Monthly Archives: March 2016

Mahababunagar Boy Gets NASA Invite

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, World Opinion

Mahabugnagar :

A Class IX student from the district has received a rare honour of being invited to the renowned NASA in the US.

The 14-year-old Rishikesh, studying in Wanaparthy’s Chanakya Pvt High School, topped in a national level talent test conducted by an Indian Talent Organisation. This victory has earned him an invitation from NASA.

Rishikesh will get an opportunity to interact with scientists of the space agency. The boy expressed happiness and said that his selection has reinforced his desire to become a scientist in future. The student also added that he loves chemistry and is fond of carrying out chemical experiments. Rishikesh expressed gratitude to his parents and is expected to visit NASA in May.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / March 05th, 2016

Congress legislator Venkat Reddy passes away

Leaders
Ramreddy Venkat Reddy.
Ramreddy Venkat Reddy.

Former Congress Minister and five-time MLA Ramreddy Venkat Reddy (72) passed away after prolonged illness in a city hospital on Friday evening.

The end came at 3.20 pm at a corporate hospital. Venkat Reddy, who represented Palair Assembly constituency in Khammam district, had been ailing for the last few months. He had been admitted into the hospital for treatment as his condition deteriorated recently. He was serving as Public Accounts Committee chairman of the Telangana Assembly. The Congress leader born on May 22, 1944 leaves behind wife Sucharita and four daughters.

His mortal remains were shifted to his residence in MLAs Colony. The last rites would be performed at Pathilingala village of Kamepalli mandal on Saturday afternoon. His funeral will take place with police honours following the instructions of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, a release from CMO said.

A steady stream of visitors made a beeline to his residence to pay their last respects as soon as word spread about his demise. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and Congress Legislature Party leader K. Jana Reddy condoled the death.

He made his debut in the Assembly in 1996 byelection from Shujatnagar and repeated the feat in 1999 and 2009. Elected for the fifth time from Palair, Venkat Reddy was made chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Telangana Assembly. On four occasions, he had represented Shujatnagar constituency in Khammam district. After the constituency was demerged, he shifted to Palair and won with a comfortable majority in the 2014 elections.

A soft-spoken low-profile leader, Venkat Reddy served as Horticulture Minister in the Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, K. Rosaiah and Kiran Kumar Reddy Governments. Venkat Reddy’s brother R.Damodar Reddy is a former Minister.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress party had lost a disciplined soldier. Telangana TDP president L. Ramana, working president A. Revanth Reddy and Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy condoled the Congress leader’s death.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 05th, 2016

Uphill on a Fashion High

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

AneeshaTELAN03mar2016

Hyderabad :

We step into her busy workshop, that is bright and yellow and sit down for a chat. She begins nervously, “I am living my dream.”

She shares that starting her own label was something she always wanted to do.

“I wanted to be in the fashion industry since I was a child. I was always drawn to colouring, painting, paper crafting and the likes. I loved that I could create something with my own hands. Much later, I decided that I should be in a place that could help me mould my creativity.”

After Vidyaranya High School and Villa Marie College, she joined St Francis College, Begumpet. But she soon realised, it was not meant for her. “I then joined the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and graduated with a Bachelors in Design. It was the most inspiring time of my life. Creativity was in the air,” she recalls. She went on to do a Masters in Fashion Trend Forecasting at Florence in Italy.

She returned to India, gained some experience working as a freelancer. After understanding local markets, and assisting in styling the likes of Regina Cassandra, Lavanya Tripathi and Yami Gautam, albeit for a magazine cover shoot, she started her own label –– Anisha Vuppala.

USP

Anisha specialises in fusion wear. “Because that is what I love the most,” she giggles, adding that fusion will be part of every creation of hers. Her idea of fashion is also simple. “It has to be minimalistic and functional. Nothing over the top. The clothes have to do the talking. A little bit of detailing here and there and that’s it,” she tells us. While that is her personal mantra, the label is also keen about what the clients want.

“Each person has their own style and the garment has to emphasise that. The person has to feel comfortable and needs to be happy in what she wears,” explains Anisha.

Besides the two collections, the label is also keen about custom-making clothes for clients. “Everyone wants to be different these days and they can now afford designer clothes,” she points and picks up a beige and red, tunic-cum-maxi from the collection, Down Memory Lane, that is on display. “This is for a someone who is versatile and can be worn as a maxi or a tunic. There is only one piece, because it is unique,” she elaborates.

Inspiration

From a cracked wall to a beautiful fabric, Anisha picks her inspiration from a number of things. Her favourite concepts, however, are hope and evolution.

“I am fascinated by evolution. Down Memory Lane is about going back in the past and reliving all those memories that you went through,” she says, adding, “While sometimes it is a surface that I want to recreate on a fabric, other times it is the fabric itself that creates a story in my head.”

Cuts and colours

The designer, who won a gold medal for academic excellence at NIFT, admits that she played safe with her collections so far. “Additional accessories make a garment more appealing. I experimented with the cuts in Down Memory Lane. And I stuck to the main idea of fusion. But in future, I will experiment with additional accessories,” she shares.

Down Memory Lane starts at Rs 8,000

About Down Memory Lane

This collection tells the story of of going back in time. We wanted talk about how memories are made not just with people. We make memories from the time and place too. This collection is all about vintage cuts and prints.

Fashion God

Alexander Mc Queen – He is my favourite, but none of my works are inspired from him. It is interesting to see the kind of work he does. He is no more, but what his design house does is incredible.

Dream

To showcase my collection at the Lakme Fashion Week.

Would like to style

Shriya and Shruti Haasan in Tollywood.

Must haves for a woman

With the summer setting in, a fun summer dress, a white shirt and torn jeans.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rajitha S / March 01st, 2016

RGIA third best airport

Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has been declared as the third best airport in the world, in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category, by the Airports Council International.

It is for the seventh year in a row that the facility, operated and managed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, is being featured among the world’s top three airports in the Council’s ASQ ranking.

The award will be presented at the ASQ awards ceremony in April as a part of the 2016 ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly in Gold Coast, Australia.

“It is a moment of great pride for us… we thank our passengers for keeping the faith in us”, GHIAL CEO S.G.K. Kishore said in a release.

The award also enhances the visibility of the city, furthering the ‘Brand Hyderabad’ initiative of Telangana government.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 02nd, 2016

Second Century Settlement Unearthed Near Nalgonda

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

Hyderabad :

Recent excavations conducted by the department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) have revealed evidence of yet another ancient settlement in Nalgonda district.

The latest site is located in Pajjur village, about 12 km from Nalgonda and 80 km away from Phanigiri Buddhist site, where the department had unearthed extensive Buddhist relics dating back to the 2nd century AD and 4th century AD. A team of archaeologists, who started excavations at Pajjur on February 18, found several pottery shreds and terracotta figures. After digging up to three layers, they have found an underlying brick structure too apart from several coloured beads, shell bangles, toys and female terracotta figures.

“On one of the pottery piece, it was written ‘Buddhasa’ in Brahmi script. But it is too early to call it a Buddhist site. Our investigations reveal that the site should date back to the first and third century AD,” said an official.

Beads and terracotta figures collected by archaeologists from Pajjur village in Nalgonda district
Beads and terracotta figures collected by archaeologists from Pajjur village in Nalgonda district

In fact, the archaeologists had conducted a preliminary surface excavation at Pajjur in 2003 but with Phanigiri Buddhist site gaining prominence, this site was left unattended. The proposal to conduct further excavations was approved by Central Advisory Board Of Archaeology (CABA) recently after the department conducted a surface examination of the site and forwarded the proposal to Delhi.

Confirming the same, NR Visalatchy, director, DAM, said a ground survey was conducted recently to find surface evidence which had suggested an underlying settlement.

“It is a huge area of up to 40 acres. We had problems in convincing the local farmers about the extent of land needed for excavations. We have taken up work on around 3-4 acres. The surface has been disturbed a lot. Just for agricultural purpose alone, around four feet of earth has been removed. We have found a lot of pottery shreds there,” she said.

According to her, there is no evidence so far to suggest that it is a Buddhist site.

“We are exploring the possibilities. The construction needs to be studied scientifically. The structure looks like a wall more than a Stupa. Whether it is part of a Vihara complex will be revealed during further investigation. Unlike the bricks seen in Viharas, these bricks are extremely of light weight. All the analysis needs to be done,” she explained.

At Phanigiri, the hillock which draws its name from the shape that resembles a snake-hood, the department had excavated structural remains in four aspidal Chaityagrihas, eight votive stupas (both circular and square), a maha stupa, a stone-pillared congregation hall with 64 pillars, three viharas with thick brick walls, sculptured panels, Brahmi inscriptions belonging to Satavahana and Ikshvaku dynasties, coins of Mahatalavarasa, Satavahana, Ikshvaku kings and even Roman coins and Persian pottery were found.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telanagana / by Rahul V. Pisharody / February 29th, 2016