** Mangaluru: Veteran theatre artiste Peter Benedict Bolar no more

Veteran theatre artiste and social worker Peter Victor Benedict Bolar (73) breathed his last at 4.50 am on Sunday April 18.

Peter entered the world of theatre in the 70’s. He was known for his skillful acting and expertise in make up in Tulu and Konkani plays.

While working in Dubai, he was actively taking part in the theatre activities there. He had donned comic roles in the plays of K N Tailor.

** Veteran litterateur, artiste Dr Kasargod Ashok Kumar no more

 Dr Ashok was born in Kasargod on December 1, 1953. He was the elder brother of writer T K Kasargod (Tilak Kamath). He completed his higher primary education in Kasargod government school, high school education in BEM High School, and BSc from a government college in Kasargod. He later joined Syndicate Bank.

** Leaving No Stone Unturned For A Memorable Memorial

India has always enjoyed the position of a world leader in granite exports. Adding unmatched style and elegance to the architecture, the glossy, smooth Indian granite has been extensively used stone material in building classic memorials across the globe — Vietnam War Memorial and Bruce Lee Memorial in Washington DC, Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial at Hiroshima in Japan are a few monuments made of Indian granite.

Now, Indian granite, which has been mined from a quarry in Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka, has made it to Hayward 9/11 Memorial in the United States of America. Black and red granite was exported from Chamarajanagar to Hayward and has been used for the Hayward 9/11 Memorial adjacent to the historic Old City Hall building on Mission Boulevard, downtown Hayward.

** This calligramist puts spirit into letter

For Shashwat Hegde, the Kannada Aksharmale is not just alphabets which can be strung into words, but can also be turned into art. In his deft fingers, each one turns visual design and takes on a deeper symbolism. And so the ‘Ka’ of Krishnadevaraya is regally turbaned, the ‘Ka’ of ‘lasika’ has a sharp syringe needle, the ‘Aa’ of ‘aashcharya’ (surprise) is truly eye-popping, while the ‘Ra’ of ‘kumbara’ is shaped like a pot… a delight for the word lover.

** Hubballi professor gets a surprise from ‘Gulzar Sahab’

The award-winning poet calls up Mustaque Ahmed S. Mulla after he reads the latter’s letter.

It was in the second week of March that Prof. Mulla, principal of Tippu Shaheed Institute of Technology at Old Hubballi, happened to watch a reading of Mirza Galib’s poem by Mr. Gulzar in the ‘Jashn-e-Rekhta’ programme.