It is the second oldest educational institution in Udupi
The new building of the Board High School, now known as the Government PU College, which is celebrating its 125th year celebrations this year, will be inaugurated here on Friday.
The Board High School, located on 3.2 acres in the heart of the city near the Service Bus Stand, was established in 1890. It is the second oldest school in Udupi. It was called the Board Middle School when it first started functioning.
It has produced many illustrious students including the former Union Minister late T.A. Pai, the former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, the former Minister late V.S. Acharya, and veteran journalist late M.V. Kamath.
Mr. Oscar Fernandes’s father late Roque Fernandes was the headmaster of this school from 1940 to 1948.
The institution now has both Kannada and English mediums from class 8 to 10, while its PU wing has courses in Arts, Commerce and Science streams.
It presently has about 150 students in the high school section and about 400 students in the PU college.
The existing building of the Board School used to serve as Magistrate’s Court and a jail during the British times. It got converted into the Board School in 1890.
The auditorium of the school, known as ‘People’s Hall’, was constructed in the mid-1940s.
The Board Middle School was upgraded into a high school in 1918, and as a Multipurpose High School in 1955. The PU college section was started in 1972. The institution is popularly known as Board High School because the Taluk Board and District Board administered it for a long time.
Most of the students coming to this institution now are from economically weaker sections.
The new building of the Government PU College is built at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore due to the efforts of Mr. Oscar Fernandes, Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, and the former Minister late V.S. Acharya.
source: http://thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – October 02nd, 2015
Policemen cleaning the vintage cannons as part of the forthcoming Dasara festivities.— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM
As Dasara approaches, seven cannons, which had been housed at the iconic Mysuru Palace, had been handed over to the Gun Shed Troupe, a team of police personnel attached to the City Armed Reserve (CAR) which operates the cannons.
The vintage artillery, used to fire 21 gun shots on the day of Jamboo Savari, is being readied for the big day.
A 32-member police team has cleaned the cannons, which are installed on two-wheeled carts.
The team is expected to start rehearsals to acclimatise elephants to the booming sound of the cannons firing.
The rehearsal is done under the watchful eyes of Forest Department officials and the elephants’ mahouts and kavadis.
On the day of Vijayadashami, cannons are fired 21 times outside the palace fort to signal the beginning of Jamboo Savari.
Rehearsals are conducted three to four times in the run-up to the Dasara finale every year to prevent the elephants from getting nervous as a result of the sound and smoke.
Siddaraju, a head constable of CAR, who is part of the Guns Shed Troupe, said ammunition for the cannons – gun powder – is procured either from Arsikere or Channarayapatna in Hassan district.
The powder is first dried and then about 1.8 kg is packed in a cotton bag and tied with a thick thread.
The bag is then inserted into the barrel of the cannon for firing. Three rounds each are fired from seven cannons to complete a 21-gun salute. The cannons are fired at the palace and also at Bannimantap, where the procession concludes. Each round of fire needs cleaning to remove leftovers inside the cannon, before another round.
Earlier, two kg of gun powder was used for firing but the quantity had been reduced over two years. Each cannon needs about five persons to operate.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – September 30th, 2015
Junk is old and everything old is collectable’ believes Sharath Namburi, a passionate hoarder of antique objects.
A businessman by profession, he can be rightly called curator of an unexplored museum, which is his house.
While it is the vintage bicycles that welcome one at the gate, it is the breeze from the 100-year-old, 40 kilogram fan belonging to the Nizams of Hyderabad, which gives the rustic air as one enters the living room.
Watches, cameras, lanterns, tricycles, clapboards — ‘antiquity’ shouts from every corner of his house!
“This interest started as a boy. I used to collect stamps and coins. I collected cricket cards (from the 1990s) that came with the ‘Big Fun’ (chewing gum).”
“Then I went on to currencies and more authentic and antique objects. Since then, there has been no end to this passion,” says Sharath. It was his frequent business visits that helped him explore the various ‘scrap shops’, which added a lot of value to his invaluable assets.
He has a collection of 185 models of reel cameras, 780 mechanical watches, a 100- year-old-dressing table, a tricycle and a toy jeep that belonged to the Nizams, 40 types of kerosene lamps; the list goes on and on.
“I do not just collect them, but use them too. The kerosene lamps come in handy during the power cuts, the tricycle and the toy jeeps have been restored for my four-year-old son Tejal, the wall clocks still tick in all the rooms and I change my watch three times a day to keep them all going!” he explains. Ask him if his wife is supportive about his passion and he jokes, “I think she is forced to support me. She believes – if you can’t beat them, then it’s better to join them.”
His Sundays are spent winding the 780 mechanical watches and he says, “I am a HMT watch collector and since the factory is shut, a bunch of watch collectors have started a club and we meet once in two months.”
Among his camera collection, the reputation for being the oldest one goes to his 1885 Eastman Kodak, which has the first transparent photographic film. Apart from the antique gadgets, he owns a portable coffee mill — Philco coffee grinder.
“Till date, we use this at our house,” he details. It is his friends and scrap shop owners who have contributed largerly to his interests.
“I have a lot of friends in Hyderabad who also collects antique stuffs. There was a guy working at the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, which is now run by the Taj, who helped me get the 100-year-old fan. This ceiling fan had once fallen off the roof and it was kept aside for 20 years without any repair. My friend informed me about this and the next morning I was on a train to Hyderabad,” he reminisces.
He visits the scrap shops during lunch breaks to look for more antique objects.
However, he goes back in time and says, “Initially I have lost a lot of money as I could not differentiate between authentic and fake objects. It was a learning experience. Now, I know what to collect from where.”
Some day, he hopes to open a walk-in museum to exhibit his collection to the next generation.
He is hopeful that his son will take forward this passion. The next priced possession he wants to own is the Penny-farthing bicycle, which has a large front wheel and a smaller rare wheel. “I wish I could insure all these collections,” he says as a parting shot.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Metrolife / by Prajna GR / DHNS – September 28th, 2015
The alma mater of many priests in the diocese of Goa, Karwar and Belagavi — St Michael’s Seminary here will be observing its golden jubilee celebrations on Tuesday.
Located at Macche on the Belgaum-Goa road via Chorla, about 12 kms from city, the seminary is well known amongst the Catholic religious circles across the nation and is hailed as one of the finest seminaries where more than 200 priests including two bishops have passed out.
At the celebrations that will be held at the premises of the seminary, three archbishops and six bishops will be taking part in the holy eucharistic celebrations that will be held at 4pm followed by a programme to commemorate the golden jubilee.
Archbishop of Bengaluru Rev Bernard Moras will be the main celebrant for the mass accompanied by archbishops, bishops and about 500 priests from three states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra will be celebrating the mass.
Rev Fr Joseph Rodrigues and team of priests under the guidance of bishop of Belagavi Rev Dr Peter Machado have made elaborate arrangements for the golden jubilee celebrations.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hubballi / by Ravindra Uppar, TNN / September 28th, 2015
The legacy of the 600-year-old Wodeyar dynasty is the subject of the Bharatnatyam dance presentation, Under The Double Eagle. Choreographed and performed by Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Satyanarayana Raju, exponents of the dance form, it is being presented as part of the Bangalore International Arts Festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the International Music and Arts Society.
Talking about the genesis of the production, Gopalaswamy shares that the two of them were commissioned by the Chennai-based Narada Gana Sabha Trust to do a piece on the Mysore royal family in 2013. “Natyarangam, the dance wing of the sabha, holds a thematic dance festival every year and in 2013, the programme was called Bhoopala Bharatam and focused on good Indian kings who had ruled their provinces efficiently. The Wadiyars were among the dynasties that were chosen and it was the trust members who suggested that Satyanarayana Raju and I collaborate. That’s how Under the Double Eagle was conceived,” recalls Gopalaswamy. Considering the historical nature of the theme, preparation for the presentation entailed delving into quite a bit of research into the royal family, to ensure authenticity. “To begin with, the sabha put us in touch with Vikram Sampath who’d written the book, Splendours of Royal Mysore. But besides accessing and reading books on the royalty’s 600-year-long history , a major challenge was to use lyrics and music pieces that were relevant to the time,” explains Gopalaswamy who according to Raju, “sat and did all the research because I am not someone who can read texts.”
“To get the right music, we met composers who have studied the Mysore royal family’s contribution to classical music.We also had Lakshmi’s mother, Dr Uma Gopalaswamy , who is a musician, giving us inputs on what ragas to use,” informs Raju. Gopalaswamy adds, “Prof Srikantam Nagendra Shastry was another key source of information. He even shared certain authentic Javali compositions with us.” While the research took them two months to finish, Raju informs the pair managed to complete the choreography in 15 days. The story of the production, if one may call it that, charts the life and times of 8 Wadiyars kings. “With the Wadiyar dynasty spanning generations, it was almost impossible to show all the rulers. Instead we chose the rulers based on their cultural contributions,” says Gopalaswamy.
Starting with Yaduraya Wadiyar, who founded the dynasty in 1399, the kings who are depicted in the production are Narasaraja Wadiyar I (Ranadhira Kantheerava), Chikka Devaraja Wadiyar, (Immadi) Krishnaraja Wadiyar II, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.
About the choreography itself, Raju says that what proved quite the challenge was, “translating contemporary subjects into Bharatanatyam movements. For in stance, we had to work a lot to choreograph the portion that talks about the construction of the Krishna Raja Sa gara (KRS) Dam by Krishnaraja Wadi yar IV. I mean, how does one show something like this through simple hand movements and little else?” Gopalaswamy believes that the production will be nothing short of an education for the audience. “You learn about the kind of visionaries, and good leaders the kings were. You will also realize how the subtle influence of the Mysore royalty may have played its part in cultivating Kannadigas in to the gentle, cosmopolitan and culturally-oriented community we are.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Mahalakshmi P, TNN / September 26th, 2015
Issue was valuation of vacant land around Bangalore Palace
Nearly two years after his death, the then scion of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar has finally won the legal battle, which lasted 38 years, over the valuation of vacant lands around the Bangalore Palace for the assessment of wealth tax between 1977 and 1986.
The Supreme Court, in its September 21 verdict, held that total market value of the vacant land, which came under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 will have to be considered as Rs. 2 lakh, which was the maximum compensation payable while taking over the land under the ULCR Act, for computation of wealth tax. The tax authorities had assumed the value of the land in the range between Rs. 13 crore and Rs. 31 crore during the period (between 1977 and 1986) for calculating the wealth tax.
The Supreme Court did not agree with the claim of the tax authorities and the Karnataka High Court’s 2005 finding that value of the vacant land had to be estimated to be the price, which in the opinion of the wealth tax officer, the land would fetch if sold, hypothetically, in the open market on the valuation date even though the land was notified under the ULCR Act during the assessment period.
There was no dispute with regard to valuation of residential, non-residential structures and appurtenant land thereto as Wadiyar had paid the wealth tax accepting the valuation for them. The dispute was only with regard valuation of vacant land that was notified under the ULCR Act.
A Bench, comprising Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, wondered how one could assume the hypothetical sale for the valuation purpose when the land was under the clutches of the ULCR Act and the authorities had already determined the maximum compensation of Rs. 2 lakh for the entire land.
‘Ordinary way’
Stating that it was not oblivious of those buyers who purchased “disputed properties” for higher rates by taking risks, the apex court said it had to consider only “ordinary way” of the presumptuous sale and conduct of a reasonable person, who would not offer more than Rs. 2 lakh when knowing well about the compensation.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by KrishnaPrasad / Bengaluru – September 26th, 2015
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs (Currency and Coinage Division), New Delhi, has nominated Star of Mysore columnist Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy (AVN), former Head, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, as a member of its newly-constituted Advisory Committee.
The Committee will advise the government on various matters including the shape, size, weight, metal, face value of the money, cost of production of the coins, etc.
Prof. AVN is an expert in ancient Indian coinage and has written many books on the subject. He was the Chairman of the Numismatic Society of India (Varanasi) and General Secretary of South Indian Numismatic Society (Chennai) and has been honoured with many awards for his contribution to Indian coinage.
Currently the Chairman of BVB, Mysuru, Prof. AVN was recently honoured with the title Karnataka Puratatva Ratna by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Tuesday – September 15th, 2015
Work is my God: Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai worked tirelessly and did not lose hope till his end Photos: courtesy family album
For six long decades Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai kept his movement alive – Kasargod had to become part of Karnataka. RAHMAT TARIKERE writes that the meaning of all the writings of this writer who passed away recently is to be found in his social activism
My meeting with Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai was an accident. There was a programme at the Kannada Sahitya Parishath in Bangalore. Kinhanna means little brother, but our Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai was a strapping six and a quarter feet, well-built man. Dressed in his trade mark white khadi kurta and dhoti, he was sitting all by himself in the last row. With the sweet memories of his poem I had learnt in school Neenanagiddare Naaninage, which unfolds as a dialogue between a horse and a donkey, I walked up to him and greeted him. Holding my hand he ushered me to the chair beside, pulled out a four page resume from his bag and gave it to me. In that resume the list of his non-literary activities outnumbered his literary activities. For instance, his participation in Quit India Movement, submission of a memorandum to the Unification committee urging that Kasargod should be absorbed into Karnataka, winning the Best Teacher national award, his administration for 15 years as the chairman of Badiyadka village panchayat, the two schools and community hospital he built, the Swadeshabhimani newspaper of which he was editor, president of Weaving and Weavers Khadi Co-operative society… so on and so forth. It felt unusual that the resume of a Kannada writer read like this. Everything in it said that Kaiyyara Kinhanna was more a political activist than a writer. Once I had finished reading it, Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai started speaking about Kasaragodu. Now, even the programme had begun. He was speaking softly, just for me, but his gravelly voice overpowered the speaker’s voice and was audible to everyone in the auditorium. Some of the audience members turned back impatiently and gave us dirty stares. I didn’t know how to stop this senior writer, nor was I in a state to listen to him – I was getting restless. By this time, the writer Boluvar Mohammad Kunhi walking straight up to us, in a brusqueness that is unique to Coastal people, said: “If you want to talk, please go outside.” I fled from there. That was my first and last meeting with Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai.
***
Between 1930-40, Coastal Karnataka was tense with three major movements. Foremost of them was to free the country from the clutches of the British. Second was to unify the regions that shared a common language but had been distributed among various presidencies, the Unification movement. Third was the communist movement that was fighting against the ruthless zamindars who had the support of the colonial rulers, and then there were other social movements like untouchability, caste system etc. For Karnad Sadashiv Rao the country’s freedom was most important. For someone like Kudmal Rangarao who had been ostracised by the Brahmin community, building a free hostel and school for the Dalits was of utmost importance. For B.V. Kakkilaya and Niranjana, labour movement was important. B.M. Shrikantaiah, Kuvempu, Alur Venkatarao and others felt that Unification was more important than Independence. Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai had twin obsessions – freedom and Unification. After Independence in 1947, his only mission was Unification. When Potti Sriramulu fasted for three weeks and gave up his life, the Nehru government, unwillingly constituted a committee for the linguistic reformation of States. The committee recommended that Kasargod, Dakshina Kannada and Bellary which were a part of Madras presidency, should henceforth become a part of the Mysore presidency. What eventually happened was however different – they included Kasaragod in Kerala. The Kannadigas of Kasargod were heartbroken. It was at this juncture that Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai began his movement for Kasargod’s absorption into Karnataka. This became a question of life and death for him. A full-time preoccupation, he discussed this with all and sundry, and in every place. But death has terminated his relentless struggle of a lifetime. His dream remains unfulfilled.
***
It is a matter of surprise that Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai kept this spark burning in him for six long decades. His commemorative volume, in fact, is called Kasaragodina Kidi. There is a story behind calling it a spark. When he realised that Kasargod did not become a part of Karnataka, in anger and sorrow he wrote a poem, Manege. He tried to ignite everyone else with the fire that had caught him. In every public forum this was what Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai spoke. Once, chief minister Gundu Rao was present at the function. “We, two and a half lakh Kannadigas, have been orphaned. Our language and culture is getting erased. The water that flows in Payaswini is our tears,” Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai had cried in public. Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai belonged to that generation which dedicated its entire life to a cause it believed. The question is however, why could he not realise his dream? To get absorbed into Karnataka, or to get separate statehood is perhaps a political dream, and it can bear fruit only when it becomes the dream of the community.
If the dream does not have economic and political dimensions, and is merely an emotional one, it is even more difficult to keep it alive. For the new generation of Kannadigas in Kasargod, Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai’s dream must have seemed unrealistic. When there are more important questions than Unification, the poor or the locals will not make this a significant issue of their lives. Also, Kerala tops the country for its administration, education and other vital issues; it may have therefore appeared to them that they do not want to be a part of Karnataka. There was no political outfit like MES in Belgaum to fight the case of Kasargod. Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai therefore became lonely in his struggle. That he could keep this Unification dream alive in him for six long decades became his achievement.
***
Born in Peradala in Kasargod (1915-2015), Kaiyyara was a school teacher. Writing was his hobby, though not a very powerful writer. The other important writers from this area are Govinda Pai, Parvatisubba, and K.V. Tirumalesh. His best writings are his poems for children. His other poems tended to be verbose and heavy with idealism — it lacked creative energy. One has to recognise this as the limitation of a Kannada school teacher. Gourish Kaikini is among the few teachers who could transcend this limitation. Even his autobiography that contains many intense and intimate experiences of his life is bland.
Yet, his writing has a historic importance. It becomes important because of its dynamic social and political consciousness. And this was shaped by Gandhianism. Gandhi’s visit to Mangalore filled youngsters with new ideals. By refusing to enter the Udupi temple that denied entry for the Dalits, Gandhi had stirred up the consciousness of the society. By then, Kudmal Rangarao had already been ostracised. Narayana Guru had launched his temple agitation against the upper class. People had laid down their lives in the communist movement in this part of Karnataka. Shivarama Karanth’s Chomana Dudi had been written. Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai’s social writing was an extension of this. He, however, was not critical of the society, but instead glorified the tolerance of Dalits who put up with these social evils.
***
Truly Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai’s contribution should not be sought in his writing. It has to be seen in his social activism. This trait could also be found in B.M. Idinabba. We can see it in H.N. Doreswamy too. In fact, the title of his autobiography Work is my God suggests this.
At a time when governments have absolved themselves of community responsibility, a corporatized education that is available only to those who have money, the hospital, and school Kaiyyara Kinhanna Rai built as panchayat chairman is important. Freedom fighter, social activist, journalist, poet Kaiyyara is no more. With him, we have lost the link to a generation that dedicated its life for a cause.
Translated by Deepa Ganesh
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Rahmat Tarikere / Bengaluru – August 27th, 2015
by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore
India and China had cultural relations with each other in the early centuries Before Christ (BC). In fact, the name China or Cheena is a Sanskrit form of a dynasty named Tsin, which ruled in China. Thus China owes its modern name to India and this is a great Indian contribution.
India and China had political and cultural relations around third century BC. According to traditional stories, King Ashoka is said to have sent 18 Buddhist monks to China for the propagation of Buddhism there. One such group reached China in 218 BC. The story of Bodhisattva was quite popular in China around the second century BC. By about third century, the Hanas invaded China and the Chinese King requested help from many countries including India. During that period, he saw cotton cloth which the Indian merchants had brought for trade, and they liked the cotton cloth and traded in them. In fact, China was famous for silk (Chinambara) which is mentioned in our epics and puranas.
During the rule of Ming dynasty, the Buddhist monks, Dharmaraksha and Kasyapa Matanga were taken to China and they translated many Buddhist works into Chinese language. Those Buddhist monks passed through Bamiyan, Kashgar, Kuchi, Karashahar and they became great Buddhist centres.
People from India used to go to China through two routes which were full of risks. More than 500 years later, devotees used to go through Nepal and Tibet and it became quite popular. Special mention should be made of great saints like Dharmaraksha, Kumarajiva, Vimalaksha, Punyatrata etc. In fact, many great Buddhist scholars of Nalanda went to China to get better recognition there. The celebrated travellers Fahien and Huentsang made everlasting contributions towards Buddhism in China. The latter stated that he is unwilling to go back to China leaving the sacred land of Buddhism. Gradually, Buddhism declined in China and Tao and Confucian leaders became more important and began giving trouble to Buddhists. Sacred Buddhists texts like Vinayapitaka, Sutrapitaka, Abhidamma- pitaka were translated into Chinese language. In fact, some of these are not available in India and Buddhists had to depend upon Chinese texts. This glorious period came to an end in early medieval period. It never saw such a glory again.
Under this background, a Chinese inscription found in Karnataka may be examined. There is an inscribed stone in the Shantika Parameshvari Temple in Kumta, North Canara district of Karnataka. It contained letters which were neither Brahmi, Nagari or Kannada and created a furore among the local people. But the people were helpless and even the traditional epigraphists were of no avail. Today people do not know how this stone came to the local temple. At that juncture, a photograph and a estampage were taken and they were sent to Prof. Noboru Karashima of Tokyo University, who was studying Indian inscriptions. In fact, Tokyo University had a course of study on Indian epigraphy under Dr. Karashima. The latter conducted an international conference on Indian epigraphy at Tokyo, which I had the good fortune to attend.
After getting the estampage of the inscribed stone, Karashima deciphered it and read it as ‘Guong Dong Kaiyi Kasshong Ven Veng Jhima.’ It means that this is the Samadhi (tomb) of Guong Dong Ven Veng who established this township. Further Guong Dong is a town in Southern China. He established this in honour of the great God. This information is not sufficient to write more about the saint whose tomb was established here. Obviously, it was meant for worship in those days but it lost its significance and importance in course of time. Suryanath Kamath had published a note in a newspaper.
Further research on this problem yielded some more interesting information. By about 1850, the British were scary of the Chinese individuals who were known to be robbers and were deported to an Island as life sentence. By about 1833 roughly, fifteen men and ten women were freed. Among them some were Buddhists while others were Christians. The Christians married Goan girls or boys and began working as labourers in tea estates, some took up basketry. However, they continued to do thefts and hence local Police kept a strict eye on them and their movements. It is said that most of these people, both men and women, went and settled in Karwar. The bamboo and basketry work done by these people was famous till recently.
Now, we may come back to the saint whose Samadhi has been described above. Hence, it is quite likely that the Samadhi stone which was set up there might have been brought to Kumta where it is now lying.
According to the local people, some of the Chinese merchants who were moving from place to place for the purpose of trade noticed a Chinese inscription and out of respect for the saint brought it to Kumta. It was lying somewhere in the town. In India, local people play an important role in the preservation of our ancient relics in general and inscriptions in particular. As there were no museums in those days, inscribed stones used to be brought to the local temples and kept in a corner. The same thing should have happened to this stone also. In the early days the Chinese merchants used to visit Kumta and had a temporary settlement there.
In other words, this confirms that the Chinese merchants used to visit Kumta for the purpose of trade. They used to be in good numbers and spread themselves in different parts. Thus Kumta became an important centre for the Chinese merchants.
The North Karnataka gazetteer prepared over a hundred years ago, quotes many elders of Kumta who had seen Chinese merchants staying there. In fact, they used to develop friendship with young and beautiful local girls and paid them heavily to be with them. This also made the local Chinese merchants closer to the local people, for their generosity in paying money. This normally happens with foreign visitors. Having come to India and settled down here, the Chinese elevated their saint to greater heights and began worshipping them. In fact, they must have converted them to the level of Gods. In that way, this Chinese inscription though short, is significant and adds a page in the cultural history of Karnataka. The tradition continued till recently is a point of importance, in spite of the present political scenario. Let us bow to saint Guong Dong.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Saturday – August 29th, 2015
The historically significant war memorial ‘French Rocks’ at Harohalli in Pandavapura of Mandya district is in a pathetic condition.
Officials start evicting encroachers of the area
Evicting the encroachers from the historical war memorial at Harohalli in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district has finally begun.
The memorial, known as ‘French Rocks’, was set up in memory of French soldiers, who had come to Pandavapura to help Tipu Sultan during his battles against the British. Tipu Sultan had granted a plot to the French army for establishing a burial ground for soldiers.
The war memorial once had at least 65 graves of different styles and structure.
As the graves were architecturally significant and contained the details of names of deceased soldiers, age and their ranks and file etched in marble plaques.
Nevertheless, the local people had encroached a major portion of the graveyard by demolishing several graves.
Historians had been requesting the district administration to protect the memorials by evicting the encroachers.
A team of revenue officials, led by Assistant Commissioner of Pandavapura (Revenue) H.L. Nagaraju and tahsildar B. Shankaraiah visited the war memorial on Wednesday and cleared the encroachments. The team had destroyed various crops cultivated at the graveyard. Mr. Nagaraju said the taluk administration would initiate steps to facelift the memorial soon.
“We will first remove the weeds and then protect the graves,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by M.T. Shiva Kumar / Mandya – August 27th, 2015
