Star performers

Sports

Players S.K.Uthappa and Kothajit Singh are keen to excel for India in international hockey tournaments.

Indian hockey player S.K.Uthappa. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Environmental influences do shape individuals. They have spurred two youngsters, hailing from distant corners of the country, to take up hockey seriously despite the not-so-lucrative status of the sport at present. Despite their different backgrounds, S.K. Uthappa (21) and Kothajit Singh (19) share the same passion – to excel on the astro-turf. The two players earned their maiden India shirts in the recently-concluded Test series against South Africa and impressed with their performances.

The chief coach of the Indian team, Michael Nobbs, was delighted to see them perform to their potential and compete for spots in the National side for the forthcoming Olympic qualifier. It was only natural for Uthappa, from Coorg (the nursery of hockey in Karnataka which has produced stalwarts like M.P. Ganesh, B.P. Govinda and Arjun Halappa), to pick up the crooked stick. “In Coorg, everyone plays hockey. My brother played for the Bangalore University.

My family always wanted me to play hockey and represent the country,” said the well-built player sporting attractive locks.

“I thought, let me play the game I am good at,” added Uthappa, who had moved to Bangalore eight years ago to pursue the sport at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre there.

Best player

Uthappa, an attacking midfielder, hogged the limelight in last year’s National championship in Bhopal, where he was adjudged the best player. From there, he took the big leap. “Representing the country was a big moment for me. I want to give my best (for India),” said Uthappa, a B.Com final year student at the College of Commerce in the Garden City. “I am grateful to my college which has helped me a lot in pursuing my sport.” A promising player who idolises centre-half Sardar Singh, Uthappa feels his game has improved a lot after attending the National camp.

A video games fanatic and a Chelsea fan to the core, Uthappa is a sportive guy in his inner circle. “All my team mates play pranks on me

for my surname. They say, I am the ‘Robin Uthappa’ of hockey,” he says with a smile.

Quite different from the Karnataka player is Kothajit, a typical shy Manipuri. Born to a family of hockey players, the teenager had no choice but to play the sport. “In my family, my parents, three brothers and a sister are all hockey players,” said Kothajit, belonging to the land of Olympian Thoiba Singh.

Incidentally, Kothajit and Changlensana Singh were the latest men’s hockey players from the state to make it to National side after several years.

Made a mark

Kothajit, who moved to the SAI centre in Lucknow in 2009 to hone his skills, made his mark in the Ranchi National Games in February last. Later, he proved his worth when he was selected for the National camp. “An Olympics medal is the ultimate achievement in hockey. I am aiming for that,” said the gritty player. “I admire Dhanraj Pillay. I wanted to be like him when I started,” said the midfielder, who began as a forward. Kothajit, despite his passion for hockey, has not lost touch with his studies and is continuing his Std X at present. “I find time to go through my books and prepare for the exams.”

The soft-spoken Manipuri, who loves to go out with friends and watch movies in his free time, is not untouched by the influence of Facebook. “It is part of today’s life. I am not a regular Facebooker, but sometimes use it to stay in touch with my friends,” says the happy-go-lucky youth. Kothajit, however, does not forget the primary aim of his life – to make an impact by keeping up the good work on the turf.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Sports> Hockey / by Y.B. Sarangi / January 25th, 2012

Kids’ fest recreates festive mood

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mangalore:

If the city was immersed in youthful exuberance during the 17th National Youth Festival (NYF) 2012 last week, it was the turn of Vamanjoor village, to embrace innocence personified, in the form of children, in the first ever Bal Bharath Srujanotsav held in the state at Pilikula on Sunday.

This is the first Srujanotsav to be held outside Delhi.Nearly 4,000 children, including 1,430 from 20 states and union territories, descended in droves at the Pilukula venue in a procession which started from Vamanjoor junction, about two km from the venue. The mile-long procession was as colourful as the NYF procession with 26 teams and their guides, taking part in it.

Jaya Tandel and Chinmaya from Daman, in the city for the first time were excited to present their machi (fisher folk dance) apart from dandiya, Portuguese and tribal dances in the festival.Their teacher Deepika Sahani said they had taken part in Children’s Mela held in Delhi twice.Virat Gowda and Manjunath from Kodagu were in the traditional Coorgi attire and will present a slice of Kodagu. Virat said he had been to festivals in Delhi. G Nageshwari from Odissa will present sambalpuri and Odissi dance at the four-day event. Shakuntala A, deputy director, Women and Child Development, said that there were 30 teams from the state and 50 members team each of the Bal Bhavan societies from five taluks of the DK district.Divya Narayanappa, administrative officer, Bal Bhavan Society, Bangalore said the fest had moved out national capital for the first time.

“For the past 35 years, Delhi was the venue for the event. The objective to move out of the national capital is to bring out the hidden talents in children through four mediums – science, creative writing, creative performance and creative art (painting, collage etc),” she said.Women and child welfare minister C C Patil said that the fest was provided Rs 69 lakh through Bal Bhavan and the state was giving Rs 25 lakh. “We will supplement if there is a shortfall,” he added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Collections> Odissi / Mangalore / by Stanley Pinto / January 23rd, 2012

City golfer Angad India’s No. 2 amateur

Sports

Chandigarh:
City boy Angad Cheema won the 111th CNEB All India Amateur championship title after beating an experienced Gagan Verma 5 and 4 in a final 36-hole competition at Chandigarh Golf Club on Sunday. With the victory, Cheema also finished second on the Indian Golf Union’s Order of merit list as it was the last event of the 2011 season. In the team championship, Bangalore’s duo S Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi got the runner’s-up prize while Cheema and Delhi’s Honey Baisoya were declared winners. Cheema, who turns 22 on January 25, was followed by his father throughout the day.

After taking the trophy, he said, “It was an emotional win for me as my dad was watching my game for the first time on course.” Both players, who finished second in World Inter Amateur Championship in Malaysia in 2011, started the day aggressively in the morning session as both of them were all square until 16th hole. Verma won 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 12th, 14th holes. Cheema won 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 13th to become equal. In afternoon, Cheema became 1-up to claim the contest.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Collections> City Boy/ Chandigarh / TNN / January 23rd, 2012

India fight back to hold South Africa, win series 3-1

Sports

New Delhi:

In the end, a few angry words from the coach did the trick. India bounced back from a ‘lost’ situation to hold South Africa to a 3-3 draw in the fifth and final hockey Test at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium on Sunday.

The Indians put up an ordinary display early on in the inconsequential match, having come to the tie leading the series 3-1. At the breather, they were down 0-3. But thing changed dramatically afterwards.

“I was a little angry. I told the players to pull up their socks and do more in the field. I could understand that they were a little complacent having already won the series,” coach Michael Nobbs said after the match.

The terse words coupled with some tactical changes not only helped India score thrice in the second half, but also denied the visitors any addition to their tally.

A goal attempt by SV Sunil after a fine run on the right flank was stopped by the rival goalkeeper but Sardar Singh grabbed the free ball and passed on to Yuvraj Walmiki who slammed home in the 43rd minute for India’s first goal.

VR Raghunath scored through India’s fourth penalty corner six minutes later to further reduce the lead before Sarvanjit Singh set it up for SK Uthappa in the 66th minute to complete the tally.

Earlier, South Africa dominated the first half with goals from Ricky West (26th minute), Ian Haley (31st) and Miguel de Grasa (34th). Nobbs said that he was happy to see his players’ abilities to salvage the situation from critical positions. “Coming back from that position is a terrific result, a real positive. In the last four-five months, whenever we have trailed, we have often made strong comebacks,” he said.

On Sunday, India fielded comeback men Rupinder Pal Singh and Danish Mujtaba, who returned to the side after brief injury layoffs. Both played for a fair amount of time though they looked a bit rusty. Having done a lot of experimentation with the team in the five-match series, Nobbs suggested that his boys would continue playing attacking hockey when they square up during the upcoming Olympic qualifiers.

source: http://www.TimesofIndia.Indiatimes.com/ Home> Sports> Hockey / by Biswajyoti Brahma / TNN / January 23rd, 2012

Homestays to face regulations in Madikeri

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Uncategorized

This hill paradise, which pioneered the concept of homestay, is going to regulate them. Ten years after homestay became a part of Madikeri’s tourism circuit, the local civic body is looking at it as a source of income.

Starting from next financial year, the Madikeri City Municipal Council (MCMC) will charge an annual fee of `2,000 to each individual who runs such a facility.

“This is not a tax, but a fee payable by the owner of every homestay in return for the no objection certificate (NOC), which will be issued by the civic body. The new tourism policy has made provisions for issuance of NOC by the local civic body in addition to the ‘trade licence’ by the regional tourism office,” HM Nandakumar, president of MCMC said.

“There are not more than 50 legal homestays. But the number of illegal homestays is five times this number. If they are to survive, they should adopt regulations which will be good for them and to the city,” he said.

The owners stand to gain as their establishments will get a legal stamp by having the licence from regional tourism office and NOC from the City Municipal Council. The establishment will be automatically certified and no owner can run away from the law.

Opposition leader in the council TM Aiyappa was critical of homestay owners who hoodwink the city municipality.

“They cannot have a free run anymore. They have to fall in line and pay the city its due. They should consider themselves lucky that the council did not impose a tax but only a fee for the annual NOC,” he said.

Madikeri City Municipality commissioner Shashikumar said the civic body had passed a resolution recently to this effect.

“Civic leaders of Madikeri thought it fit to collect just a NOC fee. But later, homestays may come under a tax structure. That will be decided by the urban development department. In addition to the NOC and the fee, the council decided to impose hefty fines to those homestays that pollute the environment by indiscriminate dumping of garbage.

District in-charge minister J Krishna Palemar, who is also the state environment and ecology minister, hailed the move of the civic body. “Homestay is a commercial activity. During their formative years, homestays were welcomed with open arms. They grew without any regulation except for a licence from the tourism department.We have to consider that period as a gestation period or even as a tax holiday. The owners should not rue the fees and should consider it as their contribution towards the growth of Madikeri as a hill tourism centre of the state,” Palemar said.

However, those who run homestays are not amused.

“It is wrong to say that we’ve year-long business. There are certain seasons and each season does not last more than a few weeks.

Only techies from Bangalore, Mangalore and Mysore were patronising home stays in Madikeri, Nowadays, they go to Chikmagalur and Shimoga. which have also embraced this business. It is all right if the CMC charges us fees for grantingthe NOC, but if they are thinking of further taxing us, many of us will go out of business,” said office-bearers of Kodagu Home Stay Association.

Techies from Bangalore and Mysore going to Madikeri homestays during week-ends may have to dig deeper into their pockets as the homestays and estate stays have become 10% costlier.

A one-room facility will cost not less than Rs2,200 to Rs3,000 per 24 hours while a two-room, four-bed family facility will cost Rs4,000.

Urban development department official are thinking of bringing in a uniform rate of taxes and fees payable by home stays to civic bodies.

source: http://www.DnaIndia.com / Home> Bangalore> Report / by M Raghuram / Place: Madikeri / Agency: DNA / Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Tirkey, Subbaiah To Coach India

Sports

A report in the DNA stated that veteran Indian hockey player Dilip Tirkey and former goalkeeper AB Subbaiah may be appointed as the defence coaches of the national team. The decision came after India’s poor defence let the opposition score goals in the recent matches. There were many defensive lapses and the team management feels that the gaps must be filled before the qualifiers.

India may play two spinners in the final match of the test series in Adelaide, reports The Hindu. Pragyan Ojha along with Ravichandran Ashwin has been drafted into the side and medium pacer R. Vinay Kumar who made his debut in the Perth test will sit out. The Adelaide pitch favors spin bowling more that the other Australian grounds and that could result in India opting for two spinners.

Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir said in a statement in Mid Day that Indian pitches should not be criticized and they should continue to assist spin bowling in the future as well. He said that every home team prepares pitches according to their strength and criticizing Indian pitches is not right. He also said that the Australian fast bowlers will have to bowl well in the sub-continent to show that they really are good.

source: http://www.IndianSportsNews.com / Monday, Januaryn23rd, 2012

Flower show in Madikeri today

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Madikeri:

Former Rajya Sabha member F M Khan has organized a flower show for public view on his Balyantri estate at Boikeri near Madikeri. The exhibited will be held on Saturday and Sunday, with free entry.

Khan has been organizing the show every year since 1998.The garden has been named after Yousuf Ali Khan memorial. Over 1,000 varieties of flowers are grown here.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Mysore> Home> Collections> Madikeri / TNN / January 21st, 2012

Participants applaud clean venue

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Napoklu (KODAGU):
The eco-friendly measures taken up by the organizers of the Storm Music Festival has been appreciated by music lovers. The sprawling venue was free from litter. Dustbins were placed to prevent participants from littering the venue. A separate gallery was set up for drinkers and smokers.

A band member of Faridkot, I P Singh from Delhi, was glad that measures were taken to maintain the cleanliness of the place. “We should preserve nature. Without spoiling the beauty of nature, humans can do whatever they want. In the name of entertainment we cannot spoil the environment. The organizers have done a fantastic job by setting up dustbins,” he says.

A student of Mumbai Pratiti, who was on her first visit to Napoklu, was mesmerized by the greenery of Kodagu. “It’s a beautiful place to unwind. The organizers have planned the event meticulously. I hope the greenery remains the same even the after the event,” she added.

A Mumbai-based businessmen Ramachandran who was disappointed when the event was postponed last November, said: “The ambience was fantastic, we can sit wherever we want and chill out. I also hope we have more such events. I am impressed by the cleanliness of the area,” he added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Collections> Music Lovers / TNN / January 21st, 2012

With 400+ attendees and Cooking with Coffee, IICF 2012 leaves lasting impact

Coffee News

The India International Coffee Festival 2012, organised from January 18-20, 2012, by the India Coffee Trust, an industry body in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India to promote coffee consumption in India, at New Delhi, received good response with over 400 participants from all over the globe in attendance.

The 3-day event held for the first time in New Delhi, apart from India, recorded participation from Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the United States, Nigeria, Kenya, Norway, Sweden, and Belgium.

The event was inaugurated by union minister for commerce Anand Sharma, with Roberio Oliveira Silva, executive director, International Coffee Organisation (ICO), as the guest of honour. The event was sponsored Cafe Coffee Day, Tata Coffee, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Lavazza.

At the inaugural session, Anil Bhandari, chairman, India Coffee Trust, felt that the current mission of spreading coffee consumption all over the country would be a signal success.

Jawaid Akhtar, chairman, Coffee Board of India, attributed the rise in domestic coffee consumption in the country to the efforts of each member of the coffee fraternity in India who worked in tandem to spread coffee drinking across the country.

“Over the past few years, coffee has transitioned from being a traditional beverage consumed mainly in south India, to a beverage with national presence, consumed in several forms and retail formats. Between 2003 and 2008, coffee consumption has grown in the non-south regions at 42% annually, while it has grown at 3.5% per annum in the southern states,” he added.

The Coffee Board is actively involved in the promotion of beverage in non-traditional markets and training to develop entrepreneurs supporting movement up the value chain in roasting, grinding and packaging segments by subsidy support to prospective entrepreneurs and self-help groups and collectives among others. “The Coffee Board has been nurturing coffee industry for the past seven decades through its various activities like research, extension, export and domestic promotion and allied activities aimed at supporting coffee-growers across the country,” Akhtar stated.

The event was a combination of a conference, exhibition and workshops and included a session on Cooking with Coffee, conducted by noted chef and restaurateur Mark Sayers from Australia. The workshops were aimed at providing participants and prospective coffee professionals and entrepreneurs, an enriching and interactive learning opportunity with a special focus on roasting & grinding, and different techniques of brewing, cooking with coffee and were conducted by specialised and experienced instructors.

Mark Sayers, who demonstrated his signature recipes at the event, said that in India, with its diverse culture, the country saw its people willing to experiment with food menus. Coffee, as a sipping drink, was also being welcomed as a food ingredient world over, he said.

Roberio Oliveira Silva, executive director, ICO, said, “Coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the world after oil with an estimated value of over $80 billion annually. Through ICO, the industry has enhanced bilateral and multilateral trade between the producer and consumer countries. With growing demand for coffee in emerging markets like India, the ICO is enabling countries to increase production by assisting in deploying better reproduction technologies, market diversification, linkages/integration through partnerships and investments in research and development.”

source: http://www.fnbnews.com / Top News / by Nandita Vijay, Bangalore / Saturday, January 21st, 2012

New lights at KSHA

Sports

Bangalore: Jan 21, 2012 DHNS:

The Karnataka State Hockey Association has upgraded the floodlights at its stadium here to FIH standards, paving the way for the conduct of international matches at night.

“The KSHA has spent one crore rupees to get this done,” said KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy. “For a long time, the biggest setback for us was the lack of proper lights. If one wants to host international matches under lights, they must be at least 1200 lux.

“After a lot of discussions, we decided to go ahead with the plan. It did cost us a lot, but we should be in a position to host international matches. With the World Series Hockey coming up, the fans have a lot to look forward to.”

A total of 10 towers have been erected — five on each side with each boasting of ten 200KW bulbs, taking the total capacity to 1300 lux. Most of the work has been completed with just light fittings on one tower left. While the light bulbs are manufactured by GE, the installation work has been done by Saptharishi, Hyderabad.

“We switched on just half of the lights today on a trial basis. The entire work will be complete in a week’s time. A complete check will be done during the Kodava Samaj hockey tournament next month.”

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Sports / DHNS / January 21st, 2012