All posts by wellnmed@gmail.com

Fulfilling a green cover dream

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Lucknow :

A canvas bag on his shoulders and a motorbike bedecked with posters and messages for afforestation, 45-year-old Lucknowite Chandra Bushan Tiwari has been on a mission to plant fruit-bearing trees across the country. On January 26, 2006, Tiwari had set himself the target of planting 1 lakh saplings along the river Gomti. By September 2014, he had achieved the task of seeding 96,000 trees.

Sowing peepal, gular, jamun, neem, banyan and other flower- and fruit-bearing trees, Tiwari, who was a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, left his profession for the cause. He started teaching children of daily wage labourers, educating them about the ecosystem. “Lucknow used to be a city of gardens, but all that is left now is stones. We have spoiled the ecological balance and it is us who have to work to get that back.”

Raising 700 trees around the Gomti basin at Baikunth Dham, Khatu Shyam Ghat, Shani temple, Hanuman Setu, Kudiya Ghat and around Chandrika Devi temple, Tiwari circumnavigates the city with plants and seeds along with him at all times, gifting them to people

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain / March 15th, 2015

Noted cancer specialist to enter into collaborative research with IIT-K

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Kanpur :

Celebrated tumour biologist, Prof Rakesh Jain of Harvard Medicine School, USA, during his visit to IIT-Kanpur on Monday said that he had held deliberations with department of science and technology (DST) and department of biotechnology (DBT) in Delhi on Saturday last to initiate research work on cancer in India, especially with IIT-Kanpur, which is also his alma mater. Prof Jain during the convocation ceremony of the premier institute on Monday was awarded the honorary degree ‘honoris causa’. He had come with his spouse and two daughters to receive the degree.

Director of IIT-K Prof Indranil Manna said, “Prof Jain spoke to me on collaborative cancer research and if DST or DBT proposes some research work on cancer, then it could be taken up”. Prof Jain had told TOI that he would like to enter into collaborative research with IIT-Kanpur.

Meanwhile, Prof Jain delivered a talk on ‘Cancer and its new treatment methods’ on Monday evening. He spoke in detail about the causes of cancer, possible treatment and what’s new in cancer research. He said that smoking which is the major cause of cancer among the people has hit millions of people across the world. He also spoke about his research contribution and latest cancer treatment by immune therapy.

Under ‘Immune Therapy’ special drugs are injected into the body of the cancer patient. The weak immune system of a human body also makes it difficult for proper treatment of the cancer as otherwise the cancerous tumour spreads further.

Prof Jain said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in US has approved the drugs to be administered to the cancer patients, and his cancer treatment has been put to use by the doctors in US. The new method is expected to reach India soon, enabling cancer patients to get well completely.

Talking to TOI, Prof Jain said, “Though, at present there are treatments available for treating tumours but still a better clinical technique is needed in some types of cancers to provide relief to the patients. To evolve a new technique, we researched on the mirco-environment of the tumour and observed that there was abnormality in the tumour’s environment. This caused resistance to the treatment administered to the patient. Therefore, we decided to convert the abnormality inside the tumour’s environment to a normal environment. This proved to be successful.”

He said that cancer turns very aggressive when the abnormality in the micro-environment of the tumour causes resistance to the drugs. Giving deep insight into his research, Prof Jain said, “Such drugs have been developed in the US, and also approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which can reprogramme the microenvironment of the tumour. The patients suffering from skin cancer are being treated with immune therapy at present.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / by Abhinav Malhotra, TNN / February 25th, 2015

Get a glimpse of ‘Robo Wars’, Grid Explorer at Technex-15

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology

Varanasi :

Eye-catching model exhibitions by budding engineers, air shows, informative workshops and series of other events marked the formal start of the four-day annual techno-management festival ‘Technex-15’ at the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) on Friday.

The attractive start to a number of events including model exhibition (Modex) showcasing a number of technical innovations and models, RoboNex comprising ‘Robo wars’ (battle of robots), hurdlemania, hydrax, xestos, grid explorer, pixellate, air-shows and management events stole the show on the opening day of the fest.

When TOI contacted Pulkit, the senior advisor of the fest, he informed that while the manual and autonomous events of RoboNEX were held, the finals of the coding events, ‘Byte-The-Bits’ was also conduted on the first day. The manual events include hurdlemania, Robowars, and Hydrax, where as the autonomous ones comprise Xestos, grid explorer and pixellate.

Siddharth Dwivedi, a student of AITS, Nainital said, “Our team Formless has participated in Robowars and we have prepared a bot with three weapons to immobilize the opponent bot during the war.” Siddharth Chauhan, student of IIT-BHU said, “Our team has prepared a bot which works on rotor mechanism and will attack the opponent bots.”

The co-ordinator of the event, Gaurav Kumar informed that as many as 35 teams have participated in the Robowars event which remains the attraction every year. “It is the first time that we have also prepared a cage where the wars will be held so that the particles do not injure the spectators,” he said.

Lots of students could also be witnessed carrying out demo of their bots during ‘Xestos’ event. The co-ordinator, Utkarsh Kumar said, “The highlight of this event is that it works on wireless mechanism and hand-gestures. A wireless module, Accelerometer (nrf) is used for operating the bots.” As many as 55 teams of IIT-BHU and 15 teams from other colleges have participated in the event, he added.

Kartik Gangwar, a first year student of MJP Rohilkhand, Bareilley informed, “It is the first time that I have participated in such an event. It feels great to participate and compete with such innovative engineers.” Arpit Mittal and Sandeep, students from Haryana and Delhi said, “We hope our hard work pays off as we have devoted all our time and energy into it.”

Though the techno-management shows remained the attraction of Technex’15 on the inaugural day, it was not only about technical shows as the ‘Air Show’ organized at the Gymkhana grounds of the institute left the spectators spellbound.

Rajat Sharma, one of the co-ordinators of the aero-modelling event said that the aero-modelling club of IIT-BHU came up with new models of byplanes, jets, water-rockets with parachute mechanism for the first time at this year’s fest. The main attractions of the show remained Rahul Sharma and Dhruv Gupta, from Faridabad and Bangalore respectively and the audience kept on cheering looking at the models flying in the air. Anil Sharma of a firm at Faridabad manufactured as many as 35 models at the air show.

The theme of this year’s techno-management fest is ‘Inspired by Excellence’ and participants of over 135 colleges from 15 States have registered for the event.

Earlier, a Talent Quest (Outreach program for School Students) effectively organized a general aptitude and basic sciences tests which was followed by workshops on Robotics and Aero Modelling held on February 22.

It may be noted that in order to rejuvenate the mind, body and soul, Pronites are also lined up including the rocking VH1 Supersonic101 DJ Night, magnificent acts by German Street Magicians, fun-filled comedy night by stand-up comedian Kanan Gill, Bike Stunts showcase by Babar Khan and crew (MTV Stuntmania Underground winners) accompanied a Fire show.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Punkhuri Kapoor, TNN / February 28th, 2015

Police stations rich repository of freedom struggle

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

Allahabad :

The Allahabad Police records are a rich repository of British Raj history, dating back to 1896. The department has painstakingly compiled all records, including FIRs against martyrs and investigation sheets, along with the history of each and every case maintained by Britishers systematically in Conviction Registers (CRs).

SSP Deepak Kumar said, “Realizing historical value of British era records, we have written to the DGP to set up a special cell to maintain it. Records available with different police stations, including Colonelganj, Kotwali and Civil Lines, have been compiled with the help of historians.” He further said that they would consult Allahabad Museum officials after seeking seniors’ approval and suggestion.

Meanwhile, Regional Archive Office has already asked the district police authorities to hand over historical records for proper up keep.

Police have preserved all sheets related to cases registered in a CR with its serial number along with the name of the convict and the number of history-sheet, percentage and caste, place and date of conviction, offence category, punishment awarded, place of crime and remarks.

Apart from this, the records have other details like notes on crime in village with special references to fractions, land or water dispute, presence of criminal tribes or gang, occurrence of obstructions or damage to railway line within the village, special outbreak of crime in the village.

Records also revealed that the Britishers keenly compiled village-wise fractions, land or water disputes as well as damage to railway line within a village.

The police record of British era, including sheets on which cases under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) against martyrs were registered in Village Crime Notebook (VCN), too has been maintained.

Records revealed that the Village Crime Notebook, maintained by British between 1910 and 1947, has a mention of the case registered against martyr Chandra Shekhar Azad with Colonelganj police station under Section 307 of the IPC on February 27, 1931 (crime number 20\1931). The case was registered by Britishers against martyr Azad and one of his companion regarding Alfred Park firing incident, in which sub-inspector Rai Sahib Chaudhary Rishal Singh was the investigation officer.

However, the Britishers had not put any remark on the outcome of the case, whereas they had noted down the result of every case on the sheets.

“Since cases during the British rule were registered in Urdu, the department took assistance of Urdu translators to know about the particular cases registered against martyrs,” said the SSP adding, “These records were preserved technically and scientifically to prevent any further damage.”

As per available records, the first case with Colonelganj police station was registered in 1910 in Urdu under Section 457 of the IPC. The last case in same language was registered in 1949. Besides, Kotwali police too had recovered FIRs lodged in 1896.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Kapil Dixit, TNN / February 27th, 2015

Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) launches EO Uttar Pradesh

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Lucknow :

The world’s largest peer-to-peer network of entrepreneurs have announced their arrival to Lucknow with the unveiling of the EO UP Chapter. Since 1987, EO has been transforming the lives of the entrepreneurs who seek to bring revolution in the world. As the global thought leader on entrepreneurship, EO plays an integral role in business, industry and the lives of leading entrepreneurs everywhere.

The latest entrant in the South Asia region, EO UP brings to the network a formidable array of entrepreneurs from across sectors: power, food, chemicals, dairy, leather, construction, auto and auto components, newspaper and railway components. With combined sales in excess of 4,000 crores, and total direct employee strength of more than 13,500 people, the chapter is charting a strategic growth plan for the next five years with the aim of bringing more entrepreneurs into the community.

EO undertakes several initiatives across its chapters to foster learning, development and inclusive growth within the entrepreneur community. It brings together the brightest minds across sectors and sparks intelligent discourse to drive the spirit of success, integrity and continued learning among its members. “With once-in-a-lifetime experiences and opportunities to engage with industry experts and mentors, EO brings its members closer to success”, said the company.

Speaking at the launch, Sanjay Jhunjhunwala, Founding President, EO UP said, “As entrepreneurs, we are all very busy building our own companies. EO serves as a binding force, bringing together entrepreneurs from different walks of life, drawing their individual strengths towards a shared goal of inclusive growth, learning and prosperity. We are very excited about the launch of the UP chapter and we hope to continue growing this network, building from one success to the next.”

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 10,000 influential business owners with 142 chapters in 46 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Priyanka Singh, TNN / February 26th, 2015

Promising more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
Cheering the teamSinger Kanika Kapoor
Cheering the teamSinger Kanika Kapoor

The winner of this year’s Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer (Female), Kanika Kapoor has released her new single in collaboration with the Universal Music for the Indian Cricket team which is participating in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Kanika has already created a niche for herself in the industry by belting out hits like “Baby doll”, “Pink lips”, “Lovely”, “Chittiyaan Kallaiyaan” and many more adding to her fame and glory. Besides the Filmfare award she has also won prestigious awards as the Best Female Playback Singer at StarGuild, StarDust for her song “Baby doll” and won the Most Entertaining Singer category at Big Star Entertainments Awards.

In an interview to The Hindu she talks about her new single, struggle, hit numbers among other things.

Tell us about your new upcoming venture with Universal Music.

This song is the Hindi version of the song “Heroes” which is originally made by Swedish DJ and music producer, Alesso. It is about encouraging the spirit of Indian cricket team and uniting every cricket fan to hoot for the ‘Heroes’ during this World Cup Season. I am pretty excited for this song because it brings out the essence of the cricket world cup and adds an energetic vibe to it.

How do you feel after singing so many hit numbers?

I believe success comes after a lot of hard work and patience. Even if you are graced with a lot talent, it does not mean you will be recognised as a singer at that very moment. Patience becomes vital during the low points of your life because it is your determination which bears the fruit in the end. I feel blessed to have an opportunity to express my talent at such a great platform and honoured to be the voice behind so many hits.

How did you start your struggle as a singer?

Being born and raised in Lucknow, I started studying classical music under Pandit Ganesh Prasad Mishra at the age of 12. After that I accompanied him when he performed at concerts all over India. During this time I did a stint with the All India Radio and then moved to the music industry. From my experience I can clearly tell that working for your passion is not merely a cakewalk. A lot of perseverance is required.

Do you believe in singing only one type of genre or more?

I clearly believe in singing different types of songs. I have sung many upbeat dance numbers but my latest song “Chhil Gaye Naina” from the film “NH10” is a sad song. I think all singers should explore their skills by singing songs of different genres so as to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

How do you plan to connect with your fans this year?

Right now I am going to be entertaining the crowd of Delhi University in the month of March. I am looking forward to make the youth dance to my beats at different colleges and lighten the evenings.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Yukti Gaur / February 27th, 2015

Museum to digitize cultural assets

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

Allahabad :

In an attempt to preserve the cultural identity of the city, Allahabad Museum would soon be maintaining a database of all archaeological sites, historic monuments and fairs including Maha Kumbh, Ardh-Kumbh, Magh Mela and Kartik Mela. The first of its kind project by the Ministry of Culture also includes digitization of all the cultural assets of the city. The exercise would be carried in nearly all the popular cities of the country.

After the digitization process, it is expected that archaeological sites at Bheeta, Gardhwa and places bordering Kaushambi will attract the tourists. Rajesh Purohit, director, Allahabad Museum told TOI, “The Ministry of Culture has undertaken the project as there is no database of tangible and intangible cultural spaces across the country. As a part of the initiative, it has been decided to prepare an inventory of tangible cultural assets like places of historic, political and archeological importance and even cultural centres where performances are held.”

He further said intangible assets like the ‘Sangam culture’, fairs, folklore and folk arts performed in and around the region would also form a part of the database. “Many people do not know that Kaushambi was the capital city of Mahajanpads in ancient India. It has monuments dated to Jains and Buddh period including stupas, viharas, terracota statues. Further, in Bheeta, terroracotas in Gardhwa temple complex are some of the highlights of the tangible cultural assets which will be highlighted after the digitization,” said Purohit.

He said, “Similarly, the legends associated with Magh and Kumbh Mela will also attract tourists in the city.” The digitization process would be carried out once the database is prepared by the museum. The museum is one of the selected national museums of the country and is governed by central government.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal, TNN / February 26th, 2015

IIT-BHU graduates develop tech for safer, faster tyres

Education, Science & Technology

Varanasi :

Three chemical engineering graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) have come up with a new eco-friendly innovation of extracting green silica from rice husk ash. With this, the carbon used in tyres can be replaced with silica which helps in reducing the rolling resistance and improve fuel economy.

Elaborating about their innovation Nikhar Jain said, “The rice husk ash contains heavy amount of silica which can be used for various purpose. To ensure effective rice husk utilization through efficient silica extraction, we developed a process to extract advance grade of green silica.”

Citing advantages, he said, “First and foremost, the cost will be cheaper as no import will be required. Secondly, silica helps in reducing the rolling resistance so if it is used instead of carbon black then the fuel economy too will improve.” It also results in 5% reduction in fuel consumption of vehicles and reduction in emission of green house gases, he added.

This technology for silica extraction has been successfully employed at pilot stage by Nikhar Jain, Tanmay Pandya and Abhishek Poddar, who are associated with ‘Bridgedots Techservices Private Limited’, established in 2011 by IIT-BHU alumni. It is a technology solution provider for Chemical & Allied Industries, across the globe, including India, Europe, Middle East, USA and Australia.

The students tested silica extracted from rice husk ash at Malaviya Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (MCIIE) and are in contact with several multinational companies (MNCs). “Presently, we have received approval from two MNCs and are in talk with a few federal companies for funds,” Nikhar Jain, one of the innovators.

It is currently incubated at the Technology Business Incubator, MCIIE of IIT-BHU, which provides direct access to leading authorities and experts in India and state-of-the-art research infrastructure of the campus. It also has a well-equipped research lab in Noida.

According to Jain, millions of tons of rice were harvested in India and disposal of rice husk ash was an environmental challenge. “If the rice husk wastes are used for landfills as well as in silica extraction, then waste disposal issues will be solved,” he said.

MCIIE coordinator and professor in department of chemical engineering PK Mishra said, “These young minds have come up with the first-of-its-kind idea by converting a waste product into a value added product. The rice husk served various purposes but disposal of ash was a challenge. Now, this husk ash would not only reduce energy but also help in minimal pollution.” He further said, “To extract silica from sand, you have to heat the sand up to 1,400 degrees Celsius while the temperature required for extracting silica from ash is only 100 degrees Celsius,” and added that plans were afoot to set up the plant at Punjab.

MCIIE technology manager Prashant Sinha said, “The best part of this innovation is its eco-friendly nature and advantages are not just limited to increasing fuel efficiency of tyres and reduction in pollution. But, even the left over ash can be of great use.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / by Punkhuri Kapoor, TNN / February 12th, 2015

Trophies galore at flower show finale

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

Lucknow :

As many as 107 running trophies and cups as prizes were presented to winners of the two-day-long fruits, vegetables and flower show, which concluded at Raj Bhavan on Sunday.

The show comprised a total of 1,004 participants along with more than 4,000 exhibits.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ram Naik said the texture and aroma of flowers are a treat to the eyes, while vegetables are a foodie’s delight. Governor also appreciated vegetables grown as potted plants and said based on this experience and technique, it could be replicated on a wider scale.

The kitchen garden of Swati Singh, a resident of Vikramaditya Marg, won as many as 16 prizes. This year’s theme for the kitchen garden was ‘Sankalp’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / February 23rd, 2015

UPCA remembers Gaur Hari Singhania

Leaders, Sports

Kanpur :

UP Cricket Association (UPCA) held a condolence meeting at Kamla Club here on Thursday to pay tributes to its past president and chief patron Gaur Hari Singhania. All directors and office-bearers, members of UPCA and several players attended the meeting.

Rajiv Shukla, general secretary of UPCA, announced in the meeting that the Cricket Academy at Kamla Club, which is under construction, would be named as Gaur Hari Singhania Cricket Academy, and UP Cricket Association (UPCA) will organise a league or tournament in his name.

Recalling the time spent with late Singhania, Rajeev Shukla said that the befitting tribute to late Singhania would be to execute his programmes and plans. “We would leave no stone unturned in executing his plans and programmes for taking the state cricket to newer heights.

Shukla said that the sad demise of Singhania, who was a leading industrialist, was an irreparable loss to UP cricket and the industrial sector of the country. The working committee of BCCI in its last meeting held at Chennai had also condoled the death of Singhania.

Speaking on the occasion, MM Mishra, director UPCA said that Singhania was a simple person who believed in giving and encouraging others. KN Tandon, Yudhveer Singh, Mohd Javed, Shashikant Khandekar, Reeta Dey and others also spoke on the occasion and paid their tributes. All persons present in the meeting garlanded the portrait of Singhania.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / February 20th, 2015