City-based relatives of Nina Davuluri, who today became the first Indian-origin contestant to win the Miss America pageant, said the newly-crowned beauty queen had not forgotten her roots and still liked Indian films.
“We are all very excited. I spoke to her briefly this evening. We are very happy,” Nina’s maternal aunt Sasibala told PTI.
Nina’s father, Davuluri Dhana Koteswara Chowdary, a doctor by profession, settled in the USA in the late 1970s and his daughter had grown up there, Sasibala said.
Sasibala said Nina visits India every summer and came to Vijayawada about a year-and-a-half back.
Nina, who wooed the judges at the pageant with a Bollywood fusion dance, likes Indian films, said Sasibala, adding that the 24-year-old had learnt classical dance.
Nina is fluent in Telugu and has not forgotten her roots, she added.
Nina, who aspires to become a physician like her father, will earn at least USD 50,000 in scholarships.
She was crowned Miss America during an event held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“I’m so happy this organisation has embraced diversity,” she said in her first press conference after winning the crown. “I’m thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.”
Her pageant platform was “celebrating diversity through cultural competency” and Nina said she has had to dispel a lot of misconceptions about her culture through the years, such as whether her parents will arrange a marriage for her.
Nina is the second consecutive Miss New York to win the Miss America crown, succeeding Mallory Hagan.
source: http://www.indiatvnews.com / India TV / Home> TV / by PTI / September 17th, 2013
Soon, the visually impaired will be able to walk with more ease and “see” the road ahead of them, with a third-year industrial engineering student of Gitam University inventing a shoe with an embedded electronic circuit that senses the existence of obstacles in the path.
The student, Krishna Sai Inkoolu, has applied for a patent for the shoe with an electronic circuit that will help the visually impaired people walk by sensing obstacles up to three metres away.
“Whenever there is an object in front of the person, a sensor that is part of the embedded circuit in the shoe triggers an electrical signal that is routed to a small motor. The motor is connected to a small moveable stick near the ankle. The stick transmits impulses to the ankle, alerting the person that he is about to face an obstacle,” Krishna Sai told TOI.
“The motor in the shoe is recharged automatically when the person starts walking. So there is no need to keep changing batteries for the motor,” said the engineering student. Also, the design is such that it would not be damaged by water. “It’s fabricated in such a manner that it will be unaffected by water falling on the circuit,” he said. “The basic model will cost Rs 700 to Rs 800, so it is quite affordable,” he added.
Products such as smartphone apps and actuators developed earlier have failed to make an impact as all sections of society cannot afford them. “I got the idea when I was working on a project to use a rechargeable battery. I thought that the project could be extended a bit further. I then developed the shoe so that it can help thousands of people,” Sai said.District Blindness Control Society member secretary Dr P Krishna Prasad observed that there are no similar products available for the visually impaired and said that some research is still going on related to the ‘Bionic Eye’, which takes pictures and sends images to the brain. “However, it is still not available in India,” he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam/ by Manish, TNN / September 14th, 2013
Krishna District is home to one of the best mango varieties in the country and export of the King of Fruits to other States in the country is on an average around 30,000 tonnes annually through the Railways.
This season is not considered to be a very good year for mango crop, but better than last season, helped the Railways also achieve handling 24,415 tonnes from April 1 to May 21 creating a sort of record as the projections for the season are reaching beyond 30,000 tonnes. Last season the Vijayawada Division of South Central Railway had handled only 25,200 tonnes, but now with another 10 days to go for the season to come to an end, Divisional Railway Manager Pradeep Kumar hopes they will gross the highest revenue too.
With freight tariff going up by 25 per cent from June 1 last year, the Division has already netted Rs.4.56 crore sending out 20 rakes comprising 42 covered wagons per rake. “There is still some demand from the aggregators and exporters to send mangoes to Anand Nagar Delhi station and we are ready to supply any number of rakes within a short notice,” the DRM told The Hindu on Wednesday.
While each wagon can be loaded with 30 tonnes, it takes about five to six hours and the Railways places wagons at Nuzvid station at 7 a.m. everyday and ensures that the rake crosses Andhra Pradesh same day to reach New Delhi within 48 hours to ensure the half-ripe Mangoes are just ripe enough for consumption and are sold in the market in Northern States.
The 2009-10 season saw the highest loading of 32 wagons sending out 34,314 tonnes. Now every care is taken in loading and staking them and providing the wagon with a mesh window to keep airflow in-tact. Banginapalli, Chinna Rasalu, Totapuri and Collector are the popular ones. This is one of the two dedicated mango loading stations in the country with other also being Andhra Pradesh – Vizianagaram, now under East Coast Railway.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Ramesh Susarla / Vijayawada – May 23rd, 2013
The 7,000-kg Samaikyandhra laddu under preparation at Bhaktanajaneya Sweet Stall at Tapeswaram in Mandapeta mandal of East Godavari on Sunday.
Rajahmundry (AP):
A confectioner here is making efforts to prepare the world’s ‘heaviest’ laddoo and enter the Guinness World Records for the third time.
A laddoo weighing 7,000kg is ready for Monday’s Vinayaka Chaturthi festival organised by the Rajahmahendri Ganesh Utsav Committee (RGUC) at Pushkar Ghat in Rajahmundry in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
“We are preparing a 7,000kg laddoo for which the order was placed by RGUC. It will be handed over to the organisers tomorrow at 10 A.M.,” S. Venkatswara Rao, two-time Guinness record holder and owner of Sri Bhakatanjaneya Sweets in the district’s Tapeswaram, told PTI.
The confectioner has used 2,000kg sugar, 2,000 kg Bengal gram (chana dal), 1,500 kg ghee and other ingredients, including cashew, almonds, cardamom and green camphor, to make the laddoo, which he said, would be taken in a procession to Pushkhar Ghat from Tapeswaram at 8 A.M.
DC debate : Why people not attracted to eco-friendly Ganesh idols ?
“The laddoo prepared with the help of 16 workers is ready. We have applied for a Guinness Book entry for the third time as our laddoo will be the heaviest prepared anywhere in the world.
“We have made it to the Guinness Book twice, in 2011 and 2012,” he added.
The approximate cost of the laddoo is Rs 14.80 lakh, he said, adding that more than 500 laddoos have been prepared and another 150 orders have been received.
“Our laddoos have been ordered by Telangana region’s Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Coastal Andhra Pradesh districts, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and other parts of the state,” he said, adding that the ongoing Samaikhyandhra agitation had not impacted his business.
“We received 90 orders more than last year’s 410 orders. We prepare laddoos weighing between 5kg to 5,000kg,” he said.
Incidentally, the festival this time is dedicated to the ongoing Samaikhyandhra agitation for a ‘united’ Andhra Pradesh.
RGUC spokesperson Ramamohan Rao told reporters on Saturday that, this year, it would perform what it has termed the ‘Samaikhyha Homam’ and chant the ‘Samaikhya Mantra’ for nine days.
“We have named the laddoo and the Vinayaka idol as Samaikhya laddoo and Samaikhya Vinayaka, dedicating it to the ongoing Samaikhyandhra Pradesh agitation,” he said.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by PTI / September 08th, 2013
NEW DELHI 25/06/2013: V. Jyothi Surekha, who won the women’s compound event in the National Ranking Archery Tournament at Yamuna Sports Complex, in New Delhi on June 23, 2013. Photo:Sandeep Saxena
The 17-year-old compound archer from Andhra Pradesh, Vennam Jyothi Surekha, is systematically preparing for the forthcoming major events — the Asian Games in Incheon and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, writes J. R. Shridharan.
Earning a berth in the national team for premier international events is no mean achievement. And when it is achieved by a teenager, it acquires even more significance.
Vennam Jyothi Surekha, 17, a compound archer from Vijayawada, has proved that she is systematically preparing for the forthcoming big events — the Asian Games in Incheon and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — despite facing stiff challenges.
Putting the dismal showings in the World Stage III (Colombia) and IV (Poland) fixtures behind her, Surekha topped the table with 29 points out of 32 in the selection trials in Pune for the World Youth Championships, to be held in Wuxi (China). Later, in the National ranking tournament in Aurangabad, she led the field by garnering 23 points out of 32 to book her ticket to the World Championships in Turkey and the Asian Championships in Chinese Taipei.
As a five-year-old, she swam River Krishna, covering a distance of five kilometres in a record time of 3 hours 30 minutes and six seconds) to enter the Limca Book of Records. She was a talented long distance swimmer before switching over to archery. Many sports administrators are of the view that swimming in her early days had helped Surekha build her breathing and staying power, which have come handy in archery.
“Surekha is a sincere archer and always willing to go the extra mile to achieve perfection. She uses her energy brilliantly while shooting and she knows well how to get the maximum effect out of each release. She is also astute in gauging the wind,” says the Indian compound coach, Jiwanjot Singh Teja, of SAI Centre, Aurangabad.
India’s recurve coach Ravi Shankar speaks highly of the teenager, saying Surekha’s selection to the Indian team for the World Championships is a noteworthy achievement. “Finishing on top while competing against senior archers is appreciable. She is just 17 and has many years to go. In fact, she is the first archer from South India to make it to the World championships,” he says.
However, Ravi Shankar feels the real test for Surekha would be in Antalya (Turkey) where she will be competing with the best of compound archers in the world. “Archers from Korea, USA, and Mexico are the hot favourites. Competing against them will be an acid test for her,” he says.
Many are of the view that proper gauging of the wind would be paramount during the World Championships as the venue is close to the sea. “One who properly gauges the wind trajectory will have the edge,” says Ravi Shankar.
Surekha had a tough time a few months ago when she was forced to quit the Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada, where she learned the rudiments of the sport from the late India coach, Ch. Lenin, and his deputy J. Rama Rao. This happened following a difference of opinion between the academy administrators and Surekha’s father.
Surekha now practises alone with the help of her father in a paddy field close to River Krishna. “When she is not in the Indian camps, she is finding it difficult to practise without a quality coach. In fact, there is a dearth of compound coaches in the country. The fluctuations in her performances are due to this reason,” says the archer’s father, Surendra Kumar.
source: http://www.sportstaronnet.com / Sports Star / Home> Archery Focus / by J. R. Sridharan / September 28th, 2013
K. Maneesha, who won the mixed doubles title at the Maldives International recently with her parents at the Gopi Chand Academy in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
The 18-year-old shuttler, fresh from her win in Maldives, says she is keen on improving and winning more titles
Appearances, they say are always deceptive. Not many regulars who visit Gopi Chand Academy in Gachibowli would have dreamt of such a fabulous finish in the big league when three relatively unknown faces — Kidambi Srikanth (winner of Thailand Open), Kidambi Nandagopal and K. Maneesha (mixed doubles winners in the Maldives Open) — hogged the limelight last weekend.
“We enjoyed every match and just played to our potential,” says Maneesha, who visited the academy along with the Kidambi siblings on Tuesday. This B. Com II year student from Kukatpally won her maiden international title at Maldives is a doubles specialist — having won the junior national titles partnering P. V. Sindhu besides the mixed doubles title.
The 18-year-old, who learnt her basics from Mohammad Ali in Kukatpally before joining the academy, says she is keen on improving and winning more titles. Maneesha says since she trains with Nandagopal she had a better understanding in the game.
“Gopi sir will decide if we should as partners in mixed doubles,” she says, even as the trio dedicated their victory to their coaches and parents.
“We hope this is just the beginning,” they said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Hyderabad / by V. V. Suhrahmanyam / Hyderabad – June 12th, 2013
V. Koteswaramma, grandmother of Miss America-2014 Nina Davuluri, showing pictures of her granddaughter in Vijayawada on Monday. / Photo. Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu
The 24-year-old American of Indian descent Nina Davuluri, who has been crowned Miss America 2014, lived in Vijayawada for a brief period as a child and has strong connections with the city. She is granddaughter of V. Koteswaramma, secretary and correspondent of Montessori Mahila Kalaasala, in the city.
She was just six weeks old when her grandmother brought her to the city and she was groomed by Koteswaramma and her aunt Sashibala, a practising doctor, till the age of two-and-a-half years. “Thereafter her parents took her back to US. But she visits us every summer,” says Dr. Sashibala.
Ms. Nina, who learned Kuchipudi in Vijayawada during her visits in summer holidays, is also a good western dancer. She is fond of Telugu movies and never misses to see the latest. She has not only excelled in dance but has also learnt piano and can wield the tennis racquet with aplomb.
She is a very determined child said Ms Koteswaramma. “She wanted to win the pageant and has done it. And she has done it all alone with a strong one-year preparation. There was strong support of her mother, most importantly she has strong attachment to India and the city of Vijayawada,” said Dr. Sashibala. The rise to fame was not an easy task for the Nina, who is the first Indian-descendent American to win the pageant. In 2006 she was the first runner-up of ‘Teen America’ and from there she resolved to win the coveted Miss America title. In the run-up to the slot, she first won the Miss Syracuse, then Miss New York and finally the Miss America title.
Nina a graduate from University of Michigan wants to join a medical school next year. While her father Davuluri Koteswara Choudhary is a practising gynaecologist in New York, her mother Sheila Ranjani is a web programmer.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Vijayawada – September 17th, 2013
Saina said she did not expect her team to win the title. (PTI/File photo)
The inaugural $1 million Indian Badminton League (IBL) proved to be a box-office hit. The galaxy of stars from the badminton world (without the ones from China and Japan) added tremendous lustre to the meet and the players dished out a sumptuous fare for the fans. Saina Nehwal was the creme de la creme of the lot. A Magnificent Seven (seven wins out of seven) was her contribution as Hyderabad Hotshots sizzled all the way.
There were no cheerleaders unlike the Indian Premier League, but the IBL provided cheers all the way. Saina firmly believes the IBL is a great thing to happen to badminton. “If you see the results, there is a lot of improvement by the Indian players, specially Kidambi Srikkanth. He really played well. I hope that more talented players emerge from India,” she said.
Saina said she did not expect her team to win the title. “We are the champions! We did not expect to win in the first edition itself.”
Saina firmly believes that the IBL will catch up with the IPL. “No one expected IBL to be be successful. It is wrong to compare it with the IPL. It is not right at this point of time because IPL is a great thing. We want to try to make IBL big, but for the first time, it is not easy. Hopefully, in coming years, it will catch up with the IPL.”
She is all the more happy because of the crowd response. “When something new starts, there could be some glitches. But I was really surprised to see a good crowd turn up for the matches in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow. A lot of people came to cheer us up. A lot of kids came and cheered for me. It is really great to see the younger generation coming to badminton. We have not seen such big crowds during the nationals. Big-time badminton has arrived in India. The players were doing well and this small encouragement was required and it came at the right time because of the IBL,” she said.
Being a vital cog of her team, Saina did have some jitters when there was a possibility of her playing mixed doubles in case Ajay Jayaram had lost his singles match in the final.
“I’m a singles player. Frankly speaking, I was little scared of playing the match because Pia (Zebadiah Bernadeth) and (Markis) Kido are world No 9. It was good that we pulled it off in the second men’s singles,” she said. Saina was the only player to win all seven matches. This form might help her regain her winning formula in the Super Series tournaments.
“It is not easy to win a Super Series title. I will try my best. Of course, it is not easy to win seven matches in a row. I was very focused and confident of pulling off matches. But with opponents like Tai Tzu Ying, Juliane Schenk, PV Sindhu, I never thought I would win seven matches. But I’m playing very well and getting back my rhythm. I just hope to end the year on a good note, winning some titles,” she said.
Saina expects Chinese players to play in the IBL next year. “It would be good and it would be good for them also. Finally, it is their decision. And anyway, most of the top players are playing so I have no issues with the Chinese playing or not. But the foreign players are really happy because of the amount of money that has come in,” she said. “Next year, it will be much tougher and there will be many more singles players coming in. There will be a lot of pressure on you but at same time, it will help me as I will play with a lot of top players,” she concluded.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by N. Jagannath Das – Hyderabad / September 02nd, 2013
Vignan Group of Institutions Chairman L. Rathaiah (second from left) presenting ‘Vignan Sanketika Puraskar’ to Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited CMD Prabhat Kumar in Guntur on Saturday. / Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar / The Hindu
Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited Chairman & Managing Director Prabhat Kumar was presented ‘Vignan Sanketika Puraskar’ by Vignan Group of Institutions Chairman L. Rathaiah in a programme held at the university on the eve of Engineer’s Day.
On the occasion, Mr. Prabhat Kumar said a successful engineer is one who does not disturb the balance of nature and finds solutions to various problems faced by society in a harmonious way.
Students of engineering have a role model in Sir Mokshagundam Visveswaraiah who was one of the great engineers India had produced since times immemorial.
India is full of architecture marvels such as the Taj Mahal, famous temples of South India, dams and many such imposing structures. Mr. Rathaiah said budding engineers should imbibe the qualities of Sir Visveswaraiah and apply technologies to solving local problems. Vice-Chancellor M.S.C. Bose, Registrar A. Leela Mohan Rao, Director of Engineering & Technology V. Madhusudan Rao and Vignan’s Lara Institute of Technology & Science Principal S. Rukmini participated.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Guntur – September 15th, 2013
People having a look at the 59-foot Ganesh idol which is being erected at Khairatabad in the city on Saturday. —DC
Hyderabad:
The mammoth 59-foot Khairatabad Vinayakudu, built by more than 125 workers from all over India, will be open for public viewing from September 5 onwards, however darshans will begin only on September 9 (Monday).
According to the organisers, to the right of the Khairatabad Ganesha, a 20- feet Sri Rama Pattabhishekam idol is being installed and towards the left, Bhuwaneshwari Matha along with Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Rudrudu, Lakshi and Saraswathi idol are being stationed.
M. Sudarshan, founder and chairman of the Khairatabad Utsava Samiti said, the theme adopted this year is Gonaga Chathurmukha Vinayakudu. Devotees will see two cows on both sides of lord Ganesh with five snakes and four faces of the god.
The huge idol that took nearly 50 days to complete, costs Rs 40 lakh. The plastering work is almost complete and painting will start soon. The idol will be ready by September 3.
About 10 CCTV cameras and additional door frame metal detectors will be installed during the 11-day festivities, the committee has also requested for women security guards.
This year, the committee has created a Facebook account of the idol.
“People living abroad can mail us at ganepathideva@gmail.com and send in their prayer requests, following which pujas will be conducted,” said Raj Kumar, committee member.
The Utsava Samiti is conducting its 59th Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / September 01st, 2013
