Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee

Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee
Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee

Indian Postal department, in collaboration with the Coffee Board, has launched its new coffee scented stamps in order to give a branding push to Indian coffee.

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha released the stamp in the presence of commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which are a collector’s version and are priced at Rs 100.

Sitharaman, said: “Today is an age of branding, we need to brand everything, we need to sell everything, we need to have high profile marketing for everything to even reach the lower end of the pyramid.”

She further added, “promotion of Coffee, branding of different coffee should go with a lot more hype. There is a lot of creativity we need to (put) into taking coffee further.

Noting that countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar have done, and are doing, a lot of things in packaging, value addition, presenting and marketing of the coffee, she said: “the Coffee Board obviously is now going to have to be on its toes.”

Stamp lovers were quite happy with the news as this innovative campaign trended on Twitter as #CoffeeFlavouredStamp. Also, many retweeted and congratulated the coffee board and Nirmala Sitharaman for their efforts.

source: http://www.thedrum.com / The Drum / Home> News / by Taruka Srivastav / April 23rd, 2017

Docu showcases decline of Kodagu

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Coorg: The Untold Story blames mushrooming resorts for district’s garbage pile-up

A six-and-half minute documentary shot by a group of environmentalists highlights the environmental degradation of Kodagu district.

The documentary titled Coorg: The Untold Story was shot by Clean Coorg Initiative in association with Surfing Swami Foundation and Mantra Surf Club. Shot in Madikeri and other parts of Kodagu district, it highlights the garbage pile up due to the mushrooming of resorts across the district.

It further went on to state that illegal land conversion, encroachment and sand mafia were turning out to be a nightmare for the district and how the garbage pile up on the banks of the river Cauvery is a threat not just for the residents of the district but for people living in Bengaluru and other cities.

Blaming the government and tourists, environmentalists have accused authorities of going soft on the resorts.

The activists fear that Kodagu district is not far from becoming the Mandur landfill where Bengaluru’s garbage is dumped.

Speaking on the crises, Col Muthanna from the Coorg Wildlife Society said, “Kodagu has an overall population of 5.5 lakh people whereas the number of tourists who visited the district last year was 13 lakh. In fact, the density of population in Kodagu is just 135 per sq/km, which is one of the lowest in the country.

“There are many resorts which have been constructed near the banks of Cauvery river, which release their bio-waste into the river. The government should never allow the expansion of resorts as it may also lead to the landslides and other disasters. We are not against the resorts but against their expansion,” he added.

Another environment activist Sundar Muthanna said that Kodagu which is known as the Scotland of India was fast becoming the Garbage Dump of Karnataka. He said that all resorts must mandatorily have sewage and garbage processing units in the resorts.

He warned that the district was turning into an urban jungle which will not just impact the people of the district but also people residing in Bengaluru and other parts of the state as the main source of drinking water is from the district.

The untold story

* The documentary titled Coorg: The Untold Story was shot by Clean Coorg Initiative in association with Surfing Swami Foundation and Mantra Surf Club.

* Shot in Madikeri and other parts of Kodagu district, it highlights the garbage pile up due to the mushrooming of resorts across the district.

* It further went on to state that illegal land conversion, encroachment and sand mafia were turning out to be a nightmare for the district and how the garbage pile up on the banks of the river Cauvery is a threat not just for the residents of the district but for people living in Bengaluru and other cities.

* Blaming the government and tourists, environmentalists have accused authorities of going soft on the resorts.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 21st, 2017

Making coorgis aware of their culture via music

Bengaluru :

Bouncing back with his second music album Nangukodava 2, after a successful prequel Nangukodava 1, Mandepanda Niron aims to raise the level of cultural awareness of the Coorgi community through music. He states that his album holds its distinction in representation of all aspects of the culture.

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How it began
Niron began his career in music production in 2008 with community musical performances and programmes. In 2010, he began his collaboration with C J Anil, who is the co-owner of the production house in Banashankari, Bengaluru.

In the same year, Niron began composing remixes to retro music such as Chalthe Chalthe, Mere Sapnon ki Rani and Neele Neele Ambar Par. His love for his community coupled with his passion for music led him to begin the project of Nangukodava ( We Coorgis) where he invested nearly `5-6 lakhs and availed no financial gain.

Niron gave Udapanda Vimala, a teacher at Cauvery high school a platform to display her talent by giving her the opportunity to write the lyrics for his first album Nangukodava 1.

She also wrote most of the songs of the second album except for two songs — Kodava mangala and Selfie — which were written by Niron

The Process
Awareness and improvisation of culture are key to Niron’s mission. However he faced difficulties in bringing forth his ideology as he had no financial aid and self-funded the cause.

He received no support as there were ego clashes and attitudinal differences amongst the people. Despite the struggle he managed to process the sequel to his first album where he includes all facets of daily life through his songs ( Iguthappa Swamy – Relation to their God , Jeevamanna -life and philosophy, Ponhputtaraj, Selfie – a modern relation for the youth, Yelama Ponnamma – a proposal for marriage).

Future Prospects
His passionate endeavours towards his community have brought him acclamation and praise. His initial target was to raise the cultural banner of his community amongst the members itself, he now decides to move the boundary further by reaching a nationwide platform.

He hopes his music will reach the cinema through A grade movies and gain popularity in other languages as well. He plans to work with advertisements and promotional agencies to add credibility to his already eminent profile.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Erica Cyril / Express News Service / April 12th, 2017

MTV Roadies Rising Episode 9th April 2017 Video, Nikhil Chinappa’s Gang Wins First Task

MTV Roadies Rising Episode 9th April 2017 Video, Nikhil Chinappa’s Gang Wins First Task :- The stunt based reality show MTV Roadies Rising journey kick-started from last week which is having good feedback from audiences. In the show, there are the gang leaders including, Rannvijay Singh Singha, Prince Narula, Neha Dhupia and Nikhil Chinappa and those stars are having rocking feedback at the show.

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Now at the show, the gang leaders are having the new challenge in front of them to identify their warriors behind the masks. And all the warriors will be wearing the mask on their face so it is for the gang leaders it will be tough to search the warriors.

MTV Roadies Rising Episode 9th April 2017 Video
The gang leaders and the team are needed to use their brains only to defeat the teammates who were seen doing competition with them. The team also said that the other gang’s warrior is needed to search the perfect gang warriors and they need to compete with them in the task.

As the task started, the gang leaders were shocked to see the each of their, participates were using their brains and they were also seen defeating each of them. Nikhil identified the male dancing feet, Neha guessed the jersey number. Rannvijay guessed a gang and they were seen performing their task at the Goa.

Nikhil Chinappa’s Gang Wins First Task
After the participants’ perform the task, the final results were announced and the masks people were also got revealed. Prince made the most number of wrong guesses at the place of Jahangir so it was tough for his team to announce the gang leaders. So the task of the team announced and the teams got divided where there were two groups.

But now there is a big twist and as per this twist the winner of the challenge will announce who will rule the gang and the members who will perform well will get immunity too so that they won’t be evict either they will be coming at the bottom line.

The game started and the correctly guessed gang members the water comes out from a pipe with water from a pond using buckets. The team 2 had to stop them from successfully filling the pipes.

But when Divya from the Ranvijay’s team failed to perform well she got dumped which irked Ranvijay as he doesn’t want to lose someone from his team.

Prabjot leant against the barricades and it seems like advantage for them. 4 members performed for Nikhil’s team and the Nikhil’s team won the challenge. Due to Neha’s team did not perform well so she had an argument with Nikhil as Nikhil’s team perform well.

The performance of Neha’s gang was very disappointing also and Prince team also face disqualification as his team did not perform up to the mark. Nikhil’s gang won the game and he thanked Karan Kundra as it was actually Karan select them to be the perfect one.

Before the episode came to an end, a new twist was announced that now the gang leaders and their team won’t leave in the five-star hotels, rather they will be staying in the jungle at the tank as now the challenges of the Roadies will be the more difficult one.

source: http://www.dekhnews.com / Dekh News / Home / by Chitra Home Chowdhury / April 09th, 2017

Shubra sports two contrasting looks in John Seena

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Director Suni of Simpallag Ondu Love Story fame has quietly finished the talkie portion of his next film.

The film, titled John Seena, features supermodel-actress Shubra Aiyappa and newcomer Vidyut Chandra in lead roles.

What is interesting is that the super-glam Shubra is seen in a completely plain-Jane avatar, sporting braces and glasses. “The film sees Shubra in two contrasting looks.

The first half of the film has her as someone who is only bothered about her work and doesn’t cares about herself. She is someone who believes that everyone is beautiful from within, and has never given a thought to her appearance.

The hero and she fall in love unknowingly through circumstances and then you see a completely different transformation that stuns you.

This was one of the reasons I chose Shubra, because she could carry off the two contrasting looks,” says Suni.

Speaking about the film’s title, Suni explains that the film is about two people — John and Seena — who are fans of WWE wrestler John Cena.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Entertainment> Kannada> Movies> News / by Sunayana Suresh / TNN / April 05th, 2017

It’s exam time for Rashmika Mandanna

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Rashmika Mandanna, who became popular with the huge success of her debut film, Kirik Party has her hands full.

Her immediate concern is to do well in her upcoming journalism exams. A student of M S Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce, the actress will be appearing for her final year exams scheduled in April and May. She is also making her entry into Tollywood for which she is also learning Telugu. “I am between shooting for Anjaniputra, dedicating time for my Telugu classes and preparing for my exams,” she says.

Ask Rashmika, about her exam preparations and she says, “I am not attending college because of my shoot and my teachers are giving me their full support.

I have a couple of friends, who are also helping me out. They take me through the entire syllabus and make sure to sit down with me the previous day of the exam. If at all I do well, it is because of them.”

The actress is confident that she will come out with flying colours.”I have been a distinction holder in school and college,” she beams.

She also quipped that she can opt for another career option besides acting if she just shows her marks cards.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Kannada / by Express News Service / March 23rd, 2017

Gulshan Devaiah makes a ‘thrilling’ Marathi debut

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After winning accolades for his portrayal in ‘Shaitan’ and ‘Hunterrr’, actor Gulshan Devaiah has turned his eyes towards the Marathi industry.

With the upcoming film ‘Daav’, Gulshan will make a foray into Marathi films, adding to the ever-growing list of Bollywood actors associating with the industry. Gulshan will be seen playing an investigative officer in this bilingual crime thriller (renamed ‘Haadsa’ in Hindi) directed by Kanishk Varma. And to get the portrayal right, he went the extra mile. “Although I played a Maharashtrian character in ‘Hunterrr’ and even had a couple of Marathi dialogues, I wasn’t fluent at the language,” says Gulshan.

For ‘Daav’, the actor underwent a month-long Marathi training programme. He adds, “The story of the film is so gripping that I didn’t want to let this role go to anyone else just because I didn’t know the language. So the month-long training was a great option for me.

Having stayed in Mumbai, I didn’t find it hard to pick up the language and I can converse in Marathi now.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Entertainment> Marathi> Movies> News / by Mihir Bhanage / TNN / March 14th, 2017

Budget 2017: Kodagu to get airstrip, blood separation unit, prison

The budget by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday presented a few goodies to Kodagu district. Though the budget has not fulfilled major expectations of the people, it has not disappointed the people as well.

Though the budget announced formation of 49 new taluks, the people of the region have been disappointed that Kushalnagar in Somwarpet taluk and Ponnampet in Virajpet taluk haven’t made it to the list.

As Kodagu experiences heavy rainfall, the roads get damaged often. A total of Rs 50 crore has been earmarked as a special package for the development and widening of roads. The budget has announced development of airstrip at Madikeri. As a large number of VIPs arrive in Kodagu district for relaxation and to tour, they have to come to Kodagu via the road from Mysuru airport. The development of airstrip will boost tourism in the region. A 3D mini planetarium at a cost of Rs 5.75 crore has been announced for Madikeri. The budget has also promised to set up a prison at Virajpet.

In addition, a blood seperation unit has been sanctioned to district hospital in Madikeri, which was one of the long-pending demands of the region. Without a separation unit in Kodagu, the patients would travel to Mangaluru and Mysuru hospitals for treatment. The setting up of the unit will help the patients suffering from anaemia, said DHO Dr O R Srirangappa told DH.

In addition, the budget has set aside fund for the modernisation of canals of Harangi Reservoir in Kushalnagar. A sum of Rs 200 crore has been set aside for the development of Jenukuruba, Koraga, Soliga, Kadukuruba, Erava community members. The budget has announced framing of special rules for appointment of tribal communities living in forests and on the periphery of forest, to the posts of guard, watcher and other ‘D’ group posts, which is a welcome move, felt tribal leaders.

‘Disappointing’
The coffee planters who had availed loans from co-operative societies were expecting the chief minister to announce loan waiver. However, failure to announce loan waiver has disappointed the growers. No special package was announced to check human-elephant conflict in the region. The proposal on coffee museum and package for conserving river Cauvery has not found their place in the budget.

What they say
District JD(S) unit president M Sanketh Poovaiah termed the budget disappointing. There was no proposal on loan waiver. At a time when farmers have been ending their lives due to debts, the government should have announced loan waiver. No measures have been announced to arrest elephant menace in the district, he said.

DCC president T P Ramesh said the budget has announced welfare programmes for farmers, women and deprived class. Special emphasis has been given for the welfare of women. In addition, the honorarium for Asha workers have been hiked.

Stating that the budget is anti-farmer, district BJP unit president B B Bharathish said the state government should have announced loan waiver. “Though we were demanding an airport, the government has announced only a airstrip to Madikeri, which will benefit only the rich,” he said.

MLC Sunil Subramani said no special package was announced for the district. The burning issues in Kodagu did not find any place in the budget. He said the budget is disappointing.

Avinash, a software engineer in Madikeri, said there is a recognition at the national-level for coffee from Coorg. However, the demand for a coffee museum in Madikeri has not been materialised so far.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Aditya K A / DHNS- Madikeri, March 17th, 2017

Harshika Poonacha’s college-student act in her Tamil debut

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Sandalwood actress Harshika Poonacha was originally supposed to be making her Tamil debut in the 4K (Kanavil Kanda Kadhal Kavithai) that had Jai in the lead.

But director Hashim Marikar has pushed the filming of Jai’s project to later this year and has begun working on his next, which is said to be a thriller, in which she’s a part of.

Talking about the film, she says, “I play a college girl in this film. She’s both bold and bubbly. She stands up for the issues in her college and help it solve. She rides a sports motorbike and dresses up in a rather rugged style. She’s more of a charmer, I should say. While so many guys try to woo her, I have my eyes on only one.”

Malayalam actor Maqbool Salmaan plays her love interest in the film. “We shot most of our portions in a college in Kochi. We will be shooting some city portions in Chennai soon,” she adds.

The film also stars Sampath Kumar, Paoli Dam and Lena in the lead. “We all have different stories to tell, but all of them are somehow connected. It has been a fun shoot so far,” she reveals.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Entertainment> Tamil> Movies> News / by Sharanya CR / TNN / March 17th, 2017

Rotary Club of Bangalore to celebrate Education through Art – Kala for Vidya

Annual art show at Taj West End from February 24 to 26

Bengaluru, Karnataka :

Rotary Club of Bangalore (RCB) will be showcasing its annual art exhibition Kala for Vidya on Friday, February 24, at The Taj West End – Art Corridor.

The event is to be inaugurated by Ms. Shefali Vaidya, the eminent columnist and Mr. Prasad Bidappa, the fashion guru, guests of honour.

26 prominent Indian artists have joined hands with RCB along with The Taj West End for the cause, the education of economically weaker section children. The Art Show will be on display February 25th and 26th, 2017, from 11.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. for art lovers to enjoy and contribute.

‘Rotary club of Bangalore has a long history of service projects. We have constructed 40 government primary schools, run our own high school, build toilet blocks, and similar projects. A successful Kala for Vidya show will mean one more step in the direction of making India free of illiteracy.

This initiative by Rotary Club is part of the larger effort to bring in underprivileged children into the mainstream through education’, said Rtn. President Ranga Rao, RCB. He further added “What is special about this show are the fine artists coming to partner with us for the cause. Well-known artists such as Gurudas Shenoy, Milind Nayak have been our source of inspiration for us to sustain the cause for over 9 years generating smiles on the faces of the children of rural India.”

Mr Somnath Mukherjee, the General Manager of Taj West End,’ The Taj West End has always aimed to showcase the finer things in life and the Art Corridor is a perfect example of it. We have partnered with RCB for Kala for Vidya in the past as well and is an extension for the support we provide for artists’.

Rotary club of Bangalore is 82 years young and has an enviable spectrum of service projects. We have partnered in running the Rotary TTK blood bank, significant dialysis presence, inculcate solar and green values in rural areas, and many other socially relevant projects.

source: http://www.indiaprwire.com / IndiaPRWire.com / Home> Healtcare-Hospital, Childrens related News / February 20th, 2017