Category: Amazing Feats

** Bengaluru virologist’s test kit ‘Omisure’ for Omicron variant cuts delays

“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”

In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).

** NGO to work with Devadasis

“Civil society needs towork with the Government to bringDevadasisinto the mainstream,”Satish Jarkiholi, MLA and founder of Manava Bandhutva Vedike,an NGO, said in Gokak on Friday.

“We should all be dedicated towards eradicating this social evil. Society should drop the stigma attached to Devadasis and the Government should help them enter other professions by giving them skill training and easy loans to take up small businesses,” he said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a multi-skill centre and community hall of Shakti Aids Control Association in Gokak.

Dr. Sampige said this was the first such centre in the country. “It will help women who have suffered ridicule, insult, and abuse for decades, turn into self-reliant employees and entrepreneurs,’’ she said.

She said that the centre would start short-term and long-term skill training courses and entrepreneurship development programmes.

** Medal-Winners In Muaythai National Championship

Nine Muaythai fighters (7 male and 2 female) of the Smite Academy of Martial Arts participated in the 22nd MTI Muaythai National Championship under the aegis of Mysore Muaythai Trust (MDMT) and Mysore Combat Sports Association (MCSA).

The event was held at Sheen Sports Alliance, Bengaluru, between Dec. 16 and 19.

The team bagged 4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. 200 athletes from various States and UT participated in the event that was hosted by Muaythai Association of Karnataka (MAK) and sanctioned by MTI.

** Athletic Championship: Two meet records set on Day 2

Two new meet records were created on the second day of the 81st All India Inter-University Athletic Championship 2022 being organised at Swaraj Maidan in Moodbidri on Wednesday. 

Akshdeep Singh of Punjabi University, Patiala, created a new record in the 20 km race walk clocking 1:26:09.08 sec. breaking the previous record (1:26:39.78) of Juned K T of Mangalore University, set in 2020.

In the same event, Paramjeet Singh and Hardeep of Mangalore University bettered the record clocking 1:26:39.15 and 1:27:13.89 respectively.

** Sharana Mela to be held in Koodala Sangama in north Karnataka

Sharana Mela, an annual gathering of Lingayats, is scheduled to be held between January 12 and 14 at Koodala Sangama in Bagalkot district, the holy place where 12th century philosopher and reformer Basavanna is believed to have breathed his last.

Addressing a media conference in Kalaburagi on January 6, Ravindra Shabadi, State convenor of Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha, and other Lingayat leaders, including Prabhuling Mahagaonkar and R.G. Shetagar, said that the event would be organised in compliance with the revised COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Karnataka Government.

Activists Medha Patkar and C.T. Bevanur would be honoured with Basavatmaje national award and Sharana Kayaka Ratna State award respectively during the event.

** Documenting History

Meet the Bengaluru-based podcast creators who have made it big at the Asia Podcast Festival 2021.

Documenting the abolishment of Sec 377 and tracing the iconic moments of India’s space history – not just made it to the podcast trend list on Spotify but was recognised at the Asia Podcast Festival 2021. Created by podcast studio, All Things Small (ATS), 377 and Mission ISRO, won the award under the Best Arts, Society and Culture and in Science,Technology and Business category in the Asia Podcast Festival this year. 

Bengaluru-based Gaurav Vaz, founder of ATS, bagged the award for stories that have actually been landmark and historic moments in India’s social and technological space, respectively. However, the moments that transpired behind the mic for both the stories are exhaustive and distinctive. While 377 dealt with the abolishment of Sec 377, an ‘archaic’ law criminalising homosexuality, the podcast team had to navigate the contradictory perspectives within the LGBTQ community itself. Meanwhile, Mission ISRO was a project that spread its wings right in the middle of the pandemic, which meant that the makers connected with top scientists aged above 80 years, over virtual platforms, which made the task all the more harder. 

** Historical informative documentary on St Francis Xavier’s death, its aftermath set to release soon

Tropical Creativity, a YouTube channel owned by Armando Roque Fernandes, created in Goa, basically to take interesting contents from local to global, has produced a historical informative documentary ‘O Padre Santo’ which is based on the central character St Francis Xavier who is one of the most famous saint in the world, whose sacred relics are existing in Goa since the last 468 years.

The powerful content in the documentary produced under ‘Noah Films’ by Tropical Creativity, is made at present in 13 languages mainly Konkani, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati. The idea is to take local content on a global stage in languages known across the world. With the success of this concept, ‘Noah Films’ will bring more powerful contents in the form of documentaries, entertainment & education in multiple languages. The teaser and the concept trailer has been released. 

** Olympian M.P. Ganesh, Padma Shri Awardee, Is ‘Coorg Person Of The Year-2021’

Olympian M.P. Ganesh, who captained the Indian hockey team and was honoured with the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind, is Coorg Person of the Year-2021.

Mollera Poovaiah Ganesh, hailing from Suntikoppa in Kodagu district, was selected ‘Coorg Person of the Year’ in a poll conducted by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, Kodagu’s first news portal, promoted by journalist and author P.T. Bopanna.

** Techie-turned-farmer teaches kids about forgotten flora

He is a storehouse of knowledge on Indian trees, plants and herbs, and in his farm, which is nothing like the traditional setup, the flora grows wildly and naturally.

The farm has over 300 species of plants and trees, all either edible or used for medicinal purposes. 

Srivathsa Govindaraju, a software engineer-turned-farmer, started his farm 13 years ago with the intent of “respecting nature as it is and to understand how it functions”.