Monthly Archives: December 2014

Counting sheep, literally

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology
A farmer tending to the ‘Nari-Suvarna’ breed of sheep at Veerapura in Tumakuru district of Karnataka.
A farmer tending to the ‘Nari-Suvarna’ breed of sheep at Veerapura in Tumakuru district of Karnataka.

Sheep farmers in Tumakuru have agri-scientists in Maharashtra to thank for a breed that has, quite literally, doubled their profits.

The new breed, developed by scientists at Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan, called ‘Nari-Suvarna’ has turned out to be a boon for farmers. While the local breed of sheep gives birth to one lamb at a time, the new breed gives birth to two or three.

Cost of the sheep

The State government is trying to promote the Nari-Suvarna breed. It plans to offer subsidy to purchase the sheep, which costs Rs. 8,000 each, in the future. The local breed in Tumakuru —both Hassan and Bellary breeds — cost Rs. 6,000 per sheep.

With the guidance of the Karnataka Sheep and Wool Development Corporation (KSWDC), a farmer in Sira taluk in Tumakuru district has bought 10 sheep and they have given birth to 23 lambs. Farmers at Sidlaghatta in Chickballapur district and Chitradurga district are now eager to follow suit.

The new breed, according to the Agriculture Department, is a combination of three Indian breeds – Deccani and Madgyal breeds of Karnataka and Garole of West Bengal.

Doddaraju of Veerapura in Sira taluk, who bought the 10 sheep, told The Hindu that people in his village were making advance payments for Nari-Suvarna sheep. He said the sheep had adjusted to the climate and environment of his village and could be reared along with the local breed.

Mirza Basheer, Assistant Director, KSWDC, Tumakuru, said the new breed would help meet the demand for meat and would be beneficial to farmers. Nagaraja G.M., Assistant Director, Special Livestock Breeding Programme, Tumakuru, said the government would identify farmers in Belagavi, Vijayapura and Kolar districts and would introduce them to the new breed.

Scientists have developed a new breed of sheep, Nari-Suvarna, that gives birth to two or three lambs at a time

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by S. Bhuvaneshwari / Tumakuru – December 14th, 2014

Cycles race ahead of cars in vintage exhibition

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

Bengaluru :

Hiding from shutterbugs and strangers on mommy’s insistence, Afsan, 7, was still all over Jayamahal Palace, unable to control her curiosity. The little girl was checking out vintage wheels that have stood the test of time.

“This was made before dada (grandpa) was born,” her mother told Afsan pointing at a 1950 Vauxhall. Currently owned by Pradeep Konalkar, the car is older than many Bengalureans’ grandparents, and Pradeep is proud of it.

From the popular Mini 1000 to the Morris Cowley and the Sunbeam Talbot, the Southern India Vintage Automobile Exhibition of Bangalore Vintage Group (BGV) showcased around 150 cars and bikes, including our very own Ambassador. Among the bikes were the popular Lambretas, Javas, RD-350s and many more, but the Vijay Super was able to hold its own.

The show-stealers on this sunny Sunday morning were the noiseless legends that paved the way for the automobile era — the bicycles. K Narayan in his late 50s, who was among the early-bird cyclists at the venue, was quite a head-turner. Videographers ran towards him leaving some of their interviewees standing under the sun and a bunch of children followed him. The way he parked the vintage beauty, in slow motion, was reminiscent of a black-and-white film. As he twisted two knobs of his made-in-England cycle, allowing it to fold, the crowd went berserk.

“How old is this?” a car restorer asked, awestruck by the foldable technology. Modern-day cycles equipped with the feature cost a bomb. “It was made in 1939,” Narayan said in a matter-of-fact manner. Narayan’s brother rode in the Royal Winchester bicycle (1897), one of the oldest you would see in Bengaluru, and possibly India.

The exhibition drew visitors from Mysore, Pune, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, among others.

The Gentleman’s Bike

The Sunbeam Special (1914) has many firsts to its name. R D Srinivasan, owner of a Sunbeam bike in Bengaluru, said: “It doesn’t have a belt or a shaft. The chain is operated through a pool of oil. It was among the first bikes to have a bar control and gear system.” Among other attractions, the Sunbeam comes with a stand to hold tennis rackets, but Srinivasan, a former state-level hockey player uses it for his hockey stick. “…You cannot imagine the kind of technology used 100 years ago. It is just mind-blowing,” Srinivasan said, adding that it’s called The Gentleman’s Bike.

Helping ailing kids

Unlike previous editions of vintage exhibitions, Sunday’s event was aimed at helping children who need dialysis. Gautham Kalaburgi of NH4 Motorheads, one of the organizers, told TOI: “NH4 already supports two children. Dialysis for a single child costs Rs 12,000 a month and we thought that others can also contribute to the cause. We aren’t collecting money from public in the form of entry fee. The participating groups will pool in and contribute funds”.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / TNN / November 24th, 2014

Winning matters

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Partha Varanashi from Puttur becomes first Austswim presenter, aims to boost standards

Partha02BF13dec2014

Partha Varanashi, a 29-year-old from the state, has become India’s first Austswim presenter for swimming and water safety.

With this accreditation under his belt, Partha can coach swimmers in India, instead of a representative from Australia visiting the country. This achievement is part of an initiative by former Indian Olympian Hakimuddin Shabbir Habibulla to improve swimming training standards .

Under the programme Winning Matters, Austwim, Australia’s national organisation for the teaching of swimming and water safety provided professional and systematic training to swimming teachers from across India.

Ceri Weeks, a representative from Austswim, conducted the courses in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

“With Austswim making its presence felt in India, swimming training is expected to get a whole new dimension. Training is going to be holistic and systematic with a strong foundation. The curriculum is vast, which includes child psychology, behaviour patterns and safety and candidates have to under go online tests. There is a 200page manual and there is an option to interact online,” said Partha, who has received a soft copy of the accreditation and will travel to Australia for the actual presentation.

Partha who trains about 40 budding competitive swimmers at the Balavana swimming pool in Puttur and who was responsible to teach 900 students of a swim school in South Australia before returning to India two years ago, said this was just the first lap.

“Since I worked in Australia, I know the standards. The journey has just begun. In India, the focus is only on competitions, while Austswim focuses on technique. The change will not happen overnight. It may take years like it did in Australia, but I am confident that Austswim will bring in changes in swimming standards of India,” he said.

Partha was the Mangalore University’s champion swimmer for three years (20032005). He was also a threetime national Indian swimming finalist, South Australian Masters Swimming record holder (2009) and has over ten gold medals won in Aussie Masters, SA event in the year 2009 and 2010 and coached and trained over 900 swimmers in Australia.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Sport> Others / by Deepthi Sanjiv, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / November 26th, 2014

Setting Aussie standards in Mangalore pools

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
While pursuing a Masters degree in Adelaide, Partha won over 10 gold medals in Aussie Masters
While pursuing a Masters degree in Adelaide, Partha won over 10 gold medals in Aussie Masters

A 28-year-old who resigned from an organisation promoting swimming in Australia to join his family business near Mangalore is trying to raise standards in the locality.

Partha Varanashi is an accomplished swimmer. He was the Mangalore University champion from 2003 to 2005 and a three-time finalist in national swimming contests. While pursuing a masters degree in plant biotechnology at the University of Adelaide, he became South Australian Masters Swimming record holder in 2009 besides winning over 10 gold medals in Aussie Masters.

Working as the swimming coaching coordinator at State Swim, an organisation promoting swimming in South Australia, he went on to coach over 900 swimmers in Australia.
In June, 2012, he returned to India to join his parents’ bio-technology venture — Varanashi Farms — that is into production of organic manure in Adyanadka, Bantwal taluk, about 60 kilometres from Mangalore.

 
As he was winding up in Australia, Paul Mason, owner of State Swim, advised him to start a swimming pool or an academy in India. Inspired by these words, Partha set up the Varanashi Swimming Academy. He says, “In India, a swimming pool is seen as a white elephant. Hence I did not have to put in much effort when I decided to take Balavana Swimming Pool in Parladka, Puttur on lease.” But Partha was not satisfied running the academy. He dreams of taking Indians up to Australian swimming standards.

 
Towards this end, he approached eight schools in Puttur and Vittal with a proposal to coach their students. Vivekananda School in Puttur showed interest in his dream and has now decided to introduce swimming classes from this academic year.

 
Partha says, “Students from Std V to IX will have one swimming class a week from June-July. Every student will get 30 classes a year. We are expecting at least 1,000 students to participate.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / May 12th, 2013

India’s Asha Bhat wins ‘Miss Supranational 2014’ title

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
Asha Bhat, after being crowned in Warsaw, Poland.
Asha Bhat, after being crowned in Warsaw, Poland.

India’s Asha Bhat has won the beauty pageant  ‘Miss Supranational 2014’, becoming the first Indian to receive the title.

Asha competed with contestants from 70 countries at the event held in Warsaw, Poland last night. Looking dazzling in a beautiful Gavin Miguel gown, Asha was crowned by the outgoing Miss Supranational, Mutya Datul from Philippines.

“I am ecstatic. It’s an unbelievable feeling and I couldn’t feel more proud. I am happy to have won this title for my country. I am extremely thankful to the Miss India Organization for giving me this wonderful opportunity to prove myself. Now, I am just waiting to come back to my country and meet my family and friends who supported me throughout my journey,” Asha said after her win.

She will be also rewarded with USD 25000.

Earlier in the competition, Asha won the title of ‘Miss Talent’ by giving a sizzling Bollywood  fusion performance, choreographed by Khush Numa Daruvalla on songs like ‘Kajrare’, ‘Yaar Na Mila’ and ‘Dhol Baaje’.
Asha was also seen competing for various sub-titles like Best National Costume, Miss Best Body, Miss Fashion Show, among others.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> News> World / Agency:PTI,  Place:New Delhi / Saturday – December 06th, 2014

Asha Bhat felicitated

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
Asha Bhat with her parents at the felicitation function in Bhadravati on Sunday. ;— Photo: VAIDYA
Asha Bhat with her parents at the felicitation function in Bhadravati on Sunday. ;— Photo: VAIDYA

Asha Bhat, the second runner-up at the finals of the Miss Diva Universe-2014, who proved that success in beauty pageants is not the hegemony of those born and brought up in metropolitan cititis, had been to her hometown Bhadravati on Sunday.

Representatives of various organisations had organised a programme to felicitate Ms. Bhat at the Nayana Convention Hall in Bhadravati.

Interacting with presspersons on the occasion, she said that with hard work and commitment, even girls from rural areas and mofussil centres could also succeed in beauty competitions.

Ms. Bhat is the daughter of Subrahmanya Bhat and Shyamala Bhat, who run a clinical laboratory at Bhadravati. She studied up to 10th standard at St. Charles School here and pursued her Pre-University Course at Alva’s College, Moodbidri. She is pursuing seventh semester of BE at R.V. College in Bangalore at present.

Ms. Bhat, who had enrolled for National Cadet Corps while studying PUC, was selected to participate in the Republic Day parade. She was also a member of the NCC delegation from SAARC nations that visited Sri Lanka. “The stint with NCC instilled confidence in me to face new challenges,” she said.

According to Ms. Bhatm, preparing for beauty pageants was a rigorous exercise. Balanced diet and regular fitness sessions were part of the peparations. There would be training sessions on mannerisms, etiquette and communication skills. “While in NCC, I used to enjoy participating in parades. The catwalk on ramp is all together a different experience. Initially, I experienced pain with high-heeled foot wears. It is essential to endure pain to taste success,” she said.

Ms. Bhat is proud of her traditional middle-class

background. “There is a wrong notion prevailing among a section of society that beauty pageants is all about glamour. My parents used to tell that emphasis should not be given for external appearance, but to keep the heart and soul unpolluted. Beautiful person is one who is compassionate and has firm belief in the path of righteousness,” she said.

Ms. Bhat has been selected to represent India in Miss Supranational 2014 competition to be held in Poland. No Indian has won the crown at Miss Supranational event so far. My immediate aim is to emerge victorious in the event and bring laurels to my nation,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Veerendra P.M. / Shimoga – October 27th, 2014

Wadiyar portrayed in Anamorphic art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders
Wadiyar’s portrait in anamorphic form
Wadiyar’s portrait in anamorphic form

Mysuru :

After the sand and wax art, the last scion of Yaduvamsha of Mysuru, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar has now been portrayed in the sporadic anamorphic art form that is on the verge of extinction.

B. Anil Kumar Bhogashetty, city’s artist and a student of CAVA has portrayed Wadiyar in his own creative way which will be gifted to Pramodadevi Wadiyar on Dec. 8.

Anil, having obtained his BFA degree from CAVA, was captivated by this beautiful imaging art. With an urge to familiarise this art among people, he earned expertise in this art. Presently, this rare art is being practiced in Karnataka only by Anil.

Anamorphosis: An unconventional way of seeing

Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. It was Leonardo Da Vinci who first experimented with anamorphic perspective, and the first known example of an anamorphic drawing is an eye that he made in 1485. As time flourished this art started to conceal.

Anil Kumar has created the portrait of Wadiyar on a 6 ft tall and 4 ft wide canvas and has used a cylindrical reflective mirror, the most common form of viewing the art.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  /  Saturday , December 06th, 2014

This farmer grows 11 crops on 6 acres

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
Nidoda Vaijanath says that he plans his farm activities three years in advance.
Nidoda Vaijanath says that he plans his farm activities three years in advance.

Nidoda Vaijanath, who follows an integrated farming model, keeps himself updated by reading, consulting scientists

How many crops can you grow on six acres? For this enterprising farmer from Bidar, the answer is 11.

Nidoda Vaijanath of Kamathana village also keeps cows, buffaloes and sheep and also has a mini-poultry farm.

His farm has small patches covered with fig, cashew, ginger, watermelon, lime, mosambi, drumstick, brinjal, coriander, mango and curry leaf, and he makes a good profit from each.

But integrated farming is not the only thing that makes him different. The arts graduate, who also works in the zilla panchayat office, constantly updates his knowledge by reading magazines and books, meeting fellow progressive farmers, and consulting farm scientists.

He plans his farm activities three years in advance. “It is not enough if you plan. We need to micromanage things,” Mr. Vaijanath says.

“I have a clear idea of how much to spend every year and how to increase profits,” he adds. He increases or decreases the acreage for short-term crops, depending on the rates in the market.

He stores the produce in a small godown on the farm, and waits to sell it at a high price after gathering information from multiple markets.

This year, for example, he got a yield of 180 quintals of ginger per acre and sold it for Rs. 10,000 per quintal. The two-acre crop earned him around Rs. 35 lakh.

He spends just under Rs. 1 lakh per acre on cultivation.

“Two words explain his success: personal attention,” says Praveen Jholgikar, assistant professor, College of Horticulture in Bidar. Resource persons from the college routinely visit Mr. Vaijanath’s farm to provide guidance and give solutions.

Mr. Vaijanath visits the field every morning from 6 to 9. Unlike most other farmers, he does not depend on labourers.

“He stands apart from farmers who grow crops such as sugarcane that are water-intensive and do not guarantee remunerative prices,” says Ravi Deshmukh, training coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai / Bidar – December 05th, 2014

India Post Generates INR 50 Cr from E-commerce Deliveries in Karnataka Alone

Business & Economy

Karnataka-post-circleBF 12dec2014

India Post (Karnataka Circle) has generated INR 50 crore revenue in current financial year for e-commerce firms like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Myntra, Homeshop18, and Global Shiksha among others. MS Ramanujan, chief postmaster general, Karnataka Circle told TOI that they currently take up both Speed Post and Cash on Delivery (COD) orders.

This week, India Post is also piloting a same day delivery service for Amazon, which would see goods received by India Post by 3pm to be delivered the same day.

The Government agency has transacted business worth INR 280 crores in the Cash on Delivery (CoD) segment for these e-commerce firms in the last one year. And since it is earning INR 50 crores in revenue from a single state alone, the total business it is getting from the growing e-commerce would be huge.

It recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian E-commerce companies Snapdeal and Shopclues, to join hands and further propel the e-commerce logistics. As for the online retail companies, India Post comes as a savior, since no logistics company as of now caters to as many postal codes as India Post, which has about 1.55 lakh post offices.

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has also said previously that India Post is best suited to offer delivery services to e-commerce players, given its wide reach across rural, urban and semi-urban areas.

India Post is gearing up with its infrastructure to be an active part of the distribution, delivery and logistics which is said to touch around INR 9 billion by 2021. Thereby being one of the Government Body which is strongly supporting the online businesses in the country.

Action in E-Commerce Logistics in India

In August this year, mail and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) had said that it plans to invest around INR 800 crore in Indian e-commerce business including express (small parcel transportation), aviation, e-commerce and warehousing, in the next two years.

In March last year, Courier service provider company DTDC Courier and Cargo had launched a new arm called DotZot to provide logistic support to e-commerce companies.

Distribution and Supply Chain Solution company, Gati had also launched an e-commerce focused website GatiConnect and generated revenues of INR 40.7 crore.

The other companies which are exclusively for e-commerce logistics, namely HoliSol, Delhivery and E-comm Express, have raised funding this year to expand their operations. However looking at the scale India Post is having, it is still time for them to catch up.

source: http://www.iamwire.com / I am Wire / Home / by Sujata Sangwan / December 09th, 2014

Winners of Zoo Photography contest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment

S.R. Madhusudhan bags 1st prize in Wildlife category; B. Pruthvi in Zoo category

City-based photo-journalist S.R. Madhusudhan's (inset) photo capturing a white-naped woodpecker's fight with a myna, which was adjudged the best in the wildlife photography section.
City-based photo-journalist S.R. Madhusudhan’s (inset) photo capturing a white-naped woodpecker’s fight with a myna, which was adjudged the best in the wildlife photography section.

Mysuru :

The following are the winners of Wildlife Photography competition conducted by Mysuru Zoo in city recently:

Wildlife Category: S.R. Madhusudhan – I; G.S. Ravishankar – II; M.K. Saptha Girish – III; M.B. Abhishek, M.N. Shivaprasad, Vinod Kumar, Uday Thejaswi Urs — Certificates of Merit

Zoo Category: B. Pruthvi -I; N.S. Adarsh Urs – II; N.R. Harsha- III; Nagesh Panathale, G.S Ravishankar, Basavanna, N.S. Adarsh Urs — Certificates of Merit.

There was a very good response for the photography competition conducted during September. Altogether 76 photographers participated in the competition with a total of 390 photographs for both Zoo (201) and Wildlife (189) categories.

The award winning and selected photos were displayed in the exhibition at Zoo Library Hall yesterday. 220 photos were shortlisted for display out of total 390 photo images. These images were selected by the three-member expert panel comprising Sudhir Shivaram, Girish Cavale and Subharghya Das.

The Syndicate Bank, Zoo Branch, has sponsored cash prizes to the winners in the photography competition under Zoo category and the Zoo is giving awards for the wildlife category which is as follows:

Zoo Category: I prize-Rs. 5,000; II prize- Rs.3,000; III prize -Rs.2,000.

Wildlife Category: I prize-Rs. 5,000; II prize- Rs.3,000; III prize -Rs.2,000.

The prizes will be distributed during the valedictory function of Youth Club of Mysuru Zoo in the first week of January 2015, according to a press release from the Zoo Director B.P. Ravi.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  /  Friday , December 05th, 2014