Daily Archives: August 11, 2015

Turner’s Choultry: A colonial rest house

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

Visakhapatnam :

Built in the year 1893, the Turner’s Choultry is a stone masonary building 90 feet long and 60 feet wide. It was originally a Chattram or a Traveller’s House built to provide temporary shelter to traders, pilgrims and other travellers visiting the city.

The building is an ashlar fine structure that was built at a cost of Rs 43,000, of which Rs 10,000 was paid by the Maharajah of Vizianagaram, Anand Gajapathi Raju, an equal sum was provided by the Gode family and the remaining was raised from the public.

The site on which the Choultry stands was originally the Enugu Thota (Elephant Lines) of the 104 Regiment and even today the stones to which the elephants were tied can be seen. Close to the Choultry is a huge water tank, next to the Police Barracks, where the elephants bathed.

Built in the name of former district collector, Henry Gribble Turner, the Choultry remained the property of the Visakhapatnam municipality till 1975, after which it passed into the hands of the endowments department.

The building boasts of 24 rooms and a living space, distributed over three courtyards. According to history buff BS Mahesh, the plan of the building is that of a traditional south Indian house with rooms and verandas all around a central courtyard.

“The beauty of the building lies in the simplicity of its plan and the manner in which space is used. The facade is of course beautiful with an arched doorway leading into the central courtyard and the stone pillars give it that imposing look,” said Mahesh. He further added that the tiles used for the roof were pot tiles, which were later replaced by Mangalore tiles.

Civil engineer Narayana Murthy said the structure was built on a raised plinth of more than four feet, which added to the majestic look. “The main structure is over 90 feet in length and 50 feet in breadth and is perfectly rectangular in shape. This apart there are bathrooms that extend the area of the structure. The dressed stone used to build the walls are all cut to the same shape and size and the mortar used to bind the stones is exactly the same in each and every bind. The construction is extremely precise and requires expert stone masonry skills. The thick stone walls built on the raised platform provide balance and strength to the building,” Murthy said.

Even today, the Turner’s Choultry is abuzz with activity and usually hosts weddings, functions, book shows, exhibitions and religious festivals. The endowments department charges a nominal rent of Rs 300 for a small scale wedding at the venue.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / August 06th, 2015

Telangana sitting on a bed of diamonds

Business & Economy

Hyderabad :

The perennially drought-hit Mahbubnagar district could well turn out to be another Golconda, once famous as a city where diamonds were sold in heaps at roadside shops. The district, known for its large-scale annual migration of labour, is virtually sitting on diamond mines that could change the fortunes of the nascent Telangana state, experts say.

TOI Photo.
TOI Photo.

Researchers from the Centre of Exploration Geophysics, Osmania University, have identified as many as 21 new potential diamond zones in Mahbubnagar and villages abutting the border with Gulbarga and Raichur. Several places on the road between Mahbubnagar and Raichur are dotted with potential diamond zones. There have been several studies on the diamond potentiality of Mahbubnagar in the past, but this is the first time that about two dozen zones have been identified.

Earlier, scattered potential diamond locations were identified in the area between the Krishna and Bhima rivers, and the Krishna-Tungabhadra-Penna river zone. At least half a dozen government and commercial organizations are currently on a ‘diamond hunt’ in the district. The Geological Survey of India had found three diamond zones in the past.

Prof G Ramadass, who carried out aeromagnetic studies over an area of 1,999 sq km, said the potential diamond zones were buried 1.2 km down in the earth and more ground research may yield the precious stones.

“We have found kimberlite pipes at 21 places. Though not all kimberlite pipes bear diamonds, there have been instances where diamond zones were found in Mahbubnagar. We need to undertake further studies to explore the diamond-bearing potentiality of these places,” he added. Besides Ramadass, the OU team comprised M Preeti and A Subhash Babu.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / by Syed Akbar, TNN / August 10th, 2015

3 startups bag investments at TiE’s instant funding event

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

Three startups managed to impress investors at The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Hyderabad’s SmashUp event on Saturday, bagging investments worth Rs 15 lakh each. The startups are Carving Notions Technologies, which designs and assembles drones; SunwizTech India Pvt Ltd that designed a mobile app for car owners to locate the best place for getting their vehicles serviced; and driver solutions provider Driverr.

During the event, 10 startups with working prototypes pitched their business ideas to angel investors. These start-ups were given just five minutes to pitch to individual investors for a funding of Rs 15 lakh against 10% equity.

“TiE’s SmashUp event has been continuously nurturing early stage startups to move up the value chain. Through this platform, we aim to not only mentor these startups, but also connect them to the investor community. TiE Hyderabad will continue to bring together all stakeholders and play a proactive role in creating an inclusive ecosystem to promote the culture of entrepreneurship,” Rakesh Bhatia-TiE Hyderabad board member and event co-chair said.

The event witnessed a participation of around 300 people representing various stakeholders of the ecosystem, including startups and entrepreneurs.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / August 09th, 2015

Telugu Playback Singer V Ramakrishna Dies at 68

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Veteran Telugu playback singer V Ramakrishna.
Veteran Telugu playback singer V Ramakrishna.

Hyderabad :

Veteran Telugu playback singer V Ramakrishna, who was reportedly undergoing treatment for cancer for quite some time, breathed his last on Wednesday at his residence in Hyderabad. He was 68.

“He passed away late last night at his Venkatagiri Hills residence,” a family source told IANS.

Born in 1947, Mr Ramakrishna, who has nearly 5,000 songs to his credit, started his career as a singer at a very young age on popular show Yuva Vani on All India Radio.

Nephew of popular playback singer P Susheela, Mr Ramakrishna idolised legendary singer Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao.

In 1972, he made his singing debut with the Telugu song “Vayase Oka Poolathota” from “Vichitra Bandham”.

He went on to sing several chartbusters in films such as “Andala Ramudu”, “Sharada”, “Alluri Seetharama Raju”, “Muthyala Muggu” and “Amaradeepam”.

Mr Ramakrishna is survived his wife Jyothi, son Sai Kiran, a popular Telugu actor and daughter Lekha.

His last rites will be performed today.

source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Telangana> Section / by Indo-Asian News Services / July 16th, 2015