tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35612152012-02-13T23:32:30.872+04:00Think India...Think positivevenkateshnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-55354153899327070672011-12-18T15:52:00.001+04:002011-12-18T15:56:35.169+04:00

Eleven-year-old Indian-origin Anand Bharadwaj has been crowned as the World Youth Scrabble Champion, after he successfully managed to recover from a triple-triple.Anand explained that if an opponent covers two triple word squares, their score multiplies by nine and adds 50 points.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifBharadwaj was younger than all but three of the 83 competitors he beat in Malaysia

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-3794664481192276102011-12-18T15:33:00.003+04:002011-12-18T15:40:58.175+04:00

Hastinapur has a total area of twelve acres. Its population consists of a dozen Indian gods and an equal number of Argentine human beings. The Argentines learn philosophy, read in the library, practise yoga and meditation and sing Bhajans. On the other side of the fence, there are cows grazing and occasionally staring at the Indian gods. The cows are relaxed and free from fear because they know

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-23528126256459380442011-12-18T15:22:00.003+04:002011-12-18T15:51:33.648+04:00

Physicist Vivek Sharma who was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and now leads an international group hunting for the Higgs boson sees the search as an attempt to seek out answers to questions posed in the Rig Veda.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifSharma, who went to a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Pune and pursued master's in physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, says he was drawn to

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-61840837522283661302011-11-11T10:14:00.001+04:002011-11-11T10:17:47.538+04:00

Fourteen-year-old K S Sanoj, son of a local fisherman in Cherukkunu, Kannur, has been selected for the 14th P V Thampy award. The award is being given in the name of the late P V Thampy, journalist and environmental activist. Sanoj got this recognition for planting around 2,000 mangroves on the banks of Muttil river. He has been protecting them for the past two years.Some other people who have

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-43046779153301966542011-11-11T10:03:00.002+04:002011-11-11T10:10:31.182+04:00

Aligarh Muslim University historian S Chandni Bi, who has specialised in epigraphy, the study of inscriptions, says around 1,000 years ago there was zero tolerance towards financial bungling. According to her, inscriptions in the southern state of Tamil Nadu clearly indicate how intolerant civil society was against corrupt practices and the violators of ethical framework.Chandni said that A

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-89507399833157875362011-11-10T11:21:00.004+04:002011-11-10T11:26:18.172+04:00

Mahima Khanna, 23, has become the third Indian after Amartya Sen and Sir Partho Dasgupta to win one of Cambridge University's highest honours, continuing Kolkata's legacy of representing academic brilliance in haloed global circles.Mahima Khanna, a resident of Alipore who works in Mumbai as a trade analyst, has topped the 2010-11 MPhil class of economics at the university and will receive the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-66476273609412497742011-08-24T15:41:00.002+04:002011-08-24T15:49:50.829+04:00

Vasumati Srinivasan is a mountaineer and scaling new heights is a way of life. Vasumati has many firsts to her credit, right from being a part of the Bachendri Pal-led first women’s team to set foot on the Siachen Glacier, to leading the first-ever women’s 2,000-km-long camel safari from Gujarat to Punjab. Soon followed an expedition to Peak Ibex, standing 20,450 feet tall. “This was a

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-46948098766556974412011-08-17T08:00:00.002+04:002011-08-17T08:02:38.075+04:00

Ganna Smirnova had her first glimpse of Indian classical dance during a “Year of India” festival organised in the Soviet Union in 1987. By that time she had 12 years of training in classical ballet as well as in Russian and Ukrainian folk dance behind her. She was also practicing yoga, and familiar with the Upanishads and the history of India. In 1998 she came to India on a scholarship from the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-23834152504926805672011-08-13T10:02:00.004+04:002011-08-13T10:26:00.411+04:00

Deeya Bajaj is a 17-year-old passionate teenager who has gone on a month-long skiing expedition in Greenland, weathering sub-zero temperatures and harsh, icy winds. Touted as the youngest Indian to have skied across the tough topography of Greenland under sub-zero temperature with a her father, Ajeet Bajaj, two Eskimos, eight experts and their huskies, Deeya was only 14 when she took part in a

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-62995290871185924002011-08-12T07:28:00.003+04:002011-08-12T07:35:10.864+04:00

Deepan was a popular radio jockey with Hello FM and Muthukumar was climbing ladders in the IT industry, in the Big Apple. But, they paused, rewound to the promise they had made themselves, and set out to fulfil it. Deepan and Muthukumar have decided to cover 28 States, spend at least a fortnight in each, visit organic farmers, and document their way of life. They will cover nearly 40,000 km,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-58610502610936109542011-08-01T10:04:00.003+04:002011-08-01T10:11:36.474+04:00

Mohammed Rafi was born on Dec 24, 1924, in Punjab, Rafi began singing by chanting the notes that a 'fakir' (Muslim saint) sung in his village. The family later moved to Lahore.Mohammed Rafi trained under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pundit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami. He sang with K.L. Saigal at a concert for the first time at the age of 13. It opened the stage for

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-82768838984923002472011-08-01T06:32:00.002+04:002011-08-01T06:35:30.238+04:00

S.U. Saravanakumar's pictures and films give us a bountiful dose of wildlife at its candid best. And, after a decade of battling torrential rains and leech bites, this 39-year-old is still very much in love with Nature's wild side. While pursuing his Masters in Wildlife Biology at the Wildlife Institute of India, Saravanakumar realised what he really wanted to do was get behind the camera.“I

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-81708323913740917822011-07-31T20:25:00.003+04:002011-07-31T20:28:54.219+04:00

K R Srinivasan, the renowed Archaeologist who turned the spotlight on Tamil Nadu's architectural heritage started his career as a Botany professor. Born in Trichy in 1910, he was always passionate about archaeology, an interest fuelled by his older brother K R Venkataraman, a renowned historian who worked in the Pudukottai palace. K R Srinivasan gave up botany and joined the Pudukottai museum

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-71603908100538111582011-07-30T07:57:00.003+04:002011-07-30T08:02:38.734+04:00

Fahimudddin Dagar, who died Wednesday at the age of 84, and his illustrious clan - the Dhrupad musicians - were instrumental in taking Dhrupad, one of the oldest forms of Indian music, to younger audiences across the country and abroad.Son of Ustad Rahimuddin Dagar, Fahimudddin was born in Alwar, Rajasthan in 1927.Fahimji — as he was fondly known was a colossal storehouse of compositions on Durga

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-38349809243841932402011-07-29T06:40:00.002+04:002011-07-29T06:46:18.790+04:00

Almost every corner of the Kuchipudi village, reverberates with swaras and the jingle of ankle bells, one discovers.This village is perhaps the only place in India, which has given its name to a classical dance-form.The history of this village and its inhabitants is interwoven with the evolution of the exquisite dance form of Kuchipudi.This Andhra Pradesh village was originally known variously as

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-28925222348791335212011-07-28T09:41:00.002+04:002011-07-29T06:12:32.426+04:00

He saved two girls from the jaws of death, but couldn't skirt death himself. Raj Narain Mahato, 36, was taking his children to a clinic when he saw two girls crossing the railway tracks, oblivious to a train speeding towards them. This braveheart jumped towards the children and whisked them away in the nick of time, but was runover himself. This incident happened in the Delhi area of the northern

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-47352462042255522011-07-28T09:36:00.002+04:002011-07-29T06:13:42.069+04:00

Madhavi Lata was only seven months old when she suffered an attack of poliomyelitis, which left her with 80 per cent disability.But that didn't stop her from acquiring a long list of professional qualifications, driving to work everyday and fighting to beat the odds. She is a Senior Manager at Standard Chartered Scope International.However, four years ago, she developed complications and the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-67744088962156168282011-07-28T09:26:00.001+04:002011-07-28T09:32:38.662+04:00

Nileema Mishra was born to a middle-class family in the village of Bahadarpur, Maharashtra. With a master's degree in clinical psychology, she could have gone on to a comfortable life as an urban professional. But even as a child Nileema was sensitive to the crippling poverty in her village. Five years after finishing her studies in 1995, Nileema Mishra returned to her village to organize Bhagini

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-35949700523124488892011-07-28T09:12:00.003+04:002011-07-29T06:13:15.345+04:00

Harish Hande, 44, has won this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award for promoting sustainable and affordable energy through his Bangalore-based Solar Electric Light Company-India (SELCO). Harish Hande, an IIT Kharagpur graduate with a PhD from the University of Massachusetts, has been recognised for “his passionate and pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor, through a

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-73810011704845720542011-07-27T09:38:00.003+04:002011-07-27T09:44:23.302+04:00

Sivaraj has reinvented the humble cycle rickshaw, and has taken it to places where eco-friendly vehicles find ready patronage.The 26-year-old Chennai-based innovator is working with Green Challenge, an NGO in The Netherlands, to popularise what he calls ‘eco cabs'. While this pedalled cab will be offered in a few European countries to ferry people over short distances for free, its motorised

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-6615787101674554092011-07-27T09:24:00.003+04:002011-07-27T09:31:40.738+04:00

Meet mother-son duo of Mann Kaur (95) and Gurdev Singh (73), whose stamina, speed and skill would make even the great sprinter Usain Bolt marvel. They defy age and have proved that barriers exist only in the mind. Mann, who belongs to Chandigarh, has raced her way to glory in many championships with training from her son Gurdev, who lives in Canada and is also an extraordinary runner.Recently,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-81283666615172561412011-07-26T15:12:00.001+04:002011-07-26T15:20:09.076+04:00

Abdul Qadir Bedil's garden is hidden near Pragati Maidan, opposite the Matka Peer Dargah, where a green structure peeps from behind the trees. A yellow board near the entrance reads 'Bagh-e-Bedil'. Bedil's garden is a forlorn one. A celebrated Persian poet of the 17th century, his grave lies forgotten on the Mathura Road today. Born in Azimabad (now Patna), Bedil (1644-1720) was attached to the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-7571776485901846412011-07-26T14:51:00.001+04:002011-07-26T14:57:10.198+04:00

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and Sankara Nethralaya have developed a mobile cataract surgery unit that can travel to remote areas. The idea was developed in response to the need for better facilities in rural areas.Cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in India accounting for around half the reversible blindness in the country. The number of cataract blind which was 7.75

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-29519439114547364812011-07-26T14:46:00.002+04:002011-07-26T14:49:01.903+04:00

It's a matter of faith. A 42-year-old man of Ganjam district travelled around 1480 km barefoot to get holy water from the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad and poured it on Lord Eshaneshwara at Golanthara near Berhampur on the second Monday of Shravan.M. Kanaka Rao of Bhaliagada village took more than 20 days to cover the distance. Starting off on June 26, he reached the historic Shiva temple on the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-70198632723987959032011-07-21T11:23:00.004+04:002011-07-21T11:32:04.965+04:00

Art-lover Vijay Kumar documents stone sculptures, bronze images and paintings, especially of the Chola and the Pallava period on his blog www.poetryinstone.in.He documents them on his blog www.poetryinstone.in, up for over three years now. A shipping professional, Vijay Kumar took to historic fiction to learn history. An off shoot of this was PSVP ( Ponniyin Selvan Varalatru Peravai) yahoo group,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-20054224468572962762011-07-21T10:50:00.003+04:002011-07-21T11:23:14.205+04:00

Dinesh Raval, the clock tower man, is unlike any other septuagenarian you come across on the street on a busy day. He walks with a slight limp, but you hold him by the forearm and it is hard as steel. He is called the 'clock tower man' and his hands make clocks tick.The most precious assignment on his detailed resume is of 1985 when Raval sent technical drawings to Smith and Sons in London for

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-16524525524432773202011-07-01T14:29:00.002+04:002011-07-01T14:36:54.564+04:00

Benny Prasad, from Bangalore, a Solo Guitar Instrumentalist, has traveled to 194 Sovereign Countries, 50 Dependent Countries and Antarctica thus travelling to 245 countries, 7 Continents in 6 years, 6 months and 22 days from May 1, 2004 to Nov. 22, 2010 - setting the new world record for the Fastest Time to visit 245 countries.Even though in many Third World countries it's almost impossible to

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-89795237671310925502011-02-20T09:35:00.001+04:002011-02-20T09:38:35.780+04:00

A piano is designed for perfect 10 fingers. But this man has shown that it is not the fingers, but the passion that is essential to be a pianist. Meet pianist Ganesh Ishwar Bhat, 46, who was born with one finger in each hand, and plays perfect tunes. Ganesh, who has been working as a pianist for the past 10 years. Ganesh holds a diploma in architecture and runs a KSRTC franchisee (reservation

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-16151564100058891372011-02-20T09:07:00.002+04:002011-02-20T09:14:43.284+04:00

Charlie Chaplin's grandson Mark Joplin (60) married Terra Tiffany (52) at Karnataka's Gokarna according to Hindu rituals. Both are from the US.Mark has been visiting India, especially Gokarna, for the last 40 years. Both are deeply interested in Hindu culture and art. In the last two decades, they have conducted seminars on Indian classical music, mythology, the Ramayana, Harikatha, Samkeertana

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-64735704484557400842010-08-26T08:33:00.003+04:002010-08-26T08:38:55.814+04:00

The University of Mumbai has received its largest private donation from an old boy in the city. A commerce graduate from Podar College, Asit Koticha (52), chairman and founder-promoter of the ASK Group -- a financial services and investment company -- gifted his alma mater a purse of Rs 32 crore, to set up an international convention centre and a school of philosophyProbably the largest gift that

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-8433836630122057182010-05-11T10:13:00.003+04:002010-05-11T10:18:49.607+04:00

These days, a revival in ancient languages is palpable, and Sanskrit is no longer a forgotten tongue. 3R Garments Shop, at Meenakshi Chowk in Bijapur city is owned by Ram Singh Rajput. He has eight employees, and for the past eight years, they have been using the Sanskrit as the language for business.Ram Singh says there is no difficulty in using the language. "After we started using Sanskrit,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-64925343187900450112010-05-07T08:48:00.002+04:002010-05-07T08:58:18.411+04:00

Transforming a hurdle into an opportunity, Dr. Shah Faesal coped with personal tragedy to become the first from Kashmir to top the Union Public Service Commission 2009 examinations.The untimely death of his father in 2002 at the hands of “unidentified militants” days before his Pre-Medical Test did not deter Dr. Faesal from clearing the examination or becoming the first candidate from Kashmir in

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-27241388089621517302010-05-05T12:53:00.002+04:002010-05-05T13:02:48.903+04:00

Harvard Business School has appointed Indian-origin Nitin Nohria as its 10th Dean, making him the first member from the community to occupy the post in the prestigious institution's 102-year old history.Nohria, the Richard P Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS), will take up his new role on July 1.A scholar of leadership and organisational change, Nohria

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-15183366601457507242010-04-30T10:54:00.002+04:002010-04-30T11:08:58.282+04:00

Of what use is a scooter other than for transport? Well, an innovative farmer from Doddaballapur thought otherwise. Instead of consigning his old scooter to the scrap heap, he found an ingenious way to use it..H. Sadananda of Tapasihalli uses his old scooter as a device to spray pesticides at his farm. The decrepit scooter may have fetched him Rs. 2,000 in the resale market, but he decided to

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-89196768638412908142010-04-28T09:41:00.002+04:002010-04-28T09:58:16.050+04:00

Imtiaz Sooliman, who started the Gift of the Givers Foundation more than a decade ago, received the Order of the Baobab in Silver from President Jacob Zuma.The Order of the Baobab recognises South African citizens who have contributed to community service, business and economy, science, medicine and technological innovation. The Order of the Baobab in Silver was also awarded posthumously to

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-6768394310985093372010-04-26T12:30:00.003+04:002010-04-26T13:02:58.142+04:00

V Kathiresan had to drop out of school to support his family. Years later, working for A P J Abdul Kalam as his driver, he was encouraged to restart his education. Today he has a PhD, has written two books, and is a college lecturer.Dr Kathiresan lost his father very early in life and had no choice but to support his family. Though he was always fond of studying, financial problems compelled him

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-42286517015291139382010-03-14T11:06:00.002+04:002010-03-14T11:11:30.981+04:00

Nine-year-old Naina is making a history at a tender age. She is the youngest girl to ever write the Intermediate or plus two examination in Andhra Pradesh. A student of the Arts stream at St Mary's Junior college in Hyderabad, Naina is one of nearly 18 lakh students who are sitting for the First and Second year Intermediate examinations across the state.Interestingly, in an age when most of the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-24786058719521367752009-12-17T09:46:00.002+04:002009-12-17T09:52:11.509+04:00

S. Sukumaran, is on an arduous journey of ensuring equality and justice, colleagues and friends, acquaintances and family, who have watched and known him for years, say they almost don't realise that he is blind.He has recently been appointed the first-ever visually handicapped Senior Panel Counsel, Government of India, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.A freak accident led to loss of vision in

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-79481545929200464042009-12-17T09:08:00.000+04:002009-12-17T09:12:32.965+04:00

Joybrato Mukherjee, a 36-year-old professor of English whose parents immigrated from India, became Germany's youngest chief executive of a university.He was inducted as president, a title which is equivalent to vice-chancellor in other nations, of the University of Giessen, which in central Germany has 24,100 students. Mukherjee was born in 1973 in the Rhine valley area of western Germany where

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-1911752341161875882009-11-26T11:09:00.004+04:002009-11-26T11:15:34.142+04:00

It was in 2005 that Rosakutty, a resident of Kothad village, shot to fame. A granny with stretched earlobes and heavy gold earrings, clad in the traditional Christian attire of white ‘mundu’ and ‘chatta,’ coming to the local Akshaya centre to take her first lessons in computers at the age of 106 was not a common sight. It turned her into a celebrity overnight with the local and the global media

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-19413757945605783982009-05-15T09:08:00.003+04:002009-05-15T09:16:14.159+04:00

MD Madhusudhan, a noted Indian wildlife biologist has won the Whitley Award, considered the 'Green Oscar', in recognition of his work to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. Dr MD Madhusudan, Director of Nature Conservation Foundation -- a young NGO that has grown quickly to become one of the most respected in India -- received a trophy and a cash prize of 30,000

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-28205144123240326942009-05-09T17:21:00.002+04:002009-05-09T17:25:17.688+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)Kedar Bhide loves snakes. As a professional pest controller who rids suburban Mumbai of roaches and rodents, he would. They are "nature's finest and most dogged pest exterminators", he says. This 33-year-old graduate of Mumbai's Haffkine Institute has taken his love for the reptiles one step further. Together with Kaivalya Varma,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-65629125640784960482009-05-09T17:13:00.002+04:002009-05-09T17:15:38.407+04:00

Chadha's tryst with papayas began in 1979, when he first grew 40 papaya plants on his father's 45-acre farm in Kaladhungi near the Jim Corbett tiger reserve. This sparked an interest in plant breeding-a course trod by few as it demands the expertise of a scientist and the skill of a seasoned farmer. But Chadha was successful and in 1986, he developed a dwarf papaya variety. Christened Farm

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-36157359396793996272009-05-09T17:02:00.002+04:002009-05-09T17:05:58.551+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)In Sagroli, a nondescript hamlet in Maharashtra, donkeys are the primary means of transport used to carry farm produce, fertilisers and construction material. Despite their utility they are neglected and abused. Distressed by the pitiful condition of these animals, Bonny and Ratilal Shah of Dallas, USA, regular visitors to India

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-42893693988298924422009-05-09T16:52:00.001+04:002009-05-09T16:54:24.899+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)Each day at the Shantiniketan School starts with the Saraswati Vandana. When painting competitions are held in the school, images of Hindu gods and goddesses are most common. And Sanskrit is a favourite subject of many a student. Nothing new about it except that the 1,200-odd students studying in the Hindu-run school are Muslim.In

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-15582098867041775742009-05-09T16:41:00.002+04:002009-05-09T16:47:56.295+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)Girimitra Pratisthan is a group of diehard climbers and trekkers who expend their energy on more than just scaling cliffs or conquering peaks. They also restore the sites they visit.Created in 1999 in Mumbai, the group initially aspired only to explore the countryside through weekend expeditions.But that quickly changed. They saw

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-73213393702345475602009-05-09T16:34:00.002+04:002009-05-09T16:36:29.454+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)Delhi-based filmmaker Anindya Roy in an effort to leveraging on the iconic grasp of comics, has set up South Comix Collective in 2002 to canvas developmental issues other than the usual gags like walking on air or waltzing on poles.With cartoonist Sarnath Banerjee, Roy uses comics as a vanguard for contemporary culture and issues

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-30500925967010508222009-05-09T16:06:00.001+04:002009-05-09T16:27:50.319+04:00

(From the archives: This article appeared in India Today in 2004)Like thousands of others, Pappu Sardar idolises Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit. But he is a unique member of her fan club in that he has taken it upon himself to reach out to those in need while dedicating the service to her. He never misses an occasion to do his bidding, whether it is a special day for the superstar or any general

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-19465147646864735612009-05-09T11:36:00.002+04:002009-05-09T11:38:42.173+04:00

The preserve of the Sonis of Pratapgarh in Rajasthan, Thewa survives as a secret art almost 200 years after the maharaja of Pratapgarh initiated one of the ancestors of the Sonis into the business in the 19th century. As a rule, no labourer has been hired from outside the family.The range of Thewa jewellery and accessories involve the skilful and painstaking use of gems, enamelled gold and foil,

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-22329284453453339972009-05-09T11:29:00.001+04:002009-05-09T11:30:58.654+04:00

(From the archives: This report was first published in 2004 in India Today.)A four-door, sports boat-tail, the Lanchester Straight 8 is a unique model. One of its kind in India and among 11 the world over, it is the oldest Lanchester in running condition today.This particular item was once the proud possession of Motilal Nehru, politician and father of Jawaharlal Nehru. It has changed many hands

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-313238999837287972009-05-09T11:16:00.001+04:002009-05-09T11:18:02.132+04:00

(From the archives: This report was first published in 2004 in India Today.)Darjeeling Initiative is a loose clubbing of men and women, mostly in their 20s or barely into their 30s. These young minds-some are businessmen, some NGO activists, others executives-try to do what official agencies fail, or neglect, to do.The group started in March 2003 with a fairly innocuous, if overdue, initiative

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-42379694406936049702009-05-09T08:40:00.000+04:002009-05-09T08:41:01.971+04:00

William Hodges was the first professional artist to introduce a new style and make on-the-spot sketches of the picturesque Indian landscape and its magnificent monuments.William Hodges was undoubtedly the pioneer in the field of landscape painting and also one of the most sensitive and poetic whose writings are as unique as his paintings. Born in London in 1744, Hodges came from a humble

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-65583240441266648572009-04-26T12:53:00.000+04:002009-05-05T18:05:00.283+04:00

Way back in 1932, Frenchman Alain Danielou and his Swiss partner Raymond Burnier drove through Afghanistan to India on a discovery trail. Later, India was to become their home as both immersed themselves in the culture and literature of the land.Danielou and Burnier lived in Varanasi, the town that Twain described as being “older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend.” There

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-91940953336161444912009-04-26T12:50:00.001+04:002009-04-26T12:53:05.435+04:00

Ashvini Jojra, a resident of RS Pura, has arranged 880 marriages of girls living below the poverty line. The founder-president of charitable organisation Sehyog is working for the welfare of differently abled children, the aged, as well as widows. Apart from this, he is tirelessly working for the welfare of differently abled children, the aged and the infirm as well as widows.This has earned him

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-26478683847274950202009-04-26T12:41:00.002+04:002009-04-26T12:49:17.225+04:00

Lord Curzon, British Viceroy to India, while on a visit to Alappuzha in early 20th Century, called it “the Venice of the East.” During the time of the British, this was a booming trading centre that exported coir products to different parts of the world.Forming part of the Vembanad Lake is Kuttanad, a vast stretch of backwaters that is unique in many ways. What is really unique however is the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-146294426808660312009-04-24T17:03:00.001+04:002009-04-24T17:03:53.629+04:00

The 4,000-year-old Indus Valley civilisation that thrived around what is now the Indo-Pakistan border might have been marked by a literate society that used a script that is close to present-day languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit and English, a new finding claims.A group of Indian scientists conducted a statistical study of the symbols found in Indus Valley remains and compared them with various

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-54093432103227133772009-04-04T18:19:00.003+04:002009-04-04T18:22:32.579+04:00

Eighty two-year-old Bharati Choudhry, who was part of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, played a key role in inspiring women to participate in the freedom struggle. Choudhry, a former Lieutenant of Rani Jhansi Regiment, is an inspiration to many.At 82, her fragile body hardly allows her to move but the moment one talks about the Indian freedom struggle, she stands gripped with

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-21591138817914953942009-04-04T18:12:00.003+04:002009-04-04T18:19:16.118+04:00

Narendra Tallapragada, 17, Preya Shah, 17, and Nilesh Tripuraneni, 18, did America proud, placing fourth, eighth, and ninth respectively at the Intel Science Search, the country's most prestigious pre-college science competition, often dubbed the 'Junior Nobel' prize in science.When the top 10 winners were announced at the black-tie gala banquet at the Andrew W Mellon Auditorium in downtown

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-91440286720195037992009-04-04T18:08:00.001+04:002009-04-04T18:12:32.341+04:00

Despite talk of global villages and information super-highways, villages generally do not even have a book in sight for the benefit of kids. Few are aware how precious books in the formative years are for the future of a child.This neglect for basic education got Sharad and Nirmal Pendharkar, a couple based in Pune, to initiate PaanPoee Vachanalay - a village library movement in the rural areas

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-59609779337685554132009-04-03T08:11:00.001+04:002009-04-03T08:13:58.153+04:00

For this third generation Indian born in Africa, educated in the U.S. and settled in Canada, the book is a homecoming. Hence, the book “Rediscovering India,” is a labour of love spread over 10 visits stretched across 15 years. Author M.G. Vassanji’s “A Place Within – Rediscovering India” treads on the obvious, the familiar and the unknown, banks on history to be a starting board and polishes the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-32569182066954078822009-04-03T08:08:00.002+04:002009-04-03T08:11:37.434+04:00

This Chennai girl, Dharshana Sridhar has crossed several learning curves and, at present, holds a job at 10 Downing Street as policy advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.She finished Std. X at Sacred Heart School, Church Park, in 1995, and applied for a Commonwealth Scholarship. She was one of the two students to have been selected from applicants across 64 countries.Since then, Ms

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-59010913922865602992009-04-03T08:04:00.001+04:002009-04-03T08:07:46.160+04:00

It was the only region where the ever-advancing army of Alexander the great found one of its toughest resistances when it met with the army of Porus. The morale of Alexander’s army was completely shattered by a singular act of brave men of Porus, who tied themselves with their chariots so not have any choice of deserting. Alexander could thus go only as far as the river Hyphasis (modern Beas). At

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-18468214949202591282009-04-03T08:03:00.000+04:002009-04-03T08:04:49.249+04:00

Reena Kaushal Dharmashakthu of Delhi will be the first Indian woman to travel to the South Pole along with an all women team, representing five continents.Dharmashakthu (38) is the only South Asian in the team comprising of eight women who planning to reach the South Pole in time to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth.The group plans to travel 800km over six weeks, braving sub -30C (-

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-20837154239381070852009-04-03T07:55:00.001+04:002009-04-03T07:57:52.487+04:00

Ludwig Pesch is a man possessed by South Indian classical music. A lifelong and passionate devotee of Carnatic music, Pesch learnt flute from the late Ramachandra Shastry at Kalakshetra in Chennai and co-founded Sampradaya, a major music documentation centre and archive in the Tamil Nadu capitaBut Pesch’s most significant contribution to his beloved field perhaps has been ‘The Oxford Illustrated

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-84618336125931188492009-03-30T18:23:00.002+04:002009-03-30T18:32:04.839+04:00

Nowshad Rizwanullah may not forget his ongoing trip to Mumbai for a long time, thanks to the honesty of cab driver Mushtaq Ahmed Khan returned the shoulder bag containing an iPhone and laptop worth Rs 1 lakh, and Naushad Rizwanullah's all-important Canadian passport. Rizwanullah is in Mumbai from the US for a week's holiday from Harvard Business School to visit friends.On Sunday, a happily

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-58649846781541332822009-03-30T18:19:00.002+04:002009-03-30T18:33:52.772+04:00

From banking to politics -- Meera Sanyal [Images] is the latest power-woman to put her hat in the election ring.In what may be the first instance of a woman-banker joining politics, Sanyal, who is the country head of ABN Amro, has decided to take a sabbatical from the bank and contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai South constituency -- an area where she grew up.The Insead-educated

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-12410604736617595332009-03-30T18:17:00.000+04:002009-03-30T18:19:00.477+04:00

This hamlet is just one of those several non-descript villages without any basic facilities on the country’s map. So, what’s so special about Aashihala?The hamlet has a population of roughly 1,200 people, with a literacy rate of 90 per cent! Aashihala is located near Mudgal in Lingasugur taluk of Raichur district. Interestingly, every family here has at least two to six people who are employed in

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-20962285490244175822009-03-24T11:24:00.000+04:002009-03-24T11:32:45.777+04:00

Armed with one lone handycam, these twenty-odd children—all orphans— have been making award-winning human rights films. With help from the Centre for Communication and Development (CCD), based at Madhyamgram near Kolkata, these children make a film for just between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. The organisation was founded in 1979 to take care of children orphaned by the devastating floods of 1978.Now

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-77796885582452448602009-03-24T11:19:00.000+04:002009-03-24T11:20:33.998+04:00

His world and work were the elephant stables of the Mysore Palace. And it was here in 1935, that the famous director Robert Flaherty saw him for the first time and knew immediately that, in Sabu Dastagir, he had found his ‘Elephant Boy’. He was given no time to adjust or even absorb the complete over turn his life would now take. He travelled to England for the film shooting. The movie was a

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-1141264748158109242009-03-24T11:13:00.001+04:002009-03-24T11:18:15.994+04:00

A rare collection of more than 3,500 rare photographs depicting the life of people, places, rulers, traders and landscapes of Kashmir over a period of 100 years between 1850s and 1950s will be soon on display. The collection, known as ‘Nostalgic Kashmir,’ will become a reality due to the efforts of Wasim Showkat Wani, a young hotelier in the Nehru Park area, near Dal Lake, who has collected these

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-35721852548455370132009-03-23T13:23:00.001+04:002009-03-23T13:53:45.204+04:00

A new soap opera showcasing Indian culture is causing a stir in Brazil. Written by celebrated telenovela author Gloria Perez, Caminho das Indias — roughly translated as ‘A Passage to India’ — is being shown from Mondays to Saturdays on Brazil’s largest TV channel (TV Globo) and has become the latest mania in the country.The plot, which could well make for a traditional Bollywood movie, is

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-35857604374815679162009-03-23T13:18:00.001+04:002009-03-23T13:19:24.110+04:00

0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l100/kissinger65/th_bhimbetka.jpg" border="0" />A chance visit to a remote Pudukkottai hamlet to assess the damage caused by illegal granite quarrying on an ancient protected' archaeological site helped an Archaeological Survey of India team uncover what could be evidence of the first artistic expression of

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-73583507410523100082009-03-23T12:18:00.001+04:002009-03-23T13:14:42.254+04:00

In the green hinterland of Islamic Bangladesh, the Ramayana is the most popular performing art form, according to Saymon Zakaria, a leading playwright.The Indian epic exists in harmony with Sufism and a variety of indigenous folk arts like the Pir Gaan (song of the clergy), Gazi Gaan (song of the priest), Gazir Pail (theatre of the priests), Behular Nach (Dance of Behula) and Paddar Nach (Dance

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-8461740004071774622009-03-20T17:02:00.002+04:002009-03-20T17:08:00.864+04:00

Nearly three decades ago, when the militant struggle in Kashmir made fleeing an honourable option, Dr B N Kalla came to live in Delhi with his family and many prized manuscripts that had been passed down by his father, a Sanskrit scholar.Manuscripts from Kashmir were written in the Sharda script, seen as a predecessor to Gurmukhi, the script of Punjab. It is older than Devnagari and is the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-49622606443308362762008-11-13T11:21:00.003+04:002008-11-13T11:32:04.677+04:00

Hundreds of Armenians all over the world flew to Kolkata to be part of the celebrations to mark 400 years of the community in the city and the tercentenary of the Holy Nazareth Church on Armenian Street.The high point of the celebration was the presence of His Holiness Karekin II, the worldwide religious head of the Armenians.Apart from this India has a special place in the hearts of Armenians

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-10573287128370364342008-11-10T09:09:00.002+04:002008-11-10T09:14:51.329+04:00

06: Indian-American Sonal Shah, an eminent economist who heads Google's philanthropic arm, has been appointed an advisory board member by US President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team in smooth transition of power.Shah, who was named the 'Person of the Year 2003' by 'India Abroad' publication, currently works for Google.org on their Global Development team, where she is engaged in defining

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-29996679073102243472008-11-05T12:19:00.004+04:002008-11-05T12:26:17.420+04:00

Papamma (60), a farmer from the remote village of D. Kurubarahalli in Kolar district of Karnataka, has now become a household name in the State by bagging this year’s Rajyotsava Award. Starting off as a farm labourer, Papamma is now a successful agriculturist. Relentless efforts in the field of organic farming for the last one decade have brought laurels and recognition to Papamma, who till

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-27720042628651626352008-11-04T09:51:00.002+04:002008-11-04T10:02:39.688+04:00

Aloda is a small village in Mehsana district in Gujarat. This village is home to the 700 year old shrine dedicated to Sufi saint Saiyed Badru Rehmat-ulla Alai, popularly known as Fakir Bava.This all-Hindu village has spent Rs 17 lakhs to rebuild the shrine which was damaged in the recent earthquake. The shrine was reopened on Labh Pancham a Gujarati festival day, with the attendance of muslims

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-25746503426387296842008-11-02T09:33:00.002+04:002008-11-02T09:39:37.426+04:00

Women against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment by American historian Joyce Chapman Lebra highlights the contribution made by hundreds of women of Indian descent, the daughters of poor rubber plantation workers in Malaya, who responded to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s call and volunteered to form the women’s wing of the Indian National Army (INA).Over the last few years, Lebra painstakingly

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-2727862527182712452008-11-01T15:40:00.003+04:002008-11-01T15:50:22.854+04:00

When the 1977 batch of the Jawahar Higher Secondary School (JHSS), managed by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Tamil Nadu, formed a Yahoo group called Jawahar World Wide (JWW), to meet and chat online, something different happened—they ended up forming a philanthropic group to help their old teachers.They formed the JWW Trust to insure and help aging teachers. The Neyveli school, which has

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-77510554001056184342008-10-22T13:42:00.005+04:002008-10-22T13:56:10.060+04:00

Time magazine named Sant Seechewal as one of the activist "Heroes of the Environment – 2008". This has again brought into focus the work done under the leadership of the 46-year-old sant, who marries spirituality with eco-friendliness and activism.In the mid-1990s, Sant Seechewal started by cleaning up his own village that had a population of 1,500. Before 2000, they had installed sewerage, waste

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-959703601122458192008-10-22T10:10:00.001+04:002008-10-22T10:23:21.971+04:00

Mylswamy Annadurai, the project director for Chandrayaan is leading the 3000 scientists and engineers from across the world to make India's dreams of reaching for the moon come true.Born and brought up in a small village called Kodavadi near Coimbatore he had until the age of seven not had the fortune of having street lights in his village. His father was a school teacher and the first SSC in

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-63577123476747046172008-02-23T09:40:00.003+04:002008-02-23T09:49:31.905+04:00

A retired government officer, Surinder Singh should have been counting the savings he had made in service. Instead he began to collect old coins, especially Sikh coinage which were in circulation in Punjab between 1710 and 1856.He began to search for the tales behind them. Inscribed in the sikka (coin) were new versions of the Sikh story. Fourteen years after he retired from the Indian Defence

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-4687266632594488512007-11-21T11:28:00.000+04:002007-11-21T11:32:05.083+04:00

They were a group of housewives, mostly in their fifties leading comfortable lives. But they chose to be somewhat atypical and thereby have started making a difference to the lives they touch, be it the senior citizens whom they strive to serve or th e corps of unemployed youth whom they seek to train to serve the elderly. Jana Hitaya, an association of mostly women, describe their effort as a

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-17998559387050703972007-11-21T11:15:00.000+04:002007-11-21T11:20:50.381+04:00

A broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script has been excavated at Quseir-al-Qadim, an ancient port with a Roman settlement on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. This Tamil Brahmi script has been dated to first century B.C. Another Tamil Brahmi pottery inscription of the same period was found in 1995 at Berenike, also a Roman settlement, on the Red Sea coast of Egypt.These discoveries

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-64321372360072537672007-10-02T21:14:00.000+04:002007-10-02T21:18:23.165+04:00

No generators, no air conditioning and no television sets in rooms. Thats the Green Hotel in Mysore, which is just different!Built on the model of sustainable and eco-friendly tourism, the hotel was set up by Mrs Hilary Blume of Charities Advisory Trust. Stan and Mari Marcel Thekaekkera, board members of the hotel, run their own social service organisation in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu.The hotel

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-71876552479891601802007-10-02T21:05:00.000+04:002007-10-02T21:10:13.843+04:00

Pandas of Haridwar are an age-old institution in India, an amazing one, a singular example of its kind in the world.Pandas of Haridwar are the record holders of the pilgrims’ family trees. They bring people together in time past and time present, in space divided by thousands of miles.The Pandas are an important institution, a constituent of Hardwar, more than the famous sadhus. They perform the

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-39030554848405758982007-10-02T20:55:00.000+04:002007-10-02T20:58:36.438+04:00

Well-known British comedian and theatre actor Alistair McGowan's search for his roots has led him to discover he is Anglo-Indian -- a fact his father tried to hide from him all his life.Visiting Kolkata and Chunar in Uttar Pradesh for the BBC film, Alistair McGowan says that once he had established his Anglo-Indian roots, he found out that he was the first McGowan to be born in Britain in more

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-29120998203820268112007-10-01T17:24:00.000+04:002007-10-01T17:30:03.940+04:00

Krishnaraj Rajalingam, a molecular biologist from Tamil Nadu, has won a prestigious and highly competitive award from the German research foundation.The 30-year-old scientist, working at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, has been chosen for the 1.3 million euros award.With this award, Rajalingam, born in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, can now establish a fully independent research team

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-2668407488280921762007-09-12T18:10:00.000+04:002007-09-12T18:13:44.062+04:00

Studies have brought to light the existence of prehistoric civilisation at Hartikote village in Hiriyur taluk of Karnataka.S.H. Ramdas Reddy, a history lecturer at Government First Grade College, Challakere has spent over 10 years exploring new sites of ancient civilisation on the banks of the Vedavati, which passes through Hiriyur taluk. He has found evidence of Neolithic and Megalithic

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-24032582237684064302007-09-12T18:06:00.000+04:002007-09-12T18:09:39.426+04:00

In a rare discovery, the Archaeological Survey of India has found at Bhirrana, a Harappan site in Fatehabad district in Haryana, a red potsherd with an engraving that resembles the ‘Dancing Girl,’ the iconic bronze figurine of Mohenjodaro. While the bronze was discovered in the early 1920s, the potsherd with the engraving was discovered during excavations by the ASI in 2004-05.For the first time

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-54315285084456245942007-09-10T10:15:00.000+04:002007-09-10T11:15:40.229+04:00

On August 15, 2007, India awarded her highest peace-time honour for valour, the Ashok Chakra, to her true brave son. Captain Harshan became the youngest officer to receive the award posthumously in Independent India. A Lieutenant in the elite 2 Parachute Regiment he completed his training in Kashmir in record time and was posted to the regiment base in Agra. He was one of six young officers sent

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-54911823623776501612007-09-09T09:34:00.000+04:002007-09-09T09:42:09.125+04:00

Excerpts from: Bonding ... a memoir..An autobiography of Vyjayantimala Bali.It was news to me that I belonged to the Mysore royal family. We only belonged to Mysore and the royal family was a great patron of art and hence this patronage. But once these rumours spread, there’s no end to it.I just wasn’t the kind to mix profession and pleasure. And knowing RK, they could easily say that, but what

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-54538750771885979642007-09-09T09:30:00.000+04:002007-09-09T09:33:15.768+04:00

He claims to have broken bread with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Mark Rothko. And been friends with Mexican poet and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz and famous art dealer, Henri Khanweiler. Ravi Kumar has been through some of the most fascinating times in the world of art.Kumar left India in January 1960 as a young boy. He had no formal education of any worth when he bought the ticket to

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-69874204375747754462007-09-09T09:25:00.000+04:002007-09-09T09:29:31.462+04:00

Muthulakshmi was the first woman doctor in India. She had earlier been advised not to appear for the very difficult M.B and C.M. course but she had prevailed and shocked everyone by getting the 100 per cent result in surgery and most of the merit medals and prizes of that year. This was at a time when some professors did not even allow women to sit in their class. They would ask junior lecturers

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-79799748763200336282007-09-08T10:36:00.000+04:002007-09-08T10:40:45.078+04:00

Indian born author Indra Sinha's book Animal's People has been shortlisted for the 2007 Booker prize.The book, based on the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984 is the story of Animal, a crippled orphan in a town called Khaufpur. It is written as a first person account using local dialect that adds the authenticity and the humour in the story. The author has been a campaigner for the Bhopal Medical Appeal

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-91191040540928167702007-09-08T10:30:00.000+04:002007-09-08T10:33:39.793+04:00

She is an unlikely leader of taxi drivers — a college graduate, a woman, soft-spoken.India-born Bhairavi Desai reaffirmed her prominent role in the city’s labour movement and her willingness to make bold moves on behalf of her membership in the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Ms. Desai, 34, is a slight woman, 5-feet-1, 50 kg, who co-founded the alliance in 1998, the same year the city’s

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-69003394320202575552007-09-08T10:24:00.000+04:002007-09-08T10:29:43.065+04:00

The 104-year-old historic Kalka-Shimla railway track may well be on its way to being included in the coveted world heritage list. It is already enlisted in ‘Rail Facts and Feats’ in The Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest narrow gauge engineering feat of the mechanical age.Constructed in the early 20th century, it is an engineering feat and among the country’s four unique narrow-gauge

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-13782706203889196272007-09-06T11:59:00.000+04:002007-09-06T12:03:01.948+04:00

Gawde is the only female taxidriver in the city's fleet of over 2 lakh cabbies.It's a tough life for this lone woman to sustain in what many will call a man’s business.For the last 12 years, she has driven to the nearby Bombay Central station every morning at 8:30 am and waited for the Rajdhani to arrive with her customers.Gawde, however, is armed with gumption and the smile on her face indicates

venkateshnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561215.post-38133543491986385562007-09-06T11:45:00.000+04:002007-09-06T11:52:43.600+04:00

In a nation of millions of cyclists - it took one man to think out of the box. And he even built in some special effects.Necessity they say, is the mother of invention. When floods ravaged Mohammad Saidullah's village, he found a new way to survive.Saidullah designed a bicycle that can not only travel on land but also float on water. The idea is brilliant and worthy of an IIT engineer.

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