Senior Yakshagana artiste and legendary chande percussionist Krishna Yaji Indagunji passed away at his home in Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district on Friday evening. He was 72. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. The last rites will be performed on Saturday.
Krishna Yaji Indagunji had served for long in noted, and more than eight decade-old Idagunji Mahaganapathi Yakshagana Mandali being led by Keremane family and Gundabala Yakshagana Mela.
Krishna Yaji Indagunji, an artiste of Badaguthittu school of Yakshagana, was the recipient of erstwhile Karnataka Yakshagana and Janapada Academy award, Udupi Yakshagana Kalaranga Award and many other awards.
In his condolence message senior Yakshagana artiste of Keremane family, who is now leading the Idagunji mela, Keremane Shivananda Hegde said, “His life, passion for art and his achievements will inspire generations to come. He has left our troupe and our family in deep sorrow and vacuum.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – April 25th, 2020
A foundation donates ECG machines to Jan Aushadi Kendras in semi-urban, rural areas to help the poor get free tests
An MLA suddenly collapsed while holding a meeting at Kadaba, a small town in Dakshina Kannada, during the lockdown last month. Immediately an ECG test was done at the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Kendra in the town. As the report suggested medical emergency he was rushed to a Mangaluru hospital within no time.
Ramesh, who manages the centre, had uploaded the report to a WhatsApp group called ‘Kayakalpa’ created by the Cardiology at Doorstep (CAD) Foundation, floated by a group of doctors. Padmanabha Kamath, the chief admin of the group and also Professor and Head of the Department of Cardiology, Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Mangaluru, who read the report suggested immediate medical evacuation of the MLA.
The CAD Foundation had donated the ECG machine to the centre about a year ago. The centre has been doing the ECG test free of cost to many people since then. “It has been immensely helping for people in small places to know their health condition,” Mr. Ramesh told The Hindu.
The foundation has donated the machines to 10 Jan Aushadi Kendras in the coastal and Malnad belt where free ECG tests are being done since at leastsix months. The pharmacists managing those centres have been networked in the ‘Kayakalpa’ group which has two cardiologists. If those who underwent the test agreed, the reports are uploaded and the cardiologists read them and gave their opinion. Those who need further consultation or treatment are free to approach any doctor of their choice anywhere.
Dr. Kamath, who is also the founder of the CAD Foundation, told The Hindu that the other nine machines have been given to the centres in Mundgod, Sirsi, Bhatkal, Sringeri, Siddapura in Udupi district, Kundapura, Belman, Udupi and Mangaluru.
The doctor said that the objective of donating the machines to the centres in semi-urban and rural areas is to strengthen the foundation’s crusade against coronary artery disease, for early diagnosis and prevention, especially among economically weaker sections. With no specialists available in many such places ‘Kayakalpa’ became a platform for interaction among pharmacists, patients and doctors.
Like Vincent D’Souza who managed a centre at Naguri in Mangaluru, some even offered free blood pressure and sugar level tests at such centres. An ECG test outside cost at least ₹250, Mr. D’Souza said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Raviprasad Kamila / Mangaluru – April 22nd, 2020
Cooking begins here at 9 am and by 12.30 pm, the packets are ready for distribution.
Ravi and his family prepares food for the hungry. (Photo| EPS)
Bengaluru :
Upset over witnessing the rise of starving people around him following the nationwide lockdown, a loco-pilot and his friend decided to pool in their own resources to help others in whatever way they could. Loco pilot B Ravi and S Somashekhar have been cooking and distributing an average of 120 food packets to the needy for the last five days and plan to continue doing so as long as they can sustain it.
Ravi, with 20 years of experience as an express driver, was choked with emotion when narrating his experience to The New Indian Express on Wednesday. “Public are overwhelmed with gratitude and bless us. I cannot put into words how overwhelmed with emotion I am personally to be able to help people like this,” he said.
His wife, Anu Surya, a homemaker, and daughters Deepika and Keerthana are helping out in whatever way they can in their house in BEML Layout, Basaveshvaranagar. “We carried out the distribution of 120 packets of tomato rice on Ring Road on Tuesday afternoon to passersby who were in need. On Wednesday afternoon, we made 130 vegetable rice packets and distributed them at on the same road as well as at a slum in Kamakshipalaya,” Ravi said.
When asked what pushed him to take the step, the loco pilot said that the unprecedented situation faced by the world due to the coronavirus was the main motivation.
It costs nearly Rs 3,000 a day to feed the poor. “Somashekhar, my friend who works in the private sector and I are managing the cost as of now by pooling in from our pockets. We began doing it on April 7 and plan to continue until we are able to sustain it. Neighbours have now started chipping in with rice, vegetables and other essentials to help us out. They are also now helping us in cutting vegetables and taking turns in doing the cooking. Two other friends Nagaraj and T Swami are also helping out,” he added.
Cooking begins here at 9 am and by 12.30 pm, the packets are ready for distribution.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by S. Lalitha / Express News Service / April 12th, 2020
Veteran writer and translator Chandrakanth Kusnoor died of age-related illnesses in Belagavi on Saturday night. He was 90. His last rites were conducted in the early hours of Sunday.
A multi-faceted personality, he earned fame as a writer, translator, novelist, poet, playwright, painter, art critic, and institution builder. He was among the few artistes to have won awards from the Karnataka Nataka Academy, Karnataka Lalitha Kala Academy, and Karnataka Sahitya Academy.
A polyglot, he worked as a cross-translator between Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, and Urdu. His translations of the works of U.R. Ananthamurthy and Srikrishna Alanahalli into Hindi were well-received.
He is hailed by literary historians as the first person to introduce the Haiku format of poetry into Kannada.
He was also among the pioneering abstract writers in Kannada. His plays such as Dindi, Vidushaka, Ratto Ratto Rayara Magale, and Ani Bantu Ondu Ani were widely performed. His biographical novel Gohar Jan chronicles the growth of professional theatre music tradition.
He was also an abstract painter and had converted his home in Channamma Nagar into a mini-art gallery. He continued to paint till the very end, said artist Balu Sadalage. He hailed from Kalaburagi, where he worked as a college professor for some years. He settled in Belagavi after his retirement as the Deputy Director of Kannada and Culture.
Along with friends, he founded the Ranga Madhyama in Kalaburagi and the Gulmohar Belgaum Arts Group in Belagavi.
The State government honoured him with the Karnataka Rajyotsava award.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – April 19th, 2020
The initiative which started on March 27 aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown period in Bengaluru and has already provided close to 23,000 meals.
The initiative aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown
Bengaluru :
With the ongoing lockdown leaving scores of daily wage workers and the underprivileged without food and shelter, three Bengalurean businessmen have come together aiming to put a halt to the starvation. Venkat K Narayana, CEO, Prestige Group, Juggy Marwaha, executive MD, JLL India and K Ganesh, co-founder, Big Basket have launched the initiative ‘Feed My Bangalore’ with a plan to serve 10,000 – 15,000 meals every day to daily wagers, underprivileged and homeless children and frontline workers.
The initiative which started on March 27 aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown period in Bengaluru and has already provided close to 23,000 meals. Adding to this, Narayana said, “India is overpopulated with 269 million people still living below the poverty line. Given the density of population, social distancing is a luxury for most.
The government is doing the best they can, but it’s not going to be enough. We as conscious citizens need to do our bit too. As I keep hearing my two-year old son reiterate at home, ‘Sharing is caring’ and that has to be our motto for this crisis.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 01st, 2020
Helping hand: Members of an NGO distributing food in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
NGOs and even individuals are reaching out to the needy
With the entire State in lockdown, thousands of daily wage workers trapped in the city and the homeless are struggling to survive and get two square meals a day. Most of them are relying on non-governmental organisations and unions that have stepped up to support them and provide temporary assistance to labourers and their families. There have also been spontaneous offers of help from citizens.
Nalini Shekar, co-founder of Hasiru Dala, an NGO that works with waste-pickers, said they are trying to provide aid to 1,000 families and have sought donations. They plan to give families of waste-pickers five kg of rice/wheat, two kg of lentils, and two bars of soap, costing ₹550. This amount includes transportation to their homes. “We have chosen families who don’t have a ration card as the government is already giving two months’ supply to such families. These supplies will last the families for about 12 days,” said Ms. Shekar. Within a day of circulating the messages on social media, Hasiru Dala received donations that would help around 200 families.
Anand N.R., a freelance driver, said an NGO, CAPS Foundation, got his family groceries worth ₹2,000. “It is a desperate situation as the number of bookings have reduced to a large extent. One of my customers told the NGO about my situation and the help extended was timely,” he said.
In film industry
Meanwhile, with shooting and all other aspects of film production coming to a halt, members of the Kannada film industry too are stepping up to offer support to colleagues, including technicians, drivers, stuntmen, and those part of the production team. Film-maker Pawan Kumar started this initiative last Sunday. “I wanted to tell everyone that at a time when we are all at home, we can do something constructive for people in our fraternity,” he told The Hindu. As of Friday, he has collected ₹5.81 lakh. Actor Chetan Kumar, who is in touch with many of the unions, has also decided to help Mr. Pawan Kumar in identifying people who may be in dire need.
Volunteers needed
Naavu Bharateeyaru, a platform of various civil society groups which came together in November last year to oppose NPR and NRC, is now focussing on fighting the pandemic by ensuring food security and emergency medical relief. “While doing so, we will take utmost care to ensure that our volunteers are safe,” said a note from members of the platform. The platform needs volunteers for several tasks, including rapid assessment of needs and procuring relief material.
In several areas, police personnel on patrol duty are distributing food to the homeless and those from lower economic background as a majority of the hotels and eateries are closed. However, a few hotels in the city are distributing food boxes to migrant workers and labourers.
Several residents are doing their bit to help out, too. Sujaya M., a homemaker who lives at Rajajinagar, for instance, is cooking lunch for five homeless people in her locality. “It is during these testing times that we need to help each other. I may not be able to help a large number of people, but I decided to do the best I could,” she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Tanu Kulkarni / Bengaluru – March 28th, 2020
Among the worst-affected sectors, daily wage workers are undoubtedly the biggest sufferers during the pandemic.
Bengaluru :
Among the worst-affected sectors, daily wage workers are undoubtedly the biggest sufferers during the pandemic. To handle this issue, city-based non-profit organisation Give Foundation is currently running a campaign where the members have collected more than Rs 30 lakh within a span of three days, which will be used towards creating hygiene kits for underprivileged people and extend support to blue-collar workers who have lost jobs due to the lockdown.
“We started this campaign on Sunday and reached out to different donors from all over the country. The amount will be used to pay two months’ salary to people who have blue-collar jobs,” says Somdutta Chatterjee, head of corporate partnerships in GiveIndia Foundation. She added that apart from the existing list of affected people that they have, the foundation is also reaching out to various other NGOs to gather more lists. They will reach out to people directly after doing a background verification of the affected persons. “A part of the collected fund will also be used to provide a hygiene kit to the underprivileged. The kit will consist of protective mask, hand sanitiser, antiseptic soap, antiseptic lotion, phenol and thermometers,” adds Chatterjee.
Apart from organisations, others are also trying to do their bit for the good of the society. Champaca, a book store and café in the city, has appealed to people to buy an annual voucher from the store to support those who work at the bookstore.
Recently, director Pavan Kumar started a fund raiser campaign to support daily wage workers of the Kannada film industry, like makeup artistes, lightman, drivers, carpenters and more. Till now, he has collected more than Rs 3.5 lakh and will be handing it over to different workers’ unions.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / March 25th, 2020
Like many other Bengalureans, Suraj Moraje too has been spending his quarantine working from home.
Pic: Meghana Sastry
Bengaluru :
Like many other Bengalureans, Suraj Moraje too has been spending his quarantine working from home. This means back-to-back calls with other colleagues, but the incoming group CEO of business service provider Quess Corp has found something that has helped calm nerves. In between work commitments, Moraje finds a moment or two to spin a vinyl record on any one of the three players he has at home.
“I listen to jazz or some music in the background. These are stressful times, so it’s nice to listen to a piece of music,” he says, adding how his wife and two sons, aged 13 and 10, spent a part of their Sunday listening to Top of the World by The Carpenters. “My elder son groans about how we’re all singing together but the rest of us like it,” he laughs.
Though having harboured a love for music for as long as he can remember, Moraje’s love for vinyl records took off seriously 6-7 years ago. His collection, which stood at a simple 50 then, has grown to 800 now. Arranged alphabetically, the collection includes Pink Floyd, Queen, Carol King, Dire Straits and more. “What can I say, I’m a bit of a control freak, I like knowing exactly where to find Billy Joel,” he says. It’s then easy to imagine how music is a constant fixture in his house. The 44-year-old affirms, “My younger son is often our DJ. Music definitely plays a central role in our lives. I even met my wife at a discotheque.”
For Moraje, life before his vinyl record collection meant spending weekends downloading mp3 songs, but one conversation with him is enough to show that he truly loves his vintage collection. “You connect to a vinyl in more ways. There’s the crackle, the ability to hold it and see the art work. Vinyls sound messier because it’s like live music being recorded. But it’s more real too and comes together well,” he says, adding that he often keeps time apart during his travels to hunt for some records.
So far, his collection includes finds from the Philippines, Italy, Portugal, USA, Malaysia and Singapore. Most of them, however, are secondhand records. He explains, “There’s something special about collecting older records. Some might have a name in the cover, some are older than you and make you wonder about the previous owner, the room the record was played in or more.”So what’s he been listening to lately? Pat comes the reply: Why Worry by Dire Straits. “It goes something like this: Why worry now, there’s always laughter after pain, sunshine after rain,” he says. “It’s a great soothing song.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / March 24th, 2020
Sometimes, when one door closes, another one opens. This is the case with a 42-year-old man from Belagavi, who made it his life’s mission into helping those in need.
Belagavi’s ‘nocturnal ambulance man’ Manjunath with his family | Express
Belagavi :
Sometimes, when one door closes, another one opens. This is the case with a 42-year-old man from Belagavi, who made it his life’s mission into helping those in need. Manjunath Pujari, who failed in fulfilling his dream of joining the Indian Army, is popularly known as the ‘nocturnal ambulance man’ in Belagavi. A resident of Ashok Nagar, Manjunath has saved hundreds of lives by providing free ambulance service in his autorickshaw for the past three years. Appreciating his work, The India Book of Records titled him ‘Nocturnal Ambulance Man’ with a certificate recently.
Manjunath was influenced by his family’s strong sense of patriotism, which is why he wanted to join the Army. However, he met with a tragic accident at a young age, which shattered not just his leg, but also his dreams. Manjunath’s right leg and left hand were injured, and he had to spend over a month in hospital. Doctors fixed a metal rod in his broken leg, and his arm too had suffered permanent damage. The trauma still haunts Manjunath, who says that even today, he has difficulty carrying heavy objects and can’t walk normally. Despite this, Manjunath didn’t lose hope, and decided that if he can’t serve his country, he will dedicate his life to helping the needy. He bought a taxi, which he used to ferry customers to feed his family during the day; and at night, the taxi was used to help those with medical emergencies, free of cost. However, when Manjunath got a good job offer, he sold his taxi. “One day, a pregnant woman asked me to help her reach the hospital at midnight, but I had sold my taxi.
Manjunath Pujari
Though I managed to get her to the hospital, the incident shook me. I felt guilty for selling my taxi, and decided to buy an autorickshaw by taking loans from my friends,” says Manjunath. Now, Manjunath’s auto is ever-ready to ferry patients to hospitals at night. Pregnant women, children, the elderly, people who have met with accidents — Manjunath helps them all. His service has gained him great respect. He also advertises his services, urging people to call him during emergencies. Manjunath starts his day at 6 am, and whatever money he earns from ferrying customers till 9am, goes into a charity box that he donates to NGOs in Belagavi. From 10 am to 5 pm, he works at a private firm to support his family. After work hours, he again runs his auto from 6pm to 11 pm, and the money made during these rides is used for fuel and maintenance of his auto, so that he can ferry patients at night.
“My duty, what others call ‘social work’, gives me a sense of great satisfaction. I lost out on a chance to serve the nation, but now, I have the chance to help the needy with whatever resources available. Recognising my work, my colleagues at the company I work for applied my name for the India Book of Records. To my luck, I was awarded the certificate, Manjunath says, adding that his parents and wife are his support system, who encourage him in all his endeavours. Nagaratna Ramagouda, president of Ashraya Foundation that works with HIV+ children, says, “Many people have the resources and time to help the needy or bring about change in society, but not too many show interest. Manjunath, however, who works with a private company as an assistant, is the best example of how one can become a social worker. After earning for his family, he helps the needy. He has a rich heart, and I’m proud to call him my friend.” Manjunath also works as an advisor at Ashraya foundation.
Service even after death
Even after death, Manjunath wants to help the less fortunate. He has arranged for his organs to be donated to KLE Hospital. He also creates awareness among people on donating their bodies to science, as it helps in medical research. He has also saved many lives by donating blood during emergencies. He has donated blood 40 times as of now.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Sunil Patil / Express News Service / March 22nd, 2020
