Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Rotary lifetime award for Viswanath

December 13, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Rotary Club of Vijayawada, will confer the lifetime achievement award on K. Viswanath, film director and recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke award, at Sriram Function Hall on December 17, according to M.C. Das, chairman, lifetime achievement award committee.

He said the lifetime achievement was given to people who made a mark for themselves and act as trendsetters in society.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – December 13th, 2017

Nattuvangam exponent Seetharama Sharma no more

December 12, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

He had mastered all the three aspects of sangeetham

Noted singer and nattuvangam exponent Bhagavatula Seetharama Sharma died on Sunday. He was 81, and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

The artiste was tuning his shruthi in preparation for an arangetram in Bengaluru, when he was said to have suffered a heart attack.

“He suffered a heart attack and died on his way to hospital. His body would be brought to Chennai and the cremation would be held on Tuesday,” said Deepa Ganesh, one of his disciples.

Born in Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, Seetharama Sharma developed a profound knowledge in all the three aspects of sangeetham — geetam, vadyamand nrityam. Noted carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna is among his disciples.

He served in Kalakshetra, dedicated himself to the institution and became an integral part of the majority of Rukmini Devi’s Naatya productions.

His first public recognition came from the Dhananjayans Bharatakalanjali, Chennai, way back in the 1970s, and he was awarded the title ‘Sangeetagna’.

Last year, Bharat Kalachar honoured him with a special commemorative and lifetime achievement award. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for ‘Naatya’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – December 11th, 2017

TU 142 Aircraft Museum inaugurated

December 8, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Boost to tourism: President Ram Nath Kovind and other dignitaries after the inauguration of TU-142 Aircraft Museum in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam

The attraction in Vizag is the first of its kind with a walk-through for visitors

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday inaugurated the TU 142 Aircraft Museum, the first such museum in the country, on the Beach Road here in the presence of Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He later went through the cockpit, machinery, bombs and gunner compartments of the aircraft.

Mr. Naidu presented TU 142 souvenirs and Pedana “kalamkari kanduva” to the President.

Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of ENC Karambir Singh, Lok Sabha members K. Haribabu and Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Ministers Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu and N. Chinarajappa, ZP chairperson Lalam Bhavani, Port Trust Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Mukesh Kumar Meena and VUDA Vice-Chairman P. Basanth Kumar, MLAs and MLCs participated.

The museum is the first of its kind with a walk-through for visitors. The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) oversaw the execution of the ₹14-crore project comprising the museum complex, TU flight simulator, an audio-visual room and souvenir shop. The project, seen as a major tourist attraction with the Submarine Museum across the road, is funded by the AP Tourism. The VUDA will run the museum, set up on one acre of the Andhra University, in coordination with the Navy and the A.P. Tourism. The decommissioned TU 142 was flown in from the Arakkonam base of the Navy, dismantled, transported and reassembled into the museum.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 08th, 2017

Vizag Fest to begin tomorrow

December 1, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economyadmin

Vizag Fest chairman K.V. Ramana, right, and secretary A. Aja Sarma releasing a pamphlet on the festival in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

A series of programmes are lined up for the 10-day event

With a promise to combine entertainment and knowledge, Vizag Fest 2017, comprising book exhibition, literary talks, short film shows and science and technology, will begin at AU Engineering College grounds on Friday. There is no entry fee.

“The ten-day fest, being organised in association with the Department of Culture of Andhra Pradesh, intends to provide wholesome entertainment and relief to citizens caught in mechanical life,” fest secretary A. Aja Sarma said.

HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao will inaugurate the festival. The Youth Festival will be inaugurated by Minister for Sports and Youth Kollu Ravindra on December 2.

Festival chairman and former Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University K.V. Ramana on Wednesday released the catchy theme song of the festival. The song was written by Jana Vignana Vedika State president Challa Ravi Kumar and sung by R. Rajesh.

Mr. Ramana recalled that when K.V. Gopala Swamy was the registrar of Andhra University, youth festival and drama festival were organised coinciding with the convocation. Vizag Fest was registered as a permanent trust. While other cities had exhibition grounds, Visakhapatnam lacked a permanent ground, he pointed out.

Focus on youth

The focus is on women, youth and children and as many as 2000 youth would be made part of the science exhibition displaying 100 projects. “To make the experience total, we dropped a proposal to hold the short film show at a separate auditorium and got a mini theatre ready to screen 70 films,” he said. Telugu Short Film Association honorary president and actor L.B. Sriram would participate in it. Cartoon and photo exhibitions and food stalls would also be part of the fest.

The first fest in 2015 was a big success and even top officials appreciated it and wanted it to be organised again, Mr. Sarma said.

A total of 200 cultural programmes would be organised.

Literary talks, release of books would be organised at Gurajada Sahitya Vedika.

At the book exhibition to be organised by Andhra University, Vignan University, Visakha Book Festival and Vizag Fest, 100 stalls would be set up.

Mr. Sarma said every day film personalities would address meetings and the stress was not on glamour. On the inaugural day, writer Suddala Ashok Teja would attend the programme. Chandra Bose, Goreti Venkanna, C. Uma Maheswara Rao, R.P. Patnaik and others would part in the fest.

Fest members N. Ramanachalam, A. Ramakrishna, K. Subhashini, Yellaji, P.V. Gopala Rao, Dandu Nageswara Rao and B.B. Ganesh were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / November 30th, 2017

Vizag boy Saahil Sehgal is all set to debut in Hollywood!

November 28, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

How did a Vizag boy end up making his acting debut with a Hollywood film starring Oscar winner Brie Larson, really? “It’s a mix of a lot of things. I dreamt of becoming be an actor. And over time, after numerous struggles, auditions, acting schools and more, it happened,” says Saahil Sehgal , who is making his debut with Basmati Blues.

It seems like Saahil was destined to bag the role. “I auditioned for the film and the casting director loved me. She wanted me to fly down to the US, but my visa had just expired and there was no way I could get it renewed in a week. The casting director was as disappointed as I was when that happened. I was shooting for an ad in Kolkata when I got a call and was told that the director and producer are coming to Mumbai and wanted me to re-audition for the role. I auditioned again and the role was mine. I began shooting for the film just two weeks after,” he explains.

The film that was shot in Kerala, Mumbai, New York and Los Angeles will see Saahil play the role of William Patel. “He is basically an Indian, born and brought up abroad. But he comes back to India to take over his family business. The film is a romantic musical, and Brie Larson, an Indian-American actor called Utkarsh Ambudkar and I play the lead roles. The story revolves around the three of us,” explains Saahil .

Directed by Dan Baron, the film revolves around a multinational company called Mogil. “The CEO sends a scientist, played by Brie, to India to sell a genetically modified variety of rice to the farmers in India. And I play the guy who helps Brie get the farmers on board. But we discover that the seeds are sterile. Which means, the farmers will have to keep going back to the company to buy seeds. What happens next forms the crux of the story,” he adds.

The film, which has been in the making since 2013 is finally set to hit the screens soon. Explaining why it took so long, Sahil says, “We shot a major chunk of it in 2013 and then there was a lot of patchwork left that was shot in 2015. It’s an independent film and the director is a debutant too. He wanted things to be a certain way and kept making changes. He wanted the film to be as perfect as possible, so that took a while.”

Ask him what it was like to work with Brie Larson who won an Academy award for her role in the 2015 film, Room, and Saahil says, “Brie wasn’t the Academy-award-winner-Brie back then. She was just another co-star on the sets who was fun and easy to work with. We were both just playing our parts.”

Admittedly Saahil was more excited when he found out that he will be sharing the screen with Don Sutherland. “I walked in for the costume trials and saw Donlad Sutherland’s name on the cast sheet put up on a wall. I got excited as I had no idea that he was going to be a part of the film. I love his work in everything from Italian Job to Hunger Games. I even have a song with Donald in the film and it’ll be the first that he has sung in his whole career. It was a really great experience,” adds Saahil .

The film’s trailer, which released recently, ran into trouble with many criticising Brie Larson, of playing the ‘white saviour’ in the film. While the makers have clarified that the film is not about ‘an American going abroad to solve India’s problems’, social media is rife with Indians calling out the makers for ‘cultural appropriation’ and yet again, projecting India as a country with bad English, spicy food, song and dance, and nothing more. Saahil however, says, “People jumped the gun really fast on this one. Reacting this way has kind of become a part of the dysfunction right now. And I’m not saying that just because it’s my film. People need to be able to take a step back and give something a real chance. Because whatever they’ve been claiming, that’s not what the film is about at all.”

He goes on to add, “Director Dan Baron and his wife had spent time in India and fallen in love with the country. That’s why they wanted to make a film about India. They even watched a lot of Bollywood musicals before making this one. Yes, the film has a white person coming to India and eating spicy food. But then again, cliches are cliches. I feel the reactions to the trailer have got more to do with one’s personal convictions than any real issue at hand.”

For now though, Saahil is just excited about finally getting to see himself on the big screen. “From my childhood, ever since I decided I wanted to be an actor, this is the moment that I was waiting for.”

When asked what’s next, he says, “I shoot for a lot of commercials, but I auditioned for a few roles in LA and New York. Nothing is finalised yet, really.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / by Neshita Nyayapati / TNN / November 25th, 2017

‘The Met’ comes calling to Amaravathi Heritrage Town

November 21, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

A file photo of Deputy Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Carrie Barratt and Chief Curator Dr. John Guy with Prof Amareswar Galla at the Amaravathi Museum.

New York museum to hold exhibition on Buddhism

The historic legacy of Buddhism and the famous Amaravati School of art brought senior personnel from the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (‘The Met’) to the Amaravathi Heritage Town (ATH) by the banks of the Krishna river, 35 km north of Guntur. The Met, among the most renowned museums in the world, is planning an exhibition on Buddhism in October 2020. Following the Buddha’s footprints in Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Jeta Vanam, Nalanda and other places mainly in northern India, its Deputy Director Carrie Barratt and Chief Curator Dr. John Guy spent a day in Amaravathi, with Chief Curator of the ATH and heritage advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government Amareswar Galla.

Going around the town, Ms. Barratt was particularly taken with the theme of Ma Vooru Ma Kodallu (’Our Town Our Daughters-in-Law’), an initiative mediated by local women to bring together the people of the town. “Working with local women to turn the museum into a community centre for learning and engagement is an incredible thing and very inspiring,” said Ms. Barratt.

Limor Tomer, General Manager, MetLiveArts, The Met’s performing arts programme, said such collaborations juxtapose art and sculpture with contemporary creativity and bring museum collections alive for diverse and growing audiences.

Dr. Galla said the significance of Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh is its outstanding universal value. Conservation and heritage tourism must integrate sites such as the ATH, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – November 21st, 2017

‘Books important for knowledge society’

November 20, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Educationadmin

Books play key role in creation of a knowledge society, said Krishna district Collector B. Lakshmikantham, on Sunday.

Addressing a meeting organised by Andhra Pradesh Library Association at Sarvotham Bhavan near Benz Circle as part of 50th National Library Week celebration, Mr. Lakshmikantham said the library movement has great significance in Andhra Pradesh State as people who spearheaded the library movement also were important part of the freedom struggle.

The Collector said every individual must take to book-reading as books never let down anybody. He said knowledge was essential for all-round development of a society and pointed to the fact that Andhra Pradesh State was in the forefront in implementation of many good people-centric programmes.

Former MP Chennupati Vidya was honoured with this year’s Gadicherla Foundation Award, named after freedom fighter and champion of library movement Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao. Sheik Sadiq Ali, a former journalist who is working relentlessly to promote reading habit among children in villages, was presented with the Paturi Nagabhushanam Grandhalayam Puraskaram on the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – November 20th, 2017

How a sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh is becoming a reserve of the rare Fishing Cat

November 19, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classified the rare Fishing Cat as endangered. They mostly in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, in swamps, and mangrove forests.

But as many as 15 Fishing Cats were recorded in the pilot project conducted at the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh in 2014-16.

The sanctuary is a rare eco-region with vast tracts of pristine mangrove forests. It has the potential to become the world’s first reserve of the Fishing Cat.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Environment / November 09th, 2017

City students come out with impressive short films

November 17, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Educationadmin

Students of KKR Gowtham School, who bagged first place in 48-hour challenge, in Vijayawada. | Photo Credit: A_V_G_PRASAD

KKR Gowtham School students bag first place in the 48-hr challenge

The three-day Amaravati Children’s Film Festival (ACFF), the first-ever event in the State, has served as a window of film-making opportunities for the students of various schools in the city.

About 65 students of 12 schools, who were introduced to basics of film-making as part of the ‘48-hour Challenge,’ on the first day managed to conceptualise and shoot and came up with 13 short films that competed for top three places on the last and concluding day.

Actors cheer children

Actors Nikhil, Tarun, Kamna Jethmalani and others cheered the children at the closing ceremony.

The KKR Gowtham School team including Harsha, Akhilesh, Pawan, Ektha and Divija bagged the first place and ₹20,000 cash prize for their short film Fruit of Hard Work.

The second place was bagged by Tridev, Akash, Arya, Balu and Praneeth of Nalanda Vidya Niketan (Vasanta Campus) for their movie In Returnand the team of MSR English Medium School including Durga Prasad Krishna Chaitanya, Deva, Keerthi and Sravan bagged the third place for the movie Slip Kavala. The second and third place winners were given a cash prize of ₹10, 000 and ₹5, 000 respectively.

A team of municipal corporation schools and Nalanda Vidyaniketan, Delhi Public School, Ravindra Bharathi, Vignan School, Viswabharathi, St. John’s Public School, and Sidharatha Public School participated in the challenge.

Director Aparna Malladi, producer Raj Kandukuri and actor Roja Romani on the jury screened all the 13 movies and selected the best. A team of writers and technicians from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune trained and supported the participants.

Mayor K. Sridhar, VMC Commissioner J. Nivas, MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao were among those present.

The festival was organised by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation in association with Safe Advisory, Ellanar Group and Kolla Entertainments.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – November 15th, 2017

Araku Balloon Festival – Hot-air balloons to colour Araku sky!

November 10, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Come November 14 and colourful hot air balloons will dot the sky above the picturesque Araku Valley, the hill station near Vizag, for three days. “Araku Balloon Festival”, an international festival organised by Andhra Pradesh Tourism, is set to pull travel writers, photographers, hot air balloon enthusiasts from across the world to the valley in the mountainous range of the Eastern Ghats.

To be held till November 16, the festival will lit up the sky throughout the day and night on all the three days and enthusiasts would get to witness balloons of different shapes and sizes adorn the sky in the non-ticketed festival.

“It’s an international festival so there will be fifteen teams of balloons and their pilots from eleven countries coming in. This is a tourism department initiative and the AP tourism has launched this event to increase tourism in the area. We will also have fifteen hot air balloons flown in for the do,” says Paul, one of the organisers of the festival.

When prod, Tourism ED Sriramulu Naidu refrained from confirming any details but said that he will make everything public once he receives the information. “So far I have not received the final concept from the organisers. There are a few details that need to be ironed out. Maybe it will reach me in the next few days,” he informed.
Paul however, states that if they manage to pull off the festival as planned, it will be one of the best balloon fests in the country. “There will be balloons operating during sunrise, and also have other balloons that will operate on a night glow concept in the evening,” he says.

But what has gotten the youngsters in the city excited are the three special-shaped balloons that will be displayed at the festival. Namely a massive ‘Bee’, a seahorse shaped balloon called ‘Neptuno’ and ‘Iwi the Kiwi’, are expected to pull a large gatherings to the festival.

Apart from the colourful and dazzling hot air balloons, para-motoring displays, a hare and hound race and others events will also be a part of the festival itinerary to keep festival-goers hooked on all there days.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / Neeshita Nyayapati / TNN / November 03rd, 2017

Andhra Pradesh First

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