Category Archives: Historical Links, Pre-Independence

The three day Hampi Utsav-2014 to start from January 10

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Bengaluru:

The state government has decided to conduct the three day Hampi Utsav-2014 from January 10. Speaking to reporters here on Friday, minister of state for labour P.T. Parameshwar Naik, who is also in-charge minister for Bellary district said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate Hampi Utsav.

Tourism minister R.V. Despande and Mandya Lok Sabha member Ramya will be the chief guests at the programme. Since former deputy chief minister M.P. Prakash had started Hampi Utsav, the government has decided to  honor his wife Rudramma on the occasion.

Naik also announced that the government is committed to pay minimum wages to garment factory workers. At present, the government has fixed the minimum wage at Rs 4700, but due to the increase in the price index, it has been decided to raise the minimum wage for garment factory workers, Naik said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / November 09th, 2013

Give a boost to religious tourism in Mandya: SP

The Dariya Daulat Bagh (Tipu Sultan’s summer palace) at Srirangapatna in Mandya. Superintendent of Police Borase Bhushan Gulabrao has suggested that the Tourism Department appoint trained guides at popular tourism spots in the district. / File photo / The Hindu
The Dariya Daulat Bagh (Tipu Sultan’s summer palace) at Srirangapatna in Mandya. Superintendent of Police Borase Bhushan Gulabrao has suggested that the Tourism Department appoint trained guides at popular tourism spots in the district. / File photo / The Hindu

‘Develop well-known religious places into tourism hubs’

Superintendent of Police Borase Bhushan Gulabrao has suggested that the Tourism Department initiate measures to give a boost to religious tourism in Mandya.

Mr. Gulabrao convened a meeting of religious leaders at his office on Sunday.

He said there were several tourism spots of religious importance in the district. “However, many tourism spots are yet to be developed,” he said.

The district has war memorials, archeologically important temples, ancient churches, centuries-old mosques, Buddhist temple and other pilgrimage-cum-tourism destinations.

Emphasising the need to promote religious tourism in the district, Mr. Gulabrao requested department officials to develop well-known religious places into tourism hubs.

Uniforms for guides

He said that thousands of tourists came to Srirangapatna every day to visit the tourism spots. But, guides did not have enough knowledge about the historical significance of places in the town. The department should provide information and uniforms to the guides, Mr. Gulabrao said. He suggested that the department appoint trained guides at popular tourism spots in the district.

‘Several plans made’

Adilakshmi, Assistant Director of Tourism Department, also underlined the need to promote religious tourism in Mandya.

She said the department had several plans to strengthen pilgrimage-cum-tourism destinations in the district.

Suggestions received

Mr. Gulabrao and Additional Deputy Commissioner Shankarappa received suggestions during the meeting on popularising religious tourism. Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti leader Venkatagiri, activists Jayaramu and Mahesh, senior citizen Shivaramaiah, social worker Mehboob Pasha and others requested the district administration to develop Kere Thonnur, Kere Thonnur dargah, Kunti Betta, Balmuri waterfalls, war memorials at Srirangapatna and other popular tourism spots by improving infrastructure.

Additional Superintendent of Police Puttamadappa, Deputy Superintendents of Police B.J. Shobharani and Geetha were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Mandya – November 11th, 2013

When will Poet PuTiNa’s school get funding?

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Mandya:

Kannada poet Purohita Thirunarayana Naras­imhachar, or PuTiNa as he is more popularly known, did his schooling here as did many other prominent figures. But the 138 year old government Kannada primary school in  Melkote,  Mandya district  lacks even basic infrastructure, and its  students continue to sit on the floor as the classrooms are bereft of chairs or desks.

Located on the main street of Melkote, the school has produced prom­inent journalists like  Khadri Sham­anna, and jud­ges such as Justice Shivappa, but in 2012 it nearly lost its identity.

Concerned by its poor student strength and lack of  basic facilities, the government seriously considered merging it, despite its history, with other, more ordinary institutions. The school, which boasted of  300 students, was left with only 32 at the time.

But fortunately for the institution,  education officers and teachers came to its rescue and worked collectively to give it a face-lift.

Thanks to their efforts it now has 85 students and its walls have received a fresh coat of paint after decades. The school compound has  been rebuilt and the teachers have sunk a borewell in its grounds to solve its drinking water problem.

But the school clearly has a long way to go as it still has no chairs, desks, a computer learning centre, study or sports material.

Having done everything they could,   the teachers say they can do no more and it is upto the government and philanthropic organisations to provide all the equipment the school needs.  It is time they acted considering the illustrious alumini it has produced,  they emphasise.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by S V Krishna Chaitanya / November 12th, 2013

M’lore: DC Convenes Meeting to Develop Padumale, Birthplace of Tulunadu Heroic Icons Koti – Ch

Mangalore :

The district administration led by Dakshina Kannada (DK) Deputy Commissioner (DC) N Prakash  convened a meeting at Koti – Chennaya Garodi, Kankanady, here on Sunday November 10 morning, to develop Tulunadu heroic icons Koti – Chennaya’s birth place Padumale in Puttur taluk.
The state government had recently allotted Rs 5 crore to develop Padumale as fitting tribute to the heroic icons Koti – Chennaya.
The state forests and DK district-in-charge minister Bantwal Ramanath Rai inaugurated the meeting.
Puttur MLA Shakuntala Shetty presided the meeting

The state urban development minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, state health minister U T Khader,  Koti – Chennaya Garodi, Kankanady managing trustee K Chittaranjan, Kannada and culture department assistant director Chandrahas Rai, Rukmaya Poojary, DC N Prakash and others were present at the dais.
It was proposed to form a watchdog Committee to oversee the development works.
The people championing for the cause exchanged their views to hike the financial assistance, depending on the needs during the ongoing work.  Others also shared valuable suggestions in this regard.
M S Kotian welcomed the gathering.  Dr Ganesh Sankamar proposed vote of thanks.

source: http://www.bellevision.com / Belle Vision.com / Home> News / by Ashritha DSouza / Bellevison Media Network / Mangalore – November 10th, 2013

Archaeological Survey of India to touch up Tipu’s summer palace

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace / The Hindu
Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace / The Hindu

Paintings will be cleaned using chemicals, and scribbles on the walls will be covered by patch plastering work

Years of dust and smoke that have masked the paintings on the walls and ceiling of Tipu Sultan’s summer palace in Bangalore may finally be cleaned up, while portions of the wall vandalised with graffiti could also receive much-needed attention.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which protects the 18th Century monument, will take up chemical cleaning of the paintings. The scribbles on the walls will be covered by patch plastering work.

Protected monument

Located in the busy Kalasipalya area, the wooden edifice built in Indo-Islamic style, is a protected monument along with the nearby fort and dungeon.

The chemical wash is expected to brighten the paintings at the palace, most of which are vivid floral designs in water and vegetable colour.

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Conservation wing

The process will be done by the ASI’s Mysore-based chemical conservation wing.

“Chemical wash was conducted on a small test area about five years ago. The painting has not changed much since then,” a senior ASI official said. He explained that it was a slow process that was dependent on humidity and dust, among other factors.

Besides, structural conservation work has to be completed before chemical wash is taken up.

An eyesore

However, this will do little to address the damage to paintings from scribbles and scratches.

“If the graffiti has to be removed, restoration of paintings has to be taken up. This is nearly impossible. It is difficult to maintain the same quality of painting and sourcing raw materials is highly impossible,” the ASI source said.

Instead, patch plastering work could be taken up to remove the eyesore in some spots.

“We will attempt to fill the scribbled portions with the patch work.”

Public office

The official claimed: “The palace was a public office before it was handed over to us in the 1950s. Much of the graffiti is from that period.” It was this sort of vandalism that had led the ASI to hire private security guards at the palace.

“We do not encourage visitors to stay on the palace premises for long,” another official said.

Colour washing of pillars with a protective coating and replacing some wooded portions that have been damaged by the elements too are on the agenda.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Sharath S. Srivatsa / Bangalore – Novembr 19th, 2013

Up, up and away

India’s first hot-air balloon flight celebrates 50 years on Children’s Day.

Anil Kumar’s kin watch him board the hot-air balloon on 14 November 1963
Anil Kumar’s kin watch him board the hot-air balloon on 14 November 1963

“I was called the Yuri Gagarin of India,” says Anil Kumar, recalling his experience of having travelled on India’s first hot-air balloon ride on 14 November 1963. The hydrogen gas balloon, launched by the then Karnataka chief minister S. Nijalingappa from the Race Course grounds in Bangalore, was part of Children’s Day celebration. The plan to build a Pestalozzi Children’s Village (based on the principles of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, a Swiss educational reformer) was also announced. “They wanted to have a grand event to make the announcement and so a hot-air balloon was brought in from Germany,” recalls Kumar, who was 14 years old at the time. The village was never built, but the memories of that balloon ride remain.

Two trained and licensed pilots from Germany, Hermann Johannes Scheer , the then director of Pestalozzi Kinderdorf, Germany, and Alfred Schulz were flown in for the event. Since the pilots were both German nationals, it was thought appropriate that at least one Indian should fly along with them to mark Children’s Day. “I was at the press conference two days before the event, along with my father who ran a magazine for the Karnataka Electricity Board. Since I was the only child they saw, they asked me if I would like to come along. Of course, I said yes,” says Anil Kumar.

Two trained and licensed pilots from Germany, Hermann Johannes Scheer and Alfred Schulz were flown in for the event. Anil Kumar (fourth from left), then 14 years old, was the only Indian on board.
Two trained and licensed pilots from Germany, Hermann Johannes Scheer and Alfred Schulz were flown in for the event. Anil Kumar (fourth from left), then 14 years old, was the only Indian on board.

The event made front page news in all the leading Indian newspapers. From a height of 18,000ft, Kumar recalls Bangalore as being green and gorgeous. “But the sight I can’t forget was the railway lines and the network,” he says.

“India Post brought out a First Day Cover with a photograph of Kumar and the two pilots in the balloon. “They handed us two mail bags containing the First Day Covers, to be carried as Balloon-Mail,” says Kumar, adding, the balloon landed about 20 miles (around 32km) away in a village called Cholanayakanahalli, on Magadi Road. Kumar was trained by the Bangalore city police to use a wireless communication handset and to keep them informed of the route they were taking. “The direction of a hot-air balloon is guided by the wind, so we couldn’t entirely determine where we would land,” says Kumar.

To celebrate 50 years since the country’s first hot-air balloon flight, Kumar, who runs a placement agency in Bangalore, will travel to Germany and launch another balloon flight in the presence of the Alfred Schulz, the only surviving pilot.

Anil Kumar also plans to start licensed balloon club in Bangalore this year.

India’s first hot-air balloon flight was launched by the then Karnataka chief minister S. Nijalingappa from the Race Course grounds in Bangalore on 14 November 1963.
India’s first hot-air balloon flight was launched by the then Karnataka chief minister S. Nijalingappa from the Race Course grounds in Bangalore on 14 November 1963.

source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint & The Wall Street Journal/ Home> Leisure / by Pavitra Jayaraman / Tuesday – July 05th, 2013

Tipu Sultan sadbhavana yatra begins from city

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Mysore :

Marking the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan (Nov. 10), a Sadbhavana Yatra from Mysore to Bangalore began here this morning.

The yatra was launched from the Town Hall premises by MP A.H. Vishwanath in the presence of Sir Khazi of Mysore Moulana Mohammed Usman Shariff, Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji of Sri Yoganarasimha Swamy temple, Tipu Sultan Sadbhavana Yatra Committee President Mohammed Ali and others. The yatra will pass through the thoroughfares of city before proceeding to the tomb of Tipu Sultan at Gumbaz in Srirangapatna, where special prayers would be offered to the tomb.

Later the yatra would proceed through Mandya, Channapatna, Ramanagar to Bangalore and reach Ravindra Kalakshetra on J.C. Road where Chief Minister Siddharamaiah would receive the Yatra Jyothi.

MLAs Tanveer Sait and M.K. Somashekar, former Corporator M.Shivanna, Showkath Ali Khan and others took part in the yatra function.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com /

First he fought the British, then battled for his pension

Bengaluru:
He sacrificed his youth fighting for India’s independence against the British rule and went to jail on several occasions, including the ‘Quit India Movement’; The autumn of his life he had to fight brought a different struggle -— a series of legal battles against government authorities to get his discontinued pension restored.
After being a part of historic freedom struggle, H.B. Kolyappa, who is currently in his mid-nineties and resides in Chitradurga, had to literally fight the ‘system’ to prove that he was a genuine freedom fighter, to avail his ‘discontinued’ pension given to freedom fighters.
Kolyappa emerged winner only after his third round of legal battle against the authorities, who had discontinued his freedom fighters pension. The high court directed the authorities to continue the pension within six weeks.
The freedom fighter had approached the court seeking directions to the authorities to continue the payment of freedom fighters pension. He had claimed before the court of having participated in the ‘Quit India Movement’ in the year 1942 and also in ‘Mysore Chalo Movement’ in 1947. After taking all this into consideration Kolyappa was awarded freedom fighters pension.
However, in the year 2009, the authorities concerned intimated the office of the Accountant General (A & E) Karnataka, to cancel and recover the pension granted to the petitioner.
The authorities had stated that the nature of the claim made by Kolyappa was not admissible. He had produced the ‘co-prisoner’s certificate’ of Bellary Siddamma, ex-MLA on the ground of non-availability of records and certificate. Kolyappa then approached the high court, but his petition was dismissed.
In the second round of legal battle, he filed an appeal and after careful consideration, the division bench allowed his appeal while directing the authorities to continue the pension. However, the state government authorities felt that it is was a proper case for re-verification.  A notice was issued to the petitioner in this regard and since the petitioner did not produce any satisfactory document to support his claim, the authorities declined to restore the pension.
However he did not lose heart and approached the court for the third time. This time the court stated, “When a positive direction had been issued by a division bench of this court to restore the pension, the observation made in the communication dated that despite the said order, the claim of the petitioner does not appear to be genuine, cannot be countenanced by this court inasmuch as the same would amount to an attempt by the state authorities as well as the respondent authorities to overreach the decision of this court.”
“Since the division bench has already issued a direction to restore the honorarium — the freedom fighters pension to the petitioner, the order shall be followed by the respondents as expeditiously as possible, but not later than six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” the court ordered.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Shashiprasad S.M / November 10th, 2013

A glimpse into the past

Some people may think collecting old, rusted and unfashionable gadgets is a waste of time. However, it has been a hobby and a passion for Sohanraj Pipada, a resident of Okalipuram.
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His collection boasts of gadgets, which are as old as seventy, and have been carefully tended and maintained by Sohanraj. “It was my father who started collecting these gadgets when he was young and I started developing an interest in them when I was very young. When I was seven, I made a radio and soon started collecting gadgets and adding to the collection,” he informs.

Maintaining them is not an easy job, Sohanraj makes sure that the gadgets are cleaned and preserved properly. “All these gadgets have been kept in a separate room in my house, I clean everything on my own.

They have to be maintained well or else they might stop working. It is very difficult to find a mechanic who can mend these gadgets as they are quite old. I play and use these gadgets twice a week as they might not function if they are not used. I also clean them once in seven days. It is time consuming but not as difficult as it might appear,” he adds.

The oldest gadget in his possession is a 75-year-old HMV gramophone and though tough to maintain, he feels it steals the show. “Many neighbours and relatives ask me to show them my collection and the first thing I show them is the gramophone.

My father had purchased it from someone and he made sure that it is maintained well. I have tried my best to preserve it. I also have a 40-year-old spool recorder, I bought it from someone who was discarding it,” he notes.

Currently, he has more than 20 such gadgets and all of them have interesting anecdotes attached to them. While some of them have been gifted by friends who know of his passion for antique gadgets, many others have been bought from people.

“A while back, I had booked an old telephone, which was almost 45-years-old. Soon after, I was informed that one of my friends was selling an old telephone. I bought the other one and now, I have two such telephones and it has been a challenge to not only maintain them but also keep them functional,” he adds.

Ask him how he makes time to collect these gadgets and he explains that it is his passion that drives him to get some time off from his day-to-day work. “I am a businessman and hence there is no ten-to-five routine that I adhere to. There have been days when I have been extremely busy, but I have never failed to take sometime out from my schedule,” he adds.

Along with some antique phones, he also has a couple of radios, a forty-year-old record, a seventy-year-old Kenwood gramophone and an old camera.

His penchant for collecting old gadgets has also extended to the car that he drives. His 53-year-old Ambassador is one of his prized possessions and he adds that it can give any new car a run for the money. Some of the gadgets that he owns are quite magnificent to look at and reflect the craftsmanship and designs of the past. The room housing these gadgets makes one quite nostalgic and is like a glimpse into the past.

“There is something in these old gadgets that has attracted me and I feel that the kind of workmanship and technical genius involved in making these gadgets is great. That is one of the reasons why they are functional even after so many years. This has always intrigued me and it was this curiosity to know the technique used in these gadgets that mademe want to collect and own more and more of them. Most gadgets made now become useless after a couple of years,” he says.

“My family has been living in Bangalore for many years now and hence I have a big circle of friends. They have often helped me and given me contacts of people, who own old gadgets, and want to sell these off to someone. My family has been very co-operative and has supported me in pursuing my hobby. Though people often laugh at my hobby and call it madness, it does not deter me from pursuing it. I have stopped collecting now and devote time to maintaining and preserving these gadgets,” he sums up.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Metrolife / by Treena Mukherjee, DHNS / November 11th, 2013

Cruising down memory lane

For these youngsters, owning a vintage bike is a matter of great pride as they travel the length and breadth of the country to scour these beauties

Yezdi lovers’ says a patch of graffiti on a lamppost outside Vikram Kumar’s house at Dairy Circle. “It’s been there almost 10 years,” he says, laughing. Clearly, like his 10-month-old daughter Lakshita, who sleeps soundly through everything except the hum of her father’s Yezdi, Kumar’s neighbourhood is well aware of his love of vintage bikes.

Parked at the entrance of the 33-year-old software engineer’s house are two shiny Jawas — one green and the other red. Next to them stands a Yezdi Roadking. “The red and green Jawas have shin covers, which protect you from snow. These bikes are originally from Czechoslovakia and are designed to protect riders from extreme weather conditions,” he says, with pride.

Dressed in a casual pair of jeans, a T-shirt with a bike print and a Jawa cap, Kumar’s passion took root when he saw his father ride a Jawa at the age of 10. “I fell in love with the sound of the engine,” he recalls. He began collecting bikes in 1999 and today boasts Lambrettas, a Vespa, Enfield Mofa and a couple of mopeds in his 35-strong collection. He even has a 1957 Fiat 1100 —”as old as my father”. They are stored in his garage in Kalasipalayam.

Kumar isn’t the only one. Owning a vintage bike (least over 30 years old) is a matter of pride for young Bangaloreans who are splurging on restoring and maintaining them.

Twenty-four-year-old gym owner Bhuvan Narayan first bought a Yezdi Classic for Rs 4,500 three years ago and decided to restore it. “Ever since, I began collecting bikes. Today, I own a 1979 Classic Yezdi, a 1976 Standard Bullet which is a 350 cc twin engine, a 1964 Bullet, a 1962 Jawa, and 1990 Yezdi Deluxe. I just purchased four Yezdi Roadkings in bulk,” he says. Narayan even owns rare bikes like the France-made Suvega- a moped that he picked up in Tirupati; a Czech imported 1952 Jawa Parack and a Lambretta scooter.

Tracing the classics Sourcing the bikes is a task. Mudasir Ahmed, (33) who works for a construction company, owns three vintage bikes and says, “Networking is the best way. Social media has made it easier to find bike owners, who may want to sell since they fetch a good price.”

A host of Facebook pages such as Royal Knights Motorcycle Club, Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club and Bangalore Vintage Group provide useful information about where to find these vehicles, cost, availability of spare parts and more. “I have made friends through these clubs, and we network online to service our bikes and find spare parts too, which is otherwise very tough,” says Kumar.

Some good leads are also found when they set off on weekly rides to nearby districts such as Kolar, Mysore, Ramanagaram, Shimoga and Ooty. They track down old mechanics who supply them with information about bikes and the whereabouts. Twenty-eight-year-old Alwin Lawrence found his 1955 AJ Stevens just like that. “My uncle is a vintage motorcycle mechanic in Coimbatore and when I enquired about a British bike, he tracked one down in Kanyakumari for me. I went to Kanyakumari to pick up the bike and brought it back in a bus to Bangalore,” he says.
Maintenance Looking after these beauties is a tall order too. “I used to own around 12 bikes but sold most of them because finding a good mechanic and getting spare parts is a challenge. Since most of them are not of Indian origin, it’s not easy to understand the mechanism,” admits Ahmed.

Trial and error Kumar and his father say they are fairly aware of how these bikes function, as they have spent years tinkering away on these classic beauties; their learning has been largely trial-and-error. “My father can put together a bike with ease, and I’m slowly getting there. I have all the spares in my factory for most of my bikes,” he says. Narayan and Lawrence are learning too. “I get manuals online or from showrooms. Unless they need serious repair, it’s not impossible to fix the bikes. Jawas and Yezdis usually don’t need much maintenance, but the older ones need to be taken care of,” explains Kumar.

Money matters At Rs 50,000 for a Jawa and almost 2 lakh for older bikes like Paracks, it’s an expensive hobby. Lawrence has spent close to Rs 5 lakhs on his bikes, some of which were given to him by parents and the rest were paid for from his savings. Vikram approximated his collection to be priced at about Rs 20 lakh.

Passion play While these biker boys are the object of envy for many collectors, their hobby is perceived differently by their family. Nitu, Kumar’s wife says, “The entrance to our house looks incomplete without these bikes. My son has to take a ride on his father’s bike every weekend or he won’t eat, and my daughter gets excited when she hears the sound of a Yezdi. These bikes are a part of my life now.” Alwin Lawrence’s mother Julie says, “At first, the sight of the bikes would annoy me and I always find my son cleaning the bikes in his spare time. But I also think its these bikes that have given my husband and son a chance to bond. It’s great to see that, and I cannot put a price on it.”

The envious glances, curious questions and approving stares from the onlookers make all the trouble worthwhile. Kumar cannots even dream of selling any of his prized possessions, and says, “The joy of taking a bike out and riding it around town is unparallelled. My grandfather rode a 1941 Triumph which is one of the most special bikes we own. It’s a way of honouring the style and poise of the men of that age,” concludes Kumar.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Sunday Read / by Sindhuja Balaji, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / November 10th, 2013