Monthly Archives: October 2012

‘I enjoy a sense of achievement’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Christine Lazarus, who is serving as a nominated MLA for the third consecutive term, says she enjoys a sense of achievement for tirelessly working for the welfare of the Anglo Indian Community (AIC) in particular and the Christian community in general.

Addressing a press conference in Vishakhapatnam on Sunday, Ms. Lazarus said she could facilitate construction of community centres in several districts, arrange scholarship for Anglo Indian students up to secondary education, establish training centres, and achieve reservations in education.

She said 185 seats in professional courses were reserved for the community, including medical, engineering, dental, architecture, and pharmacy. Ms. Lazarus said she was instrumental in issuing of AIC identity certificates for claiming government benefits.

Plea to Collector

She said the district Collector was requested to utilise the services of the community members in teaching spoken English to teachers in government schools. The Collector was also requested to allot land for building a community centre in the city.

JNNURM houses

She also urged MLA Dronamraju Srinivas to sanction 130 JNNURM houses to the community members.

Ms. Lazarus appealed to the Divisional Railway Manager to hand over the Railway Institute to the Anglo Indian Association so that they could organise several cultural programmes and properly utilise and maintain the same for public purposes.

She said the community members had been using the institute since the days of the British and they had a sense of attachment with it.

She congratulated the ‘Anglo Indian Jaguar’ team for winning the national hockey trophy conducted at Bangalore and Chennai.

Anglo Indian Women’s Association president Yolander was present.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / october 01st, 2012

Hugging his way to Guinness World Record!

Records, All

Endearing:Squadron leader Jayasimha giving hugs to faculty members and students to set a new Guinness World Record in Aditya Institute of Technology and Management at Tekkali on Saturday. He gave 2,436 hugs in one hour breaking the previous record of an American who had given 1,749 hugs in one hour.Photo: Bhasheer

Endearing: Squadron leader Jayasimha giving hugs to faculty members and students to set a new Guinness World Record in Aditya Institute of Technology and Management at Tekkali on Saturday. He gave 2,436 hugs in one hour breaking the previous record of an American who had given 1,749 hugs in one hour. / Photo: Bhasheer / The Hindu

Memory techniques trainer Squadron Leader Jayasimha on Saturday created a ‘Guinness World Record’ with the highest number of hugs in one hour in Aditya Institute of Technology and Management-Tekkali. He gave 2,436 hugs to students, faculty members and staff of the college, breaking the previous record which was in the name of an American Nick with 1,749 hugs in one hour in the year 2010.

Mr.Jayasimha holds 23 previous Guinness World records. The video footage, names and signatures of the students who hugged him will be sent to the office of Guinness World Records which would send the certificate in a couple of weeks if it is satisfied with details.

The AITAM college students formed into groups and queued up in a systematic manner to complete the hugging process quickly. Within 45 minutes, Mr.Jayasimha broke the previous record of 1,749 hugs and completed 2,436 hugs in the stipulated one hour.

As soon as he broke the record, the students expressed happiness with fireworks and distribution of sweets.

AITAM Director VV Nageswara Rao and others congratulated Mr.Jayasimha and thanked him. Talking to the media after breaking the record, Mr.Jayasimha said that embracing one another was part of Indian culture and it would enhance love and affection among people.

“All Indians used to greet one another with hugging in olden days. Foreigners adopted in their culture but we forgot its importance. That is why I took the event to spread the message of love and affection in the country and to remind all of the Indian tradition,”

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Srikakulam, September 30th, 2012

AP to set up incubation centre for product-based IT start-ups, SMEs

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The incubation centre, spread across 27,000-sft area, will come up near Hi-tech city in Hyderabad

To encourage product development among start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under information technology (IT) domain, the Andhra Pradesh government is planning to set up an incubation centre in Hyderabad.

“The state is now more focused on promoting product development in the IT sector. With objective to facilitate product development in the state, this initiative will empower the start-ups and other independent developers to come and use the plug-and-play facility,” P Venugopal, director of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Hyderabad, told Business Standard.

The incubation centre, spread across 27,000-sft area, will come up near Hi-tech city in Hyderabad. “We expect the centre to become operational in the next six months,” he said.

The state has appointed a consulting agency, which is working on the feasibility of the centre. “The drawing has been approved by the government, now the agency is preparing the estimated cost for the centre,” he said.

Replying to a query on the number of product development companies that are going to be benefited through this incubation centre, Venugopal said, “Once the centre will become operational, we can put a number.”

source: http://www.Business-Standard.com / Home> Economy & Policy / by Itishree Samal / Hyderabad, October 02nd, 2012

Harvest food

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Mooncakes at Golden Dragon

Indulge in a variety of delights at Golden Dragon

Get practising on chopsticks; it’s that time of year when you can treat yourself to spicy, sweet and tangy tastes of China. The on-going August Moon Festival at Golden Dragon in Taj Krishna has got a host of items on offer. A harvest festival of China, it is considered an epicure’s delight. For starters, dig into the Macadamian nuts with stir fried onions and their mushrooms and water chestnut in barbeque glaze. You wouldn’t go wrong in opting for the soft shell crab in butter chilly garlic or the wok tossed rock lobster chilli coriander. Move over to the soups and you have the appetising spicy mushroom, corn and zucchini broth and the sea-food coriander soup.

The August Moon Festival menu is exciting, with extensive sea-food options like stir fried squids served along with Chinese greens, or their east-coast prawns with sweet peppers and shitake in spicy hoisin sauce. If you’re looking for something simple, opt for the sliced fish in tangy yellow bean sauce. Coming to poultry and meats, try the diced duck in star anise flavoured orange sauce. Chef Ajai Rawat and Chef Hung Fong Ng vouch for the home style tenderloin. Its World Vegetarian Day today, so we askabout what’s in store for vegetarians. Ajai quickly says, “You have to try the crunchy water chestnuts and Tofu in wild pepper sauce.” Those who don’t like Tofu can opt for the wok tossed zucchini and broccoli in tangy plum glaze. Pick the broccoli and egg white fried rice or the spicy chilli bean flat noodles.

The August Moon Festival is nothing without the moon cakes. Chef Ajai reveals that the cakes are baked with fillings. One of the varieties has a red bean (sweetened) pastry roll, which is baked. This cake is best served hot. The white coloured moon cakes are served cold and made with glutinous rice with a sweet stuffing. Besides, one can end the meal on a sweeter note with a pineapple and coconut pancake, which fills your mouth with an exotic taste of sour and sweet.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Vishnupriya Bhandaram / Hyderabad, September 30th, 2012

Murals to revive Andhra tradition for Biodiversity Meet

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The mural art works that started off at the Greenlands flyover was a sight of amusement for passersby in the city on Saturday. The huge panels were seen kept beside the flyover walls, and one would be surprised to know that the entire stretch of about 5,000 sq ft across the Greenlands and Punjagutta flyovers is expected to be framed within 48 hours.

As the United Nation’s Biodiversity Meet is just a day away, sculptors and artistes are working on a war footing. The figures of cavemen, lion, birds and horses were all depicted in the ‘fibre glass panels’, which is to be fixed onto the walls. The murals will represent concepts like evolution of humans and nature, national integrity and village atmosphere.

Sridhar Patnala, who has been contracted the 5,000 sq ft stretch to finish the mural works, claims that the murals will be one of its kinds in the state different from usual murals carved out of cement, broken tiles or pebbles. He says that the murals have been prepared at his fibre cast workshop in Rajamundry.

Sridhar Patnala, a guest faculty of sculpture at the Yogi Vemana University in Kadapa, explains, “These murals have a life span of over 50 years. Once the POP moulds are ready, it is very easy to make the panels. These are plastic like material and spray-painted with colours that do not fade away.”

The design is inspired by terracotta seals and the concepts from the Indus Valley Civilisation, and it took only 40 days to prepare the entire panels, Patnala says.

The crafting work of the material is done at his workshop and the panels are brought to the flyovers and then nailed onto the walls. Further, the edges are cut to give a finishing touch before it is painted, Patnala adds.

Simplified designs, contour lines and multiple perspectives with a poetic touch is what I have tried to bring out, he observes.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Home> Andhra Pradesh / by Rahul V Pisharody,  ENS / The New Indian Express / October 01st. 2012