Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Bathukamma flora wards off ills

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology
Botany professor G. Narender Babu has pointed out that flowers and leaves used for preparing idols of Bathukamma could prevent water-borne diseases as they possess various medicinal properties.
Botany professor G. Narender Babu has pointed out that flowers and leaves used for preparing idols of Bathukamma could prevent water-borne diseases as they possess various medicinal properties.

Karimnagar:

Botany professor G. Narender Babu has pointed out that flowers and leaves used for preparing idols of Bathukamma could prevent water-borne diseases as they possess various medicinal properties.

Speaking to DC, Mr Narender Babu explained how the flowers and leaves could be beneficial once the idols are immersed in a tank or pond.

Flowers and leaves of forest plants such as thangedu (Cassia/ Senna Auriculata), gunugu (Celosia Argentia), katla (Iponota) and garden plants namely banthi (Tagetes Errecta), aster (Calendula Vera), pumpkin (Cucurbita Maximma), ribbed gourd (Luffa acutangula) are mostly used in preparing the idol of Bathukamma.

FlowersTELANGANA03OCT2014

“The thangedu, gunugu and katla flowers produce many alkaloids with antibiotic properties. Similarly, a dense layer of white and fine glandular hairs growing on the leaves of pumpkin and ribbed gourd synthesise antibiotic chemicals. Many studies have found that these chemicals are capable of killing pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses that cause various diseases in human beings,” he said.

When several hundreds of idols are immersed in a tank or pond during the festival, these chemicals dissolve in the water, leading to death of the bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Thus, water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, pneumonia and tuberculosis (TB) can be prevented. Some respiratory and skin diseases can also be checked when water does not contain fungi. Generally, these diseases increase due to presence of various types of micro-organisms such as the bacteria, fungi and viruses in the water bodies.

In order to prevent diseases, our forefathers introduced a custom among people of Telangana in the form of Bathukamma festival, he stated.

An american corporation (www.WebMD.com) which provides basic health infomation, mentions about the medicinal values of flowers used.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / September 30th, 2014

Activate your ‘bars’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nature, Science & Technology
Ruby Mehmood
Ruby Mehmood

Never judge yourself or others, because that hinders your well-being and even weakens your immune system. It’s a fact and science acknowledges it. This was what Ruby Mehmood’s recent talk at Lamakaan was all about. She was explaining a healing process called “Access Consciousness” and its basic component – “Bars”.

What are Bars?
There are 32 bars of energy that run through and around our heads, storing the electromagnetic component of all thoughts, ideas, attitudes, decisions and beliefs that we have ever had. There are thus bars for healing, body, control, awareness, creativity, power, aging, sex, money, etc.

Activate the Bars
This is what Ruby does as a bars practitioner and facilitator: “I activate the bars by touching points on the head lightly. Because judgments solidify the energy in these bars and limits your capacity to use them.”

A single session with Ruby at her residence in Chirag Ali Lane can clear 5,000 to 10,000 fixed points. This then creates a new space in the body, a space to receive and learn new things. But what judgments is she talking about? Ruby, who had stumbled upon this technique on a visit to Dubai, says, “As simple as ‘I don’t like this food, this job, this world’. ‘He is good or bad’. These judgements limit the ways you deal with a situation.”

Ask questions
Once the bars are activated, it’s time to ask questions and find answers. “Whenever you get stuck in a situation, ask these questions: Who does this (problem) belong to? How does it get better? What does it possibly mean?” says Ruby, who follows it up with body process classes. She can heal 60 body issues with hands-on healing like psoriasis, acidity, eye problems, arthritis and even skin issues like pigmentation and ageing. Ruby also knows 19 other healing modalities including past-life regression and Reiki.

Skeptics vs science
Her doctor-husband, Tehar Mahmood is not her client. Ruby says, “But there have been doctors who’ve come to me. This has helped them find alternate solutions to medical problems.” “I am not saying stop medicines. Never,” she adds.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> LifeStyle> Health & Wellbeing / DC / Barkha Kumari /March 22nd, 2014

Koti Residency to be restored

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All
Osmania University College for Women (Koti) in Hyderabad, a recognised Heritage structure, is being protected after Rs.5 crores was sanctioned by the Government of India for this purpose. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Osmania University College for Women (Koti) in Hyderabad, a recognised Heritage structure, is being protected after Rs.5 crores was sanctioned by the Government of India for this purpose. Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

The Koti Women’s College administration is all set to begin restoration of the Residency building in the coming days. Initially, Rs.2 crore received from the World Monument Fund (WMF) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be used to begin the work.

Grand plans
“It will cost us Rs.17 crore in total to restore the entire place to what it was. We will start with the Residency building, and after that the special wells, arches and other buildings on the college premises will be restored,” said B. T. Seetha, principal, Koti Women’s College. She said that a Project Implementation Committee (PCI), comprising donors, engineers, and ASI officials will oversee the works.

Ms. Seetha also said that the National Culture Fund (NCF) had come forward to help them. “But as of now, it is lying low. The Rs.2 crore that we will spend will help us keep the structure in place, by taking care of the cracks and growing vegetation in the old buildings,” she explained, and further stated that a detailed study of the institution’s premises had been done between 2002-03.

Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

Film shooting
Recently, author William Dalrymple had hinted that the old construction could perhaps be a location for shooting a movie based on his book ‘The White Mughals’. When asked about giving permission for shooting of movies in the Residency building, Ms. Seetha said: “The place is in a dilapidated condition, and we can’t allow anything inside as of now.”

The principal also mentioned that the college administration was looking for corporate donors, to see that the structure is restored. “They will of course have to work under the broad guidelines stated by the ASI, and people who have studied the place,” said Ms. Seetha, and added that allowing the public once a week to visit the place is also on the anvil which can generate some income for maintenance.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Yunus Y. Lasania / Hyderabad – September 24th, 2014

Nine-day ‘Bangaru Bathukamma’ from Today

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Hyderabad :

In an attempt to keep the age-old tradition and spirit of Telangana culture alive, Telangana Jagruthi, an NGO working for the protection and promotion of the history and culture of the region, is organising Bathukamma festival on a mammoth scale throughout the Telangana region.

The mega event, ‘Bangaru Bathukamma’, will be held across the state from Sept 24-Oct 2
KavithaTELANGANA24sept2014

“Telangana has a rich heritage of respecting human life as a unique principle and all the festivals of this region reflect the strong bond that lies between man and nature. These festivals, unfortunately, have not received the deserved attention in the past from the earlier governments,” said Kavitha Kalvakuntla, MP and founder- president of the organisation.

JagruthiTELANGANA24sept2014

The festivities will begin at 10 am on Wednesday at Bhongir in Nalgonda district. The celebrations will take place in a different district each day. “The festivities will begin at 10 am on Wednesday with the making of Bathukamma at different places, which will go on till 4 pm. At 5:30 pm a rally will be held and from 6:30 to 9:30 all the women will gather on a ground to celebrate the festival,” she said.

The concluding event will be held on the Tank Bund in Hyderabad on October 2, a ceremonial parade with thousands of women.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / September 24th, 2014

My Hyderabad & me – Why classics are staged again and again

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

While there are a number of local playwrights and scripts, there are some plays that are staged quite often. Hyderabad Times finds out why.

The theatre scene in Hyderabad, no doubt, is burgeoning -right from English plays to regional ones, there seems to be no dearth of actors or directors in the city; in fact, new playwrights too are making a mark. But a casual glance at the plays being staged across the city will show that there are always a few that are staged quite often -like Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and The Chair; Anton Chekhov’s The Bear; or Vijay Tendulkar’s Marathi play adapted in Hindi, Hatt Teri Kismat. In fact, Dario Fo’s, The Open Couple staged by a Hyderabadi theatre group was even performed at a national theatre competition! But what is the main reason that so many theatre groups keep going back to classics again and again? “One main reason is that their works are very accessible. Plus, when they’re such established writers, you know that it’s good writing with a great storyline. And when the script is written well, 50% of the job for the director is done,” explains RK Shenoy from Dramanon.

Other theatre groups feel that staging plays of famous playwrights helps bring in the audience. “When we stage, say , a Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there are more number of people who come in to watch it as opposed to when we stage a totally new act,” feels Rammohan Holagundi of Nishumbita Theatre Group. And his belief was reinforced when they staged two Telugu plays on the same day. “One was Kukka, penned by Yendamuri Veerendranth, a famous novelist and the other was Khadga Shrusti, by Kandimalla Sambasivarao, a not-sowell-known author. For Kukka, the venue was packed. But since the audience didn’t know much about the second author, most of them left. That’s why we think it’s better if we stage plays of known, famous authors,” he says.

And of course, staging one play again and again also gives them the scope for developing and understanding the plays better. Says Saurabh Gharipurikar of Udaan Performing Arts, which stages Hindi adaptations of Marathi plays, “We usually choose to adapt Marathi plays because they have a strong social issues connect. We’ve staged Miya Biwi, the original play written by Yogesh Soman, about 28 times and Hatt Teri Kismat, a satire written by Vijay Tendulkar about 12 times. Since we’ve already performed quite a few times and are familiar with the lines and the story , it gives us more scope to explore the same and look at it from different angles. In short, we can develop the play better. And every time we stage a play , we get newer ideas.”

Thespian Shankar Melkote feels plays and adaptations too have changed with time. “Theatre isn’t a static form of art -it’s a rapid thing. So at one point, theatre of the absurd was popular genre of drama, not just in Hyderabad, but all over the world. And that was performed so many times by so many well-known groups. But later what became much popular was the comedy genre -from Noel Carl to Neil Simon. So I guess there’s no real reason a theatre group stages a certain famous play . When they decide to put up an act, they’re first looking at it from a resources point of view -how difficult it is, involving technicalities, sound, lighting, acting talent, will they be able to do justice etc. And only then do they take it forward. But usually , its comedy and farce that brings in the audience,” he says.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Apuurva Sridharan, TNN / September 23rd, 2014

Functional art from the kiln

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
ART FOR HOME The salt-glazed ceramic functional art piece on display - rain cloud plates. Photos: Special Arrangement
ART FOR HOME The salt-glazed ceramic functional art piece on display – rain cloud plates. Photos: Special Arrangement

Aarti Vir takes a break from sculptures to put together an exhibition of functional ceramics

2014 would probably be remembered, apart from political reasons, as the year that Hyderabad faced prolonged summer. Artist Aarti Vir took a cue from the general longing for rain clouds when she was firing a lot for functional ceramics. She came up with ‘rain cloud plates’ that bear small rain clouds and a few droplets of water on an ash grey surface.

These rain cloud plates are among the functional ceramic art pieces now on display at the Minaaz Art Gallery. On display and sale are small and large tumblers, mugs, bowls, lidded dishes and vases that Aarti made over two firings in July and August.

Aarti is more an artist than a potter and her salt glazed sculptures have taken various forms and textures while giving shape to her thoughts, responding to the world around her over the years. Occasionally though, she has been firing utility ceramics at her kiln on orders. This is her first exhibition of functional art.

Day-to-day items take a new dimension in Aarti’s hands. There’s a subtle play of colours and patterns on each tumbler and mug. Blue-tinged bowls are aptly called ‘ocean bowls’ and the earthy, reddish brown plates ‘red earth plates’, with the colours resulting from the use of glaze.

Small table bowls with fine line etchings have been inspired by the lines on paddy fields. There are long stem vases and the curious amoeba-shaped pod vases. “I came across tree pods during my walks at one of the parks in the city,” says Aarti, talking about the inspiration for these vases.

Though Aarti’s mainstay is sculpture, she looks forward to doing more functional art. “Maybe I wouldn’t do it in such a straightforward way. I like to hand build each piece than mechanically throw it on the potter’s wheel and do 10 or 20 mugs,” she says.

Functional ceramics by Aarti Vir is on display at Minaaz Art Gallery, Road no.10 Jubilee Hills, till September 23. Prices begin at Rs. 450.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – September 16th, 2014

‘Balotsav’ in Kothagudem from November 7 to 9

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Balotsav children festival convener Vasireddy Ramesh Babu releasing the brochure at Kothagudem club in Khammam on Sunday | EXPRESS PHOTO
Balotsav children festival convener Vasireddy Ramesh Babu releasing the brochure at Kothagudem club in Khammam on Sunday | EXPRESS PHOTO

Khammam :

‘Balotsav’ children festival convener Vasireddy Ramesh Babu said that preparations have begun to conduct ‘Balotsav’ at a national level in Kothagudem from November 7 to 9.

He released the Balotsav brochure at Kothagudem club here on Sunday. He said that around 5,000 children are expected to participate in the festival during which competitions on 24 cultural events will be held .

Former minister Koneru Nageswara Rao and school children were also present at the event.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / September 15th, 2014

Event industry body formed in Telangana

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

With the newly-formed Telangana state trying to give an impetus to the events industry, a new industry body Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI) has been floated today to tap the potential.

TCEI, a non-profit private body, comprises six industry sub-sectors, namely, events, sound, light and video, facilitators, event caterers, event venue and entertainers.

TCEI was formally launched by Telangana IT and Panchayat Minister K T Rama Rao, according to a release from the organisers.

The release quoted Rama Rao as having welcomed the formation of the new professional body.

“This makes easy for government to interact with the industry. For any industry to grow, you need an industrial body. I am happy TCEI is formed. It is the first of its kind of a body in India. It is a wonderful initiative,” he said.

The state government is keen to see many global events happening in Hyderabad, he added.

The events industry in Telangana is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore, the release said, adding that the industry’s request for a single-window clearance for their events is being accepted.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – August 27th, 2014

Why should shopping online be solo? Hyderabad-based VioletStreet aids in matching your outfits

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

For many, shopping for clothes is an emotional experience. Usually people take someone along with them when they shop to solicit third party opinion because not everyone believes in what they see inside the trial room mirror. People want to look their best in front of other people. But it is quite a task to purchase the right outfits.

In the quest to become India’s fashion discovery platform, VioletStreet, based in Hyderabad, wants to aid shoppers with matching decisions.

VioletStreet-HyderabadTELANAGANA13sept2014

How VioletStreet works

The site saves you from going through thousands of products and inventory to find the right match.

VioletStreet aggregates fashion products from all the online stores in one place. The core offering is finding relevant matching products for every product viewed and real-time shopping with friends which no other player in this space offers.

VioletStreet’s algorithm is all about mixing and matching fashion products and enabling users to express their fashion ideas using simple drag and drop process. When a user views a particular product, VioletStreet recommends which other products would pair best with it, which no other platform provides. It is the first platform in India to launch real-time shopping with friends which reduces the pain of sharing products via links/mails.

The inspiration came, “while observing the behavior of shoppers at a shopping mall in Hyderabad. People generally came along with friends or family, tried products, showed it to their friends, picked matching products and made the purchase. Why is online shopping such a lonely process? How close can we bring it to offline shopping?” says Nayan Kumar, Co-founder of VioletStreet.

He adds, “Online fashion sales have crossed $559 million in India last year. There are too many fashion e-commerce sites, but none engage the user socially. There is a huge need for relevant data and a collaborative shopping experience, especially in fashion.”


The team behind VioletStreet.com

Ankur Gupta is the CEO of VioletStreet and he also heads its technology. He is a graduate in Computer Science Engineering from NIT, Allahabad. Ankur has worked in Microsoft R & D for three years until he quit his job in 2013 to start his own venture.

Nayan Kumar heads UI/UX, Sales, and Digital Marketing. He is a graduate of Chemical Engineering and Economics from BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad. Before co-founding VioletStreet, he worked in the service industry.

Divya Sisodia is the fashion expert in the team. Graduated in Textile Design from NIFT Hyderabad, Divya handles all aspects related to fashion and creative content for VioletStreet.

Ankur and Nayan are Startup Leadership Programme (SLP) fellows and that is where they met first.

Creating 100 looks every day

Users can follow each other to chat and share products instantaneously.

Users can also interact with their Facebook network – friends who have already signed up for VioletStreet will be automatically added to the user’s chat list.

The startup claims that about 100 looks are created every day which is increasing at 100% month-on-month and the site receives more than 20,000 unique visitors every month. On average, the user spends 04:31 minutes on the site, according to external sources.

Their current business model is generating revenue through affiliate sales and advertising. They make money from the traffic that they send to e-commerce sites (Jabong, Myntra, StalkBuyLove, Koov, Pretty Secrets and the likes). VioletStreet didn’t disclose the size of their revenue but they plan to break even in one-and-half years. So far they have raised Rs.10 lakhs investment at TiE Smashup TechStocks.

VioletStreet wants to include men’s fashion and lifestyle products, and establish a pan India presence in the first two years before going global.

Limeroad , Voonik, Roposo. and fashupp.com are some of the players in the space in the domestic market. In the global market, Polyvore, Wanelo, Fancy, Lyst operate in a similar model.

source: http://www.yourstory.com / YourStory.com / Home / by Emmanuel Amberber / September 13th, 2014

Govt Plans Wall Around 1st Satavahana Capital

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

Karimnagar :

A perimeter wall was proposed around Koti Lingala village, which was the first capital of Satavahana kingdom centuries ago, to protect it from submergence by the Sripada Yellampalli project backwaters.

A team consisting of officer on special duty (OSD) Sridhar Deshpande of the irrigation department, minister T Harish Rao, archeology department incharge director D Srinivas, archeology assistant director N Mallikarjun Rao, project CE Hariram and historians Jaishetti Kishan, Jitender Babu, Veda Kumar and S Nagender Sharma visited Koti Lingala village in Velgatoor mandal here on Thursday. Deshpande told the media that the government is planning to resume excavations at Koti Lingala site and there are also plans to build a world-class archeology museum with well-preserved historical data.

The historians present also opined that previous excavations were done using unscientific methods due to which damage was caused to inscriptions on the walls and monuments.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / September 12th, 2014