Among the worst-affected sectors, daily wage workers are undoubtedly the biggest sufferers during the pandemic.
Bengaluru :
Among the worst-affected sectors, daily wage workers are undoubtedly the biggest sufferers during the pandemic. To handle this issue, city-based non-profit organisation Give Foundation is currently running a campaign where the members have collected more than Rs 30 lakh within a span of three days, which will be used towards creating hygiene kits for underprivileged people and extend support to blue-collar workers who have lost jobs due to the lockdown.
“We started this campaign on Sunday and reached out to different donors from all over the country. The amount will be used to pay two months’ salary to people who have blue-collar jobs,” says Somdutta Chatterjee, head of corporate partnerships in GiveIndia Foundation. She added that apart from the existing list of affected people that they have, the foundation is also reaching out to various other NGOs to gather more lists. They will reach out to people directly after doing a background verification of the affected persons. “A part of the collected fund will also be used to provide a hygiene kit to the underprivileged. The kit will consist of protective mask, hand sanitiser, antiseptic soap, antiseptic lotion, phenol and thermometers,” adds Chatterjee.
Apart from organisations, others are also trying to do their bit for the good of the society. Champaca, a book store and café in the city, has appealed to people to buy an annual voucher from the store to support those who work at the bookstore.
Recently, director Pavan Kumar started a fund raiser campaign to support daily wage workers of the Kannada film industry, like makeup artistes, lightman, drivers, carpenters and more. Till now, he has collected more than Rs 3.5 lakh and will be handing it over to different workers’ unions.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / March 25th, 2020
Around 200 participants battled it out to build solutions to drive – Language Equality on the Indian Internet. The event was won by team “got_r00t” and “PMRY”. Read on to know more…
The main objective of the event was to build an ecosystem to drive language equality on the Indian Internet space. (Representational image)(HT file)
The Silicon Valley of India – Bengaluru on Saturday hosted RevHack 2020 – first Indian language based hackathon.
Around 200 participants battled it out to build solutions to drive – Language Equality on the Indian Internet. The event was won by team “got_r00t” and “PMRY”.
The hackathon was organised by Reverie Language Technologies and NASSCOM. The main objective of the event was to build an ecosystem to drive language equality on the Indian Internet space.
“India has a literacy rate of 69.1 per cent and only .01 per cent of Indic content is available on the Internet for consumption. While there will be 536 million language first digital users in India by 2021, there still is a long way to go for achieving ‘Language Equality on the Internet’,” said Arvind Pani, CEO and Co-founder of Reverie Language Technologies.
“With the first edition of #RevHack we look forward to inspiring coders, developers, and the student community to create innovative Indic language technology-based solutions so that the Internet can be truly accessible for all. Our regional language users can progress beyond browsing and India can realize the potential of the next 500 million users.”, he added.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Education / by Indo Asian News Service – Bengaluru (Karnataka) / January 19th, 2020
Like many other Bengalureans, Suraj Moraje too has been spending his quarantine working from home.
Pic: Meghana Sastry
Bengaluru :
Like many other Bengalureans, Suraj Moraje too has been spending his quarantine working from home. This means back-to-back calls with other colleagues, but the incoming group CEO of business service provider Quess Corp has found something that has helped calm nerves. In between work commitments, Moraje finds a moment or two to spin a vinyl record on any one of the three players he has at home.
“I listen to jazz or some music in the background. These are stressful times, so it’s nice to listen to a piece of music,” he says, adding how his wife and two sons, aged 13 and 10, spent a part of their Sunday listening to Top of the World by The Carpenters. “My elder son groans about how we’re all singing together but the rest of us like it,” he laughs.
Though having harboured a love for music for as long as he can remember, Moraje’s love for vinyl records took off seriously 6-7 years ago. His collection, which stood at a simple 50 then, has grown to 800 now. Arranged alphabetically, the collection includes Pink Floyd, Queen, Carol King, Dire Straits and more. “What can I say, I’m a bit of a control freak, I like knowing exactly where to find Billy Joel,” he says. It’s then easy to imagine how music is a constant fixture in his house. The 44-year-old affirms, “My younger son is often our DJ. Music definitely plays a central role in our lives. I even met my wife at a discotheque.”
For Moraje, life before his vinyl record collection meant spending weekends downloading mp3 songs, but one conversation with him is enough to show that he truly loves his vintage collection. “You connect to a vinyl in more ways. There’s the crackle, the ability to hold it and see the art work. Vinyls sound messier because it’s like live music being recorded. But it’s more real too and comes together well,” he says, adding that he often keeps time apart during his travels to hunt for some records.
So far, his collection includes finds from the Philippines, Italy, Portugal, USA, Malaysia and Singapore. Most of them, however, are secondhand records. He explains, “There’s something special about collecting older records. Some might have a name in the cover, some are older than you and make you wonder about the previous owner, the room the record was played in or more.”So what’s he been listening to lately? Pat comes the reply: Why Worry by Dire Straits. “It goes something like this: Why worry now, there’s always laughter after pain, sunshine after rain,” he says. “It’s a great soothing song.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / March 24th, 2020
Sometimes, when one door closes, another one opens. This is the case with a 42-year-old man from Belagavi, who made it his life’s mission into helping those in need.
Belagavi’s ‘nocturnal ambulance man’ Manjunath with his family | Express
Belagavi :
Sometimes, when one door closes, another one opens. This is the case with a 42-year-old man from Belagavi, who made it his life’s mission into helping those in need. Manjunath Pujari, who failed in fulfilling his dream of joining the Indian Army, is popularly known as the ‘nocturnal ambulance man’ in Belagavi. A resident of Ashok Nagar, Manjunath has saved hundreds of lives by providing free ambulance service in his autorickshaw for the past three years. Appreciating his work, The India Book of Records titled him ‘Nocturnal Ambulance Man’ with a certificate recently.
Manjunath was influenced by his family’s strong sense of patriotism, which is why he wanted to join the Army. However, he met with a tragic accident at a young age, which shattered not just his leg, but also his dreams. Manjunath’s right leg and left hand were injured, and he had to spend over a month in hospital. Doctors fixed a metal rod in his broken leg, and his arm too had suffered permanent damage. The trauma still haunts Manjunath, who says that even today, he has difficulty carrying heavy objects and can’t walk normally. Despite this, Manjunath didn’t lose hope, and decided that if he can’t serve his country, he will dedicate his life to helping the needy. He bought a taxi, which he used to ferry customers to feed his family during the day; and at night, the taxi was used to help those with medical emergencies, free of cost. However, when Manjunath got a good job offer, he sold his taxi. “One day, a pregnant woman asked me to help her reach the hospital at midnight, but I had sold my taxi.
Manjunath Pujari
Though I managed to get her to the hospital, the incident shook me. I felt guilty for selling my taxi, and decided to buy an autorickshaw by taking loans from my friends,” says Manjunath. Now, Manjunath’s auto is ever-ready to ferry patients to hospitals at night. Pregnant women, children, the elderly, people who have met with accidents — Manjunath helps them all. His service has gained him great respect. He also advertises his services, urging people to call him during emergencies. Manjunath starts his day at 6 am, and whatever money he earns from ferrying customers till 9am, goes into a charity box that he donates to NGOs in Belagavi. From 10 am to 5 pm, he works at a private firm to support his family. After work hours, he again runs his auto from 6pm to 11 pm, and the money made during these rides is used for fuel and maintenance of his auto, so that he can ferry patients at night.
“My duty, what others call ‘social work’, gives me a sense of great satisfaction. I lost out on a chance to serve the nation, but now, I have the chance to help the needy with whatever resources available. Recognising my work, my colleagues at the company I work for applied my name for the India Book of Records. To my luck, I was awarded the certificate, Manjunath says, adding that his parents and wife are his support system, who encourage him in all his endeavours. Nagaratna Ramagouda, president of Ashraya Foundation that works with HIV+ children, says, “Many people have the resources and time to help the needy or bring about change in society, but not too many show interest. Manjunath, however, who works with a private company as an assistant, is the best example of how one can become a social worker. After earning for his family, he helps the needy. He has a rich heart, and I’m proud to call him my friend.” Manjunath also works as an advisor at Ashraya foundation.
Service even after death
Even after death, Manjunath wants to help the less fortunate. He has arranged for his organs to be donated to KLE Hospital. He also creates awareness among people on donating their bodies to science, as it helps in medical research. He has also saved many lives by donating blood during emergencies. He has donated blood 40 times as of now.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Sunil Patil / Express News Service / March 22nd, 2020
Mridanga maestro T.A.S. Mani, 83, died in the city on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife T.A. Ramanani, a vocalist, and son Karthik Mani, a percussionist.
Mr. Mani was active in his profession until the end and died in a music hall.
“Mani was in perfect health when he entered Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira in Banashankari, where he was about to witness the Pallavi demonstrations. But at 2.30 p.m., he felt uncomfortable and breathed his last peacefully while sitting in a chair,” said M.R.V. Prasad, a physician and president of the Gayana Samaja. The Samaja had conferred on Mr. Mani the 2018 Nadashri Award for lifetime achievement.
The A-grade artiste of All India Radio had consistently performed for over 25 years at theMadras Music Academy. Senior percussionist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma said, “Mani played last on February 10 for the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy concert. He was unbeatable in his spirits.”
Mr. Karthik said his father started the Karnataka College of Percussion and trained lakhs of students across the globe. “He is perhaps the only guru who practised for four or five hours a day.” Mr. Mani also experimented with a new concert format comprising mainly the Tala Vadya instruments at global music fests. “He was among the first to start Tala Vadhya ensembles six decades ago, with nearly 15 percussion instruments coming together for an energetic pace,” said Ms. Ramamani.
The cremation will be at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – March 14th, 2020
