Monthly Archives: December 2013

Local boy Ahmed wins Asian silver, creates waves

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Mohammad Ahmed with the silver medal he won at the recent Asian Rowing Championship, at the Hussainsagar in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Mohammad Ahmed with the silver medal he won at the recent Asian Rowing Championship, at the Hussainsagar in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu

After a silver at the Asian Rowing Championship – the latest addition to the many feathers in his cap, this 20-year-old has set his sights on greater glory

For a sport dominated by personnel from the Services, 20-year-old local boy Mohammed Ahmed has managed to surprise, and delight all. He is now virtually the non-playing captain of the coxed eights Indian rowing team.

His recent silver in the Asian Rowing Championship in China shone bright in his smile as he returned to the Hussainsagar on Tuesday.

The son of Mohammed Ismail, a meat-seller from Kavadiguda, Ahmed took to the sport after one of his routine trips to the lake along with his father three years ago. Dronacharya Ismail Baig suggested the boy take up rowing. What ensued was rowing’s gain.

Ahmed won gold in the Kolkata Senior Nationals in the coxed four event, bronze in the Hyderabad Nationals in the coxed eight team and later a silver in the Asian championship later on in Korea. All these vindicated the faith shown by Baig, the untiring coach who has been shaping the destiny of most rowers in Hyderabad for close to 13 years now.

“I am enjoying every moment. Thanks to Ismail sir, I can now dream big,” the shy youngster says, even as he proudly displays his medal to his famed coach.

What exactly is this young rower’s role in a coxed eights event?

“Well, he is like a guide, telling the teammates when to accelerate in the course, how the conditions are at a given time. Otherwise, the rowers will be busy unleashing their power to keep up the pace. It is a very demanding job. Though he doesn’t row, it requires high levels of focus,” Mr. Baig says.

Ahmed, who adores cricketer Virat Kohli (he even tries to sport a similar hairstyle), plays cricket and badminton to relax after hard work in the waters. A student of St. Antony’s High School, this shy rower was only recently drafted into the CRPF, and will be reporting for duty next week.

“My next big target is to win a medal in the next year’s Asian Games and then think about the Olympics. I owe everything to my coach sir and to the Federation officials for backing me up,” Ahmed signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V. V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – October 01st, 2013

Roti fest arrangements inspected by Anam Vivekananda Reddy

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Women devotees exchange the rotis at Bara Shaheed Dargah at Nellore tank in Nellore city. — DC File photo.
Women devotees exchange the rotis at Bara Shaheed Dargah at Nellore tank in Nellore city. — DC File photo.

Nellore:

Nellore rural MLA Anam Vivekananda Reddy reviewed the ongoing arrangements for the world famous week-long Rottela Panduga (Roti festival) to be held at the sprawling premises of Bara Shahid Dargah on the banks of Nellore tank at Dargamitta in Nellore city on Friday.

With over five lakh devotees from across the globe expected to take part in the festivities the MLA inspected arrangements in terms of Q lines, water supply, sanitation and so on.

Anam Viveka called upon the officials to keep in view the last year’s heavy rush and ensure fool proof arrangements for the smooth conduct of the ongoing festivities.

Speaking to reporters on the arrangements, Anam Viveka said that the entire stretch, consisting of hundreds of acres had been cleaned and flattened for enabling devotees to exchange rotis as part of the celebrations.

The MLA added that necessary instructions have been given to the officials of the Nellore Municipal Corporation to keep a strict vigil on the Dargah surroundings till the completion of the festivities.

He added that in view of the increasing influx of dev-otees, works to provide long-term amenities to the devotees would be launched by the minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy on Saturday at a cost of Rs 11 crore.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / November 16th, 2013

Tuesday Pasta Mania launched at Testa Rossa Caffe outlets in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Testa Rossa Caffe, which has two outlets in Hyderabad (at Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills) and a third in its twin city, Secunderabad, introduced Tuesday Pasta Mania. Patrons can walk in every Tuesday and sample an array of vegetarian pastas (priced at Rs 199 each) and non-vegetarian ones (priced at Rs 249).

The vegetarian pastas include Penne Arabiatta; Penne Panna e Funghi; Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Perperonicino; Fusilli Alfredo; Fusilli Panna e Noci, and Fusilli Marinara. The non-vegetarian ones include Penne Arabiatta e Pollo; Farfalle Polo e Funghi; Fusilli Alfredo e Pollo; Spaghetti Al Ajo Agnelo; Lasagna Pascalino, and Penne Alfredo e Pollo.

source: http://www.fnbnews.com / FnBnews.com / Home> WorldView> Top News / by FnB Bureau, Mumbai / Saturday – November 16th, 2013

Gir cow milk to reach Krishna District soon

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

G. Sudarshana Rao at his farm with Gir breed cows at Veerankilakulu in Krishna district./ Photo:V. Raju / The Hindu
G. Sudarshana Rao at his farm with Gir breed cows at Veerankilakulu in Krishna district./ Photo:V. Raju / The Hindu

‘Gir cow fed with a special feed can produce milk that has medicinal values’

Milk from Gir breed of cows that originally inhabited the Gir Forest in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, are here in Krishna District, thanks to the entrepreneur-turned-medico G. Sudarsana Rao, who has set up a dairy at Veerankilakulu village in Vuyyuru mandal.

In an exclusive chat with The Hindu, he said that the Gir breed of cows give milk that contains conjugated lineolic acid, which has been proved to be an anti-cancer compound.

The claim that Gir cow milk not only prevents but controls diabetes is not yet settled. As per ongoing research by Sai Butcha Rao, a research associate at International Livestock Research Institute, ICRISAT, Patancheru, if the Gir cow is fed with a special feed it could produce milk that has medicinal values to stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin and thereby control diabetes.

According to him, the mention of this breed was made in the Vedas and the Brazilians had taken thousands of cows of this breed to their country centuries ago from Gujarat.

Today, the breed is called Girolando in Brazil, he said. The breed is on the verge of extinction in its native country, he claims. “Today, there are about 15,000 of these cows left in Gujarat. And to save the breed the Gujarat Government has embarked on an ambitious breeding project at a cost of Rs.1,400 crore,” he added.

Dr. Sudarsana Rao said that the Gir cow milk was lighter compared to others, has high concentration of calcium, proteins and vitamins D and C and is sweet and tasteful.

To begin with, he has imported about 34 animals and aims to have a stock of 400 in a year. Terming the milk as ‘organic milk’ under the brand Ayush Organic Product, he said: “No milk is organic, but it becomes organic based on the organic feed that is fed to the cattle.”

No chemical used

The farm has a hydroponic machine that produces tailor-made green organic fodder. The imported machine can generate fodder from seeds such as barley or horseshoe gram in a controlled environment. For every 1.25 kg. of seed we can get green and highly nutrient organic fodder up to 8 to 10 kg. and the facility can be easily expanded depending on the requirement, he observed.

Dr Rao also pointed out that no chemical is used in the processing. “The milk that is extracted goes directly to the chilling machine and is chilled at 2 degrees and immediately packed and transported in insulated boxes, where the temperature is maintained at 3 degree Celsius,” he said.

According to him, the yield of the native breed is much less compared to the Holstein Friesian (HF) breed. Initially, the milk will be marketed in half and one-litre packets in Hyderabad and later sold at other major cities such as Vijayawada and Guntur through select outlets. The farm will be inaugurated by Animal Husbandry Director D. Venkateswarulu on Wednesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bharracharjee / Vuyyuru – November 13th, 2013

Japan to provide Rs. 1958 crore assistance to IIT Hyderabad

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative, JICA India. / File photo: Kamal Narang / The Hindu
Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative, JICA India. / File photo: Kamal Narang / The Hindu

Japan will extend an assistance of Rs. 1,958 crore (30.7 billion yen) to India for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and investment promotion programme in Tamil Nadu.

An agreement to this effect was exchanged in New Delhi on Tuesday between Rajesh Khullar, Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry and Takeshi Yagi, Ambassador of Japan to India, according to a statement issued by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The statement said an amount of Rs. 1,129 crore will be provided for the second phase of campus development at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad. Further, JICA will provide Rs. 829 crore for the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme. The objective of the Tamil Nadu programme is to support policy implementation to improve the investment climate in Tamil Nadu, thereby easing business hurdles for foreign investors.

This would include development of infrastructure such as road, power supply, water and sewerage systems, especially those for factories and industrial zones in the Chennai metropolitan area, where international manufacturers have set up factories.

“Development of the manufacturing sector is a key for faster growth and job creation in India. India needs foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing and that can happen only if quality infrastructure is developed,” chief representative of JICA in India Shinya Ejima said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> Economy / by Sujay Mehdudia / New Delhi – November 12th, 2013

Weaves of tradition and art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

“There is a pride in dressing traditionally”, says Hyderabad’s very own Gaurang Shah known for his traditional weaves and handloom sarees. Showcasing his latest collection Paanchali in the city on Tuesday, Gaurang treated his patrons to a colourful melange of pinks, blues, yellows and whites, going against the typical sobre shades of nude and grey that usually feature this season.  His first solo show in the city, the fashion parade was a treat indeed.

Paachali brings the best of five states into one exotic collection that echo designs from the 15-16 century, with an elephant motif here, mango motif there, and plenty of flora.

As many as 50 hand-woven traditional sarees were presented, bringing together tradition and modern themes in perfect harmony. Inspired from Jamdani (fabric made out of cotton), the label Gaurang kept reiterating the beauty and elegance of Indian designs as double shades, geometric motifs of diamonds and zari came together. Sarees like Kanjeevaram, Paithani, Kota, Uppada, Venkatagiri that were woven in soft shades of purple, green and pink and contrasted by stronger shades of oranges and reds alluded to Gaurang’s trademark.

While models sashayed in shimmery fabric, a live rendition of classical music accompanied them, courtesy students of Arabhi School of Performing Arts. Present along with their guru Ashok Gurjale, the ensemble of the violin, ghatam and mridangam left the show with an almost ethereal mood.

The show was presented by Sanskruti, an organisation dedicated to promoting Indian traditional art, in association with Gaurang at Hotel Marigold Greenlands to create an awareness about the art. As many as 500 weavers from across the country worked along with the designer at the grassroot level to bring out the collection.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Sameera Jonnalagadda / ENS – Hyderabad / November 13th, 2013