Category Archives: Records, All

Telugu poet-cartoonist gets Akademi honour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Hyderabad :

Telugu poet cartoonist, writer and author Devipriya has received Sahitya Akademi award for his anthology of poems, Gali Rangu.

Sahitya Akademi on Thursday announced the awards for poets and writers in different languages.

Earlier, the executive board of Sahitya Akademi headed by its president Prof Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari approved the names recommended by a jury drawn from 24 Indian languages. Seven books of novel and five each of poetry, short stories and literary criticism and one of play and essays won the awards for 2017.

According to K Sreenivasa Rao, secretary of Sahitya Akademi, the award carries a casket containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rupees one lakh. It will be presented at a function to be held in New Delhi on February 12, 2018 coinciding with the Festival of Letters organised by the Akademi.

Devipriya’s ‘running commentary’, a daily cartoon in poetry, in Telugu dailies had won him a pride of place in journalism. He is also credited with introducing a new genre of writings in Telugu called Paigambara Kavulu in contrast to the Digambara movement of 1960s.

Devipriya was born in Guntur on August 15, 1949, and rose to fame with his verse, prose and cartoons. His real name is Khaja Hussain. Devipriya won laurels for his poetic book, Pitta Kooda Egiri Povalsinde, published in 2002. He introduced a new literary concept with his cartoons with the comment in verse. In fact, he is hailed as the father of poetic cartoon strips in Telugu. His first publication was Amma Chettu.

Some of his works are Gareebu Geetalu, Chepa Chiluka, Neeti Putta, Tuphanu Tummeda, Insha Allah, and Samajananda Svaami. Devipriya’s writings reflect the essence of life, particularly of the downtrodden and the deprived classes of society. He penned songs for a number of films. Several Telugu poets and writers including Telangana Sahitya Akademi chairman Nandini Siddha Reddy congratulated Devipriya on winning the award.

Noted Telugu poet and writer Khadar Mohiuddin said Devipriya is a multi-faceted personality with proficiency in Telugu and English. “He is a trendsetter in Telugu verse, prose as well as journalism,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / by Syed Akbar / TNN / December 22nd, 2017

First Telugu Talli statue was a Tamilian’s initiative!

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TDP comes out with interesting facts

The Telugu Desam Party has come out with an interesting detail to substantiate its criticism of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for not including Telugu Talli statue as well as Maa Telugu Talliki song in the just-concluded World Telugu Conference.

TDP politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy said the design for Telugu Talli statue was an initiative of ex-IAS officer Kasipandyan, Collector of Mahbubnagar district, in 1975.

A Tamilian by origin, Kasipandyan was inspired by Telugu language which he perfected during his stint in the State and took the initiative of making a Telugu Talli statue.

Accordingly, a sculptor, Shankar, was entrusted with the task and the statue was installed in the collectorate in Mahbubnagar, the Telangana heartland.

Former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, who was inspired by the statue, adopted the same model and it was then installed at Tank Bund a decade later.

“There were several media reports appreciating Kasipandyan’s initiative those days and the statue is still present in Mahbubnagar district collectorate,” he said.

Recalling the Chief Minister’s claims about being an avid reader, he wondered how he could not get information about such a major initiative.

Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy said the just-concluded conference ended without major resolutions for promotion of Telugu and delegates were upset with the developments.

The government should now come up with specific action plan to promote use of Telugu in daily life like making it compulsory in primary school and ensuring the presence of teachers specialising in Telugu in all the educational institutions, he suggested.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 21st, 2017

First Mahatma Gandhi digital store opened

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / PIO's, Records, All, World Opinion
Ela Gandhi and Jayesh Ranjan inaugurating the store. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Information Technology secretary Jayesh Ranjan on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first Mahatma Gandhi Mobile Digital Museum Store at Bapu Ghat in the city.

A joint venture of the Visual Quest India and Aditya Birla Group’s corporate social responsibility initiative Eternal Gandhi, the digital store is aimed at spreading Gandhi’s ideology and teachings. Souvenirs inspired by the ‘Father of the Nation’, crafted to reflect various facets of his life reflecting values of peace, truth and non-violence, would be put on sale. The income generated through the sale would be used for the mobile digital museum.

Gandhi’s granddaughter and former member of South African Parliament, Ela Gandhi, was present on the occasion. She recalled how Gandhi always believed that education was not all about learning, but a way of living. “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” she said, quoting her famous grandfather while addressing youths at the function.

Representatives of Aditya Birla Group and Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts were also present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 20th, 2017

Tracing Hyderabad’s tryst with Telugu publications

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion
A bird’s eye view of the LB Stadium, venue of the ongoing World Telugu Conference in Hyderabad, on Sunday | sathya Keerthi

Hyderabad :

Leave alone ordinary persons, even many of the Telugu litterateurs might not be knowing the fact that Sedya Chandrika, which was published from Hyderabad in 1886, was considered by many as the first journal published in the Telugu language in the then princely state of Hyderabad. The magazine was run by two Muslim men, Munshi Mohammed and Mustaq Ahmed Malik. Its primary motto was to create awareness among forming community about issues relating to agriculture.

Likewise, Hitabodhini was the first Telugu monthly published in the then Hyderabad state. The periodical was published from Mahbubnagar district by Srinivasa Sarma. It published articles on patriotism, health, social reforms and some other subjects. The journal used to have more than 500 subscribers in those days.

Poola Thota was another magazine published by Kambhampati Appanna Sastry between 1930 and 1935 from Hanamkonda. The periodical was considered to be the first children’s magazine in the then Hyderabad state.

Similarly, Matru Bharati was run by Hyderabad city’s first mayor Madapati Hanumantha Rao (1951-1954), a poet who was affectionately called Andhra Pitamaha for his contribution to the Andhra movement during the freedom struggle. The periodical was published from Hyderabad in the 1930s. The magazine produced articles on the importance of education, prohibition of liquor and other issues. The periodical was appropriately considered to be the first students’ magazine in Hyderabad state. Desa Vangmaya Patrika, dedicated to literary issues, came into publication by Telangana Literary Association in 1921.

Golconda Patrika, run by historian Suravaram Pratapa Reddy, was the first magazine to publish news on its own by establishing a ‘reporters network’. The periodical, whose name was changed from Andhra Patrika to Golconda Patrika following Nizam-ul-Mulk’s diktat, used to carry articles on political, social, cultural and literary issues.

In a book, Telangana Vaibhavam: Parichaya Deepika, released by Telangana government during the conference, a chapter was exclusively devoted to magazines and journals that flourished in Telangana region.

According to the book, prior to the formation of Andhra in 1956, as many as 171 dailies, magazines and other journals were in circulation. Of those, 115 were published in Telugu and the others in Urdu, Marathi and English languages.

KCR hosts dinner for non-resident Telugus

Hyderabad:

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has asked the non-resident Telugus to contribute to the promotion of the language even on virtual world. As a majority of them are software engineers, businessmen and litterateurs, Rao called upon them to take an initiative to promote the Telugu language in the cyberspace, too. The chief minister hosted a dinner at Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday for Telangana people who came from 42 countries to attend the World Telugu Conference.

Telugu to be must on government portals

Hyderabad: On the occasion of Prapancha Telugu Mahasabhalu, the IT department on Sunday announced that it would take steps to promote Telugu on the websites of all government departments. The government is firm on promoting Telugu on all portals of various departments. Government will gradually make it mandatory for all departments to use Telugu online,” IT department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, while taking part in a round-table conference. It was decided to take help of Google, Microsoft and Facebook to promote Telugu.

CM to announce step to protect the language

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has disclosed that he would soon announce a major step to promote Telugu in the State. “On the valedictory session of Telugu Mahasabhalu, I will announce a major step to protect the language in the State,” he said. KCR, himself a post graduate in Telugu literature, attended a Sathavadhanam, conducted by Telugu scholar GM Rama Sharma on Sunday.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by JR Prasad / Express News Service / December 18th, 2017

Hyderabad student emerges victorious

Education, Records, All

(Second from left) K Vijaya Kaasyapa (class 4) of Takshasila Public School, posing with trophy at Sip All India Artithmetic Genius Inter School National Contest 2017 in Hyderabad on Sunday

Hyderabad:

City student, K Vijaya Kaasyapa (class 4) of Takshasila Public School, emerged first runner- up in SIP All India Arithmetic Genius Inter- School National contest finals held here on Sunday. He shared the prize along with three other contestants –Chinmay Jadhav from Pune and two other students Ajinkya Basaiye and Bhagyesh Jain from Aurangabad.

SIP (Sociable, Intellectual and Progressive).‘I am feeling elated’, said K Vijaya Kaasyapa. His parents, Radha Krishna and Lalitha were on cloud nine and were very happy that their kid proved his mettle in a national level competition. He reached to be one of the 150 finals competing with 2.2 lakh kids from 20 states, 476 schools in 270 towns across India.

The National Champions in Class 2 was Shiyam Sunthar A from Dr. GSK Memorial School, Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu; in class 3, Alisha Manjunatha from Karnataka and Aayush Vairagi from Pune shared the prize and in class 4 it was Ranchi student Rabiz Raza.
The first three National Level Winners each from classes 2, 3 and 4 in the contest were given Rs 25,000/-, 15000/- and 10,000/- cash prize respectively and handed over a trophy and certificate.

Arithmetical Skill is very crucial for the success of the kids future, said Dinesh Victor, who is running SIP Academy for the past 14 years and trained 4.76 kids from across India.

As many as 150 children of class 2, 3, 4 filtered from two lakh kids competed preliminary stages from across 20 States competed in the nationals where they solved 160 arithmetic sums in just ten minutes. They were faster than calculators said Uma Swaminathan, Regional Manager of SIP Academy Telangana, AP and Tamil Nadu.

The objective of the contest was to develop Arithmetic skill, one of those crucial for children’s future development. SIP Academy’s focuses is on improving the Arithmetic Skills in Children at a young age, said Dinesh Victor.

source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> Young Hans / December 2017

A movement that created groundwork for Telugu renaissance

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Safety first: Bomb squad inspecting World Telugu Conference 2017 venue, L.B. Stadium, in the city with a sniffer dog on Monday. | Photo Credit: G_RAMAKRISHNA


Daasarathi made his entry as well as mark as a 19-year-old in 1944

In a world before WiFi, the Telangana Saraswatha Parishath in Boggulkunta, was the first free open public space for prose, poetry and literature in Hyderabad.

“Telugu poet Sri Sri used to come and speak here. Other well known Telugu littérateurs used it to perfect their craft and share their stories. This has been a training ground for legions of Telugu teachers. More than that the Parishath has held aloft the torch of Telugu literature,” says J. Chennaiah, secretary of the TSP in Boggulkunta area.

As Hyderabad gets ready to host the World Telugu Conference between December 15 and 19, the shaded alcove in front of the L-shaped building is deserted but inside it thrums with classrooms where a new generation of Telugu teachers are being created.

Born as a rebel movement out of the grand Andhra Mahasabha on May 26, 1943 , it was first called Nizam Rashtra Andhra Saraswatha Parishath (NRASP).

The NRASP was born in the small library hall of Reddy Hostel building. Sankaranarayana Rao, Boorgula Ranganadha Rao and B. Krishna Rao, who were the founding members of the Parishad, set the tone and tenor of the movement. The choice of location was ironical as the Nizam’s King Kothi was just yards away.

“The word Nizam was used because the Parishath wanted to limit its activities to the Telugu-speaking areas of the Nizam’s dominion. The Nizam was wary of groupings. He suspected that the language groups would be used to subvert his rule. The NRASP’s sole goal was literary as many of the founders discovered that the Andhra Mahasabha was more interested in political activities,” informs Mr. Chennaih.

What the Parishad was against became apparent when the next meeting was organised inside the Warangal Fort on December 29 and December 30, 1944. But before the meeting could get underway, the whole tented arrangement was burnt in the night.

“The next day, Kaloji Narayana Rao, Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao decided to conduct the meeting as if nothing happened. The Police Commissioner Raja Bahadur Venkatarama Reddy was the chief guest. It was also the first meeting, where Daasarathi made his entry as well as a mark as a 19-year-old,” says Mr. Chennaiah.

The annual event did not take place in 1948 as the Nizam launched a crackdown and then there was the Police Action.

The 1949 meeting in Toopran in February saw the name of the organisation changed to Andhra Saraswatha Parishath (ASP) and it created groundwork for Telugu renaissance. “It was at that meeting that a demand was made for compulsory Telugu up to Matric which the government agreed to. All the students who were studying Telugu at the ASP got jobs as teachers,” informs Mr. Chennaih.

The effort to turn Osmania University into a Central University with Hindi as a principal medium of instruction was again thwarted as the ASP created Citizens’ Committee and lobbied against the move.

“It is on record that the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad shot down the idea of a Hindi University only after hearing out members of the ASP,” says Mr. Chenniah.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – December 12th, 2017

Selected for robotic meet in the USA

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Two students of Paramita High School to fly in May 2018

Students of Paramita High School in Karimnagar who have been selected to participate in international competitions in the USA. | Photo Credit: Byarrangement

Two students of Paramita High School (IIT) in Mankammathota of Karimnagar town have been selected to participate in the international robotic presentation which would be organized jointly by Lawrence Technologies, Michigan and RILE university, West Florida in the USA in May 2018.

Class IX students K. Aneesh and Md. Aziz, who participated in the National-level Robo Making Challenge and its functioning analysis organized by Novatech Robo Institute in Bengaluru at Christ University from December 7 to 9, have bagged the first prize in the competition in which more than 300 students from reputed schools across the country participated.

Incidentally, another set of students from the school — Meghana and Nikitha — participated in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Arizona in USA in May 2016. Two students of the school Paramita Schools chairman E. Prasada Rao said that the Atal Tinkering Lab set up by the Union government in their school in 2016 had come in handy for the students to have hands on experience in the robotic designing and participate in the national and international competitions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – December 12th, 2017

GE’s FirstBuild India hub to come up at T-Works

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

City selected after evaluating multiple cities, says company

GE Appliances-backed co-creation community FirstBuild has decided to set up its India hub at T-Works, the makerspace coming up in Hyderabad.

On Saturday, an agreement to this effect was signed by Director-Electronics in the IT, Electronics and Communications Department Sujai Karampuri and chief information officer of GE Appliances India Chandramouli Vijjhala, in the presence of IT Minister K.T.Rama Rao.

FirstBuild India (1B India) intends to focus on IoT and business processes in appliances and manufacturing. It seeks to engage with T-Works and the maker community in knowledge sharing, skills development and community driven open-platform innovation, a release from the Minister’s office said.

Synergy in vision

Stating that FirstBuild has decided to set up its India operations in Hyderabad after evaluating multiple cities, the release said GE Appliances COO Melanie Cook had in September led a high-level delegation to the city and discussed the collaboration. She had highlighted the importance of the maker culture and synergy in the visions and values of FirstBuild and T-Works.

Based out of Louisville, Kentucky, FirstBuild is a global co-creation community that harnesses the brainpower of the maker movement to change the way major home appliances are conceived, designed and manufactured. It speeds products from mind to market and enables customisation through small batch production, without the costs and risks of traditional mass manufacturing.

Game-changer

An invitation was extended to Mr. Taraka Rama Rao and his team to experience first-hand the capabilities and maker culture at GE Appliance’s FirstBuild facility in the US, the release said.

Earlier this week the Minister, addressing a CII Summit, said at 250,000 sq ft T-Works will be India’s largest makerspace. Work has begun and facility would be ready by December 2018.

“I believe it is going to change the way we do business with respect to design in hardware space in India,” he had said, pointing out that it has been conceived on a collaborative platform comprising the State government and private sector partner institutions. The tools, software and equipment are to be provided by the latter. The facility will house $20 million worth equipment.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 09th, 2017

Kacheguda becomes India’s first energy-efficient railway station

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel
File photo of the Kacheguda railway station in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: P.V.SIVAKUMAR

Kacheguda Railway Station under the South Central Railway (SCR) has earned the unique distinction of being the first Energy Efficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway Station on Indian Railways.

The station has achieved 100% energy efficiency by replacing 1,312 conventional lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, among other steps. About 370 ceiling fans, too, were replaced with energy efficient Brushless DC Electrical (BLDC) motors fans, and 12 air conditioners with energy efficient inverter-type air conditioners. All these measures would save about 1.76 lakh units and ₹14.08 lakh per annum with reduction of the connected load by 46.18 kW for Railways, said General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav.

Complimenting Divisional Railway Manager Arun Kumar Jain and his colleagues V. Venkata Ramana and P. Prem Kumar for the feat, Mr. Yadav said they had put in extensive efforts to achieve this distinction.

Kacheguda Railway station is a historic building and had completed 100 years. Situated in the heart of Hyderabad, it was built in 1916 by the Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V. Geetanath / Hyderabad – December 08th, 2017

Focus on Telugu luminaries down the ages

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

World Telugu Conference welcome arches to feature personalities from across

Telugu personalities who illuminated Telugu language, literature and culture will get the pride of place in cities and towns across the State as Telangana is gearing up to host the prestigious World Telugu Conference-2017.

Kings, poets, writers, scholars, artistes and leaders who shaped the history, politics and culture of Telugu people and Telangana State will adorn 100 welcome arches in Hyderabad and other cities.

Another 200 hoardings with illustrious personalities from the Telugu States will come up in the city and across the State and in other metros like Chennai, Bangalore where significant number of Telugu people live. It is a way of paying tributes to them and educating and creating awareness among the young generation about their roots, says the organising committee of WTC.

Prominent names

Telangana Sahitya Academy is overseeing the display of arches and each welcome arch will be dedicated to one prominent person and it will depict the portrait and excerpts from their popular works. Hala King, poet Pampa, Prataparudra, Adikavi Palkuriki Somana, Bammera Pothana, Gona Budhareddy, Bhakta Kavi Ramadasu, Suravaram Pratapa Reddy, Vattikota Alwaruswamy, Kaloji, Oddiraju brothers, first Chief Minister of Hyderabad State Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, former Prime Minister and multifacted personality P.V.Narasimha Rao, renowned poets Dasharathi Krishnamacharya, C.Narayana Reddy and several other eminent persons will be the focus of the welcome arches.

Telugu poets Nannayya, Thikkana, Yerrapragada, Allasani Peddana, Vemana, poet composer Annamacharya, social reformer and writer Gurajada Apparao, revolutionary poet Sri Sri among others will beam across the arches evoking the pride of Telugu people congregating for the conference from across the world, they say.

Pillars decorated

The metro rail pillars will become alive with the landscape of Telangana, capturing its way of life, culture, festivals and folk arts and Hyderabad Metro Rail Authority is coordinating the work with artistes. Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, B.Venkatesham says all the welcome arches and hoardings will be in place by December 12 and the city will be beautified and decked up for the event celebrating the Telugu language.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by M.L. Melly Maitreyi / Hyderabad – December 06th, 2017