Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Bengaluru, India Hotel Recognized at Hotel Investment Conference South Asia

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Bengaluru , INDIA :

Though it’s the first Fairfield Inn to open in Asia Pacific, this Bangalore business hotel  has already made quite an impression. At the 10th Annual Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA), the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar was named Best Mid-Market/Budget Hotel Opening, beating out three other well-known hotel brands for the title.

The annual conference, held April 2nd and 3rd, brings together influential decision-makers from the industry for meetings, networking and collaboration, and also honors new hotels that opened in the region within the last year.

To win the prestigious Best Mid-Market/Budget Hotel Opening award, this premium Bengaluru hotel  was evaluated on development cost, construction tenure, TripAdvisor ratings, location (access, visibility and proximity to demand), façade and public areas, guest rooms (interiors, design and amenities), food and beverage, facilities (spa, retail and entertainment), corporate social responsibility and judges’ discretion. This year’s judges included Cyril Jacob, Managing Director of Archetype Group; Manav Thadani, MRICS, Chairman – South Asia HVS; Ravish Swarup, Chief Executive Officer of Praxis Services; Ritu Bhatia Kler, Managing Director Total Integrated Design; Uttam Dave, industry expert; and Vinapy Gupta, VP Asset Management at SAMHI Smart Hotel Investments.

This extended-stay Bangalore hotel took the top spot in all categories with its contemporary, stylish interior, business-friendly in-room amenities, all-day dining restaurant Kava and modern fitness center.

In addition to the awards, the event included a full agenda of panels and seminars, with breaks for networking. Popular sessions included the Role of Social Media and Technology-Based Innovations; Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity; How to Solve Development Woes; Business of Leisure, Wellness and Luxury; and More Than a One Night Stand (Extended Stay).

About the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar
When the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar first opened, it broke ground in more ways than one. The hotel is the first from the brand to open in Asia Pacific, and offers a unique blend of contemporary style and warmth.

source: http://www.digitaljournal.com / Digital Journal / Home> Press Release> Marketwired / Bengaluru – April 10th, 2014

Ed Hardy opens first store in Bangalore

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

Apparel brand Ed Hardy brought to India by Arvind Lifestyle Brands has opened its first store at Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. The new store is spread over 940 square foot, offering men’s wear across various categories including T-shirts, jeans, trousers and shorts, with a new women’s wear range to be launched in the near future.

Typically grunge yet highly fashion forward, the collection at the Ed Hardy store reflects its creator’s journey from an artist to a tattoo pioneer and to popular brands. The collection boasts of bold designs accompanied by the bright solid colours.

After acquiring India operations of three major international apparel brands Debenhams, Next and Nautica, Arvind had signaled its strategy to grow big in the organised apparel market. Arvind Lifestyle Brands, subsidiary of Arvind, which already has an impressive brand line-up comprising Tommy Hilfiger, US Polo Assn, Elle, Geoffrey Beene, Arrow among others, acquiring the business operations of Debenhams has also paved a way for it into the department store segment.

The company has a presence in 950 stores. Around 200 of these are Megamart, 130 are Arvind Store and the rest are spread across other brands. Plans are in place to open 200-250 stores every year in metros and smaller cities.

source: http://www.fashionunited.in / Fashion United / Home / Friday – April 11th, 2014

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All
(Top Left ) Original copy of Indian Constitution on display at Sarada Vilas (Top Right ) Regional Commissioner M.V. Jayanthi is seen offering floral tributes to the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Town Hall premises in city this morning as Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, Police Commissioner Dr. M.A. Saleem and others look on. Picture right shows former VC Dr. P. Venkataramaiah offering respects to Dr. Ambedkar’s portrait at Sarada Vilas Centenary Hall. An original copy of the Indian Constitution is seen placed next to the portrait. Also seen are chief guest M. Ramakrishnappa, Assistant Security Officer, RPF, B.S. Parthasarathy, Sarada Vilas Educational Institutions President and S. Ravishankar, Hon. Secretary. (Bottom ) Mysore-Kodagu LS constituency BJP candidate Pratap Simha, accompanied by former Minister S.A. Ramdas, Corporator Snake Shyam and others, is seen offering floral tributes to the statue of Dr. Ambedkar in Town Hall premises this morning. Picture right shows Congress candidate A.H. Vishwanath, along with MLA M.K. Somashekar and others, paying tributes to the statue.
(Top Left ) Original copy of Indian Constitution on display at Sarada Vilas
(Top Right ) Regional Commissioner M.V. Jayanthi is seen offering floral tributes to the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Town Hall premises in city this morning as Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, Police Commissioner Dr. M.A. Saleem and others look on. Picture right shows former VC Dr. P. Venkataramaiah offering respects to Dr. Ambedkar’s portrait at Sarada Vilas Centenary Hall. An original copy of the Indian Constitution is seen placed next to the portrait. Also seen are chief guest M. Ramakrishnappa, Assistant Security Officer, RPF, B.S. Parthasarathy, Sarada Vilas Educational Institutions President and S. Ravishankar, Hon. Secretary. (Bottom )
Mysore-Kodagu LS constituency BJP candidate Pratap Simha, accompanied by former Minister S.A. Ramdas, Corporator Snake Shyam and others, is seen offering floral tributes to the statue of Dr. Ambedkar in Town Hall premises this morning. Picture right shows Congress candidate A.H. Vishwanath, along with MLA M.K. Somashekar and others, paying tributes to the statue.

Mysore :

Marking the 123rd birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, various programmes were held in city today.

On behalf of the District Administration, Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha garlanded the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Town Hall premises.

MP A. H. Vishwanath, MLA M.K. Somashekar, BJP LS candidate Pratap Simha, Mayor N.M. Rajeshwari, ZP CEO P.A. Gopal, SP Abhinav Khare, Police Commissioner Dr. M.A. Saleem, DCP Rajanna, MCC Commissioner P.G. Ramesh and officers of various departments were present.

At Sarada Vilas

Marking the occasion, a programme was organised at Sarada Vilas Centenary Hall in Krishnamurthypuram here.

A portrait of Dr. Ambedkar was placed on the dais for which floral tributes were paid by the dignitaries. An original copy of the ‘Constitution of India’ was also seen placed next to Dr. Ambedkar’s portrait.

Addressing the gathering, former Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University, Dr. P. Venkataramaiah said that the life and sayings of Ambedkar should be emulated to pay respect to the great leader. He reiterated that Ambedkar was never the leader of any particular community but a national leader. He suggested that meaningful and constructive programmes should be organised at all Ambedkar Bhavans and Centres.

M. Ramakrishnappa, Assistant Security Officer, Railway Protection Force, was the chief guest. Sarada Vilas Institutions President B.S. Parthasarathy presided. Honorary Secretary S. Ravishankar and others were present.

Original version of Constitution

Marking the 150th anniversary celebrations of Sarada Vilas Institutions and to commemorate Dr. Ambedkar’s 123rd birth anniversary, an original version of ‘Constitution of India’ complied by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was displayed for public view.

The book was said to have been given by the then Prime Minister Jawaharalal Nehru to the College on July 2, 1954.

Sarada Vilas Institutions President B.S. Parthasarathy speaking to Star of Mysore, said that the book was being exhibited for the first time and the original version has been well protected through years. He said that the book has 255 chapters and signatures of 285 Parliamentarians along with those of Nehru and Ambedkar. He added that the original version was compiled in lithography with golden polished alphabet letters for chapter titles.

Procession marks Ambedkar Jayanti

Over 200 residents of Ashokpuram took out procession from Ambedkar Park in Ashokpuram to Town Hall. A tableau on Ambedkar accompanied by folk troupes was also part of the procession.

Employees of All India P&T SC/ST Employees Welfare Association had a organised a programme at the Central Post Office in Nehru Circle which inaugurated by Kalegowda Nagawara, Visiting Professor, Ambedkar Study Centre, Mysore University.

Senior Superintendent of Posts D. Shivaiah, Senior Post Master S. Mahadevaiah and Assistant Superintendent of Posts O. Virupakshappa were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 14th, 2014

Vintage cars, new cars and bikes steal the show at Automotive Technology Fair (ATF) 2014

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

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Mysore :

Vintage cars, bikes, scooters and vehicles of the new generation stole the show at Automotive Technology Fair (ATF) – 2014, with the theme ‘Green Automotive Technology,’ organised by NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology (NECAT), Collegiate Club of NIE and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Golden Jubilee Sports Complex of the National Institute of Engineering (NIE) on Manandavadi Road here yesterday.

Automobile enthusiasts irrespective of age and gender thronged the venue to look at the vehicles of the past and present.

Dr. T.N. Shridhar, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Director, NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology and Co-ordinator of ATF- 2014, speaking to Star of Mysore, said that ATF has been one of the biggest Auto Expos in the State with the previous editions having seen a footfall of about 15, 000 visitors.

He said that it all started when the first Bike Expo was organised in the year 2006 and added that the city needed an Auto Expo of its own to cater the hunger of automobile enthusiasts of the city.

He said that in the year 2007, a Car and Bike Expo was held and the same was repeated in the year 2009. Garnering high success from these events, Automotive Technology Fair took birth which was the first of its kind in the year 2010, he said and added that the vision finally materialised and was carried forward with ATF- 2011.

Dr. Shridhar said that this is the third expo of the ATF in the last four years at NIE.

Speaking about the expo, he said that this year’s expo was being held with the theme ‘Green Automotive Technology’ and as part of ATF, more than 150 Super Bikes and Vintage Bikes along with 35 vintage cars, sports cars and classic cars from in and around the city was showcased at the expo.

Dr. Shridhar said that apart from showcasing the vehicles both old and new at the expo, a Knowledge Pavilion has also been set up where students will give presentations on various trending green technologies.

The expo also housed ‘Do it Yourself’ stalls where the visitors were educated on how to keep their vehicles in good condition and service it themselves.

Gavin Jude Wilson, a Jawa bike enthusiast who has displayed three bikes CZ Jawa, Jawa 250 and Yezdi 350 Twin, said that it is good to have such a kind of expo in city as nothing pertaining to automobiles happens here.

He said that the organising was good and the expo created awareness on what is available in automobile industry. The students of the college explained about the technical aspects of the vehicles and how they work, he said and added that the expo showed us what we were then and what we are now in terms of automobile technology.

Some of the bikes that were displayed were Rajdoot 350, Jawa, Yezdi, BSA 120, a Second World War bike, Enfield 200, Vespa, Lambretta, Super Bikes such as Suzuki Boulevard which was previously owned by actor Salman Khan, Aprilia RSV4, Hyosung GT250R, Kawasaki ZZR, Harley Davidson, customized bike from Vardenchi and BMW 1000RR among others.

City lad Santosh too had displayed his miniature vehicle ‘Mooshik’ and his concept electric two wheeler. He later gave a lecture on ‘Electric Bike Technology’ during the technical session.

Some of the cars that were displayed at the Auto Fair were Porsche, Honda, Volvo, Range Rover, 1973 model US manufactured Jeep Kaiser CJS, 1984 model Premier Padmini, 1961 model Fiat, owned by R. Venkata Raman, an alumni of NIE, 1978 2300 CC Mercedes Benz, owned by Praveen, 1993 model Mercedes Benz 300D, owned by Muthanna among others.

Apart from the vehicles which were displayed, technical sessions on ‘Recent Developments in Radial Tyre Technology’ by T.N. Ramesh, Chief Manager- Technical, JK Tyre, Mysore, ‘Technological Trends in India for Upcoming Emission Norms’ by Ashish Milas Moholkar, Design and Development Engineer, Eicher Motors Ltd. Madhya Pradesh, ‘Innovating in the field of sustainable transportation of goods and people’ by Srinivas Bidare, CEO, Intent Design Pvt. Ltd., Mysore and other topics were held.

The ATF- 2014 which was inaugurated yesterday by U.K. Shenoy, Vice-President (Works), JK Tyre and Industries Ltd., Mysore, will conclude today at 8 pm.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 13th, 2014

Bowring Institute will flashback to 1890s glory days look

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Restoration cost will run into multiple lakhs, but the building’s heritage architecture will be brought back to original state

From the files: The club over a century ago
From the files: The club over a century ago

It will have the look of a brand new building built in 1890: Victorian style architecture, a superstructure with brick walls lined with lime mortar, pitched roofing in the main hall with Mangalore tiles, other roofs of Madras style. Every detail of the original will be authentically replicated and one of Bangalore’s heritage structures – the 124-year-old Bowring Institute – will be restored to its former glory by the state archeology, museums and heritage department.

The building is currently sending nothing short of an SOS. “There are deep cracks to the walls and the roofs, both pitched and flat, built 126 years ago, are leaking during the rainy weather and inundating the terraces. There is no proper rain water disposal system. The rain has created ugly fungal patches on the ceilings and caused the peeling of plaster,” rued H S Srikanth, secretary, Bowring Institute, in a plea for help to the state archeology department, in February.

”It is therefore recommended that structural strengthening of the protected monument is carried out at the earliest to not only prevent further damage but also to enhance its longevity of life,” he has added, in the proposal.

For once, the government has responded quickly. The process of restoration was formally kicked of on Wednesday, with the commissioner, C G Besturmath inspecting the protected monument with the department officials. “They had submitted a proposal to restore the Bowring Institute, which is a protected monument. The inspection is carried out. It is visible that structure needs restoration. We have decided to give a go ahead to the restoration process without affecting its original form,” Besturmath told Bangalore Mirror.

“We aim to complete the roof work before monsoons (in June-July). The rest of the work will be carried out in phases later with team of professionals to restore the structure,” Stuart Clarke the treasurer of Bowring Institute said.

The wooden flooring, superstructure, doors, and windows will be restored using both technology and traditional craftsmen, besides a team of conservation architects, engineers, and artists under supervision of the state archaeology department. The department has just completed a state-of-the-art restoration of the Dewan Poornaiah bungalow at Yellandur in Chamarajanagar district.

The restoration at Bowring will mainly be in three phases – restoring the roof to prevent water seepage during rains which is a major threat to the whole structure, strengthening and restoring pillars, walls and the ground level work. Before work begins in the nearly 11 acre campus, soil tests will be done and the foundation strength checked. The superstructure of brick walls constructed with lime mortar, which has developed cracks, will be tested and fixed. The pitched roofing in the main hall, reading room and Black Dog bar, consisting of steel trusses, beams, steel purlins and Mangalore red tiles, and other roofs of Madras terrace type, will be redone. The flat roof, peeling and leaking, will also be restored. Old floors will be relaid in the same design and style as it was.

The doors and windows will be restored using the same wood, colour and design as they were in 1890s.”It is proposed to retain the old foundation, displace the structures built during the past 50 years close to the monument and retain the club activities, and importantly bring back the look it had a century ago,” Anup Bajaj, the president of Bowring Institute said.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Chetan R, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 10th, 2014

Automotive techology fair begins at NIE

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The fair is open to public free of cost from 10 am to 8 pm

: Models of Bull and Squirrel created by artist Ilyas Ahmed (inset) using scrap materials on display at the two-day Automotive Technology Fair-2014 being held at NIE Diamond Jubilee Sports Complex on Mysore-Manandavadi in city. Picture right shows artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy with his 3D painting of a car at the venue.
: Models of Bull and Squirrel created by artist Ilyas Ahmed (inset) using scrap materials on display at the two-day Automotive Technology Fair-2014 being held at NIE Diamond Jubilee Sports Complex on Mysore-Manandavadi in city. Picture right shows artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy with his 3D painting of a car at the venue.

Mysore :

A two-day Automotive Technology Fair-2014 organised jointly by NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology (NECAT) and Society of Automotive Engineers of INDIA (SAEINDIA) Collegiate Club of NIE commenced this morning at the NIE Diamond Jubilee Sports Complex on Manandavadi Road here.

The fair features an exhibition of old and new models of two-wheelers and four-wheelers. A scrap art by Ilyas Ahmed is an added attraction where models of horses, squirrels, bulb and an army tank created of scrap materials are exhibited at the venue.

The old two-wheeler models of Rajdooth, Yezdi and Vespa and latest arrivals of Yamaha, Suzuki, Harley Davidson are also on display. Similarly the old cars featured Fiat, earlier models of Landrover while the new ones from Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Ford and many more were seen at the exhibition. The cynosure of all eyes was a 3D painting of a car by artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy at the premises. JK Tyres Vice-President (Works) U.K. Shenoy inaugurated the fair by releasing the balloons. NIE Board of Management Hon. President M. Sreepada Rao was the guest of honour. NIE Principal Dr. G.L. Shekar, Centre for Advanced Studies Chairman S.K. Lakshminarayana, NECAT Director Dr. T.N. Sridhar, Programme Convenor Manjunath and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 12th, 2014

Udupi: K R Phatkar bags Top Bharat Nirman Volunteer Award

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Udupi :

K R Patkar, Shirva gram panchayat Nav Bharat Nirman Vedike president and gram panchayat member was honored by presenting Top Bharat Nirman Volunteer Award, during two-day state level Bharat Nirman volunteers’ convention held at Davanagere, recently.

BharatNirmanBF16mar2014

Davanagere district Deputy Commissioner S T Anjan Kumar presented the honor on the occasion.

The zilla panchayat CEO D B Hemachandra, litterateur Professor B V Veerabhadrappa, Mysore Abdul Nazeer Saab, state rural development organization officer Wilfred D’Souza were present at the dais.

source: http://www.bellevision.com / Bellevision.com / Home> News / by Pundalika Marate, Bellevision Media Network / Udupi – March 28th, 2014

The master painter’s last stroke

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
K. Chinnappa, who has painted cutouts of politicians and almost every actor over the course of his career, at his workshop in Bangalore on Friday. / Photo: Bhagya Prakash K. / The Hindu
K. Chinnappa, who has painted cutouts of politicians and almost every actor over the course of his career, at his workshop in Bangalore on Friday. / Photo: Bhagya Prakash K. / The Hindu

K. Chinnappa brings to an end an illustrious career of hand-painted posters

Hand-painted life-size images of film actors and famous personalities will be a thing of the past soon, with Rajkamal Arts, the only surviving company that paints posters and gigantic cut-outs of artistes and personalities in Bangalore, all set to shut shop.

A life size image of Nandamuri Balakrishna in Legend, an upcoming Telugu film, is perhaps the last painted work of 77-year-old artist K. Chinnappa, the man behind Rajkamal Arts. A 46-foot cutout of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate pick Narendra Modi is his last work of a well-known political personality. Interestingly, Mr. Chinnappa had breathed life to huge cutouts of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in the 1960s and ’70s.

On Thursday, when The Hindu went to meet the artist, his son Gopalakrishna, who is also a painter, was busy packing some rare works of Mr. Chinnappa at his workshop in Gayathri Nagar to transport them to London.

Mr. Chinnappa has painted nearly every major star in all four southern languages and Hindi in his career, numbering over 4,300. He has painted images ranging from MGR, NTR, Rajkumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Prem Nazir and even that of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

Mr. Chinnappa feels his works are not relevant in the age of digital printing. “There was a time when I used to work 18-hours a day to meet the needs of the film industry. Now the demand for hand-painted posters is almost gone. It has become difficult to pay salaries to workers, pay rent and electricity bills,” he says.

No one would want to ‘waste money’ when everything is digitised and prints could be got in a few hours, Mr. Chinnappa said.

Those working with Mr. Chinnappa have already found other jobs. Some are colouring temple Gopuras (tower) and paintings murals. Since when he started training under his guru Sri Sheenu at the age of nine, Mr. Chinappa has spent most of his life with colours and canvas. He began as an assistant, working on the iconic Mother India poster.

There is no missing the pride in Mr. Chinnappa’s tone as he talks of his work. “Keep a digital print next to a hand-painted poster and you will find a rich texture of myriad colours that is lacking in digital prints. There is no substitute to hand painting,” he says.

He is a recipient of the Indira Priyadarshini Award. The Discovery Channel has expressed interests in making a documentary film on him.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bangalore – March 28th, 2014

Design development board meets at HAL corporate office

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Bangalore :

The first meeting of newly-constituted Design & Development Management Board (DDMB) by the government to strengthen design and development in aerospace and promote self-reliance in the critical areas of India’s defence preparedness was held here today at HAL Corporate Office.

The Board comprises key members of India’s premier defence organizations involved in research, production and manufacturing activities.

“We need to have clear road map to take on the challenges in defence sector as issues concerned range from basic and applied research, involvement of academia, production, spotting and retaining talent,” Chairman of HAL and DDMB, R K Tyagi said.

The meeting brain-stormed on how to build a strong foundation for R&D by synergizing the core competency of all the organizations involved, creating conducive environment for research and support business academia collaboration.

The meeting also felt that all the concerned organizations must share the lessons learnt from the past programs and make combined efforts to ensure success of future programs with thrust on indigenization.
Acquiring of modern technology and measures to be taken to retain quality manpower were also discussed.

The forum would act as a platform for stimulating initiatives and suggest policy interventions for bringing inclusive growth. The DDMB members will deliberate at length most of these issues in their future meetings and the recommendations will be communicated to the stakeholders.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / by Chethan Kumar, TNN / March 28th, 2014

Mangalore: Anand DSouza First, Anil Gonsalves Second at Snooker Tourney organized by Rotary Club

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Mangalore :

The valedictory of the late Dr K Mohandas Bhandary memorial snooker tournament that was organized by Rotary Club of Mangalore Central was held at Eden Club, here on Friday March 28 evening.

Rotary Club of Mangalore Central president Rajgopal Rai presided the programme.

Vijayanat Vittal Shetty who was the chief guest, said that the late Dr Bhandary strived to promote sports in his lifetime.  He had set an example to new generation of youth to walk in his footsteps, said Shetty. He also lauded the efforts of Rotary Club in inculcating sportsmanship spirit.

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Rotary Club former governor Dr Devdas Rai, Dr Nitish Bhandary, Kateel College principal Balakrishna Shetty also spoke on the occasion.

Rotary Club of Mangalore Central former president Dr Sureschandra Shetty, secretary Santosh Shet was present at the dais.

Winners

Anand D’Souza (first), Anil Gonsalves (second), Rajgopal Rai and Abdul Nazeer (third) and Anand D’Souza (highest brake).
Rotary Club of Mangalore Central president Rajgopal Rai compered the programme.  Manjunat Revankar proposed vote of thanks.

source: http://www.bellevision.com / Bellevision.com / Home> News / by Bellevision Media Network / Mangalore – March 29th, 2014