Category Archives: Records, All

Bengaluru-based cafe gives flight to big dreams of little people

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All

Life has just gotten better for 23-year-old M Rajashekar Reddy, who has finally landed himself a job in the city, after searching for five long years.

The Hobbit, Koramangala, has hired seven dwarves  / Pushkar V
The Hobbit, Koramangala, has hired seven dwarves  / Pushkar V

Bengaluru :

Life has just gotten better for 23-year-old M Rajashekar Reddy, who has finally landed himself a job in the city, after searching for five long years. He had been visiting Bengaluru from Anantapur since 2014 but every employer he approached rejected him due to his height and hearing impairment. “Back home, I used to do farming and earned only a meagre `6,000 a month. My new job now has given me hope for a better future,” said the 3’9’’ footed  man, who lives with dwarfism, a genetic condition that results in shortness in height.

Reddy isn’t the only one feeling relieved these days. Like him, six others with dwarfism have been hired by The Hobbit, a recently-opened cafe in Koramangala. Karthik Raj, the co-owner of the café, said giving back to society was always part of the plan during the cafe’s conceptualisation. “Growing up, I had a neighbour who was a dwarf and I saw how people would tease him by calling him names such as ‘chottu’. Often, people with this condition find it difficult to get a job,” explained Raj.

Agreed Prakash M, a badminton, shot put and discus plater, who will be joining the cafe in a week’s time. Despite being a sportsperson, Prakash struggled for years due to no adequate support from the government to compete in sporting tournaments. He had been applying for a job for a year but even a recent win of `75,000 in the Special Olympics held at Abu Dhabi last month wasn’t enough to lessen his worry since most of the money would be used in paying off his loans. Now, with a job at the cafe in hand, the 4’4’’ footed-man is ‘more than willing to work’ and is looking forward to settling down with a steady source of income.

Chamundeshwari, a 3’7” footed 28-year-old, who works as a cashier at the cafe added that the inclusive work environment motivates him  greatly to learn new things.It took Raj a year to find his seven employees, for six of whom, this will be their first job. He also added that they intend to start an organisation just for people living with the condition.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Preeja Prasad / Express News Service / May 02nd, 2019

‘Rani Abbakka Pade’ launched

Business & Economy, Records, All
Members of 'Rani Abbakka Pade'.
Members of ‘Rani Abbakka Pade’.

With ‘Rani Abbakka Pade’ now becoming a reality, those indulging in stalking and eve teasing need to reform.

Rani Abbakka Pade (RAP), the women-only patrolling team of Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate, will keep vigil in public places in the city and act against lewd gestures targeted at women and children.

The move has come with the objective of instilling a feeling of security among women and children in public places.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil who launched RAP at City Center Mall on Tuesday said that ‘Rani Abbakka Pade’ comprised of 50 women police constables. It was formed as per the IGP’s directions. The 50 member-team is divided into battalions of five lady constables each.

“RAP will be deployed at beaches, parks, malls, colleges and bus shelters. They will also make random checks in buses to check eve-teasing, bag and chain snatching from elderly people in particular. Issues related to child abuse in public places will also be dealt with by RAP. Women suffering eve-teasing and other issues may directly complain to members of Rani Abbakka Pade, who will then hand over the vandals to the jurisdictional police,” he said.

‘Rani Abbakka Pade’ will be headed by Police Sub Inspector Srikala. Similar women-only patrolling teams are active in other districts, Patil added.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DH News Service, Mangaluru / May 01st, 2019

It’s a perfect 100 for Bengaluru boy in JEE Main

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All

Kevin, also a Karnataka topper, is a  Class 12 student of Nehru Smaraka Vidyalaya in Jayanagar.

Kevin Martin
Kevin Martin

Bengaluru :

Bengaluru boy Kevin Martin (17) is among the 24 students across the country who scored a perfect 100 and will be qualifying for the JEE-Advanced examinations. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exams, declared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main Result on Monday night.

Kevin, also a Karnataka topper, is a  Class 12 student of Nehru Smaraka Vidyalaya in Jayanagar.This time, the exam was conducted twice in online mode: from January 8 to 12, and on April 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12. Kevin who appeared for  JEE Main in January secured 100 percentile then. Despite topping, he took the JEE Main in April and got an NTA score of 100 again. He is also appearing for  the ongoing Karnataka CET.

A total of 11,47,125 candidates appeared in JEE Main in January and April.  The top 2,24,000 rankers in JEE Main (including those who appeared in January exam) will be eligible for JEE Advanced 2019 exam.
JEE Main is held for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes offered at NITs, IIITs, SFTIs, and CFTIs.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 30th, 2019

BU convocation: Farmer’s daughter, Colonel among gold medallists

Education, Records, All
Winning accolades: The gold medallists at the 54th annual convocation of Bangalore University on Monday.
Winning accolades: The gold medallists at the 54th annual convocation of Bangalore University on Monday. 

65,039 candidates receive degrees; 216 students bag 328 gold medals and cash prizes

A Colonel and a farmer’s daughter were among those in the spotlight for bagging gold medals during Bangalore University’s (BU) 54th annual convocation on Monday.

Fifty-year-old Col. Swaroop S. Lohit, who bagged three gold medals, was elated. Hailing from a small village called Konanur in Arkalgud, Hassan, he is currently serving in Nagaland. He took up an MBA course in finance after taking a sabbatical-cum-study leave for two years.

Col. Swaroop said that he studied at the university’s Central College campus and went back to the classroom after a gap of three-and-a-half decades.

“I was initially apprehensive of whether I would be able to complete the course or not as I’m a computer science engineer and commerce was very new to me. I was allotted finance as a subject by the military training directorate, Army headquarters. I had to start from scratch and read NCERT books for classes 11 and 12 to understand the basics,” he said. He is all set to return to service from Tuesday.

Another medallist who made news was Asha K.N., the daughter of a farmer who bagged six gold medals. She also found mention in the speech of Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was the chief guest.

Ms. Asha, who completed M.A. in Kannada, has joined a B.Ed programme but says that she aspires to become a KAS officer. Overall, 65,039 candidates received degrees in various disciplines. In all, 328 gold medals and cash prizes were awarded to 216 meritorious students. A total of 166 Ph.D. degrees have been awarded in different disciplines.

Real gold medals for the first time

For the first time, Bangalore University has provided real gold medals to students. The medals have a silver base of 20 grams with 1.3 grams of pure gold embedded on the silver plate. Prior to this, students were only given gold-plated medals. Vinutha K.V., who won seven gold medals from postgraduate studies for M.Sc in Chemistry, said she was thrilled to receive medals that had real gold. “Most of our seniors had said that they got only gold-plated medals,” she said.

Governor gets plastic water bottle

No drinking water was provided during the convocation, as the organisers cited plastic ban. Some of the dignitaries on the dais were served water in a glass, but the Governor and Chancellor of the university Vajubhai Vala was the only one to be served water in a plastic bottle, which raised several eyebrows.

M.Sc. in solid waste management

With the city grappling with garbage crisis, Bangalore University has decided to introduce a postgraduate course in solid waste management from the coming academic year. K.R. Venugopal, Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, said that in addition to this, they would also introduce a new courses in disaster management, criminology and forensic science medicinal botany, aeronautical engineering and space technology, media management, graphics and animation, advertising and public relation, and film-making.

Need to preserve linguistic, cultural heritage: Naidu

Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu spoke about the need to preserve the linguistic and cultural heritage and diversity and the need to protect and develop regional languages and mother tongue.

While stating that it was important to lay a robust foundation through the creation of a strong base of natural sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology to promote scientific temper, he also said it was important to patent our indigenous knowledge and medicine.

The Vice-President also said that there was a need to ensure affordability and accessibility of higher education. “Access parity is at stake owing to commercialisation of education and commoditisation of knowledge. It is imperative that the principles of social equity and gender parity be of paramount concern as far as higher education is concerned,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / April 22nd, 2019

HS Doreswamy gets Ramnath Goenka Award

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The first edition of the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award in the state was held in the city on Monday.

Bengaluru :

The first edition of the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award in the state was held in the city on Monday.

Among the many awardees, 101-year-old, HS Doreswamy who was a freedom fighter and renowned journalist, was facilitated with the Lifetime Achievement award.

Samyukta Karnataka was awarded with the best Newspaper Award.

In the category of investigative journalism, GM Kumar, Managing Director of BTV got the award.

The awards are given in a bid to mark the works of journalists, in both print as well as broadcast journalism. Prashanth Goenka, Grandson of Ramnath Goenka said, “These awards are presented to the ones who have worked fair and believe in free journalism. This event is also to bring back Ramnath Goenka in our thoughts.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / April 23rd, 2019

In a first, IISc team directly delivers protein into cells

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Higher uptake: Iodine forms a stronger halogen bond with the receptor, say Surendar Jakka (sitting) and Govindasamy Mugesh.
Higher uptake: Iodine forms a stronger halogen bond with the receptor, say Surendar Jakka (sitting) and Govindasamy Mugesh.

The team achieved nearly sixfold increase in protein uptake by cells

In a breakthrough that might have huge medical implications, researchers at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have used a novel strategy to directly deliver proteins into mammalian cells. Proteins are big molecules and so cannot enter the cells on their own. So a team led by Govindasamy Mugesh from the institute’s Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry substituted a hydrogen atom of the protein with an iodine atom to achieve a nearly sixfold increase in protein uptake by cells.

The increased protein uptake was seen even when the molecular weight of the protein was 28,000 dalton, meaning the protein was much bigger in size than most of the therapeutic small molecules.

The researchers also tried replacing a hydrogen atom with an atom of bromine and chlorine but the uptake was way lower than when iodine was used.

In the case of bromine, the uptake of proteins increased by only about two times, while the uptake increased only marginally when chlorine was used. The results were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Other researchers have tried tagging the protein with cell-penetrating peptides, supercharged proteins and even used virus-like particles to ferry the proteins into cells. But these approaches have severe limitations including altering the protein function inside the cell. For this reason, most of the applications involving proteins are directed to extracellular targets. Proteins inside the cells get impaired during diseased conditions such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease. Supplementing the cellular protein in such cases becomes important and this is where the method used by the IISc team will come in handy.

The team had to first synthesise a green fluorescent protein with one hydrogen atom being replaced with an iodine atom. “To introduce iodine at a specific site on the protein, we had to use an iodinated amino acid. Since the iodinated amino acid used is unnatural (not genetically coded), protein synthesis machinery does not accept it. So we had to expand the genetic code of the organism to accept and incorporate the iodinated amino acid into the proteins during the biosynthesis in the cells,” says Prof. Mugesh.

Since the iodinated amino acid is introduced on the surface of the protein, the secondary structure is not altered and so the protein remains functionally intact.

Strong bond

Iodine forms a halogen bond with a specific receptor (caveolin) that transports the protein from the cell membrane surface to inside the cells. “Compared with bromine and chlorine, iodine is heavier and so it forms a stronger halogen bond with the receptor. This might be responsible for more proteins getting into the cells when we substitute a hydrogen with an iodine atom,” says Surendar R. Jakka from IISc’s Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry and first author of the paper.

To be functionally useful, the proteins must enter the cytoplasm of the cell. However, the moment proteins are ferried into the cell by the receptor they are trapped inside the endosomes and transported to lysosomes, where the proteins are degraded. Significant decrease in protein concentration as measured by the fluorescence intensity was seen by the researchers after 24 hours.

To overcome the problem of protein degradation, the team treated the cells with a peptide (ppTG21). “The peptide also gets into the endosomes along with the protein and changes the pH of the endosomes. The endosome gets ruptured due to pH change leading to release of the proteins into the cytoplasm. In this case, there was no decrease in the protein concentration even after 24 hours,” says Prof. Mugesh.

No toxicity

“We are substituting only one hydrogen atom with an iodine atom in the entire protein. So the toxicity is similar to native protein,” says Prof. Mugesh. “We tested the cell viability by treating the cells with different concentrations of the proteins for 90 minutes. The cells were healthy after taking up the protein. The morphology of the cells that had taken up the proteins did not change even at the end of 24 hours,” says Jakka.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Science / by R. Prasad / April 20th, 2019

Indian Joint Registry of hip, knee surgeries launched

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Placing India among an elite league of countries with a comprehensive and sophisticated knowledge bank, the Indian Society of Hip and Knee Surgeons on Saturday launched the Indian Joint Registry (IJR) in Bengaluru.

The registry was launched by Corin Wilson, Acting British Deputy High Commissioner, in the presence of 400 orthopaedic surgeons from across the globe at the 13th edition of the National Congress of Indian Society of Hip and Knee Surgeons (ISHKS) that began on Friday.

The registry has been put together by ISHKS along with Northgate Public Services – who also set up the National Joint Registry for the U.K. government. The IJR will serve as a highly secure platform to store data on hip and knee surgeries across India and will churn out focused reports for surgeons and patients to access, thereby helping them make more informed choices and better implant selection as well as post-surgery monitoring, said H.P.C. Khincha, organising chairman of the congress.

“The Indian Joint Registry is an initiative run by ISHKS in the interest of patients. Thousands of hip and knee replacement procedures are undertaken in India every year, bringing great benefit to many patients. The success of these procedures has resulted in greater numbers being undertaken each year,” he said. “IJR collects information on patients undergoing hip and knee replacement in India, to monitor the performance of implants,” he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – April 13th, 2019

Mysuru auto driver’s 19-year-old daughter sprints her way to Italy

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

The daughter of Manju, an auto driver and MB Rukmini, a homemaker, hails from KR Nagar, and was inspired to take up in sports professionally by her elder sister MR Anusha, also an athlete.

MR Dhanusha. (Photo: EPS)
MR Dhanusha. (Photo: EPS)

 

Mysuru :

Financial obstacles need not come in the way of dreaming and achieving big, proves 19-year-old MR Dhanusha, an athlete from Mysuru, who is the only girl to have qualified from University of Mysore, to represent India at the 30th Summer Universiade World to be held in Napoli, Italy from July 3 to 14.

The daughter of Manju, an auto driver and MB Rukmini, a homemaker, hails from KR Nagar, and was inspired to take up in sports professionally by her elder sister MR Anusha, also an athlete. So far, she has participated in more than 30 nationals; 50 state events and hundreds of district-level heptathlon events, a track of events consists of seven combined events, which include, 100 metre hurdles; 200 metre dash; 800 metre run; high jump; shot put; long jump; and javelin throw.

Unlike most of her college mates and friends, Dhanusha, a first-year BBA at Basudeva Somani College spends most of her time on the field practising track events. “Heptathlon events are tough and require stamina and endurance. I practice relentlessly for 8-9 hours a day. My dream is to win a gold medal for India,” she said.

While she was considered an extra player during school days, it was in middle school that she started participating in taluk-level events and was selected to undergo training in the Department of Sports and Youth Services for five years. “That was the turning point in my life,” she said.

In the history of the University of Mysore, she is the only girl to win gold at the All India Inter-University event held at Japan and this is the second time she has qualified to take part in the World University event.

“She is the only athlete selected from Mysuru to participate in international events. Despite hailing from a poor family, her achievements are remarkable, and we are confident that she will win more medal for our country,” said M Puneeth, coach, Sports Authority of Karnataka.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by K Rathna / Express News Service / April 17th, 2019

Vive la France and the music of the Bangalore Men

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

A home-grown all male choir is set to perform choral music that has rarely been played in the city.

Olsson first performed French choral music about 25 years back at the Gothenburg Cathedral in Sweden.
Olsson first performed French choral music about 25 years back at the Gothenburg Cathedral in Sweden.

When the music is written by French composers, sung by an Indian choir group which is led by a Swedish baritone and conductor – it’s a complete package. Especially when Jonas Olsson, founder of the said choir, Bangalore Men, says none of them speak French. Yes, the verses are in French and this unique celebration of French choral music titled Vive la France’, is a testimony of what passion for music can lead to; as well as Google translator.

Olsson is a Bengaluru-based Western classical trained singer who has been juggling his day time job at Volvo with teaching music at the Bangalore School of Music. He started the all-male voices ensemble to focus on Western classical music across a time period ranging from medieval to contemporary times. Olsson first performed French choral music about 25 years back at the Gothenburg Cathedral in Sweden. “French choral music is not so well-known in the choir music scene,” he explains. “It is a bit melancholy and the pieces that I have selected are fairly modern, dating back to the late 1800s and the mid 1900s.”

The fact that the audience in the city are more aware of composers like Mozart and Beethoven prompted Olsson to showcase the music composed by Gabriel Faure, Maurice Durufle and Francis Poulenc, a selection which will set the music from late 1800s to 1949. “Their music is too beautiful to be left alone,” he notes. The pieces will range from quietly meditative to joyous and triumphant, as the note accompanying the invitation promises.

The 18-member choir took about a couple of months to practise the pieces but that’s only because, Olsson stresses, they have been consistently practising singing every week for the past three years. “That makes it easier to pick up new pieces.” The Bangalore Men has previously performed Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s 9th symphony, Simply Schubert on Franz Schubert as well as A Cappela Through the Ages focussing on renaissance and early Baroque music.

Their choir singers are from diverse fields; doctors, engineers, architects and IT professionals hailing from across the country and religions. “Music is unifying,” Olsson truly believes in this as he has, over the years, introduced the city audiences to unique repertoires including British composer Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. “Music lovers from all over the world are on the same page. They feel the rhythm and pulse of good music.” But they have the responsibility to educate themselves in all styles of music as well as take their heritage forward. Olsson talks of his exposure to Carnatic music through two of his students and hopes to have some sort of collaboration with them. “It will show that as far as our music goes, we are not that far away from each other.”

As far as Olsson’s personal taste goes or his go-to music, he sees himself relaxing with classical music. “But I enjoy all music,” he says. His passion for music was instilled young, growing up in Sweden which, according to him, has a diverse musical scene with easy access to music conservatories.  He talks of an astonishing number of people taking to choral music in Sweden. About 1 million people go for choral music rehearsals every week. “It is that popular,” he laughs. Elsewhere, it is the enduring quality and richness of classical music that has kept the genre alive. “The pieces we will be performing are about a few centuries old,” he says. “They have survived so far and will continue to do so.” It is his aim to bring music that’s from the classical genre yet outliers so that the audiences are challenged as well. If even one person from the audience goes back and looks up choir music, it will gladden him. “Experience of the moment is one thing,” Olsson says, “but sparking their curiosity about the music played is a huge accomplishment.”

Since Vive la France will be performed in a church, Olsson believes that the enjoyment will be two-fold. One doesn’t need to know French to enjoy the music and nor does one have to be of any particular religion to enjoy the beauty of the church. “The French choral music will make an everlasting impression as it did on me when I first performed it.”

What: Vive la France
When: Apr 7th, 6 pm
Where: Saint Andrew’s Church, Cubbon Road

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Deccan Chronicle / April 05th, 2019

Why this Bengaluru teenager looks at the glass half full

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

A few years ago Gulhati suddenly started noticing news articles on droughts and water-related issues across the country.

Garvita Gulhati
Garvita Gulhati

Bengaluru :

Garvita Gulhati isn’t a typical college-going student. For one, she doesn’t have social media accounts, and second, she doesn’t binge watch TV shows. Instead, the 19-year-old student from PES University is on a mission to conserve water, for which she has been going from restaurant to restaurant requesting managers to fill only half a glass of water unless otherwise requested for by the customer. Her initiative #GlassHalfFull, which she started at the age of 15, has borne fruit with 200 restaurants adopting the campaign and now, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over 1,00,000 restaurants, has extended its support.

A few years ago Gulhati suddenly started noticing news articles on droughts and water-related issues across the country. What particularly struck her was an article on 14 million litres of water being wasted every year, simply because customers at restaurants leave behind half-empty glasses. “I started researching on how we waste water without realising it and decided to teach people water management,” she says. She visited several restaurants to pitch the idea of filling only half a glass, which would save 50 per cent of water that was being wasted earlier.

When she started her online petition, it wasn’t easy to convince people who would advice Gulhati to concentrate on her studies. “Many schoolmates would say I was doing this to earn fame as they did not realise the importance of carrying out the drive. It was only my environmental studies teacher who motivated me to take the movement forward,” says the BTech student.

The biggest accolade has been launching an organisation, Why Waste? and receive recognition from several quarters. Gulhati was the only Indian among 60 changemakers between 18 and 23 years to receive the title of ‘Global Changemaker’. “Working towards saving water is worth being off social media and watching fewer TV shows. Neither do I party like most of those my age would,” she says.

Raising awareness

About the partnership, Rahul Singh, president, NRAI, said, “Ninety seven million people in India do not have access to clean drinking water. As a part of the #GlassHalfFull initiative, NRAI will encourage restaurants to adopt sustainable alternatives for reducing consumption of water. We will not only sensitise the restaurant staff but customers as well to reduce wastage of water.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damadoran / Express News Service / April 08th, 2019