Monthly Archives: March 2013

MakeMyTrip signs as principal sponsor for Sunrisers Hyderabad

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Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com (file photo) / The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi :

Online travel firm MakeMyTrip today said it has been signed up as the principal sponsor for IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and will also launch a marketing campaign targeted at travellers and IPL fans in April 2013.

“We are delighted to partner with Sunrisers Hyderabad and reach out to millions of IPL fans through this association,” MakeMyTrip.com CEO & Founder Deep Kalra said in a statement.

Commenting on the duration of the contract, the company said the partnership as principal sponsor for the team is for a year with recurring clause.

“The IPL demonstrates the synergies of the twin passions of cricket and travel, with fans following their teams to match-venues across different parts of the country,” he added.

As part of the association MakeMyTrip will showcase the Sunrisers association through a TVC featuring the team’s players — Dale Steyn, Cameron White and Ishant Sharma.

The new campaign will be aired to coincide with the launch of the IPL 2013 that will be played between April 3 and May 26.

Commenting on the partnership, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugam said: “We are confident that they (MakeMyTrip) will ably partner us in our journey of reinvention and quest for success.

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> News> Sports / by PTI / New Delhi, March 28th, 2013

Hyderabad on a platter

Rich, spicy and aromatic the Hyderabad cuisine is as famous as the city itself. A visit to Hyderabad is considered incomplete without treating oneself to the some Hyderabadi biryani. And so bringing some of the city’s authentic flavours for all to binge on is the 10-day Hyderabad Food Festival at 36 Chhattees.

With a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food to choose from, patrons can savour a host of dishes.

To start of with, the menu includes Marag and Tomato Shorba, Talawa Gosht, Hyderabadi Raan, Turki Kebab, Nizami Murgh Tikka and Lalmirch Paneer Tikka.

Main course includes favourites like Dum ka Murgh, Machi Mahekali, Nizami Handi, Dum ka Baingan, Tamate ka Kut, Kaddu Dalcha, Subz Dum Biryani and Kache Gosht ka Biryani.

No meal is ever complete without desserts and typical Hyderabadi choices of Qubani Ka Meetha, Double ka Meetha and Sheer Kurma will complete your gastronomic experience. The food fest will go on till April 5 and is open for lunch and dinner, from 12:30 to 3:30 pm and 7 to 11:30 pm respectively.

For reservations or more information, contact 90007 72005 or 040 6459 000.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express Features – Hyderabad / March 28th, 2013

Ezeego1 opens franchise office in Hyderabad

Online travel search site, Ezeego1.com has opened a franchise office in Hyderabad, its third in South India, according to a company release. The other two franchises were opened in Munnar and Chennai in January this year. The franchise is in the name of Mahathe Sai Associates and will be managed by Pranathi and  Suman Tadakamadla.

The store will provide travel services like flight tickets, hotel accommodation, car rentals, holiday packages, rail, cruise, bus, sightseeing, visa and insurance that are offered on the website. Speaking on the launch, Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com, said, “We are proud to mark our entry in a market like Hyderabad which has gained major impetus especially in outbound travel and has seen a lot of demand for unique destinations. Our franchise will be an extension of our website for those customers who still prefer the traditional way of booking tickets and holiday packages at a retail outlet and for those who are not net savvy.”

Ezeego1.com will provide the franchisee with an on-going marketing, technical and store development support.

source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com / Home / by TBM staff – Mumbai / Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Hyderabad’s pink lake to be colourless soon

The Noor Mohammed Kunta (NMK) near Kattedan Industrial Estate (KIE) in Rajendranagar, which earned its sobriquet of the pink lake of Hyderabad due to its pinkish hue caused by industrial pollution, will have clear water by the end of 2015.

NMK is the first and only lake in the country to have been identified for cleanup by the World Bank-assisted project on ‘Capacity Building and Industrial Pollution Management Project’ by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 2010. The consortium of Witteveen+Bos, Tauw, COWI A/S and Kadam Environmental Consultants under the name of Pollution Control Board Consultants (PCBC) will implement the 32-month pilot project.

The NMK has been dead since years due to heavy inflow of industrial wastes. Representing the consortium of consultants, M Van der Wijk Marten from Nederlands on Tuesday expressed his confidence in the speedy completion of the project.

Speaking to reporters about the remediation process, he said, “First, all highly toxic sediments would be dredged out, dewatered and contained within tubes of geo-textile. According to tests, the tubes a containment efficiency which is well above 99.5 per cent and a life-span of minimum 100 years.”

Adding more, he said these tubes would be made into a bund-like fencing around the lake over which greenery could be developed. The bottom of the lake will be covered with a clean layer of sand. To prevent further inflow of pollutants, the existing Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), which was started in 2009, would be upgraded to deal with industrial waste treatment.

In Katedan Industrial Estate (KIE), about 3,500 m3 of temporarily stored waste will be collected and disposed to an off-site landfill for Municipal Solid Waste. As a remediation measure, construction of a sediment trap was also recommended at the inlet of drains from KIE to the NMK.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / March 27th, 2013

Guntur nun Glowrey on way to sainthood

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Hyderabad: 

The first nun-doctor missionary, who spent her life in India, mostly in Guntur and Bengaluru serving poor patients, will take her first step to sainthood on Wednesday.

The Vatican gave the nod for Sister Dr Mary Glowrey, an Australian of Irish origin, to be declared ‘Servant of God in India’, the first step to become a Catholic saint. The announcement of her declaration as Servant of God will be made by Bishop Gali Bali of Guntur diocese at a ‘chrism mass’ on Wednesday.

Dr Glowrey first landed in Guntur in 1920 at the age of 33. She came as a missionary of the Society of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and ran a dispensary which turned into St Joseph’s Hospital.

Director-general of the Catholic Health Associat-ion of India, Dr Tomi Tho-mas, says, “Sister Glowrey founded the Catholic Health Association of India in 1943 which now has 3,500 health care institutions in the country and is the largest NGO in the health sector. She was born in Victoria in 1887 and studied medicine and worked at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne and also had a private practice.”

Bishop Gali Bali called her a “special creation of God and a great soul who embraced the whole world”. She left her lucrative career as an ENT specialist after she chanced on a pamphlet in 1915 about the appalling infant mortality rate in India. It changed the direction of her life.

“Pope Pius XI later bestowed a special blessing on her medical work and, as Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, she became the first nun-doctor missionary. At Guntur, she trained local women to be pharmacists, nurses and midwives. She often travelled to visit the sick and dying in remote villages. She also used Indian traditional medicine,” the Bishop said.

My Jesus, I love you, were her last words

The people of Guntur were thrilled on hearing the news that Sister Glowrey will be declared ‘Servant of God in India’, the first step to become a Catholic saint.

Elizabeth, 65, of Amaravathi Road, Guntur, said, “I was brought up by Sr Glowrey. I cannot forget her love and affection. She used to be a very caring person for the poor and a devout Christian.”

Sister Victoria who had worked at St Joseph’s said, “It is a great honour for St Joseph’s General Hospital at Guntur as its founder is in the process of canonisation. She converted a small dispensary into a huge hospital which today is serving the poor and the needy.”

Dr Glowrey died on May 5, 1957. Her last words are said to be, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” and “My Jesus, I love you”.

She spent her last days in Bengaluru and her vision led to the establishment of one of the best Indian medical colleges, St John’s Medical College.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by U. Sudhakar Reddy / March 27th, 2013

Tribal fete in Agency

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Picture for representational purpose only. / Deccan Chronicle

Rajahmundry:

In a bid to promote tourism and facilitate exchange of culture and traditions between tribals and people from plain areas, the East Godavari administration is organising a three-day tribal festival called ‘Manyam Jatara Choodimi’ on the premises of Government Junior College grounds at Rampachodavaram from March 29 to 31.

The authorities are planning to organise a series of cultural programmes depicting the tribal customs, practices, traditions and culture. The tribals will perform their traditional dances and also render songs.

As the tribals celebrate after harvesting traditional crops, the authorities are making arrangements to accommodate such celebrations also during the festival.

Rampachodavaram sub-collector Gandham Chandrudu told newsmen here on Tuesday that the district administration in association with department of tourism and Integrated Tribal Development Agency is organising the tribal festival which is first of its kind in the agency areas in the state.

He said that that state government had sanctioned Rs 15 lakh to organise the festival. The arrangements are being made in agency for the tribal festival similar to those made during the conduct of beach festival ‘Sagara Sambaralu’ recently at Kakinada beach.

As many as 30 stalls are going to be set up with 15 of commercial nature while 15 from various departments. A book exhibition with the display of titles of prominent writers from agency areas and a photo exhibition depicting the important tourist and religious places will also be set up.

The visitors will be taken to the tourist attractions in the agency. The authorities are organising gaming zones for the kids at the festival.

A replica of Annavaram temple of Satyanarayana Swamy will be set up and the devotees will be given ‘prasadam’ free of cost.

To oversee the arrangements, a district-level committee headed by collector Neethu Kumari Prasad and 11 sub-committees are set up. Tribals from neighbouring agency areas in West Godavari and Khammam are also invited to take part in the festivities.

Meanwhile, Collector Neethu Kumari Prasad reviewed the arrangements with the officials at Kakinada.

source:  http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / March 27th, 2013

Circle of life

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Model Reha Sukheja sports jewellery designed by Suhani Pittie at Lakme Fashion Week Summer / Resort 2013.

Suhani Pittie talks about her fascination for medieval art and paying and ode to Sun God

When she designed a collection called ‘Grunge Begum’ a few seasons ago, those who knew Suhani Pittie understood that she was the Begum, living the life of a modernist and at the same time imbibing the essence of the 200-year-old Pittie mansion in Begum Bazaar. Combining traditional and modern sensibilities has been her forte and with her new collection, Dances With The Earth, Suhani goes a notch higher.

“I have been researching parallel lifestyles or tribal lifestyles for a year and a half. When I started reading, I didn’t know it would all lead to a jewellery collection,” Suhani says, speaking to us a day after showcasing her work at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013.

Suhani uses motifs of the rising sun, chakra, sun rays and the moon in earrings, neckpieces, arm bands, circular bangles, anklets and pendants. “The tribals, be it Aborigines in Australia, Dongrias in Orissa or the Navajos in America are in sync with the earth and comfortable in their old world set up. They worship the tree and are not hungry for a better lifestyle. Their dance forms are circular and there’s a reason behind the colours they use and the jewellery they wear,” says Suhani.

Using copper, one of the first metals used by humans, she dedicates this collection to the spirit of the tribals living in tune with Nature. Dances With The Earth has circular bangles with leaves, sun and moon patterns; anklets with leaves; multiple chakra motifs on pendants; earrings and cord cuff with the rising sun motif; peacock earrings; armbands with sun and moon patterns and the bird crown cord bracelet among other pieces. All of these in some way represent the ‘circle of life’.

Eight months of research on tribal jewellery were followed by three months of production at her workshop, involving 100 to 120 craftsmen. “A new girl in the factory, impressed by the surface ornamentation way we were working on the pieces, asked me how long the show would be. She was surprised when I told her the duration of our show at Fashion Week would be only 5 min 45 seconds,” laughs Suhani.

The last few years have seen Suhani grow from strength to strength. She figured in the World Gold Council’s list of top 10 most inventive and ingenious jewellery designers of the world and was the only Indian jewellery designer to showcase her work at the Miami Fashion Week. With her new collection, she seems to be taking the next step in experimentation. “As a designer, I feel I’ve matured with this collection. There’s a lot of depth and we are proud of the textures on the surface,” says Suhani.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Features> Metro Plus> Fashion / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad, March 26th, 2013

Vizagites take to festival of colours

Visakhapatnam :

Holi hai! The call is not just confined to the north Indians but also for Andhraites.

Around three decades ago, the locals were reluctant to even move out of their houses when the Marwaris, Gujaratis, Bengalis or people from other north Indian communities in the city celebrated the festival of colours. Getting drenched in the colour water or throwing gulal at one another was alien to them. But not anymore.

With the changing times, Andhraites of the city are also enthusiastically taking part in the celebrations, which has become an occasion for Telugus to bond with the people of the north Indian communities.

“I started participating in this colourful festival with my friends  after I joined engineering and now it seems the festival has caught the fancy of the Vizagites. We go to the Beach Road in the morning and enjoy a lot playing with eco-friendly colours. A couple of north Indian friends are also part of our group,” said third-year engineering student B Gowtham.

“The night before Holi, we light a splendid  bonfire or the Holika. Holi sweets are another attraction of this festival, which now has an all-India appeal,” he said.

City-based businessman V Nageshwar Rao, who celebrates the festival with his Marwari friends, said that Holi is a national festival that ought to be celebrated by all communities and states.

“What appeals to me the most about Holi is that it helps us bond with other communities. We get to know the tradition of other states and we get to spend some enjoyable time with family and friends playing with ‘gulal’ and gorging on sweets on Holi. Earlier, Holi wasn’t much in vogue  in Vizag but nowadays Telugu youngsters are enthusiastically celebrating it,” he said.

Telugu children rue that Holi is not an official holiday in schools in Vizag. “It would have been great had the schools declared at least a day’s holiday on Holi. However, as there is no holiday, we can’t enjoy throughout the day. I’m looking forward to the barfis and sweet kachoris from my north Indian friends,” said G Swathi, a class IX student.

Holi has another appeal for city artist K Ravi. “Colours have always attracted me. The Holi colours remind  me of nature in spring, when colourful flowers bloom to paint the city red, pink, orange and yellow. I have been to Tagore’s Shantiniketan in West Bengal , where Holi is celebrated in a big way but the colours used are dry powder. In Vizag, too, I play Holi with friends, but I prefer the coloured powder and natural eco-friendly colours,” he said.

Naresh Agarwal, president of the Marwari Yuva Manch, welcomed the trend of Telugus celebrating Holi. “We are happy that people of south Indian  communities are celebrating Holi, which is actually a north Indian festival. Just as we also participate in Ugadi and Sankranthi celebrations, our Telugu friends are also celebrating Holi and Diwali with us, signifying a beautiful blend of north and south Indian cultures,” he said. “On Tuesday we would have ‘Holika puja’ on R K Beach, where the bonfire would be lit to symbolically destroy all things negative. There would be dance and celebrations till late in the night. On Wednesday, pujas in the Shyam temple since morning would be followed by special Holi programmes. Sweets and thandai would be distributed to all and people of various communities will celebrate with colours,” he said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Sulogna Mehta, TNN / March 26th, 2013

‘Nobody thought she could walk again’

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Neurosurgeon Y. V. Rama Prasad talking to Lakshmi Devi in Vijayawada on Saturday. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

None of 22-year-old Lakshmi Devi’s relatives thought she will be able to walk again. They believed only a miracle will cure her. Both her lower limbs were paralysed. And nerves once damaged cannot be repaired.

Belonging to a poor family of Bhavanipuram there was little the relatives could do for the young woman. Fortunately the Smt. Subba Lakshmi Memorial Vijay Orthopaedic and Accident Care hospital offered to help. She came on a stretcher to the hospital, but walked out after the surgery. The hospital performed the surgery free of cost.

The cause of the patient’s condition was a benign tumour in a very crucial location in the spinal cord. According to consulting neuro surgeon Y.V.Ravi Prasad the neurofibroma (benign nerve sheath tumor) was intraspinal (inside the vertebral canal), but extradural (outside the dura mater–outer most layer of the spinal cord). The large tumour that formed between dorsal vertebra nine and ten was just pressing on the spinal cord, but did not damage it fortunately. A delicate surgery was performed to remove the neurofibroma to give the patient a new lease of life. The paralysis slowly disappeared after the surgery and Lakshmi Devi is able to walk normally today. Consulting orthopaedician S.Vijayakumar was in the surgical team.

Free medical camp

A free orthopaedic and neuro surgery camp will be conducted in Ibrahimpatnam for employees of thermal power station on Sunday.

The camp will begin at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / March 24th, 2013

Week-long heritage celebrations in Warangal

Warangal Municipal Corporation is planning for a week-long heritage celebrations across the district following the Central government tourism award to the district.

Commissioner Vivek Yadav said they would be organising a photography competition on heritage monuments. Beginning from April 12, the celebrations will continue till April 18. Artistes from across the State would take part in the inaugural function which will be held at Warangal Fort.

Painting competitions for schoolchildren at Public Gardens, folk and food festival at Musical Gardens, workshop on Warangal, cultural programmes at Public Gardens and a performance by Padmabushan Swapna Sundari of New Delhi at the historic Ramappa Temple on April 18 will be part of the celebrations.

From April 12, the corporation will also organise heritage tours on all days that begin from Public Gardens, Warangal Fort, Bhadrakali temple and Vana Vignana Kendra. A bus would begin from these places and children under 14 years can travel for free.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Warangal, March 23rd, 2013