Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

‘Kosambi broke with the past, pioneered a new methodology’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

Historian Uma Chakravarti said Kosambi was a pioneer in social history at a time when the basic writing of history was either colonial or nationalistic

Eminent historian Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi made path-breaking contributions to historical analysis through his methodology, noted well-known feminist historian and civil liberties activist Uma Chakravarti.

During her talk on Kosambi’s Approach to History here on Monday, Prof. Chakravarti said Kosambi was a pioneer in social history at a time when the basic writing of history was either colonial or nationalistic. This was stated in an introduction to a Telugu translation of D.D. Kosambi’s An Introduction to the Study of Indian History by N. Venugopal.

Though emerging as an antidote to the colonial narrative, the problem with nationalist history was that it constantly evoked a “glorious past”, and its reluctance to look at caste and gender meant disengagement with the present, Prof. Chakravarti noted.

Indologists who narrowed down their tools to texts have typically left the history before 1200 AD to the realm of mythology, which offered nothing in terms of caste and gender.

In contrast, Kosambi, a mathematician by profession, was incredibly eclectic and used all tools at his disposal, including numismatics, statistical derivatives and archaeology to study ethnography, and brought out a set of questions that had not been seriously considered before 1956.

The observation that India did not need slavery thanks to its caste system and debt bondage, and that the Indus Valley could have been a static civilisation as its script remained unchanged for 800 years, were remarkable examples of his historical understanding. His study of Buddhism and State formation were brilliant, Prof. Chakravarti remarked.

“I don’t think Kosambi should be treated as God. The method he followed made him open to analysis…Nobody has adopted his methodology, but just want to follow the line he gave,” she pointed out.

She also noted that Kosambi made a gendered analysis of history in Myth and Reality , even though gender was a dimension much ignored.

I don’t think Kosambi should be treated as God. The method he followed made him open to analysis…Nobody has adopted his methodology, but just want to follow the line he gave

Prof. Uma Chakravarti

Historian

Historian Uma Chakravarti said Kosambi was a pioneer in social history at a time when the basic writing of history was either colonial or nationalistic

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – January 27th, 2015

M.S. Narayana, king of laughs, is no more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

NarayanaTELANGANA24jan2015

Actor and comedian M.S. Narayana, a veteran with over 750 films to his credit, passed away at a corporate hospital here on Friday morning. He was 63. He is survived by daughter Sasikiran and son Vikram.

Doctors cited multi-organ failure as the cause of death. He was initially diagnosed with malaria at a hospital in Bhimavaram and brought to a corporate hospital here about four days ago. He then complained of chest pain and was put on ventilator for the last two days. When his kidneys did not function properly he was given dialysis too. He was declared dead at 9.40 a.m. on Friday.

Born in Nidamarru near Bhimavaram in West Godavari District on April 16, 1951, Mylavarapu Surya Narayana dabbled in theatre while working as a lecturer and entered the film industry as a writer before being introduced as an actor.

Among his latest films is ‘Manam’ (2014) in which three generations of the Akkineni family acted and the last in which thespian, late Akkineni Nageswara Rao acted. Other prominent films include ‘Badshah’ with NTR in 2013, ‘Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu’ with Pawan Kalyan and ‘Julayi’ with Allu Arjun in 2012 and Mahesh Babu’s runaway success ‘Dookudu’ in 2011, in which he appeared as Bokka Venkateswara Rao.

He won Nandi awards of the AP Government as the best male comedian for the films ‘Maa Nanna ki Pelli,’ ‘Ramsakkanodu,’ ‘Sardukupodam Randi,’ ‘Sivamani’ and ‘Dookudu.’ He made his debut as a director in the film Koduku starring his son Vikram and directed another film ‘Bhajantrilu’.

Condolences pour in

Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao (Telangana) and N. Chandrababu Naidu (AP) condoled the death of Narayana, saying the film industry has lost a good actor, as did YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan, apart from actor-MP K. Chiranjeevi, actor Pawan Kalyan and several others.

There was a steady stream of visitors to the AP Film Chamber of Commerce where the body was kept to enable people to pay their last respects. Comedians, including Vennela Kishore, Srinivas Reddy and others, could not hold back their tears. The late comedian virtually lived the role of an alcoholic in several films that he was asked several times if he really came ‘drunk’ to shootings.

Comedians Ali and Babu Mohan shared their memories with Narayana on Youtube, while ‘Gabbar Singh’’ director Harish Shankar regretted that he never got to direct a great writer and comedian.” Popular comedian Brahmanandam visited Narayana while he was in hospital on Thursday itself.

“Narayana was one of the few who could carry off an entire film single-handedly, with the comedy track and be a pillar for its success,” said Mamidi Harikrishna, Director of Culture (Telangana), also an avid film buff and critic.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Suresh Krishnamoorthy / Hyderabad – January 24th, 2015

Memorial for Kaka in City: CM

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao along with Congress leaders S Jaipal Reddy, K Jana Reddy and Union labour minister B Dattatreya at a condolence meeting of G Venkataswamy at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Wednesday. | express photo
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao along with Congress leaders S Jaipal Reddy, K Jana Reddy and Union labour minister B Dattatreya at a condolence meeting of G Venkataswamy at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Wednesday. | express photo

Hyderabad :

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has promised to construct a memorial in the name of Congress senior leader G Venkataswamy, popularly known as Kaka, in a prime location in the city.

Similarly, a Venkataswamy Square will also come up in the city, he said at the meeting organised to condole the death of the departed leader held in the city on Wednesday. Rao said the sons of Venkataswamy have also identified a couple of locations for construction of the memorial in the city.

“A decision will be taken soon and foundation will also be laid for the memorial,” Rao said. He hailed the services of Kaka for the downtrodden and also lauded the departed leader’s efforts in achieving separate Telangana.

“I did not like speaking to Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee (now President) in Delhi during the talks for alliance between the TRS and Congress in 2004 elections. It was Kaka who called me for lunch and made the alliance work,’’ Rao recalled.

Union Minister for labour Bandaru Dattatreya said Kaka, who worked as union labour minister, was responsible for initiating several welfare measures for the workers.

Leaders of various parties including Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, S Jaipal Reddy, Mothkupalli Narsimhulu and others spoke on the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / January 22nd, 2015

Hyderabad Literary Festival from January 23

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) – 2015 to be held from January 23 to 26, will have cross-cultural workshops, which will bring together poets from Europe and India. The ‘poetry connections’ is a series of projects where poets from different countries will explore each other’s work through translations and create a multilingual poetry show.

The participants, include Miguel Manso from Portugal, Heike Fledler from Switzerland, Mamta Sagar from India besides, others. One can find more details on the website: www.hydlitfest.org.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – January 13th, 2015

Sangareddy Prison Museum to be Opened in February

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel
A view of the Sangareddy jail | express photo
A view of the Sangareddy jail | express photo

Hyderabad :

The life and history of Telangana prisons will come alive next month with opening of a 219-year-old jail building for public viewing on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Deemed to be country’s first ever prison museum, the Old Sangareddy jail will welcome people for the first time to explain evolution of prisons in the region.

Built in 1796 by the then Nizam’s government, the jail building spread over 3 acres, was in use till as recent as 2012 when a new jail was constructed in Kandi and inmates were shifted. Considering the heritage value and the intact nature of the building, the prisons department of the new state has decided to preserve it for future and to promote local culture, history, art and language.

The old jail was at helm of activity during the earlier Nizam’s dominion/British era and then during the Telangana struggle of 1969 where a number of freedom fighters from the region were lodged here. The jail was under direct control of the Judiciary and in 1982, it was handed over to the prisons department of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

Explaining more, Director General of Telangana Prisons and Correctional Services Vinoy Kumar Singh said that the building will also accommodate the art and cultural forms of the state. A sum of Rs.20 lakh was spent on transforming the heritage prison into a museum. ‘’We want to develop the prison into one of the important tourist spots in the district. In the first phase, we will display old handcuffs, weaving machines, telephones, photographs and other available artifacts. An entry fee of `5 will be collected from general public and entry would be free for schoolchildren,’’ he said.

The department will also open an outlet to sell products being made by jail inmates so as to generate revenue for maintenance. ‘’In other old prisons like Mahbubnagar, Karimnagar, Chanchalguda etc the old character is lost. Here, we have a heritage building that is still intact without any changes. This will be the first of its kind museum in the country,” he added. Various punishment methods too will be explained to the public using photographs and literature.

Spread across 3 acres and 10 guntas, the historic building was built in stone, sand, wood and lime mortar. It has 9 barracks including a separate female barrack, punishment cell, a staff quarters, kitchen, toilets and a watch tower. The initial capacity of the prison was said to be 90 male inmates and 5 female inmates. ‘’In 1947, the prison was under the direct control of district collector and in 1969, it was under the Judiciary and one Ramnath, who was civil surgeon was the superintendent,” said Santhosh Kumar Roy, district sub jail officer, Old District Jail Sangareddy.

Some of the names of freedom fighters who were lodged here during the independence struggle, Telangana armed struggle and separate state movement, according to data available are Chola Lingaiah, Datti Kistaiah, Godila Lingaiah Goud, Etla Guruva Reddy etc. Records here say that ex-Sangareddy MLA and former speaker of erstwhile AP Assembly P Ramachandra Reddy too was lodged here during the separate state movement in 1969.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Rahul V. Pisharody / January 14th, 2015

Filmmaker VB Rajendra Prasad Dies

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Hyderabad :

Producer and director of several blockbuster films, VB Rajendra Prasad, died here on Monday. He was 82. Leading actor Jagapathi Babu is his son.

Born on November 4, 1932 at Gudivada in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, Prasad had wanted to become an actor but donned the hat of producer with the movie Annapurna in 1960. He produced several blockbusters under the banner, Jagapathi Art Pictures. Apart from producing films, he directed more than ten films and scripted some.

His films like ‘Aradhana’, ‘Dasara Bullodu’, ‘Atma Balam’ were huge hits and he won National Award for his film ‘Antastulu’. He was also the recipient of other prestigious awards like Raghupathi Venkaiah award of the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Prasad had dedicated the twilight years of his life to spiritualism and spent a lot of time in the temple complex at Film Nagar here.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / January 13th, 2015

Catholics Contributed a Lot to Country, Says Sangma

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All
Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya greets former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma during the celebration of 300 years of Catholic Faith in AP and Telangana at a function held in Hyderabad on Sunday | NEERAJ MURALI
Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya greets former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma during the celebration of 300 years of Catholic Faith in AP and Telangana at a function held in Hyderabad on Sunday | NEERAJ MURALI

Hyderabad :

Although the Catholic community in the country is in a minority, it has contributed enormously to the development of the nation on all fronts, former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma has said.

To commemorate the 300 years of Catholic faith in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, a grand ceremony was organised by Catholic Reddy Association (CRA) at Loyola Academy here on Sunday. It was in 1715 that the Telugu Catholic faith had begun when Thumma Hanumantha Reddy of Anantapur was baptised by French Jesuit Fr Le Gac. Addressing a large gathering of Catholics, Sangma said the educational institutions run by the community had produced some of the greatest minds in the country in all fields. “Be it politics, industry or bureaucracy, the people who matter the most to this country are proud products of Catholic educational institutions,” he remarked referring to some top names including BJP leader LK Advani.

He requested the central and state governments to accord minority status to all Catholics and Christians in the country. To take up the issues of community in Parliament, he said, the Christian MPs Forum in Delhi would be revived.

Union minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattareya he would strive to protect minority communities as per the constitutional rights provided to them. “Only when there is harmony between peoples of different faiths can the country surge ahead with development. Each community representing a faith should respect and protect other faiths,” he said.

CRA president Gopu Bala Reddy said the Catholic community believed in service and not in conversion. He sought both AP and Telangana governments to extend SC status to Dalit Christians and Muslims besides providing space for burial grounds and extending old-age pension scheme to Catholic fathers and nuns.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / January 12th, 2015

A Cultural Milieu

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

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Hyderabad :

The cultural extravaganza that is Krishnakriti festival got off to a colourful start at the Kalakriti art gallery. The inaugural ceremony of the 11th edition witnessed insightful lectures on art, culture and education and a movie that threw light on the social practice of a tribal community from the Northeast of the country.

The inaugural session also saw the conferment of the 2014 Kalaakriti Award for Achievements and Excellence to Uzramma who heads the decade old The Decentralised Cotton Yarn Trust(DSYT) for its efforts to resolve crucial issues facing the handloom industry by including spinners, dyers,weavers,farmers and ginners in a collective working environment and also for the regeneration of the cotton ‘Malkha’. Veteran actor Shankar Melkote gave away the award to Uzramma while author and political scientist Jyotirmay Sharma presented a memento to her.

“In the year 2005, the DCYT mission was to replace the capital-intensive mass production mode of cotton yard production with small-scale localised yarn-making, compatible with the small scale of cotton farming and hand weaving.” states Uzramma. DSYT hopes to see the indigenous cotton textile as a low carbon and clean industry for which India can earn international credit towards emission reduction. The inauguration was followed by two talks- ‘Negotiating the World with Rabindranath Tagore’ by historian R Siva Kumar and ‘Understanding origin of art by ontologist Navjyoti Singh.

The film ‘Every time you tell a story’ was also screened which narrated the change over the centuries profiling Tsungkotepsu, the traditional head- hunter’s shawl, which used to be an honour for the Ao Nagas tribesmen which is a standardised product available in the market at Annapurna Studios.

The five-day festival features dance, music, cinema and painting alongside talks, seminars and workshops. These programmes are free for the public with the proceeds going to the charity. “Every year, the proceeds we receive will go to the charity to deserving students in field of education, we support 125 young students all over the country,” states Prashant Lahoti, founder of Lahoti foundation which conducts the Krishnakriti Art Festival.

Visitors will also get the opportunity to see the works of artistes from different parts of the country such as Akhilesh Varma, Avijit Dutta, Chintan Upadhyay, DLN Reddy, Laxman Aelay, Manish pushkale, Sheetal Gattani and several others at Kalakriti Art Gallery.

The five-day film festival will go on till January 11 at six venues in the city.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Revati-Danget / January 09th, 2015

NGOs distribute blankets to the homeless in Hyderabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Resources of Free Materials

Hyderabad :

With night temperatures dipping in the city, many blanket donation drives are being organised for the poor and homeless. As per GHMC records of January 2014, there are 3,498 homeless people living in Hyderabad.

One such initiative was started by NGO Robin Hood Army, consisting of 70 volunteers, who distributed 1,350 blankets in Banjara hills, Secunderabad railway station and Gachibowli. “Since the temperature is dipping, we thought of giving back to the community something that we have. About six bags of old clothes were also distributed by 12 teams in various areas,” said Spoorthi Reddy, a volunteer of Robin Hood Army.

Observing Boxing Day on December 26, the Joy of Sharing Society distributed about 800 blankets to several homeless people in Madhapur, Kukatpally and Dilsukhnagar. “We observed that many homeless were sleeping using plastic sheets to protect themselves from the cold. Hence, we decided to distribute blankets to them,” said A Raghuveer, president of the Joy of Sharing Society. The NGO will be distributing another 200 blankets to old-age homes and orphanages.

The cold wave is not only affecting people but also animals. Blue Cross Hyderabad has been aiding sick and injured dogs in the city for the past 23 years by conducting blankets and clothes drives.

“We have 200 sick and injured puppies and another 500 animals in our shelter. Like humans, even animals suffer a lot during winter. When wounds are exposed to the cold, it is more painful. In such cases, we ask people to donate blankets and cotton clothes so as to make beddings for the pets,” said N Pravallika, education officer at Blue Cross Hyderabad.

Apart from NGOs, there are companies like Mist n Creams, in association with Youngistan Foundation and Hyderabad Foodies Club, who joined this drive on Boxing Day. They distributed blankets, woolens, socks, mufflers, bed-sheets and food to many underprivileged people in the city.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / December 29th, 2014

Adivasi Gonds gear up for festivities

About Telangana, Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Mesram Kothmabai, a Gond woman from Keslapur village grinds red gram the traditional way in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu
Mesram Kothmabai, a Gond woman from Keslapur village grinds red gram the traditional way in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu

With the onset of the poos or Pushya masam, the sacred period, the Adivasi Gonds in Adilabad have begun preparations for festivities. The period up to January 20 will see jataras of respective clans organised across the district. The most famous of them is the Nagoba jatara at Keslapur in Indervelli mandal.

The Nagoba jatara is organised by the Mesram clan of Gonds at the end of the religious month. The tribal people stick to age old customs and traditions while organising the festivities.

As part of the preparations, the Adivasi people have started collecting foodgrains needed to prepare the sacred offering or naivedyam. The exercise includes grinding on traditional grindstones only the indigenous variety of foodgrains raised in their own fields. The oil used in cooking the offerings is also obtained from indigenous oilseeds ground in traditional mills.

A Gond adivasi woman washes the mud walls of her home with liquid cowdung at Keslapur in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu
A Gond adivasi woman washes the mud walls of her home with liquid cowdung at Keslapur in Adilabad. Photo: S. Harpal Singh / The Hindu

The Mesram clan messengers, a Gond priest called Kathoda and a Pardhan elder called Pathadi, have set off to inform and invite the clan members and others associated with religious festivities during the Nagoba jatara. The jatara will begin on January 19.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Adilabad – December 26th, 2014