Vijayawada :
The chairman of Krishna district Red Cross Society A Sridhar Reddy received a certificate of merit in the annual general meeting of Indian Red Cross Society held at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday.
He received the award from President Pranab Mukherjee and also a certificate of merit from Union health minister JP Nadda.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / November 19th, 2014
Visakhapatnam:
Vizag witnessed a flurry of events on Monday which were conducted by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), under the banner of ‘Rejuvenating Vizag’.
Thousands of Vizagites took part enthusiastically in the events which inc-luded marathon, cyclathon, yoga at the beach, sand art and folk dances.
More than 3,000 people participated in the marathon which started from VUDA park till RK Beach and back.
In the cyclathon event over a hundred cyclists cycled the same route. Same was the case with yoga at the beach which was participated by hundreds of people as they performed yoga along the beach.
The list of events turned the beach road into a vibrant and energetic place early morning on Monday.
Sonal Jain, a B.Tech student who participated in the marathon, said, “It is really wonderful that the government has organised so many events on a single day. Looking at the fast pace in which the city was brought back to life due to dedicated efforts of the government officials, individuals and NGOs, there is definitely a cause of celebration in it. My entire family took part in the marathon.”
APTDC, General Manager, Bhimashankar Rao, said, “‘Rejuvenating Vizag’ is a celebration of the resilient spirit of Vizagites and of the city’s bouncing back to life soon after getting battered by the cyclone Hudhud.”
He further said that the other aim of the event is that as Vizag is poised to develop as a smart city the event will promote towards the brand image of Vizag and will send out a message that the City of Destiny gets on its feet quickly even though a natural disaster strikes it.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / November 18th, 2014
Kolkata :
They had originated and proliferated in India, possibly in Tanjore, in the late 16th or early 17th century under the patronage of the Mughal emperors. But, with the passage of time, Kalamkari paintings on textiles faded into oblivion.
Thousands of miles away, a museum in France on the Swiss border has preserved some of the oldest specimens of Kalamkari paintings on textiles. These are very rare to find even in museums within the country.
For a fortnight starting on Wednesday, the textile gallery of the Indian Museum will showcase the world famous ‘Tapis Moghol’ — some of the most elaborate designs replete with mysterious animals, birds, foliage and flowers — that hold the key to many stories of the times. The ‘Tapis Moghol’, that dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century, has been preserved for the world at the En Musea De L’Impression Sur Etoffes De Mulhouse or the Museum of Printed Textiles at Mulhouse, France.
Kalamkari paintings in its earliest form were motifs painted on large wall hangings that were used to decorate the altar behind the deity. Kalamkari, though, is not a lost art form in the sense that it is still practised in both the painted and block printed versions. But, we have lost most of the original designs that were popular when it was used as an altar backdrop in South Indian temples.
“A gentleman called Funffrock, who was an employee of the French East India Company, was posted in Tanjore. The Frenchman was immensely interested in the traditional art form and got a cotton cloth, measuring eight feet by eight feet, done up with rich intricate designs that showcased the best motifs of that time. With time, this became the focal exhibit, around which the other collections of the period grew. The exhibition will give the city a glimpse of the Funffrock collection,” explained Ruby Palchowdhury, spokesperson of the Crafts Council of West Bengal, which is a wing of the Crafts Council of India and is funded by the Centre.
Textile and culture ministries and the Alliance Francaise have funded the expo that will have 25 panels to show off design details and the stories underneath. The exhibition has been curated by ethnic historian Lotika Varadarajan.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhumli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN / November 16th, 2014
A week-long book expo, commemorating the National Book Festival, has begun near the Civil Rights Court here. MLA Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao inaugurated the expo on Friday. The objective of the fair is to promote reading habits among youngsters and to reduce the gap between readers and writers, according S. Venkatanarayana, secretary of the Vijayawada Book Festival Society, (VBFS), which is organising the expo.
He said the expo was being organised at Gudivada and Machilipatnam for the first time, and that its objective was to promote reading habits in the semi-rural areas of the district. “This is an effort to take publishers to the doorstep of readers. More and more readers are willing to visit festivals to purchase books, as buying books through postal mode is getting costly. Soon, we will be selecting three mandals in each district to organise such expos,” said B. Babjee, advisory committee member of the society.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – November 14th, 2014
Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh:
A huge ‘laddu’weighing 7,858 kg, prepared by a shop owner from Tapeswaram in Andhra Pradesh, which was offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi, has found a place in the Guinness World Records.
Sri Bhaktanjaneya Sweets bagged a place in the Guinness World Records for the fourth consecutive time for preparing the biggest ‘laddu’, offered to Lord Ganesha on August 27 during the eleven-day festival this year.
Speaking to PTI today after receiving his new Guinness certificate, shop owner S Venkateswara Rao said that he could achieve this feat only with the blessings of his family and the cooperation of his 25 staff members at Bhaktanjaneya.
Rao, who is a school drop out and joined his father S Satyanaraya Murthy in running the then small hotel after completing his sixth grade studies, said that his aim is to outdo his own record every year.
Previously, in 2011 he prepared a laddu weighing 5,570 kg, and followed it up with 6,599.29 kg laddu in 2012; 7132.87 kg in 2013 and 7,858 kg this year.
“My father (Murthy), who came here in 1942 to earn a livelihood started a small hotel, which initially served coffee and tiffin items along with sweet products.
Gradually, the shop in Tapeswaram began catering to travellers en-route, after buses and other vehicles began halting there for a small snack,” Rao said.
Subsequently in 1972, they expanded the hotel into a full-fledged sweet mart and have been famous for serving their patent ‘Kaza’ sweet.
Rao now intends to open outlets of his shop in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, with the help of his children, who are now pursuing higher studies.
The sweet mart has earlier received State-level awards for its ‘Kaza’ preparation before entering the Guinness Records. “Our range of products start from ‘laddus’ of small size to bigger ones as huge as 60-1000 kg,” Rao said.
For bigger orders like those weighing 5,000 kg, the makers have to be intimated six months in advance although the preparation will commence only 1-2 days before the festival as the product (laddu) is kept for 14-15 days during the event.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / PTI / November 12th, 2014
Capturing the spirit of Christmas and New Year, the traditional ceremony of cake mixing began at Fortune Murali Park here on Monday. And the entire lounge smelled of spirits and dry fruits and other ingredients that go into cake mixing.
To start the ceremony, all guests, chefs and staff were handed gloves, aprons and chef hats. The ingredients along with spirits were mixed thoroughly. Before this the fruits have been placed in casks to soak in all liquid and mature beautifully by Christmas. It will then be used by the hotel to make plum cakes, puddings and other delicacies.
“The cake mixing ritual has now acquired social face. But it has not diluted its religious importance and remains to be one of the most awaited events in the Christian households,” said hotel general manager P.K. Venkatesh. Huge quantity of dry fruit and nuts with wine were soaked. The mixture would be allowed to settle for a period of forty days from which plum pudding with brandy sauce, exotic cakes, fudges would be made, he explained.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – November 10th, 2014
Names from the glamour world like Sobhita Dhulipala and Ipsita Pati, who have their roots in Vizag, have been great source of inspiration for many girls in the city to step out and give wings to their dreams. Over the years, the Miss Vizag contest has turned into an ideal platform for girls to get a taste of the glamorous world of fashion and build up a career in the fashion industry.
The contest that was rescheduled this year to a later date due to the cyclone saw over 100 entries from participants who auditioned to participate in the Miss Vizag 2014 contest. Out of this, 22 contestants have been short-listed for the final rounds that will be held on November 30 at The Park.
Ajay Agarwal of Creative Plus Events who has been organising the event from the past couple of years feels there has been a great change in the way a career in the fashion industry is perceived in the city and it is waking up to the latest fashion trends in a big way. .
“International brands are coming up in the city and that has increased the fashion awareness. With Vizag girls like Sobhita winning the title of Miss India Earth last year, the entire perception about the fashion industry has changed. Now parents are eagerly coming forward to encourage the girls to take part in events like Miss Vizag,” says Ajay.
The contestants are in the age group of 18-25 years and hail from different backgrounds.
Says Laxmi Bharadwaj, who worked in the aviation industry for two years as an air hostess before embarking in the world of fashion: “It was my passion to get into the fashion industry. My experience in the airline sector has really helped me to develop my personality.”
Laxmi idolises Sushmita Sen and believes in a diet regime that she feels suits her body type.
“Contests like these are a test of one’s overall personality,” she says.
Others like Meghna Kintalli feel that Miss Vizag is an ideal platform to get noticed in the film industry. A B.Sc Biotechnology graduate, Meghna is currently shooting for her first film Nowadays at the Rama Naidu Studio in Hyderabad.
“My dream is to get into the film industry and make it big. I feel Miss Vizag contest will groom me to face the fashion world and get me closer to my final destination,” she says. To keep her fitness quotient high, she jogs every morning and goes for dance classes.
The contestants will go through a grooming session a week before the final round. The team of grooming experts comprising Amit Pandey from Delhi for choreography, Deepa Deval for fitness and nutrition, Miss Eva for make-up and hairstyles, will put the participants through rigorous training sessions.
Deepa Deval says that awareness of high fitness levels is generally high among the participants these days as compared to what it was five years ago.
“The girls follow a diet regime and are eager to lap up new techniques like Zumba to stay fit. Exercising not only builds the stamina, it also improves body posture which is very important when you are walking the ramp,” says Deepa, who has been in the fitness industry for the past two decades.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Fashion / by Nivedita Ganguly / November 07th, 2014
To strengthen the culture and tradition, Srirama Charitable Trust, L Kota in Vizianagaram district is conducting a three-day Children’s Festival 2014 on its premises, starting December 11.
Announcing the dates of the festival here on Tuesday, chairman of the trust T. Subba Rao and secretary K. Madhuravani said that the platform is open for all the schoolchildren across Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. “The objective of the festival is to encourage children to exhibit their creativity and involve them in fun-filled activities,” they said.
The festival includes competitions such as poetry recitation, essay writing, elocution, painting, singing and dancing, among other groups. Students from nursery to Class X can take part in the competition which is divided into three categories – sub juniors (Nursery to Class IV), juniors (Classes V to VII) and seniors (Classes VIII to X). Interested candidates should bring letter of permission from their respective schools.
Apart from free entry, breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided to the participants free of cost. Last date for registration is November 30. Winners can walk away with trophies, cash awards and prizes. Further details can be had by contacting 9441140375 or 7382030399 or by logging on to www.sriramacharitabletrust.org.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – November 05th, 2014
It is official! Several popular film stars and prominent industry personalities have come forward to be part of an event in Hyderabad on November 30 that will aim at collecting relief for the cyclone-hit Vizag and neighbouring areas.
According to a press release, celebs have also made substantial monetary and material donations. Additionally, this collective effort will provide a chance for others to contribute as well.
“Beyond these individual acts of kindness and philanthropy though, lies a greater responsibility of inspiring collective action from the vast majority of the rest of the people,” say producer Allu Arvind and Murali Mohan, president of Movie Artists Association (MAA).
“The Industry is making efforts to put together a massive mara-thon entertainment event on the November 30 in Hyderabad to prompt the Telugus in India and across the world, to participate and contribute as per their capabilities,” says, N.V. Prasad, president of the Film Chamber.
“The event, while aimed at ensuring an unprecedented scale of entertainment and excitement for movie lovers, is also essentially aimed at evoking compassion, camaraderie and secure wider participation from all audiences,” said noted producers D. Suresh Babu and Dil Raju.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> Tollywood / DC / by Suresh Kavivayani / November 05th, 2014
Civil society activists, people’s representatives and district officials took part enthusiastically in the ‘Vande Gandhiyam’ peace rally which was organised from Gandhi statue in Nellore city to Pallepadu Ashram near here on Sunday.
Singer Ghazal Srinivas, MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, Mayor Sk. Abdul Aziz, Nellore Town MLA P. Anilkumar Yadav and several other leaders and youth were present on the occasion. The event was organised to pay tributes to the values and ideals cherished by Mahatma Gandhi who stood out as a unique world leader by winning freedom through peace and non-violence.
District Collector N. Srikanth, who flagged off the rally in the city, said that the peace march would go a long way in drawing wide attention to the Gandhian principles that brought special recognition to the country. He said that the Pallepadu Gandhi Ashram was among the few important ashrams which were being preserved as a tribute to Gandhi.
Ghazal Srinivas led the march and underlined the significance of peace in bringing about harmony and unity among the countries of the world. He said that he had toured many parts of the world in the propagation of world peace. Calling upon the active participation of all sections of society, the speakers appealed to the youth to follow in the footsteps of the great leaders who fought for the independence of the country in those days. They said that it was everybody’s responsibility to protect and preserve the unity and integrity of the country.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by G. Ravikiran / Nellore – November 02nd, 2014