World Opinion – Page 4 – Karnataka First

Tales of war: Family members share stories of Mysore Lancers from Battle of Haifa

The Mysore Lancers, which were a personal force of the then Maharaja of Mysuru, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, played a key role in the liberation of Haifa

Every year, on September 23, Haifa Day is commemorated by the Indian Army to remember the two Indian cavalry brigades who fought under British General Edmund Allenby to liberate the Israeli city Haifa from the Turkish–German forces in 1918, during World War I.

The Mysore Lancers, which were a personal force of the then Maharaja of Mysore, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, and headed by his brother-in-law Colonel Desraj Urs, also played a key role in rescuing Abdul Baha, the spiritual leader of the Bahai community.

In this spirit, The Mysore Lancers’ Heritage Foundation has organised a two-day celebration of the 104th Haifa Day in the city on Friday.

Ahead of these celebrations, The Hindu spoke to the descendants of those who fought in the Haifa battle. From a newly married soldier’s wish to come back to his young wife, to the struggle for food and water in the desert, some interesting stories were uncovered in the conversations.

Parashuram Singh was a sepoy in the Mysore Lancers and was deployed to the Haifa War just three months after his wedding. When he was injured, he was mistaken to be dead and was pushed into a pile of dead bodies, said Anupama Singh, his brother’s daughter-in-law.

Continuing the story, she said: “He had a picture of goddess Chamundeshwari in his pocket. As he was scared, he took it in his hand and prayed to her to send him back home safely as his wife was waiting for him. Soon after, someone noticed that his hands were moving and pulled him aside and got him medical help. He safely came back home after that.”

Ms. Singh also said that the battalion had the ritual of visiting Gundu Muneshwara temple in R.T. Nagar before marching off to war.

In Pandu Ranga Rao’s family, four people were in the Mysore Lancers. His grandfather Chander Rao Sindhe (Jamedar), his two younger brothers Krishan Rao Sindhe and Govind Rao Sindhe and his son-in-law Mahadev Rao Bhonsle (Dafedar) left home in 1914 for World War I and came back only in 1919–20.

“In 1917, Govind Rao got injured and a few bullets went into his legs and chest. He had to come back from there. Apart from this, I have also heard a few other stories from my grandmother. While traveling during the war, their ships used to get attacked by whales. To divert these whales, they used to keep stock of fodder bags in the ships. I have also heard that it was very tough to fight in the desert. Sometimes, as there was no water available, the warriors urinated in bottles and drunk it,” Mr. Rao narrated.

Pampa Urs, a fourth-generation descendant, has also heard several stories about her maternal ancestors taking part in the war. “My mother’s grandfather Colonel Chame Urs was leading a group in the war. His son-in-law Captain Lingaraj Urs died in the same war. After receiving all this information from my mother, due to my personal interests, I am further exploring evidence from that age and getting confirmations of these tales”.

While a wreath-laying ceremony will take place on Friday morning at the Mysore Lancers’ Memorial in J.C. Nagar, in the evening, a memorial lecture, and an exhibition of rare paintings and exploits of the Lancers will be organised at BMSCE auditorium in Basavangudi.

“The Baha’i community salutes the Indian Cavalry, who had fought valiantly to save Abdul Baha and the city of Haifa from the Ottoman empire,” said Dinesh Rao, secretary, State Baha’i Council of Karnataka.

Chalshiksha, India’s first education film festival, in Bengaluru this weekend

The festival will see independent filmmakers telling stories of innovative education practices as well as educators using cinema as a medium to teach

Come weekend, Bengaluru will witness Chalshiksha, a first-of-its-kind three-day residential film festival that will celebrate education in all its forms through the medium of films.

More than 35 independent films and documentaries will be screened at the festival organised by SchoolScape Centre for Educators and Project Nomad in association with Abheek Lifeversity. It will be held from September 23 to 25.

With the Union government’s new education policy soon to be implemented, teacher-educators believe it is time for education to be reviewed. Chalshiksha is attempting to do that through films, as the visual medium offers a fresh avenue for a relook at education and schooling.

Amukta Mahapatra, Director of SchoolScape, was part of an innovative programme some years ago called “Neel Bagh”, run by educationist David Horsburgh. “When Neel Bagh completed 50 years, Sourav Dutta, who runs Project Nomad, documented it but failed to find good avenues to showcase his work. When he approached me, I suggested that we screen it as part of this film festival,” she says. Dutta’s film David and his Neel Bagh will be screened on the first day of the festival.

Coming together of films and education

Chalshiksha will see independent filmmakers telling stories of innovative education practices as well as educators using cinema as a medium to document the field. The line-up includes both fiction and documentary films, on topics such as child labour, autism and educational initiatives.

While films on education are not given due importance in India, Mahapatra says given the didactic nature of many films, educators are also unsure how to use them effectively.

According to organisers, the event will seek to explore how filmmaking and education can go hand in hand and encourage filmmakers to make films around education, especially in India.

Mahapatra says they have been overwhelmed by the number of films received for the very first edition. “There are enough films being made on this field and we have more than what we can screen for this edition. So, we are making a repository that will be made available to the public soon.”

Open to public

To make the event truly democratic and inter-generational, the organisers have thrown it open to the public. Children, parents, teachers, school heads, filmmakers as well as educationists are expected to come together, blurring the lines of hierarchy.

The event will be attended by well-known names from the worlds of education and filmmaking, including Arvind Gupta, Deepa Dhanraj and Vijay Padaki.

Apart from film screenings, Chalshiksha will also feature plays, talks and open discussions. To make it an interactive experience for young ones, activities like yoga, bird watching, storytelling workshops, theatre games have been organised.

The residential event is being held at the Ecumenical Christian Centre in Whitefield and will have facilities to host participants who wish to stay onsite for the festival. Spot registrations are available too.

For more details about the event and to register, visit http://chalshiksha.schoolscape.org.

NLSIU medal winners secure jobs at London law firms

Medal winners share their experiences at the institution, challenges and impact of COVID-19 on their college life

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) awarded gold medals to 48 graduates during the convocation across different programmes. Amongst them, three students from BA LLB (Honours) programme — Saurabh Gupta, Vrishank Singhania and Pallavi Khatri — received eight, seven and six gold medals respectively, the highest this year. Speaking to The Hindu after receiving their medals, the trio said that they were all going to London to work in law firms soon. They also shared their experiences at NLSIU, the challenges and the impact of COVID-19 on their college life.

Mr. Saurabh won the most number of medals, including the Basant Kumar Birla Medal for the II Rank Student. Hailing from Chandigarh, he described his experience at the top law school as “life changing”. “The journey has been full of ups and downs. It helped me grow as a person and helped me explore what I wanted to do in the future,” he said. After a Masters programme in University of Oxford and a two-year job at a law firm in London, he plans to practise law at the High Court in Chandigarh.

Good support system

The medal winners said that as much as the experience at NLSIU was enjoyable and highly academically beneficial, they underwent a lot of stress. “As we are a small, competitive college, it is quite stressful and is a high-pressure environment. It is a constant challenge as there are a lot of expectations, not just academically, but to perform in other areas as well. However, you learn to cope with it overtime and it gets better with a good support system”, said Mr. Vrishank from Hyderabad who was awarded the Indira Khaitan Medal for University First Rank and Sarala Birla Medal for the overall topper along with the Best Outgoing student medal.

He added that while he missed social interactions during the pandemic, academically, the virtual classes worked out well. “As there are a lot of activities like moot courts, debates and committees involved in law school, the COVID-19 period gave me the time to slow down and introspect and focus.,” he said. He is currently working with a Supreme Court Lawyer in Delhi and will work in London for two years after that. Upon his return to the country, he plans to have a career combination of litigation and academia in his future.

Ms. Pallavi from Chandigarh won the Kumari Devi Menon Memorial Medal for All-round Best Graduating Girl Student and Ms. Anuradha N. Memorial Medal for Best Outgoing Female Student along with four others. When asked about the challenges she faced as a woman in the University, she said “It was pretty similar to what women in face in the other areas of life. While NLSIU is a really open, progressive, liberal community, there are a few bad apples everywhere. From one or two people, you face a little bit of sexism and instances of unsavoury comments. But otherwise, professors and everyone else are very supportive. There are also many collectives in the university which work towards reducing prejudices in the college.”

She will soon be joining a magic circle firm in London where she will work as a commercial lawyer in the corporate department. She wants to have a business of her own in the future and is looking to build a safety net and get some exposure before that.

Legal aid trust

Ashwini O., who graduated from the LLM programme, secured the M/s. Sitaram Jindal Foundation Gold Medal for the Best Outgoing LL.M. Student hailing from marginalised background. In 2013, she graduated from the same law school in LLB and worked in the corporate sector thereafter.

A little while after that, she realised that her true interest lay in litigation and started her career in the field with Ravivarma Kumar, former Advocate General of the State. She practiced before the High Court of Karnataka. “I really enjoyed picking up causes, filing PILs and litigating. Then I felt the need to get back to academics and came back here”, she said.

Ms. Ashwini also runs her own legal aid trust — Dhwani Legal Trust where child rights and women’s rights are the main focus of work. “We work with domestic violence victims and also create legal awareness which providing legal aid.”

Open access digital repository of academic resources unveiled by Azim Premji University

It is the first-of-its-kind digital repository of academic resources translated from English to Indian languages

‘Anuvada Sampada,’ touted as a first-of-its-kind open access digital repository of academic resources translated from English to Indian languages, was unveiled by Azim Premji University here on Tuesday.

Aimed at making these resources freely and widely available to students, teachers, teacher educators, etc., across the country, the repository has close to 2,000 academic resources and growing and is currently available in Hindi and Kannada.

The translations repository was launched by the Vice Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Indu Prasad and seeks to address the paucity of high-quality academic resources in Indian languages at the graduate and post-graduate level. The initiative, said a release, will enable students, academics, and practitioners to mine, use and reuse academic resources in sciences, social sciences, humanities, and languages. The repository is also expected to help promote original writing, reading, deliberation and discourse in Hindi and Kannada.

“Non-availability of academic resources in Indian languages is a major constraint in expanding access to education and ensuring inclusion. We believe this initiative will help students engage more deeply with concepts and ideas currently available only in English, encourage nuanced debates, and develop perspectives in diverse contexts,” said Hriday Kant Dewan, who leads the initiative at Azim Premji University.

The repository includes select academic resources for postgraduate programmes in education and development, and undergraduate programmes in arts, sciences, and diploma courses. Besides these, there are select articles from journals, extracts or complete chapters from books, podcasts, short films, brief lectures, and panel discussions related to higher education.

Articles focused on various aspects of school education from different publications of Azim Premji University like Learning Curve, At Right Angles, I wonder.., and Pathshala, apart from books and research studies published by Azim Premji Foundation, form part of the collection, added the release.

The University is also in the process of seeking copyright permissions from various publishers to expand the number of open access academic readings on the site.

Anuvada Sampada is available at: https://anuvadasampada.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/.

Motherhood Hospitals acquires Bengaluru-based Femiint Hospital

Since 2016, Motherhood Hospitals had invested ₹200 crore in consolidating its presence in Bengaluru, and was planning to make an additional investment of ₹50 crore

Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), which owns Motherhood Hospitals, a chain of hospitals dedicated to women and children, acquired Bengaluru-based Femiint Hospitals on September 21.

Femiint Hospital, located in Whitefield, provides women and childcare services ranging from out-patient care in gynaecology, pediatrics & IVF pediatric care to comprehensive in-patient care in obstetrics, birthing, gynaecology surgery, fertility & IVF care, besides pediatric surgery.

Since 2016, Motherhood Hospitals had invested ₹200 crore in consolidating its presence in Bengaluru, and was planning to make an additional investment of ₹50 crore.

With this acquisition, Motherhood Hospitals would have a network of seven hospitals and two out-patient facilities in Bengaluru. The company has set up a chain of 18 hospitals across 8 cities in India, post the AHH investment in 2016. It also has a network of 200 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds.

Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), said, “We have built the largest women’s health network in South Asia. We believe there is an opportunity to consolidate this space, and offer exceptional clinical services to Women, newborns and Children.”

Puttur: Periyadka youth is editor of Guajarati film ‘Chhello Show’, India’s official Oscar entry

Guajarati film ‘Chhello Show’ is nominated officially as Indian film for this year’s Oscar awards. It is proud moment for Dakshina Kannada as the editor of the movie is Pavan Bhat, a resident of Periyadka near Uppinangady in the taluk.

Pavan Bhat, who is an engineer, is the son of Gopalkrishna Bhat and Saroja Bhat couple. He is settled in Bengaluru and is in high demand for movies as an editor.

Pavan got educated in Bengaluru and Kolkata. When he was doing PUC itself, he was very much interested in the field of cinema. As he opted for computer science in engineering, editing a movie was easier for Pavan. He also did two years of higher education in editing in Mumbai.

Pavan is the only Kannadiga to have worked in the movie Chhello Show. He said that he never thought of getting entry into the Oscars, but feel proud that the movie is the official entry to Oscar awards from India.

Pavan Bhat has worked as full scale editor for four movies. In total he has worked in more than 20 movies. Bhasmasur was his first movie. It has bagged awards in Indian and overseas. He is interested to work in Kannada movies. Already talks are on with regard to one Kannada movie as per the information shared by Pavan.

Chhello Show movie is about a nine-year-old boy who gets fascinated by Cinema. The movie was premiered in June 2021 in the Tribeca film festival. The movie bagged several awards including Golden Spike award in the Spain film festival. It will be released throughout the world on October 14 with the English title ‘Last Film Show.’ The movie features Bhavin Rabri, Bhavesh Srimali, Richa Meena and others.

Bengaluru teen Pranav Anand becomes India’s 76th Chess Grandmaster

The 15-year-old, having already met the other requirements that are necessary for a GM title, achieved the honour late on Thursday.

Bengaluru teenager Pranav Anand became India’s 76th Grandmaster after he crossed the 2,500 Elo mark in the ongoing World Youth Chess Championship in Mamaia, Romania.

The 15-year-old, having already met the other requirements that are necessary for a GM title, achieved the honour late on Thursday.

To become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points. Anand had scored the third and final GM norm at the 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland in July.

“He is passionate about chess. Extremely interested and passionate about the game. He can work for any number of hours,” Anand’s coach V Saravanan said.

“He is especially good in calculation and end games; they are his two biggest strengths right now,” Saravanan said about his ward’s ninth-round win in the under-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship 2022.

“Also, the most important reason for Pranav’s achievement is the dedication of his family; his mother, and father. They have spent so much time on and supported him. If the pandemic was not there, Pranav could have become a GM at least a year ago. He is one of the most talented kids I have ever come across,” the International Master added.

Anand had secured his third and final GM norm in Biel by drawing his game against Spain’s number five GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2619) in the penultimate round.

He had also beaten GM Maxime Lagarde of France (2631), GM Sethuraman S P(2623), drawn with GM Aryan Chopra (2610) and GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia (2661) in the event.

His first two GM norms came in the Sitges Open (in January 2022) and Vezerkepso GM Round Robin (March 2022) tournaments.

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IIM Bangalore’s one-year EPGP in management ranks first in India, according to Bloomberg survey

In the APAC region, IIMB is preceded only by NUS Singapore

The one-year full-time Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), which is offered to experienced professionals, has bagged the top rank in India and fifth rank in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in the Bloomberg Best Business Schools Survey 2022.

The programme scored well on all the parameters, including Learning (88.6), Networking (83.5) and Entrepreneurship (82). The overall score went up from 13.5 in 2021 to 66.4 this year. Compensation too saw a significant increase (34.2) this year over last year (10.1).

Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, said, “IIMB works hard at educating leaders who will think broadly of their role in society and foster inclusive innovation and growth. It is a good feeling when rankings, global and national, reflect our efforts.”

In the APAC region, IIMB is preceded only by NUS Singapore.

According to the IIMB, Bloomberg surveyed 117 MBA programmes around the world. The rankings were generated using data from 18,504 students, alumni, and recruiter surveys, as well as income and employment data from each school and its alumni. The best B-schools results for 2022 are divided into four regions: Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and the United States.

Mangaluru: 25th annual national homoeopathic conference ‘Impetus’ inaugurated at FMHMC

The inaugural programme of the 25th Annual national homoeopathic conference ‘IMPETUS 2022 – Kindle The Process To Success’ of Father Muller Homoeopathic Medical College (FMHMC) was held on September 16 at the Father Muller Auditorium, Deralakatte.

The chief guest of the programme was Prof Dr Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, MS (ENT), FRCS (England), vice chancellor NITTE (Deemed to be University) and the president of the function was Fr Richard Aloysius Coelho, the director of Father Muller Charitable Institutions.

The chief guest of the programme, Prof Dr Satheesh Kumar Bhandary gave his inaugural address in which he highlighted the immense contribution of Father Muller Institution to the field of health and Education. He expressed his wishes and hopes in forming collaborative joint ventures in the field of Scientific Research and Education in the form of Memorandum of Understanding. The chief guest, then proceeded with the release of the souvenir and was accompanied by the other dignitaries on the stage. Dr Raisa Cherian the Chairperson of the Souvenir Committee joined the release of the Souvenir Magazine.

Father Muller Homoeopathic Pharmaceutical division is famous all over the world for its quality products and medicines and is always in the process of modernizing, renovating and creating better products. Fr Roshan Crasta, administrator, FMHMC&H and FMHPD, launched a series of new products, along with the director Fr Richard A Coelho. In his message on the occasion, the administrator explained about the new products and also conveyed his wishes for the day.

Research and innovations are the life blood of any educational institution and the research unit of FMHMC have brought out a research bulletin, aggregating and spotlighting the achievements of the staff and students in this arena. The first introductory volume of the research bulletin was released by the director, Fr Richard A Coelho. The Research and Scientific Committee coordinator Dr Kurian P J also joined the dignitaries for the release.

Lalbagh’s Christmas tree planted by Elizabeth II in the spotlight

The tree has now grown beyond 70 feet and will soon carry her name

The Lalbagh Botanical Garden is home to thousands of trees and plants and many have, hidden in their foliage, nuggets of history. One such has suddenly found itself in the spotlight following the death of Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-ruling monarch.

The Christmas tree planted by her during her visit to Bengaluru in February 1961 has now grown beyond 70 feet, according to Horticulture Department officials.

The tree is located behind the Bandstand, near the Glass House. “In Lalbagh, we have over 75 trees which were planted by VVIPs. One of them was by Elizabeth II. Just 20 feet away from the tree planted by her is another Christmas tree planted by Abdul Ghaffar Khan (well-known as Frontier Gandhi). Almost 50 feet away from those trees is an Ashoka (Saraca asoca) tree planted by the former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi,” explained M. Jagadeesh, Joint Director (Parks), Horticulture Department.

Video surfaces

A video dating back to the queen’s visit to the city in 1961 has surfaced on the internet after her demise. In the video, it can be seen that as soon as she landed in Bengaluru with her husband, Prince Philip, she was welcomed by the then Governor of the State and the erstwhile ruler of the Mysuru, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. It also shows huge crowds which had gathered on the streets to greet and catch a glimpse of the royal couple and the queen planting a sapling at Lalbagh.

Thanks to this video, for the last two days, department officials have received many enquiries regarding this hitherto little-known tree.

“There is a lot of curiosity among people about the tree. They are calling and asking us where the tree is located and its identification. So far, we have not put up any sign or information board, but in a few days, we will put up an information board and a picture of the queen near the tree,” Mr. Jagadeesh said