Monthly Archives: July 2014

Make Kuchipudi heritage village: artistes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders
Kuchipudi Library-cum-Dance school funded by Challapalli Raja is now in a dilapidated condition. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
Kuchipudi Library-cum-Dance school funded by Challapalli Raja is now in a dilapidated condition. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu

Kuchipudi, where almost each house has a classical dancer spreading the Indian classical dance across the globe, is yet to be developed as a major rural tourist spot in Andhra Pradesh.

During the 1977 cyclonic storm, the village has lost valuable literature about the evolution of the art and historical documents and archives related to the dance.

“In the village, only senior dance teachers alive are our source of information on the greatness of Kuchipudi in the absence of availability of literature in any form with us”, Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Natya Kalamandali Founder Secretary P. Kesava Prasad told The Hindu.

Several proposals made to the Tourism department to turn the village into a tourist spot have fallen on deaf ears. The Kuchipudi Library cum Dance School, where a majority of the Kuchipudi dance teachers in India were trained by renowned maestros, is now in a dilapidated state. In 1935, Challapalli Raja Sivaram Prasad funded the library building that has been later turned into dance school by Vedantam Parvateesam Sarma in 1957.

The library portion of the building is now being protected with bamboo mats.

Speaking to The Hindu, some senior artistes said that Kuchipudi village deserves to be announced as a heritage village and must be adopted by the government of Andhra Pradesh to promote the Indian classical dance form.

Disappointment

“Enthusiastic visitors and scholars eager to have a glimpse of the dance form will return with a great disappointment as it looks like having no cultural history at all,” Mr. Prasad added.

In Kuchipudi, not even a tourist guide was deployed by the government authorities to help visitors and show places like houses of the maestros, Vedantam Raghavayya, Vempati China Satyam and so on.

Proposal of beautification of the four-acre village pond adjacent to Sri Ramalingeswara Swami temple has been languishing in a state of neglect for long.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by T. Appala Naidu / Kuchipudi (Krishna Dt.)., July 08th, 2014

Shipping veteran for augmenting Indian flag vessels

Business & Economy, Science & Technology
Garuda Pattabhiramayya / Photo: CV. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu
Garuda Pattabhiramayya / Photo: CV. Subrahmanyam / The Hindu

‘India is in need of more very large crude carriers’

Veteran stevedore from the city G. Pattabhi Ramayya has sought intervention from the Centre to unveil an action plan to increase the number of various types of ships carrying Indian flags.

Stating that almost 90 per cent of Indian trade is handled by vessels carrying foreign flags, he said “we are still primitive in carriage of containers.” Asking the Narendra Modi Government to draw a cue from the United States and Japan on how they were encouraging their national flag both financially and by providing cargo, he said the people of India had pinned a lot of hopes on the new government.

“We hope we can become self-reliant if right patronage is given by encouraging construction of own vessels as well as extending desired support to our national carrier Shipping Corporation of India,” Mr. Ramayya told The Hindu on Monday.

He also wanted relaxation of cabotage law for transportation of domestic cargo and funding and other incentives to SCI to augment its fleet. He said SCI fleet, which comprised 125, had now come down to around 75 as acquisition had slowed down.

Mr. Ramayya, who is the director of Federation of Steamer Agents of India and chairman emeritus of Visakhapatnam Steamer Agents’ Association, said still 80 per cent of bulk raw material and finished products like coal, iron ore and fertilizers were carried by foreign flag vessels for want of government support and required tonnage to be acquired.

He also wrote a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin J. Gadkari asking him to enable SCI to acquire tonnage especially for carriage of larger volume of cargoes like oil, containerised cargo and bulk cargoes like coal, iron ore and fertilizers.

Mr. Ramayya said India was in need of more very large crude carriers (VLCC), cape size and Panamax vessels for faster handling of cargo in mechanised environment at various ports in the country.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by  Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – July 07th, 2014

Jain guru in city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

 

Jain Acharya Rajthilak Sureeswar Mahararaj being taken in a procession in Vijayawada on Monday. Photo. Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
Jain Acharya Rajthilak Sureeswar Mahararaj being taken in a procession in Vijayawada on Monday. Photo. Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

The 91-year old Jain saint Acharya Rajthilak Sureeswarji has arrived in the city to observe chaturmas, a four-month deeksha laid down in religious scriptures.

Sri Swetambar Murthy Pujak Jain Sangh members welcomed him near Manorama Hotel on Monday. A grand procession was taken out from there to Jain temple located near Besant Road. As he seated in a chair, the community members carried the chair on their shoulders to the temple.

The spiritual leader was at Jain temple located near Amaravati in Guntur till Sunday. Incidentally, he took deeksha on banks of river Krishna at Amaravati 40 years ago.

Acharya Sureeswarji travelled from Rajasthan by foot. He observed chaturmas there last year. Soon after it, he began his journey to reach here.

He will be stay put at Two Town Jain Sangh Dharmasala. Jain would take five pledges at the time of deeksha.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – July 08th, 2014

Visakhapatnam lad makes it to the list of top 10 innovators in India

Records, All, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

Krishna Sai Inkoolu, an industrial engineering student of Gitam University, has been selected as one of the ‘Top 10 innovators of India’ in the India Innovation Growth Programme. The programme is a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Stanford Graduate School of Business and the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas. Speaking to TOI, the engineering student said that the organisors of the programme have arranged business meetings with major footwear companies across the globe later this year in USA.

He has also been invited to visit Silicon Valley, California in September. In September last year TOI had reported about Inkoolu’s feat of designing a shoe for the blind equipped with an embedded electronic circuit that senses the existence of obstacles in its path and alerts the wearer.

The shoe was designed in such that an electrical signal transmits an impulse to the ankle of the visually impaired person if he or she is about to face an obstacle.

Also, the circuit, which is run by a small motor, gets recharged automatically when the person starts walking, ensuring that there is no need to change batteries to keep the motor going.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / June 3th, 2014

SIDS students sizzle the ramp

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
SAYING IT IN STYLE: Students of Samana Institute for Design Studies walk the ramp in Vijayawada on Sunday. / The Hindu
SAYING IT IN STYLE: Students of Samana Institute for Design Studies walk the ramp in Vijayawada on Sunday. / The Hindu

The evening was cloudy, cold with patchy drizzle. But a sprawling auditorium in Haailand, the theme park at Chinakakani near Vijayawada, exuded warmth as a bevy of beauties walked the ramp amidst incessant applause.

The young brigade scorching the ramp were final year students of city-based Samana Institute for Design Studies (SIDS) showcasing their works at ‘Project Runway.’ The venue boomed and rocked with high energy as the rookie models sashayed across with remarkable élan. The blaring music invited those in the vicinity to melt in the flow of jubilation that enveloped the place.

The collection, showcased by the participants and designed by in-house SIDS designers, ranged from classy to chic. It reflected myriad moods and the varied applications and understanding of fashion. Using net, lace, crepe, silhouettes, asymmetrical and clean cuts combined with drapery in layers of laces, the designers created a mystical impact. Use of raw silk, chiffon and karbon silk besides fur satin shimmer nets, crepes and bell shaped silhouettes with head gears and stylized accessories lent the participants a distinctive style.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – July 07th, 2014

Australian woman stops over at Visakhapatnam

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion
Australian Kayaker, Sandy Robson who was on a kayak expedition from Germany to Australia arrives at Rushikonda Beach (Photo: DC)
Australian Kayaker, Sandy Robson who was on a kayak expedition from Germany to Australia arrives at Rushikonda Beach (Photo: DC)

Visakhapatnam:

Sandy Robson of Australia is no ordinary adventurer. She is 47 and is on her way to creating a kayaking world record by taking up the tough challenge of kayaking her way from Germany to Australia.

Robson is retracing a historic journey which Osker Speck of Germany undertook in 1932 and finished in seven years. She plans to finish the same in five years and is currently on stage three of her journey, paddling through the East Coast. She reached Vizag on Tuesday. Her journey along the Indian East Coast has not been as pleasant as it was through Europe or the West Coast of India.

While Robson was paddling along AP coast near Nellore, fishermen attacked her mistaking her to be a terrorist. They ran over her kayak with their boat, broke it and looted her stuff. Battling odds and standing true to sportsman spirit, she faced the attacks and with the help of AP police, she continued her journey.

She now gets police protection wherever she lands in AP. Robson said, “I was attacked many times along the AP coast, which left me feeling scared. But I understand that the fishermen were just skeptical and they panicked. Later, we spoke and I left on good terms.”

Robson’s spirit is unbroken by such incidents and she is all praise for India. She said, “This journey gave me an opportunity to see India through a different lens. People here are warm and welcoming everywhere, even in AP. I felt safe wherever I landed. Before I started my journey, people told me waters in India would be dirty and filthy which was not at all true as I paddled across some of the most beautiful stretches of blue waters in India.”

While paddling across Sri Lanka, the 47-year-old had to kayak her way once continuously for 22 hours, covering 109 km. Robson paddles an average of 45 km a day and lodges on shore about once a week to collect ration, food and drinking water.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / Adil / July 02nd, 2014

Nagpur firm to chart plan for Visakhapatnam’s growth

Business & Economy, Records, All

Visakhapatnam :

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has appointed Nagpur consultancy firm — aXYKno Consultancy — to prepare a vision document for Visakhapatnam, GVMC commissioner MV Satyanarayana said here on Tuesday.

Earlier, during an in-camera meeting with the consultancy firm late on Monday evening, the civic chief asked the firm to prepare the document considering the recently finalized Vizag city development plan, as part of which projects worth Rs 8,000 crore have been proposed.

He told them to prepare a long-term and short-term vision document taking into account the available land use pattern in the city. “The short term vision plan should be prepared for a period of five years for the core area of the city, extended to around 150-200 sq km, considering the important immediate developmental projects post division,in the fields of education, health, sanitation, traffic and transportation” Satyanarayana told them.

The consultants were told that in the long-run, a 10-year vision plan should include development projects in an extended area of 630 sq km and comprise housing, environment, industry and tourism sectors considering the proposed PCPIR and Vizag-Kakinada Transit Corridor.

The state municipal administration minister is scheduled to visit the city in the next one week, he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / July 02nd, 2014

State-level philatelic exhibition from July 24

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Chief Post Master General (A.P circle) B.V. Sudhakar at the unveiling of APPEX-2014 publicity van 'Naandi Ratham' in Vijayawada on Tuesday. PHOTO: V_RAJU. / The Hindu
Chief Post Master General (A.P circle) B.V. Sudhakar at the unveiling of APPEX-2014 publicity van ‘Naandi Ratham’ in Vijayawada on Tuesday. PHOTO: V_RAJU. / The Hindu

The Department of Posts will organize a State-level philatelic exhibition (APPEX-2014) at Vedika Function Hall here from July 24 to 26.

This was announced by Chief Post Master General of A.P Circle B.V. Sudhakar here on Tuesday. Three special covers would be released on each day on themes like environment, art, culture and adventure.

Speaking to media persons after flagging of the APPEX publicity van ‘Naandi Ratham’ and inaugurating the department’s blog spot prospectus, Mr. Sudhakar said philatelic exhibitions were organized in 2003 and 2007 in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam respectively. The upcoming event would be a great opportunity for A.P postal circle to showcase hobby of collection of postage stamps.

A quiz competition would be conducted in all postal divisions on July 4 and the successful ones would be participating in the regional competition to be held on July 10 and the finals scheduled for July 26. Mr. Sudhakar said collection of stamps was growing as an alternative investment channel in the sense that they fetch handsome dividends as their face value increases over a period of time due to their issue in limited numbers.

The Naandi Ratham would be moving around Vijayawada during the month (July) for creating awareness on collecting postage stamps, Mr. Sudhakar added. Post Master General (PMG) Sandhya Rani, PMG (Vijayawada Region) M. Sampath, PMG (Visakhapatnam) Sharda Sampath and Directors of Postal Services V. Upender (Visakhapatnam), N.R. Visalatchy (Hyderabad) and K. Somasundaram (Vijayawada) were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by V. Raghavendra / Vijayawada – July 01st, 2014

AU to host global meet on electromagnetics

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Andhra University, in association with Society of Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineers, is hosting the 13th international conference on electromagnetic interference and compatibility (INCEMIC 2015) on February 27 and 28, Vice-Chancellor and conference chair G.S.N. Raju and Vice-Chancellor of BITS, Ranchi, and technical chair Ajoy Chakrabarthy announced here on Monday.

The conference, to be attended by international experts in the field of electromagnetic studies, would cover the entire scope of electromagnetic compatibility like design, circuits, chip level, power systems, signal integrity and high frequency, high power electromagnetics, antennas, radiation hazards, environment, satellite communications, biomedical systems, and other advances, Prof. Raju said. It was designed to give a new dimension so as to implement electromagnetic compatibility techniques in military and civilian radar and communications right from the design, development and production states.

A two-day workshop-cum-tutorials on the latest trends in the field of electromagnetic interference and compatibility would be conducted by experts on February 25 and 26. Last date for submission of abstracts was August 30 and the deadline for submission of full papers was October 30, Prof. Chakrabarthy said.

Rector E.A. Narayana, Principal in-charge of AU College of Engineering P.S. Avadhanri, HoD of Electronics and Communication Engineering and convenor of the conference P. Rajesh Kumar, technical co-chair V. Vallikumari, treasurer P.V. Sridevi and Registrar K. Rama Mohana Rao were also present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – July 01st, 2014

Caribbean Islands lure Andhra Pradesh doctors with good pay

Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Picture for representational purpose (Photo: DC)
Picture for representational purpose (Photo: DC)

Guntur:

Doctors from AP are flocking Caribbean islands where they can earn up to $4,000 a month with an MBBS degree. Many doctors from Guntur, Vijaya-wada, Kurnool and Tirupati are now working in Jamaica, British Guiana, Trinidad & Tobago.

Dr Ravi Kishore Reddy of Guntur, who worked in a Caribbean nation, says, “Doctors are paid well. In T&T, out of 250 doctors, 200 are from AP.”

The local governments sign up doctors on five-year  contracts. “After five years, we get permanent  registration and after eight years, citizenship,” said Dr V. Siva Kota Reddy, an assistant professor in a medical college in Dominica.

However, things are changing. “Local governments are sponsoring students to study in Cuban medical schools. They are accommodating locals first, followed by Indians. The craze among local doctors to go to the US is slowly coming down,” he said.

Many AP students are joining MD course equivalent to MBBS in islands like Curacao. Dr Reddy cautioned that Indians may not be given  visas after studying the two-year pre-clinicals.

Several AP students are joining MD course equivalent to MBBS in islands like Curacao. These are offshore colleges where first two years of pre-clinical is done in Caribbean islands and clinicals in the US and Canada.

Experts cautioned that after completion of pre-clinicals, it is difficult for non-US students to get visa for pursuing clinicals and joining the medical courses is risky.

Dr Kota Reddy said, “The course is semester based. Most of the colleges have offshore tie-ups with the hospitals in US and Canada. For North American students, there is no issue. But those hailing from countries like India may find that they are not given visas after studying the two-year pre-clinicals. So, serious risk is involved.”

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / June 30th, 2014