The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has selected city’s senior tennis player of Income-Tax Department R. Nagaraj has been selected to represent India in the 50-years Men’s Senior World tennis Championships to be held at Helsinki from June 19 to 24.
K.G. Ramesh, Jayanth Khade and Nagaraj in the 50-year age group and Mayur Vasant, Sudharshan Rao and Yogesh Shah in the men’s 55-year age group have earned selection.
The selection trials for the Indian team was held at MSLTA, Mumbai last week.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / May 07th, 2016
S.N. Jatin (sitting second from left) is seen with (from left) his parents Vani and Nagabhushan, younger brother S.N. Nitin and grandfather D.M. Nagesh.
Today a majority of youngsters fancy only one sport; cricket. But, to this World Champion, chess was his calling. Having taken to chess around 8 years back, S.N. Jatin, won the gold medal in the World Amateur Chess Championship in Under 1700 rating category held in Greece recently. Jatin’s mother N.H. Vani, first put his younger son S.N. Nitin for the chess coaching camp. Later, Jatin also joined the classes. He found the game interesting and slowly developed his game. He recently won a bronze medal in the 5th National School Chess Championship in the U-15 boys category. This feat earned him a place in the team representing our country in the Asian School Championship to be held at Tehran in Iraq in the month of June, 2016. Jatin is also preparing for the Commonwealth Chess Championship to be held in Sri Lanka during August this year.
Jatin spends around 6-8 hours every day in front of his laptop practising chess and getting to know about new moves and his probable opponents in future tournaments. During his free time, he plays the flute to calm his mind. Jatin travelled to Bengaluru frequently for his advanced chess coaching class from IM Shivanand. Later, he joined the coaching classes conducted by M.P. Ajith to prepare for the Amateur World Chess Championship which yielded him a good result.
Jatin credits chess for helping him excel in his studies. Speaking to Star of Mysore, he said that the game had helped him immensely in scoring well. “Though I don’t study for long hours like others, I still manage to score 90 percent. This is possible only because of chess. It has helped me improve my concentration level,” he said.
Jatin has been amply supported by his father S.I. Nagagbhusan and his mother N.H.Vani in all his endeavours. Nagabhusan runs a small scale industry in Bannimantap. Speaking to Star of Mysore, Nagabhushan said that he was happy with Jatin’s achievements. But he also expressed his unhappiness over chess players not being recognised despite their achievements.
“We have spent around Rs.1.75 lakh for Jatin to take part in the tournament held at Greece. But, till date none of the Government agencies or private organisations have come forward to extend help. Unfortunately, it is only cricket that matters in our country,” he said.
During the world championship, the players from other countries were sponsored by their respective Governments, but it was only Indian chess players who had to bare all their expenses including the flights tickets, accommodation etc. Despite not helping the players financially, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) made sure the players wore the jersey given by the federation that too after collecting Rs. 3,000 from each one of them.
The t-shirt, shoes, socks and jersey provided by the AICF were of sub standard quality which cannot be used. But the federation has rules which make it compulsory for players representing the country to wear the jersey provided by them which only helped shame the country in front of players from other nations.
Jatin’s mother Vani, who is proud of her son’s achievement, expressed that despite being the first person to win a gold medal for the country in the World Amateur Chess Championship, Jatin’s achievements have gone unrecognised so far. She said that despite writing a letter to the AICF for help, the only reply from the federation was that it had no objection with Jatin participating in the event but it could not help him financially. Vani also said that chess is not at all recognised in the country and added that one of the persons in a government department told them that chess is not a sport, it was just a mind game!
Chess being an expensive game in terms of coaching and travelling, many of the chess players are in a dilemma on continuing with the game as there is no recognition or financial help. It is time for the authorities to supporting the game which originated in India to produced more world champions.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N.Venkatnag Sobers / May 07th, 2016
M.P. Ajith is seen with his mother T.D. Padmavathi
It is not easy for any sports person to make a comeback after staying away from the game for a long time. But when a player decides to do so, he/she is sure to come out with flying colours. At the age of 30, this Chess Champion we are about to introduce wouldn’t have dreamt of winning a silver medal in the Under 2000 rating at the Amateur World Chess Championship, especially after being away from the game for almost six years. The chess player we are talking about is none other than our city’s own M.P. Ajith. Having come from a poor family background, Ajith has struggled a lot to rise to this level. In fact, he has been borrowing money to participate in national level tournaments. Just to inform the uninformed, Ajith had to mortgage one of his aunt’s gold chain to book his flight ticket to Greece apart from getting sponsorship from a few individuals and a company.
by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
This 30-year-old chess champion has been playing for more than 20 years. He has a unique style of attacking his opponent which is considered to be rare among chess players. Ajith, who has won many tournaments, in fact had to stop playing chess for six years since 2008. Playing chess for many years and winning tournaments did not get Ajith the deserved recognition and this forced him to quit the game and try his luck with other sports such as athletics.
Ajith, along with practising for athletics, also started running a stationary shop, when his father M.R. Prakash passed away suddenly in 2013. Since then the family has been struggling to lead their lives. With no proper job to cater to their needs, Ajith and his mother Padmavathi, have been living in a small house in T.K. Layout.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Ajith said that he lost all his money in repaying his father’s loans. They even had to sell his mother’s gold jewellery to stay afloat.
“My father went to Dubai to make some money during 1994 and came back in 1996. A person, who got close to my father, took money from him assuring him a partnership in an LPG agency. After taking the amount the person never returned and later we got to know that this person was a conman. Dejected because of the loss, my father fell sick and died. Later, I had to clear all his loans. I have even had to sell many of my trophies and medals for meeting our daily needs,” he added.
After having endured a lot of hardship, Ajith made up his mind to return to Chess in 2014. On his comeback trail, Ajith faced a lot of stiff challenges which he overcame. He won the National Amateur Chess Championship in his category at Nagpur in 2015 before heading to Greece where he won a silver medal.
Ajith said that he decided to take to chess again after seeing an announcement of cash rewards by the State Government for talented sports persons. Having won the silver medal in the Amateur World Chess Championship, will the State Government recognise his achievements? Only time will tell.
Today, Ajith continues to coach young kids who have taken up Chess. Though he wants to quit coaching, as it affects his preparations for future tournaments, Ajith has no other option. He also has no computer or laptop, which is essential for his preparation. Ajith borrows a laptop from his students to practise.
In fact, S.N. Jatin, who won the gold medal in the World Amateur Chess Championship in Under 1700 was coached by Ajith for the past three months. Ajith has been looking for sponsorships as he is focused on taking his game forward and becoming a Chess Grandmaster. Such sports talents must be encouraged and brought to the limelight.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N.Venkatnag Sobers / May 07th, 2016
City’s upcoming junior golfer Pranavi S. Urs, a student of National Public School, representing Karnataka in the IGU Chandigarh Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championship 2016 held at Chandigarh, won the Category ‘B’ title with a three-day aggregate score of 236 (82+76+78).
Pranavi S. Urs also finished 8th in Ladies section. Diksha Dagar won the title in Ladies section with a three-day aggregate score of 219 ( 72+75+72). Ridhima Dilawari (222- 73+75+74) and Amritha Anand (229-75+76+78) secured the 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Mysuru’s Drishti Karumbaya returned with a three-day card of 246 (80+81+85) and secured the 25th place in the Ladies section. Disha Kavery of Mysuru taking part in the Category ‘C’ section had a three-day aggregate score of 266 (88+87+91) and secured the ninth place.
In the Category ‘B’, Pranavi secured the first place with a three-day aggregate score of 236 (82+76+78) while Vasundara Thiara (239-79+83+77) and Anika Verma (239-82+79+78) secured the second and third places respectively.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / May 06th, 2016
Dr. P.D. Padmakumar (second from left) is seen receiving the award from former Union Minister M.V. Rajashekharan (extreme left) as others look on.
Mysuru :
Dr. P.D. Padmakumar, retired Joint Director of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services and a resident of Kuvempunagar here, was conferred ‘Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa Gold Medal-2016’ by Global Economic Progress & Research Association (GEPRA), Bengaluru, during the ‘34th National Unity Conference’ held at Bengaluru on May 1.
The award was given in recognition of his outstanding contribution to society through individual achievements and national economic growth. The award, which comprised a trophy, a certificate and a gold medal, was given away by M.V. Rajashekharan, former Union Minister, V. Padmanabha Kedilaya, District & Sessions Judge, Dr. H. Shivanna, Vice-Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences and Dr. I.S. Basha, General Secretary, GEPRA.
Dr. Padmakumar, a gold medallist in BVSc, has also won gold medal in MA (Jainology & Prakrit) from University of Mysuru. Apart from this, he has won several awards including ‘Best Veterinarian’ and ‘Best Deputy Director’ award from the Department of AH&Vs, Karnataka and ‘Best Horanaadu Kannadiga’ by Delhi Kannadiga Monthly Magazine during the 24th National Kannada Sammelana.
He has authored and published a book titled ‘Keraladalli Jainadharma’ which was later translated to English, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. He also runs a free Vet Clinic in city.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 06th, 2016
Meet the other Murthy from Jayanagar in Bengaluru -Arun Murthy. No relation of N R Narayana Murthy, also a Jayanagar resident. But the 35-year-old’s life, in some ways, is moving along the same extraordinary lines of the Infosys doyen.
Arun Murthy is one of the founders of one of today’s hottest Silicon Valley startups – Hortonworks. Yes, named after the elephant in Dr Seuss’ ‘Horton hears a who!’ The company, founded in 2011, has become the fastest ever software venture to touch $100 million in revenue – in just 4 years. Salesforce did it in 5, Palo Alto Networks and Workday in 6, Informatica in 7 and Splunk in 8, according to Barclays Research.
In 2014, when it went for an IPO, it touched a billion dollars in valuation. The valuation has dropped since then, but recent revenue numbers are again pushing the share price sharply up.
Murthy’s one of the tech brains behind Hortonworks. He started coding when he was just 10. From an early age he was fascinated by Go – the 2,500-year-old game that’s exponentially more complex than chess; in March, a computer system, built by Google, for the first time beat a Go grandmaster. Murthy would play this abstract strategy board game for hours on end.
He also had an entrepreneurial streak in him. When he was still in school, he read an article on Michael Dell in Readers’ Digest. He was inspired by that to assemble and sell computers. “I would go to Avenue Road (the hub for electronic items) and buy computer parts, assemble them and sell them to friends. By the time I was 16-17, I was making more money than my parents combined. I would also develop websites for doctors and lawyers,” Murthy told TOI on a visit last week to Bengaluru, where his mother still resides. Murthy went on to do engineering at RV College of Engineering, one of Bengaluru’s best private engineering colleges, and, on graduation, joined Yahoo’s R&D centre in the city. He was part of the small team at Yahoo that was then beginning to develop Hadoop, the open source software framework used to store and process vast quantities of data and which has become all the rage in enterprises today given the avalanche of data they have to deal with.
While working on Hadoop, Murthy and his colleague Owen O’Malley took on the Sort Benchmark challenge of sorting 100 terabytes (TB) of data in a particular order. The first attempt set a new record and when someone else beat that record, they did it again in 2009 and that record stood for several years. The Sort Benchmark home page records Murthy and Owen’s accomplishment at 0.578 TB per minute. “It’s the most amount of fun I have had in my career,” said Murthy.
In 2011, Murthy and seven others, most of them from Yahoo’s Hadoop team – five of them Indians – came together to found Hortonworks, a venture to further develop Hadoop and support it for clients who adopt it. They thought of `Horton’ because Ha doop bore the logo of an elephant. They convinced Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang that it may be the best way forward for them, and Yang was excited enough to get Yahoo to participate in the initial investment in Hortonworks.
Among the other Indian founders, Suresh Srinivas was also in Bengaluru and had studied at NIT Karnataka. Devaraj Das studied at BITS Pilani and IISc Bengaluru, Mahadev Konar graduated from IIT Bombay. Sanjay Radia, who grew up in Uganda and Canada, is the oldest among them, having held senior positions at Sun Microsystems before moving to Yahoo to be an architect of a Hadoop project.
In 2014, the year Hortonworks went for its IPO, Fortune Magazine ranked Murthy among its 20 Big Data All Stars – “20 extraordinary people who we think are the best at connecting the dots, digging deep, and discovering the information that will transform the way businesses operate.”
Fortune noted Murthy at Yahoo had helped develop a sort of OS for Hadoop, called YARN, that lets users plug many applications into the system to store all sorts of data. “I have two kids at home.YARN is sort of my third,” Murthy told the magazine.
He is also a Murthy and has a lot in common with legend NR Narayana Murthy: Tech entrepre neurial streak, a house in Jayana gar, and looking into the future.
Arun Murthy, 35, is a product of RV Engineering College and a big-data star, write Shilpa Phadnis and Sujit John. He is a cofounder of Hortonworks, one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups which was the first to clock $100 million in revenue in just four years. In 2014 when the company went for an IPO, it touched a billion dollars in valuation.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / Sujit John & Shilpa Phadnis / TNN / May 06th, 2016
Art historian Prof. Choodamani Nandagopal is seen receiving D.V. Halabhavi Award from Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji
Mysuru :
Noted art historian Prof. Choodamani Nandagopal was conferred D.V. Halabhavi Award (2014) at a programme organised under the aegis of JSS Mahavidyapeetha at Suttur Shakha Mutt at the foot of Chamundi Hill here yesterday.
Speaking after receiving the award, Prof. Choodamani said that many of arts expressive forms such as music, dance, painting, literature, architecture, etc., have got prominence in our country, which is known for its rich cultural history.
Noting that art is not only for entertainment, she observed that art is a form for an artist to develop penance.
Pointing out that art helps one to take ‘Shastra’ and ‘Sadhane’ together, she cautioned against selling art for a price.
Suttur Mutt Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji graced the occasion.
Vatal Mutt’s Siddalinga Shivacharya Swamiji, former MLA N. Gangadhar, former Principal of JSS Halabhavi School of Art (Dharwad) Suresh D. Halabhavi and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – May 05th, 2016
City’s renowned musicologist Karnataka Kalashree Vid. V. Nanjundaswamy has been selected for the prestigious ‘Shastra Kaustuba’ award to be presented by Ananya Cultural Trust, Bengaluru, on May 8 (Sunday) at a function to be held at Sevasadana, 14th Cross, Malleswaram in Benglauru at 9.30 am. The award will be presented by Padma Bhushana Sangeeta Kalanidhi Dr. T.V. Goapalakrishna.
The ‘Shastra Kastuba’ award is considered to be prestigious as it is the only award instituted by any organisation for musicology.
Vid. V. Nanjundaswamy, a resident of 3rd North Cross, Anikethana Road in Kuvempunagar, is a renowned musicologist. He is a Srividya exponent, a guide to researchers and a yoga specialist. He has created more than 100 music features and is renowned as ‘The Lord of Features.’
A retired bank employee Vid. Nanjundaswamy has composed music for Lalitha Shasranama and many more Sanskrit slokas and has scientifically analysed them and given talks within the country and abroad. He has also guided Ph.D students. Being active in AIR Vid. Nanjundaswamy has conducted many programmes such as chintana, quiz and special lectures.
Being a prolific writer, he has authored books such as ‘Yogadarpana’, ‘Sangeetha Sankasha’ to name a few. He has published innumerable articles on yoga, srividya, and music. Adding to this, Vid. Nanjundaswamy is credited for publishing all the 94 kritis of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, in both Kannada and English languages which are available on www.amazon.in
Vid. Nanjundaswamy has been conferred with many awards and titles such as ‘Karnataka Kalashree’, ‘Sangeetha Vidya Varidhi’, ‘Sangeetha Kalatapasvi’ and many more. He also passed the ‘Kavya’ exam in Sanskrit. Having served in SBM, he has retired voluntarily from service around 20 years back and thereafter dedicated himself to music, yoga and srividya — his true passions.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – May 05th, 2016
Netas promise to look into the problems of artisans
Karnataka State Handicrafts Manufacturers Association (KSHMA) felicitated 25 craftspersons (five of them are seen here) on May 1 at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium in city. They are seen with MLA Vasu, Mayor B.L.Bhyrappa, former Mayor P. Vishwanath, KSHMA President S. Ramu (fifth from left), Honorary President P. Gowaraiah (fourth from left), Senior Journalist N. Niranjan Nikam, Corporators R. Nagaraju, C. Ramesh & M.J. Ravikumar and others.
Mysuru :
The media sometimes misses a good function not deliberately but simply because it does not have the manpower to cover all the functions happening simultaneously or also because it does not understand the importance of an event that really needs to be focused.
One such occasion which the media did not cover was the happening at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium on May 1. The occasion was the function organised by the Karnataka State Handicrafts Manufacturers Association (KSHMA), an organisation which has in its Committee people from the Handicrafts industry coming together and trying to do something for their community which is one of the most neglected ones in the State, in spite of Mysuru being the handicraft land of the country.
The heartening fact was that 25 craftspersons, all aged above 60, including some women were chosen and honoured for their contribution to the industry on Labour Day. Most of them are not really literates. They have been slogging hard, involved in various aspects of the trade, like inlay work, cutting, polishing, engraving, drawing to name a few.
If one wall plate, table, rosewood box or a dining set has to be produced all these hands are a must to complete the product. Each one is a specialised skill and they are all complementary to one another. The polishing, which is the finishing aspect of the wall plate, is as important as the engraving that makes a Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi or a Ganesha look beautiful.
One more unique feature of the KSHMA is the kind of commitment shown by the people in the Committee. For instance, the Honorary President P. Gowraiah, Master Craftsman, State and National Award Winner, of Sri Arundathi Handicrafts, and President S. Ramu, the State Award Winner, of Sri Geetha Fine Arts, both involved in manufacture of rosewood inlay, carving and other products are business rivals. But they have been friends for more than 40 years and each one respects the other completely and stand by one another in both good and bad times.
This is something that is rarely seen in even the best of organisations where back-biting and one-upmanship is the order of the day as we ourselves see in the many so-called elite clubs in city. There is probably a lesson in this for even the people occupying the top posts in academic circles and a subject of study that one must understand and emulate.
Hence, these two gentlemen have been able to focus on the problems they face as they themselves have come from that background having learnt the basic skills of handicrafts and grown from humble beginnings to big businessmen today.
“Some of us including the late A. Gnaneshwar Nikam, Doreswamy Adar, Subramanya Achar, Cheluvachar, all national awardees, came together to form the Association almost 25 years ago. We decided to honour our own people who are involved in the trade, every three years,” said Ramu speaking to Star of Mysore.
Awards function
Each craftsperson was presented Rs. 5,000, a certificate, a shawl, Mysore Peta and fruits. They were all honoured by MLA Vasu, who later in his address promised to look into the problems of the craftspersons and also assured them of a place in the Mysore Palace premises where 20 permanent structures are going to come up. This assurance was given after Ramu made a plea to the MLA, saying that if a place is given to them, a few craftspersons would display their skills working on wood to the visiting tourists.
MP Pratap Simha and MLA M.K. Somashekar also came to the function in spite of having to attend the Labour Day events in other places and assured the people in the industry of all support.
Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa, former Mayor P. Vishwanath, Corporators R. Nagaraju, C. Ramesh, Ramani and M.J. Ravikumar, former Corporator Vasudev and Senior Journalist N. Niranjan Nikam were present at the felicitation function.
A souvenir titled “Karakushala Kale,” Volume-3, 2016, was released by P. Vishwanath on the occasion. Santosh Kalaavidha of Naatya’s Dance House compered the programme. Amma Ramachandra and his team from University of Mysore, rendered folk songs.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – May 04th, 2016
Chandraprabha Urs (70), former Minister, former MP and daughter of former Chief Minister late D. Devaraj Urs, passed away at Apollo BGS Hospital here yesterday following prolonged illness.
She leaves behind her son Manjunath Urs, daughter Anupama Urs, younger sister Bharathi Urs and a host of relatives and friends.
Her husband Mohan Raj Urs and younger son Ajay Urs had predeceased her.
Entry into politics: Chandraprabha had worked closely with her father Devaraj Urs and nurtured interest in politics. She contested her first election under Kranthi Ranga banner from Hunsur constituency in the 1983 Assembly polls, won by a huge margin and went on to become Social Welfare Minister in the Ramakrishna Hegde Government. She was re-elected from Hunsur on a Congress ticket in the 1989 Assembly polls.
Chandraprabha Urs contested on a Congress ticket when Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar joined the BJP and won the Lok Sabha polls in 1991.
Education: After having her primary education at Kallahalli in Hunsur taluk, her father Devaraj Urs’ home town, she attended high school at Hunsur and moved to Mysuru for further studies. After completing her PUC at Maharani’s PU College in Mysuru, she did her B.Sc from Maharani’s College, Bengaluru. She married Mohan Raj Urs in 1970s.
Bed-ridden: Chandraprabha Urs had sustained grievous leg injuries in a road mishap near Hunsur in 2008, when the car she was travelling collided with a milk van. She could not recover since then and developed health complications, which forced her to keep away from active politics, it is learnt.
She was admitted to Apollo BGS Hospital about 8 days ago, where she breathed her last late Tuesday evening.
Her body was brought to her residence at Sai Shree Mohan Sadan Apartment, opposite Hardwicke Church near the double tank in Lakshmipuram this morning.
Last respects: Former MLC D. Madegowda, City Congress President T.S. Ravishankar, Congress leader Vikrant P. Devegowda, DCC President Dr. B.J. Vijaykumar, Tahsildar Naveen Joseph were among the dignitaries and officials who paid their last respects.
Minister H.S. Mahadevaprasad, MLA Vasu and other political leaders paid their last respects to the mortal remains of Chandraprabha Urs at Apollo BGS Hospital last evening and consoled the family members.
She had premonition about her death?
Meanwhile, one Kempananjappa, a resident of Kallahalli village, has claimed that Chandraprabha Urs, who had premonitions about her death, had asked him to ensure that her funeral rituals be conducted next to that of her father’s tomb at Kallahalli.
He also said that Chandraprabha, who visited Kallahalli three months ago, had summoned him to her residence and took him to her father’s Samadhi.
D.D. Urs’ family neglected?
Meanwhile, her family members have alleged that Congress party leaders, who were benefitted by Devaraj Urs’ programmes, did not give the family a political space in the party.
It is said, Chandraprabha Urs had on many occasions expressed regret over the Congress High Command and Party State leaders for not showing interest in retrieving the political future of the once powerful family of old Mysuru region.
Chandraprabha’s daughter Anupama, who had sought a Congress ticket from Hunsur in 2013, was denied the ticket.
Though Chandraprabha Urs showed interest in fielding her family members in elections, the party leaders did not bother to call on them, it is learnt.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – May 04th, 2016
