P. Supreetha./ Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Much to the delight of the Vijaywada chess fraternity, 11-year-old Potluri Supreetha won the silver medal at the Asian Youth Under-13 Rapid Chess championship on Thursday night.
It was a moment to cherish for the city’s chess fraternity as young Potluri Supreetha won her second Asian title at Mashhad (Iran) on Thursday night. She pocketed a silver medal in Asian Youth under-13 rapid chess championship by hauling 5.5 points.
Supreetha (Elo rating 1646) drew her last game with her fellow-Vijayawada player World under-10 champion Nuttaki Priyanka to achieve the podium finish. The only game she lost was against the ultimate champion from China – Yang Yijing.
Earlier, the 11-year-old student of Viswa Bharathi English Medium School won her maiden Asian title when she clinched the gold medal in the Asian School Games in 2012. “Her next destination will be Dubai where she will represent India in the World under-13 championship in December,” said her coach V. R. Bobba.
A trainee of Mustabada Sports and Educational Society, Supreetha is labelled as a player who takes no risks. “She is a consistent player and plays solid chess. As she grows she will learn the intricacies of the game better,” felt Global Chess Academy chief coach Khasim.
Chess is not in the family background of Supreetha and her father takes care of agriculture in Nuzvid. What started off as a hobby went on to become an obsession for the young girl. Her mother gave up her job to concentrate on Supreetha’s fledgling career.
She spends around five hours honing her skills everyday. “Her middle and endgames are encouraging. She needs to master the technique of finishing the game within the allotted time,” felt her coach.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by J.R. Sridharan / June 22nd, 2013
Noted writer and translator Aluri Bhujanga Rao, 83, passed away at his A T Agraharam residence in Guntur on Thursday. He was one of the prominent Telugu writers and translators of Hindi books and novels into Telugu.
He also translated Telugu books into Hindi. He was the editor of the magazine ‘Prabhath’ that was run by outlawed PWG for many decades and was a strong sympathiser of the Marxist party.
He has made invaluable contribution to the Marxist literature and translated many noted Hindi books into Telugu and vice versa.
He translated the works of legendary Hindi writers Premchand and Rahul Sankrityayan and others.
Bhujanga Rao had penned 30 Telugu novels during his long career. Noted among them is ‘Simhavalokanam’, comprising biographies of many freedom-fighters including Bhagat Singh.
Virasam leaders Varavara Rao, Chalasani Prasad, Arasam district president Penugonda Lakshmi Narayana, noted writer K Siva Reddy and others paid tributes to the departed soul here Thursday and expressed deep condolences to Bhujanga Rao’s family members.
Bhujanga Rao is survived by wife, son and three daughters.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service – Guntur / June 21st, 2013
HYDERABAD,: 27-11-2012 Governor E.S.L Narasimhan giving away award to A.Nagendar Reddy,Director,Salarjung Museum, on Indian Red Cross Society annual general meeting day in Hyderabad on Tuesday. / PHOTO: G_Krishnaswamy / The Hindu
More than 60 years after it was opened, Salarjung Museum (SJM) is still in the process of opening more and more galleries. There is never a dull moment with this world famous museum. In the next few months it is going to add three more galleries. The birth anniversary of its founder, Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Bahadur better known as Salarjung III is the occasion for taking stock of things, chalking out plans and setting the road map for future.
Museum Director A. Nagender Reddy explains the new plans on the anvil to J.S. IFTHEKHAR
Any new galleries planned?
Yes, three new galleries are in the pipeline. A gallery containing walking sticks of Salarjung will be opened within a fortnight. As many as 180 walking sticks, some studded with jades, will be on display for the first time. Though Salarjung himself did not use the sticks, he took pains to acquire them from different parts of the world. The gallery is almost ready on the ground floor.
Which is the other gallery you have proposed?
A coins gallery is planned and it is expected to be ready in next two months. It will have more than 1,500 coins right from the Satavahana period to the Nizam’s era. The Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, has agreed to put up two kiosks in the gallery. One will enlighten visitors with the history of money while in the other kiosk with a video will explain the method of detecting fake notes.
And the third gallery?
We have totally refurbished the children’s section at a cost of Rs. 30 lakh. The new gallery on the first floor has 3,500 sq ft area to display everything connected with children in a much better way. This gallery, which will be opened in next four months, will also have computer games to keep the visiting children engaged.
Any other thing?
The Islamic Art Gallery on the second floor in the Eastern Block is in the final stages of construction. A sum of Rs. 3 crore has been spent so far and another Rs. 1.5 crore is required to deck up the interiors. Everything connected with Islam from carpets to the holy Quran will be displayed here. The Islamic Art gallery will be inaugurated during this financial year.
What about plans to provide a virtual tour of the museum?
We plan to tie up with Google to give this enchanting experience to visitors. Shortly the SJM will go in for solar power to meet 40 to 50 p.c. of its energy needs. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has provided a budget of Rs. 3.5 crore. The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation will execute the project.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / June 15th, 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
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> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – June 12th, 2013
It was festival time for the Kidambis of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), when two brothers from the family won international badminton titles on Sunday, a first for India. While younger sibling Srikanth became the first Indian to win a Grand Prix Gold men’s singles title outside the country by winning the Thailand Open, Nandagopal, along with partner Kiran Maneesha, claimed the mixed doubles at the Maldives International tournament.
Srikanth stunned world No.7 Boonsak Ponsana 21-16, 21-13 in Bangkok. In Male, the Indian pair beat Koreans Kim Dae Sung and Oh Bo Kyung 21-16, 23-21.
The Guntur brothers became the first Indian shuttlers to achieve the remarkable feat of winning two titles at two different tournaments on the same day.
If younger sibling Srikanth grabbed the cake by becoming the first Indian to win a Grand Prix Gold men’s singles title outside the country, Nandagopal provided the icing to the celebrations as he and Kiran Maneesha claimed the mixed doubles at the Maldives International tournament. The pair defeated Koreans Dae Sung Kim and Bo Kyung Oh 21-16, 23-21 in the final.
Pitted against a formidable rival, Srikanth came out with all guns blazing to beat world No. 7 and local favourite Boonsak Ponsana in straight games 21-16, 21-13 to lay hands on the Thailand Grand Prix Gold trophy in Bangkok.
“It is a great day for us. This is for the first time we are witnessing such a feat. This shows how well we are progressing in the sport. I am confident that we can hear a lot of good news about men’s badminton in future,” said national coach P Gopichand, who told TOI last year that there would be some ‘exciting’ results in men’s singles within a year’s time.
An elated Srikanth said that he stuck to the plan. “It is a great victory for me. Everyone knows Ponsana is dangerous and a tough nut to crack. But I went in with a clear strategy. I had spoken to my coach before the match and he told me to be aggressive and stay close to the net as the shuttle is very slow here. So I went on an all-out attack right from the start. Once my smashes started hitting the lines it became easy for me,” said Srikanth, who will return to the country on Monday. While facing Ponsana, Indian shuttlers used to adopt a defensive strategy of toss and drop but a change in plan on Sunday seems to have paid rich dividends.
What stunned the critics and fans alike is the way the 20-year-old trainee from the Gopichand Academy handled Ponsana in the final. Srikanth showed utter disregard for the rankings and local support as he crushed the Ponsana in just 33 minutes. The Thai shuttler had defeated several top shuttlers in the past but Sunday was a different tale altogether.
Securing winners with consummate ease, Srikanth opened with a 7-2 lead and though Ponsana stayed close till 15-16, Srikanth killed the contest with a four-point burst at this stage. The Guntur lad was even more aggressive in the second game as he produced nine smash winners and once he moved to 11-4, Ponsana was forced to give up.
If the coaches have any complaint about Srikanth it is his ‘casual’ attitude but it seems he has what it takes to win major titles. “He has a casual and refreshing attitude, doesn’t think much about anything and never gets tense. But he needs to build up his strength. There was a lot of improvement in the last year and there is a lot that needs to be done. He has it in him to break into the top five,” Gopi said.
Meanwhile, it was celebration time in Guntur. With two of his sons winning titles, father KVS Krishna was over the moon. “I don’t have words to describe my feelings. The whole thing is yet to sink in,” said Krishna, a farmer.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports> Badminton /Guntur / by V Ratnakar, TNN / June 10th, 2013
While the May Queen pageant of Secunderabad Club is well known, only a select few are aware of the one at the Rajendra Singhji Institute (RSI) at Yapral.
The May Queen pageant is one of the most popular events in this defense officers’ institute’s social calendar and the RSI was adequately decked up for it in the last week of May.
While the 10 contestants made the job tough for the judges, the gathering was in for an entertaining evening with dance performances by Bollywood actor Hrishita Bhatt and her troupe and a superb laser show.
Other than the now-traditional Indian and Western-wear rounds, the contestants showed off their talents that ranged from singing, dancing and painting to playing the drums blindfolded.
Twenty-year-old Prabhati Gogte was crowned the May Queen. She also walked away with the Miss Talented and Miss Photogenic awards while Ria Singh, 21, and Shelly Katoch, 22, were adjudged the First and Second runner’s up respectively.
This was the first pageant for Prabhati who has just graduated from Badruka College of Commerce. She had to commute for an hour every day for practice at RSI from May 15. “I stay at Kacheguda, my dad would drop me, wait for the event to get over and then take me home,” says Prabhati, who wanted to take part in the pageant after seeing the Secunderabad Club May Queen Ball pictures in the newspaper.
“I had never taken part or even attended May Queen pageants, so I was a bit apprehensive. But not about the catwalk, perhaps this was because of my Kathak training.” Prabhati also made a neat packet from the evening. She took home Rs 10,000 for the Miss Talented title, Rs 10,000 for Miss Photogenic and Rs 20,000 for the May Queen title besides gift hampers worth Rs 9,000.
For first runners up Ria, the evening was “jinxed”. “I participated last year and was first runners up; it was the same this year,” says the professional model.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Fashion/Beauty / by Anisha Dhiman – DC / June 04th, 2013
Amer Beg, driver of the Super Trofeo Lamborgini series, from Hyderabad. / Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Amer Beg, the first Indian to participate in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series, talks about how he made the best use of his resources to zoom his way to into the fast lane to leave a mark on the Indian and the international racing circuit.
If you want to meet someone who can humbly ‘talk’ about himself, it has to be Amer Beg. Amer Beg who? A racing enthusiast who isn’t just new to the racing circuit but is one of the best in the country. And yet, we hear very little of this Hyderabadi who sometimes love to hop on to a bus for a joyride-cum-grocery shopping and thinks the city’s autowalas are amazingly talented in handling speed and time. He enjoys his bus rides despite owning a sports version of a high-end car and an open jeep.
He began humbly on the track and says he could not imagine how he would have continued, had the Gujarati family in Canada not requested him to train their kid in racing. He recollects how he could withstand the pain of two broken ribs and still race with a plaster made of flour and eggs because he didn’t have enough time to make the rounds of the public health care system in Canada.
Automobiles and speed are some of the things Amer is passionate about and almost after a lull of two years, what drew racing enthusiasts’ interest in this Hyderabadi is the fact that Amer Beg has become the first Indian to participate in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series.
He raced in the season opener at the Shanghai International Circuit and Amer’s driving skills got him spotted almost instantly.
Amer Beg, who has half a dozen other motorsports titles under his belt, was given this opportunity by Lamborghini India. Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series is considered to be the fastest one-design series in the world (where all the vehicles are of the same make and same specifications). “The participating race cars in the series are Lamborghini Gallardo 570-4 Super Trofeo. And me getting on the list of drivers was luck after sponsors turned us down. I was fortunate enough be known in the circuit and when the CEO of Lamborghini said he wanted me to represent Lamborghini India as India is an emerging market, it was like a dream come true. The company did everything possible to accommodate me and I was racing with racing giants and legends who have been my idol for years,” says Amer.
Amer’s tryst on the fast lane happened with him following TV shows on rallies and races in the good old cable TV days. “I was a sports TV buff following the drivers on TV and reading up on them on the magazines those days. But since my parents were not too keen on me racing and burning rubber I held my horses till I could get on to a real cart and feel the real energy of racing,” recollects Amer.
After he landed in Canada to pursue higher education, Amer found the right opportunity to try and romance speed. He would race on weekends and during one such race “someone handed over a piece of paper which said, ‘if you think you can race, be here.’”
Amer reached the appointed spot and what does he see, “it is a race where 2214 drivers were participating out of which 800 were veterans and the rest rookies. I was a rookie but I wasn’t thinking about anything. I just wanted to race and get the feel of it. At the end of all the lapses I was in the top 50 and qualified for the finals. And I won that race,” says Amer.
From there on Amer went on to win the Canadian National Championship and Amer was sure he would juggle being a finance manger with a motor company and being a racer. “I basically worked to make ends meet for my races, cart, tyres and all that. My life revolved around the kart track,” he smiles.
In the meantime Amer wasn’t really leading a comfortable life because all his earning were to be saved for his Kart needs. What he says is hard to believe but the logic works, “I was too full of ego to seek help from parents and I was too hooked on to my interest to give up. I would save every penny for the tyres, fuel etc and I would think twice before eating a three-dollar McDonald meal at one go. If I ate the fries for dinner, I would save the burger for breakfast,” recollects Amer.
Amer, now father of a little less than a month old baby girl says he regrets none of the hardship as it only taught him to be better at what he does. And this applies to the fact that the couple is trying to manage home all on their own. “Our mother brought us up with no people attending to us all the time and that is how I want to bring up my daughter. As a couple we are managing and as time goes by we should be experts,” says Amer. But just because he loved to speed on the track doesn’t make Amer a party boy. On the contrary he is quite a shy guy and loves being home and spend time with family. “My wife Sana is adjusting to this as well. She is a great partner.”
On his friends
Amer Beg says he would always be grateful to actor Dia Mirza for her help to raise money for his sponsorship. Dia is Amer’s buddy and Amer and his wife loves having her around at their house. The other person who always saw to it that Amer makes it to the racing arena without much financial glitch is Rohit Reddy. For Amer these two people along with the Gujarati couple in Canada have been most helpful to promote his racing career. “The Gujarati couple was kind enough to tug my cart on their trailer when I didn’t know how to ferry it as I couldn’t afford to even hire one,” says Amer.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Prabalika M. Borah / Hyderabad – June 13th, 2013
A teenager with Hyderabadi roots claimed the top spot at a prestigious international spelling contest in USA on Thursday night.
Arvind Mahankali, 13, from New York, managed to correctly spell the word ‘knaidel’, which denotes a small mass of leavened dough, to win the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Mahankali, who had finished third in 2011 and 2012, fought hard this time to outlast 11 finalists from across the country.
He later revealed that in the last two years, he was eliminated due to German-derived words, but this time, although the winning word was from German-derived Yiddish, he spelled it with ease, causing the audience to erupt in loud applause and cheers. “The German curse has turned into a German blessing,” he said.
Arvind’s immediate family members, who live in the US, were overjoyed at his victory. Although his relatives in Hyderabad remained unavailable for comment, sources said the mood was celebratory at their house as they watched him win the contest on live television.
Reports said that when Arvind’s name was announced as the winner, he looked up at the falling confetti and cracked his knuckles, which had come to be his signature gesture at the contest. The prize includes $30,000 in cash and other gifts, along with a huge cup-shaped trophy. Arvind, an aspiring physicist who admires Albert Einstein , said he would focus on the subject more now that he has conquered the spelling bee.
Arvind is the sixth consecutive Indian-American winner and the 11th in the past 15 years. Pranav Sivakumar from Illinois finished second, fumbling on “cyanophycean”, the word for a blue-green alga. Sriram Hathwar, 13, of New York, came third, and Amber Born, 14, of Massachusetts, stood fourth.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> US & Canada News / by TNN / June 01st, 2013
Ancient coins have been discovered from underneath the Dwajasthambam of Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple at Palacole town in West Godavari district. Temple authorities, who were restoring the Dwajasthambam that fell down last year, were astonished to find a large cache of gold, silver and copper coins inside the foundation. They had dug up the foundation of Dwajasthambam to install a new one.
The temple authorities have informed officials of the state archaeology department. The period of the coins and their historical and archaeological value is yet to be ascertained. They also found a Kurma Yantra from the site.
Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple is one of the Pancharama kshetras in Andhra Pradesh. Great religious and historical significance is attached to the temple.
Thousands of devotees from all over the state visit the temple and offer prayers to the presiding deity.
Religious legends trace the history of the temple to the period of Ramayana.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / June 03rd, 2013
On the Oscar morning in February, an office in Madhapur burst into celebration as they saw their hardwork bear fruition through the award for best visual effects given out to Life of Pi. Rhythm & Hues (R&H), a Los Angeles based animation company had its folks here in Hyderabad and Mumbai work on the film, naturally leading to a very proud team moment when the Oscar was announced.
However, another office, not far away from R&H, also celebrated the win. The Hyderabad branch of Aide-et-Action (AEA), an international non governmental organisation were also proud for among the winning team was their volunteer Shuchi Singhal. The lead animator at the Hyderabad office of R&H, this 28 year old became the practical example of their goal to see women empowerment at its optimum.
Being a part of a profession that has largely been a male domain, Shuchi became interested in animation while pursuing her bachelors in Fine Arts at Delhi. Hailing from Jaipur, Rajasthan, she began bursting a growing passion for communicating through motions which led her to pursue a part time course in animation at the Maya Academy Of Advanced Cinimatics. Later, an internship at the R&H studio in Delhi turned into her becoming the team lead for the post production work on the Life of Pi.
Here in Hyderabad for the past five years, Shuchi soon became attached to the AEA. In her four years with them, she has contributed to their women empowerment projects through her voluntary work.
Giving a choice to female animators, she says, “Anyone can learn the technology behind animation. In today’s technological world, women can learn animation from home and earn through free lance work. But, how you observe things and imagine them is important. If a woman wants to achieve a goal in life, there are means to it.” Keeping in line with her voluntary work, she plans to conduct training session in animation at the organisation. But the bottomline she feels is that “skill and passion are more important than money”.
Started in 1981 in France and India, AEA is spread over 28 countries and has been trying to affect change through education.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Ahammed Juniah / Express News Service – Hyderabad / June 04th, 2013
