Monthly Archives: September 2012

Brown University launches initiative for study of India

Business & Economy, Leaders, World Opinion

New York:

Prestigious Ivy leagure Brown University has launched an India-centric initiative that will focus on academic research and public discourse on India.

The ‘Brown-India Initiative’ was launched by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna who visited the Rhode Island-based university yesterday and addressed students on ‘India’s Foreign Policy Priorities for the 21st Century.’

Brown said the initiative would be an interdisciplinary hub for the study of contemporary India through research and a series of public lectures and events throughout the academic year. The initiative would be based out of the university’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

“Developments in India are generating enormous intellectual and practical curiosities,” International Studies and Social Sciences Professor and Brown-India Initiative director Ashutosh Varshney said.

He said the rapid pace of change over the last two decades has led to exciting research puzzles and new challenges have also been posed for the politics and economics of the country.

“By promoting research on questions of contemporary political and economic relevance, Brown University can play a significant role in analyzing key issues and can influence public debates about the future evolution of India,” he added.

The initiative’s goals would be to produce exemplary academic research and to contribute to public discourse on India through convergence of figures from academia, civil society, literature, public policy and journalism.

The initiative would promote research in economics, politics, urbanization, national security and domestic conflict management and work with partners in India to conduct the research.

The partners include Bangalore based nonprofit organization Janaagraha, Center for Policy Research and the National Council of Applied Economic Research, both in Delhi.

Krishna’s lecture was the first in a series of year-long public presentations to be offered by the initiative.

The initiative would also host other prominent public figures like World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu, who would focus on two decades of India’s economic reform.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / Home> News By Industry> Education / by PTI / September 29th, 2012

Me n Moms opens first exclusive store in Bangalore

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Me n Moms, the fastest growing homegrown retail chain for kids’ wear and accessories, has entered the Karnataka market with the launch of its first exclusive store at Banashankari in Bangalore.  

Spread across 3700sq.ft, the store offers a dedicated range of kids’ wear and accessories under seven categories along with women’s maternity products for pre- and post-natal care.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naresh Khatar, Chairman and Managing Director, Me n Moms, said, “We are happy to launch our first exclusive store in Bangalore. Me n Moms, as a homegrown brand, has seen tremendous growth through quality and innovative products available at reasonable price. Keeping in mind the fact that Karnataka is a key market for kids’ wear and accessories, we are planning to open more stores in the city. But before further expansion in the city, we want to focus on consumer connect programmes and consumer reaction.”

“With the growth of the Indian retail market for kids’ apparels and accessories, we hope to reach out to more consumers, opening more exclusive stores and franchise stores across India,” Mr. Khatar added.

Me n Moms, under the brand name Mee Mee, offers dedicated categories of products for kids and mothers, ranging from Nursing, Feeding, Play time, Bed time, Bath time, Dress up time, Baby care, Furniture and Travel Gear. All the Mee Mee range of products are designed with great attention and care to ensure best quality and optimum safety for mothers and their babies.  The products are a combination of affordability and quality par excellence and aim to promote the ‘Joy of parenting’. Mee Mee products are available at 80 counters in Bangalore.

Me n Moms currently has 14 exclusive stores (four in Hyderabad, three in Mumbai, three in Pune, one in Bengaluru, one in Lucknow, one in Noida, one in Nasik) and one franchise store in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

Me n Moms has been offering baby care and mother care products for the past 20 years to quality-conscious Indian consumers. Mr. Naresh Khatar, a first generation entrepreneur, is the founder of this company.
Me n Moms

source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com / Home> News> Apparel / September 29th, 2012 (India)

Konkani musical show at Taleigao

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A ‘Konkani kantaram musical show’ will be held at the  Taleigao community centre’s hall, Taleigao, on October 2 at 7.30pm. The show is being organized by the newly formed Centro Social e Cultural Sao Minguel de Taleigao. An office-bearer of the association said that ‘the aim of the association is to nurture young talent in the village of Taleigao, with a view to preserving the various forms of traditional Goan culture, such as tiatr, mando, dekhni, fugdi, etd, and also to inculcate the love for Goa’s mother tongue Konkani’. A troupe of famous artistes comprising Sonia Sirsat, Anthony San, Aniceto Lourenco,  Socorro de St Cruz, T Britton, Albert Cabral, comedians John D’Silva and Netto will perform at the musical show. Entry for the event is free.

Film fest on biodiversity at Miramar: Goa CMS Vatavaran – biodiversity film festival and forum – will be organized at the Goa science centre auditorium, Miramar, on October 1. Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo will declare the festival open. Minister for forest and environment  Alina Saldanha will be the guest of honour. The festival will begin with a theatrical presentation on environment. ‘Turtles in a soup’, the inaugural film will be screened on the occasion.

World Elders’ Day prog at Margao: Manik Publications, Quepem, will hold a programme on the occasion of World Elders’ Day on Sept 30, at 3.30pm, at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. Two books by poet Jess Fernandes, ‘ Render’ and ‘Tachem Goem’ in Devanagri Konkani, and ‘Toddy tapper and his Goa’, an English translation, will be released on the occasion.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Goa / TNN, September 30th, 2012

Organic food catching on

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

The awareness on the benefits of organic food is rising slowly yet steadily. To promote the same, a biodiversity mela was organised by Sahaja Samrudha, an organic farmers association with farmers and seed-savers of Karnataka on Saturday at Lalbagh. The mela brought together food crops from all over the state which includes 200 varieties of rice and 120 varieties of millets, fruits, vegetables and seeds.

According to Somesha B, CEO of Sahaja Organics, the awareness about organic food has been rising steadily. “There has been an increase in consumers from the last year to this year. However, reducing the pricing in the coming days will only be possible as consumption increases,” he said adding that there is a need to popularise the benefits of organic products in urban Karnataka.

There are 18 stalls and this is the first time that such a mela is being held in the state. “We are trying to promote organic food by organising melas like these,” he added.

“We want to link producers to the market. For instance, there are many varieties of grains which are nutritious that are disappearing. A variety of brown top millet called koralu, which is grown in some parts of the state, has been completely neglected. The fiber content and the nutrition value is very high. Besides it can be grown in waste lands and is a solution to the climate change. However, grains like these are fast disappearing,” said Krishnaprasad, secretary of Sahaja Samrudha.

According to stall owners, the prices of organic products is about 20% more than regular food stuff.

At the mela, there are various varieties of rice, millets, oils, health drinks, seeds, spices, herbal soaps and also snacks which have been made from organic products.

The mela has been held to raise awareness to the public about the importance of biodiversity and raise awareness on the ‘convention of biological diversity to be held between October 8 and 19 in Hyderabad. There is also a plan to organise a mela on the theme food for good health in the next two months.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / Daily News & Analysis / Home> Bangalore> Report / by DNA Correspondent, Place:Bangalore, Agency:DNA / Sunday, September 30th, 2012

Microsoft’s Windows 8 AppFest enters Guinness book of records

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Microsoft’s AppFest makes a record with 2,567 developers coding non-stop for 18 hours.

Microsoft had arranged Windows 8 AppFest, the non stop coding arena at Karnataka Trade Promotion Organization (KTPO), Bangalore. This has entered Guinness book of records . The event started at 2pm on Friday ended 8 am Saturday, which became the world record.

Microsoft’s AppFest is crowned with “Most participants in a software development marathon in one location“.

O’Neill, who had supervised the coding fest on behalf of Guinness World Records, said the following words. “Congratulations to all of the developers at the Windows AppFest for setting an official Guinness World Record for the Most Participants in a Software Development Marathon in One Location. The spectacle of thousands of developers toiling through the night has demonstrated great commitment to their work,”

Microsoft India Chairman, Bhaskar Pramanik said, “Microsoft is making significant investments and working with 1.2 million developers, over 1000 Independent Software Vendors and more than 2000 System Integrators to empower them with the tools, technologies and training required to develop high end skills and compete in a global marketplace.”

The event was powered with 2 GB bandwidth. Microsoft has taken care of power failure with six power generating stations . Windows 8 release date was confirmed to be on 26th September by officials of Microsoft.

source: http://www.thetodaystech.com / Home / Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

Muscat Accords Fitting Honour to Dr Veerendra Heggade

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's

Report : Clarence Pinto
Daijiworld Media Network – Muscat
Pics : Goldwin Soares

Muscat, Sep 28: As the sun moved slowly down the beautiful mountain ranges of the Sultanate of Oman on Thursday September 27, the people of Karnataka residing in Oman witnessed a new dawn in the grand hall of Al Falaj Hotel, Ruwi.

Every inch of this traditionally decorated hall had a clear expression of gratitude, manifestation of love and above all a kind welcome to a leader of multitude of human beings in the southern state of Karnataka. There was no barrier of caste, religion and place of birth in Karnataka for the admirers who attended this graceful function and well planned felicitation ceremony, all of them came with the sole purpose to express their infinite feelings of respect and bountiful admiration of the hereditary administrator of the famous temple Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala in the state of Karnataka.

Padma Bhusan Dr Veerendra Heggade, the power behind the transformation of the lives of millions of poor people of Karnataka through his innovative thoughts and supreme ideas, was honored and felicitated by the people of Karnataka residing in the Sultanate.

The Indian tradition was showcased throughout the beautifully planned program and Dr Heggade along with other dignitaries welcomed with an Indian traditional band. Sheikh Kanakshi Gokuldas Khimji –a veteran businessman in Oman and supporter of Indian culture and traditions through various channels and programs, Dr Satish Nambiar – leader and chairman of the Indian Social Club, Kiran Asher – Managing Director of Al Ansari Group of companies, winner of Pravasi Bharathiya Award and prominent leader of the Baniya Business community, Arun Parakh – Financial Advisor at Bahwan Group of Companies were present at the welcome procession. Dr Heggade and other distinguished dignitaries were presented with the floral bouquets by the organizing committee members.

The program commenced with a prayer dance to Lord Ganesha titled Ganesha Vandana which was presented by Sneha Bangera. The anchor of the program was Sudha Sashikanth and she presented the introduction to every part of the program in Kannada and English so that every member of the audience could understand the same.

Kalladi Shankar Shetty, prominent member of the organizing committee presented a profile of Dr Veerendra Heggade.

The program continued with honoring of Dr Heggade by the dignitaries. Sheikh Kanakshi Khimji offered Sandalwood floral garland to Dr Heggade and Kirar Asher honored Dr Heggade with Shawl. On behalf of the people of Karnataka Dr Sathish Nambiar presented Dr Heggade with Fruit basket. It was a token of love and expression of gratitude expressed through a memento which was presented by Mallar Shashidar Shetty.

In his speech Dr Heggade expressed his gratitude to the Karnataka based NRIs in Oman. He expressed his great admiration of Sultan Qaboos bin Said for his benevolence to the non-resident Indians working in Oman. He also called all Indians to become more responsible towards their lives, society and nation. Dr Heggade’s speech was greatly admired by the audience.

Kiran Asher and Dr Nambiar expressed gratitude to Dr Heggade for accepting the invitation from the community and sharing his experience.

The cultural program continued with a Bharath Natyam program titled Natyarpanam by Prameela Ramesh and her Nratyanjalli team. Traditional cultural program Yakshagana Rupaka was then presented by Spandana team of Muscat. The program concluded with vote of thanks proposed by Yoganand.

The organizing committee, the brain and strength behind this fascinating felicitation ceremony comprised Shashidhar Shetty Mallar, Shankar T Shetty Kalladi, Nagendra Kumar Moodabidri, Nagesh Shetty, S. K. Poojari, Ashok Suvarna, Manjunath Nayak, Ramesh Shettigar, Prakash Naik Koni, Yogananda, Karunakar Rao, Ramananda Kunder and Dinkar Bhat.

Dr Veerendra Heggade, a philanthropist, great visionary, educationist, social reformer, safe environment crusader and thinker, is the recipient of India’s national award Padma Bhusan, Global Green Oscar titled Asden Golden Award, honorary doctorates from several universities including honorary fellowship from Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of the University of Glasgow. The Kshetra Dharmastala in Karnataka, which was an unknown village few years ago has become a unique identity to the region of Karnataka and occupies distinctive spot on the Indian map due to the transformation work carried out by visionary leadership of Dr Heggade. Today, the Kshetra Dharmastala offers to the people of every religion and caste a hope of better future and courage to live honorable and self respected lives.

The foremost initiative of Dr Heggade is the Rural Development Self Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI) concept introduced in 1982. The concept has been borrowed and implemented by the Indian Government under the guidance of Dr Heggade. This experiment of unique nature in public – private partnership for social service is being implemented as a joint venture between Mr. Heggade’s institution and nationalized banks of India to train unemployed youths to become self-employed. As of now, RUDSETI has trained 2,90,000 youths of various villages in Karnataka.

Another well-known experiment of Dr Heggade, which was started in 1982, is the Shri Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), which organizes small farmers and poor women into Self Help Groups (SHG) for accessing various services at their doorstep. This unique and first of its kind program has benefitted 1.8 million families in Karnataka.

Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) has been encouraging green initiatives and promoting sustainable energy solutions since 1986. It has lit more than 11,000 homes in 26 years through solar lighting and generation of power through micro hydel plants in remote areas. It has also provided 15,000 gobar gas units. All this good work has been carried out by thousands of social workers inspired by the good will of Dr Heggade. These social workers move to every household in the designated villages explaining the various programs and their benefits and motivate them to take part. Mr. Heggade feels that every success that he has achieved is pure sacrifice of these social workers.

Dr Heggade took the responsibility of “hereditary administrator” at the young age of 20 and contributed immensely to the field of education in Karnataka and has been patronizing and managing several educational institutions. He has established educations institutions from medical field to law and thus encouraging the youths of the region to obtain a suitable education to transform the society and nation. He has instituted hospitals to offer medical services from tuberculosis to any major ailments. These hospitals have top class medical staff many a times offering treatment free of cost to the needy.

Dr Heggade was the first Indian to introduce and carry out the mass weddings concept in India at The Kshetra Dharmastala which is a blessing to thousands of poor couples of the region without consideration of caste or creed. A dalit (schedule caste) and Brahmin (Upper caste) couples come together on a pre-determined day and perform marriage rituals. This program of 37 years has benefited thousands of couples.

Dr Heggade has also been nominated as the road safety ambassador by the Karnataka state department’s police department.

Dr Heggade is a shining example of religious harmony. While practicing Jain faith, he is the administrator of a Hindu temple. He is continuously working for the betterment of all sections of the society regardless of their religious identities.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Home> Top Stories / Friday, September 28th, 2012

Pasha, the Jumbo Tailor

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel, Uncategorized

The Dasara elephant gracefully carries the ambari weighing about 800 kgs during Jumboo Savari, unmindful of its pain and irritation to the skin. However, there is a caretaker for the jumbo, who sees to it that the gentle giant does not get hurt in the process of carrying the howdah. The success of whole Dasara procession lies on his craftsmanship.

Elephant tailor Pasha, who stitches the gaadi, namda, chaapu for placing the howdah on the back of the pachyderm, works gently with the awl (large needle) ensuring that the elephant does not get injured.

His work is not an easy one, which should be carried out with patience. He first measures the length and breadth of the elephant’s back and then stitches the accessories.

Pasha was entrusted the job in 1971. Though he officially retired in 2006, the Forest Department seeks his skills every year for this unique work of stitching the decorative and protective covering for not only the howdah-carrying elephant but also for all other jumbos taking part in the procession.

Before retiring, he was the mahout of elephant ‘Sarala.’ His guru Sulthan Saab was the mahout of ‘Biligiriranga’ which carried the howdah in the jumboo savari earlier. He began stitching gaadi when he was a young boy and then went on to sew gaadi to Rajendra, Drona and now Balarama, Gajendra and other elephants.

Pasha is now passing on his tailoring skills to Balarama’s mahout Thimma, Arjuna’s mahout Vasantha and Masthi, mahout of Abhimanyu. Though his successors are now ready, Pasha hesitates to leave his favourite vocation.

Pasha’s life has not been a rosy one. Once an angry elephant broke his knee when he was in Bangalore for Rajyotsava function. After the incident, fearing his so

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Feature Articles / September 25th, 2012

Vintage beauties challenge new entrants at Auto Expo

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Sports

Vintage beauties seen along with the new modles at the expo.

Mysore, Sept. 28

It was an awesome combination of vintage beauties and new entrants at the auto expo organised by the Mechanical Engineering students of Maharaja Institute of Technology at the college campus here yesterday. The vintage vehicles comprised various models of Ambassador cars, Willys jeeps, army jeeps, Fiat cars and Bullet motorcycles of yesteryears, not to exclude an array of Jawa and Yezdi bikes along with scooters from Lambretta.

The new entrants included Land Rover and Nissan, Mercedes, BMW and Ferrari along with the latest bikes from Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda.

The owners of the vintage beauties were seen beaming with pride eager to explain the details of their prized possessions to visitors.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / September 28th, 2012

Thambis celebrate 178 years in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Uncategorized

Bangalore:

They were one of the earliest settlers who made Bangalore Cantonment their home. The Madras Sappers came here in 1834 and this year, the Madras Engineer Group & Centre is celebrating its 232 years since raising and 178 years in Bangalore.

As you walk into the campus of the MEG & Centre on the banks of Ulsoor Lake, you can spot the series of milestones that make its evolution. From battles in Egypt in the early 17{+t}{+h} century to the Seringapatnam battle, Sappers have had a wide reach.

They took ‘Bangalore’ to the world much before IT happened. The city became a common word among World War I and II when Sappers invented the Bangalore torpedo. These were long tubes filled with explosives which could clear minefields and enemy barbwires.

During the Kargil conflict, Sappers scaled hostile heights and cleared the ground littered with mine and other obstacles for other troops.

They played a pioneering role in Bangalore’s development. They built many buildings in Cantonment, including the Oriental Building and BRV Theatre. They still desilt Ulsoor Lake regularly and play a prominent role in preserving the water body.

“As Sappers, we are primarily combat engineers. Our job is to ensure the momentum and mobility of our own troops and to delay and restrict advance of our adversary. From the era of handling and planting explosives, constructing bridges quickly, over the years we have graduated to modern warfare where nations are strengthening their nuclear capabilities,” said Lt Col Sanjay Sharma, who looks after training at MEG & Centre.

“A recruit is made to undergo rigorous training and the overall development as a combat engineer and an intellectual warrior is monitored with precision. On successful completion of training here, a Sapper could be posted anywhere in the country — from the highest battlefield in the world, Siachen, the desert of Rajasthan or jungles of North-East India,” he added.

Distinctive headgear

In the early days, Madras Sappers comprised soldiers mostly from South India and the men were referred to as ‘Thambi’ (younger brother in Tamil). “Over the years, we’ve had people from North India too but even a man from Punjab or Rajasthan is called a Thambi,” said an officer of the regiment.

The Sappers’ headgear is a gift from the Cheshire Regiment during the battle of Meanee in 1743. They adopted the headgear since then.

Filed by: Arun/ Cleared by: S Prasad/es

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN, by Arun Dev / September 28th, 2012

Bangalore to Ladakh, in search of the sun

Science & Technology

Bangalore:

What are the fundamental processes taking place on the sun? How does it work? A team of scientists from Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) hopes to find answers to these queries as they embark on a project to study the sun. Aiding them will be the world’s largest solar telescope – the Rs 300-crore state-of-the-art National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) that will be set up in Ladakh. The aim, say scientists, is also to rekindle interest among students in astronomy.

The NLST with a 2-metre aperture will be prepared and installed in the Pangong lake at Merak village in Ladakh by 2016-17.

“NLST will help scientists carry out cutting-edge research aimed at understanding the fundamental processes taking place on the sun. The core team to build the telescope is already in place and we are just waiting for funds to be allocated to start building the telescope,” Siraj Hasan, former IIA director and project head told TOI.

NLST will be a major facility for carrying out solar observation and its unprecedented high spatial resolution will provide crucial information on the nature of  magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. “This project was long due, as we haven’t had a project in this line since the 1950s when the solar tunnel telescope was installed in Kozhikode,” Hasan added.

The IIA is the nodal agency for the telescope project but various scientific bodies like the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) will collaborate.

“For the past three years we have been doing a lot of background work on the project like detailed concept design, finding a suitable location, preparing reports. Everything is ready for us to take off. Projects like this will inculcate more interest in research among youngsters and attract brilliant minds into astronomy,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / by Rhik Kundu, TNN / September 23rd, 2012