Gabrial Stany Veigus lauded as agriculturist of the year
Farmer Gabrial Stany Veigus of Perar, a retired forest official who turned a 37-acre land into a model farm with innovative practices, is among five persons to receive the Rachana awards, instituted by Rachana, the Mangalore Catholic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for 2014. Mr. Veigas has been recognised as Rachana agriculturist of the year for introducing sustainable farming practices.
He has planted 3,400 coconut saplings, mango, rambutan, cashew, grafted variety of jackfruit and breadfruit over the last 10 years and converted his land into a high-yielding agricultural plot. Jenette Pinto, a social activist from Mumbai and a professor of history who co-authored the book ‘Slavery in Portuguese India’ will receive the outstanding woman of the year award. Raphael Sequera has won the entrepreneur of the year award.
Anil Keith D’Cruz, a Mumbai-based Oncology surgeon, has won the professional of the year award and Ligoury D’Mello, chairman of the D’Mello group of companies, Oman has won the NRI entrepreneur of the year.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangalore / by Govind Belgaumkar / Mangalore – October 22nd, 2014
Senior journalist from city Krishna Prasad, who is now the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook magazine, has been nominated as the Member of the 12th Press Council of India (PCI) for a period of three years by the Government of India.
Krishna Prasad, who now lives in Delhi, is part of the 28-member Press Council, which is a statutory body that governs the conduct of print media in the country.
The Council is empowered to hold hearings based on complaints received against print media or initiate action against print media suo motto.
Krishna Prasad, who is one among the six members under the Working Journalists — Editor category — will be in charge of all matters related to English Dailies in India for a period of three years.
Earlier, Krishna Prasad was a Committee Member of Press Club of India for two years. Justice Markandey Katju is the Chairman of the Council.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>General News / Wednesday , October 15th, 2014
V.K. Jagadish Babu is seen receiving the honour from University President Prof. Dr. Marco E. Grappegia during the convocation of Universita Popolare Degli Studi Di Milano.
City’s V.K. Jagadish Babu, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Sankalp Group and President-Elect of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India), Karnataka, was conferred the Degree of Honorius Causa – Doctor of Philosophy (Honorary Doctorate) in Civil Engineering for his achievements and contributions in the field of Construction Science recently by Universita Popolare Degli Studi Di Milano, Milano, Italy, a top ranking European University.
He is seen receiving the honour from University President Prof. Dr. Marco E. Grappegia during the convocation of Universita Popolare Degli Studi Di Milano.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>General News / Saturday, October 11th, 2014
It seems a tale out of RK Narayan’s fictional world. When an activist trying to promote voting in Mysore’s Yadavgiri went to the legendary novelist’s bungalow, he wasn’t sure of the likely response. As the writer emerged from his two-storey house, he asked the activist the reason for his visit. The activist, who had seen Narayan while growing up in the locality, asked him whether he had enrolled himself as a voter. The writer, who had just completed his term at the Rajya Sabha, explained to him the politics of politics.
Narayan told the activist he was proud of the Indian democracy, but was sore about the way it was handled. “The writer told me people hardly have any choices,” the activist, who didn’t want to be identified, recollected. “I was afraid of approaching him as we in the neighborhood knew he didn’t like to be disturbed. But he talked to me at length about the Indian political system and offered me a cup of coffee,” he told TOI.
The novelist, who popularized Indian writing in English and is admired by many well-known authors such as Alexander McCall Smith, was often reclusive, says KC Belliappa, former vice-chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh. But he loved to walk around in Mysore, when he would talk to ordinary people.
“I remember my guru C D Narasimhaiah telling me that Narayan looks for his characters while walking on the roads. That’s what Narayan had confided in him once,” Belliappa, who taught English literature at the University of Mysore, explained. Narayan was close to a handful of people; CDN, a celebrated literary critic, was one of them.
Narayan’s favourite haunt was Sayyaji Rao Road just across the Mysore Palace. “I’ve heard that he liked to walk on Dhanvantri Road besides Yadavgiri and Vonti Koppal, which might have fed his imagination when he created the fictional town of Malgudi, where most of his stories are set. ,” says the English professor.
“Like Thomas Hardy who set his fiction in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Narayan’s Malgudi was extremely well-conceived,” the retired V-C explains. The novelist situated many of his works in Mysore, where he built a home in 1952.
Delectable Tribute
Nagaraj Rajgopal, who has named his restaurant in Mysore after RK Narayan’s fictional town, offered a sweet discount on Friday to celebrate the writer’s 108th birth anniversary. “As a child, I was inspired by Narayan’s characters. When I conceived this project, I thought of designing it with the Malgudi motif,” explains Nagaraj Rajgopal.
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Renovation after talks
The bungalow in Yadavgiri where Narayan lived will be renovated soon. The bungalow, partially pulled down in September 2011, has been declared a heritage monument. “We’ve approached Narayan’s family about the renovation and work will start soon,” heritage commissioner C G Betsurmath told TOI. He said they would take over the property and start work after further talks with the family.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / by H M Aravind / October 11th, 2014
Leaving Infosys was something we have been preparing ourselves for many months. So I got into it in a programmed manner. But I will miss the whole life revolving around Infosys.
We were all very close and I can best demonstrate that with this anecdote. Last week, I went to visit a friend in hospital, and Murthy and Shibu came in exactly at the same time. We hadn’t planned it at all.
I had lots of memorable moments in the company. The most memorable was when I was CEO and growth came back strongly in 2011. It had gone down to around 5% (during recession) and many had begun to ask if it was the end of the Indian IT services industry. But when growth returned, it felt good to say ‘it’s not over’.
Another unforgettable moment was in the mid-1980s, when we created a ‘store and forward’ solution for telegrams in India, which was used by the department of telecom. I was in charge of the project. Till then, telegrams involved sending text information in Morse code and somebody translating that into English. Ours was a hardware-software solution that involved keying in the text into a computer, like an email, sending it to an electronic switch that would route it to the right destination.
But the customer was only one – DoT. We didn’t see a large market and we felt it was not our cup of tea. So we sold it to a small Bangalore company around 1989-90. But the project was interesting because we had written the entire software and operating system. I don’t know, but this may have been the solution that was used till telegrams were discontinued last year.
I had the privilege of representing the entire global business as head of the Business Action for Sustainable Development at the Rio Earth Summit in 2012. I was the co-chair of the World Economic Forum early this year. Infosys, with the rest of the Indian IT industry, has transformed the image of India around the world, transformed the image of Indian professionals, creating huge opportunities for them. IT services account for 25% of India’s exports, 6% of its GDP. About 10% of Bangalore’s population is directly employed in IT, and many more indirectly.
I’m sure we have inspired many startups. I will continue to focus on that space. We have already started a Startup Village in Kochi and Vizag. We will start one in Kozhikode later this month.
I’ve been putting money into brain research. There are two big reasons for that. One is that India has a large ageing population, and for a poor country, old-age issues like dementia and Alzheimer’s will present a huge challenge. Solutions found outside India will not be affordable. We need to find them here.
The second is that the next disruption in computing will come from our understanding of the brain. It’s called brain-inspired computing. The current model of writing software may not extrapolate, because it will require too much of maintenance. Nobody programmes the brain, yet it keeps learning. India shouldn’t miss the emerging age of brain-inspired computing.
(As told to Sujit John)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / by Kris Gopalakrishnan, TNN / October 13th, 2014
The occasion of Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to the US brings to mind “Virchand Raghavji Gandhi,” a barrister and religious scholar, who is widely regarded as “the first Gujarati leader to make a public visit to the US.”
A prized archival photograph showing “Virchand Gandhi (turbaned at extreme left) with Swami Vivekananda with a flowing turban in the centre at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893.”
Virchand Gandhi (1864-1901) represented Jainism at the World’s Parliament of Religions (Chicago, 1893), where Swami Vivekananda made his immortal speech. Virchand Gandhi delivered more than 500 lectures on religion and philosophy across the US and Europe, and is often hailed as the Father of American Jainism.
Mrs. Howard, an American woman, became his foremost disciple, almost like Sister Nivedita in the case of Swami Vivekananda, and was among the first converts to the tenets of Jainism under his influence.
—S. G. Seetharam
Gita Road
25.9.2014
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Voice of the Reader / Tuesday, September 30th, 2014
Former Governor Rama Jois (extreme left) is seen with Governor Vajubhai Vala, BVB Bangalore Chairman N. Ramanuja, Mysore Chairman Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy during the release of e-Book at Bangalore.
by Prof. A.V. Narasimhamurthy
Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 was a great day for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) in general and those of Bangalore and Mysore in particular because on that day our new Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala released e-Books of 11 volumes of English original of the History and Culture of the Indian People prepared directly under the direction of Kulapati K.M. Munshiji and the Kannada translation of the same 11 volumes prepared under my Editorship at Mysore. The latter is in 25 volumes. This has a background of its own. Sixty years ago Munshiji observed that there was no history of India written by a competent person or persons. The so-called histories attempted by individuals were far from satisfactory. Some were written from colonial angle while others were written by nationalist angle. Some others were to highlight either the Hindu or Muslim community or British contribution. Cambridge History of India was started to remedy these defects but it had a major problem of the paucity of competent writers to write on Indian history. Thus, it also languished. Many other smaller attempts do not merit serious attention.
At that juncture came Munshiji who felt the inadequacy of so-called Indian histories. He did not keep quiet murmuring over it but thought of tackling the problem in all seriousness. He strongly felt that Indian past should be described by her own historians so that they might catch a glimpse of her soul as Indians see it. In his own words as a result I have seen and felt the form, continuity and the meaning of the Indian past. History as I see it is continuously lived by Indians. Attempts to comprehend what has happened in the past forms no small part of our modern struggle. There is a conscious as well as an unconscious attempt to carry life to perfection to join the fragments of existence and to discuss the meaning of the visions which they reveal. It is not enough, therefore, to conserve, record and understand what happened; it is necessary also to assess the nature and direction of the momentous forces working through the life of India in order to appreciate the fulfilment which they seek.
He further elaborated it by stating the scope of history as follows: To be a history in the true sense of the word, the work must be the story of the people inhabiting the country. It must be a record of their life from age to age practiced through the life and achievements of men whose experiences become the beacon light of tradition, physical and economic conditions, political changes and vicissitudes which create the forces and conditions which operate upon life through characteristic social institutions, beliefs through literacy and artistic achievements through movements which helped or hindered the growth of collective harmony to make it an organic unity. Thus it must unfold the values which age after age have inspired the inhabitants to develop their culture and express it. Such a history of India is yet to be written !
In Indian parlance, history is Itihasa meaning as it happened in the past. It means that history is a record of events as they happened. Munshiji not only understood these principles but put them into practice. Another significant contribution of Munshiji is the way in which these volumes were planned and executed. He gave adequate importance to political history but gave more prominence to cultural history. He recognised various periods in the writing of our history from Vedic Age to the history of freedom struggle. This has attracted the historians all over the world.
It is practically impossible for a single historian, however scholarly he may be, to write a full history of India. That is why he picked up the best sixty scholars of that period to write different aspects. For example K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, a great scholar in South Indian history, was entrusted with the responsibility of writing on South Indian history and culture. Habibullah was requested to write on Muslim polity. This gave authenticity to the various chapters. That is sterling quality of the entire series. R.C. Majumdar was a towering personality in the study of Indian history of that period and naturally he was given the responsibility of being the Chief Editor. It is an education by itself to read the foreword or preface written by him to each of these volumes.
Munshiji had pointed out certain defects. We were told about the successive foreign invasions but little about how we resisted them and less about our victories. We were taught to decry Hindu Social system but nothing about how it brought about a synthesis of cultural forces. Alexandar’s short-lived invasion was described in glorious terms but nothing about how it failed to produce any tangible results on us. The heroic rule of Samudragupta, Harsha were discussed in a summary fashion but details were described of the bloody thirsty invasions of various periods. Our struggle for Independence was given the name Sepoy Mutiny to undermine its influence. The British historians cleverly introduced the concept of divide and rule and highlighted the part played by Dravidians against the Aryans, the Muslims and even the British. Dissatisfied by all these mistakes Munshiji planned and accomplished eleven volumes of our history. This has not been surpassed so far and as it appears now, this may not happen at all. Thus it may be considered as the magnum opus of Kulapati K.M. Munshiji.
It was the good fortune of Vidya Bhavan that Chief Justice E.S. Venkataramaiah (ESV), who was the chairman of BVB, Bangalore, showed great interest in this project. He felt that the benefit of the message of Munshiji should be made available to the Kannada readers. It was my good fortune that I was selected to be the Chief Editor of Kannada volumes in 25 parts. The first volume was released in 1997 and ESV passed away. Fortunately, N. Ramanuja of HMT fame took over the Chairmanship of BVB, Bangalore and he evinced active interest in the scheme and it was completed as planned, under the title Bharatiya Janateya Itihasa Mattu Samskriti. Dr. Mathoor Krishnamurthy and H.N. Suresh, present Director, gave full support for this project. It was completed in 2005 after eight years.
In accordance with the modern development, these 25 volumes were planned in e-book in a single disc under the guidance of N. Ramanuja. The entire project was supported financially by M.P. Birla Institute of Management and the work was done with the help of Arjun of Sriranga Digitals. This fine work was released by the Governor of Karnataka. On that day, I was sitting by his side along with Ramanuja. He praised me and appreciated my efforts being the Chief Editor of the Kannada volumes and asked many clarifications. I was impressed by his simple living and high thinking. In his speech he said that it is my good fortune to be sitting by the side of a scholar and looked at me. I became overwhelmed by affection when the Governor said, ‘Professor you may take as much time as you want but tell us about history.’ Ramanuja and I requested him to pay a visit to BVB, Mysore and he readily agreed. Thus, we are waiting for the visit of the Governor to Mysore Bhavan shortly. Thus, I had a pleasant and useful occasion after spending about three months in America. Lastly, I bow to Kulapati K.M. Munshiji for this great opportunity.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Sunday, September 28th, 2014
Keith Lobo, son of Richard and Christine Lobo of London is the first Mangalorean to win the prestigious English Asian Business Award for the year 2014. This event was compered by the Lloyds Banking Group on 29th of September 2014 at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester UK.
The “English Asian Business Awards” is awarded to accolade the resoluteness, strenuous effort and personal achievements of English Asian Business men and women at the forefront of their industries. Each year, the competition has become more excruciating as the event itself has grown into a highly reverenced occurrence, where the best and most effulgent are adored.
Businesses from across the UK gathered at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester to celebrate success at this year’s Lloyds Banking Group English Asian Business Awards. There were 16 awards presented, a triumpher from each category. Keith Lobo was a finalist in the new business of the year category.
Over 300 attendees, including golden glove champion and actor Joe Egan, Author Fiaz Rafiq and DJ Noreen Khan, the black tie event was hosted by Miss United Kingdom Supranational, Rachelle Perez along with businessman and chef director at Mushtaq’s Restaurant, Ajmal Mushtaq.
Attending the black tie event on the night the judges decided who the victor was, they had secret shoppers and researchers scouting the business who were finalist. Within the catergory the other finalist were the following:
New Business of the Year award is for a business which has been prosperously operating for approximately 24 months and was set up despite the negativity that subsists in the current climate. The following were the nominees under the incipient business category.
LOBO Meat & Poultry (London)
Timber Door Merchants (Keighley)
Tipu Sultan (Birmingham)
GMR (Birmingham)
Usortd.com (London)
Scarlet Bindi (London)
Gift Wellness.co.uk (Derby)
Keith Lobo of Lobo Meat & Poultry was announced the winner for new business of the year 2014 in the evening. A very jubilant Keith Lobo accepted the award. In his brief speech he expressed his thanks to his parents for their fortification and being such a great inspiration. He also thanked his wife Sushma Lobo for being a woman behind his success.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Raj Francis Pereira – UK , London October 02nd 2014 / DaijiWorld.com – Thursday, October 02nd, 2014
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar is seen releasing the Special Cover at Postal Training Centre (PTC) in Nazarbad this morning as (from left) Aindri Anurag, Postmaster General, South Karnataka Circle, Bangalore, M.S. Ramanujan, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle and N.S. Dwarkanath, President of Mysore Philatelists’ Association, look on.
Mysore :
A Special Cover on Royal Durbar of late Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar was released by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, wife of late Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar during the inauguration of Chamundipex-2014, the South Karnataka Regional Philately Exhibition held at the auditorium of the Postal Training Centre (PTC) at Nazarbad in city this morning.
The Special Cover depicts Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar ascending the Golden Throne in traditional attire amidst the announcement of the arrival of the King to the court.
The Special Cover, which was released today, is sponsored by Ln. S. Shivanna, advocate and Past District Governor and Zonal Chairperson, Dist 317A of Lions Club International.
M.S. Ramanujan, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, released the Special Cover on Platinum Jubilee of Bewoor Building (Head Post Office building) in Nehru Circle at the same programme today.
The building is named after Gurunatha Venkatesha Bewoor, who was the first Director General of the Post and Telegraph Department during 1934.
Ramanujan also inaugurated the Philately Exhibition Chamundipex-2014, which began from today at PTC in Nazarbad .
There are 123 entries which are participating in the competition, in junior and senior categories apart from 27 exhibits of rare collections of old stamps and postal covers of various countries.
The expo, which is open to public from today from 10 am to 7 pm, will conclude on Sept. 26.
Aindri Anurag, Postmaster General, South Karnataka Circle, Bangalore, N.S. Dwarkanath, President of Mysore Philatelists’ Association and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Tuesday , September 24th, 2014
Vice-Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa is seen unveiling the portrait of Princess Leelavathi Devi at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Manasagangotri yesterday as Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs, the grandson of Princess Leelavathi Devi, IDS Director Krishne Gowda and others look on.
Mysore :
A portrait of Princess Leelavathi Devi, the grand-daughter of Chamaraja Wadiyar, the erstwhile ruler of Mysore province, was unveiled at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) which was earlier called Leela Vihar Mansion in Manasagangotri campus of University of Mysore here yesterday.
Leelavathi Devi was the only daughter of Princess Jayalakshammanni, the daughter of Chamaraja Wadiyar X. The Mansion and its adjacent area were provided to the University when it expanded its campus, adding new facilities.
Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs, the grandson of Princess Leelavathi Devi, and son of K.B. Ramachandra Raje Urs and Princess Gayathri Devi, was the chief guest. Vice-Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa unveiled the portrait.
During the regime of Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, around 500 acres of land, including the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion (which earlier belonged to Princess Jayalakshammanni), was donated to the university.
When Rashtrakavi Kuvempu was the Vice-Chancellor, the entire property was handed over to the university through Sardar K. Basavaraje Urs, husband of Princess Leelavathi Devi. The whole area was later named as Manasagangotri by Kuvempu, according to a press release issued by the University.
Sardar K. Basavaraje Urs and his family moved to Leela Vihar Mansion (present IDS) later on. The family later shifted their residence to a newly-built house at Jayalakshmipuram, which is also known as ‘Leela Vihar’, handing over the mansion to the university to facilitate its expansion plans, the release said.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Tuesday , September 23rd, 2014
