Monthly Archives: October 2019

Former Karnataka Lokayukta N. Venkatachala passes away

Amazing Feats, Records, All
A file photo of former Lokayukta of Karnataka N. Venkatachala with cash recovered following raids on three government officials in Bengaluru.
A file photo of former Lokayukta of Karnataka N. Venkatachala with cash recovered following raids on three government officials in Bengaluru.

He was known for bringing to light the existence of the anti-corruption body

N. Venkatachala, former judge of the Supreme Court and former Lokayukta of Karnataka , died here on Wednesday morning. He was 89.

He had an accidental fall after getting up around 6 a.m. According to a statement from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, he was brought in an unresponsive state. “Despite all resuscitative measures, he remained unresponsive. He was declared dead at 7 a.m.,” said the statement issued by hospital president Naresh Shetty.

Mr. Venkatachala was known for bringing to light the existence of Karnataka’s autonomous anti-corruption wing as the Lokayukta by conducting raids on public servants and disclosing their names and particulars of seized assets, besides allowing the media to show video footage of his raids on public institutions such as hospitals on complaints related to poor public service.

Born on July 3, 1930, at Mittur village in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district in a farming family, he obtained his B.Sc. degree and B.L. degree from Mysore University. He enrolled as an advocate in the then High Court of Mysore (now Karnataka) on November 16, 1955, and practised law in the High Court and its subordinate courts at Bengaluru in civil, criminal and constitutional matters.

He was a part-time Reader in Mercantile Law from 1958 to 1970 besides being a Legal Adviser to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal, from 1963 to 1973 and to Bangalore University from 1970 to 1973. He was the High Court’s government pleader from 1968 to 1973 and High Court’s government advocate from 1973 to 1977.

Mr. Venkatachala was appointed as Additional Judge of the High Court on November 28, 1977, and made a Permanent Judge on September 8, 1978. He also functioned as the head of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, during 1990. He was appointed the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court in May 1992. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on July 1, 1992, and retired in July 1995. He was Lokayukta from July 3, 2001, to July 2, 2006.

His last rites will be performed at the Hebbal crematorium on Thursday.

In his condolence message, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa described Mr. Venkatachala as a person who strengthened the anti-corruption body and also built public trust over it. Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said his contribution to the fight against corruption would always be remembered.

Incidentally, Mr. Venkatachala’s daughter, Aruna Ramesh, is the Head of Emergency Department and son-in-law Ramesh D. is the head of Urology in Ramaiah hospital where he was rushed to after the fall. But both of them were out of the country, a statement from the hospital said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent & Krishnaprasad / Bengaluru – October 30th, 2019

Noted physicist B.V. Sreekantan dead

Science & Technology

He was a former Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Cosmic ray physicist B.V. Sreekantan, a former Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, passed away at his home in Malleswaram on October 27 at the age of 94.

He was recipient of several distinguished awards, including Padma Bhushan, the Homi Bhabha Medal, C.V. Raman Award for Physical Sciences, and the R.D. Birla Memorial Award of the Indian Physics Association. He was a visiting professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

The BLIC (Bangalore Life Science Cluster) communications office noted Prof. Sreekantan’s contribution to the setting up of what was then called, Field Stations of TIFR (later on called National Centres), the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope, and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics – both in Pune, and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai.

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

Sportspersons from MEG bring 5 medals

Records, All, Sports

Naib Subedar Ramanand Sharma secured the 12th position in one-metre diving and 10th position in three-metre diving.

Bengaluru :

Five sportspersons of the Madras Engineer Group won laurels for the country at the 7th military world games held at Wuhan, China, from October 18 to 27.

Subedar Anandan G won gold in 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metre para-athletics events. Havildar Deepak bagged a silver in light flyweight boxing, and Naib Subedar N Sriram Balaji won bronze in Tennis (singles).

Naib Subedar Ramanand Sharma secured the 12th position in one-metre diving and 10th position in three-metre diving. Naib Subedar T Santosh bagged the 7th position in 400-metre hurdles.

In the Asian Rowing Championship held at Korea from October 22-27, rower Havildar Jagan S and para-rower Havildar Narayana won the gold medal in Light Weight Coxless Four event and bronze in mixed 4+ event, respectively.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / October 30th, 2019

Iconic architect analyses reasons for urban decay

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Balkrishna Doshi speaks exclusively to Metrolife about why great Indian architecture hasn’t percolated down to our dwellings, and how technology is robbing us of our intuition.

Doshi has set up a foundation to promote affordable housing in India.
Doshi has set up a foundation to promote affordable housing in India.

The Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru celebrated its 46th Foundation on Monday, and unveiled a plaque in honour of its architect Dr Balkrishna Doshi. The legendary Doshi has worked closely with master architects such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. His iconic design for the IIM-B campus is hailed across the world.

During his visit to Bengaluru, Doshi, 92, delivered a lecture titled ‘Between Encounters and Dreams’ at IIM-B.

The Padma Shri awardee and Pritzker Laureate has been instrumental in establishing the Vastu Shilpa Foundation for research in environmental design. The foundation has done pioneering work in low-cost housing and city planning. Metrolife caught up with him for a chat just before the celebrations.

Why do you think Bengaluru has not been able to retain its architectural charm?

Very simply, we are charmed by other cultures and technology and pursue personal interests. We don’t want to bother about environment or society. It is not just in Bengaluru but all over. When you use technology and tools, the personal rapport is reducing. When everybody is busy in their own world, then naturally the real world is not there. How many hours of the day we are using mobile phones and other technology… we really have no time to chat. We don’t talk casually. A few years ago, we would meet friends and talk about things we felt were important to us and then you carried the conversation home. But today, that world doesn’t exist. We have now found alternatives which may be technology and not human and that has become an essential part of our lives. The human values and concerns, ecological concerns, where are they? All the time we are busy.

What are your suggestions to make Bengaluru a better place in an architectural sense?

Why just architecturally, I think it should overall be a better place! How do we improve ourselves if we cut the trees, if we take the foliage, if we don’t go to the gardens and if we don’t have the time to reflect on our natural wealth but widen the roads and move around in cars? In fact, we have never taught people from childhood the real meaning of virtues like togetherness, or ponder over something that is nourishing. Why do people still go to temples? Because it is where they think there is some connection. Now we go to the temple, but our mind is not there. The trees are cut, roads are widened and landscapes are changed; are we gaining anything or losing?

Karnataka has a record of great architecture, right from Badami to Belur – with temples that are beautifully structured. Why didn’t this sense of architecture come down to ordinary folks? Why do you think our cities and homes are so miserably designed ?

When we look at a temple, it is the intangible, an inner calling that we look at. One tries to connect from the inside. Now there is a disconnect. Today, we have become materialistic and technologically oriented. Technology has taken over our spiritual content – the intangible one – where there was reverence, inquiry and an attitude to do things. What is our focus today, what are we searching for and what would it be that would make us the happiest? These are things we don’t want to ask now.  We want to do greater and faster production but what about our villages and towns that are gradually shrinking? Ecologically, the natural resources also have depleted, where is the place to remain ourselves? We think it is progress but we are forgetting that progress is connected to something higher and not just restricted to material progress. This is a major problem in planning and architecture.

Which city do you think is architecturally the most pleasing?

Well, the cities in the south are better. Of course, Varanasi is there, but that’s also dying. I did a project there, so I visited it often. Suddenly, there is a wedding procession and the public is still; then after some time, in some other place, the procession of a dead body is making its way and people stop and give way. I have always wondered how Varanasi never had a problem. That city has an underlying meaning to it.

His design vision for IIM-B

‘One of the things that I tried to do at IIM-B was to reverse the order. The IIM campus talks about nature, leisure, casual walks and one’s relationship with nature and the cosmos all the time.’

Quick takes

On what cities are losing: 

One of the essentials we had was the gift of intuition, thinking about reverence, togetherness, humility and concern for others… I don’t think they are there anymore.

On being celebrated in films like ‘Ok Kanmani’: 

That was by chance (laughs). It was Mani Ratnam who did this and it had nothing to do with me. The more time passes the more reflective you become, so I wonder.

But what I try to do is to find a way to look at time as one of the major elements and energy as another. So, if I can find a way to fuse time and energy and look at production as a meaningful thing, then those projects become important. So, everywhere, I would like to save, recycle, readjust.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> MetroLife / by Surupasree Sarmmah / DH News Service / Bengaluru – October 29th, 2019

Lord Cubbon’s new home will now be park bandstand

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

The statue of Sir Mark Cubbon, Commissioner of Mysore in the mid-19th century, is on the move again. Its new home will be Cubbon Park, which is named after him.

The Lord Cubbon statue outside the High Court | NAGARAJA GADEKAL
The Lord Cubbon statue outside the High Court | NAGARAJA GADEKAL

Bengaluru :

The statue of Sir Mark Cubbon, Commissioner of Mysore in the mid-19th century, is on the move again. Its new home will be Cubbon Park, which is named after him. The statue, located near the back gate of the Karnataka High Court for some years now, will be shifted in front of the bandstand in Cubbon Park within two months.

According to Rajendra Kumar Kataria, principal secretary, horticulture department, there was a long-time request from the High Court to shift the statue, and ever since, the department had been searching for the right place to relocate the statue sans damage. “We needed to decide on the place and also required a group of experts to have it shifted without any damage. The work has been allotted to the Public Works Department (PWD), and we have also given a letter stating that there should be no damage to the park property while carrying out work,” said Kataria.

This is not the first time Sir Cubbon is being moved — the statue was first installed in the Parade Ground in 1866, then moved to the front of Attara Kacheri, and later behind it.

Kusuma G, Deputy Director of Cubbon Park, said that about 20 days ago, they had received orders to have the statue moved. “The orders had come from the High Court and the horticulture department identified the spot in front of the bandstand. The PWD started work a week ago and we were told that it will take about two months for work to be completed. An expert team has been called upon to move the statue.”

Meanwhile, the battle over the relevance of the Cubbon statue continues. Members of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association (CPWA) have been celebrating the birth anniversary of Sir Mark Cubbon every year since 2012, by visiting the High Court and garlanding the statue. Now, they are more than happy with the statue being moved.

But a set of protesters which doesn’t wish to see statues of British officers, is demanding the removal of Cubbon’s statue. “Most of the people didn’t know that Mark Cubbon’s statue is located near the back gate of the High Court, where no one was allowed, and now with it being shifted, everyone will know about it. Lord Cubbon’s contribution to the city is immense,” said Umesh Kumar, advocate and CPWA president.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Iffath Fathima / Express News Service / October 29th, 2019

Glass of the matter

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Meet Gajendra, who has been doing artwork on glass for over 13 years; give any empty alcohol bottle to him, and he will turn it into a piece of art.

Bottles crafted by Gajendra Siddalingappa  Meghana Sastry
Bottles crafted by Gajendra
Siddalingappa  Meghana
Sastry

Bengaluru  :

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and Gajendra Siddalingappa has made this his philosophy of life. Give any empty alcohol bottle to him, and he will turn it into a piece of art.
What used to be grey goose vodka bottles, Kingfishers beer bottles, has now turned into an abstract looking planter, clock or an ashtray. Gajendra says,”By far, my bestseller has been the ones that are made out of Morpheus brandy bottle. In my last exhibition, a lady picked 10 of them.”

But how does he do it? “The empty bottles are placed in moulds of different shapes and are placed in a furnace for 24 hours at the temperature of 750 degree Celsius. The bigger bottles are kept in 750 degree Celsius and for smaller bottles it’s 550 degree Celsius. It’s a 24-hour process because if the furnace is opened before time it will start getting cracks,” says Siddalingappa. All the moulds that are used are made by Gajendra, but sometimes he himself can’t predict the shape of the final product. The reason could be quality of the glass or sometimes the placement or reasons that he also can’t explain.

Gajendra has been doing this for more than 13 years. After his matriculation, he lost his father and was forced to take up odd jobs to support his family. One of the jobs that he did was, working in a glass cutting factory. One day he came across a clock made out of a melted alcohol bottle, which his owner had brought from Singapore. He was so fascinated by the piece that there was no turning back for him. “Every morning I wake up and think about what new to make out of these empty bottles,” says 43-year-old Siddalingappa, who sources the empty bottles from a factory in Peenya.

This born artist also made a special mention about his employer who has given out his garage to him to use it as a workshop. “I work out of a space that is supposed to be my employer’s garage. He has given me full liberty to experiment with what I do,” says Gajendra, who makes around 12 -15 pieces month. Depending on the pieces the price ranges from ` 250- ` 2,500. He has exhibited his work all across the country, and is gearing up for an exhibition in Hyderabad next month.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / October 26th, 2019

Bengaluru youth lights up vendors’ lives with solar lamps

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology

Aakarsh Shamnur, an urban professional, along with other like-minded people have been providing solar lamps for the daily use of street vendors in the city.

Bengaluru :

In this festive season, when a myriad number of lights are seen in the city, a solar lamp devised specially for street vendors stands apart. In an initiative started on Deepavali three years back, 30-year-old Aakarsh Shamnur, an urban professional, along with other like-minded people have been providing solar lamps for the daily use of street vendors.

Aakarsh is an architect who studied B Arch from RV Engineering college and did his masters in Urban Management and development from the Netherlands. Through the year he designs buildings and engages himself in other architect-related work. However, during Deepawali, he supplies solar lamps to street vendors.

“Every time I saw street vendors working in the dark, I wanted to do something for them, that is when this idea came up. They contribute a lot to the urban economy and help us get fresh items at our doorstep,” he said.

A stall is lit up with the solar lamp that was gifted by Aakarsh Shamnur; (inset) Shamnur gives a solar lamp to a vendor | Express
A stall is lit up with the solar lamp that was gifted by Aakarsh Shamnur; (inset) Shamnur gives a solar lamp to a vendor | Express

The solar lamp can run for ten hours and these lamps were first distributed in Jayanagar. With the help of crowdfunding, Aakarsh started making more lamps and helped vendors work in the light.

At present, street vendors use petromax or kerosene lamps, which cost them more. Solar-charged lights can help save cost and is a healthy alternative. “So far we have distributed around 250 lamps in Karnataka. We are also distributing such lamps in Chennai and Kolkata this year. All the lamps manufactured in Bengaluru,’’ he said.

Earlier, we used to give one lamp which would cost Rs 1,500, now we are giving two such lamps per vendor, which cost Rs 3,500.

This Deepavali, he insists people come forward and provide financial aid to this endeavour, “I am allergic to crackers and these days many prefer cracker-free Deepavali. So instead of buying crackers if they give us money, it can be used to make solar lamp and help vendors,’’ he added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / October 27th, 2019