Monthly Archives: February 2020

IISc.’s biochemistry department turns 100

February 29, 2020Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Established in 1921, it is one of the oldest in India and Asia

The Department of Biochemistry of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) stepped into its centenary year in 2020. Established in 1921, it is said to be one of the oldest departments not only in India, but in all of Asia. Around 850 students have graduated from the department so far.

P.N. Rangarajan, Chairperson, Department of Biochemistry, told The Hindu that the major achievement has been its students, many of who are now leaders in industry and academia. “One of them J. Padmanabhan – alumni and faculty – became the director of IISc. M.R.S. Rao went on to become the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, and Ram Rajasekharan became the Director of CFTRI-Mysuru,” he said.

The department has planned a major conference and alumni reunion in December, as well as a centenary lecture series that will be held almost every month. On the IISc.’s Open Day on Saturday, it is organising an exhibition highlighting its past and current activities.

Prof. Rangarajan’s own research has led to the development of the hepatitis B vaccine. “At least four vaccines are currently in the market. The hepatitis B component in these vaccines came from the lab of the Department of Biochemistry,” he added.

In a recent issue of the journal Current Science, Prof. Rangarajan lists out the progression of research in the department. This includes ‘research of societal relevance’ in the early years which resulted in the development of methods for conversion of municipal waste into organic manure and fluoride removal from drinking water, to name a few.

The article makes note of key contributions in basic research such as the identification of yeast chromosomes and nuclear membrane.

Ongoing research

At present, a novel drug combination for extremely drug resistant and multi-drug resistant TB, as well as new blood-based biomarker signatures of host genes for diagnosis of tuberculosis and for detecting response to anti-tubercular therapy are being developed, he told The Hindu. “A novel inhibitor of DNA repair enzyme called SCR7 has also been developed in our laboratory. It has the potential to develop as a cancer drug,” said Prof. Rangarajan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by K.C. Deepika / February 28th, 2020

This Udupi autorickshaw driver ensures you’re well sheltered

February 29, 2020Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainmentadmin

However, if you ever chance upon the bus shelter in Vaddarse village in Udupi district, don’t worry, it’s not the sun playing tricks with your eyes.

Bus shelter maintained by Raghu. (Inset) Newspapers and magazines stacked on a rack

Udupi :

Think of bus shelters and the first thing that comes to mind are ramshackle structures with a broken roof and stone benches with cracks or wooden ones with splinters sticking out. The lack of maintenance and official apathy leave most of these structures a sorry sight. Without cabs or Metro trains as in cities, buses are of paramount importance in villages as they are the only way to go from one place to another for those who don’t own a vehicle. But the condition of these shelters forces people to brave the hot sun or pouring rain while waiting for their bus.

However, if you ever chance upon the bus shelter in Vaddarse village in Udupi district, don’t worry, it’s not the sun playing tricks with your eyes. As you enter the shelter, which is spick and span, you’ll find a stack of newspapers and magazines neatly arranged on a rack, a dustbin in a corner, a pot filled with drinking water and a trough filled with flowering plants outside. This shelter is a model bus shelter for the village. The person responsible for its upkeep is 35-year-old autorickshaw driver Raghu Vaddarse. For the past one year, he has been sweeping the shelter clean, replacing the water and arranging the magazines every morning. Thanks to his efforts, people can comfortably wait for the bus.

Raghu has only studied till Class 8. Hailing from a poor family, he had to discontinue his education so that he could earn for his family. He has four siblings — his elder brother Tej, his younger brother Dinesh, his younger sister Hema and elder sister Prema. When he told his siblings that he wanted to maintain a bus shelter in the village, all four of them wholeheartedly supported him. Even his parents, Venkata Poojary and Parvathi, are proud of his initiative. Raghu decided to take it upon himself to maintain the bus shelter because of the effort it took to get it built.

Last year, people had asked their local elected representative to provide them with a properly maintained bus shelter because there was no proper shelter in the area and that some of them in the area had become a den of anti-social activities. However, the local representatives kept dilly-dallying on the matter. It was then that Raghu spoke to the gram panchayat officials and said that he would take care of the shelter if one was built. Finally, things started moving when a shelter was sanctioned under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.

Since then, Raghu and a group of volunteers have been diligently taking care of the shelter. Speaking to The New Sunday Express, Raghu says, “I am doing this because I feel it is my small contribution to the society. Some of the magazines and books in the shelter are mine and some were donated.” Despite the rains ending in October, the plants have not dried as he waters them regularly. Now, the villagers of Vaddarse can sit and read a magazine or have a sip of water as they wait for their bus. Raghu says that he did this because he wanted to inspire others. “I will be happier if youths in villages come forward to do their bit for the cause of social service,” he says.

Bus, a boon
The village of Vaddarse is about about 18 km from Kundapur and 4 km from Kota. About 100-150 villagers use the bus to get around. When Raghu decided to beautify the shelter, local shopkeepers helped him plant saplings.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Expres / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prakash Samaja / Express News Service / February 27th, 2020

28 b

February 28, 2020Uncategorizedadmin

Settar: An untiring historian with a literary flourish

February 28, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, Alladmin

Prof. S. Shettar | File | Photo Credit: K. Gopinathan

‘He was a model for all historians because of his wide-ranging interests and his multidisciplinary approach to research’

S. Settar, 85, historian, who breathed his last early on Friday in Bengaluru, was known for his multidisciplinary work, encompassing linguistics, epigraphy, anthropology, study of religions, and art history.

Family sources said he was suffering from respiratory problems and was hospitalised for over a week. Dr. Settar is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Born in 1935 at Hampasagara, Ballari district, he went on to study at Cambridge University and started his career as a professor of History at Karnatak University, Dharwad, his alma mater.

Dr. Settar worked till the very end and never rested on his past laurels. “A day before he was hospitalised, he was proof-reading and giving final touches to a book,” said N. Ravikumar of Abhinava Prakashana, who has published several of Dr. Settar’s recent publications in Kannada. Dr. Settar had also said he would need two more years of research to finish some of the projects he had taken up recently. He leaves behind many important works ready for publication.

The cover page of S. Settar’s book ‘Modala Sahasramanada Kannada Shasanagalu’ which is ready for publication.

Early Buddhist Artisans and their Architectural Vocabulary, a result of his recent research at Kanaganahalli near Sannati, Kalaburagi district, is set to be published by Manipal University Press. For the first time, he had put together all Kannada inscriptions of the first millennium in an eight-volume work, covering 220 inscriptions. He had also compiled a dictionary of every word for over 25 classical Kannada poetry. All these works will be published this year, Mr. Ravikumar said.

Dr. Settar’s early and important works in the 1970s were in the realm of Jain philosophy and ritual death (Sallekhana), with critically acclaimed books such as Inviting Death: Historical Experiments on Sepulchral Hill.

He also wrote extensively on Hoysala and Vijayanagar sculptural heritage. He edited several scholarly volumes on various epochs of Indian and Karnataka’s history. He served as director of the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology in 1978 and as chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research in 1996. He was also a visiting professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

It was in recent years that Dr. Settar shifted focus to studying the evolution of the Kannada language and literature with multidisciplinary approach and had chosen to write in Kannada. He believed that his choice of language made his work more accessible. Dr. Settar’s works in Kannada, including Shangam-Tamilagam Kannada Naadu Nudi, and Halagannada Lipi Lipikaara Lipi Vyavasaya are regarded as landmarks. His most recent work was Prakrita Jagadwalaya in 2018.

Noted historian and his student S.K. Aruni said Dr. Settar was “a model for all historians” because of his wide-ranging interests and his multidisciplinary approach to research. He drew from art history, linguistics and philosophy, and strictly followed an evidence-based approach to history, often revising popularly held notions and sometimes changing his stands when new evidence came up. For instance, his 2007 work Shangam-Tamilagam …, which won the Bhasha Samman from the Sahitya Akademi, proved many of the poets of the Sangam period in Tamil were Kannadigas.

“Using linguistics and epigraphy, he re-imagined the ancient history of Karnataka,” Dr. Aruni said.

A polymath, he had a keen interest in music, art, and cinema as well. He even wrote several short stories under the pen name ‘Priyadarshini’ through the 1970s and 1980s. He had a wide collection of art and sculpture.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by K V Aditya Bharadwaj & Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru – February 28th, 2020

27 b

February 27, 2020Uncategorizedadmin

KV Chikkodi students win award

February 27, 2020Business & Economy, Education, Records, Alladmin

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Chikkodi in Belagavi district have won an award instituted by the Union government for their electronics project.

Students Shreeraksha, Md. Owais and Lakshmi have designed a home security system, home appliance control and mobile phone detector project. They demonstrated this working model at the District Institute of Education and Training and won the Inspire-MANAK Award that carries a prize of ₹ 10,000.

Kendriya Vidyalaya principal Sudhir Sharma has congratulated the work experience teacher Ravi Singh who worked with the students in the project.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Chikkodi students have won the first, second and third places at the district level in India’s online science competition, Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – February 28th, 2020

26 c

February 26, 2020Uncategorizedadmin

City’s Plant Grafting Expert Dr. C.N. Mruthyunjayappa Passes Away

February 26, 2020Agriculture, Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Mysuru:

Dr. C.N. Mruthyunjayappa (75), fondly known as Sargur Doctor, passed away at his residence #72, ‘Santrupti,’ Shantala Marga, Srirampura, here yesterday afternoon following a cardiac arrest.

He leaves behind his wife Sudha, sons Rajendra, Shailendra and Sharashchandra and a host of relatives and friends.

The body was kept for public viewing at his Sargur residence today from 6 am to 9 am. Last rites were performed at Chikkebagilu village in Malavalli taluk at 3 pm today.

It may be recalled that Star of Mysore had published a ‘Weekend Star Supplement’ titled “Santrupti – A garden with a difference” on June 4, 2017.

Profile: Dr. C.N. Mruthyunjayappa was a doctor (MBBS) by profession with a Bachelor’s degree in B.Sc (Botany). He started the clinic in Sargur, the most backward area in H.D. Kote taluk and served the people for more than 35 years and later shifted to Mysuru. He also served as a Medical Superintendent of JSS Hospital, Mysuru.

An environmentalist, plant grafting expert and philanthropist, during his medical career at Sargur, he treated poor patients free of cost. He was a Trustee / Member of many social service organisations. In Sargur he started ‘Vanasiri’ Trust (Founder-President) devoted for afforestation and wildlife protection and was responsible for creating tree belts around Sargur. After shifting to Mysuru (Srirampura), he was responsible for planting many trees in the locality. He received Vaidyarathna Award (2011) for his outstanding services as a medical doctor. His hobby was gardening and travelling abroad.

Recognising his contribution in conservation and sharing of Germplasm (fruits and other crops), Government of India (Ministry of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Authority, New Delhi), had awarded “Plant Genome Saviours Farmer Reward 2015” to Dr. Mruthyunjayappa. He was the second recipient of the Reward from Karnataka since it was instituted in 2012.

The couple have developed a unique type of garden at ‘Santrupti’ in Srirampura in an area of 120’ x 80’ plot of land, which encompasses matchless combination of ornamental, vegetable and fruit-bearing plants.

The philanthropist couple donated the entire prize money (Genome Saviour Reward, 2015) to a poor farmer (Rs. 1 lakh) and a social organisation (Rs. 0.5 lakh) last year.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / April 12th, 2018

26 a