Monthly Archives: February 2014

Learn all about Karnataka’s flora online

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

Bangalore :

Karnataka’s flora is in full bloom online, thanks to an internet database launched by the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), on Thursday.

The database enables researchers as well as laypersons to key in the name of any plant species to find out the regions to which it is endemic, the key identification features, habit and distribution locality, among others. At present, the database can be accessed only by IISc faculty. It will be open to all after two weeks.

“This is good news for researchers. They can get details of 5,216 plants with their origin in Karnataka,” K Shankar Rao, distinguished fellow of CES, said. The database is perhaps the first online herbarium to cover the entire flora of any state in the country. He hoped the portal will create awareness about Karnataka’s rich floral heritage.

The online herbarium will help in deciding whether any hydroelectric or other project can be undertaken in certain areas. “People can raise objections if any endangered species is damaged due to the project by checking our database for plants endemic to those areas,” he said.

Shankar, who retired as biochemistry professor from IISc nine years ago, has worked for eight years with 14 other faculty members of the institute to develop the database.

They are endangered

Hopea Ponga: Found in the Western Ghats, it is a lofty tree with simple leaves which are up to 23 cm long and 7.5 cm broad with a swollen petiole. The tree can grow up to 18 metres. It produces gall which is mistaken as fruit.

Prunus Ceylanica: This tree grows up to 20 metres and is found in the Western Ghats. The leaves have a blunt tip and the tree yields white flowers.

Pterocarpus Marsupium: Also known Indian Kino Tree, it is found in the Ghats and can grow up to 30 metres. In Karnataka, it is known as Kempu Honne. It is used in ayurvedic medicines and in producing insulin.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / TNN / January 31st, 2014

Women entrepreneurs meet in city

Business & Economy

MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri and others during the workshop for women entrepreneurs in city this morning. [Pic. by Pragathi Gopalakrishna]
MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri and others during the workshop for women entrepreneurs in city this morning. [Pic. by Pragathi Gopalakrishna]
Mysore :

A day-long workshop on accelerating women entrepreneurship in Karnataka, organised by Women In Small Enterprises (WISE), the Women’s Wing of Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), in association with e-MERG (Engineering Manufacturer Entrepreneurs Resource Group) and Athena Infonomics India Private Limited (AIIPL), commenced this morning at MCCI premises on Devaraj Urs Road here.

About 50 women entrepreneurs from Mysore, Bangalore, Kolar, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu are participating in the programme which is a part of Roadmap-2020.

Addressing the gathering, e-MERG Founder President Uma Reddy said that the workshop would provide an ideal platform to find solutions to problems being encountered by women entrepreneurs. She said further that fine skills like marketing could be honed by such workshops through interactions.

Speaking on the occasion, District Industries Centre Joint Director M. Shivashankar said that the workshop would educate the women entrepreneurs on government schemes and benefits. He suggested the new women entrepreneurs to motivate others.

AIIPL Director Deepa, MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri, e-MERG President Rajalakshmi and others were present.

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

i4 policy announced for Karnataka and Bengaluru

Business & Economy

KarnatakaBF18feb2014

The main aim is to make Karnataka the country’s preferred destination for investments in ESDM

Features  | CIOL Bureau

Bangalore ,  INDIA:

Karnataka and Bengaluru have thrived and progressed in the past decade a great deal due to the growth of IT sector. This sector accounts for more than 30 percent of the IT exports in the country and employs over 1/3rd of the software engineers in the country.

From a mere 1.90 lakh direct jobs in 2001 to over 9 lakh jobs today, the sector has turned out to be the largest employer surpassing even employment provided by the State Government.

By 2020, Bengaluru will become the single largest IT and technology cluster on the planet in any single location and also the largest employer in the State.The KIG-2020 report has envisaged a goal Rs 4 lakh crores as the expected revenues by 2020 from IT & BPO and ESDM.

A comprehensive proposal providing for incentives, concessions, benefits etcfor the IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming / Computer Graphics/Telecom/BPO/ KPO / other knowledge based industries submitted to the State Cabinet was approved in the Cabinet meeting held on 17th October, 2013.

Employment Linked Incentivisation of Land Allotment (E-LILA) outside Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Limits: Land allotment for IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming/ Computer Graphics / Telecom / BPO / KPO / other Knowledge based Industries at concessional price shall be linked to employment generation for investments outside Bengaluru. Government will directly subsidise employment created.

Dept. of IT, BT and S&T to be Single Window Agency: Government of Karnataka has authorised Dept. of IT, BT and S&T to act as the Single Window Agency for clearance of IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming / Computer Graphics/Telecom/BPO/ KPO / other Knowledge based Industries (in place of Karnataka UdyogMitra).

For investments up to Rs. 100 crores, all decisions would be taken by a Committee headed by the Minister for IT, BT and S&T Department with the concerned Principal Secretaries / Secretaries to Government as Members. For investments above Rs. 100 crores, decisions would be taken by a Committee headed by Chief Minister, which will have Minister for IT, BT and S&T, Chief Secretary and all concerned Principal Secretaries / Secretaries as Members.

Creating Brand Bengaluru 3.0 and Bengaluru First Fund: Brand Bengaluru 3.0 Society and a “Bengaluru First” fund to be set up to promote Bengaluru along the lines of India Brand Equity Fund (IBEF) set up by Government of India in association with CII. The “Bengaluru First” fund will be set up in association with NASSCOM / FICCI / CII / MAIT, under the Chairmanship of Secretary – Dept. of IT, BT and S&T, and Members from the Industry.

The “Bengaluru First” fund shall be utilised to establish the credibility of Karnataka as a destination for technology investments in software and IT services, in outsourcing services, as well as Design and Manufacturing of products and services and the rapidly growing animation / Computer-generated imagery (CGI) / media and entertainment industries. A VIP Assistance Cell will be created in the Dept. of IT, BT and S&T, to assist VIP Clients.

Skill Development Policy and Corpus: Skill Development programs will be taken up in association with the Industry for training un-employed youth in basic IT / BPO / Telecom / ESDM etc, skills to be implemented in a PPP mode. The beneficiaries namely, the trainees, shall also bear part of the expenditure towards Skill Development. Government shall facilitate and support to arrange Skill Development financing through Bank loans.

Opportunities for Start-ups: Start-ups companies will be eligible for plug and play space with internet at concessional rates of Rs.5-15 per sq ft, depending on location. The space may be Government owned/leased or privately leased and allotted. Selection of start-ups by an Apex Committee comprising of Government and IT industry’s eminent people.

Exemption of IT/ ITeS/ Knowledge/Start-up companies from the applicability of Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946
In addition to the Fiscal Incentives and Concessions, Cabinet also approved exemption of these companies from the applicability of Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946, for a period of 5 years, with appropriate clause for protection of women employees and prevention of sexual harassment in work place.

ESDM brown field cluster
Karnataka has got the in principle approval on 30th January 2014 for the first Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) brown field cluster development project from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology(DeitY), Government of India in Electronic City, Bengaluru.

This project is to be executed at an estimated cost of Rs. 85.15 Crores and in an area of about 1.167 acres in Electronic City, Bengaluru and is expected to accelerate the growth of ESDM based industry in Karnataka.

Karnataka new age incubation network
In the KIG 2020 report, Entrepreneurship Development and Mentoring is one of the Ten Initiatives for creating new opportunities and jobs. One of the proposals under this head is to build ‘Karnataka New Age Incubation Network’ to be located in chosen colleges that are in the emerging ICT centers.

The Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology in order to implement the Budget announcement of Government of Karnataka, has decided to implement the above proposal through KBITS to encourage Entrepreneurship and Innovation it is proposed to establish Incubation Centers in ICT sector in association with the selected Engineering Colleges at District headquarters.

The Sub Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T, after taking inputs from various sources has finalized 9 Engineering Colleges across the State as below.

* National Institute of Engineering, Mysore
* Siddaganga Institute of Technology -Tumkur
* Poojya Doddappa Appa Ccollege of Engineering – Gulbarga
* SDM College of Engineering, Dharwad
* BLDEA’s VP Dr. P G Halakatti College of Engineering and Technology, Bijapur
* Basveshwara College of Engineering, Bagalkot
* NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte
* KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum
* Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, Shimoga.

The programme would encourage entrepreneurs by giving first preference to students, research scholars and alumni of the chosen colleges. The programme will cater to the projects that solve local problems and find solutions to local needs (district and state) rather than global problems and needs.Funding assistance will be provided by the First Party only for the management of the programme and the execution of the projects at Rs. 40 lacs per college per year.

The focus will be more on building an ecosystem fostering entrepreneurship rather than building physical space and purchasing expensive equipment. All incubation centers will be networked to exchange experiences and learn from one another.

They will also be connected with proposed Mobile Applications Center, Center of Excellence (COE) for ESDM located in Bengaluru for accessing certain resources avoiding any duplication.

The most important resource of the Programme will be local and remote mentors and the incubation centers will have tie-ups with local industry leaders and to those who are outside (in Bengaluru/ abroad) who may be hailing from the districts as mentors.

Registration of ESDM companies
Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) is the fastest growing segment of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. As per the National Electronics Policy-2012 (NEP-2012), ESDM is expected to grow to $400 Billion by the year 2020 and will generate a total employment of over 28 million.

Government of India has already announced Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) that provides various incentives to ESDM Companies.

In order to attract investments to Karnataka as compared to other States in the ESDM Sector, Karnataka has come up with Karnataka ESDM Policy which has additional incentives to encourage the growth of ESDM sector

The objective of the Karnataka ESDM Policy is to facilitate, promote and develop the “ESDM” sector in the State of Karnataka and make Karnataka a preferred destination for investment in sectors like Telecommunications, Defense, Medical, Industrial, Automotive, Consumer Products, applications and components, parts, and accessories required for these applications.

The major targets set in Karnataka ESDM policy are as follows:

* Emerge as the leading contributor to India’s ESDM sector by accounting for at least 10 percent of the $400 billion by 2020.

* Generate over 20 percent of the country’s total ESDM exports target of $80 billion in 2020.

* Make Karnataka the country’s preferred destination for investments in ESDM.

* Generate atleast 2,40,000 new jobs, 25 percent of India’s Ph.Ds and 5,000 patent filings in ESDM sector in Karnataka by 2020.

In order to achieve these targets, the Department of IT, BT has initiated registration of K-ESDM companies. In the first phase, eight companies as below have been registered as Karnataka ESDM companies. Registration certificates are being issued to these companies.

* SIGNALCHIP Innovations Pvt Ltd, Banaswadi, Bengaluru-560043.
* CERIUM Systems Pvt Ltd, Whitefield, Bengaluru-560066.
* BYDESIGN.
* Aura Semiconductor Pvt Ltd.
* SPARR Electronics Ltd.
* Saankhya Labs Pvt Ltd.
* TEJAS Networks Ltd.
* Aristos Electronics Manufacturing Services Pvt Ltd.

source: http://www.ciol.com / CIOL / Home> ESDM> Features / by CIOL Bureau / Bangalore (India) – Saturday, February 01st, 2014

Bedridden for 10 years, she’s back on her feet

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Bangalore :

Kavitha Tubaki was in class 8 when she experienced nerve-wracking pain in her knees, hips, wrist, hands and feet. The condition worsened, and in 2003, the Dharwad girl had to drop out of college. Diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis that intensified into severe osteoporosis, Kavitha was confined to bed for 10 long years. In 2010, she weighed barely 19 kg as a 27-year-old. Her joints, wrist, neck, hip, knees and ankles were rendered non-functional.

But Kavitha saw a ray of hope when she consulted Dr Praveen Basavanagoudar. She underwent four surgeries in a span of 12 days in April 2013. Now back on her feet, although with support, Kavitha feels she’s got a new lease of life. Bilateral hip and knee replacements have restored her smile.

“In my 17 years of medical service, I haven’t come across a patient with such fragile bones. I didn’t promise to make Kavitha walk again, I only saidIwouldtry my best.Thesurgery waschallenging for me as well as the cardiologists and anaesthetist,” said Dr Praveen, consultant and joint replacement surgeon at Sagar Hospital, Kumaraswamy Layout. Senior anaesthetist Dr HN Chandrappa and cardiologists Dr KS Kishore and Dr Deviprasad were part of the team.

“Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis which transforms into osteoporosis is a systemic inflammatory disease affecting joints. It can also harm the liver and eyes,” he said. Kavitha weighed less than 30kg when she was wheeled into the OT. A victim of social stigma, she was depressed and suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), characterized by recur- FIT AGAIN: Kavitha Tubaki underwent bilateral hip and knee replacements last April. Now, the Dharwad woman is able to walk with support rent, unwanted and repetitive behaviour.

“I’ve gone through the worst. But now I have forgotten where it pained. I never imagined I would be able to set my foot on the ground again. This is a second life for me,” said a beaming Kavitha who wants to resume studies.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Dharwad / by Sunitha Rao, R – TNN / January 31st, 2014

Prag Cine Awards function in Bengaluru

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Guwahati  :

High in glamour quotient with exhaustive list of popular film and television stars of the country, this year’s Prag Cine Awards, to be held in Bengaluru, would honour veteran Assamese actress Mridula Baruah with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

For the first time since its inception in 2003, the award function would be held outside the State, where the stalwarts of Assamese cinema would take part. On the other hand, the talented contingent of actors and singers of the State would showcase their talent in the ‘silicon valley’ of India.

“Along with providing a national platform for our actors to perform, we have designed this year’s award ceremony as a fusion of Assamese and Kannada film industries, with hopes of strengthening the ties further and making the regional film industry stronger,” said Sanjive Narain, chairman and managing director of Prag Network, addressing the media today.

The award function, supported by Assam Society of Bangalore would be held on March 22.

Previously, the Prag Life time Achievement Award had been conferred on Dr Bhupen Hazarika, Gyanada Kakati, Abdul Mazid, Nipon Goswami and Biju Phukan. Mridula Baruah, who enthralled the audience of Assam with her mesmerising performances in a number of super hit movies over decades, would be honoured this year for her remarkable contribution to the Assamese cinema.

The Prag awards would be presented in 23 categories and would be telecast on nine regional satellite channels across the country. National award winning director and producer of Karnataka, Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar and theatre personality Bhagirathi would facilitate an easier co-ordination between the artistes of both the regional film industries.

“Bangalore is not just the IT hub, but also a home away from home for a large number of Assamese professionals, students and other people. Further, the distinguished members of Kannada, Tamil and other Southern film fraternity would be a part of this event, apart from those from the Hindi film and television world,” added Narain.

Lauding the effort of taking an Assamese film awards function to the national level, eminent playwright Arun Sarma said that positive changes should always be welcomed.

Popular Assamese actress Barasha Rani Bishaya, sharing her thoughts, said that all the regional actors harbour the hope of working in other regional film industries and in Bollywood. “Though we have the talent to compete, yet the opportunity must be there. The Prag Awards, though a one-day event, would open doors for us,” she said.

The awards would have performances by leading actors, including Nishita, Barasha, Asha, Tanvi, Meghranjini and singing sensation Zubeen, Papon and Zublee.

source: http://www.assamtribune.com / The Assam Tribune / Home / by Staff Reporter / Guwahati – January 31st, 2014

Chicago: Steven D’Souza elected president of MKCA

Nri's / Pio's

Chicago (USA) :

It was not business as usual at the general body meeting conducted by the Mangalorean Konkan Christians association (MKCA) at Techny Mission Center.  The elections were held to the executive committee and thereafter there was celebration of Holy Eucharist celebrated by Fr Richard Vaz, SVD.

The meeting was called to order by the president Godwin Rego. After the secret ballot elections, Fr  Vaz announced the new executive committee chosen by the general body.

MangaloreanUSABF17feb2014

He announced the election of following members for new executive committee: President – Steven D’Souza; vice-president – Ashok Monteiro; secretary – Roshni Carvallo; associate secretary – Stany D’Souza and treasurer – Mercy Concesso.

Following members were chosen for the board of directors:  Austin D’Souza Prabhu, Lawrence Mascarenhas, Queenie Mendonca, Francis Mascarenhas, Prima Monteiro, Lincoln Pereira, Lin Martis, Theresa D’Souza, Vissia D’Souza and Eric Fernandes.

Fr Vaz congratulated the newly elected members and wished them well.

The outgoing president Godwin Rego, thanked his executive committee and all the members for their unconditional support in successfully conducting number of programs in the past two years’ term.  The incoming president, Steven D’Souza, thanked all the members present for their support and their trust in his leadership.  He praised the past executive committee for their excellent service to the community.  He  further stated that with the help of the members unique strengths, his committee will work hard in taking the association to new heights.

The new executive committee with its members present decided to have following programs for the year 2014:  Annual Retreat – April 6; Special Fund Raising Event (event yet to be finalized) – June 21; Annual Picnic – August 2; Monthi Fest – September 6; Christmas Around the World – December 6 and Nathal Fest – December 20.

The meeting was followed by the celebration of Holy Eucharist at the Techny Mission Center. Fr Vaz, in his homily said, “I wish to recognize the spirit that I witnessed in each one of you, the spirit of revival, commitment, dedication and above all to work together in moving ahead with all optimism to make MKCA truly a welcoming family to all. “If you want to walk fast, go alone; if you want to walk far go together”. Let us walk together, crossing all the barriers, covering long distance…just to be with our brothers and sisters”. He also mentioned how Jesus Christ suffered the ultimate humility a human being can ever think of and gave everything that he had, to the salvation of the humanity.

It was a graceful event, filled with renewed spirit, enthusiasm and hopes to take the MKCA to the greater heights.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / Report: by Stany G. D’Souza / Monday – February 17th, 2014

Suvarna Karnataka Seva Award to be conferred on Puttur Suresh Nayak

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Mysore :

Multi-talented Puttur Suresh Nayak, who has created several records with his amazing memory and who has been fighting for the rights of differently-abled persons, will be conferred with the Suvarna Karnataka Seva Award.

He has been chosen for the award in recognition of his service to society and for setting records with his memory power.

Puttur Suresh Nayak, winner of Karnataka state award, initiated a public awareness campaign for the differently-abled in October last year with the aim of bringing them into the mainstream.

The award will be presented to him at a programme to be held at Mysore Engineer’s hall on February 2.

A magic show by Puttur Suresh Nayak and child magician Satwik Nayak titled “Magic Down Syndrome” to create awareness among the physically challenged will be held subsequent to the award ceremony.

Being differently-abled himself, he has been organizing this awareness campaign for the past 20 years along with various programmes which include Bhajans, tiger dance, Yakshagana, Krishna Vesha, dramas with jokers and much more. He has presented close to 1000 programmes in and around the district.

He entered the 2013 Limca Book of Records for recalling 518 telephone numbers in 72 minutes; Asia Book of Records for the longest tongue and India Book of Records for recalling 204 telephone numbers in 30 minutes.

source: http://ww.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Top Stories / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mysore (EP) / Friday – January 31st, 2014

Musings on singing Doctors of GCC

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology
(L to R) Dr. C. Umesh Kamath, Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa
(L to R) Dr. C. Umesh Kamath, Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa

 Mysore :

Last Sunday evening was quite enjoyable for me, enjoying the old Hindi and Kannada songs, going Down Memory Lane. The opportunity came with the annual Geeth Gaatha Chal (GGC) Doctor’s Musical Nite, a brainchild of Dr. C. Umesh Kamath of Kamakshi Hospital, Kuvempunagar. This time the venue was the MMC Platinum Jubilee Auditorium in J.K. Grounds.

I was surprised at the change of venue because in the past years, except twice, the venue has been the Karnataka Kalamandira, on Hunsur road. It was an ideal auditorium for programmes such as this where admission was free and open to all, with good acoustics and plenty of parking space inside the campus and the spillover along the road on two sides of the building. What happened this time? I put this question to the Organising Chairperson and the moving spirit behind this popular programme Dr. Umesh Kamath. The answer did not surprise me: “It is under repair.” In fact Kalamandira was under repair in 2009, 2010 and now 2014 and that was the reason GGC was shifted to J.K. Grounds Hall.

Yes, Turkey in the 19th Century used to be called the ‘Sick Man of Europe.’ Likewise we can call this Kalamandira the ‘Sick Building of Mysore.’ Even when money is provided, our Ministers, MLAs and officials are incapable of getting Kalamandira renovated at one go and in time. A non-performing Government, always ready with untenable excuses. The repair and the renovation work has finally taken off beginning Jan. 1, 2014 by the PWD and the completion period is April, 2014 according to official sources.

However, there was another genuine, stronger reason for shifting the venue. Last year it was held on January 6. I was present at that Musical Nite. A senior Police officer too was there. The programme was progressing beautifully, everyone was enthralled at the mesmerising music and songs from artistes performing like professionals.

It was a programme by the doctors where the singers are all doctors and their own family members. It was a Doctor’s Musical Nite programme, called appropriately Geeth Gaatha Chal, by the doctors, of the doctors and not ONLY for doctors but for all. Old, Hindi and Kannada film songs were sung by the lead doctor singers led by Dr. M.S. Natashekar, Dr. A.L. Hemalatha and Dr. P.A. Kushalappa on a stage magnificently mounted with video screens and best sound system. We were all enjoying the show, but then suddenly a shrill voice of protest was heard from behind the hall with an agitated man barging on to the stage with just a couple of men in tow making unreasonable, uncalled for demand on the organisers and to stop the programme. There was a brief period of confusion but they were pacified and the programme continued. I don’t think any complaint was made nor anyone taken to custody by the Police. Therefore, there was no guarantee this time too such incident would not occur. So GGC shifted the venue which is private and made the admission by invitation. I saw some guards posted at the entrance to shoo off uninvited trouble-makers like it happened last year.

How sad, because of a few anti-social elements Mysoreans are denied of a good, enjoyable musical programme! Let it be. After all, ours is too liberal a democracy where one can create troubles like this with impunity !

Despite this ‘protective’ measure, the hall was full. The stage was further upgraded with new technology and props. As they say, rain or shine, the show must go on and the show began on dot at 5 pm. In Mysore probably after our Suttur Seer Sri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji, it is Dr. Umesh Kamath who respects punctuality.

Hitler said in his belligerent mood that war was first born in the mind of a man. That was the mind of a war-monger. But in the case of a music-lover, music is first born in the mind of a man. So it was with Dr. Umesh Kamath who on coming to India in 1998 after years of service abroad and joined Kamakshi Hospital. Being fond of music, though not a singer himself as I learn, he would invite singer friends to his huge bungalow for tea or dinner and thus prompt them to sing. A kind of chamber music. The news of his interest in music, that’s matched equally by his wife Dr. Rekha Kamath, spread among the fellow doctors, so also the appetising aroma from their kitchen. As a result, once in 1999, there were about 50 doctors hungry for music and of course, a sumptuous dinner. It was sheer ecstasy, but for the tired couple it was agony next day.

It was then the decision was made by Dr. Umesh Kamath to hold a Doctor’s Musical Nite, christening it as Geeth Gaatha Chal after the name of an old film, eponymous to the programme, once in a year so that he could throw it open to all doctors. A programme by a doctor for the doctors. The next year in 2000 it was held at Ganabharathi’s Veene Sheshanna Bhavan on Adichunchanagiri road in Kuvempunagar to a full house. The lead singers were, now legendary Dr. M.S. Natashekar and Dr. A.L. Hemalatha. One is blessed with the voice of Mukesh, the other with the voice of the Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar. One more doctor singer joined them in 2002, who has also become a legend in the GGC team, Dr. P.A. Kushalappa.

Like we say about film stars being discovered by so and so director, we can say Dr. Kushalappa (Prakash for his friends) was discovered by Dr. Umesh Kamath. It seems, Dr. Umesh Kamath was invited for a dinner at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club in city and was surprised to see Dr. Kushalappa singing film songs in his own Kishore Kumar style setting the stage alive, if not ablaze, with his body movements. Now Dr. Umesh Kamath has an unbeatable combination of Mukesh, Kishore and Lata with their golden voices. The mould is cast for an annual show of Doctor’s Musical Nite and the ‘Geeth Gaatha Chal’ lives on …

Later Dr. V. Ganesh Rao joined bringing in the flavour of more Kannada songs while perfecting the technical props on the stage. My Rotarian friend Dr. S.K. Ghori, who was also with the team this year, made himself very conspicuous by his unique characterisation for a couple of songs, specially one from Raj Kapoor’s film drawing huge applause from the audience.

The venue of the nite was shifted to Kalamandira in 2001 as the Veene Sheshanna Bhavana was found too small for this big programme.

I felt sad when many of my friends and readers of this paper asked why the ‘admissions reserved’ unlike in the past. On my part, I told them, “Come, I will tell them to let you in.” How I wish our Police are bold enough to handle these trouble-makers so that they will not dare to trouble in future. After all, the organisers spend over Rs. two lakh for the free show, apart from the preparations months in advance.

Finally, how can I forget the flavour of the show, the ‘sutradhara’ par excellence. Syed Aftab Ahmed, the anchor. Everytime he appeared on the stage, he breathed life into it by interacting with the audience. His ability to speak fluently both Hindi and English, roller-coaster movement on the stage and above all the elephantine memory to remember those innumerable names from the world of Hindi films going ‘Down Memory Lane’ is amazing.

Tailpiece: As I drove home from the venue a thought crossed my mind: Would the next generation of young doctors and public remember the old Hindi and Kannada songs? Not surprisingly among the audience I saw a majority belonging to my age. And my age is…. Now, Dr. Umesh Kamath has a new task of attracting young doctors and also youngesters to GGC.

e-mail: kbg@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Abracadabra……Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / February 11th, 2014

Bangalore team wins Rs 6 lakh at Tapmi quiz

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Mangalore :

The team “Beasts At The Back” from Bangalore won the first prize of Rs 6 lakh at the Quiz on the Beach (QOTB), the flagship event of Atharva held at the beautiful Kaup beach with the stunning backdrop of the Arabian Sea, on Saturday evening.

The winning team consisted of participants Arvind V and Siddharth from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore and St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore respectively. This was the 11th edition of QOTB and 26th edition of Atharva, the annual international B-fest of TA Pai Management Institute (Tapmi).

The second prize of Rs 3 lakh was won by Aditya Bagri and Saransh V from S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai and the team of Ranjiv Ravi and Ajay Srinath from ISB came third to bag the third prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh.

Conducted by the quiz master Navin Jaykumar of the Landmark Quiz fame and Anustubh Datta, the finale resulted in a culmination of five months of quizzing extravaganza consisting of online rounds and city qualifiers in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai . Over 700 participants from across the globe participated and vied for the prizes worth Rs 13 lakh. The prize money this year was 13-fold increase over the previous year.

QOTB had gone international this year with an online round to cater to a global audience. The winners of the International Round of QOTB were Adithya Sriram Sankaran and Shreyas Rajagopalan from ESCP Europe. They won prize money of $500.

Overall QOTB had participants from colleges across the world like IIM Indore, TISS , NMIMS , NITIE, IIT Madras , IIM Bangalore , NIT-K Surathkal , Wichita State University, San Diego State University, National University of Singapore , ESCP Europe, BITS Pilani Dubai, University of Houston, etc.

There was a footfall of 800 people at the Kaup Beach. Udupi District Superintendent M.B. Boralingaiah, Assistant Superintendent of Police Annamalai, Managing Director- India at Group FM Prakash Gurumoorthy, Mohan Narayanan founder and CEO of Kubos Consultancy, Ashwin Raghuraman COO India Innovation Fund were present at the event.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 02nd, 2014

Celebration and Jubilation mark 60th birthday of Shenoy Brothers of Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

More than 2000 guests treated with mouth-watering cuisines

Mysore :

They are no Karan-Arjun or Krishna- Balram but both share a strong relationship from the past 60 years depicting the same affection as that of brothers whom we have seen on television or heard about in stories of Bhagavata. At the time when families no more live together, here is a family that lives, eats and breathes together. Yes, I am talking about one of city’s well known families… The Shenoy’s of famous Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works.

Yesterday it was a festival atmosphere among the members of various communities at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall on JLB Road when they came together to celebrate the 60th birthday of city’s industrialists M. Ramanath Shenoy and M. Jagannath Shenoy of Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works, who are twins. It was a rare occasion where people from different walks of life came together to celebrate their 60th birthday.

The felicitation committee headed by Dr. C. Umesh Kamath had organised a grand event to celebrate 60th birthday of industrialists who are known for their philanthropy apart from taking care of their employees.

Both Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy were given a Poorakumbha Swagatha accompanied by Naadaswara on their arrival at the venue. The event began with both couples M. Jagannath Shenoy, his wife Kusuma Shenoy and M. Ramanath Shenoy, his wife Vasumathi came on the stage after seeking the blessings of Surendra Bhat, a senior member among the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community. Later, the event began with rendering of invocation by Rajesh Padiyar, who took the members present on a devotional journey.

Industrialists from Mysore and Mangalore, politicians, businessmen and well-wishers had come to wish both the brothers on their 60th birthday which is considered to be a great occasion among the Hindu community. Vishwanath Bhat, a close friend of Shenoys, spoke about Jagannath Shenoy and his achievements, also about the meaning of celebrating the 60th birthday of an individual.

The event was presided by K.V. Kamath, former Chairman of ICICI Bank along with his wife Rajalakshmi Kamath. Incidentally, K.V. Kamath is the co-brother of Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy. More than 1,000 people had assembled at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall to felicitate and greet the Shenoy brothers. Tributes were also paid to the parents of the Shenoy brothers on the occasion. Vijayraghavan, one of Jagannath Shenoy’s friends, spoke about their school days and the pranks they played when at school and home.

Speaking on the occasion, Jagannath Shenoy, thanked all those who were involved in organising the event. He also remembered tough situations and challenges he faced while taking over the management of Mangalore Ganesh Beedies.

Thanking his co-brother K.V. Kamath for his guidance when the company was in trouble, Jagannath Shenoy said that company had to take loan of Rs. 114 crore to solve a legal matter. “It is when Kamath helped me and till today he has been guiding me all through,” he said.

Jagannath Shenoy also added that the company cleared all the liabilities within the given time and today the turnover is around Rs. 550 crore per year. He advised the youngsters to respect parents and elders. Speaking about his company, Jagannath Shenoy said that the Government of India has announced the deadline to close the tobacco industry by 2020. But, till now the Government has not come out with any alternative programme for those involved in the beedi industry. “There are around 65,000 people dependent on the industry and the company has been paying Rs. 3.5 crore every week towards wages. But, if the industry is shut, there is no alternative for these workers who are not educated. Let government come with an alternative job for these beedi workers,” said Shenoy.

Later, K.V. Kamath said that nothing was made easy for Jagannath Shenoy and whatever he got was only on merit. “He wanted to change things in 1993 and be an entrepreneur. His hard work and dedication has brought him to this level and I feel very proud of him,” he added.

GSB Sabha Vice-President Mahesh Shenoy, Secretary Mahesh Kamat, Dr. C.D. Srinivas Murthy, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, Vijaya Vittala Vidyashala Secretary Rtn. R. Vasudev Bhat, Canara Bank Deputy General Manager Dr. S.T. Ramachandra, music patron Rtn. K.V. Murthy, Industrialist B.R. Pai, MLA Vasu, MLC G. Madhusudhan, former MLC Thontadarya, Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, Rtn. Parthanath, Dr. C.K.N. Raja, Kamakshi Hospital Administrator Dr. K.R. Kamath and others were present.

More than 2,000 guests were treated to 12 kinds of cuisines specially prepared for the occasion. A total of 10 cooks were brought from Mangalore to prepare the special dishes.

The menu included Ghee Rice, Kurma, Gobi Manchurian, Khichdi and desserts.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 08th, 2014