Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Unicef selects Visakhapatnam district for pilot project on adolescents

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

Visakhapatnam :

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in collaboration with NGOs and the Andhra Pradesh government, has kick-started a four-year pilot project ‘Convergent Action for Adolescents’, to educate and empower adolescents of Vizag district.

Apart from Unicef, 22 government departments of AP (at the district level), guided by AIKYA, a Kerala-based NGO, will team up for the project. The team met Vizag district collector N Yuvaraj on Wednesday to discuss the project.

The project is aimed at educating pre-pubescent and adolescent children on physiological changes they undergo after attaining puberty and prevent negative behavioural traits from creeping in during their interaction with adults during this stage.

The project also aims to protect these children and adolescents from being sexually exploited and eradicate the system of child marriage.

Speaking on the project, social worker and child rights protection specialist Sony Kutty George said that many children in this phase (10-19 years) of life find it difficult to cope up with the changes leading to depression, loss of confidence and even juvenile delinquent tendencies. “The project aims to boost mental, physical and emotional health in these adolescents,” George said.

On why Visakhapatnam district was selected for the project, George said the district has a unique urban-rural-tribal divide. “The district is not only home to the largest city of AP, but also has vast rural and tribal areas that are extremely backward. Also, the 2011 census revealed that the district has a high number of child labourers,” he said.

Ruth L Leano, chief of field office (Karnataka and AP), Unicef, who was present at the meet, said the pilot project will help generate awareness and develop a healthy future for these youngsters. She said that across the vast rural and tribal stretch many youngsters miss out on opportunities that other privileged children of the same age group have access to. District collector N Yuvaraj said the authorities will work hard to ensure that the project is a success.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / March 05th, 2015

Vizagite wins EPDCL energy conservation film contest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

Shiva Sri from Appughar in the city bagged the first prize in the concept film contest-2014 conducted by Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Limited (EPDCL) to promote awareness on electrical safety and energy conservation. The second prize went to D Balaiah from Kurnool and Ravi Arji from Khairatabad in Hyderabad received the third prize, according to chairman and managing director EPDCL R Mutyala Raju.

Announcing the prizes here on Friday, the CMD said the first prize winner would be presented Rs 50,000 cash, the second prize winner Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 for the third spot. He said Rs 10,000 each would be given to the six consolation prize winners — B Hari Venkata Ramana from Akkayyapalem, Srikanth Sathivada of Dabagardens, Jeelakarpa Yaswan from New Gajuwaka, Satyada Narsinga Rao of Ambedkar Colony and M Satyanarayana of Kothapalem in Vizag and V Bhargavi from Yusufguda in Hyderabad.

Ninety-three people from AP and Telangana participated in the contest, which was judged by film director MV Raghu, EPDCL retired chief engineer M Krishna Murthy and A Babji, assistant director, AP information department.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / February 14th, 2015

Closely knit and bustling

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
A view of Seethammapeta in Visakhapatnam.— PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
A view of Seethammapeta in Visakhapatnam.— PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

The sound of temple bells and hawkers is often drowned by non-stop traffic that zips through the restless roads. Once upon a time, this 300-acre neighbourhood was a deserted village where people were engaged in farming and cattle-rearing.

As the years rolled by, Seethammapeta has become one of the busiest localities that houses several small enterprises, tailoring shops, eateries, kirana stores, temples and a variety of outlets that sell home needs. Those who have been living here for generations say that the colony is self-sufficient and closely knit.

AtaGlanceANDHRA04mar2015

Located amidst National Highway near Gurudwara, Rajendra Nagar and Dwarakanagar main road, Seethammapeta exudes an ancient charm. The unique feature of the locality is the four mukha dwaramulu (arch-shaped entrances) – Sri Kanakamma Ammavari Mukha Dwaram, Sri Sitaramula Mukha Dwaram, Sri Parvateeswara Alaya Mukha Dwaram, and Sri Krishna Yadu Vamsi Mukha Dwaram leading to Kanakamamba Ammavari alayam, Sri Radha Krishnula alayam, Parvateeswara alayam along with Durga Ganapathi, Hanuman, and Saibaba temples.

“You will not find such entrances anywhere else in the city. A couple of them have been built by the members of Sri Krishna Yuvajana Seva Sangam. People bond over family functions, festivals and jatara which form an integral part of our lifestyle. More than 80 per cent of the residents are from Yadava community who are into dairy business,” says Eesarapu Pydi Raju, a resident and chairman of three temples in the colony.

Having four ‘mukha dwarams’ is the unique feature of Seethammapeta

Colony maintenance

When it comes to maintenance of the colony, most of the lanes, although they are hardly six feet wide, look neat except a few spots that are heaped with debris. “We feel responsible for maintaining cleanliness in our colony. We regularly organise awareness programmes on health and hygiene as it helps in educating the slum-dwellers who form a part of the colony,” says Vijay Kumar, a resident.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – March 04th, 2015

Mega health camp for thalassaemia patients

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

A mega health camp, the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh, is being conducted in the Krishna District Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition Society premises beside The Hindu office in Autonagar exclusively for thalassaemia patients from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on February 28.

Thalassaemia patients, most of them children, are born with a defect in their blood. Their body cannot make haemoglobin, a compound that helps in the transport of oxygen. Children with thalassaemia have to continuously get haemoglobin from somewhere else.

Blood transfusion is the only way they can get taemoglobin so they need to get blood transfusion frequently. Babies that are one year old or less may need blood transfusions once in a month, but as they grow they will need it once in two weeks. But the frequent transfusions cause several complications.

Iron overload is one of the treacherous complications. Too much iron in the body results in damage to the heart, liver and endocrine system, which includes glands that produce hormones that regulate most processes in the body.

Another dangerous complication of frequent transfusions was enlarged spleen. The spleen helps the body fight infection and filtered out unwanted materials such as old or damaged blood cells. Thalassaemia is often accompanied by the destruction of a large number of red blood cells, making the spleen work harder than normal, causing the spleen to enlarge making the anaemia worse. The only solution to the problem was the removal of the spleen.

For more details, dial 939296779 or 9393096779.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 26th, 2015

Awesome ‘Eightsome’ Do ALC Proud

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All

 

NCC cadets of Andhra Loyola College, who participated in the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, shares a light moment before being felicitated by Krishna district collector Babu A on the college premises in Vijayawada on Tuesday | Express Photo
NCC cadets of Andhra Loyola College, who participated in the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, shares a light moment before being felicitated by Krishna district collector Babu A on the college premises in Vijayawada on Tuesday | Express Photo

 

Vijayawada :

Pride of achievement was writ large on their faces and their demeanour spoke of confidence. They were eight NCC cadets engaged in a banter while waiting outside the auditorium in Andhra Loyola College (ALC) on Tuesday to be felicitated by the district collector for representing the state in Republic Day parade.

ALC had achieved a rare distinction of being the first college to have eight NCC cadets selected to participate in Republic Day parade. Sharing their experiences and future plans with Express, the cadets expressed their joy and pride of being able to participate in Republic Day parade.

‘Awesome’, ‘Most cherished moment of life’ were their immediate response, when asked how they felt being part of such a momentous occasion. Many of those cadets want to join civil services and become IPS officers while some want to pursue their career in defence services.

Senior Under Officer D Venkata Krishna, pursuing BSC (MPC) second year, was the contingent commandant from the state. It was a proud moment when he got selected for the RD and had seven members of his own group also getting selected for the event.

Venkata Krishna, the only cadet from Andhra and Telangana to get selected for the All India Guard of Honour – 2015 at RD camp, said it was one of the best moments of his life. “I had  been able to perform cultural programme in Teen Murti Bhavan in the presence of the Prime Minister,” he said. He along with another cadet R Divya Sai got selected for Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) for 2015. They will be visiting a foreign country, yet to be finalised, in March.

Cadet Captain R Divya Sai was part of the Prime Minister’s rally and bagged All India second best cadet award (silver medal).  She also won the Governor’s gold medal for excellence in RD camp 2015 along with Chief Minister’s gold medal at state level. “It was one of the most cherished moments of my life ,” she said. Sergeant M Vikram, who too was part of the PM Rally, said he is proud of his achievement.

Cadets S Naga Balaji and Tijo Thomas said they were excited to march along the Rajpath on Republic Day.

Cadet Shaik Riyaz, who got 3rd place in static model presentation ‘Eurofighter’ explained how he workedhard to prepare for RD camp and the stages he had to cross to get qualified.

Corporal P Gayatri got selected for RD contingent and secured All India fourth place on Gold Star and she was the only girl who could complete the novice show jumping arena with two different horses.

Junior Under Officer Meer Akbar Basha was part of Swachh Bharat Ballet presented by the AP contingent in PM’s house.

“I am proud that I got an opportunity to show culture of both AP and Telangana through my cultural programme,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by S. Guru Srikanth / February 25th, 2015

A chariot on a linguistic journey

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
‘Telugu Varadhi’ being flagged off on the occasion of International Mother Language Day in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
‘Telugu Varadhi’ being flagged off on the occasion of International Mother Language Day in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

There is hardly any topic that is untouched by ‘Pedda Balasiksha’. The encyclopedia should adorn the shelves of every household.

With an aim to deliver this message across rural and urban areas in Andhra Pradesh and other states, the Bharatiya Telugu Samiti has embarked upon a linguistic journey to mark International Mother Language Day celebrations on Saturday.

In order to strengthen Telugu language and culture and build awareness among people, ‘Telugu Varadhi’, a chariot (specially-designed Maruti van), has been flagged off opposite Telugu Talli statue near district court. Loaded with volumes of Pedda Balasiksha along with bundles of Telugu story books, the chariot will head to different regions to spread the message. “The concept of ‘Telugu Vari Prati Inta Pedda Balasiksha’ was introduced three years ago where I used to reach out to people commuting on my two-wheeler. So far, around 5,000 copies of Pedda Balasiksha have been sold. The idea of launching Telugu Varadhi is to visit far-off places and highlight the importance of our sweet language among people. Soon we will visit Tamil Nadu to promote our culture,” says Mavuri Balasubrahmanyam, founder of Bharatiya Telugu Samiti.

With wife Padmavathi, 11 year-old-daughter Savinaya and eight-year-old son Sree Vinay, along with a group of volunteers extending support, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam is confident of accomplishing his mission that began on February 21.

Initially, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam had only 10 volunteers to support his campaign. Today, there are more than 50 volunteers from various districts teaming up for the drive.

“What remained unchanged for the last 20 years is the price of the 1,000-page book that costs just Rs.116. With a further investment of Rs.2 lakh for the new chariot, I am hopeful to connect with more Telugu people,” he adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – February 22nd, 2015

A.P. team bags first prize in CSI Fun-quiz

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The team of Firdous Fatma and Y. Chinmayee from Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, Payakaraopeta, A.P. won the first prize at the Computer Society of India’s (CSI) Funquiz-2015 national finals held at K.L. University here on Saturday.

The team was presented a cash prize of Rs.15,000, a trophy and certificate of appreciation. The students of Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Ernalukam, and those from New India School, Pune, won the second and third prizes respectively. They were awarded Rs.10,000 and Rs.5,000 cash prizes, trophies and certificates.

Dr. K. Gopi Krishna, a scientist from Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, was the chief guest for the finals. Former CSI president professor P. Thrimurthy congratulated the winners and distributed the prizes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 22nd, 2015

DSNLU Students Paint Stunning Self Portraits

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Students painting myraid colours on the faces of colleagues as a part of the face painting competition held at Damodaram Sanjeevayya National Law University in Visakhapatnam on Saturday | Express Photo
Students painting myraid colours on the faces of colleagues as a part of the face painting competition held at Damodaram Sanjeevayya National Law University in Visakhapatnam on Saturday | Express Photo

Visakhapatnam :

Bringing joys and colours to their campus, the students of Damodaram Sanjeevayya National Law University (DSNLU) have come up with a unique ‘face painting competition’ ahead of their annual day celebrations scheduled to be held in April,  here Saturday. The participants turned the faces of their friends into canvas and painted bright colours.

With themes of environment and its related issues, fear, dowry and happiness, the students painted the faces of their colleagues with water colours. As many as 20 student artists took part in the face painting competition. Vice-chancellor RGB  Bhagavath Kumar coordinated the event. Students enthusiastically took part in the competition. By the end of the event, more than 20 faces got painted.

Some works on the ‘environment issues’, ‘Burning in flames of dowry’ and music  happiness caught the imagination of the campus. Viswanath, one of the organisers, said, “This is a great innovative idea by the cultural cell of our university. Generally, we see painting competitions or some other familiar event, the face paintings reflect a social message.”

The organisers mentioned that as a part of their annual day events like singing, solo dance, group dance, cricket, caroms, photography, painting and just-a-minute (JAM) competitions would be organised on the weekends leading up to the annual day.

Academic affairs head Dayananda Murthy, faculty convenor Nirmala Devi and other staff took part.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 22nd, 2015

Towards restoring the glory of Telugu

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
CMD of Vijay Nirman S. Vijay Kumar giving details of the events lined up for International Mother Tongue Day in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Phani Sayana Suri of Paravastu Padya Peetham and chairman of Pydah Educational Institutions Pydah Krishna Prasad are seen.—Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
CMD of Vijay Nirman S. Vijay Kumar giving details of the events lined up for International Mother Tongue Day in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Phani Sayana Suri of Paravastu Padya Peetham and chairman of Pydah Educational Institutions Pydah Krishna Prasad are seen.—Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

With the aim of reviving and nurturing Telugu language and propagating its relevance among youngsters, the Paravastu Padya Peetham (PPP), along with Gokul Chandra and Rahul Chandra Memorial Charitable Trust, is celebrating International Mother Tongue Day on Saturday.

In order to restore the glory of one’s mother tongue, a cultural event, involving students, scholars, experts, and poets, will be held at Kalabharati Auditorium from 6 p.m.

Announcing this here on Thursday, PPP founder-president Phani Sayana Suri said that a poetry recitation session would be held at the venue.

As part of the programme, noted scholar Salaka Raghunatha Sharma from Rajahmundry will deliver a lecture on ‘Telugu poetry and personality development’.

“It is imperative to safeguard our mother tongue and strengthen its values by handing it over to posterity,” founder-chairman of the trust and CMD of Vijay Nirman S. Vijay Kumar said.

Chairman of Pydah Educational Institutions Pydah Krishna Prasad spoke. To mark the annual event, ‘Telugu Tirunallu’, to be celebrated in December, the organisers have come up with the concept of providing training to 10,000 children in poetry recitation.

Soon, they will be heading to government and private schools to select students for the purpose.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – February 20th, 2015

AP to Celebrate Rama Navami at Vontimitta

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Hyderabad :

As historic Bhadrachalam temple is now part of Telangana, the Andhra Pradesh government has firmed up its decision to celebrate Sri Rama Navami with official honours at Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple at Vontimitta in Kadapa district on the ‘night’ of March 28.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will offer silk clothes and “Mutyala Thalambralu” to the presiding deity and attend the celestial wedding that night.

TempleANDHRA21feb2015

It was a practice for the AP government to perform Sri Rama Navami celebrations at the historic Bhadrachalam temple, but as the temple is now in Telangana, the TDP government took the decision to celebrate it in Vontimitta temple, located about 26 km from Kadapa, constructed during the Chola and Vijayanagara reigns, which is about 26 km from Kadapa. Disclosing this to mediapersons at the Secretariat here on Friday, AP endowments minister P Manikyala Rao said, “Since the state has been divided, the government has decided to celebrate Sri Rama Navami at Vontimitta Temple. However, we would be sending silk clothes and mutyala thalambralu to the Bhadrachalam temple as well.”

According to the Minister, the Archaeological Survey of India had notified this temple as an ancient monument. Hence, the government had felt that the place would be a perfect location to celebrate Sri Rama Navami in the truncated State.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 21st, 2015