Four students from a Bengaluru school have bagged topped spots in the Cambridge Assessment International Examinations (CAIE). Their performance was based on tests conducted in the November 2018 and June 2019 Cambridge examination series, the results of which were announced on Friday.
There was celebrations at Inventure Academy as two of their students received ‘Top in the World’ awards for mathematics while two others received ‘Top in the Country’ awards in a range of subjects, including computer science, design and technology, geography, and global perspective and research.
School captain Divij Gupta has topped the world in mathematics for three consecutive years. He is a member of Inventure’s round square youth parliament and football, athletics and music teams. He aspires to pursue theoretical physics at one of the world’s leading universities. “It is a surreal feeling to have bagged three top of the world ranks. It reaffirms my interest in math and motivates me to work harder in the same stream going forward. I am grateful to my teachers, my school and my parents for their continuous support,” he said.
Omkar Ashutosh Kerkar has topped the world in AS-level mathematics. Abhishek Jain topped the country in A-level computer science and received the high achievement award in AS-level design and technology while Indika Kandwal received the high achievement award in A level geography and AS level global perspectives and research.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / November 22nd, 2019
Dr Aditya Bharadwaj inserted a heart pumping device and a stent through the axillary artery in the shoulder instead of the femoral artery in the groin.
Cardiologist Dr Aditya Bharadwaj with his 70-year-old patient
Bengaluru :
In a path-breaking move, an interventional cardiologist from Bengaluru, Dr Aditya Bharadwaj, has opened new options for stent surgery and other cardiac procedures.
He inserted a heart pumping device and a stent through the axillary artery in the shoulder. Traditionally, a heart pumping device is inserted through the femoral artery in the groin and a stent through a separate artery. Dr Bharadwaj has opened up an optional access point to the affected parts of the heart for cardiologists across the world. Axillary artery is a much closer access point to the heart than the femoral artery, which is through the groin.
The procedure was carried out at Loma Linda University and Heart Institute in California, on a 70-year-old Vietnam war veteran who had recently suffered a cardiac arrest. Doctors found that he had severe coronary artery calcification, a condition where there is a build-up of calcium in the arteries causing blood vessels to shrink, leading to heart diseases.
A press statement by the university stated that surgeons were unable to insert interventions in the vascular entry points because of calcification. Due to the patient’s condition, there were no viable traditional arterial access points. With no options left, Dr Bharadwaj, a medical graduate from Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, used the axillary artery to insert the stent and the pumping device. This, however, came with risks as working with arteries near the neck could lead to stroke.
However, Dr Bharadwaj carried on with the procedure and the patient was up and walking a few hours after the surgery. He was discharged two days later. “The success of this procedure opens the door for patients to have more viable cardiovascular intervention surgeries. Physicians have conducted single-access procedures through the femoral artery near the groin but never through the axillary artery,” Dr Bharadwaj said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / November 18th, 2019
After 30 years of retirement, 91-year-old NS Dattareya feels fit enough to come back to the ground.
NV Dattareya and his son Murli go for a 5km run every morning. (Photo | EPS)
Bengaluru :
NS Dattareya, a 91-year-old man, who recently ran the 5km ‘Run for Unity’ marathon in the city, has become an inspiration not just to policemen and citizens. Netizens have taken to social media to heap praise on him as well.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East, Isha Pant, tweeted a picture of the nonagenarian on the day of the run, calling him an inspiration. Soon, several people, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, reacted to the post and lauded Dattareya for his zeal and passion.
Dattatreya developed an interest in marathons and walkathons in January this year. After his first race in January, he started urging his son, Murli, to participate in more and more marathons with him so that they could inspire youngsters. S
Soon, they both started a routine of running 5 km every morning.
Dattareya maintains a healthy diet that includes as many greens as possible. He said that his record of fitness goes back to his school days, when he a part of the football team. However, when he joined State Bank of Mysore as a manager, he could not keep up with sports.
After 30 years of retirement, he feels fit enough to come back to the ground.He runs 5-10 km daily, but he ‘cheats’ on Mondays. With more than 50 medals and 10 trophies in his kitty in less than a year, 5km is no big deal for him. As an athlete, he has covered distances of more than 20km in one go.
“Every weekend I search for places where I can run,” he said. Dattatreya will represent India in the 21st Asia Master Athletics Championship in Malaysia on December 2 this year.“Everywhere, we are able to feel the energy, josh and love, which is nothing less than motivation,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Rhia Cyril / Express News Service / November 04th, 2019
Mysuru’s V. Ambika, representing Karnataka in the 35th National Junior Athletic Championships 2019 being held at Guntur, won gold medal in the U-20 Girls Shot-Put event.
Ambika, a student of Maharani’s Arts & Science College, Mysuru, threw the shot-put to a distance of 14.24m to win the gold.
Rekha of Harayana won silver with a throw of 13.95m, while Paramjot Kaur of Punjab took bronze with a throw of 13.76m.
Ambika is coached by senior athlete Mohan Kumar in Mysuru at Chamundi Vihar Stadium.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / November 03rd, 2019
Rajendran aka A Raja of Chamundeswari Watch Works | Photo Credit: K Murali Kumar
In an age where replacing is considered more convenient than repairing, mechanics of timepieces are slowly becoming irrelevant
It is tempting to say that Kamaraj Road is untouched by time. For you find here: little stores with hand-painted signboards, over half-a-century-old houses with wooden doors opening out to the streets, stray cattle and street dogs lazily perambulating in its narrow arterial lanes, petty shops selling obscure sweetmeats in plastic and glass jars among other things. But these are mere remnants of the past. Like a fading, half-torn poster of Kamal Haasan from the 1980s on a concrete wall on the road, these too shall, one day, cease to exist.
If you wander through the road, you will find some places housing fascinating objects of history hidden in plain sight — it is necessary to do this by foot as it is near-impossible in this congested, one-way to stop your vehicle and search for these spots. A wooden reclining chair outside Sakthi Antique Clocks & Furniture catches the eye. The shop’s cramped interior has four chairs, a table and about 30 wooden timepieces, predominantly pendulum and cuckoo clocks, occupying the walls. The proprietor, Mahesh and the repairer, Ilyaz Ahmed, occupy two of the four chairs. Like a scientist probing a specimen through his microscope, Ilyaz, at his table, inspects a wristwatch with his loupe. This is his third year at Sakthi and his fifth workplace in 55 years as a timepiece technician.
“This is all I know,” says Ilyaz. At 13, he joined Aero Watch Company in 1964. He was not a watch-repairing prodigy. “In my next job at Everjoy, there was this man called Sampangi, whom I consider my teacher. He would rap my knuckles with forceps if I made a mistake.” Those raps, he says, made him responsible. “I was not educated. So, if not for him, I would have been a rogue.”
Aero Watch Company, Everjoy and Sampangi do not exist today. Analogue clocks are not any more a necessity. It is an age where replacing is considered more convenient than repairing.
When asked if he likes his job, Ilyaz responds, “Yes, there is 100% satisfaction.”
Pieces of novelty
Akshay Pillai, 38, has a fascination for old things. Paintings, cricket memorabilia, fashion designs, typewriters… He collects them all and considers them a novelty because they would be unfamiliar to an observer belonging to this generation.
Akshay’s most cherished collection are the clocks. When he was 19, he had stepped into Chamundeswari Watch Works, a repair-cum-sales shop in Sivan Chetty Garden Street, on Kamaraj Road. Intrigued by its display of clocks — in various sizes and shapes — it was his gateway into the world of antiques. Its owner A Rajendran, known as Raja, showed the curious teenager one clock after another, some of them dating back to the 18th Century. He told him collecting antique clocks is not just for millionaires; he could, too, if he wished. So, Akshay studied antique clocks, catalogued them for auction houses, and, eventually, started collecting them.
Made in France in 1920, the skeleton clock has its workings laid bare | Photo Credit: K Murali Kumar
“Before industrialisation, there were only handmade clocks. A clockmaker took care of the mechanism. Then, it would go to the casemaker. If you wanted some metal engravings, it went to a blacksmith. So, it involved at least a couple of people’s work to produce a clock.”
Clocks were rare. Sometimes restricted to royalty. “In India, it was a status symbol. The maharajas of Jodhpur had them.” If you owned them towards the end of the 18th Century in Great Britain, you had to pay taxes.
Clocks were mass-produced following industrialisation. The invention of the battery-powered, auto-oscillating quartz clocks in the 1920s spawned millions of them after a few decades. Until then, clocks needed to be wound, adjusted during warm and cold weather and serviced occasionally. They needed a repairer.
Still winding
Chamundeswari Watch Works (CWW), consisting of centuries-old clocks, appears unassuming from the outside. Its flex name banner has a typo. Chamudeshwari, it reads. An eatery next to it, Sri Krishna Fast Food, sells veg fried rice for ₹40. Despite the bustle outside, Raja, CWW’s proprietor and repairer, works on a watch, listening to ‘Naanamo’ from Aayirathil Oruvan, a 1960s MGR film.
Like many residents of Kamaraj Road, Raja is of Tamil descent. Before the road was renamed in the 1970s to commemorate K Kamaraj, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, it was known as Cavalry Road. British soldiers from the Cavalry regiment stayed there. Later it became a hub of moneylenders and traders from Tamil Nadu. Raja’s father Anandan worked for the Indian Telephone Industries while moonlighting as a wrist watch repairer. When Anandan started a shop in 1967, Raja would watch his father with fascination as he opened the case of a watch and worked on its tiny spiky wheels and springs.
Raja took over from his father and expanded CWW from a modest wrist watch repair centre to a reasonably big shop that sold and repaired antique timepieces. It has clocks of many sizes and types, spanning centuries, from different parts of the world. The fine creations of pre-industrial clock-makers from all over Europe continue to tick in a narrow lane in Bengaluru.
The shop’s history is rich. But Raja isn’t. His father left him a house and a shop. With these, has managed to make ends meet. But clock repairing is not a lucrative occupation. His wife says he hardly gets customers. “Today we had no one… but he continues to do it because he likes it,” she smiles.
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As a collector, it is scary to see these repairers fading away
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Quartz has simplified and depreciated timepieces. “In Quartz watches, you just need to replace the machinery or the battery. It is a five-minute job,” Raja says. This work fetches him ₹50 to ₹100. Whereas, he would earn about ₹500, servicing a mechanical watch. “Mechanical watches are complex. They have an elaborate machinery and need to be serviced regularly. But they stay for a long time.”
“The reason why clocks from the UK and other places abroad come to Raja is because it is very expensive to repair them in the UK,” says Akshay. According to recruiter.com, a watch repairer in the United States usually gets an average wage of between $24000 (about 17 lakh) and $36000 (about 25 lakh). That is perhaps more than Raja’s lifetime earnings from repairing clocks.
“There are only a handful of repairers of antique clocks left in Bengaluru,” says Akshay. Raj Kumar Chandrashekar Chettiar, 58, a fourth generation clock repairer from Hubli and Mohan Kumar, who runs Praveen Watch Company, are other names that Mahesh of Sakthi Antique Clocks & Furniture mentions. “As a collector, it is scary to see these repairers fading away.” Ilyaz, however, is optimistic. “There was Dilip Kumar in the beginning. Then came Amitabh Bachchan and now Shah Rukh… God will send someone.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> MetroPlus> Society / by Praveen Sudevan / October 28th, 2019
While she’s often asked about work-life balance, the mother of two – who relocated to Bengaluru after spending 18 years in Germany – feels that it is “so last century.
Sindhu Gangadharan
Bengaluru :
When Sindhu Gangadharan walks into a meeting room, she is used to the audience anticipating the entry of a man. “There’s initial apprehension conveyed through their body language, but they soon realise she knows what she’s saying,” says Gangadharan, managing director of SAP Labs India, the first woman at the top of the German tech giant, leading an 8,000-plus team.
Despite that distinction, Gangadharan, who took charge in September, feels it’s what you bring to the table, articulating what you know, and bringing your best self to work that takes you to the top, gender not being a consideration. While there have been times she has been overlooked, she chooses to move on without dwelling upon it. “People in Germany used to ask if it was any different for me, growing up in India, and I always said it wasn’t. Growing up in Bengaluru, my mother had the same expectations from me that she had of my two brothers. Women are evolving away from compartmentalisation. Our focus is on achieving a flow between all aspects of our lives,” says Gangadharan, who studied in Bangalore University and started her career with SAP Labs India in 1999 when it was located in ITPL.
While she’s often asked about work-life balance, the mother of two – who relocated to Bengaluru after spending 18 years in Germany – feels that it is “so last century.” For her, it’s about enjoying every part of the journey and learning from it. “These were often discussions on this in Germany, and I always felt there’s nothing like work-life balance. Work is also a significant part of one’s life,” says Gangadharan, adding that as a young girl on the debating team in school, she learned skills that she uses every day in her current product management role, making innovations easily understandable for people.
A lesson she learnt early on in her career is something she holds close. In 2001, when she moved to Germany, she would always enter discussions with a clear idea that everyone would speak English. “When I was on my maternity break, I came across many who would make an effort to speak in English. At that point I realised that when others were making an effort to make me feel comfortable, I should also be doing the same.
When I made that mental switch, it was like embracing the culture,” she says. She soon realised how it could break barriers and create a sense of inclusion. “It’s about overcoming inhibitions within yourself,” says Gangadharan, whose focus is on collaboration with a customer-centric approach, thought leadership and building a culture of inclusion.
Gangadharan is often spotted with a diary in hand, capturing her thoughts. With work keeping her busy, she admits that she doesn’t get as much time as she would like to for writing, which she eventually hopes to pursue soon.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / October 31st, 2019
A file photo of former Lokayukta of Karnataka N. Venkatachala with cash recovered following raids on three government officials in Bengaluru.
He was known for bringing to light the existence of the anti-corruption body
N. Venkatachala, former judge of the Supreme Court and former Lokayukta of Karnataka , died here on Wednesday morning. He was 89.
He had an accidental fall after getting up around 6 a.m. According to a statement from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, he was brought in an unresponsive state. “Despite all resuscitative measures, he remained unresponsive. He was declared dead at 7 a.m.,” said the statement issued by hospital president Naresh Shetty.
Mr. Venkatachala was known for bringing to light the existence of Karnataka’s autonomous anti-corruption wing as the Lokayukta by conducting raids on public servants and disclosing their names and particulars of seized assets, besides allowing the media to show video footage of his raids on public institutions such as hospitals on complaints related to poor public service.
Born on July 3, 1930, at Mittur village in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district in a farming family, he obtained his B.Sc. degree and B.L. degree from Mysore University. He enrolled as an advocate in the then High Court of Mysore (now Karnataka) on November 16, 1955, and practised law in the High Court and its subordinate courts at Bengaluru in civil, criminal and constitutional matters.
He was a part-time Reader in Mercantile Law from 1958 to 1970 besides being a Legal Adviser to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal, from 1963 to 1973 and to Bangalore University from 1970 to 1973. He was the High Court’s government pleader from 1968 to 1973 and High Court’s government advocate from 1973 to 1977.
Mr. Venkatachala was appointed as Additional Judge of the High Court on November 28, 1977, and made a Permanent Judge on September 8, 1978. He also functioned as the head of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, during 1990. He was appointed the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court in May 1992. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on July 1, 1992, and retired in July 1995. He was Lokayukta from July 3, 2001, to July 2, 2006.
His last rites will be performed at the Hebbal crematorium on Thursday.
In his condolence message, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa described Mr. Venkatachala as a person who strengthened the anti-corruption body and also built public trust over it. Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said his contribution to the fight against corruption would always be remembered.
Incidentally, Mr. Venkatachala’s daughter, Aruna Ramesh, is the Head of Emergency Department and son-in-law Ramesh D. is the head of Urology in Ramaiah hospital where he was rushed to after the fall. But both of them were out of the country, a statement from the hospital said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent & Krishnaprasad / Bengaluru – October 30th, 2019
Naib Subedar Ramanand Sharma secured the 12th position in one-metre diving and 10th position in three-metre diving.
Bengaluru :
Five sportspersons of the Madras Engineer Group won laurels for the country at the 7th military world games held at Wuhan, China, from October 18 to 27.
Subedar Anandan G won gold in 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metre para-athletics events. Havildar Deepak bagged a silver in light flyweight boxing, and Naib Subedar N Sriram Balaji won bronze in Tennis (singles).
Naib Subedar Ramanand Sharma secured the 12th position in one-metre diving and 10th position in three-metre diving. Naib Subedar T Santosh bagged the 7th position in 400-metre hurdles.
In the Asian Rowing Championship held at Korea from October 22-27, rower Havildar Jagan S and para-rower Havildar Narayana won the gold medal in Light Weight Coxless Four event and bronze in mixed 4+ event, respectively.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / October 30th, 2019
Balkrishna Doshi speaks exclusively to Metrolife about why great Indian architecture hasn’t percolated down to our dwellings, and how technology is robbing us of our intuition.
Doshi has set up a foundation to promote affordable housing in India.
The Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru celebrated its 46th Foundation on Monday, and unveiled a plaque in honour of its architect Dr Balkrishna Doshi. The legendary Doshi has worked closely with master architects such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. His iconic design for the IIM-B campus is hailed across the world.
During his visit to Bengaluru, Doshi, 92, delivered a lecture titled ‘Between Encounters and Dreams’ at IIM-B.
The Padma Shri awardee and Pritzker Laureate has been instrumental in establishing the Vastu Shilpa Foundation for research in environmental design. The foundation has done pioneering work in low-cost housing and city planning. Metrolife caught up with him for a chat just before the celebrations.
Why do you think Bengaluru has not been able to retain its architectural charm?
Very simply, we are charmed by other cultures and technology and pursue personal interests. We don’t want to bother about environment or society. It is not just in Bengaluru but all over. When you use technology and tools, the personal rapport is reducing. When everybody is busy in their own world, then naturally the real world is not there. How many hours of the day we are using mobile phones and other technology… we really have no time to chat. We don’t talk casually. A few years ago, we would meet friends and talk about things we felt were important to us and then you carried the conversation home. But today, that world doesn’t exist. We have now found alternatives which may be technology and not human and that has become an essential part of our lives. The human values and concerns, ecological concerns, where are they? All the time we are busy.
What are your suggestions to make Bengaluru a better place in an architectural sense?
Why just architecturally, I think it should overall be a better place! How do we improve ourselves if we cut the trees, if we take the foliage, if we don’t go to the gardens and if we don’t have the time to reflect on our natural wealth but widen the roads and move around in cars? In fact, we have never taught people from childhood the real meaning of virtues like togetherness, or ponder over something that is nourishing. Why do people still go to temples? Because it is where they think there is some connection. Now we go to the temple, but our mind is not there. The trees are cut, roads are widened and landscapes are changed; are we gaining anything or losing?
Karnataka has a record of great architecture, right from Badami to Belur – with temples that are beautifully structured. Why didn’t this sense of architecture come down to ordinary folks? Why do you think our cities and homes are so miserably designed ?
When we look at a temple, it is the intangible, an inner calling that we look at. One tries to connect from the inside. Now there is a disconnect. Today, we have become materialistic and technologically oriented. Technology has taken over our spiritual content – the intangible one – where there was reverence, inquiry and an attitude to do things. What is our focus today, what are we searching for and what would it be that would make us the happiest? These are things we don’t want to ask now. We want to do greater and faster production but what about our villages and towns that are gradually shrinking? Ecologically, the natural resources also have depleted, where is the place to remain ourselves? We think it is progress but we are forgetting that progress is connected to something higher and not just restricted to material progress. This is a major problem in planning and architecture.
Which city do you think is architecturally the most pleasing?
Well, the cities in the south are better. Of course, Varanasi is there, but that’s also dying. I did a project there, so I visited it often. Suddenly, there is a wedding procession and the public is still; then after some time, in some other place, the procession of a dead body is making its way and people stop and give way. I have always wondered how Varanasi never had a problem. That city has an underlying meaning to it.
His design vision for IIM-B
‘One of the things that I tried to do at IIM-B was to reverse the order. The IIM campus talks about nature, leisure, casual walks and one’s relationship with nature and the cosmos all the time.’
Quick takes
On what cities are losing:
One of the essentials we had was the gift of intuition, thinking about reverence, togetherness, humility and concern for others… I don’t think they are there anymore.
On being celebrated in films like ‘Ok Kanmani’:
That was by chance (laughs). It was Mani Ratnam who did this and it had nothing to do with me. The more time passes the more reflective you become, so I wonder.
But what I try to do is to find a way to look at time as one of the major elements and energy as another. So, if I can find a way to fuse time and energy and look at production as a meaningful thing, then those projects become important. So, everywhere, I would like to save, recycle, readjust.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> MetroLife / by Surupasree Sarmmah / DH News Service / Bengaluru – October 29th, 2019
The statue of Sir Mark Cubbon, Commissioner of Mysore in the mid-19th century, is on the move again. Its new home will be Cubbon Park, which is named after him.
The Lord Cubbon statue outside the High Court | NAGARAJA GADEKAL
Bengaluru :
The statue of Sir Mark Cubbon, Commissioner of Mysore in the mid-19th century, is on the move again. Its new home will be Cubbon Park, which is named after him. The statue, located near the back gate of the Karnataka High Court for some years now, will be shifted in front of the bandstand in Cubbon Park within two months.
According to Rajendra Kumar Kataria, principal secretary, horticulture department, there was a long-time request from the High Court to shift the statue, and ever since, the department had been searching for the right place to relocate the statue sans damage. “We needed to decide on the place and also required a group of experts to have it shifted without any damage. The work has been allotted to the Public Works Department (PWD), and we have also given a letter stating that there should be no damage to the park property while carrying out work,” said Kataria.
This is not the first time Sir Cubbon is being moved — the statue was first installed in the Parade Ground in 1866, then moved to the front of Attara Kacheri, and later behind it.
Kusuma G, Deputy Director of Cubbon Park, said that about 20 days ago, they had received orders to have the statue moved. “The orders had come from the High Court and the horticulture department identified the spot in front of the bandstand. The PWD started work a week ago and we were told that it will take about two months for work to be completed. An expert team has been called upon to move the statue.”
Meanwhile, the battle over the relevance of the Cubbon statue continues. Members of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association (CPWA) have been celebrating the birth anniversary of Sir Mark Cubbon every year since 2012, by visiting the High Court and garlanding the statue. Now, they are more than happy with the statue being moved.
But a set of protesters which doesn’t wish to see statues of British officers, is demanding the removal of Cubbon’s statue. “Most of the people didn’t know that Mark Cubbon’s statue is located near the back gate of the High Court, where no one was allowed, and now with it being shifted, everyone will know about it. Lord Cubbon’s contribution to the city is immense,” said Umesh Kumar, advocate and CPWA president.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Iffath Fathima / Express News Service / October 29th, 2019
