIT findings have been published in the journal Big Data.
After the pre-pilot trial, MIT roped in Selco Foundation to conduct the pilot project in Munger.
Marathe said following the successful completion of the pilot in Munger, Selco plans to scout for villages in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to install solar power-grids using the MIT software.
“We will work on two micro-grids simultaneously (in Munger). One will be planned and designed using the MIT tool, while the other will follow conventional planning and design methodology of Selco,” Marathe explained. “This will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the tool. Following the execution and detailed monitoring, we will evaluate the tool, incorporate necessary changes and use the tool again on planning different sets of micro-grids.”
MIT will select four more Indian villages for the next phase of testing: Two will have solar micro-grids installed using existing methods, and two installed by using patterns selected by the MIT software. These villages will then be compared for the actual costs and performance of the systems to determine the benefits.
This is the right time for installing micro-grids. In keeping with the state’s new solar power policy, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) earlier in April decided to keep only solar power units of more than 5 MW under the concerned acts for issuing licences. KSPCB chairman, Vaman Acharya, said this meant that public who installed solar power plants of capacity less than 5 MW need not get ‘No Objection Certificates’. Solar power comes under green category in the industry categorisation of Pollution Control Act.
“We’re hoping that public agencies eventually see the wisdom of mapping 100 million rural households…,” MIT News Office quoted Stewart Craine, chair of UN Foundation’s mapping group and head of DevelopmentMaps.org, a company offering satellite-based mapping services.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Nirad Mudur, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 13th, 2015

Sci-fi writer Rajshekhar passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Dharwad :

Science fiction writer and physics professor Rajshekhar Bhusnurmath, 77, died at his Dharwad residence in the early hours of Sunday.

From Nidagundi in Ron taluk, Rajshekhar earned Master’s in physics and taught at Karnatak Science College in Dharwad. Son of noted writer SS Bhusnurmath, Rajshekhar was a popular sci-fi writer in Kannada and has produced several programmes for All India Radio.

Many of his novels were serialized in newspapers and magazines. Post retirement, he was guiding youngsters in astronomy. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / TNN  / April 13th, 2015

Online Database of City Launched

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All
Bengaluru :
An online database on Bengaluru, Justadz.com, has been launched recently by Naveen, a city-based entrepreneur.

Justadz is a comprehensive search platform developed and carefully assessed over a period of two years.

“We are mainly engaged in providing specific answers to the queries we receive. What counts most is a specific accessible answer to one’s requirements. Simply put, we strive to connect every single person searching for a solution with the apt service provider in his locality,” Justadz told Express.

“With numerous facilities such as online and offline search, classified listings, lead generations, promotions and discount offers along with several value-added services, Justadz.com aims to become Bengaluru’s best local search engine,” said Khussaal Jain, Naveen’s technical guide and mentor.

Naveen said the website will be updated bi-annually so that all the content on it is up-to-date and relevant for users.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 13th, 2015