Sania Mirza-Bethanie Mattek win Brisbane International title

Leaders, Records, All, Sports

Brisbane:

Sania Mirza began her 2013 campaign in style by winning the Brisbane International tennis tournament with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands here on Saturday.

Sania-Bethanie edged out Czech-German duo of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in a battle lasting little over one hour thirty minutes. There was very little to choose between the teams until the Indo-American pair clinched the issue in the super tie-break.

The win has come at the right time for Sania-Bethanie, who would like to maintain their impressive run in the Australian Open beginning January 14.

Sania-Bethanie edged out Czech-German duo of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in a battle lasting little over one hour thirty minutes.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in / Home> Tennis / by  IANS / January 05th, 2013

Fete to showcase Karimnagar district culture, history

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Satavahana Kalotsavam from February 6 to 8

The spectacular “Satavahana kalotsavam”, which is aimed at promoting tourism, culture, history and traditional folk arts, would be held from February 6 to 8 in Karimnagar district.

The district authorities are taking all necessary steps for the successful conduct of ‘Satavahana kalotsavam’, which were being organised since 2002 in Karimnagar. This time, cultural festival is being organised after a long gap of several years, the authorities are leaving no stone unturned to make the event a memorable one by involving all sections of society.

Though, the festival would be held from February 6 to 8, the district authorities have decided to launch a publicity campaign at least fortnight before the main festival. Accordingly, the authorities have decided to launch a publicity vehicle depicting the history, culture and traditions of Karimnagar district.

The cultural festival would be organised in Karimnagar at Ambedkar stadium, Circus grounds, Arts college grounds, Helipad park, Kalabharathi and other places. There festival will begin with a colourful cultural rally with artistes of various folk forms from the Elgandal fort to Karimnagar town on February 6. The Elganda fort would be also illuminated on the occasion.

Competitions

As part of the cultural festival, the authorities have also planned to open a Dwcra bazaar to encourage sales of products produced by the women self-help groups. The authorities have also planned to conduct well-baby show, rangoli, cookery, mehendi and other competitions.

The Horticulture Department would organise a flower show and display various varieties of horticulture products produced by the farmers. The literary events such as ‘kavi sammelan, mushaira, ghazals’ would be also organised. A replica of all the temples of Karimnagar district would be erected at Helipad park.

It was also decided to organise cultural programmes at the historic temple shrines of Vemulawada, Dharmapuri, Koti Lingala, Kondagattu, Kothakonda, Kaleshwaram and other temple shrines in the district. The RTC would operate special buses to the pilgrim centres during the festival. There would be felicitation programmes of eminent personalities, who excelled in various fields in the district.

At a meeting, Collector Smita Sabharwal had also instructed the authorities to constitute committees for the successful conduct of the kalotsavams. All the dignitaries of the district are expected to participate in the programmes.

  • Literary events such as kavi sammelan, mushaira, ghazals will be organised
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  • Horticulture Department to organise flower show and display horticulture products
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  • source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh /  by Staff Reporter / Karimnagar, January 09th, 2013

    • Pat for Adilabad dancers

    Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

    VIP presence:Guinness Book of World Records representative Pranav Patil with dancers from Adilabad. —PHOTO: BY ARRANGEMENT

    Bharatnatyam exponent Samudrala Madhavi Ramanujam has once again brought laurels to Adilabad as 23 of her students were among the 5,000 dancers who participated in the world record achieving dance performance for Guinness Book of World Records (GBWL) at Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad on December 25 last.

    The effort of the students from Adilabad came in for special appreciation from Pranav Patil, the GBWL representative from New York. “He exhibited great interest in learning more about the effort when I told him about my students originating from a remote corner of Andhra Pradesh. He was happy that the dance form has found a foothold in such places,” Ms. Madhavi, who runs the Vibhavari Natya Akademi in town, said of her interaction with Mr. Patil.

    Among the 23 students was P. Mahita, the 10-year-old daughter of P. Satyanarayana and Shyamala, who will soon be arranging for her ‘Arangetram’ at Ravindra Bharati. She has already staged performances at Tyagaraya Gana Sabha in Hyderabad besides the Guinness record effort.

    source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> In School / by Staff Reporter / Adilabad, January 08th, 2013

    Growing up at Golconda

    Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

    I have been fortunate to view the Golconda Fort from close quarters since the early 1950s, as my maternal grandm o t h e r Amena Khatoon was the sister of the last qiledaar (commander-in-chief) of the fort. This is a hereditary post, and the last qiledaar was the grandson of Sir Afsarul Mulk, commanderin-chief of the Hyderabad Army .
    My nani (maternal grandmother) was born in the qiledaar’s palace and was married there to my grandfather , Mustafa Baig, in the 1920s. My grandfather used to tell me stories about how the gates of the fort would be locked from inside at midnight in a ceremonial manner and the key would be delivered to the qiledaar’s palace. Every morning at 5 am, the key would be handed back for the fort gates to be opened.

    I spent my childhood playing inside the fort and clapping at the entrance, as they would in the past when it acted as a wire less system. The clapping could be heard up at Balahisar, the seat of the king where he would be alerted via code. If you moved two feet away from the particular point at the entrance or from the top at Balahisar, you could not hear the signal, which was audible only to the king’s ears so he knew if anyone was coming to see him.

    The huge baobab tree at the Nayaqila was one of our favourite haunts and we played hide-and seek there. Legend has it that a gang of robbers would attack the residents of the fort every night and no one could trace them as the doors of the fort were locked at night and when they were opened in the morning, the people going out were checked by the guards. It was later discovered that the gang of robbers hid in the baobab tree during the day and raided the fort at night. When they were caught, they were found cooking, eating, and sleeping inside the tree.

    The old residents would point out the spots on the inside wall of the fort that were hit by Aurangazeb’s cannonballs when he fought a pitched battle with the Qutub Shahi kings to conquer the fort.

    Most of the cannons housed at the fort have disappeared over time. The families who lived at Golconda Fort were mainly the soldiers’ families who had settled there. It was always quiet and peaceful after sun down. The influx of population, which has occupied every inch of the fort including the walls where kitchens and toilets have also been constructed, is a matter of shame for us. You can see rampant destruction and defacing of the fort walls.

    The best thing that could have happened to Nayaqila is the allotment of land for the golf course, which is taking care of the property and treating it as a heritage monument rather than a golf course per se.

    The writer is the president of Hyderabad Golf Course and grandson of the last qiledaar of Golconda Fort.

    source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Lifestyle> Travel / by DC, Asadullah Pasha / January 06th, 2013

    3 lakh hectares of land in East Godavari to be irrigated:Reddy

    Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

    Three lakh hectares of land in East Godavari district will be irrigated by March, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced today.

    “Water will be provided to three lakh acres by March this year in East Godavari district,” Reddy said after inaugurating the Indira Jala Prabha scheme at Vajrakutam village under Gollaprolu mandal of the district.

    1,231 acres of land has been brought under cultivation in the district and 69 bore-wells dug up under the Rs 1,800 crore ‘Indira Jala Prabha’ scheme.

    The chief minister was accompanied by Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, state Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and others.

    source:  http://www.Business-Standard.com / Home> General News /by Press Trust of India / Rajahmundry (AP) / January 06th, 2013

    Forever Jewellery to expand in S. India

    Business & Economy
    Hyderabad, JAN. 6:

    Forever Jewellery plans to set up at least five outlets in Andhra Pradesh and one in Chennai.

    The jewellery retailer, which has 150 outlets covering its various brands across India, entered the southern market last year by opening its first showroom in Hyderabad. It opened its second outlet in the city today.

    Director Amit Bandi said Vijaywada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Warangal in the State and Chennai will have new outlets next fiscal. “Later, we will spread to Karnataka and Kerala,” he told Business Line.

    He said the company registered a 30 per cent year-on-year growth this year, with diamond growth outpacing that of gold jewellery. “Diamond prices have been more or less stable, but its sales have picked up,” he said.

    The company offers gold and diamond jewellery from Rs 5,000 a piece to Rs 50 lakh. It incorporates regional designs to suit the tastes of various regions in the country.

    Brand ambassador and actor Ileana D’Cruz inaugurated the showroom.

    amitmitra@thehindu.co.in

    source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Home> Industry> Marketing / by Amit Mitra / Hyderabad, January 06th, 2013

    Howzzat! Hyderabad umpire in ICC panel

    Records, All, Sports

    Hyderabad:

    Chettithody Shamshuddin, better known as Shamshu in Hyderabad cricket circles did the city proud when he was named the lone Indian among the five new third umpires appointed to the ICC’s international panel announced on Thursday.

    The 42-year-old made his international debut in the India-England Twenty20 match in Pune last month.

    After that he stood in the recent Twenty20 between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru and was the third umpire for the subsequent India-Pakistan Twenty20 at Ahmedabad.

    “The International Panel of Umpires comprises match officials who are nominated by their home boards and accredited by the ICC. The umpires on this panel can be assigned all three formats of the game. The five new third umpires are Anisur Rahman (Bangladesh), Michael Gough and Tim Robinson (both England), C. Shamshuddin (India) and Derek Walker (New Zealand),” the ICC said in a statement.

    Having played for Bharatiya Cricket Club, Adams XI and Finecab CC in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s lower division league in the 1990s — he was a middle order batsman and a medium pacer who turned to leg-spin later — Shamshuddin took to umpiring part-time to earn some pocket money.

    He gradually began to take interest in the role and started to sharpen his skills. He then put in the hard yards as he set higher standards for himself.

    In 1997, the BCCI conducted umpires examination but Shamshu didn’t qualify. Back to the drawing board, he reorganised himself and endured a long wait. It wasn’t until 2006 when the BCCI held the umpires exam again. This time, Shamshu came out flying in all departments — match management, conflict resolution, code of conduct, calculation of overs in rain affected matches, team work, field craft, body language, positioning, etc.

    Three years later, in the 2009-10 season, Shamshu got to stand in his first Ranji Trophy game.

    Consistent performances then saw him comfortably climb to the top rung.

    Umpiring no doubt is a high-pressure job, especially given the noise level at Indian venues where faint edges are very difficult to detect but Shamshu stays mentally focussed.

    Listening to light music, reading interesting books and not thinking too much about pressure situations besides talking to himself are part of his mental preparation.

    Regular walking, light jogging and a few stretching exercises keep him physically fit.

    Besides watching videos, Shamshu practices by attending net sessions when the state and academy teams are training and is a regular at the Gymkhana grounds.

    With a work ethic like that, it’s only a matter of time before the Hyderabadi is in the centre of action (on-field) at top level matches.

    source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Sports> Cricket / by K. Moses , DC / January 04th, 2013

    Master of cricket administration dies

    Sports
    District Cricket Association office-bearer passes away

    P . Appala Raju

    Honorary treasurer of Andhra Cricket Association and organising secretary of the Vizianagaram District Cricket Association P. Appala Raju, who passed away at a corporate hospital here on Tuesday morning, two days before his 80 birthday, was associated with the game of cricket as a player and later as an administrator for several decades and was active till very recently.

    A veritable example of perseverance and stickler for discipline, Appala Raju had been popular among ACA members as Mastaru and true to the title, he was the master of cricket administration and no project undertaken by the ACA was complete without his able guidance.

    He was always ready to chip in with any kind of help to those who seek his advice, the ACA described him in a message.

    He was behind Vizianagaram, fort town, hosting several Ranji matches and all-India inter-university matches whether it was at the relatively new Vizzy stadium, the decades old M.R. College ground, the Police ground or the nearby Sainik School ground at Korukonda and in organising the ODIs in Visakhapatnam in the recent past.

    The most recent example of his efficiency was repayment of ticket price to all the spectators who had bought tickets for the India-New Zealand Twenty20 match at the ACA-VDCA stadium during October 2012 which was abandoned due to rain.

    Appala Raju did his graduation from M.R. College, Vizianagaram and M.Sc. (statistics) from Banaras Hindu University. A tall opening bat and medium pacer, he had the distinction of playing for Andhra University, BHU and Patna University and later he worked as Physical Director of M.R. College for a long time and acted as manager of AU cricket team for two decades. Vice-president of Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association and former Physical Director of AU P.R. Narayanaswami said Appala Raju had guided him a lot as a Physical Director. Apart from conducting many major tournaments in Vizianagaram, Appala Raju ensured that all the play fields of MR College were kept in good shape and equipment provided to students. Appala Raju’s death was an irreparable loss to ACA and a void difficult to be filled, said Mr. Narayanaswami.

    A large number of office-bearers of the ACA, including its general secretary G. Ganga Raju, and that of some district associations were present at the cremation of Appala Raju at Jonnavalasa, his native village near Vizianagaram on Tuesday afternoon.

    ACA president D.V. Subba Rao, Mr. Ganga Raju, vice-president D.V.S.S. Somayajulu, zonal secretaries N. Prabhakara Rao and Koka Ramesh, director (cricket operations) M.S.K. Prasad, office-bearers of different district associations G.V. Ramachandra Raju, P.S.S.R. Gajapathi Raju, J.V. Bhaskara Rao, A. Yella Rao, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, K. Parthasaradhi, Gajapathi Raju, B. Bapuji, administrative manager of ACA-VDCA stadium B.J.J. Raju, along with former Andhra Ranji captain M.V. Ravikumar, former Ranji player G.V. Sanyasi Raju, PD of M.R. College M. Vasudeva Raju, and several others condoled the death of Appala Raju.

    Former Minister and ACA president P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju mourned Appala Raju.

    source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / January 02nde, 2013

    A paradise for peace-lovers

    Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment

    A view of a park in the Seethammadhara North extension in Visakhapatnam. /  Photo: K.R. Deepak / The Hindu

    Right place to spend retired life, say former PSU employees

    Amidst the pristine charm of the hills surrounded all over, chirping birds, beautiful parks, temples and a lot of serenity Seethammadhara North Extension is an ideal place for those who wish to lead a quiet life.

    With nearly 100 apartments and 500 independent houses spread across the locale, the residents here are health conscious.

    They prefer walking or playing tennis or shuttle on a regular basis. Women catch up with their friends visiting parks – Rocket Park and Hill View Park – in the evenings. Multi-purpose parks are catering to the needs of all age-groups. Youngsters prefer playing tennis or shuttle, women spread mats and perform yogasanas while children have gala time getting on amusement rides like slide and see-saw and the elderly groups pass their time sharing views on politics, sports and current affairs.

    Apart from doctors and businessmen, former employees of several PSUs such as BHPV, Coromandel Fertilisers, Visakhapatnam Port, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd and Andhra University have settled in the colony for the past 20-30 years. They feel that the place is the right choice to spend their retired life.

    North Extension is laced with educational institutions and playschools apart from hospitals like Queen’s NRI Hospital and Lion’s Cancer Hospital which continue to be main landmarks. Many independent houses were earlier allotted lower income, middle income and higher income groups.

    For the religious people, shrines like Shirdi Sai Baba, Krishna Mandir and Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy happen to be the most sought-after venues. Residents are quite happy with the locale and the serenity it offers except for a few nagging issues. Transportation appears to be a continuous problem, said A. Vanaja, a 20-year old resident of the colony.

    “One should have their own conveyance otherwise it is difficult to commute through ups and downs and access an auto. Another glitch is the apartment culture being on the rise. Now, we hardly get a glimpse of Kailasagiri or the beach,” she said.

    Seethammadhara North Extension Layout Association Community Hall is being headed by corporator and colony secretary A.S.N. Raju. Though the colony appears to be posh and charms one during the first visit itself, certain issues like lack of streetlights, chain snatching, and poor maintenance of the roads, disorganised waste management and vehicle parking, among many seek attention.

    source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / January 03rd, 2013

    Nach Baliye 5: Shoaib Malik sweeps Sania Mirza off her feet

    Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

    The couple throw a stunning performance in the dance reality show

    Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik perform during a dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye 5’. (Screen grab)

    Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her husband, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik’s chemistry was nothing short of electric as they waltzed on the dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye 5’.

    The couple who was a little nervous before their performance was unstoppable when they started twirling on the stage.

    Their chemistry and expression spoke volumes about their relationship and love. The impact was such that even the judges were mesmerized with this flawless performance by the sportstars.

    They danced in perfect co-ordination. Sania looked lovely in a pink outfit while Shoaib would make any girl go weak in her knees in that formal suit.

    As special guest they have been in the news for a while and will be finally seen this Saturday performing together in the celebrity dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye-5’.

    Though Sania was skeptical about her dancing skill, she is confident about Shoaib’s talent and hopes he makes it up for the two. Shoaib apparently is a good dancer and has right proved on the floor.

    Shy Sania has been practicing rigorously to put her acts together. So much so that she practices her dance moves more than her tennis strokes. Sania tweeted: “Started the day at 5.30 in the morning, 2 hours of practice followed by a 11 hour shoot for nach baliye..Its safe to say I am exhausted!!!”

    Phew!! That’s too much of hard work for a guest performance.

    Sania and Shoaib look absolutely smitten with one another. Their love-story is no less than a movie script and hence they have decided to enact it on screen!

    Both Sania and Shoaib faced all odds before their marriage. The couple belongs to two rival nations; Shoaib Malik was also tainted as a cheat who first married Ayesha Siddiqui and later dumped her.

    Sania stood firm supporting Shoaib though the legal and social hassle. Both faced all snags but finally decided to listen to their hearts.

    Their love story went on to culminate in a marriage that had everyone mesmerized. Now Star Plus will capture their journey in the show that’s all about love, chemistry & compatibility.

    Sania-Shoaib’s strong, ardent love story is perfect for a show where the two partners showcase the power of their bond. This is the first time that they will be featuring on television on a celebrity dance show.

    But we expect Sania and Shoaib to bring in some twist in the show.

    India’s celebrity dance show, ‘Nach Baliye 5’ has come back with a brand new season and a brand new promise to wow audiences every weekend.

    The previous seasons were a massive hit with the small screen audience, Season 5 promises to be bigger, better and more glamorous.

    The three judges this year are Bollywood’s favourite, Shilpa Shetty Kundra; director & actor; Sajid Khan and celebrity choreographer Terrence Lewis.

    This will also be actress Shilpa Shetty’s first on-screen big project after her she delivered a baby boy.

    source: http://www.emirates247.com / Home> Entertainment / by Staff / Wednesday, Janurary 02nd, 2013