Archaeologist K. K. Venkateswaralu examines a ‘thoranam’, discovered near Bheemeswara Swamy Temple at Chebrolu in Guntur District./ Photo: By Arrangement / The Hindu
The discovery of thoranam, placed in front of the Maha Stupa, and the earlier discovery of several Buddhist artefacts point to the fact that the Maha Stupa at Chebrolu could have been a major Buddhist site of the Satavahana and Ikvakshu times
A unique Buddhist ‘thoranam’ was unearthed during excavations at Bheemeswara Swamy temple here. The architrave panel, measuring 4.2 inches in length and 11 inches in thickness, was unearthed by freelance archaeologist and former ASI Documentation Officer K. Venkateswaralu.
“The discovery of the thoranam, placed in front of the Maha Stupa, and the earlier discovery of several Buddhist artefacts such as white marble pillars, ‘Harmika’, and bases indicate that the Maha Stupa at Chebrolu could have been a major Buddhist site of the Satavahana and Ikvakshu times,” Mr. Rao said.
The architraves were also found to be sculpted with ‘Jatakas’ and scenes from the life of the Buddha.
Mr. Rao had earlier discovered a number of huge light green marble pillars sculpted with half-lotus medallion designs with various animal motives indicating the existence of a congregation hall constructed for Buddhist monks during religious gatherings.
According to him, the artefacts found on the temple premises indicate that the Buddhist site could have extended from the southern side of the temple.
“I have also discovered a number of conical bowls, black and red pot shreds, giving credence to historical references to the existence of a Maha Stupa near the temple,” Mr. Rao said.
Chebrolu, a village with a hoary past, is being promoted as a major tourist destination. The village, once a thriving Buddhist centre next only to Amaravathi and Nagarjuna Sagar, was known as Tambrapuri during the Satavahatana period.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Samuel Jonathan / Chebrolu – September 27th, 2014
Minister for Housing and Rural development K Mrunalini (left) and ZP chairperson Shobha Swathi Rani and other officials taking a look at the portraits of poet Gurajada Apparao at his residence in Vizianagaram on Sunday | EXPRESS PHOTO
Visakhapatnam :
Being the home town of poet Gurajada Apparao, Vizianagaram celebrated his 152nd birth anniversary with gaiety here Sunday. Housing and rural development minister Kimidi Mrunalini paid floral tributes to the legendary poet at his residence in the town and went through the portraits, books and belongings of Gurajada.
The minister remembered the contributions of Gurajada towards the field of literature and said that the government would take steps to officially celebrate his birth anniversary across the state from the next year. She also unveiled a souvenir designed on Gurajada Apparao. “Gurajada was an inspiration for women, for abolishing the child marriage system,” she recalled.
Earlier, a rally with some memorabilia of the social reformer was taken out from his residence to Kshatriya Kalyanamandapam, in which hundreds of students from many schools took part and belted out ‘Desamunu Preminchumanna’, written by Gurajada.
A meeting was conducted at the Kshatriya Kalyanamandapam wherein district collector MM Nayak opined that Gurajada’s ‘Kanyasulakam’ was a valuable contribution to the society. “It is renowned till date and has no replacement,” he opined.
Nayak also said that they would set up a museum with the photographs and belongings of Gurajada in the coming days. The authorities concerned promised to take necessary action as regards acquiring the lost collections of the poet in the library, he added. Later, the play ‘Puthadibomma Poornamma’ was showcased by some artistes. ZP chairperson Sobha Swathirani, MLA M Geetha and joint collector B Ramarao were present.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / September 22nd, 2014
Kongara Ramesh at his mango orchard at Tarluwada village in Visakhapatnam district | Express Photo
Visakhapatnam :
Amrutham Ice Fruit Mango, a new variety of the king of fruits, developed by a scientist Kongara Ramesh, is entering the international markets including the United Arab Emirates, the US and several other countries. This is the first mango created by a farmer using cross-pollination technique and can be frozen and eaten in all seasons. The uniqueness of the new mango variety is that it can be eaten like an ice fruit by peeling off its skin.
The new variety was developed three years ago after a 12-year experimentation by Ramesh. In the last three years, he planted the saplings extensively to estimate its yields. Now, Ramesh is taking care of 50,000 saplings at his own nursery at Tarluwada village in Anandapuram, just 28 km away from Visakhapatnam city.
Ramesh developed the variety by cross pollination between Amrapali and Chinnarasalu mango varieties, which are very sweet and can be frozen at sub-zero temperatures.
The Amrutham Ice Fruit Mango has been selected for the world horticulture show to be held at Germany in February, 2015. “It will be the first step to market Amrutham globally. I’m sure this will bring huge foreign currency to the country,” a proud Ramesh says.
Mass Cultivation
After the great success of Amrutham, Ramesh is wasting no time for mass cultivation of the fruit. Making use of all the 100 trees he raised initially, he had developed a nursery of about 50,000 saplings aged between six months and two-and-half years. As many as 600 trees can be raised in an acre and they will bear fruit in about three to four years. The yield of the fruit is 15 tonnes per acre. Except for using organic manure in the first year, the trees need no special care.
Assured Yield
Amrutham starts flowering from November. If the flowers are damaged in November, the cyclone season, it starts flowering in December and January with an assured yield of 90 per cent. Ramesh has also developed another variety called ‘Swagatham’. The speciality of the fruit is its aroma. One fruit of Swagatham’s aroma pervades the entire house. The variety was developed by cross-pollination between Imam Pasand and Chinna Rasalu.
Export Potential
Ramesh has plans to export the Amrutham Ice Fruit Mango to several countries. A large number of Telugu NRIs and foreigners are making enquiries about the fruit. However, surprisingly, neither the state government nor the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry visited the place to take further steps for bulk cultivation.
The Man Behind the Magic Fruits
A Guntur-based farmer and homoeo doctor settled in Visakhapatnam about 15 years ago, Ramesh started his own research at a 40-acre land owned by a private company. Having great interest in the mango crop and its varieties, Ramesh developed his ideas by cross-pollinating Andhra’s most popular mango Nuziveedu Chinnarasalu with North India’s famous variety Amrapali. He displayed it at the All India Horticulture Exhibition held in New Delhi last year, where a large number of foreigners tasted it and lauded it. Ramesh also sold the fruit in Vizag market. Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority witnessed the variety and congratulated Ramesh, who is set to market the fruit on a large-scale from the next season.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by VKL Gayatri / September 24th, 2014
A view of the chapel on the St. Aloysius High School premises, the oldest English medium school in Visakhapatnam. / Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Six classmates of the 1961 batch of St. Aloysius High School met after five decades at their alma mater. Reminiscing the old days, Narayanswami, who played cricket for Andhra, said it was in this courtyard that he picked up the rudiments of the game.
A group of six classmates met after five decades to relive their naughty days at St. Aloysius High School, here on Saturday.
Though, into their late 60s and early 70s none appeared to have lost his youthful vigour. Hopping from one classroom to another, going around the expansive courtyard, and calling their buddies by their nicknames, the six went on a nostalgia drive.
A group of seven friends who studied in St. Aloysius High School meeting after five decades on the school premises to relive the old days in Visakhapatnam on Saturday /. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
The old students of the 1961 batch who met were P.R. Narayanswami, former Director of Physical Education in Andhra University, M.A. Raihan, former Commander in the Indian Navy, V.N. Natarajan, Chief Manager of Indian Overseas Bank, Fr. George Kottam, Arun Panse, former Hindustan Shipyard employee, and Md. Ali Khan, a retired officer from the Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
Accompanying them was Rohinton Kapadia, who was a couple of years junior to them in school.
Incidentally, Fr. Kottam was not only an old student but also principal of the school during early 1980s.
Reminiscing the old days, Narayanswami, who played cricket for Andhra, said it was in this courtyard that he picked up the rudiments of the game.
“We are always ahead of the rest in athletics and games. We had the best boxing team in the district. In fact, ours was the only school that had a proper boxing ring. Even the ENC, then INS Circars, would borrow our ring for their tournament,” said Raihan.
We also had a strong NCC contingent and 80 per cent of our students were from the Anglo Indian and Muslim communities. But we never experienced any sort of discrimination based on religion, caste, or creed, said Arun Panse.
On how strict was the school, they came out in chorus, “Fr Eliemeynet, a French national, who was our principal, and our teachers were strict, but they gave us the rope to be mischievous too.”
According to Fr. Kottam, the schooling then was about holistic learning.
For Md. Alikhan, the association with the school has been for three generations. His son also studied in the school and now his grandchildren are studying there
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Visakhapatnam – September 21st, 2014
The Andhra University is going to host a state-level NSS awards function at BR Ambedkar Assembly Hall here Wednesday from 10.30 am. Human resource development minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao would be the chief guest at the occasion.
Revealing the details to the newsmen here Tuesday, AU vice-chancellor GSN Raju said that NSS cadets from across the state would take part in the awards function.
As many as 16 awards would be given away during the function, of which the AU NSS cadets won four awards. EPS Bhagya Lakshmi and Ch Adinarayana achieved awards in the category of Programme Officers, while Rahul Pal and Md Goush Khan won the best volunteers awards.
NSS regional head R Gokul Krishnan and state coordinator P Ramachandra Rao would be present, he added.
This apart, a blood donation camp will be organised jointly by the Indian Red Cross Society and AUCE at YVS Murthy Auditorium at 9.30 am on Sept 24 during which the NSS cadets and AU officials would donate their blood on the occasion.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / September 24th, 2014
U. Shrinivas, who cast a spell on audiences with his Western instrument, the mandolin, died here on Friday. He was only 45 and is survived by his father, mother, two sisters and brother Rajesh, who is also a mandolin player.
Mandolin Shrinivas, as he came to be known, had been ailing for a while. He reportedly was being treated for liver failure at the Apollo Hospital. He had lately received a liver transplant and had recovered, but a lung infection proved fatal. In a statement, Apollo Hospital said “the transplant procedure was uneventful, and his liver function showed signs of recovering. After initial improvement of five days, he developed a secondary lung infection leading to shock and multi organ failure.” Shrinivas was a man of clean habits, and had been ignoring an infection for a long while, friends told The Hindu.
Born in Palakol in Andhra Pradesh in 1969, Shrinivas was the son of clarinet player Sathyanarayana. Young Shrinivas, however, was attracted by mandolin used by his father’s friend in recording studios. He quickly mastered it and his skills were further honed by Rudraraju Subbaraju, a student of late Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar.
His first concert was held at Kudivada in 1980 and later mridhangam player organised a concert for him in Kumbakonam in 1981. As Chennai is the capital of Carnatic Music, his family settled here and he was promoted by Updendran and his uncle, late thavil maestro Valangaiman Shanmugasundaram, who accompanied him in thavil.
As a child prodigy, a permanent smile on his face and with joy apparent while playing his instrument, he created waves in the Carnatic music world.
He instantly caught the attention of late Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who declared him the musician of the Tamil Nadu Government when he was just 11 yeas old. He was awarded Padmashree in 1998.
“After listening to him play in a temple, I recorded him for the Doordarshan. The audition test was attended by great musicians such as Emani Sankara Shastry. When we telecast the programme, we received a call from the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, requesting a copy of the recording and his address,” said Sampath Kumar, who worked for both the All India Radio and Doordharsan.
Humility personified
Shrinivas, humility personified, always gratefully acknowledged the contribution made by others towards his career.
Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, who accompanied Shrinivas since he was 10, said his greatest quality had always been to absorb the best from the stalwarts and infuse nuances into his magical instrument.
Even though western instruments such as violin, clarinet and saxophone were metamorphosed into a complete carnatic classical instrument by the handlers, Shrinivas secured an unparalleled status for the mandolin. He performed along with the English guitarist John McLaughlin and top Indian musicians Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
In India, the instrument was mostly used in light music and Hindustani musicians, it was Shrinivas brought it to the mainstream Carnatic music world. I am still not able to understand how he was able to produce ghamakas in a Western instrument,” said Mr. Sampath kumar, who also produced a documentary on Shrinivas.
Recalling his association with MGR, Shrinivas once told The Hindu that since he did not have a telephone, the Chief Minister’s secretaries visited his house.“The Chief Minister’s secretaries visited my house and wanted to know whether I could perform at a function. Since I had a concert on the same day, they gave me another date and the occasion — a felicitation function for actor Kamal Hassan for his role in the film ‘ Ek duje ke liye’ . Mr. MGR and our present Chief Minister Jayalalithaa listened to the entire concert,” Shrinivas once reminisced.
At one concert, T.N. Seshagopalan, moved by his music, presented a gold ring to Shrinivas.
Shrinivas joins late N.C. Vasanthakokilam, Karukurichi Arunachalam and Needamangalam Shanmugavadivel, other Carnatic music greats who left the world when they were at the peak of their career.
Carnatic music world mourns its loss
The Carnatic music world is in a state of shock over the untimely death of Mandolin U. Shrinivas here on Friday.
He was reportedly being treated for liver failure at the Apollo Hospital here. He had lately received a liver transplant and had recovered, but a lung infection proved fatal.
The greatness of his place in this world is probably best explained by a small story that the late violinist Lalgudi G. Jayaraman’s family recounts.
It happened when Jayaraman, along with his son Krishnan and daughter Vijayalakshmi stepped into the elevator of a restaurant. While everyone wondered how he was able use a western instrument so successfully to render gamaka-laden Carnatic music, Shrinivas explained the modifications he made to achieve the result, says Ms. Vijayalakshmi.
“We happened to listen to the sweet strains of Shrinivas playing our guru’s [Jayaraman] Yamunakalyani tillana. With a smile our guru stood there listening to it, not minding that the elevator doors had closed and we were moving on to the next floor,” recounts Mr. Krishnan.
“Doing away with the eight-string model, I transformed the instrument into a four-stringed one early in my career. Later, I added a fifth string on the advice of my father,” Shrinivas used to say. His achievement is explained by music historian V. Sriram: “It is not often that someone gets to introduce a new instrument in Carnatic Music and yet be welcomed with open arms.”
For mridangam player Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, his death is a great personal loss. He provided accompaniment to Shrinivas in hundreds of concerts. “We were to play two concerts this December. Alas! it is a great loss,” he says.
Describing Shrinivas as a great scholar and inventor both in melody and rhythm, Mr. Sivaraman said that his name became synonymous with the instrument and made him an icon. He was humble and respectful.
Another senior musician who accompanied Shrinivas in a number of concerts is Ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. Unable to overcome his grief he said, “Only his body is dead. His music will continue to live on.” Music director Ilayaraja, one of the great fans of Shrinivas, paid homage to him at home. Music composer A.R. Rahman (@arrahman) has tweeted his message: “Emotionally shaken to hear of Carnatic shining star Mandolin Shrinivasji’s demise… May God bless him with happiness in the next world.”
Noted playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam on his Facebook page, said Shrinivas had elevated Indian classical music to “universal level.” He recalled his first meeting with him at Gemini Studios in 1980 where he was doing the background score for Hum Paanch directed by Telugu director Bapu who passed away recently.
Playback singer Shankar Mahadevan who performed with Shrinivas for ‘Remember Shakti,’ is poignant in his message. “A very important part of my music is over…. praying for your soul U.Shrinivas, my friend my brother …in extreme sorrow.”
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain tweeted: “Today mother India cries, today a part of Indian music died and we are orphaned, RIP my dear brother Mandolin Shrinivas.”
“I got to know today that Shrinivas is no more. I am very sad to hear that. When he was 14-year-old, I saw his performance on TV. He used to play Indian classical music brilliantly. It was quite tough to play classical music on mandolin… May his soul rest in peace,” noted playback singer Lata Mangeshkartweeted.
Sonu Nigam tweeted: “The great mandolin exponent U. Shrinivas is no more unfortunately. Was going through a liver transplant.”
(With additional inputs from PTI)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – September 19th, 2014
The Bright Bunch: Rajendra S. Jain’s students, from left, Chavi, Kusum, Jay and Moksh strike a pose with the trophies they won at National Memory Championship. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad:
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could recall a lot more than you can at present? It is possible! Your memory skills can be made better through focused training. And Rajendra S. Jain of Nellore, specialises in this field and has several of his students winning memory competitions too.
Most recently, his students, Chavi, Jay, Kusum and Moksh, all from Nellore bagged medals in National Memory Championship held in Mumbai.
Rajendra, himself, won a silver medal at the event and broke a national record in the adults’ category and finished all-India number three. While Chavi won a gold medal, Jay and Kusum were awarded silver and bronze medals in the kids’ category and Moksh secured a bronze medal in the junior category.
All of them are Class VIII students, of different schools in Nellore, and they have special permission from their schools for pursuing their academics using Rajendra’s training methods, memory systems, speed reading and mind maps.
Rajendra says that this system of teaching is prevalent in the UK. He now wants to prepare a curriculum of Memory Systems for Indian students as well. “The government should introduce memory as a subject in schools since it improves both imagination and academic skills,” says Rajendra, a science graduate who left his business of jewellery in 2009 to pursue memory techniques. His first accomplishment was a fifth place in the National Memory Championship held in Hyderabad in 2010.
“My next aim is to groom these kids to be the future grandmasters in mind sports,” says Rajendra, who was awarded the Grandmaster of India Award in 2013, becoming the second Indian to bag this honour after John Louis.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / DeccanChronicle / Home> LifeStyle> Offbeat / DC / Pathri Rajasekhar / September 16th, 2014
City-based student Syed Tazib Rehman has proved his mettle at the Global Cancer Conference and Medicare Summit 2014. He is one of the 12 students across the world whose online presentations were selected for special appreciation. Rehman is a student of Sri Chaitanya Junior College Visakhapatnam. All the selected students except Rehman were graduates and post-graduates.
The 12 students would repeat their presentation before the President of India and other officials on September 15 at HICC, Hyderabad. Earlier, Rehman bagged the ‘Bala Ratna’ award for ‘Creative Scientific Innovation’ in 2013.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / September 15th, 2014
DCIL chairman-cum-managing director Captain DK Mohanty receiving the award at a grand ceremony held at Bangalore
Visakhapatnam :
Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) has bagged the ‘Organisation with Innovative HR practices’ award presented at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress 2014, a conclave of CEOs and HR professionals.
DCIL was selected for the award in recognition of the strategic position the organisation holds in the fraternity. Chairman-cum-managing director DK Mohanty received the award at a function held at Bangalore.
The DCIL, during the past three years, has taken various steps for improving the working condition on board the dredgers and redressal of grievances of the floating staff.
At present the corporation employs about 750 marine personnel to man its dredgers. During the past two years, the Corporation recruited 32 Diploma in Nautical Sciences (DNS) and 29 Trainee Marine Engineers (TME) with professional skills, who are undergoing training on various dredgers. In due course they will be elevated as Dredge Masters and CEOs.
Attrition rate in the Corporation has also reduced considerably among the floating officers, owing to the constant efforts made by DCI in providing training to DNS and TME engineers who completed their requisite courses from Indian Maritime University affiliated institutions. Availability of trained manpower in the field has been suitably addressed by innovative methods as well.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / September 16th, 2014
Taking a step further in eGovernance, the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet has now gone paperless.
On Monday morning, wielding iPads in their hands, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his council of ministers conducted a meeting of what is being called “eCabinet”, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
It was a regular meeting of the state cabinet, but the uniqueness this time was that it is paperless, with the government switching over to the electronic format in conducting proceedings.
The agenda and the minutes of the meeting were all electronically recorded while a power-point presentation was made on important subjects for elaborate discussion, sources in the chief minister’s office said.
Andhra Pradesh government, during Chandrababu’s previous stint as chief minister between 1995 and 2004, had been a pioneer in launching various eGovernance initiatives.
The CM is making use of the advances in technology like ‘Cloud’ to further eGovernance and eCabinet is a “momentous” initiative.
Now, during his current tenure, the chief minister is making use of the advances in technology like ‘Cloud’ to further eGovernance and eCabinet is a “momentous” initiative, the CMO sources pointed out.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / PTI / September 15th, 2014
