The Friends of Naqvi Group and Team Coorg, under the patronage of Embassy of India Muscat and Oman Hockey Association, will be organising the 68th Independence Day celebrations hockey festivity at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on August 8 from 7pm to 9:30pm.
The Ambassador XI will play against Indian School Al Seeb and the Team Coorg Muscat will lock horns with Oman Veteran’s XI, a press release said on Tuesday.
HE JS Mukul, the Ambassador of India to Sultanate of Oman, will be the Chief Guest and Sheikh Mahfoodh Ali Juma Al Juma, Chairman Oman Hockey Association, will be the Guest of honor.
“This event is organised for the last 7 years in row. Hockey events like this – The Dhyan Chand Day and The Republic Day of India Hockey celebration – are the regular events organised by Team Coorg Muscat.
“We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to HE JS Mukul, The Ambassador of India to Sultanate of Oman who is regularly presiding such hockey festivities on a regular basis and express our sincere thanks to Sheikh Mahfoodh Ali Juma Al Juma, the Chairman of Oman Hockey Association for his kind gesture in arranging the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Hockey Stadium for this event”, said veteran hockey player, administrator and coach SAS Naqvi.
The event is supported by Khimji Ramdas Group of Companies, Raha Poly Product and Pocari (Muscat Pharmacy).
There is also some surprise in store for children below 10 years of age.
Oman Tribune
source: http://www.omantribune.com / Oman Tribune / Home> Sports / Muscat – August 2014
Charisma Kaliyanda with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Mysore :
Kaliyanda Charisma is in the thick of Australian politics. She is currently running up for election to the State Parliament of New South Wales, which is one of the States of Australia. “I hope to be elected in March 2015, at which time I will work hard to represent the constituents of the seat of Holsworthy” she said. Charisma is contesting from Holsworthy on a ticket from the Australian Labor Party, who have selected her as their candidate to contest the upcoming State election.
“I was inspired to become involved in politics by three incidents that all occurred around the same time. Firstly, my University (University of New South Wales) was making big changes to our degrees and I was complaining in class when one of my classmates asked me “what are you going to do about it?” She invited me to stand with her friends for election to the Student Representative Council (SRC) of UNSW. I realised I was just wasting my breath by complaining without taking any action, so I joined my classmate and her friends. The following year, I was elected President of the UNSW SRC,” said Charisma, speaking to Star of Mysore.
“Secondly, as part of my studies I travelled on exchange to Mexico. Here, I realised the value of being involved in politics — if people from all walks of life are not involved in politics then the decisions that are made cannot be representative of society as a whole,” she said.
“Finally, it was around this time that I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This experience made me realise that the health system we have in Australia is fantastic, and that health and education are so important to being able to succeed in life. So, I got involved in local politics,” said Charisma.
Charisma is an occupational therapist by profession. Her experience with the health system there led her to get Masters in Occupational Therapy from the University of Sydney. “I love working in paediatrics, which is why I completed a program working at a school for children with physical disabilities in Mumbai last year,” she said.
About her background, Charisma said that she is the daughter of Kaliyanda Jaya and Banumathi, from Kolakeri village, Madikeri taluk, Kodagu. Banumathi is working for NSW railways. She and her brother were born in Bangalore. When she was around four years old, her parents decided to migrate to Australia. “Although the size of the Kodava community in Sydney has increased in recent years, it was relatively small when we were growing up. However, despite having lived in Australia for over 20 years, my parents have ensured that we have never forgotten our roots, our language and our traditions,” said Charisma.
“I have always found it a privilege to be able to share my heritage, particularly with Australian friends, as Australia’s multicultural society celebrates the richness of different cultures. We speak Kodava thakk at home, and make sure to celebrate Kailpodhu, Puthari and Kaveri Shankramana with not only our Kodava friends but also our non-Kodava friends. The Kodava community in Sydney gets together for our festivals every year, but we also celebrate at home. My friends love my mum’s pandhi curry and wotti” she said.
“My family is extremely supportive – they have always encouraged me to pursue my goals wholeheartedly. I am lucky that we have been able to visit family and friends in India every 3-4 years. My father is Kaliyanda Jaya, from Kolakeri and my mother, Chottera Bhanumathy, is from Kunjalageri. We still have family and friends living in Coorg and Bangalore, however, we make it a point to visit our grandmother in Kunjalageri, whenever we are in India,” she said.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / August 10th, 2014
Veteran politician and former Minister M.C. Nanaiah has urged the State Government to honour Kodagu sports person Joshna Chinappa who won gold medal in the Squash Doubles in the CWG-2014.
Speaking to press persons here yesterday, Nanaiah said the Karnataka Olympics Association (KOA) must honour Joshna as she hails from Polibetta in Kodagu, with her grand parents and parents all belonging to this place.
Pointing out that her parents moved to Chennai seeking a career, Nanaiah said that Joshna was born and brought up in Kodagu and she belonged to the State. The squash player was living with her parents in Chennai and it was not correct on the part of the KOA for not honouring her citing that she was a resident of Chennai.
Noting that the KOA honoured Vikas Gowda who is settled in the US and others such as cricketer Azaruddin and tennis player Sania Mirza earlier, Nanaiah wondered why the Association ignored Joshna, who through her feat in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) had brought good name to Karnataka.
Pointing out that the Tamil Nadu and Andhra governments had announced cash rewards ranging from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for CWG achievers, the former Minister urged Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and Minister for Youth Services and Sports Abhayachandra Jain to look into the discrimination against the squash players, which has hurt sports lovers across the State and take measures to felicitate and reward Joshna as early as possible.
Referring to the spurt in atrocities and sexual violence against women in the State, Nanaiah observed that the effective implementation of the POCSO Act will go a long way in preventing crimes against women.
Reiterating the need for implementing the POCSO Act to curb sexual abuse of women and children, Nanaiah said that the Government has constituted a 26 member committee, headed by him, to look into effective measures needed for preventing sexual violence and other crimes against women and chilren, including implementation of POCSO Act.
The Committee, which is due to begin work shortly, will deliberate on the laws related to sexual violence and atrocities against women and children and come up with practical measures for tackling such crimes, he added.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 09th, 2014
Joshna (right), along with Deepika Pallikal, won the gold medal in Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Bangalore :
Joshna Chinappa, who along with her partner Deepika Pallikal won the gold medal in Squash Doubles at the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow recently, says that though she resides in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, by heart and soul she is a Kodavathi.
In a special interview to a newspaper after her return to Chennai on Tuesday, Joshna, hailing from the Kuttanda family, said that she took pride in saying that she has the lineage of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and the first Inspector General of Karnataka, P. Ponnappa.
“Though I am residing in Chennai with my parents, I belong to Kodagu district in Karnataka. My father Anjan Chinnappa is an industrialist in Chennai. I have houses in Bangalore and Kodagu too. I am the grand niece of Field Marshal Cariappa (grand-daughter of the younger sister of Field Marshal Cariappa). My great grandfather Ponnappa was the first IGP of Karnataka, which is a matter of pride for me,” she gushed with a broad smile and added, “Whenever I visit Kodagu, I meet school children and spread awareness about the game of squash.”
She recalled the days when her father Anjan Chinappa used to play squash at the Madras Cricket Club, to which she would accompany him and started playing the game. “Seeing my interest in the game, my father gave me all the support and encouragement. Thanks to my parents’ efforts and well-wishers’ support, I got the honour of bringing credit to India,” she said.
For Joshna, several international events are lined up. After a few days rest, she will be participating in the two international championships in Malaysia and then attend the Asian Championship. “Winning the gold in the CWG has boosted my confidence. I will spare no effort to clinch a gold in the 17th Asian Games to be held in Korea,” she said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had awarded cash prizes of Rs. 50 lakh each to Joshna and Deepika for the CWG gold.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 09th, 2014
Intro: Imagine we are driving our car from Coorg to Mysore and on the way we find a bark or a branch of a tree on the road, and what do we do? We just keep moving our car! But that’s not the case with Venkataramana, who works as a technician at BEML, Mysore. He brings such naturally available barks and branches of trees and transforms them into show-pieces or even furniture. Venkataramana, who has stepped into his 50th year recently, is from Kodagu district but settled in Mysore from past 24 years. After completing his Bachelors in Arts and ITI, he joined BEML as an apprentice and later got his permanent job there itself. He has developed a keen interest in his art of creating something productive using the waste wooden pieces found here and there since his early teenage.
“I bring home stems, prop roots, branches or even barks which I come across at any place and dip them inside a tank of water or in a lake nearby my native town for two to three months. Then I remove the outer skin using a screw driver and wash the wooden piece with brush to get rid of dust and unwanted materials to smoothen it. Later, I dry the moisture out and prepare the design completely using a hacksaw blade and even an electric wooden cutter when needed. Once the design is done, I apply varnish to it and it is all set to be displayed majestically.”
by Phalgunn Maharishi
When I was in PUC, I frequently saw my grand-father indulging himself in such works and learnt a lot by merely observing him. It always thrilled me to lay my hands on such naturally available wooden pieces and mould them into future antiques and decorative modern art,” says Venkataramana while talking about his early teenage interest in the art. His first work was a small wooden showpiece which resembled a crane for which he had won the first prize in a local exhibition held 25 years ago in Madikeri.
In his home, one can find a number of modern artistic items like TV stand, centre table, helmet stands, dried vegetables hung on the wall in a decorative manner and a lot more. But never get confused and ask where and for how much were they bought ! Each and every piece of such marvelous work has been created by Venkataramana himself after returning home from his work everyday.
While speaking about how he gets the idea for every particular piece of work, Venkataramana says, “Every piece of wood in itself is an inspiration for me. Once I had found a natural wooden piece at my aunt’s place in South Canara which looked a lot more like an elephant head with one side bigger and the other side smaller like a trunk. The moment I saw it, the first thing that struck my mind was that the wooden piece was perfect for an abstract looking showpiece of Lord Ganesha and hence I carried it with me.”
Venkataramana has sold hundreds of wooden showpieces at various exhibitions including JSS Urban Haat, Swadeshi Mela and Dasara Exhibition. He also has sold his showpieces to many wooden furniture dealers from Kerala who have bought from him with the purpose of reselling them in Kerala. His one such modern work can be seen at the city’s Infant Jesus Church on Hunsur Road. A huge wooden candle stand was made by Venkataramana when a devotee approached him in 2006 with the order. He has also been an active member among a group of BEML employees who have worked on the tableau cars every year during Kannada Rajyotsava procession by BEML.
“I bring home the stems, prop roots, branches or even barks which I come across at any place and dip them inside a tank of water or in a lake nearby my native town for two to three months. Then I remove the outer skin using a screw driver and wash the wooden piece with brush to get rid of dust and unwanted materials to smoothen it. Later, I dry the moisture out and prepare the design completely using a hacksaw blade and even an electric wooden cutter when needed.
Once the design is done, I apply varnish to it and it is all set to be displayed majestically”, says Venkataramana while talking about the procedure he follows.
He says that he always completes a showpiece with minimum possible investment and adds “Varnish and time are the main investments for me,” with a mystical smile!
Venkataramana also has his interest in growing herbal plants like Baje, Hippili, Nimbehullu, Madhunashini and Nerugala to name a few. “We never go to doctor or take any other medicine, but we use the herbal juices from our plants and use them as first aid in our family,” Venkataramana proudly says while speaking about his roof top herbal garden. He adds, “My friend B.A. Suresh inspired me in growing plants many years ago when I had visited his home and seen varieties of Bonsai plants. He gave me a few plants to look after and today the number of Bonsai plants in our home has grown to 150.” He says his wife Devaki too helps him a lot and is a moral support for all his hobbies.
He is also a specialist in cross-breeding flowers and fruits. He takes two different types of flower plants, intersects and cross breeds them. He also has received a few awards from various organisations like Dasara Fower Show, BEML Karmikara Samithi, Sthree Shakthi Mahila Prathishtana and more for his vivid interest in his artistic hobbies. Such unique talents and people are to be supported by the citizens more and more.
[Venkataramana can be reached at: 93418-20306]
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / August 08th, 2014
A bundle of talent, a trained sailor , a natural singer, actor Nidhi Subbaiah is trying to make her foothold in Bollywood. Recently in Varanasi to shoot for her second film , Direct Ishq Ho Gaya, the pretty actor is keen to be part of good cinema , cinema which ten years down the lane she is proud to be associated with.
Nidhi Subbaiah
The Gold Rush
A gold medalist in sailing, Nidhi represented her state, Karnataka twice at competitions held in Chilka Lake and Vizag. “I was the helmsman of the team. My love for sailing began in school where I joined the naval wing of NCC, that had sailing as part of the training . For two years I underwent training and even wanted to make a career out of it, but my Commanding Officer, who despite being very happy with my skills, dissuaded me, as there was no future in the sport. Issues like lack of sponsors did not make it a lucrative career choice so I had to give it up. It is unfortunate that in our country sports as a career has limited options.Only cricket for men and tennis for women are viewed as the right career choice , which should change and other sports should also be encouraged, ” she says. I shocked my parents.
Her passion for the sport ensured Nidhi admission in an Engineering college in Mysore, to pursue civil engineering, in the sports quota category. With most of my friends joining the same college, was the reason for getting myself enrolled . I dropped out of the college after the first year as I started getting modelling offers and soon some prestigious assignments came my way . This decision did not go well with my parents as they had some pre conceived notion about the entertainment industry . Being the only child of my parents, my father , a coffee planter and my mother , a lawyer, always wanted me pursue higher studies from US .This came as a shocker to them but later things changed and now they support all my efforts. While exploring possibilities on the silver screen I preferred moving to Bangalore due to it’s familiarity rather than to Mumbai which was an altogether new city for me. I started getting offers for Kannada films ,” she says.
Ajab Gazabb Love taught me patience The actor who forayed into Bollywood with Ajab Gazabb Love with Jackky Bhagnani , says that the film not doing well at BO did bother her initially . “It took me a while to get my second film but it taught me patience which I lacked earlier . I pondered over a lot of things and learned to love my craft .The reason I could shoot for a long stretch of time, even eighteen hours at a time, despite temperatures cross 45 degrees in Banaras for Direct Ishq, when some members of the crew fainted due to heat,” she says. Essaying the role of Dolly Shukla in the film, who is a theth Banarasi, Nidhi feels, that it is a coincidence that the UP connect remains even in her second film . “In Ajab Gazabb Love I portrayed a Luckhnawi girl and now a Banarasi , perhaps it has something to do with my previous birth , “she says with a laugh.
I can scream my lungs out when provoked The character of Dolly, walks in boots and is a rockstar who screams at the slightest pretext and bashes boys with ease .Some crew members were apprehensive whether I will be able to get into the skin of the character since I appear as a soft person at first glance but I told them that you did a good job by selecting me since I can yell my lungs out if provoked,” she adds mischievously.
Want to do cinema that connects with the audience Keen to work with directors like Imtiaz Ali, the actor says that it is the script and her role in the film that is vital to her . “This, along with the director I am working with, has been the criterion so far in my selection of the films. I don’t want to be typecast and wish to do the kind of cinema that connects with the audience, so the boundaries of serious or commercial cinema does not bother me, as five years from now I want to be seen as a self made girl with a space of my own in Bollywood,” she says.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / Meera Vohra, TNN / August 05th, 2014
Renowned equestrian Ajai Appachu has been selected for the 17th Asian Games to be held in Korea to participate in the horse-riding competition during Sept. 2014. Trained at Embassy International Riding School, Bangalore, Ajai will be accompanied by his student Fawad Mirza and Nadia Hariprasad.
For Ajai Appachu, this is the second Asian Games. He has won prizes in all the equestrian competitions that he took part, having won more than 50 awards so far. A truly gifted rider and an extremely successful instructor, Ajai has won innumerable equestrian accolades in India, South Africa and Australia in every field of equestrian sport, whether dressage, show jumping or eventing.
Ajai has been trained under world-class instructors and is now the guiding force behind the Embassy International Riding School (EIRS) competition yard.
His students reflect his ability and the EIRS team for the Junior National Equestrian Championship is a force to reckon with, having achieved the highest medal tally at national level since 2003. The young rider has a long list of achievements under his belt.
Ajai started his winning streak in competitive riding in 1996 when he was adjudged the best rider in the zonal championships at Kolkata. Ajai is the son of Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Cheppudira Jai Appachu and Gita, hailing from Kodagu.
Ajai won the Individual Gold (1.30 mt) at the recently held KRA Cup, Seoul, South Korea. Also, won the Team Silver for Jumping; Qualified for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in the year 2010; Won FEI World Jumping challenge Category A in Meerut (2011); Won the FEI World dressage challenge held at Embassy International Riding School in 2008; Won Team Gold in show jumping at the Junior International (1999); Best Rider at the Tollygunj Horse Show (1997-98); Junior National Champion at Bangalore (1998); Represented India in South Africa where the team won a gold and three bronze medals; Represented India for the 4th time in the International Tent Pegging meet (2000) and other awards.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 07th, 2014
IPS officer Vartika Katiyar took charge as the new Superintendent of Police of Kodagu district yesterday.
Earlier, she was the Additional Superintendent of Police of Gokak for one year. She is the first woman to serve as the SP in Kodagu. She replaces M.N. Anuchet.
Speaking to presspersons at her office here, Katiyar said she was inspired to join the Indian Police Service to serve society and senior women Police officers were her role models.
She said that she had visited Kodagu several years ago, but as a tourist, adding that she was yet to get herself accustomed to the unique land and its people.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 06th, 2014
A video reflecting the various facets of Kodagu has been put up on Youtube. The video titled ‘Discover Coorg — Land of the Brave and the Beautiful’ has been produced by freelance journalist and author P.T. Bopanna.
Bopanna’s efforts so far were confined to his books and websites. Now, for the first time Bopanna has used the medium of video to capture the various facets of Kodagu.
The Discover Coorg video features tourist spots, homestays, Coorg jewellery, the Kodava family hockey festival, and the golfing culture in Kodagu. It also captures the traditional tribal folk dances and even a colourful Kodava wedding.
The video has been scripted and made under the creative supervision of Pattamada Sundar Muthanna, an advertising copywriter, who is passionate about Kodagu.
The content for the video has been sourced mainly from Bopanna’s four websites: www.coorgtourisminfo.com, which was started in 2005, www.coorgrecipes.com, www.coorgjewellery.in and www.coorghomestays.co.in
A section of the video on ‘How to wear a Coorg sari’ was produced earlier by Bopanna for his website www.coorgjewellery.in. The video was directed by fashion guru Prasad Bidapa.
One can view the latest video by visiting the website www.coorgtourisminfo.com or through the Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXN3aer12HY.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / August 05th, 2014
(From left) India’s Commonwealth Games 2014 badminton medallists Ashwini Ponnappa & Jwala Gutta (silver), Parupalli Kashyap (gold), RMV Gurusaidutt (bronze) and PV Sindhu (bronze) in Glasgow on Sunday | pti
Hyderabad :
The colour made the difference. Otherwise, the medals tally was the same. In the 2010 Delhi Games, India had won four medals. So too in Glasgow.
It was two gold, one silver and one bronze in Delhi. However, Indian shuttlers could bag only one gold, one silver and two bronze medals this time.
However, there will be ifs and buts on India’s show. Surely, the last-minute withdrawal of Saina Nehwal cost India a gold medal. But there were hopes that if Saina was not there, then young world championship bronze medallist PV Sindhu had the chance to retain the gold for the country instead.
But Sindhu fell to Canadian Michelle Li in the semifinals to finally end up with a bronze medal in her maiden venture. However, Parupalli Kashyap’s long wait for a championship medal was finally over. “I feel very happy for this Hyderabadi boy. He has a good game but somehow falters at crucial times. But this time there was no stopping him. He deserves the gold,” said former international Sanjay Sharma, adding, “it was not his fault if Lee Chong Wei (World No 1) pulled out like Saina.”
But Sharma was not happy with the overall performance, particularly with India failing to win a medal in the team event. “It was the biggest disappointment. We don’t have depth in doubles unlike in the singles where there is some bench strength. If India has done well in the team events in the recent past, it is surely because of Jwala Gutta, who has been a force to reckon with in the doubles for India. She has done yeomen service as far as doubles is concerned for India. But then we can’t depend too much on her every time,” he said.
Former national coach Vimal Kumar, too, agreed that doubles is surely going to be the Achilles’ heel in any team event. “The singles in the recent past was not an issue but it is the doubles that is the biggest problem for India. Jwala and Ashwini (Ponnappa) have won laurels in women’s doubles but where are the men’s and mixed doubles combinations. It hurt India and will continue to do so in future tournaments. India has to do a lot of catching up to improve their doubles combination. I think the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has to give more emphasis to doubles by grooming young talent for future tournaments,” he opined.
Sharma said if India have to think of any team medal, then BAI should make concerted efforts to groom a strong doubles combination. “When we could not win any medal in CWG, which has more of a depleted field, then India stand no chance in Asian Games and other big events. It should start planning in the right earnest for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” he added.
The former doubles specialist said the CWG gold could propel Kashyap to greater heights. “It is a huge boost to Kashyap’s confidence. We could see a pumped up Kashyap in World Championships and Asian Games where the field is much stronger.”
Vimal feels that Kashyap is always a better player in individual events. “In team events, he is under some sort of pressure. But in individual events he plays more freely. He was impressive in the individual event and I liked the way he handled the pressure, specially in the semifinals and final.
“Remember, in terms of standard of the game, CWG is not of high quality as there are no Chinese, Indonesians, Danes or Japanese players. But this win came at the right time. He will have a much tougher time at the Worlds and Asian Games,” said the former chief national coach.
Sindhu, according to Sharma and Vimal, faltered. “It is a good learning experience for Sindhu. But I thought she had a good chance to win a gold medal but then she failed to capitalize on the golden opportunity,’’ said Sharma, who is now a TV commentator on the game.
Vimal felt Sindhu has to improve her defence. “I think it is time she should depend on instructions. She should make the match analysis by herself and improve on her defence. She need to have more variations in her game,” said the present Prakash Padokone Badminton Academy coach.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by N. Jagannath Das / August 05th, 2014
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