Monthly Archives: March 2019
Mysuru-Born Model Making Waves In Silicon Valley
Right from childhood she has always been drawn to fashion, make-up and glamour and she landed up in modelling industry. The challenging part, however, is balancing both engineering and modelling which requires a lot of dedication, determination and discipline, which Nayana Vishva has in abundance.
In this pursuit of her passion, Nayana has the support of her life partner Nimish Pankaj Shah and banker parents H.R. Bhavani and R. Vishva Chaitanya. And she treads the hard path in the modelling world in the Silicon Valley, California, where she divides her time between her work and modelling assignments.
Nayana is trained in Bharatanatyam and is adept at western dance. She was creative even in her growing up years and was a part of her college (Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru) Western Dance team called ‘Fire and Ice.’ She then left for United States and did her Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and joined Intel Corp in San Jose.
What is the life of a model like? She had done promos for L’Oreal when she was in Bengaluru. “I have now given up dancing as it requires a lot of week-day time. Mine is a five-day week job but even after I come home, I sit with a laptop completing my tasks. I devote weekends and sometimes weekdays for modelling,” she said.
Initially she concentrated on her job. Alongside, she started blogging on Instagram where she would style up, make up and coordinate what kind of outfits suit and what is the style. She then uploaded her photographs on Instagram and she received accolades from her parents and friends. After two years she realised that she had to move to a different level and what she was really looking for was professional recognition in modelling.
She started modelling in April 2018. The first brand promotion was for ‘Sexy Hair’ in San Jose called the ‘Spring Hair Fest.’ “Rafe Hardy, the CEO of ‘Sexy Hair’ and his team chose me in the audition where there were 40 to 50 models and I was the only Indian. The shoot starts at 8 am and goes on till 7 pm. They style my hair, allow us to interact with customers and then the photo shoot begins and the visuals are used for brand promotion,” Nayana says.
“When I have to go for auditions I have to wear ‘Little Black Dress’ and in other auditions they ask us to wear track pant and black shirt or shorts. We need to have all these dresses with us,” she explains.
Brian Check, a Hollywood photographer, called her for theme ‘Pumpkin Patches’ and Nayana did her own outfit. Once such photo shoot is done, images are shared on Instagram and based on it a model’s network grows and she gets an opportunity to participate in more photo shoots.
What kind of competition is she facing especially in a country where the skin colour favours the white? “They do prefer white skin models. I had gone for an audition and several good models from California were rejected. Out of curiosity we went for the show later and we were shocked to see that some teenagers from Australia had been selected just to show that they had international models who looked more white than Californian models.”
Nayana is also into gymming and she works out for one hour daily after coming back from work. “Gymming helps me keep a toned body and retain the glow on my face,” she says.
Asked how her colleagues look at her interest in modelling, she says, “Looks like the society is more accepting. My colleagues and managers are typical Indian folks who have got married, have kids, and live as per Indian social norms. They say they wanted to pursue their passion but were discouraged and also they were scared. And they settled for a ‘socialising with relatives, friends on weekends’ kind of lifestyle and wasted a lot of their potential. But they encourage me and are truly happy for me. They tell me to not stop modelling.”
Asked how her husband Nimish Pankaj Shah, who also works in Intel, takes her passion for modelling? “I strongly believe that a life partner is the one who is an ‘enabler’ of both career growth and personal growth. Nimish encourages me to achieve my dreams and practically supports it. He is not a mere ‘permission granter’ but allows me to go out and achieve my dreams.”
“He drives me to shoot locations and while I am busy shooting, he reads books or explores shops, streets near the location. He cooks for the family on the day of the shoot and on other days, he cooks three days a week and I cook on other three days. He is my best critic and all his encouragements are through actions and not words,” she says.
On Women’s Day: Empowerment is not merely limited to choice of clothing or the choice of next outing. Empowerment is how you deal with troubled waters, how much are you willing to stand up for yourself against all judgements, how fearless are you to openly call out people in power that wronged you. It means more respect and more power to all women. More respect and love for those fathers, husbands, brothers and male friends, who stand by us during troubled times.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by N. Niranjan Nikam
City Muaythai Fighters Win Medals At World Championships
Four Muaythai Kickboxers of Team India won four bronze medals for the country at the Professional and Pro-Amateur Muaythai World Championships held in the city of Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima province of Thailand, recently.
The Championship was organised by Muaythai and Muayboran Sports Association of the world (MTBSA) in which more than 26 countries participated.
This is the first time that city fighters have won these many medals at the World Championships. Out of the four fighters who won medals, three are from Academy of Martial Science, Mysuru, affiliated to Mysore District Muaythai Trust and Mysore Combat Sports Association and one from Tamil Nadu, Chennai.
Bronze Winning Team — Pranav Kaushik – Junior Mini Light FlyWeight; M.R. Darshan – Feather Weight; Surya Sagar – Super Light Weight and C. Vethandh – Heavy Weight.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / March 2019
City Muaythai Fighters Win Medals At World Championships
On a journey to document the ancient dance forms of India
Jothi Viknesh, Anusha Viresh and Manohar Marappa are travelling across the country to preserve a rich history and also eyeing a Guinness World Record
From documenting the Siddi Dhamal dance form practised by the Siddis of Gujarat to capturing the energetic Padayani folk dance and ritual art of Kerala — Jothi Viknesh, Anusha Veeresh and Manohar Marappa are on an unusual road journey to soak in the varied folk traditions of India. They are calling it the Indian Dance Trail that began in Bengaluru in January this year. Their aim is to cover 60, 000 kilometres by the end of the year and also see if it becomes a Guinness World Record for the longest drive in the same country by car. They have so far completed 18,000 kilometres covering Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. They hope to witness major festivals across the country and document the rich traditions of Indian dance forms.
Aiming for a record
The idea to go on an all-India journey came about when a video made by Jothi and Anusha on the Veeragase dance form of Karnataka received 2.5 million views on YouTube without much promotion. Based on Hindu mythology, this dance form involves very intense energy-sapping dance movements and is one of the dances demonstrated in the Dasara procession held in Mysuru. “We realised that there are many who are interested to know the history and traditions behind such ancient Indian dance forms. Documenting these would be an interesting way to preserve a rich history,” says Anusha.
Most of their travel routes are planned beforehand. “We do a research about the place and region’s dance forms before we reach. This is because a majority of these folk dance forms are specific to a particular time of the year. But there are chance discoveries too when we stumble upon something unique,” says Anusha, who has been training in traditional and contemporary dance forms from her childhood.
On many occasions, they stayed with the dancers in their village, learning about their traditions and beliefs. Their journey also took them to places where they could document lesser known dance forms like the Jogati Nritya in the Bellari district of Karnataka. It is a ritual dance performed by a group of transgenders called Jogappas to appease Goddess Yellamma.
Not all of their experiences were pleasant. At the Chettikulangara Devi Temple in Alappuzha district of Kerala, they met some hostile resistance. “We saw a group of children surrounded by adults. They wouldn’t allow us to film anything and insisted we delete the few videos we had already filmed there,” says Anusha. “It was only later that we came to know that they were performing the banned ritual of ‘Chooral Muriyal’ a part of Kuthiyottam. As part of the ritual young boys are offered as sacrifice to the goddess Bhadrakali. While they are not actually sacrificed, their midriffs are pierced with a gold or silver string, that is later pulled out and offered up. “It is a symbolic representation of human sacrifice. Once the ritual is over, these boys are abandoned,” she adds.
Inspiring tales
On the more memorable side, they had some inspiring encounters. They met Sanjeeva Suvarna, principal of Guru Bannanje Yakshagana Kendra in Udipi, who is among the few surviving Yakshagana trainers left. “Our idea is to make a short documentary on each of these dance forms and release it in our YouTube channel Expertnomads by the end of the journey,” says Anusha.
Funding is a challenging part of their journey. “We make pit-stops at cities to conduct Afroworks fitness dance workshops at schools, colleges, dance studios and wellness centres. This is fun-filled dance fitness regime based on African dance and music. This way we get to also reach out to people and talk about Indian dance forms and our journey,” says Jothi, who held workshops at Starlite Wellness Centre and Pollocks School on their halt at Visakhapatnam. While they haven’t had the opportunity to document the folk dance forms of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, they are hoping to be back in the Telugu States again in the next leg of their journey. The Indian Dance Trail is now heading to the North East where they plan to document Nagaland’s Mopin festival, before moving on to Assam.
To follow them, read their updates on the Facebook page Indian Dance Trail.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Dance / by Nivedita Ganguly / March 27th, 2019
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Actor L.V. Sharada passes away
She was known for her iconic role in ‘Phaniyamma’
L.V. Sharada, 78, veteran actor of parallel cinema in Kannada, passed away on Thursday. She was suffering from cancer and breathed her last at Shankara Hospital in the city at 7.30 a.m., according to family sources.
Ms. Sharada is survived by her sister and brother. The final rites were held at the Banashankari crematorium in the evening.
She was best known for her titular role in the 1983 Phaniyamma, directed by Prema Karanth. The film, a sensitive portrayal of a young widow, was based on an eponymous novel by M.K. Indira published in 1977, which went on to win many awards.
Ms. Sharada’s debut film was Vamsha Vriksha, which won the national award. She shared screen space in the film with Girish Karnad, Vishnuvardhan, and Chandrashekar. The film, released in 1972, was directed by B.V. Karanth and Girish Karnad.
Through her characters in Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu, Vatsakta Patha, Kankana, Maithri, Hemavathi, Madhvacharya, Adi Shankaracharya, and Nakkala Rajakumari, she etched an indelible impression on the minds of the audience. She acted with Rajinikanth in Ondu Premada Kathe. Ms. Sharada had also directed a few documentary films.
Her passion for acting did not wane even when she was ailing.
Paying tributes, film-maker P. Sheshadri recounted how he had thought of Ms. Sharada for his Mookajjiya Kanasugalu. He spoke and took her photo and asked whether she could become his “Mookajji”. Citing her illness, Ms. Sharada told him that had he shot the film in Bengaluru, she would have accepted the offer.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – March 22nd, 2019