Monthly Archives: May 2019

NGO’s temple restoration effort set to reach a milestone

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
A 14th century temple in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district taken up for restoration under the project. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A 14th century temple in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district taken up for restoration under the project. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In what is reckoned to be unique in the annals of conservation and restoration in the country, a non-governmental organisation is set to complete the restoration of 250 ancient temples of architectural and cultural significance that had been languishing in neglect.

The project, of Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Dharmothana Trust (SDMDT), is set to hit the 250-temple mark this financial year. Of these, 175 projects have been executed with the support of the State government under a public-private partnership (PPP) model of conservation launched in 2001-02.

As of date, the Trust has completed the restoration and conservation of 237 ancient temples across the State. Work on 13 temples is in progress. “We will complete the 250th restoration in the current financial year. Work on the 13 temples is in various stages of completion,” said A.H. Hariram Shetty, director of SDMDT. He said the total amount spent on restoration works over the years is ₹28.53 crore.

Besides this, the SDMDT has identified for restoration an additional 15 monuments spread across nine districts in the State. A ₹4-crore proposal has been submitted to the State government for approval, said Mr. Shetty.

Of the 15 temples identified, three each are in Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru and Tumakuru, while there is one each in Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada.

In the initial few years, the Trust was taking up the exercise entirely on its own. But the restoration projects received a fillip when the State government introduced the PPP model. “This was a great help and the government has continuously funded the project over the years without break,” Mr. Shetty said.

Under the PPP model, the government contributes 40% of the costs while any voluntary organisation engaged in restoration contributes a matching amount. The local community has to contribute the remaining 20% so as to get a sense of ownership of the restored monuments. The community also has to take care of the monument after restoration.

For Karnataka, which has over 30,000 unprotected monuments, in addition to 780 protected ones under the control of the Archaeology Department, the PPP model is reckoned to be the way forward to overcome cash crunch in protecting monuments. But there have not been many other such collaborative initiatives so far.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – May 12th, 2019

Tulu Yakshagana prasanga writer passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Sixty-eight-year-old Anantaram Bangadi, who has written many Tulu Yakshagana prasangas (stories), passed away on Sunday following brief illness, at his house in Bangadi village of Belthangady. He leaves behind his wife Sumati and two children.

Mr. Bangadi, second son of Kutrottu Manju Bhandary and Kinyakka, has written more than 150 Yakshagana prasangas in Tulu and Kaada Mallige, Kachhuru Maldi, Bolle Ginde are among the popular ones. One among the prasangas he has written is on the life of Jesus.

Mr. Bangadi had formed the Souharda Kalavidaru Yaksharanga Bangadi Yakshagana troupe and held shows across the country and abroad for nearly 15 years. This troupe staged more than 50 Yakshagana shows on environment protection and awareness in schools and colleges.

Also a good astrologer, Mr. Bangadi has written a book in Tulu on astrology. Among the awards he has received are Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Award and the Yakshadeva Award.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – May 13th, 2019

Madhava Menon passes away: National Law School alumni pay homage

Education, Records, All

In 1986, Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of the Bar Council of India to set up the NLS and initiated a new model of legal education — the Five Year Integrated LLB programme. He served as the university’s founding vice-chancellor for 12 years

nlsui-bangalore-law-university-madhava-menon

In the year 1986, Madhava Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of Bar Council of India to set up the NLSUI.

NR Madhava Menon , considered the father of modern legal education in India, passed away Tuesday night. He was 84. Menon was instrumental in building the prestigious National Law School of India University in Bangalore in 1986.

Alumni from the NLA remember Menon as forward-thinking, and recollect how he referring to NLS as the ‘Harvard of the East’.

Latha Nair, an intellectual property lawyer based in Gurgaon, said, “He was instrumental in setting up NLS in Bangalore. He ensured there were discussions during classes instead of the regular methods of teaching. He brought in a lot of versatility into legal education as he did not teach just Law.“

Nair recalled Menon as forward-thinking, as he often looked at models in the West. “He would refer to NLS as the ‘Harvard of the East’,” she said.

Nikhil Nayyar, who studied in the first batch of NLS, said, “Menon is the one who really started the institution and got it going. He dealt with several challenges, including building infrastructure and dealing with the shortage of funds. The University had a simple start.”

In 1986, Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of the Bar Council of India to set up the NLS and initiated a new model of legal education — the Five Year Integrated LLB programme. He served as the university’s founding vice-chancellor for 12 years.

Speaking to IndianExpress.com , Vice-Chancellor of NLS R Venkata Rao said, “Menon is like a father figure, we feel orphaned. I would say he is not ‘Menon’ but he is a ‘pheno-menon’.”

source: http://www.indianexpress.com  / The Indian Express / Home> Cities / by Darshan Devaiah BP / Bengaluru – May 09th, 2019

Bengaluru women fly to US to attend Warren Buffett’s AGM

Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion
Shalini Manglani (third from right) was among the 28 members to attend the general meeting
Shalini Manglani (third from right) was among the 28 members to attend the general meeting

Bengaluru :

Lately, Meghna Wadhwa, Nameeta Mohanka, Rachna Prasad, Shalini Manglani and Vandana Agarwal have been sporting wide grins. The Bengaluru women attended Berkshire Hathaway’s annual general meeting (AGM) by Warren Buffett, over the weekend in Omaha, USA.

The women were part of a 28-member team from Millennium Mams’, a non-profit organisation that helps women be more financially literate. Mentored by investor Bhishnu Dhanuka, the group planned the trip for six months to meet the person whose principles have played an active role in their investing decisions.
“Buffett is like our guru, so it’s like a blessing to watch him speak live. We’ve been watching his webcasts but listening to him live was another experience altogether. The experience has motivated us to take good care of our financial portfolio,” said Prasad.

Of the 28 members, five belong to the Bengaluru chapter of the organisation. According to Manglani, a nutrition advisor and the honorary secretary of the city chapter, the vibe was “electric” at Omaha. “We came across others who have been attending this for 10 years. Someone from Buffett’s own company came to listen to him so we weren’t the only ones buzzing with excitement,” the 47-year-old said.
For investor Agarwal, 64, although this was the second time she was attending the AGM, it was just as memorable as her first experience in 2012. “Nothing can describe the feeling of being in the presence of such a stalwart,” she said.

While a personal interaction with Buffett wasn’t available, the women did have a fan moment when they drove past the American investor’s house. “We paused to take photographs outside his house. He’s known to be simple and never flaunts his wealth,” said Wadhwa, 33, who has been a part of the organisation since her 20s and now handles her own stock portfolio.

Lessons learned

Besides the AGM with Buffett, the team had an interactive session with Ajit Jain, vice chairman of Insurance Operations at Berkshire Hathaway. “He gave us some much-needed advice. Every investor is familiar with the panic that settles in when a market is going crazy. But Jain told us the importance of trusting our gut. He told us to trust our evaluation of a stock and to stick to our conviction, which just made us feel much better,” Nameeta Mohanka, 44, said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / May 09th, 2019

Wipro acquires Filipino firm Splash

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Wipro Consumer Care has acquired a Filipino personal care company, Splash, for an undisclosed sum, marking its entry into the east Asian market.

This is Wipro’s 11th acquisition in the consumer care space. Among the brands Splash owns are SkinWhite, Maxi-peel and Vitress. Wipro Consumer Care’s international portfolio formed 51% of its total revenues in fiscal 2019, and with this acquisition it is expected to grow to 54%.

The deal is expected to close by June this year. Splash clocked in a revenue of 4.1 billion pesos ($80 million) in calendar year 2018.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – April 30th, 2019

Why Bengaluru-based Fintech startup Wizely built India’s first saving app

Business & Economy, Records, All

Founded in April 2018 by father and son Vijay Bobba, Nihar Bobba, and Dan Kihanya, Wizely calls itself a digital piggy bank.

Vijay Bobba and Nihar Bobba. (Photo| EPS)
Vijay Bobba and Nihar Bobba. (Photo| EPS)

Bengaluru :

Observing the dichotomy of young India’s poor financial management habits and burning desire for aspirational purchases, Bengaluru based Fintech startup Wizely is helping the young manage money by launching India’s first saving app.

Founded in April 2018 by father and son Vijay Bobba, Nihar Bobba, and Dan Kihanya, Wizely calls itself a digital piggy bank built for the new generation of the up-and-coming India.

By bridging Fintech and Commerce, the app was founded with the simple idea of helping the up and coming Indian achieve everyday aspirations they can otherwise only dream of.

Over the past year, Wizely is making saving effortless, fun and rewarding, giving its user the feeling of joy and guilt-free achievement, through the life-cycle of the plan, save and spend.

According to the founders, Wizely emanated from the observation of young India’s poor financial management habits and their increasingly aspirational purchase behaviour.

After about a year of research, the app was launched in an
effort to make aspirations attainable and affordable by simplifying the way Indians save through easy, transparent and mobile first financial products.

“We began with the simple idea of helping our customers through the first and most important step in their financial journey – saving. By helping them build this foundation platform, we are not only helping them build trust in us but also in themselves. Further, we understand that a financial relationship built on trust and saving is the perfect recipe for a lifetime of financial well being, growth and achievement,” says co-founder of Wizely, Nihar Bobba.

Wizely presently has over four lakh signed up users and their target audience is primarily 18-30 year olds.

They have several streams of revenue whenever customers choose to spend their savings through Wizely upon reaching their goals.

However, Nihar says that they are going after a much larger long-term play that has multiple sources of revenue over time.

Revealing their USP, Nihar said, “Our USP is all about helping our users kick start their savings journey during the early stages of their financial journey. Our loyal users are those who may have a squeezed income, fixed budget, erratic income or are always overspending. For these users, their challenge is not with growing their money but instead saving enough money before they can think about other long term financial goals.”

Talking about the challenges he faced while establishing this start-up, 24-year-old Nihar said, “The key to being successful when building a startup is to appreciate and understand that you will face challenges of some sort every single day. Whether it is hiring, customer challenges, partner challenges. As long as you can keep your head out of the weeds and focus on the bigger picture you will be fine. Fintech has its own unique challenges that crop up from time to time but overall the ecosystem in India right now is ripe and conducive for the sector.”

NutshellBF09may2019

Wizely has raised about $2.65 million so far through a seed round led by Javelin Venture Partners.

“We are now strengthening to evolve into a full-fledged savings bank account that will serve as the foundation for our users to not only achieve their short term savings goals but any financial goal or need that they may have,” said Nihar sharing their future plans.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Karthik KK / Express News Service / May 09th, 2019

Kannada version of Vokal formally launched in Mysuru

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

It is a knowledge sharing platform where users can get replies to queries

The Kannada version of Vokal, a knowledge sharing platform in vernacular languages, was formally launched in Mysuru on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the occasion, the platform’s founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka said Vokal, which seeks to provide answers from experts to questions by users, is aiming to serve vernacular Internet users.

It is also available in 10 other Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Odiya, and Assamese.

With most information on the Internet is available in English, Vokal seeks to serve the requirement of vernacular audience in the country, which has begun accessing Internet through smartphones.

“Anyone who doesn’t know English in India has a huge problem of accessing relevant answers to their questions. Their Internet experience is poor with a dearth of meaningful content,” said Mr. Aprameya.

“The smartest minds in the country answer the questions. This gives unparalleled access to a common man to the best minds that have subject matter expertise,” said a statement issued by Vokal.

Vokal is also the first Indian question-and-answer platform to enable audio and video answering.

A statement claimed that the platform has 2 million monthly users. The founders chose to formally launch the Kannada version in Mysuru, which is also the cultural capital of the State.

“Users get to choose from 10 or more interests and can follow creators around these. Users ask a question: in their local language, either through a voice message or a text. This is then answered by an expert. Experts are vetted, verified, and approved before they can start answering questions on the platform. Experts can also conduct live video sessions, allowing for greater interaction and knowledge dissemination,” the statement said.

More details can be obtained form their website https://getvokal.com

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – May 09th, 2019

Women play a vital but invisible role in weaving

Business & Economy
Lakshmi Sancholi (left) and Tirumala Palemari are among the many women who have taken to weaving to supplement the family income.
Lakshmi Sancholi (left) and Tirumala Palemari are among the many women who have taken to weaving to supplement the family income.

Their contribution goes unnoticed as weaving is an in-house activity for most weavers who live in house-cum-worksheds

A mother of two, Lakshmi Sancholi from Gajendragad in Gadag district is an important contributor to the family’s sustenance. After finishing her daily chores, she sits on the loom to produce cotton sarees in Ilkal designs to supplement the family income.

“Normally, we can finish a saree in two days, but I take a little more time. I weave after meeting the family’s needs,” says Ms. Lakshmi whose husband Ganesh is a pigmy collector. She is assisted by her daughters. Lakshmi, who earns about ₹200 per cotton saree, on an average weaves eight sarees a month.

Historically, women have been an integral part of weaving traditions, whose contribution goes unnoticed as weaving is an in-house activity for most weavers who live in house-cum-worksheds.

The latest data from the yet-to-be published handloom census shows that of about 33,000 weavers active in the State, nearly 11,100 are women.

In Yadgir, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Raichur, Mysuru, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere, Dharwad, and Kodagu districts, women weavers outnumber men. In Bagalkot, Belagavi, Gadag, and Haveri districts — among the important weaving clusters — women weavers are almost 40% of the total active weavers.

“Even if women are not weaving, they will be part of the allied workforce since it involves the entire family. For handloom, three allied workers are required by the main weaver, and they invariably would be from the same family, involving womenfolk,” says Ms. Lakshmi.

In Guledgudda, Tirumala Palemari is known to weave some of the intricate designs in the khana (blouse piece). After four decades of weaving, she says: “I have taken a break now. But I do weave on handloom once in a while.” Her son Hanumanthappa Palemari, who is a master weaver, credits her for his skills in weaving and generating family income.

Migration

Weaving profession in the dry and arid North Karnataka region, which has been seeing migration to cities in search of jobs, is also seen as empowerment of women. Migration most often affects women in the family, whether they move with menfolk to other cities or remain in their villages/towns.

“Migration is terrible for women. It destroys home life, children, education, and health. A traditional weaver is homebound and that is why there is a lot of participation of women in it. Any rescue of handloom is rescue of women at large,” theatre personality Prasanna feels. “In fact, it is also a profession that can allow womenfolk from socially lower castes involved in farm labour or other work to graduate to become weavers,” he said.

(This is the second of a series on handlooms in Karnataka.)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Karnataka / by Sharath S. Srivatsava / Gajendragad (Gadag District) – May 05th, 2019

Work of art: NIFT students pay tribute to women techies

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Around 20 students painted two walls at Whitefield Railway Station; they chose to paint a mural of Ada Lovelace, since this area is the IT hub of the city.

While one wall was dedicated to both Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, the other displayed just the first IT programmer  Nagaraja Gadekal
While one wall was dedicated to both Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, the other displayed just the first IT programmer  Nagaraja Gadekal

Bengaluru :

Around mid-April, Susan Thomas, campus director at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), received an unexpected call from an engineer from an IT firm in the city. The engineer had just come back from a six-day trip to Tamil Nadu and returned to find something amiss at Whitefield Railway Station. The usual apricot-toned walls now displayed paintings of two figures, some gears and mechanical parts and some flowers. A closer look at the wall told her the figures were Ada Lovelace, the first IT programmer, and Charles Babbage, the father of computers. While one wall is dedicated to both, the other displays just Lovelace.

“The engineer was so happy to see women in the IT space get recognition and was thrilled to see Lovelace and women programmers being acknowledged in a public space like this,” says Thomas. This, in turn, thrilled Thomas and her team of 25 students who had worked on the murals earlier last month.

The idea, she says, came from the strong mural culture at the institute’s campus, where many artworks created by students adorn its walls. But this time, the institute wanted to use their students’ talent to beautify a public space and dispel the notion that government buildings are always dull and monochrome. “But we didn’t want to produce art just for art’s sake. We wanted to present a larger political context and message,” explains Thomas.

Finding a muse

After a consultation with railway officials, the institute was given a choice between KR Puram, Banaswadi and Whitefield stations. Once the IT hub was decided upon, Thomas and her students knew technology would be the central theme of their mural. “While brainstorming, students came up with names of Sundar, Zuckerberg and Gates. But no one mentioned any woman’s name.  I asked them about Ada Lovelace and none had heard about her. That’s when I elaborated the story of how Babbage and Lovelace collaborated, but history was unkind to not give any credit to her,” said Thomas. While the paints and scaffolding were provided by the railway ministry, the rest of the mural was done pro-bono by the institute.

The idea was approved by April 6 and over the next week, 25 students worked in shifts to bring the idea to life on their 20-something feet high canvas. Though fun, the work wasn’t entirely easy all the time, says Rayna Arora, a second-year student who worked on the murals. Being approached by inebriated men was always a threat and since the team involved many girls, either a police officer or the railway caretaker were always around. “It was too hot in the afternoon so we would work from 4pm onwards and some nights, this went on till 3am. Scaling up an idea on a wall has its own challenges, you think you’re painting an eye but when you step back, it might just look different. And it’s never easy to get straight lines when you project an idea onto a wall,” says Arora.

The work was finally unveiled mid-April and though ecstatic that their work is on display in public, the students do harbour one concern: People dirtying the wall again.  An official from the Railway Ministry CE spoke to, however, said that since the walls had been beautified, this would deter people from littering or spitting around the premises.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / May 06th, 2019

Bengaluru golfer girls dream of swinging high

Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Not long ago, a Bengaluru teenage girl went on to impress the best of the golfers. The girl, Aditi Ashok, is now an established player on the Ladies PGA Tour.

Bengaluru :

Not long ago, a Bengaluru teenage girl went on to impress the best of the golfers. The girl, Aditi Ashok, is now an established player on the Ladies PGA Tour.

Two other Bengaluru girls – Rishika Muralidhar and Avani Prashanth –  are also dreaming to reach the same heights as Ashok in the coming years.

Muralidhar, 13, has consistently performed in the junior circuit – in India and at the US Kids golf. Recently, she topped the Category B (13-15 years) in the Indian Golf Union Southern India Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Clover Greens Golf Club. Muralidhar played a fine game of 3-over, 1-under and 2-under over three rounds to complete the tournament with level par. She also had a bogey-free round on Day 3 to emerge on top. In the combined Category A and B standings, Muralidhar was placed third.

“This was my first competition in the ‘B’ category and I felt I did well. The target is to now improve. As the distance of the golf course is going bigger in the ‘B’ category, it will be a challenge to master the strokes but with hard work, I will get better,” says Muralidhar, who trains under Ashok’s coach Steven Giulian. “I will be playing mostly in India for now besides two international competitions and get better.”

Avani Prashanth
Avani Prashanth

The other Bengaluru girl set to impress is Prashanth, a grade seven student of Greenwood High International School, with two wins in two weeks. She won the Category C (11-13 years) at the same tournament. Prashanth played rounds of 3-over, 2-under and level-par to finish with a score of 211 – nine strokes ahead of her nearest competitor. She led the tournament field on all three days and played the only under par round of the tournament in the age category, in a tournament field comprising of 21 players at the start of the tournament.

On Friday, she continued her good run, winning the Category C in the IGU Rotary Karnataka Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Eagleton Golf Resort. She played rounds of 6-over, 2-over and 4-over to finish with a score of 228, two strokes ahead of her nearest competitor Ananya Garg.

Prashanth, who has been playing golf since the age of three, has been among top five at the US Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst North Carolina in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in U-7, U-8 and U-9 age groups, respectively. She has also been among the top five in US Kids Golf European Championship in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She also won the Order of Merit in 2015 and 2017 by winning all the tournaments conducted by South Zone Junior Golf under the auspices of the Indian Golf Union.

Now, Prashanth aims to better her skills. “I want to represent India at the 2024 Olympics and win a gold medal. I want to become a golfer of repute in women’s golf,” she says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / May 04th, 2019