Documentary film fans can have a visual treat at Visakhapatnam Public Library where two documentary movies will be screened Saturday and Sunday. While one documentary picturises the brutalities of Israel in Palestine, the other flick attempts to create awareness on global warming. The screening is open to all.
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) will be screening a documentary on Palestine by well-known journalist, writer and film-maker John Pilger on Saturday evening. The 50-minute-long film will begin at 6 pm. On Sunday, the Vizag Film Society and Environmental Film Society will screen the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, a 2006 Academy Award winner based on global warming.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / August 29th, 2014
Deputy director of Weavers Service Centre Vishesh Nautiyal displaying the Kalamkari design printed on the linen bed sheet at the Centre in Vijayawada on Tuesday | Express Photo
Vijayawada :
Kalamkari, the art of fabric printing which has won the hearts of people for generations for its unique patterns and colour combinations on cotton fabrics, has now found a new canvas – the linen cloth.
The Weavers Service Centre (WSC), which is instrumental in the adaptation of the age-old art, is all set to come up with a range of linen dress and other materials bearing beautiful Kalamkari designs.
The WSC, attached to the Ministry of Textiles, works for the development of handlooms. It has come up with the idea of printing Kalamkari designs on linen cloth primarily to take the art to new destinations and thus increase its market.
The WSC has roped in Jaya Shree Textiles of the Aditya Birla group and Pichuka Srinivas, a renowned Kalamkari printer from Pedana in Krishna district, in its efforts to give a new thrust to the old art.
“The WSC aims at developing new products and designs in the handloom sector. In the process, various ideas are tried out in designing patterns and evolving different colour and fabric combinations. In this case, we have tried to introduce linen fabric to Kalamkari printers who are traditionally habituated to printing on cotton cloth,” says Vishesh Nautiyal, deputy director of WSC, which comes under the office of development commissioner (Handlooms).
The samples have been satisfactory and the finished products will be exported to Europe soon as linen adorned with traditional Indian designs has generated a lot of interest there, he says.
Pichuka Srinivas, who has been exporting Kalamkari clothes to Europe and US for over a decade now, opines Kalamkari art on linen will create fresh appeal for the product.
“Our aim is to introduce a new fabric to Pedana Kalamkari artisans and provide them an alternative to the cotton fabric to experiment and explore their creative talents,” he says.
The linen fabric for now is being procured from the Jaya Shree Textiles in Chennai. However, two new looms are being set up at Pedana by Srinivas to weave the linen fabric locally.
The WSC is providing the know-how and other technical support to the artisans.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by J DeepthiMandan Reddy / August 27th, 2014
With her title song in Maaya striking a chord with the audience, this engineering grad from the city hopes to make it big in the Telugu film industry. Her title song ‘Kalayedo Nijamedo’ in Maaya has been received well by the audience.
An engineering graduate in Information Technology aims at making her presence felt both as software professional and singer.
Meet Amala Chebolu, a native of Visakhapatnam, who has completed her B.Tech in GITAM this year. She is all set to make it big as a playback singer in the Telugu film industry.
While hunting for a job in the software industry, she happened to get an opportunity to lend her voice to the title song in the recent Telugu flickMaaya, directed by Neelakanta.
Being a classical singer all through her life, singing happens to be her first passion. She has been trained in the art since she was six years old.
“I feel I am fortunate to have such supporting parents — Saraswathi Chebolu, a vocalist, and Gopalakrishna Murthy, who works as HoD in Economics at B.V.K. Degree College — who helped me realise my dreams in all aspects,” she says. Apart from her parents, Amala owes her success to her mentor.
“My mother is my first guru in music. Later, I was fine-tuned by well-known vocalist Pantula Rama. I was able to focus on my studies and singing and strike a perfect balance between the two important facets of my life,” she says.
Her title song ‘Kalayedo Nijamedo’ in Maaya has been received well by the audience.
Speaking about her growing popularity, the up-and-coming singer says, “I acted and sang in one of the short films, ‘By Unknown’, just for fun. But, I have never imagined it would provide me a platform to get offers for singing in movies.”
About the competition, Amala says, “Singing is not about competing with one another. It is all about how well you perform, keeping your passion alive. Drawing inspiration from legendary Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi and singer Chitra, I am sure to unravel a new path in playback singing.”
source: http;//www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – August 21st, 2014
Students giving final touches to the clay model at a workshop in Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada. Photo. Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar. / The Hindu
Students of Animation, Visual Effects and 3D Animation departments proved their talent in the Clay Model Workshop organised on Andhra Loyola College (ALC) campus on Thursday.
Many models including robots, buildings, animals and great personalities were made in the two-day workshop. ALC vice-principal Fr. Rex Angelo, who visited the models, appealed to the youngsters to made use of the workshop to nurture their talent. Such programmes will provide a platform to showcase the talent of the young minds, said Mr. Angelo. Dassu Guru, sculptor in Guntur Medical College, who inaugurated the workshop, said that many opportunities are there for meritorious and talented students in the market. The clay model workshop will help students to hone their artistic skills. Animation Department faculty D. Praveen said nearly 90 students prepared different clay models. Faculty Ezra Sastry and Nagarani coordinated the programme.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities>Vijayawada / Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – August 16th, 2014
Breaking away from tradition, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu unfurled the nation’s Tricolour at the APSP battalion in Kurnool, instead of Hyderabad, the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
This is nearly after five decades that State level independence Day celebrations took place here. When Andhra State was created from Madras State, Kurnool was its Capital and I-Day was celebrated here till 1956.
Hoisting the flag, Naidu said that state level independence day would be organised in all districts by rotation so that people of all the districts would be part of the state level festivity.
Headquarters of all districts will be developed on par with capital city and he unveiled a programme of “unlimited development of Rayalaseema region.”
Naidu, recalling that the State they had inherited had a number of problems, chief among them being financial, wanted people to work hard to make the State prosper.
He said that he had fulfilled his poll promises which included loan waiver for farmers and DWCRA women, increases in pension amount to `1,000 for aged, `1,500 for the physically challenged, 24 hours power supply.
In an oblique reference to his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao, Naidu disapproved of his style of functioning. He said that Rao was creating new problems for Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation of the State.
He said that Rao was not forthcoming to sort out problems through dialogue. “We can solve problems if we sit together an talk in a friendly ambience. If we cannot find a solution we can approach the centre and if that too does not work out, there is always legal recourse,” he said. He said that there was a need to work with a spirit of coordination and maintain good relationship with neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and including Telangana.
He said his government would stand by Telugus as they fight for their rights in neighbouring Telangana, particularly in Hyderabad.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by K Madhusudhakar / August 16th, 2014
Bhimeswara Temple where the excavation was carried out at Chebrolu in Guntur district | EXPRESS PHOTO
Vijayawada :
In an important excavation executed by the Archaeology Department after finding a wall at Bhimeswara temple at Chebrolu village in Guntur district, the officials have unearthed six railing posts of the Buddhist Stupa and several other precious remains.
It may be recalled that the a brick alignment (wall) was unearthed on August 12 while digging on the southern side of the Bhimeswara Temple premises as a part of the temple renovation works taken up by the Archaeology Department. Following this, a team of officials of the Archaeology Department including assistant director K Chitti Babu, deputy executive engineer Koteswaran and technical assistant B Deepak Joe visited the place on August 16 and decided to explore the site further, anticipating some valuable remains there.
After the excavation, they have found the railing posts depicting Lotus Medallions and a row of animals. They also found a sculpture in which Bodhisattva is seen worshipped by a group of devotees, an image of a mystical animal and a ‘Yaksha’ on these posts.
“We have also found a sculpture in which the devotees are seen worshipping a Stupa by garlanding it, and large bricks (52 x 27 x 8cm size) at the site,” said Chitti Babu and added that an inscription of temple in Telugu-Kannada language has also been found.
“But this inscription belongs to medieval times when Telugu and Kannada languages had one script. A Buddhist pillar has been flattened to make this inscription,” he said.
Chebrolu was a territorial capital at that time. The remains found at the temple might belong to 1st or 2nd century AD, according to the officials.
When asked about taking up further excavation at the site, the officials said that they do not have any such plans right now.
Buddhism flourished during the Satavahana and Ikshvaku dynasties as they have patronised the religion. But the rise of Vishunkundinis (Vaishnavaites), Pallavas (Shaivites) and Eastern Gangas (Shaivites) has helped Hinduism revive itself and so Buddhism disappeared in these areas. The Buddhist sites have turned into Hindu temples.
Meanwhile, the Union government has sanctioned `1.48 crore grants from the 13th Finance Commission for the renovation of Bhimeswara temple, Adikeswara temple, Nageswara temple and Chaturmukha Brahma temple.
A Crucible of Buddhism
Chebrolu is an ancient village located about 17 km from Guntur. It is situated on a large mound, the excavation of which revealed several terracotta figures and Roman coins. Its ancient name was Sambhole (from which ‘Chebrolu’ is derived).
The Brahmalingeswara Chaturmuka Brahma temple has a small shrine situated in the middle of the temple tank. The main deity is a Siva Lingam, which has four images of ‘Brahma’ carved on its sides.
As many as six Stupa posts have been unearthed at the site.
The officials say that they may not take up further excavation at the site.
Remnants of a Buddhist monastery, dating back to pre-Satavahana period, unearthed atop the Bhairavakonda hillock at Vaikuntapuram village in Thullur mandal of Guntur district in March, 2013.
Another Buddhist site, belonging to the 2nd Century AD, unearthed near Pondugula village in March 2013.
BUDDHIST SITES IN GUNTUR, KRISHNA DISTS
Nagarjunakonda
Amaravathi
Bhattiprolu
Nandayapalem
Karlapalem
Bapatla
Garikapadu
Pedamaddur
Takkelapadu
Penumaka
Vaddemanu
Vaikunatapuram
Sitanagaram
Velpur
Madalaguda
Buddham
Ghantasala
Pondugula
Jaggaiahpet
Munjuluru
Ghantasala
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by P. Laxma Reddy / August 23rd, 2014
Manisha Koirala, who regularly visits the Oneness University in Chittoor for meditation, says that one of the main reasons that she and her family managed to deal with her cancer was the university and its teaching.
“I have been coming here since 2006,” adding, “I feel one of the main reasons we could deal with my illness was due to the teachings of this place. I came back here as I learned how important it was to lead a balanced, happy life… one must be well in mind, body and spirit.
“I am thankful to God for giving me a second chance. This life is a gift and I will honour it and help others know it,” she adds.
Talking about others who are fighting cancer, Manisha has the following advice: “It’s not only me, there are many (who have survived cancer) and I learned from them. It’s important to stick to a good doctor’s advice. Instead of taking too much advice from different people. Also exercise as much as your body allows.
“Pray to whichever divine form you believe in. This is a good time to connect with the divine. I was asked to do japa and I would do it three times a day,” she says, adding, “Be in the company of positive and happy people.”
When asked about her adoption plans, she says, “Yes, I will adopt a girl child. As and when the Lord thinks that I can do justice to the child, I will adopt. But for now, please let us not make it another issue to talk about. I am a bit superstitious about talking before acting on things.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / Lipika Varma / August 20th, 2014
The Guntur Numismatic and Philatelic Society, is organising a State-level competitive exhibition of stamps, coins and currency notes during September 5-7.
Society secretary M.V.S Prasad said that the Stamps and Coins Fest-2014 would be held at Balaji Mandapam on the premises of Sri Venkateswaraswamy Devalayam, Brundavan Gardens, to mark the 20th anniversary of the society.
The other highlights include, inter school quiz, letter writing, drawing and elocution competitions, competitive exhibition for beginners in juniors and seniors category, exhibition of rare stamps, coins and currency notes, release of special philatelic covers on Telugu literature and culture, and workshops on philately and numismatics. The last date for submitting entries is August 30. For details, contact 98667-10379, 98495-31955 and e-mail address is gnpsguntur@gmail.com
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / Staff Reporter / Guntur – August 21st, 2014
Justice Chalameswar of the Supreme Court released a book entitled ‘Aahara Vedam’ at Hotel IV Palace here Saturday. The book was authored by ayurvedic physician and writer GV Purnachand.
‘Aahara Vedam’ traces the history of Telugu people’s food habits from 1,500 BC to the present day. The book gives many useful tips which can be practised in daily life for cooking healthy food.
“By keeping our mouth in control, diseases can be avoided and life span can be increased. ‘Aahara Vedam’ book will act as a guide to the people who are completely neglecting good food habits. Besides being a guide on tasty and healthy food, ‘Aahara Vedam’ also records the rich history of Telugu people’s food,” said Justice Chalameswar after releasing the book.
Purnachand is also involved in research on Telugu people’s heritage and history and had earlier written books on Telugu heritage and food habits which included detailed chapters about vegetables, staple foods, cereals, spices, ancient Telugu dishes, food to cure diseases and discussed the merits and demerits of the present-day food habits. “Food history of Telugu people was ignored for ages but ‘Aahara Vedam’ will fill that void,” Assembly deputy speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad, who was present on the occasion, said.
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan vice-chairman Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, MLC Ilapuram Venkaiah and Krishna District Writers’ Association president Guttikonda Subba Rao were also present.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / August 17th, 2014
Ancient art on a wall of the Chintakuta rock shelter in Kadapa.
Hyderabad:
The Union government has declared megalithic painted Rock shelters at Chintakunta Village in Kadapa in AP as the monument of national importance.
Chintakunta site belongs to the period of 8,000 BC-1,500 BC. It has 200 rock art paintings including figures of wild animals, geometric designs and human figures.
Rock shelters at Chintakunta are among the 19 sites in the country being taken up by the Archaeological Survey of India for conservation, preservation and maintenance on priority basis.
The site was explored and analysed by Dr Erwin Neumayer of Austria, Dr N. Chandramouli of Pondicherry Central University and P.C. Venkatasubbaiah, Dravidian University, Kuppam.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / August 12th, 2014
