** Mangaluru: New look, old style of Bunder North station

Bunder police station, the landmark brick-red heritage building on Azizuddin Road in Mangaluru, is looking fresh and new, its coat of old-world charm intact.

Located near the Old Port, the 132-year-old police station is the city’s last standing police station established during the colonial era, and is built in typical colonial-style architecture, with a gabled roof and high ceiling.

The busy Azizuddin Road and the adjoining lanes make up the busy commercial area of Bunder, where buildings and walls are built in grainy Mangalore brick. You can smell the sea salt here.

** Infosys Foundation opens OPD at Kidwai hospital

A 75,000 sqft, multi-disciplinary Outpatient Department (OPD) was opened at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru on Monday.The block was the initiative of Infosys Foundation and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, in the virtual presence of foundation chairperson Sudha Murty.

Built at a cost of Rs 25.5 crore, the OPD will cover 12 departments and aims to accommodate nearly 1,800 patients daily. “This is a small effort by the foundation to ensure that people have access to clean, hygienic, and timely medical intervention, especially at a time when we are engulfed by a pandemic,” Sudha Murty said.

** Sailing along

Even when he’s not performing a surgery, Dr Antony Robert Charles is busy suturing ice cream sticks, toothpicks and buttons for his miniature ships.

As a paediatric surgeon, Dr Antony Robert Charles’ schedule is unpredictable, with no idea of what the day holds.

In the midst of this, there’s one thing that remains constant, his miniature ship -building activity. A hobby that started eight years ago after his team and he from St John’s Hospital went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of the tsunami relief effort, Charles now finds solace in building these ships from scratch. “I suppose being there and seeing everything we did on the Islands is what inspired me to come back and want to learn how to make the ships on my own. The conventional way would have been to buy the kits and fix it like a jigsaw puzzle, but I wanted to create something with my own hands,” says the doctor, who currently practices with Kindersurge.

** For better or for verse

Having published 61 poems as part of her book, Echoes of Soulful Poems, this city-based 12-year-old has been conferred the title of ‘Youngest Poetess in India’ by the India Book of Records.

The lockdown due to the pandemic gave many opportunities to children to hone their creative skills. Some like Amana, a Class 8 student studying in Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, utilised the time to create a record in the field of literature.

The Bengaluru girl now holds the title of the  ‘Youngest Poetess in the India ’ by the Book of Records for publishing a book Echoes of Soulful Poems containing 61 poems, at the age of 12 years, five months and 10 days. Her work has also gotten recognised in the Asia Book of Records for which she has been given the title of the ‘Grand Master’ for writing poems at a young age. Her entry into the India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records were confirmed on July 26 and July 27, 2021, respectively.

** Peekay Group ties up with BACL to develop 3D printing facility at Bengaluru airport city

Kerala-based Peekay Group has signed a pact with Bengaluru Airport City Ltd (BACL) to develop a 3D printing technology facility at the airport city that is being developed at the Bengaluru airport premises, according to a statement released said on Friday.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), BACL was formed to develop the airport city at the Bengaluru airport, consisting of business parks, health district, retail dining and entertainment village.

** Postal department to release special covers on 42 GI tags of Karnataka

To showcase the unique features of Karnataka, the postal department plans to bring out special covers on all the 42 Geographical Indication (GI) tags of the State. They will be displayed at all airports in the State.

Appemidi Mango, Coorg Arabica Coffee, Devanahalli Pomello, Gulbarga Tur Dal, Byadagi Chilli, Sirsi Supari, Bangalore Rose Onion, Mysore Sandal Soap and Dharwad Peda are among the iconic products.

** FMMC’s Dr Padmaja nominated to be prez of National association of Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Dr Padmaja Udaykumar, professor and head, department of Pharmacology, FMMC has been nominated to be the President of National association of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

National association of Pharmacology and Therapeutics is an organization of medical doctors specialized in pharmacology and therapeutics. It is envisaged to provide strong leadership to promote pharmacology and therapeutics for a better tomorrow. The association aims to empower pharmacologists, promote academic and clinical research, and enhance the standard of teaching/training in Pharmacology and therapeutics for the benefit of patients and the society at large.

** Wrestling against all odds… and winning

Meet Raju M, 33, whose never-say-die attitude helped him shake off the agony and pick himself up.

Since 2013, he has been bringing home awards and medals after winning competitions at the district, state, national and international levels, both in the para-athletics and general category competitions. In the last decade, he has netted more than 30 medals and several trophies. All these helped him qualify for the National World Championship held in 2018. After clinching a gold medal in the national category, Raju participated in the 21st World Para Arm-Wrestling Championship held at Antalya in Turkey in the same year.