Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi releasing the Special Postal Cover in Bapatla on Friday /. Photo: T. Vijayakumar / The Hindu
Panabaka Lakshmi releases a Special Postal Cover marking the historic event
The centenary celebrations of first Andhra Conference (`Pradhama Andhra Mahasabha’ began at the historic Town Hall here on Friday. Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi inaugurated the event by hoisting a flag and released a Special Postal Cover worth Rs 5.
Rich tributes were paid to B. Narasimheswara Sarma, a member of the Imperial Legislative Council who presided over the Conference, and stalwarts like Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetaramaiah, Pingali Venkaiah, Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham Pantulu, Konda Venkatappaiah and Mutnuri Krishna Rao.
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Lakshmi said the town was privileged to host the first Andhra Conference on May 26, 1913.
The movement for separate State for the Telugu speaking people had its seeds sown in this conference and the dream was ultimately realized due to the sacrifices made by some great men and women.
Ms. Lakshmi said a concerted effort has to be made to protect the native culture and traditions which earned global acclaim and observed that the Conference had given impetus to the growth of Telugu into a classical language.
MLA Gade Venkata Reddy said the distinct identity that the first `Andhra Conference had earned for Telugu people and their language should be preserved by them and wanted them to stay united wherever they are.
Collector S. Suresh Kumar, Director of Postal Services (Vijayawada) M. Venkateswarulu, RDO S. Srinivasa Murthy, Centenary Celebrations Committee Convener P C Sai Babu and Co-Convener K. Venkateswara Reddy and others participated.
Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah will be participating as the chief guest in the program to be held at the Municipal High School ground on May 26.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Bapatla – May 25th, 2013
Saina Nehwal -led Hyderabad Hotshots crowned themselves as the champions of the inaugural Indian Badminton League when they downed Awadhe Warriors 3-1 in the finals at the NSCI Stadium here today.
Indian shuttle queen Saina brought the Hotshots on level terms by trouncing her young challenger P V Sindhu in straight games (21-15, 21-7) in 35 minutes after K Srikanth gave the Warriors an unexpected 1-0 lead by stunning top-20 rival S Tanongsak in straight games, 21-12, 21-20.
Hotshots surged ahead again after Saina’s thumping win when their top Malaysian men’s doubles team of Goh V Shem and Wah Lim Khim got the better of the scratch Danish-Indonesian pair of Mathias Boe and Markis Kido in three games 21-14 13-21 11-4.
Later Ajay Jayaram did the star turn for the Hotshots with a wonderful turnaround when he got past R M V Gurusaidutt after dropping the first game.
Jayaram, ranked 24th in the world, beat 20th ranked Guru 10-21, 21-17, 11-7 in 52 minutes to help the Hotshots win the top prize of Rs 3.5 crore. Warriors took home Rs 1.75 crore.
Srikanth shocked his Thai rival Tanongsak, ranked 19 places above him in the world, by his aggression to chalk up an impressive 21-12, 21-20 win in 38 minutes to put the Warriors 1-0 ahead.
However, any hopes of Sindhu making it a commanding 2-0 lead for the Lucknow-based Warriors vanished into thin air when she was overpowered by her more experienced rival in the eagerly awaited battle between India’s top two woman shuttlers.
Saina, who had beaten the taller Sindhu when the two met earlier on August 15 in the league stage of the event, smashed and dropped her way with impunity to win the one-sided contest 21-15, 21-7 in only 35 minutes and helped the Hotshots square the contest 1-1.
The Warriors hen looked all set to equalize the rubber for the second time during the clash when R M V Gurusaidutt overcame an error prone Ajay Jayaram of Hotshots, in the opening game.
But Jayaram, who trailed his rival 4-7 in the second game too, made a splendid fightback from 10-14 in the second and caught up at 17 with a drop.
Jayaram then went ahead and then rattled off three more points to clinch the game with a jump smash. In the third, Jayaram surged ahead from 5-all by stepping up his game a notch to clinch the decider. He smashed well when in sight of victory and took the last point with a drop shot.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National / by Press Trust of India / Mumbai – September 01st, 2013
Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds inspector KLVSSNV Prasad Babu was named for the highest peace time gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra, posthumously on 15 August 2013.
It is the first time in Andhra Pradesh police and Greyhounds history that an officer was chosen for this award. Greyhounds is an elite commando force of Andhra Pradesh created to combat left-wing extremists.
Prasad Babu, 33, who was a native of Marturu village in Visakhapatnam district, was killed by Maoists in the forests of Chhattisgarh in April, 2013. Prasad had joined the police department as a sub-inspector in 2004 and was subsequently promoted as an inspector. His father Karanam Venkataramaiah is a retired constable.
Prasad Babu had played a crucial role in gunning down 10 Maoists in the encounter in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh in April 2013.
About Ashok Chakra
The Ashok Chakra is awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice other than in the face of the enemy.
Gallantary Awards
The Ashoka Chakra series of gallantry awards are amongst the highest gallantry awards of the country. These awards are given in three categories viz. Ashoka Chakra (awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some act of daring or preeminent valour of self service), Kirti Chakra (awarded for conspicuous gallantry) and Shaurya Chakra (awarded for gallantry).
The awards are announced by the Government of India on the occasion of Republic Day and Independence Day every year.
Besides the Defence personnel, civilian citizens of either sex in all walks of life, and members of Police Forces, Central Para military Forces and Railway Protection Force are also eligible for these awards.
source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home> English> News> Current Affiairs / August 15th, 2013
Kirthiga Reddy,head,Facebook India delivering a lecture on Future of the Digital: A Vision Statement at the two day ISB Digital Summit being held at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad on Friday | RVK Rao
No matter how low the price of mobile phones and other electronic devices are, the main issues are rising cost of data packages and lack of infrastructure, especially in rural areas, according to Kirthiga Reddy, head, Facebook India.
Kirthiga was speaking on the topic, Future of the Digital: A vision statement at the two-day ISB Digital Summit 2013 held at Indian School of Business which commenced on Friday.
In an elaborate speech on Facebook’s vision, she touched upon factors like users, targeted reach, equalisation, personalisation as the five important points leading to the future of the digital arena.
Stating that Facebook’s goal was to reach five billion users in the next five years, she added, that the goal could be achieved only by taking along all the stakeholders like governments, business establishments and telecom companies. She also explained how the devices used today would be 100 times faster in the future with the advancement in applications, networks, data access and other factors. She admitted that data transmission prices were the biggest barrier today.
According to her, local languages too are barriers in terms of compatibility of content. Responding to a query on how would social media including Facebook impact the society, Reddy said, “Every medium is a medium and it is up to us on how we use it.”
Speaking at the first panel discussion on mobile marketing and location based services(LBS), Sridhar Iyer, director, Digital Business, Citibank India pointed out that the growth in smart phones usage will lend itself to location-based services as mobile devices today are centre to all activities including social, shopping and banking among others.
Explaining factors that hinder location based services in the country, he said, geographic information system (GIS) needs to improve and termed the lack of wireless networks, bandwidth limitation, network congestion, high cost of 3G services, lack of awareness among age group above 45 and other causes as some of the major constraints. However, he was confident that LBS was bound to grow with significant amount of investment and subsequent increase in competition.
Anuj Kumar, co-founder and MD, Ripple, who spoke about mobile advertising, pointed out that battery problems in smart phones is the biggest challenge in the advancement of LBS. He hoped it would be solved in the near future.
Social media expert and CEO of Autumn Worldwide, Anusha Shetty, noted that, at a time when users relate to the virtual world more than the real one, it is the responsibility of brands to ensure that problems are addressed and solved in real-time.
Anushka further explained that 66 per cent of Facebook and 50 per cent of Twitter users in the country use mobile devices for internet access and that in the future people would look up to first-hand information on social media over newspapers and channels.
The ISB Digital summit is being organised by the Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy at ISB in association with Jigserv Digital, a digital marketing company founded by four ISB alumni. The summit will discuss and debate on trends in the digital media, recent innovations, new business models.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / August 31st, 2013
The nearly 4,000 kg laddu, which is to be offered to the 56-feet Khairatabad Ganesh, will reach the city on September 8. It will be the third consecutive year that an East Godavari-based sweet maker is making the offering to the tallest Ganesh idol in the city. Sixteen people, including the sweet maker PVVS Mallikarjuna Rao, would undertake a special deeksha at his shop in Tapeswaram village. As part of the ritual, a small Ganesh idol was installed there on August 31. The team will start preparing the boondi on September 4 and start the actual preparation of the laddu two days later. They would be using 1,600 kg sugar, 1,000 kg Bengal gram (Chana dal), 900 kg ghee, 200 kg cashew, 100 kg almonds , 50 kg cardamom and 10 kg green camphor to make the laddu. The final touches would be given on September 7. tnn It would be brought to the city through a special transport arrangement,.
“We have taken all measures to keep the laddu fresh till the time of immersion. In fact, the city’s weather will aid in keeping the laddu fresh,” Mallikarjuna Rao told TOI. He would also offer a 50 kg laddu to a Ganesh idol to be put up at Chappal Bazar in the city.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Laddu / TNN / September 02nd, 2013
Top Rankers of ICWA, D. Guru Prasad and T. Rajani interact with The Hindu in Vijayawada. / Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu
A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work- Colin Powell. This piece of advice from the veteran general of US Gulf War appears to have hit the duo from Vijayawada D. Guru Prasad and T. Rajani hard and fast. It is sole determination that has brought both of them this far in their academic pursuit.
While Guru Prasad topped the recently held ICWA (Intermediate) examination in the all-India level, Rajani secured the third rank in the ICWA (Final) examination. But what makes them stand out? It is the economic background that they come from.
While Guru Prasad is the son of an autorickshaw driver in Kadapa, Rajani is the daughter of a daily wage earner.
And it is not the first time that both of them had topped any examination. While Guru Prasad secured the all-India first rank in the CA IPCC examination and ICWA (Foundation) examination and stood fifth in the CA CPT examination; Rajani secured the all-India second rank in CA (Inter). And all through they had been coached at Superwhizz-Vijayawada.
On why CA and ICWA, Guru Prasad said, “The economic condition impelled me to take up the course. I secured 97 per cent in intermediate and Superwhizz offered me free coaching for CA CPT and promised me free tuitions for CA and ICWA if I secured ranks within top 5 in the CPT and ICWA foundation. I worked hard for 15 hours a day and secured fifth rank in both the examination. Moreover, I decided that I would take up CA and ICWA, as even an engineering degree would take four years, so why not put that effort here. I need to settle fast to take care of my family and two sisters.”
The same was the case with Rajani. “It was not possible for my family to fund my engineering education, as the reimbursement scheme was not there at that time. Moreover, CA or ICWA offers a better career and I need to settle fast. Economic situation hardened my determination.”
While Guru Prasad is getting busy to tackle the finals of both CA and ICWA, Rajani has just got to complete CA (Final), and the world would be at their feet.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hind / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / August 30th, 2013
After earning the enviable tag of being among the top three cities in India with high green cover, Hyderabad is now gearing up to be the only city to host the cleanest and greenest marathon in India — the Hyderabad Marathon, scheduled for August 25.
Waste Warriors, a voluntary organisation for waste management, will be manning 20 checkpoints along the way. Assisting them will be 150 volunteers from various schools in the city.
Jodie Underhill, founder of Waste Warriors, said, “Our activities at the marathon will include waste segregation at source, maximising recycling to reduce the amount going to landfill and composting of food waste. We will also be educating people and raising awareness prior to the event, with emphasis on keeping the route clean rather than just cleaning up afterwards.”
Underhill said that during the race, “We are encouraging runners to use the garbage bags that are provided wherever possible, alternatively garbage can be thrown on the ground in the 200-metre stretch on either side of any of the 18 check points.
We also have four garbage trucks standing by, to collect from roadsides and checkpoints.” Anticipating a crowd of 6,000 runners, the marathon is being organised by Hyderabad Runners.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by Krithi Gonwar, DC / August 23rd, 2013
The city of destiny has indeed another feather in its cap as it has been confirmed that the 5-km Olympic Day Run organised by Visakhapatnam District Olympic Association (VDOA) in Vizag on June 23 is a Guinness record with the participation of 86,549 people.
Vizag beat Washington District, Colombia of United States in its bid to enter the Guinness World Records with the largest Olympic Day Run ever.
VDOA president T. Harsha Vardhan Prasad, on Sunday, announced that the authorities of the Guinness World Records confirmed that the 5-km run organised by them has set a record in the maximum number of participants category.
He said that they have received the certificate from the authorities and that it was handed over to minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, the chairman of the 5-km run, here on Sunday.
Prasad said that they beat the previous record of 85,976 people, who took part in 5-km Olympic Day Run at Washington in 1988.
Speaking on the occasion, minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said Vizag will be hosting many such events in the future as well and that the city will emerge as a sports hub in the region.
He said participants of the 5K-run can get a certificate in their name from the Guinness World Records if more than 10,000 people are ready to pay Rs 300 each to VDOA.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / August 19th, 2013
“I want to become World number one,” Sindhu had told IANS a couple of months ago. With her bronze medal in the World Badminton Championships, she has made a giant leap towards that goal.
Despite Saturday’s loss in the semifinal to Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, the 18-year-old Hyderabadi has won many hearts.
Her sterling victories over the defending champion Yihan Wang and Asian Games gold medallist Shixian Wang en route the last four may enable Sindhu, currently ranked 12th, to break into top 10.
Sindhu may be upset over the loss in the semifinal but her parents, both former volleyball players, are happy that she made the country proud by winning a medal.
She became the first Indian to win a women’s singles medal in the Worlds. Prakash Padukone won the men’s singles bronze in 1983 at Copenhagen while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won another bronze in women’s doubles in the 2011 edition.
“The entire country was expecting her to win. She settled for a bronze but a medal is a medal. We are happy that she has won a medal for the country,” Sindhu’s proud father P. V. Ramana told IANS.
“This was her first appearance in the World Championship. She has achieved this at a very young age. We are confident she will do better in future,” said Ramana, an Arjuna awardee.
According to him, there was pressure on Sindhu while her opponent played very well. He, however, is elated that her daughter put up a scintillating show in the tournament.
He believes sincerity, dedication and simplicity are the secrets of Sindhu’s success. This five feet six inch tall sensation has come a long way since she started playing badminton at the age of eight.
Ramana feels having a coach like Pullela Gopichand, the support from Badminton Federation of India, Olympic Gold Quest and Universal Collectabillia, company jointly owned by ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar encouraged her. The job provided by Bharat Petroleum, which has now also promised a promotion, also motivated the girl.
It was last year that Sindhu emerged as a giant-killer like Saina Nehwal when she won the Asian Youth (under-19) Championship. This coupled with the national title she bagged earlier that year gave her confidence to aim bigger.
Sindhu, who completed her class 12 last year, is the only player since the legendary Padukone to hold both junior and senior national titles. Sindhu, who turned 18 on July 5, has fast climbed the ladder of success thanks to her hard work and dedication.
Mohammed Ali was her first coach when she starting playing the game near her house in Secunderabad. She then started training at the Lal Bahadur Stadium and later moved to the Pullela Gopichand Academy.
“Playing badminton was my own interest. My dad didn’t force me to play volleyball or any other game. They left the choice to me and encouraged me a lot,” Sindhu had told IANS.
Ramana and his wife Vijaya made many sacrifices to groom her. As Gopichand Academy is located 27 km away from their house, her father always used to drop and take her back home.
The fact that both her parents are sportspersons greatly helped Sindhu. “We advised and guided her in many respects like how much rest she should take after the practice and how she can remain fit. This helped the child to come up,” said Ramana.
“We accompany her during the practice sessions and watch the movements her coach teaches. We ask her to keep on repeating those movements after she comes back home. If you are not a sportsperson you will not be able to tell all these things to your child. This gave her the motivation,” he added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by IANS – Hyderabad / August 11th, 2013
Kingdom of words: Chowmahalla Palace Library, Hyderabad. – Nagara Gopal
There is something about the quiescence and period ambience of the Chowmahalla Palace Library that is instantly charming. There are about 10,000 books and manuscripts in this admirable collection housed in old-world wooden cupboards and surrounded by carefully refurbished vintage furniture. The newly opened library is in Mahtab Mahal, one of the four palaces in the Chowmahalla complex at Khilwat in the Charminar area of Hyderabad.
Built over 200 years ago, the magnificent Chowmahalla was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and the venue where the Nizams entertained royal visitors and official guests. An amalgam of architectural styles and influences, the palace complex was carefully restored and opened to the public about eight years ago. The heritage building is now also available for private and corporate events.
Falaknuma library
The library is the latest attraction, rich with timeworn tomes sourced from the Asaf Jahi palaces in the city, including the Chiraan Palace, Nazri Bagh and, of course, Chowmahalla itself.
The Nizams loved literature and some of them were poets in their own right, including the first two Nizams, Mir Qamaruddin Khan and Mir Nizam Ali Khan, and the last two, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan and Mir Osman Ali Khan.
The books are in Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English. Some of them are nearly three centuries old. Besides works of history, geography, art and culture, poetry, Islamic law, medicine and philosophy, the repository has biographies, encyclopaedias and dictionaries.
An exquisite collection of rare Quran editions in calligraphy includes several that were received as birthday gifts by the seventh Nizam.
Of the nearly 300 Qurans in this library, 28 are being painstakingly restored for display in a special section.
There are priceless editions of the Quran in handmade paper, the text handwritten and embellished with gold, gems and pearls. Pointing to the richly-hued pages of one book, a member of the restoration team explains that the gold, red, blue and white colours come respectively from powders of gold, cinnebar, lapis lazuli and pearl.
Many of the English books are first editions from the UK. The bilingual dictionaries in the collection include English-Urdu, Persian-English and Persian-Urdu.
Vintage volumes such as Princes and Chiefs of India, View of Hindoostan, a set of Chambers Encyclopaedias, Glimpses of India, and Delhi Durbar are on view. A lot of hard work has gone into creating this library as many of the books were in a state of neglect, attacked by termites and wood-louse. The restorers did battle with missing pages and jackets, damaged pages and faded lettering. Mahtab Mahal itself needed some sprucing-up.
“The whole process took over six months… We have ensured attention to detail in the restoration and conservation of the books, and the setting up of the library,” says G. Kishan Rao, Director, Chowmahalla Palace. “This was all made possible by Princess Esra’s [Birgin] strong commitment and invaluable encouragement. We also used expert advice from academicians and professionals.”
The books were cleaned in a fumigation chamber and sent for binding — all the restoration work was done in-house.
The cataloguing was another time-consuming effort. “The books have been catalogued according to the US Library of Congress, which is a unique world resource,” says Rao.
Besides tourists and curious onlookers, the library with its rich and valuable trove is soon expected to attract bibliophiles, students and research scholars.
You may borrow a book to read on the premises, seated on the antique (renovated) furniture.
A Rs 100 fee is charged for use of the library, inclusive of the palace entry charge. Virtual visitors can go to www.chowmahalla.com .
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Weekend Life / by Aruna Chandarajan
