Monthly Archives: February 2019

Mahua savouries from tribal kitchens to hit markets


D. Divya

Move to help indigenous people protect their culture

A revival of pristine Adivasi customs and traditions cannot be envisaged without including the irp marra or mahua tree (Madhuca indica) in the scheme of things.

Therefore, the new plan of the Adilabad district administration, perhaps the first of its kind in the country, to help indigenous people protect their culture hinges on plantation of mahua and introduction of the lesser known tasty savouries and eatables made out of the flowers of the sacred tree in the headquarter town, in near future.

“The food items coming out of the kitchens of aboriginal people have good shelf life and will be packaged and sold at the Prakruti store for organic vegetables in Collectorate Chowk,” Adilabad Collector D. Divya revealed.

There will also be an attempt towards getting the ethnic people to manufacture the famous heady brew from mahua flowers, the ippa sara or irp kal, aimed at weaning them away from the more dangerous Indian Made Foreign Liquor and marketing it sometime in the future, on the lines of the experiment in Bastar of Chhattisgarh.

“There certainly is more to mahua tree than the heady brew distilled from its flowers. It is the source of nutritious supplementary food and some potential economic activity for tribal people besides yielding fodder to the animals,” opined tribal teacher Kanaka Rao Ambaji from Marlavai in Jainoor mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.

Mahua trees come into bloom between latter half of March and April. Each tree sheds its flowers in the morning every day, over a period of 15 to 20 days and yields about 1.5 quintals to 2 quintals.

The customary puja is performed under the tree after the festival of holi, called duradi in Gondi, following which women and children collect the flowers. The collection is done at dawn and the flowers are subsequently put out to dry.

“The dried up flowers are roasted, made into balls or laddus called eruk gola, and used as a snack or stuffed into a roti. Other eatables are also made by roasting the dried up flowers with sesame and sunflower seed, besides the rarely found khade and churchal seeds,” Durva Nagubai, a Raj Gond elder, listed out some names of traditional supplementary food items.

“We will also sell the edible oil extracted from the kernel of mahua seed,’ the Collector disclosed. The practice of using mahua oil, called eruk niy, in preparation of food is almost lost,” she pointed out.

“Among other eatables which are made of the mahua flowers is the eruk jawa or gruel which is served when receiving the barat. Also, the gum of the tree, eruk chikada, is used to trap birds and small animals while the wood from a dead tree is used to make traditional musical instruments like a dhol,” Mr. Ambaji stated.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Adilabad – February 26th, 2019

Grand start to Peddagattu Jatara


Devotees performing a traditional dance at Peddagattu Jatara in Suryapet district on Monday.   | Photo Credit: Singam Venkataramana a

Authorities are expecting around 20 lakh devotees to attend this year

Regarded as the most-visited temple Jatara after the one in Medaram in Jayashankar district of the State, the biennial Peddagattu Jatara of Lord Shiva’s incarnate – Lingamanthula Swamy, started off with the procession of ‘Devarapette’ on the Magha Purnima (full moon) night here on Sunday.

The divine box ‘Devarapette’ that houses the Yadava deities Lingamanthula swamy, goddess Chowdamma and others, moved from the custodians of the Kesaram village this time.

Sounding the bugle and amid drum beats, village elders, along with Minister for Education G. Jagadish Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP B. Lingaiah Yadav, who shouldered the box, moved it atop the hill.

Fulfilling vows

Nearly 30,000 devotees from in and around Suryapet fulfilled their vows on Sunday and women too completed the ‘basket pradakshina’ on the first day. According to belief, the three pradakshinas with baskets decorated with turmeric, kumkum and flowers, and filled with rice, milk, ghee, coconut, lemon and an empty earthen pot, is for the Lord, seeking protection of one’s livestock.

“The pot filled with bonam is offered on the second day, followed by the celestial wedding ‘Chandrapatnam’ on the third, and vratam and celebrations bring the jatara to an end,” temple executive officer K. Kushalaiah said.

According to him, a devotee footfall of nearly 20 lakh, from the Telugu and southern States, neighbouring Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, is expected this year. And with ₹1.7 crore allotted by the State government, sufficient amenities have been built. The five-day event, besides prayers for the deities, showcases the culture, and through games, folk art, food, rare vocations and numerous stalls selling souvenirs, reminds the daily lives of the country side.

District Collector D. Amoy Kumar and Superintendent of Police R. Venkateswarlu said elaborate arrangements concerning devotee safety and experience are in place. “Preparations have been on for the past one month. As many as 1,200 policemen and an additional 46 CCTVs monitored through a command control centre are keeping vigil of the entire place,” they said.

Local legislator Mr. Jagadish Reddy was enthusiastic about the jatara, beating the drum along with colleagues Kodad MLA Bollam Mallaiah Yadav and MP Lingaiah Yadav.

“The jatara remained nearly unknown before 2014. Only under the TRS, the Lingamanthula Jatara or Gollagattu Jatara got allocations and recognition,” he said. Along with officials and leaders, he offered special prayers, and marking the jatara events he released the book, Peddagattu (Gollagattu) Jatara Charitra.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News>States > Telangana / by Staff Reporter / Durajpally, Suriyapet – February 26th, 2019

5 start-ups clinch top honours


Social Innovation Award being presented to Adero Labs as part of Start-Up Stage event at BioAsia.

Five start-ups with innovative offerings for the healthcare sector, including a device that reminds patients to take a correct dose of medicine at the right time and another that monitors a patient’s health while he/she is asleep, walked away with top honours at the BioAsia-2019.

They made it to the top five, and received a cash prize of ₹25,000 each at the Start-Up Stage event, one the highlight segments of this year’s BioAsia. A total of 76 start-ups had showcased their wares at the three-day event, the curtain on which came down on Wednesday.

Making a brief pitch at the valedictory, Caredose co-founder and CEO Kinshuk Kocher said the start-up has devised a solution – a dispenser in which medicines are filled using a robot – for patients, especially senior citizens, to ensure that they are taken on time and in the correct dose. The entire process is completely automated, he said.

Interestingly, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, during the inauguration of BioAsia on Monday evening, had highlighted the need to address the issues that senior citizens faceamong other aspects.

Another solution that caught the eye of the jury was the contactless health monitor developed by Dozee. COO of the start-up Pritish Gupta said the monitor, placed below the mattress, tracks the sleep patterns, heart, respiration and stress levels helping the user address the conditions.

Spectral Insights for its compact scanner; Ekistics Solutions that offers replacement and reconstruction of damaged and diseased valves avoiding artificial prostheses; and fluorescent dye company Azooka Life Sciences for its nucleic acid stains that facilitates DNA-based diagnostics were the other three prize winning start-ups.

A special Social Innovation Award was presented to Adero Labs that works in the field of citizen safety and women empowerment.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 27th, 2019

English language expo celebrates Indian writers


Students explaining a model to a guest at the expo at Paramita High School in Karimnagar.   | Photo Credit:  By arrangement

Students of Paramita High School here organised a unique expo on Monday to showcase a mosaic of components of English language to commemorate the endeavours of writers R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

The two-day expo called ‘Coalesce on English Language’ was inaugurated by Paramita Educational Institutions chairman E. Prasada Rao, who interacted with the participants. The students showcased their talent in the history of English literature, vocabulary, grammar, idioms, tenses, phrases etc.

Through models and charts, they spoke about the contributions of the writer trio to English language works in the country. Day 2 of the expo is expected to attract students and teachers from other government and private schools in the town.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – February 26th, 2019

Award for Jagtial Collector

It was executed in all government high schools in the district to improve pass percentage of students in SCC examinations.

Jagtial :

Jagtial Collector A Sharath has been selected for the ‘Indian Express Excellence in Good Governance’ award. It will be presented to him on February 28.  The collector has bagged the award for his initiative ‘UTTEJAM – Igniting the Minds of Students, Teachers and Parents’.

It was executed in all government high schools in the district to improve pass percentage of students in SCC examinations.  

Before UTTEJAM, the overall pass percentage was only 60-65; the ratio for girls was worse. Now, within just three years since the initiative was introduced, the figure has increased to 97.56 per cent.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / February 27th, 2019

Prakash Purab celebrated at Keyes High School

The two-day long celebration concluded on Sunday with a large number of Sikh devotees offering prayers to Guru Granth Sahibji.


The 550th Prakash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak celebrated at Keyes High School, in Hyderabad on Sunday | R Satish Babu

Hyderabad :

Recitations of Gurbani keertans, Gurbani Vichar (sermons) and Guru ka Langar marked the Atamras Keertan Darbar at Keyes High School,  dedicated to the 550th Prakash Purab (birth anniversary) of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak.

The two-day long celebration concluded on Sunday with a large number of Sikh devotees offering prayers to Guru Granth Sahibji. The event was organised at Keyes High School by Khalsa Seva Dal in coordination with Prabhandak Committees of Gurudwara Saheb Secunderbad and  Gurudwara Guru Singh Sabha, Afzalgunj. 

Gurudwara Saheb Secunderabad President S Baldev Singh Bagga said the congregation which began on Sunday morning continued up to 4.30 pm and was marked by the recitations of Gurubani Keertans and Kathas (Holy Hymns) by the renowned Ragi Jathas.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 25th, 2019

Boy’s invention to be adopted by Civil Supplies Dept.

Paddy filling machines, if successful, to be installed at all procurement centres

A class VIII boy’s ingenious invention is set to be adopted by the Civil Supplies Department at its Paddy Procurement Centres (PPCs) on a pilot basis.

A prototype of a paddy filling machine, used to fill paddy into bags, would be adopted with minor tweaks and installed at select PPCs. If successful, they would be installed at all the centres across the State, Civil Supplies Commissioner Akun Sabharwal said in a statement here on Saturday.

Abhishek, studying in Zilla Parishad High School at Hanumajipet village in Vemulawada mandal of Rajanna-Sircilla district, has already received accolades and prizes for his invention at Inspire Science Exhibition at regional and national levels.

On Saturday, he met Mr. Sabharwal along with his parents Rajavva and Lakshmi Rajyam, and his school principal, and received a gift of ₹10,000 and a robot doll from the Commissioner.

Mr. Sabharwal said the machine, with a few changes, would be very useful for farmers. The machine’s capacity could be increased from 20 kilograms to 40-45 kg by increasing its width, he said. If successful, the machine would replace four workers.

Naming it Vari Abhishekam, Mr. Sabharwal directed the officials concerned to initiate the process of obtaining patent for the machine on behalf of the Telangana government. In another major initiative, the Civil Supplies Department would introduce e-weighing machines at warehouses with the capacity of five tonnes, starting from the coming rabi season. The department is aiming to implement the same State-wide starting from the next khariff.

The e-weighing machines would be installed at 170 warehouses across the State, to ensure that the commodities are supplied to fair price shop dealers with correct weight. Inspecting the performance of the machines at Met Weigh India Factory at Cherlapalli on Saturday, Mr. Sabharwal said the machines would be available at all the godowns by March 31.

The machines would be linked to the Command Control Centre at Civil Supplies Bhavan and also to the Mini Command Control Centres in the districts, where live weighing can be viewed.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 23rd, 2019

Veteran Telugu director Kodi Ramakrishna no more

He was known for directing supernatural as well as heroine-oriented movies.

Veteran movie director Kodi Ramakrishna, who directed nearly 202 movies in a career spanning 37 years, passed away on Friday afternoon at a hospital in the city. He was 70 and was ailing for the past few days.

Telugu film industry went into mourning as the news of the death of the successful director spread. Born in Palakollu in West Godavari district, Mr. Ramakrishna directed movies in multiple languages including Tamil, Hindi and Kannada.

“Extremely saddened by the news of director Kodi Ramakrishna garu’s demise. His contribution to Telugu cinema is unparalleled; our industry will never forget his work. My thoughts & prayers are with his closed ones… May his soul rest in peace!” tweeted actor Mahesh Babu.

“A huge loss to #TFI..His contribution to cinema remains remarkable with so many path-breaking films like #Arundhati #Ammoru #ManganmaGariManavudu #Ankusam and many others…Strength to the family and loved ones…RIP #KodiRamakrishna garu..” Manchu Lakshmi posted on a microblogging site.

Beginning his career with a bang, in 1982 he helmed the Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya which led to the rise of another superstar in Telugu film industry Chiranjeevi. Gollapudi Maruthi Rao scripted it, and the movie was a big hit and was remade in many languages including Hindi where Govinda was cast as the hero. Two years later, in 1984 he scored another hit with Mangamma Gari Manavadu which had Nandamuri Balakrishna in the lead. The duo went to score more hits together.

Known for supernatural as well as heroine-oriented movies, the last big hit Mr. Ramakrishna delivered was Arundhati, the 2009 supernatural drama starring Anushka Shetty propelled him to stardom for the second time in his long career.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Movies / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 22nd, 2019

FICCI’s global R&D summit commences in Hyderabad

Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit.

Hyderabad :

Launching the  India-Ethiopia Innovation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization Programme along with the Ethiopian government, the Global Research and Development Summit 2019 commenced in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The two-day conclave inaugurated by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DS & T, Government of India, focussed upon strengthening technology and development ties between India and Africa. 

Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit. Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of the Republic of Ethiopia talked about the several benefits of the scheme including more job opportunities for the people and help Ethiopia move from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based ecosystem.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 22nd, 2019

A ray of hope for kids with cancer


(Left) Research scholars Kruthi Doriya and Anup Ashok with chemical engineering associate professor Devarai Santhosh Kumar (centre) at Industrial Bioprocess and Bio-Prospecting lab at IIT-H; (above) civil engineering associate professor Asif Qureshi.  

IIT-H team finds Antarctic fungi that may help treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) working with scientists from National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, have isolated Antarctic fungi that contain ‘L-Asparaginase’, an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Fewer side-effects

ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer and isolation of L-Asparaginase’ containing fungi from extreme environments could lead to development of new chemotherapeutic treatment methods that have fewer side-effects than the existing methods.

In ALL, the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells.

One of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs to treat ALL is the enzyme ‘L- Asparaginase’ which reduces the supply of asparagine, an amino acid that is essential for the synthesis of protein, to cancer cells. This prevents the growth and proliferation of the malignant cells.

The path-breaking work has recently been published in Nature’s Open Source Journal, Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38094-1). IIT-H team consisted of Devarai Santhosh Kumar, associate professor, department of chemical engineering, and Asif Qureshi, associate professor, department of civil engineering, along with their research students Anup Ashok, Kruthi Doriya and Jyothi Vithal Rao while NCPOR team included Dr. Anoop Kumar Tiwari.

Drug costs

Principal investigator Dr. Santhosh Kumar said, “Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases cost of the drug.”

‘L-Asparaginase’ enzyme used for chemotherapy is currently derived from commonly found bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi. These enzymes are always associated with two other enzymes, glutaminase and urease, both of which cause adverse side effects in patients such as pancreatitis, hemostasis abnormalities, central nervous system dysfunction and immunological reactions.

The research team looked at psychrophiles as alternate sources of the enzyme. Psychrophiles are organisms capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures in the range of −20 °C to +10 °C, such as those found in Antarctic regions.

These organisms have modified life processes that help them adapt to the extreme conditions of living. For example, psychrophiles have ‘anti-freeze’ enzymes that are powerful enough to be able to work at the freezing temperatures of the poles, unlike mesophiles that live in more habitable zones of the earth. The potency of the enzymes makes them promising as powerful drugs for diseases such as cancer, he said.

55 samples collected

Industrial bioprocess and bioprospecting laboratory research team, seeking alternate sources of L-Asparaginase, screened and isolated fungi collected from the soil and mosses in Schirmacher Hills, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These fungi were found to have L-Asparaginase free of glutaminase and urease. The team isolated 55 samples of fungi, of which 30 isolates had pure L-Asparaginase.

Absence of glutaminase and urease would prevent the serious side-effects currently seen with the use of bacteria-derived L-Asparaginase. “Fungal species have the ability to mimic the properties of human cells, as both are eukaryotic in nature, which makes it easier for their usage in treatment of ALL,” the researchers wrote in their Nature Scientific Reports paper.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 20th, 2019