Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

History left in ruins

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Cannons made over two centuries ago and iron foundries lie neglected

History, in all probability, will not repeat itself, especially in the case of Nirmal town that has seen glorious days over two centuries ago. Some of that magnificence, however, can be restored if the State government focuses on preserving whatever that is left of local forts, the iron foundries and the locally-made cannons. This district headquarter town, once a part of the united Adilabad district, is historically one of the most important places in Telangana, but remains neglected, according to experts.

The locally-made cannons, the ones that have remained after decades of plunder and vandalism of historical artefacts at the forts and whatever remains of the unique iron foundries where the cannons were manufactured, are crying for attention.

Two cannons are lying neglected within the premises of the District Collectorate in the town, while another lies under a tree in a locality close to Khazana Cheruvu. The third cannon at the Collectorate is well-preserved. There are a few that can still be found in the ruins of the local forts like Khilla Gutta, besides the one at Wadoor in Neredigonda mandal of Adilabad district, about 35 km from Nirmal town.

Among the well cared for cannons in the historic town are the ones that adorn the SP’s camp office, Tahsildar office, the TNGO union office fire station and the police station. These are of varying sizes and calibre, the ones at the Collectorate and SP’s camp office being the largest, and they were brought down from the fort ruins after the formation of the district in September 2016.

“The Nirmal town still has 22 locally-made cannons in the two foundries that were established by French engineers in the late 1700s,” said S. Jaikishan, a member of Salarjung Museum Board, who is an expert on the history of cannons in Telangana, especially those in Nirmal town. He belongs to the Hyderabad-based NGO, Deccan Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute, which is involved in the conservation and preservation of Indian heritage. The expert, who has researched into the history of Nirmal with respect to its foundries and weapons factories, said more cannons lie buried under the earth at a location near Venkateshwara temple in the town, which need to be unearthed. He offered to provide details of each and every existing cannon of Nirmal to be displayed, provided that the government installs those on special pedestals.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by S. Harpal Singh / Nirmal – April 16th, 2019

Hyderabad gets all-women metro station at Madhuranagar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

While the station is open for all passengers irrespective of gender, it will be managed by women employees and will soon have shops exclusively catering to the needs of women and children.


Image of a HMRL station used for representational purpose only (File Photo | EPS)

Hyderabad :

For the first time in the country, and perhaps in the world, Hyderabad Metro Rail has set up an all-women station catering to the needs of women. Madhuranagar Metro Station of Corridor – III (Blue Line) has been renamed ‘Taruni Madhuranagar’ metro station.  While the station is open for all passengers irrespective of gender, it will be managed by women employees and will soon have shops exclusively catering to the needs of women and children.

HMRL looks at the Hyderabad Metro not as a simple transportation engineering project but as an instrument to promote wider socio-economic goals. As a part of this vision, Taruni Madhuranagar metro station along with two-acre open area around the station is being made a hub of activities to promote women empowerment and gender equality, HMRL Managing Director, NVS Reddy said. A women-centric exhibition will be held for the next 60 days at Taruni Madhuranagar which will open soon, he added. 

There will be an online slogan competition on women empowerment and gender equality, wherein slogans can be submitted online on HMRL’s website — https://hmrl.co.in. Competitions for children will be held in painting, drawing, essays, elocution, music, etc. Competitions in Rangoli, cooking, performing arts, etc would be held for women.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / April 06th, 2019

Hyderabad-based organisation launches YouTube series on polls

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

The Youtube series, which has been on air since March 16, has already opened to a wide response with at least 1.7k views on the 10-minute explainer about the methodology of the Indian election.


Youtube screengrab of the video series DECODE

Hyderabad :

At a time when fake news and false information is rampant on the internet and driving several netizens from the news media, Factly, a Hyderabad-based initiative, has launched a video series on YouTube to demystify elections and related subjects. DECODE, the video series has been made in order to help voters understand the voting process and bust myths about policy misinterpretation ahead of the 17the Lok Sabha elections. The Youtube series, which has been on air since March 16, has already opened to a wide response with at least 1.7k views on the 10-minute explainer about the methodology of the Indian election.

Follow our election coverage here

“In our interaction with people, we realised that people want to engage with political and policy issues but find them monotonous. With this initiative we are making policy issues entertaining and engaging,” noted Rakesh Dubbudu, founder of Factly. The fact-checking initiative has been in place for years now, however, the weekly Youtube series started only a few days ago, in view of the elections. “This is the best time to educate people about the democratic process as there is a lot of excitement and chatter about these things,” added Rakesh.  

Rakesh further added that the main motive of Factly is to bust fake news. “Fake news takes over when there is no credible information. We will be giving official sources on government websites so that people can verify the facts for themselves,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 29th, 2019

2,500 paintings and counting

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Swamy, who has also worked as a professional public relations officer in the city says his paintings are thus not mere caricatures of reality.

Hyderabad :

While sunrises, sunsets, butterflies and waterfalls tend to inspire many poets and artists, VV Swamy says the modern electronic communication gadgets inspired him to dedicate a whole set of paintings to it. “I have depicted the essence of electronic communication gadgets in a series of paintings, capturing the technological transformation.

I am happy to mention that I have received a number of prestigious awards for my works over the years including honours from British High Commission, British Council Division and by the Andhra Association and Andhra Educational Society, New Delhi,” he says.

Living in Hyderabad for the last 50 years and son of Late V Venkateswarlu, an eminent artist and sculptor of AP, Swamy says he has painted over 2,500 art works in various media and material on different topics from horses in action to adorable Ganeshas and has held 23 one-man shows besides participating in a number of group shows all over the country. His paintings were also shown at USA, Hong kong, Japan etc. countries.

Swamy, who has also worked as a professional public relations officer in the city says his paintings are thus not mere caricatures of reality. “They are realistic representations of all that surrounds us – be it people, places or events. It is easy for the viewer to identify himself or herself with what one is viewing when one looks at Swamy’s works (both his paintings and writings).

There is something lyrical and passionate about them that appeals to our innate aesthetic sense.” A recipient of Ugadi Puraskar he uploads his photographs in flickr and other online  media.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 13th, 2019

Telangana artefacts to travel to NY museum

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One of the Buddhist relics that might be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Phanigiri Buddhist relics may be part of the Met’s 150th anniversary exhibition

Buddhist artefacts and relics from Phanigiri in the Suryapet district are set to travel to New York next year for the 150th anniversary exhibition of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met).

“We are collaborating with the Telangana government to ensure that a small number of major pieces from the excavations at Phanigiri are a part of the exhibition at the Met to mark the museum’s 150th anniversary,” said John Guy, Curator at the Met, who was in the city recently to identify the objects and carry back a wish-list with him.

Some of the artefacts are dated from the 1st Century to 4th century AD.

The excavations at Phanigiri, which began in 1941 and continued till 1944 under the then director of Department of Archaeology Khwaja Mahmud Ahmed, during the Nizam’s reign, unearthed one of the important monastic sites of Buddhism.

Major pieces

The excavations yielded a Mahastupa, a congregation hall, viharas, chaityagruhas and panels with Jataka tales and inscriptions dated from the Satavahana and Ikshvaku dynasties.

Further excavations were carried out, including one in 2015, which unearthed a rare red earthenware pot with a silver container.

“The curator of the New York Met has given us a list of 13 objects, including six from Phanigiri, that they want to showcase for an exhibition on the Buddha. The Central government has to approve it, and if the objects are deemed safe for travel, we will lend them for the event,” said N. R. Visalatchy, Director, Department of Heritage, Telangana.

“The Phanigiri material will be at the very heart of the exhibition, and we feel honoured that Telangana is going to be part of it. This is due to the fact that there have been two major discoveries in recent times — one is Phanigiri and the other is Kandalahalli. We are also in talks with other institutions for contributions to the exhibition,” said Mr. Guy.

The Met exhibition comes five years after it hosted a sumptuous exhibition on the region titled ‘Sultans of Deccan India 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy’.

Sharing of artefacts

Interestingly, both the Telangana State Archaeological Museum near the Telangana Assembly, and the Heritage Museum, Gunfoundry, don’t have a single relic from Phanigiri on display.

“We will put them on display once the artefacts that are part of Andhra Pradesh’s share are moved out.

“The artefacts are to be shared in a 60:40 ratio of those acquired after 1956,” said an official at the museum.

According to historians and archaeologists, Phanigiri was part of an ancient pilgrimage and caravan route when Satavahanas, and later Ikshvakus, ruled the region.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – March 10th, 2019

City of Nizams to feature in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

The UCCN, created in 2004, was aimed at placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of developmental and cooperation plans at local and international levels respectively.


UNESCO official Junhi Han with Prinicipal Secretary Arvind Kumar in Hyderabad on Saturday | Express

Hyderabad :

Apart from the World Heritage Site tag for Golconda Fort and Qutub Shahi Tombs, the State government officials are now trying to get Hyderabad into UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Express learnt that the same was discussed when Junhi Han, the Chief of Culture Department and Programme Specialist at the UNESCO visited the State and met the MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, Director of Heritage Telangana NR Visalatchy and others Friday. 

An official present in the meeting said, “We felt that the outcome of the meeting was very positive. As of now Chennai is in the Network for its music, Jaipur for literature. We want Hyderabad to be in it on the basis of its heritage and other corresponding features.” 

The UCCN, created in 2004, was aimed at placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of developmental and cooperation plans at local and international levels respectively. Needless to say, if Hyderabad figures in the list, which already comprises Chennai and Jaipur from India, it would bolster its creative industry. The Network covers seven creative fields — crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.

Experts opined if Hyderabad were to be in the Network it could be on the filed of crafts and folk arts, which would include its age-old bidriware craftworks or kalamkari, which is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. Apart from that discussions were also held on World Heritage Site tag, which figured in Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar’s tweet.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Aihik Sur / Express News Service / March 10th, 2019

When courage is your middle name

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Women Blue Colts team ready to roll at Karimnagar Commissionerate of Police on Friday

Karimnagar becomes the only district in TS to have all-women patrolling and QRT teams

District Judge Anupama Chakravarthy, Collector Sarfaraz Ahmad, Commissioner of Police V.B. Kamalasan Reddy and others flagged off all-women patrolling teams at Police Parade Grounds to mark International Women’s Day here on Friday.

With this, the Karimnagar Commissionerate of Police gained the distinction of being the only district in Telangana to have women personnel in all its teams – women commandos, patrolling teams, Blue Colts teams and women quick reaction team (QRT) on par with their male counterparts.

The women police personnel have been trained in driving cars and mini-buses to carry women QRT to a crime scene. About 43 women constables, who were trained in Israeli self-defence technology of Krav Maga for a month, have been deployed in QRT and mobile patrolling teams.

Women would patrol the streets of Karimnagar in two shifts, while women Blue Colts teams would tour the town and visit places where there is high incidence of crime.

On Friday, the women QRT was pressed into service and they conducted surprise inspection of the RTC bus complex.

Appreciating the women police personnel for their courage in joining the forces, Ms. Chakravarthy called upon all women to be strong both physically and mentally.

The Collector lauded the Karimnagar Commissionerate of Police for according top priority to women’s safety in the district.

Mr. Ahmad also appreciated the district police for making women police as commandos by imparting special training to them.

The Commissioner of Police said there should be a change in the attitude of the society towards women. Stating that they would excel in all fields if given an opportunity, Mr. Kamalasan Reddy said they identified talent in the women police force and imparted commando training to them to tackle any situation.

He said the women police force in the district would be discharging all duties on par with their male counterparts. The Commissioner said that the constitution of SHE Teams had reduced crimes against women in the district.

Assistant Collector Pravinya, ACP Usha Rani, and other women officers took part in International Women’s Day celebrations.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – March 08th, 2019

A book on Bonalu hits the stands

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, poet and folk singer Goreti Venkanna, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister S. Narsing Rao, filmmaker B. Narsing Rao and Press Academy Chairman Allam Narayana launching the book in Hyderabad on Saturday.  

‘It’s not just a book, but a cultural repository’

A coffee table book on Bonalu festival was launched in the city on Saturday by Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. The book edited by well-known filmmaker and artist B. Narsing Rao has colourful photographs, and it traces the history and evolution of the worship of goddesses in villages.

“Earlier, the worship of village goddesses was looked down upon. It has changed since the formation of Telangana. I don’t want to see this as a book, but as a cultural repository. We scanned through 10,000 photographs to shortlist the ones that you find in the book. It took us nearly three years to come up with this as we collected archaeological evidence about the origins and beliefs,” said Mr. Narsing Rao at the launch.

“Bonalu and other local festivals remained unappreciated earlier. For nearly six decades, the culture was suppressed by a section of people. But it was the ‘cultural torch’ that lit the fire of Telangana movement. Bonalu and Bathukamma were weapons during the agitation,” said Allam Narayana of Telangana Press Academy.

Speaking on the occasion, the Maharashtra Governor stressed on the plurality of the society. “In 1995, the Supreme Court said India is not a theocratic state. Culture and traditions are part of our lives. Books like this highlight the fact that the SC said. But we still need to do a lot to promote Telugu language and culture,” said Mr. Vidyasagar Rao. The 280-page book is priced at ₹3,000.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 03rd, 2019

Tale of a wedding planner from Hyderabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Founder and director of wedding planning company Levitate Events, Anujna Ravikumar may come across as a regular 20-plusser who loves selfies, junk food and loud music.


Anujna Ravikumar

Hyderabad :

 Founder and director of wedding planning company Levitate Events, Anujna Ravikumar may come across as a regular 20-plusser who loves selfies, junk food and loud music. This unassuming youngster founded a full-fledged wedding planning company way back in 2011. “What started as a small dream has now become a full-grown business. A small birthday party that I had taken up as a hobby project had soon become a full-time activity as I stated receiving more projects,” she says. 

After facing a lot of challenges as an entrepreneur at a young age, Anujna believes that working hard towards reaching one’s goals is the only way one can fend off obstacles that might come across the way. 

She says “Don’t be scared to chase your dreams. It sure seems scary to take the leap at first but if you keep at it and believe in yourself, anything is possible. All dreams can come true if you believe in them. Belief works wonders and propels us to take action towards our goals”. 

Anujna and co are a ten-member team of experts in various fields like art design and decor, flower decor, photography, etc. They move forward with the aim of making every wedding extra special and constantly keep innovating themselves in order to satisfy their clients and make the biggest day of their clients’ lives a memorable one. 

“So far, I have worked for nearly 15 events in Hyderabad which also includes the birthday party of the daughter of Vedala Hemachandra, a reputed playback singer and music director in the Telugu film industry,” she says as she wraps her work when she was in the city recently. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Alson Micheal / March 02nd, 2019

Sanjana Vij to go for beauty pageant finale in Mumbai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Five young, talented girls from the five south states will be going in for the Grand Finale to grab the fbbColorsFemina Miss India 2019 title.

Hyderabad :

Five young, talented girls from the five south states will be going in for the Grand Finale to grab the fbbColorsFemina Miss India 2019 title. The finalists are Nikita Tanwani from Andhra Pradesh, a student of BITS Pilani, Rajasthan; AashnaBisht from Karnataka, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Rubeiya S K from Tamil Nadu, student of Adhiyaman engineering college, Hosur; Jane Thomson from Kerala  from Swinburne college, Australia and Sanjana Vij from Telangana, from Amity University,UP.

Supported by Sephora and Rajnigandha Pearls, the south finale was wrapped up on Sunday  in Bengaluru. The winners of the five states of the South Zone (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana) who will get a direct entry to the finale to be held on June 15 at NSCI Dome, Mumbai. 

The girls had to go through rigorous rounds which included fbb’s Collection ‘Bohemian Chic- fbb presented “Bohemian Chic” which is a sizzling collection of western wear that featured modern styling and exquisite designs on a whole new look of bohemian range in terms of styling, textures, prints, embroideries with vibrant color being the highlight of the collection.

The collection was teamed with exquisite Cerizhand bags. Round 2 was PayalSinghal Floral Bridal collection – A celebration of nature as an inspiration in terms of birds, trees, lush forests along with earth elements. The evening was hosted by television anchor, radio host and film critic Siddharth Kannan with the super gorgeous actress Gaelyn Mendonca, an Indian film actress, model and MTV India VJ.  

Singer-Composer Raghu Dixit kept the audience engaged with his music while MJ 5 dance troupe took the audience on a trip down memory lane of Michael Jackson with their performance.Apart from the fame & glory the winners stand to chance to win prize in cash & kind to a crore and above. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 26th, 2019