Hasan Mansur, a veteran human rights activist, passed away in Bangalore on Wednesday morning.
Prof. Mansur (1930-2014), who retired as the Head of the Department of English in Bangalore University, was closely associated with People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a host of other human rights initiatives, and fact-finding efforts in Karnataka and elsewhere.
Prof. Mansur was one of the founding members of the Karnataka Civil Liberties Committee (KCLC) in 1984. He went on to work for the PUCL, with which he was associated till the end.
His role at PUCL
In a press release, the PUCL State committee has said that Prof. Mansur played a significant role in broad-basing the concerns of PUCL and taking it beyond the traditional human rights issues to focus attention on violations of socio-economic rights, including the right to housing and the right to water.
Prof. Mansur was also one of the founding members of the Karnataka chapter of the Indo-Pak People’s Friendship Forum and was associated with trade union movements since the 1950s.
Speaking to The Hindu , Ramdas Rao, his colleague at the university and a co-activist in PUCL, said: “I admired Prof. Mansur for the way he brought together literature, politics and human rights.” Recalling his love for literary greats like James Joyce, Pablo Neruda and T.S. Eliot, he said: “He could quote large chunks of Joyce’s Ulysses and Eliot’s Four Quartets and continued to teach to the larger community of his friends even after he retired.”
Prof. Mansur leaves behind his wife, Hasnath Mansur, and a son. Funeral prayers were held at Arab Lane Mosque on Richmond Road on Wednesday evening. admired Mansur for the way he brought together literature, politics and human rights: Ramdas Rao.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – February 13th, 2014
Fact finding missionThe research was tough and interesting, says Sumana Khan / photo: k. MURALI KUMAR
Sumana Khan’s historical thriller, The Revenge of Kaivalya, revels in city reference, from Jyothi Nivas College, to Malleswaram18th Cross. The author tells MINI ANTHIKAD CHHIBBER she had fun featuring all her favourite haunts
T he Revenge of Kaivalya (Westland, Rs 350) was fully realised before it was picked up by publishers. Sumana Khan’s historical thriller is set in different time zones and places —there is present day Bangalore and Sakleshpura and a mystery 450 years in the making. “The book didn’t come together immediately,” said Sumana before a reading at Easylib, the online library. “It was put together; a bit like mosaic tiles.”
When it came to publishing, Sumana did her research and realised that while “Indian readers have always been open to genre fiction, they are not open to Indian authors writing genre fiction in English. That has changed since. I self-published Kaivalya with CinnamonTeal. It was my editor there who said it should be published. I approached Westland and here it is.”
The 39-year-old author who went to school in Malleswaram (Cluny Convent) and MES College admits to enjoying putting in Bangalore references. Café Coffee Day near Jyothi Nivas College, Baskin Robbins in Malleswaram 18th Cross, Regal Bar in J.P. Nagar, Puttenhalli Lake, Anekal all have walk-on parts in the book. “Oh yes I did have fun with the Bangalore bit. Most of the places (especially the eateries) are my favourite haunts. The main reason for setting the scene in Bangalore was because I know the place and this was essential to bring in authenticity especially since the action is quite fast-paced. And there’s always a thrill for a reader to recognize the places – the connect is instant.”
After working for a decade in Wipro, Sumana moved to the UK in 2009. “I am back to academics. I am pursuing my masters in Psychology. I enjoy reading thrillers and horror. I thought when I gave writing a shot, it would have to be something I like to read.”
Kaivalya follows multiple storylines. In Sakleshpura, there is the larger-than-life Dhruv, the forest officer who is investigating a strange death, Tara who is studying paranormal phenomena and the newly wed Shivaranjini whose life is turned upside down when she unknowingly picks up a pendant. In Bangalore there is Neel, whose swanky penthouse in Sarjapur reeks of burnt flesh, his friend VJ who is in the film business and is in urgent need of money to close a property deal in Sakleshpura, a tough cop, Shakti, and the mysterious gangster Matchu. Back in time, there is Kaivalya’s story. Set in Sampigepura, in the outskirts of Hampi, Poovamma finds and adopts a strange, gifted girl, Kaivalya, whose tragedy is in tandem with the Battle of Thalikote, in 1565 which resulted in the rout of the Vijayanagara Empire.
“The research was tough and interesting,” Sumana comments. “For information on the Vijayanagara empire, I referred to Robert Sewell’s A forgotten Empire . I have never been to Sakleshpura. I have a lot of friends who are avid trekkers. And the rest is all caffeine-fired imagination.” Admitting that reigning in such a vast canvas was tough, “especially the resolution,” Sumana says “it was a fascinating journey.”
Explaining the unusual name, Sumana says: “Kaivalya is more of a yogic concept. It is a state of absolute Samadhi, if you will, where one is completely detached; a blissful alone-ness, the attainment of moksha. This ‘perfect’ state of the soul is referred to as Kaivalya in Jainism. It is far more complex in the metaphysical sense. One can say Kaivalya is a state of being. It found a strong resonance during the Vijayanagara era, which was the golden era for Vedantic philosophies and literature.”
Attempting to describe the rationale behind Kaivalya’s anger, which prompts her to follow the object of her revenge through 400 years Sumana says: “For a rational person, no circumstance can justify such anger and vengefulness. When blinded by such vitriolic anger, reason and logic take leave and one ends up doing things that are destructive. In Kaivalya’s case, she is complex and mystical character and the strength of her emotions – both positive and negative – are beyond human. In a way, I also draw inspiration from our Asuras. Be it Hiranyakashyapu or Ravana, they were extremely accomplished in terms of intellect, talent, mental prowess. But when that very same positivity is turned inside out into something negative it results in catastrophe.”
Counting Stephen King and Charlotte Bronte among her favourite writers, Sumana says the history of Karnataka is largely un-mined in fiction. “At least when it comes to historical fiction in English.”
The reason for setting the scene in Bangalore was because I know the city. And there is always a thrill for a reader to recognize the places.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Mini Anthikad Chhibber / February 13th, 2014
Wah! Good news and great opportunity for Mysoreans! It is the right time for the star gazers to fix the stares for night sky observation. Astronomical Observatory of University of Mysore is providing wonderful opportunity for Mysoreans to explore the heavens effortlessly. It is an incomparable endeavour by the Department of Physics, University of Mysore, establishing an observatory to impart excellent astronomy education.
Celestron 11 inches telescope of the Department will certainly reach every individual of Mysore to understand the joy of star gazing.
For the general public, the Department provides opportunity to observe the night sky with ease. The observatory is open to the general public on every Friday from 7 pm to 8.30 pm.
The Department of Physics, University of Mysore has an observatory with a strong astronomical telescope to clear understand the essence of skywatching.
The Astronomy section of Department of Physics is active from the past three decades. The department had a small 6 inch telescope useful for sky watching. But this Department presently has a robust 11 inches telescope highly beneficial to locate deep sky objects. A small observatory is set up to make sky observations comfortably. The observatory has a powerful reflecting telescope Celestron 11 telescope”.
The telescope has Celestron’s acclaimed Schmidt – Cassegrain optical system. It is a portable telescope housed in the observatory which was recently inaugurated by Dr. Sreekumar, Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
This telescope combines new Sky Align alignment technology, advanced engineering, and a bold new design.
In fact, Celestron’s Professional Computerized (CPC) series with revolutionary Sky Align alignment technology redefines everything that amateur astronomers are seeking. It offers quick and simple alignment, GPS, unsurpassed optical quality, ease of setup and use, advanced ergonomics and enhanced computerisation.
— Prof. S. A. Mohan Krishna, Amateur Astronomer
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / February 06th, 2014
Meet architects Farah Ahmed and Dhaval Shellugar, who love to come up with out-of-the-box ideas
Farah Ahmed and Dhaval Shellugar are the people behind the Farah And Dhaval Design (FADD) Studio on St. Mark’s Road, which started in 2012. So, what’s new about them?
For starters, they like working with offbeat and natural material such as burnt rust cement or bricks. “Cement, when it is waxed, looks so gorgeous that you will be surprised that it is cement,” explains Dhaval.
He adds that he always had a passion for architecture. “My father was into automobile accessories. The products at his store always intrigued me and I would find myself creating something new with the material he had. Then, I decided that I had to study architecture at Rachana Sasand’s Academy of Architecture in Bombay, after which I worked with Sandeep Khosla.”
Farah, on the other hand, was an artist. She says she always had leanings towards design. She studied in the U.S. and the turning point came when “I was gifted a camera which drove me into photography. Strangely it was never about people, but more about landscape and forms and textures. I was so inspired by nature that I found myself always creating an abstract composition.”
The young architect started exhibiting her works and lived as an artist before she interned with Sandeep Khosla, where she met Dhaval and the duo decided to start FADD.
She went on to study at Istitutio Marangoni in Milan. “I feel interior designing is a different manifestation of the same kind of creativity that I used in my art work. The only difference is in architecture, the physical space becomes my canvas,” explains Farah.
Coming to their work they say that Indians are fascinated with new designs. And with the world becoming smaller, resources are always “at our disposal”.
Dhaval says one should also always keep a tab on global trends. “That way you will be in sync with the latest in the market. No, we do not have a signature style for that will just put us and our thinking in a box. It is more like playing with form and function and yet keeping it minimal.”
They talk about the challenges they face in their profession. According to Farah it is “changing people’s set notions about designs. They think if something is expensive then it is classy. That is not always true.”
Dhaval says for him the challenge was designing the florist shop, Flower Box in Indiranagar. “We wanted to create a special look for the flowers, which are so colourful by nature. So we had to create an intensive design that would not kill the beauty of the flowers. We studied Zen and Ikebana and other flower arrangements to come up with something unique for this store.” The duo used shades of white and grey and found that the “flowers simply pop out from the shaded backgrounds”. A Kerala houseboat designed for a business man in Goa is also close to their heart.
For more on the architects, log on to www.faddstudio.com or call 22223661.
This column features those who choose to veer of the beaten track.
SHILPA SEBASTIAN R.
People think if something is expensive then it is classy. That is not always true
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metro Plus / by Shilpa Sebastian R. / February 12th, 2014
Backward Kudubi youth are being employed in eye hospitals to be set up across Udupi by a charitable trust
The Kudubis, one of the most backward tribes living in Udupi district, are all set to witness a white collar transformation. A few among the new generation kids have landed jobs at an eye hospital, one as an optometrician, unlike the parents, who are mostly daily wagers.
S Jayaram Shetty, chairman, Parvathi Mahabala Shetty Charitable Trust, Shiroor, told Bangalore Mirror: “The formal inauguration of our new eye hospital will be held on Feb 2. The speciality is that we have employed youth from the local Kudubi community. There are about 25,000 Kudubis living in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.”
The first Kudubi who will be serving at the hospital is 21-year-old Ravi, son of daily wagers Chandra Naik and Rukmini Bai. Ravi’s father was closely associated with Shetty’s family as a labourer.
Shetty said, “This boy too is closely associated with our family. Most of our family members are doctors and he has closely watched them. People from this tribe never went to school. But they are a very clean community and Holi is the only festival they celebrate.”
Shetty’s brother Dr Sundaram Shetty, chairman, Globe Eye Foundation, Bangalore, noticed the boy had the potential. Once Ravi completed his PU from Durgaparameshwari Pre University College in Mandarthi, he saw to it that he was trained in optometry. “Ravi completed his diploma at the same institute and will soon be joining the hospital at Shirva — a village in Udupi district which is about 100 kilometers from Mangalore. While he was being trained at Bangalore, he even worked at Siddi Eye Care Clinic, Indiranagar, in the evenings and earned some money. Among the eight students who took up the course, he stood first,” Shetty said, with pride.
Ravi said, “Till I reached class five, I was not interested in studies. I gradually developed interest and was helped by the Shetty family. I am really happy that I have got a job. People in my community are trying to understand the value of education. I am an example to many from our community.”
Now, Ravi’s mother forces kids around to study. “My younger brother Sudhakar is in class nine and another brother Ganesh works as a coolie. Ganesh has been sent to a driving school by the hospital and we are hoping that he too will be absorbed by this hospital as a driver. I now dream of working for a while and then doing BSc,” Ravi said.
Shetty said that the hospital will also have a telemedicine counter — where doctors from Narayana Hrudalaya and Narayana Nethralaya will be connected. Ravi will be handling the fundus camera. He will also be visiting nearby schools to screen children.
At the hospital, doctors from Bangalore will be visiting for eight days a month. The hospital also plans to set up 7-8 vision centres in Udupi where people can go and get their eyes screened. For this the hospital has already given a two-month training to three youth — Suresh, Lakshman and Harish — from the Kudubi tribe. They have studied upto SSLC.
Since the inauguration of the hospital was delayed by six months due to monsoon, the boys have gone back to masonry. They will return as soon as the hospital begins functioning and will be provided a month’s training in Bangalore. Interestingly, all the masonry work at the hospital is being undertaken by the Kudubis. “We are willing to train Kudubis. In fact are looking forward to these children from the backward community. We have a burning desire to do something so that they can be trained,” said Shetty.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Other / by Deepthi Shridhar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / January 29th, 2014
For the first time, IIM-Bangalore has found a place on the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking list.
Premier B-schools Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-Ahmedabad) and Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad have slipped from their current positions to lower ranks in the Financial Times (London) Global MBA Ranking-2014.
For the first time, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-Bangalore) has found a place on the chart at 68th position. With this, it has become third such Indian institution to have figured in top 100 management schools globally.
According to Global MBA Ranking-2014 released yesterday by FT, rankings of IIM-Ahmedabad and ISB slipped to 30 and 36, respectively, from their last year’s positions of 26 and 34 respectively.
ISB had slipped 14 points to rank 34 last year as against 20th position a year before. Similarly, IIM-Ahmedabad had slipped 15 places at 26th rank from 11th position in 2012. In 2011, IIM-Ahmedabad ranked 11th and ISB 13.
When contacted, a senior ISB official pointed out that ISB was the youngest institution to find a place in global MBA rankings in 2008.
“Since then ISB has consistently been ranked among the best globally. Our programme continues to provide the highest quality of learning and professional opportunities to our students, which is what institutions can and must focus on.
“In the recent years, a key factor affecting Indian schools has been the weakening of the rupee and its corresponding impact on the PPP (Purchasing power parity) exchange. This has affected the weighted salary parameters which accounts for 20 per cent of the ranking criteria. It seems Indian schools have been disproportionately impacted by this, relative to schools from other countries”, the official said.
Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and London Business School occupied first, second and third positions, respectively in this year’s ranking.
With respect to weighted average salary, IIM-Ahmedabad student is paid an annual USD 1,57,459 (86 per cent increase over last year) while his ISB counterpart is drawing USD 1,17,308 (130 per cent hike) whereas the student of debutant IIMB is being paid weighted salary of USD 1,25,249 per annum.
The ranking is based on two surveys of the business schools and their alumni who graduated in 2010. MBA programmes are assessed according to the career progression of their alumni, the school’s idea generation and diversity of students and faculty, FT said.
“This is the fifth time (that) Harvard has topped the rankings since the survey began in 1999. Stanford Graduate School of Business remained second, while London Business School leapfrogged the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania, pushing the latter into fourth place. Columbia Business School and Insead are joint fifth”, FT said in its website.
To compile the 2014 ranking, FT surveyed 23,000 alumni from 153 business schools across the globe. More than 10,000 MBA graduates completed the survey, a response rate of 47 per cent, according to FT.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / The Financial Express / Home> Jobs / by PTI / Hyderabad – January 29th, 2014
Bangalore, Karnataka, India and East Brunswick, United States (WIPRO)
Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT), a leading global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company, today announced that it has received Readers’ Choice Awards from Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) magazine. Wipro has been ranked among the Top 4 providers in the ‘Outsourcing’ category, a move up by two places from rankings published in January of 2013.In addition to the list of top providers in each category, CGT also spotlights companies that received special honors from readers. In the Breakout Favorites, Wipro was voted the Customer Experience Leader in the Consulting category, a recognition that identifies the one company that received the highest average user satisfaction rating in a category.”It is an absolute honor to be ranked favorably in these categories. This clearly reinforces Wipro’s continued commitment and opportunity to the consumer goods market,” said Srini Pallia, Senior Vice President & Global Head – Retail, Consumer Goods, Transportation & Govt. Business Unit, Wipro. He added, “Helping our Consumer Goods (CG) customers best understand their consumer is of utmost importance to us. Our vision is to continually innovate and provide transformational capabilities in technology, infrastructure and business operations, to enable CG organisations to create better connections and improve their consumer experience, operational efficiency and profitability.”CGT’s readers recorded their votes on the consumer goods industry’s preferred solutions and service providers across 12 categories, which reflect the vast landscape of IT investment opportunities available today.
Wipro’s Consumer Goods expertise spans areas of Packaged Application Services, Application and Infrastructure Management, Business Process and IT Consulting, Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing. Wipro’s dedicated Consumer Goods practice has deep expertise working with Tier 1 companies in the areas of Sales & Marketing, Value Chain Optimization, Digital Transformation, and Analytics driving Insights, across the Food & Beverage, Home & Personal Care, Apparel & Footwear and Agribusiness & Tobacco segments. Wipro provides Systems Integration, Consulting and BPO services, and some of Wipro’s leading solutions for the consumer goods industry include Promax Trade Promotion Management & Optimization solutions, Market Mix Modelling amongst others.
source: http://www.moneylife.in / moneylife / Home / January 30th, 2014
Cisco, a leader in networking and Wipro has signed a deal with Saudi-based Al Hammadi Development and Investment Company to launch three smart and connected hospitals with latest technologies in the medical grade infrastructure.
Al Hammadi has partnered with Cisco and Wipro to deliver capabilities such as private health cloud, optimised clinical workflow solutions and solutions that will increase the quality of care while transforming the experience of patients and medical staff, said a statement.
The solutions include Cisco’s latest end-to-end networking and security solutions, its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Wipro’s Hospital Information System (HIS) Cloud-enabled Application to be installed in three of its hospitals in the kingdom as part of a SR90 million ($23.9 million) contract.
Mohammed Al Hammadi, CEO, said: “Cisco’s and Wipro’s technology solutions will help us deliver a state-of-the-art network infrastructure to enable us to offer the very best in healthcare. We are confident the our 90 Million SAR investment will enable us to stay ahead of the game by helping is create and deliver three outstanding healthcare facilities to cater of the health needs of our citizens.”
Subramanian Krishnan, sales head, Saudi Arabia, Wipro Arabia, said: “Healthcare business models are constantly evolving with health IT as the industry expands. Our HIS solution will help Al Hammadi Hospitals to control various processes that govern this sector and as well as escalating costs while also leveraging existing infrastructure.
“HIS has advanced intelligence tools that enable the management of the healthcare facilities to take informed real-time decisions. It supports workflows, alerts and notifications which help keep critical business as well as clinical parameters in control.” – TradeArabia News Service
source: http://www.tradearabia.com / Trade Arabia / Home> Health & Environment> Story / Trade Arabia News Service / Dubai – January 31st, 2014
Karnataka had multiple heroes in its successful Ranji Trophy campaign but two men in the background also deserve equal credit. Coaches J. Arun Kumar and Mansur Ali Khan provided perfect support for R. Vinay Kumar’s men to win Indian domestic cricket’s number one title
Behind the scenesBowling coach Mansur Ali Khan and batting coach Arun Kumar / Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash / The Hindu
They are men of extreme contrasts. J. Arun Kumar has tattoos, rides a Harley Davidson besides his other cars, is outspoken and during his playing days was a flamboyant opener. On the other end is Mansur Ali Khan, who is soft-spoken, an anachronism considering he was a medium pacer in his heydays.
But together, they have struck a wonderful tandem as coaches with the Karnataka cricket team that reaped the benefits of their expertise and won the Ranji Trophy defeating Maharashtra in the final at Hyderabad, last week.
Arun, ‘JAK’ to his friends, and Mansur, ‘MAK’ being his nickname, have had an association even during their days as key players for Karnataka. The duo shared rooms and now as coaches – Arunhandles ‘batting’ and Mansur supervises ‘bowling’ – their old rapport is very much intact while they also consciously avoid treading on each other’s toes.
The State had many heroes in batting led by K.L. Rahul (1033 runs) while Karun Nair, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Amit Verma and Ganesh Satish, all played their relevant parts. Similiarly, the bowlers too prospered and if Karnataka registered seven outright victories, it is thanks to the effort of speedster Abhimanyu Mithun (41 wickets), H.S. Sharath, skipper R. Vinay Kumar, S. Arvind and Shreyas Gopal. It would be prudent to hear from Arun and Mansur about the manner in which they extracted the best out of the team.
Jak’s prescription
Confidence the key
“At the start of the season, while we were looking at under-25 players I did look at talent, but I also wanted these players to have the necessary confidence.
I didn’t want players to step in and while facing Harbhajan Singh, think, ‘oh my god, I am playing against Harbhajan.’ I wanted the players to play their natural styles without getting overwhelmed.”
An arm around the shoulder
“The players are already under tremendous pressure and as a coach you are expected to reduce that and make them feel at ease. You cannot tell them, ‘you better get runs or get wickets’ and make them struggle even more. As a coach I had many one-on-one sessions with the players before the season and got to understand them better. I encouraged them a lot.”
A matter of trust
“When MAK and I took over last year there wasn’t much time to work on the players but this year we had time. I felt that among the players the trust-factor was not much and we worked on that, I made them enjoy each other’s success. Dropping a player is the hardest thing but we made sure that we explained to the player concerned about why he was dropped because we believed in ‘horses for courses’ and thatdetermined our team composition. Once that was made clear even the dropped players were cheering the squad from the outside and that camaraderie within the team is the biggest take-away I cherish.”
Mak’s measured words
Practice makes perfect
“Initially the bowlers were not clear in their minds and I worked on that. In the pre-season training, I made them aware of their strengths and at practise I told them to pitch it 10 feet from the batting crease and make the batsman play. I told them that if they could get it consistently there, they have more chances of getting wickets.
Mithun is an in-swing bowler and I told him to bowl four deliveries of in-swing and do a variation for the fifth – it could be a yorker, a bouncer, an away-swinger. Told him and the other fast bowlers to use the bouncer as a surprise weapon, like once in three overs and all that helped. I also used a speed-gun at training and that added more value as there was competition between the fast bowlers.”
Spinning some wickets
“The usual role of spinners is to keep it tight but I had chats with Anil Kumble and he said: ‘Even if they go for runs its okay as long as they get wickets.’ When we had sessions in the nets I made the spinners bowl 120 deliveries because in match situations they are expected to bowl 20 overs and if they could do that at training then they are well prepared and can cope with the pressure. I worked on these aspects with bowlers like Shreyas Gopal and Abrar Kazi. For instance with Shreyas, I focussed on his leg-spin and told him to give four deliveries of leg-spin per over and then work on a variation like googly in the other deliveries.”
Jak the friend
“JAK and I go a long way back. We kept it simple, he would watch the batsmen and also conduct close-in catching practice while I monitored the bowlers and also gave high-catches to fielders in the deep. I look forward to working with JAK in the coming years too.”
K.C. VIJAYA KUMAR
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by K. C. Vijaya Kumar / Mondyay – February 10th, 2014
Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius P. D’Souza as the chief celebrant solemnized the annual feast of St. Lawrence on Wednesday, 29 January 2014 at 10.30 am. He was joined by Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi Diocese, Rev. Dr. Baptist Menezes, Vicar General of Udupi, Rev. Fr. Denis D’Sa, PRO of the Udupi Diocese, Rev. Fr. George D’Souza, Rector of St. Lawrence Shrine and a number of other priests from Udupi and Mangalore Dioceses. Unprecedented crowd participated in the feast mass.
In his homily on the theme of the annual feast “Christian Families-Cradle of Faith”, Bishop Aloysius D’Souza specially mentioned the three basic principles of a good Christian family that were put forward by the present Pope, Francis addressing families from 95 countries of the world when they had gone to Vatican on a pilgrimage. These three basic principles are: Prayer, Faith in family and Happiness in the family.
Elaborating these three basic principles, Bishop Aloysius D’Souza said that family prayer especially reciting Rosary by all the members of the family together fosters the sense of unity in the family. Faith is the important factor in family life. Further he said that the faith should be like the faith that was expressed by St. Paul and Christians should bear witness to the faith that they profess. Regarding the happiness in family, Bishop said that modern gadgets would not provide lasting happiness to the family members. People should find happiness through unity and togetherness where God finds a place within the family. The Bishop further said that correcting mistakes of children is an obligation of the parents. Giving the example of the Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, Bishop Aloysius D’Souza said that Jesus should be the model for the 3 children whereas Joseph and Mary should be models for parents.
At the end of the Feast Mass, one book in Konkani titled “Sant Loresachim Dhirvim” (Treasures of St. Lawrence) and informative pamphlet on the history of the Shrine of St. Lawrence written by George Castelino, recipient of National Award for Best Teacher were released by Bishop Aloysius P. D’Souza along with the Bishop of Udupi, and Vicar General. Bishop of Mangalore also honoured George Castelino with a shawl and bouquet of flowers. Steven and Florine Mendis, proprietors of the Divine Channel and producers of the film on the life of St. Lawrence were also felicitated by the Bishop of Mangalore.
Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo honoured Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius P. D’Souza by offering him shawl and Rev. Fr. George D’Souza offered him a bouquet of flowers as a sign of respect to the Bishop of Mangalore who obliged the diocese as the chief celebrant of the solemn annual feast mass.
Earlier in the morning at 8.30 am, most Rev. Dr. Lawrence Makkuzzi, Bishop of Belthangady offered Holy Mass in Malayalam language. The Bishop of Udupi Gerald Lobo accompanied the Bishop of Belthangady to the altar. Rev. Fr. George D’Souza, Rector of the shrine welcomed the Bishop of Beltahngady and offered him a bouquet of flowers. This was the first time that a Bishop offered mass in the Malayalam language in the Shrine of St. Lawrence. Quite a large number of people attended the mass. The choir and the faithful participated in the singing.
There has been continuous flow of pilgrims to the shrine throughout the day. Masses for the benefit of the pilgrims have been arranged right from 12.30 pm till 11.30 pm including one at 5 pm in English and another at 8.30 pm in Kannada.
source: http://www.bellevision.com / Bellevision.com / Home> News / by Dr. Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle / Bellevision Media Network / Karkala – January 29th, 2014
