Category Archives: Nri’s / Pio’s

Team Coorg wins Independence Day Trophy

August 22, 2016Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Muscat :

Team Coorg Muscat and Friends of Naqvi Group under the patronage of Embassy of India and in coordination with Oman Hockey Association organised the 70th Independence Day commemoration Hockey Festival at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex recently. It was the tenth year in a row the event was held.

The Ambassador of India H E Indra Mani Pandey was the chief guest who distributed the prizes to all participants.

It was a great jubilation and historic moment for the organisers as president of FIH Leonardo Negre, CEO of AHF Dato Sree Tayyab Ikram sent their best wishes for the success of the hockey festival.

Dr Omar Zawawi, a great supporter for hockey had offered to sponsor the event and Waleed Associates were the main sponsors. Pramod Karajgikar attended on behalf of Waleed Associates. The Hockey Festival started with the national anthem of India and Oman presented by the Indian School Seeb choir.

The Indian School Muscat exhibited a parade and a march past.

The Independence Day trophy was won by Team Coorg Muscat for the second year in a row by defeating UTSC Muscat in a thrilling match by 3-2.

The Ambassador XI won the second time as they were the winners in 2015 of the Ambassador Cup.

The Ambassador XI won the 2016 cup by defeating Indian School Seeb in a tie breaker.

The 70th Independence Day Hockey Festival organisers expressed their sincere thanks and gratitude to participating teams from Oman and UAE.

In this connection the contribution by Bellu Kuttapa, Mohammed Raffe, Javis Ahmed and Liju Hassan is noteworthy.

The chairman of the organising committee S A S Naqvi along with Bellu Kuttapa expressed their gratitude to the sponsors and the Embassy of India.

source : http://www.muscatdaily.com / MuscatDaily.com / Home / August 21st, 2016

Holsworthy MP Melanie Gibbons defends Heathcote Road upgrade election promise

August 11, 2016Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinionadmin

Upgrade: NSW Premier Mike Baird and Holsworthy MP Melanie Gibbons standing in front of Harris Bridge in Holsworthy. Picture: Simon Bennett.

Holsworthy MP Melanie Gibbons has hit back against allegations which doubt her party’s commitment to the upgrading of Heathcote Road.

Last week Charishma Kaliyanda, a Labor candidate for the south ward of Liverpool Council, claimed that the Liberal Party’s promise to allocate $4 million to upgrade Harris Creek Bridge “had been found to be woefully inadequate”.

According to Ms Kaliyanda, information about the project accessed under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 showed that half of the allocated budget had already been spent.

“The Liberal Party should immediately account for the amount spent on the Harris Creek Upgrade Project so far, be honest with the people of our area about their woefully inadequate promise and give the project the importance it deserves by fully funding it,” Ms Kaliyanda said.

Charishma Kaliyanda, a Labor candidate for the south ward of Liverpool Council, at Harris Bridge.

Ms Gibbons said the project had always been much more than the upgrading of one bridge.

“Charishma should realise that the $4 million wasn’t to build one bridge, but to plan for a much larger project that will make a significant difference to the local community,” she said.

“Both Williams Creek and Harris Creek bridges flood during significant rainfall. There is no point upgrading one without the other – and that is what we are working to do.

“I have upheld my election promises and will continue to do so. The road work signs were removed with the official completion of Deadmans Creek bridge just this week, and Holsworthy train station car-park finished with 463 new spaces, 63 above what was promised.”

Ms Gibbons said at the State Election in 2014, she promised $4 million for the planning of a 2.2 kilometre upgrade of Heathcote Road – expanding it from two lanes to four between Infantry Parade and The Avenue, Voyager Point.

“By late this year, we expect to have the concept design progressed, as well as the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) and an environmental impact assessment for the project,” she said.

source: http://www.liverpoolchampion.com.au / Liverpool City Champion / by Ashley Milton / Thursday – August 01st, 2016

Mysore Medical College alumnus Dr.Dechu Ponnappa gets global recognition

July 24, 2016Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Mysuru :

The Leading Physicians of the World (LPW) has recognised Dr. Dechu Ponnappa Puliyanda, MD, an alumnus of Mysore Medical College (MMC), as a top Paediatric Nephrologist in California by including her name in its 2016 edition.

LPW, which began as a yearly publication, selecting and documenting the biographies of medicines brightest minds, has over time evolved into the largest international exclusive medical organisation, representing first rate doctors in over 100 different medical specialties in all major markets across the globe.

Profile: Dechu Puliyanda is an astute clinician with a special interest in Pediatric Nephrology and kidney transplantation. After finishing her Fellowship in Nephrology and Transplantation from Harvard, she joined the prestigious Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in Beverly Hills California, where she currently serves as the Director of the Pediatric Nephrology programme. She is a professor of Pediatrics at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre as well as Professor of Pediatrics at the UCLA-David Geffen School of Medicine at Los Angeles, California.

Her research has focused on viral infections in the post transplant period, and surrogate markers for renal transplant rejection. She is a world-renowned speaker and has presented at a number of national and international conferences. She is an author of many peer-reviewed publications in prestigious medical journals. In addition, she has a very strong commitment to providing comprehensive care to children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease.

Dr. Dechu Puliyanda is is a member of the American Society of Transplantation, International Pediatric Transplantation Association, American Society of Nephrology, American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, International Pediatric Nephrology Association to name a few.

A gold medallist from Mysore Medical College (MMC), Dr. Dechu Puliyanda completed her internship and residency at the Rush Presbyterian St.Luke’s Medical Centre in Chicago. She then completed her Fellowship in Nephrology and Transplantation at the Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

She is the daughter of late Dr. Kokkalera Ponnappa and Machie Ponnappa (nee Pandanda), who is a resident of Mittal Panorama on Lalitha Mahal Road in Mysuru. She is married to Subbaiah Puliyanda and the couple have two children, Siddarth and Sitara.

Dechu’s brother Uthaiah Kokkalera is a Robotic Laparascopic Surgeon in Los Angeles, California.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 18th, 2016

Doctor from Kodagu wins U.S. award

July 24, 2016Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Madikeri:

Kokkalera Uthaiah Ponnappa, who hails from Kodagu and is now settled in the U.S., has bagged the Resident Achievement Award for 2005, a national award given to a resident surgeon in that country by the Society of Laparo-endoscopic Surgeons (SLS), according to family sources here.

An SLS communication to Dr. Uthaiah Ponnappa said that in recognition of his being an outstanding laparo-endoscopic resident, his name has been listed in the SLS News and World Report section of the Journal of the Society of Laparo-endoscopic Surgeons.

Dr. Uthaiah Ponnappa did his MBBS at Bangalore Medical College and went to Manchester in the U.K. for his FRCS. — Staff Correspondent

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Karnataka> Briefly / Saturday – July 16th, 2005

‘Vietnam King’ title awarded to city’s Yoga Guru Dr. Raghavendra Pai

May 31, 2016Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Mysuru :

In the culture barter expedition of global leaders around the world, Yoga from India has found itself a revered place across borders in an overwhelming acceptance.

Standing up for the physical, mental and spiritual balance practice, Yoga traces its origin back to the diversely fit cultural land of India.

Last year in his UN address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested to have June 21 of every year dedicated to celebrate this practice as International Yoga Day.

“Let’s pledge to make Yoga an integral part of our daily lives,” he mentioned. June 21 (Summer Solstice), is also the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

As the entire world gears up for the 2nd International Yoga Day celebrations in June 2016, countries across the globe are leaving no stone unturned to make it a grand success. Vietnam, much ahead in its vision to promote Yoga, had organised an event to recognise the efforts of Yoga practitioners from India, who have worked hard to promote Yoga across the world.

Vietnam’s Om Yoga & Wellness Hub, a centre for Yoga, Ayurveda and Wellness, along with Sri Vedavyasa Yoga Pratishthana, Mysuru, had jointly organised the 2nd Om Yoga & Wellness Hub Festival, in line with International Yoga Day celebrations, on May 14 and 15, 2016 at Om Yoga & Well- ness Hub by Master Santhosh Cheriyamane, Binh Duong, Vietnam.

The event created two National Records — 81 yoga students and instructors performing 1008 Suryanamaskaras and a 24-hour Yoga marathon under the guidance of Yoga Guru Dr. Raghavendra R. Pai, Founder, Sri Vedavyasa Yoga Pratishthana, Mysuru and Master Santhoshkumar Cheriyamane Anand, Founder, Om Yoga and Wellness Hub, Vietnam.

For their excellence in Yoga, Dr. Raghavendra Pai and Master Santoshkumar Cheriyamane were awarded the prestigious ‘Vietnam King’ title by the Vietnam Book of Records on May 24. The certificates were officially handed over to them by the President of ‘Vietnam Book of Records’ Dr. Nguyen Van Vien and Chief Spokesperson Le Tran Truong An.

The other recipients of these title included Konanavar Somashekhara, Hebbasuru Siddappa Shivappa, Dombara Ganesh, Keri Suresh Kallappa, Annigeri Shivakumar, Yoga instructors from Karnataka and Perumal Selvakumar and Palanisamy Premkumar from Tamil Nadu.

Santosh Kumar Cheriyamane Anand, a Yoga practitioner, originally, hailing from Kushalnagar in Kodagu and Nguyen Thi Thanh Van from Vietnam, co-founders of Om Yoga & Wellness Hub, have popularised Yoga in Vietnam and also successfully established centres across three more cities in Vietnam. At these Centres, 12 dedicated instructors from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are imparting knowledge on not just practising Yoga, but also on Ayurveda and its natural healing methods and processes to those interested in and around the region.

The efforts of these Yoga practitioners in promoting Yoga across the globe is only the beginning of a much bigger dream envisioned by Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Siddha and Homeopathy) and the UN.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 30th, 2016

Oman Hockey: Team Coorg clinch top honours at Gulf Hockey Fiesta for Starcare Cup

February 29, 2016Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Team Coorg celebrate with the trophy. Photo - Supplied — Team Coorg celebrate with the trophy. Photo – Supplied

Muscat :

Team Coorg Oman clinched the top honours at the Gulf Hockey Fiesta for Starcare Cup organised by United Thalessery Sports Club (UTSC) in association with Oman Hockey Association (OHA) at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on Friday.

In an exciting final of the Asian Hockey Federation-recognised event, Team Coorg defeated Qatar Wanderers 4-1. The eventual champions scored two quick goals through Kavan and Pradhan Somanna to take 2-0 lead just five minutes into the match.

Pradhan struck his second and team’s third goal in the 14th minute and a minute later Omani player Ali Salim made it 4-0.

Qatar Wanderers managed to pull one back in the 16th minute.

Earlier in the semifinals, Qatar Wanderers edged King Khan Hockey Club of Dubai for a 1-0 win while Team Coorg defeated UTSC 4-2.

A total 12 teams, including seven from outside Oman, took part in the event, which was officially inaugurated by Indian Ambassador Indramani Pandey by hitting the ball to PR. Sreejesh, the Indian hockey team vice-captain and goalkeeper, who flew in from India to preside over the event as the chief guest.

Later, the prize-distribution ceremony was graced by OHA’s former chief Dawood Al Raisi, present general secretary Mohammed Redha Taqi Al Lawati, popular hockey personality SAS Naqvi, Starcare Hospital vice-chairman C.M. Najeeb, CEO Dr Mohammed Naseem, ISD President Abdul Rahim, Indian School Muladha Principal SI Sheriff, Mohammed Riaz LLC Chairman Mohammed Riaz, Aziz of Al Jadeed Exchange, Oman hockey veterans Mohammed Shambeh Al Raisi and Abdulrahman.

The best goalkeeper award went to Ahmad Alam, a former Pakistan goalkeeper and Olympian. Best defender award was claimed by Ali Salim of Team Coorg. Future player award went to Geroge Extel of Bahrain Hungry Humoours while Juniad of Qatar Wanderers was adjusted the man of the tournament award.

During the ceremony, a raffle draw was conducted which saw several gifts presented includng two gold coins of eight grammes each, return air ticket to Sharjah and two return tickets to Mumbai.

Starcare Hospital was the main sponsor for the event and the other sponsors were Mohammed Riaz LLC, Al Jadeed Exchange, Majan Distrubters, Foodlands Restaurant, Lynx, FAP, Al Nahla Solutions, Times of Oman and Gulf Madhyamam.

source: http://www.timesofoman.com / Times of Oman / Home> Sports> Hockey / by Times News Service / February 28th, 2016

Kodava takes Cricket to Dubai

February 22, 2016Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Chettalli (Madikeri) :

It is a known fact that cricket is a popular sport in many countries including India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England, Australia and others. But, the sport slowly is steadily gaining popularity in countries such as Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Afghanistan, UAE and others. The common factor among the countries where cricket is gaining popularity is the Indian factor.

Chillavanda Darshan Chinnappa (left) with former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes.

There are many Indians who have been promoting cricket worldwide. One such person who has been popularising the sport in United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Chillavanda Darshan Chinnappa, a native of Bilugunda village in Kodagu district who has joined hands with legendary cricketers like Ramiz Raja, Aravinda De Silva and Naveed Nawaz to start Future Legends Cricket Academy (FLCA) in Dubai.

Darshan Chinnappa, who is currently residing in Bengaluru, is the son of Chillavanda Chinnappa, a retired official of Survey of India and Chillavanda Parvathi, a retired employee of Co-operation Department. He is married to Chillavanda Nirmala and the couple is blessed with a daughter Raha Darshan.

FLCA was started two months back with former Sri Lankan skipper Aravinda De Silva, former Pakistani cricketer Ramiz Raja, Imran Zafar, Shahid Rafique Sheikh and former Sri Lankan cricketer Naveed Nawaz.

The academy has been providing world class facilities to children and also conducts master classes by inviting top cricketers from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and others countries. Legendary cricketers like Kumara Sangakara and Jhonty Rodes have already conducted master classes.

Darshan believes that the academy would be recognised at an international level and gain more popularity. Details on the academy are available at futurelegendsca.com and in the facebook page.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / February 22nd, 2016

India Hockey Festival : Team Coorg claims Republic Day Cup

February 21, 2016Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Team Coorg receives the winner’s trophy from H E Indra Mani Pandey

Team Coorg edged past United Thalasserry Sports Club (UTSC) Oman 2-1 to lift the Republic Day Cup at the 67th Republic Day of India Hockey Festival, which was held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex recently.

It was the ninth successive year of the festival, organised by Team Coorg and Friends of Naqvi Group.

Three teams took part in the Republic Day Cup.

In the opening clash, UTSC Oman edged past Beatrice XI by a solitary goal to set up summit clash with Team Coorg, which received a first-round bye.

Earlier in the clash for the Ambassador Cup, Ambassador XI beat Indian School al Seeb 1-0. Later, H E Indra Mani Pandey, the Indian Ambassador to Oman, gave away the prizes in the presence of H E Sheikh Mahfoodh al Juma, the Oman Hockey Association (OHA) chairman and also a Majlis A’Shura member, and Kanak Khimji, the Oman Cricket chairman.

On this occasion, H E Pandey honoured veteran hockey coach and sports administrator S A S Naqvi for his contribution to the game.

Source: http://www.muscatdaily.com/ MuscatDaily.com / Home> Sports / January 27th, 2016

Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa on his East-West musical fusion project

November 26, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinionadmin

Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa performs at NYUAD on Tuesday November 24. Photo by Jimmy Katz

“The reality is, there’s plenty of East-West musical projects that are horrible,” says Rudresh Mahanthappa, expressing a sentiment open-minded listeners of global sounds are often afraid to voice.

The New York City saxophonist is introducing his own East-West musical fusion, Gamak, who he leads in a performance at New York University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday November 24.

The ensemble’s music is anything but horrible – although it is demanding.

A fiery, phenomenal improviser who was once crowned Alto Saxophonist of the Year by leading jazz magazine DownBeat, Mahanthappa’s playing is exhaustingly inventive.

Backed by a rock-influenced rhythmic section of drums, bass and electric guitar, his sax spits spiralling, jagged phrases that skirt scales drawn from both sides of the globe.

The Gamak project – realised on the 2012 album of the same name – is the latest step in the 44-year-old Indian-American’s exploration of Indian classical music.

This began during his studies at leading jazz school Berklee College of Music a quarter of a century ago, and culminated with a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Carnatic music, resulting in the ensemble Samdhi in 2011.

“Exploring Indian music was something that came out of that early-adulthood confusion – trying to understand to what degree I was American and to what degree I was Indian, and how these things can occur simultaneously, in concert, as opposed to in conflict,” he says.

Gamak is named after the term for South Indian melodic ornamentation, but Mahanthappa’s playing also seeks to examine how tunes are traditionally embellished by players of Chinese, African and Indonesian music.

“The way melody is decorated is what gives it the human quality,” he explains. “I was always fascinated by this very specific, almost-science of how this melodic ornamentation occurs. It’s not random at all, it’s very stylised. People always say: ‘You shouldn’t play the melody straight, you have to give some life to it’. Well, that’s all well and good, but how about making a larger conversation about what that actually means, and exploring how it occurs in different parts of the world.”

Mahanthappa changed direction on this year’s Bird Calls, a set of new compositions each inspired by a specific solo or tune by the alto legend Charlie Parker.

For this 16th release, the restless spirit is contemplating either recording music from children’s TV shows from around the globe, collaborating with a comedian and live video artists on a politically-motivated performance piece, or recording a collection of Michael Brecker compositions that the late, great saxophonist never had the chance to record in his lifetime.

“It’s all part of one big journey,” says Mahanthappa. “I still say: ‘I’m a professional musician’. I make albums and tour and perform and do all these things, but sometimes I think the music is just a by-product of me continuing to get myself, to understand who I am as a citizen of the world.”

• Rudresh Mahanthappa and Gamak perform at East Plaza, The Arts Centre, at NYUAD on Tuesday November 24 at 8pm. Limited free tickets available on arrival or from nyuad-artscenter.org

rgarratt@thenational.ae

source: http://www.thenational.ae / The National / Home> Arts & Life> Music / by Rob Garatt / November 23rd, 2015

The Invisible Casualties of War

October 11, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio'sadmin

What do pretty words do? A lyrical line, a clever turn of phrase, a poetic piece of prose in a book, a page, a passage: what it does is that it gives you a line to note down in a journal of favourite such lines from there and elsewhere. What these words and phrases do is make you remark privately on the poetry in the writer’s prose, applaud her imagination in stringing smart metaphors together, the sorts that make you pause your reading and say ‘ah’. But there is something like too much of a good thing. We have known that for long. And it is this too much of a good thing that threatens to tarnish the gleam in Sarita Mandanna’s Good Hope Road.

Mandanna is a good writer, undoubtedly. Some of her metaphors are very well thought of indeed. “…petrol-over-water colours”, “the sheen of a fin upstream” and suchlike draw a picturesque scene in the readers’ minds, like something at the edges of a detailed postcard. They lend themselves delightfully to a reading aloud, the lyricism as pleasing to the ears as to the mind that recreates every scene in a story as you go along. But the pitfall—and I imagine it is a hard one to avoid falling into—is that the story itself gets clouded by the pretty décor that is sprinkled on every page like sparkly confetti. Which is too often the case with Good Hope Road.

The story’s scope is ambitious and is spread over many decades and a couple of generations, spanning the First World War and ending just at the beginning of the Second. The narrative goes back and forth, shifting between the years and stories and incidents, jerky in some places, but mostly retaining a decent pace. There is Major James Stonebridge, a Yankee from New England, and Obadaiah Nelson, a Louisiana native, who find themselves at the warfront in Paris. Idealistic, brave, loyal and hungry for adventure, as most young men were, they form a deep, and unlikely, friendship. A decade and half later, Stonebridge is a recluse, back home, but lost somewhere still in France’s old war zones. A mirror that he is content to stare into stares back at him an image of a man broken and burdened by a war that changed his generation and the histories of many nations. His anger, his moods are most felt by his son Jim, whose first understanding of his father’s life comes when pretty and privileged Madeleine enters their lives. She won’t let the Major stew in his black mood, drawing him slowly out of his shell.

Then there is the Bonus March that is sweeping the nation… a reference uncannily, similar to the protests sweeping this nation, for pensions and dues. Mandanna picks up on a little known protest by veterans demanding that the US government give them the bonuses due to them and explores poignantly the way nations ignore their returning soldiers. It is in that sense a story of every nation that has ever been at war. While young men are sent off to the front with fanfare and hailed as heroes, or martyrs, the ones that return are often ignored. Their assimilation into a society that has never seen bombs or been in trenches is an exercise undertaken only reluctantly, half-heartedly, if at all. The book addresses this theme with sensitivity, highlighting the trauma, the depression and lack of a sense of purpose that plagues war heroes. It is not limb or life alone that is affected, but the hidden scars that run dark and deep that Mandanna seeks to shine a torch on. And for all the gloss, the book does do that rather well.

Her attention to detail makes for fascinating reading as well. Skimming over the technical details of war strategies, Mandanna cuts right through to the lives of the soldiers, strangers thrown together by patriotism, adventure or something else. Their camaraderie, the little sharing of a song or a letter, small conversations, these are places where the book offers lovely insight into the human-ness of those that fight a nation’s wars.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> LifeStyle> Books / by Deepa Bhasthi / October 10th, 2015

Kodagu First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Kodagu, Coorgs and the People of Kodagu – here at Home and Overseas