Various programs were organised in Gorakhpur to mark birth anniversary of Pt Ram Prasad Bismil on Thursday.
Rashtriya Sewa Parishad and Uttar Pradesh Yuva Kalyan Sangathan paid floral tributes to the freedom fighter, organised a seminar and a special prayer at Bismil Park.
The photograph of Ram Prasad Bismil was garlanded at Gorakhpur journalist association office.
While speaking on his life, Dr Ashok Srivastav, a social activist said, “Ram Prasad Bismil sacrificed his life for the country. He participated in Mainpuri conspiracy of 1918, and Kakori conspiracy of 1925 against British Empire. He was hanged in Gorakhpur jail on December 19,
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / June 12th, 2015
A wonder molecule, isolated from a Himalayan tree, may hold the key to a new and efficient drug against diabetes and obesity.
The adiponectin hormone was discovered more than 15 years ago. But despite a large number of laboratory studies demonstrating its potential as a drug candidate, the molecule could not be exploited because of the logistical problems in creating the drug in laboratories.
Indian researchers have now come up with a solution to the problem. They have isolated a molecule from the Himalayan Elm tree that mimics adiponectin. The molecule is orally active, which means it can be developed as an orally consumable medicine.
The drug candidate was isolated from the stem-bark of Kashmir Elm, a tree found in mountains from Afghanistan to Nepal, including Kumaon and Garhwal in India. The tree grows at elevations of 800-3,000 m.
“Initial studies suggest that our molecule (called GTDF based on its long and complicated chemical name) is non-toxic. But we would prefer to do preclinical trial jointly with a company in large animals,” team leader Sabyasachi Sanyal from the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, told Deccan Herald.
Laboratory studies so far have demonstrated the molecule’s ability to tackle lifestyle diseases like diabetes, insulin resistance and obesity. However, it is early days as the drug development process can take anything between 15 and 20 years from the initial leads.
“It is an interesting piece of work that shows GTDF is an orally active adiponectin-receptor activator. The studies will prove a panacea in treating obesity as well as diabetes,” said Avadesha Surolia, an Indian Institute of Science professor not associated with the study.
The CDRI findings have been accepted for publication in American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes.
The Lucknow team stumbled upon the new properties of GTDF while researching on it as a bone-fracture-healing agent.
The same CDRI team in 2012 had reported on the new-bone-forming properties of GTDF, because of which it is being developed as an oral medicine for bone fracture. The technology was transferred to a US company, Kemextree, for drug development.
“While trying to decipher how it conducts its bone-forming activity, we identified it as an orally active small molecule that mimics the action of the hormone adiponectin,” said Sanyal.
The CDRI scientists further studied the compound’s medicinal properties in collaboration with the Zydus Research Centre, Ahmedabad, and the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> National / by Kalyan Ray, New Delhi / DHNS – June 11th, 2014
The Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT-Kanpur organised TEDx on Saturday. In this event, seven visionaries and performers from different fields narrated their stories before the audience both from IIT-Kanpur and the city.
The event started with a formal inauguration by IIT-K director Indranil Manna and Prof B V Phani. The first talk was given by Ad-man Abhijit Avasthi, followed by Amit Deshpal, a graduate from IIT-Madras in 2008 and joined the private equity arm of World Bank. Inspired by Tagore’s and Tolstoy’s thoughts on education, he quit his job a year later to start a learning space for children.
He spent nearly three years travelling around the country learning from different places and tried to understand meaning of education beyond formal schooling.
Talks were also delivered by renowned pantomime artist Padma Shri Niranjan Goswami and Anand Patwardhan, a critically acclaimed and socio-political documentary film-maker and activist. Other speakers were Irfan Alam, a social entrepreneur based in Patna working towards organising and empowering rickshaw-pullers through his organisation Sammaan, Aabid Surti, National Award winning author, artist and playwright-turned-environmentalist, Dipendra Manocha, founder of Saksham Trust that works towards developing communication devices for the visually impaired. The organisers of TEDx said that these talks may seed the notion of entrepreneurial zeal in individuals to think differently and act smartly. Many entrepreneurs and well-known people of the city attended the programme.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / March 29th, 2015
Pandit Mukesh Sharma talks to Anjana Rajan about the special music of his father sarod exponent, Pandit Rasik Behari Lal.
The absence of any chronological predictability shrouds the undeniable fact of our mortality in a haze of mystery. No matter the technical strides made by human beings, the tragedy of an untimely demise is no less today than, say, two centuries ago. The difference, though, is that now we have the means to keep recordings and photographs of those who leave this world. In the case of sarod maestro Mukesh Sharma, it is technology that helped him gain the benefit of the unique musicality of his father, Pandit Rasik Behari Lal, even though death took him away just months before the birth of his son.
Pandit Rasik Behari was employed at All India Radio, Lucknow, and was renowned for his brilliant playing. “His versatile and aesthetic perception of the sarod enabled him to touch most profound depths of this instrument,” says Sharma.
Along with soulful rendering of the raga, purity of style, imagination and a technique that blended the elements of the gayaki ang (a style approximating to vocal rendering) and layakari (instrumental rhythmic patterns), he pioneered a difficult technique of playing two octaves together, says Sharma, who is in possession of a number of concert recordings of his father. “During the 1940s and ’50s, he played in a manner no one else was playing,” he notes. “His recordings are still regularly broadcast over the radio.”
In the coming week, Sharma, a well travelled instrumentalist himself, is presenting a musical evening under the aegis of his organisation, the CommuneGlobus Art Foundation, in memory of his father. Named “Parampara”, the event features a duet by Shubhendra Rao (sitar) and Saskia Rao De Haas (cello) and a sarod recital by Pandit Brij Narayan. Tabla accompaniment will be by Shailendra Mishra and Gyan Singh. To be inaugurated by eminent vocalist Pandit Tejpal Singh, the event also includes an art exhibition by Bhaswati Boruah, Turaeva Shahlohon Tina, Renu Gupta and Mukesh Jwala.
Sharma himself will not be performing. Trained under his grandfather Pandit Ram Gopal, and later under Pandit Suprabhat Paul and Dr. Ramaballabh Mishra, he is best known as a disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, with whom he studied in the guru-shishya tradition for 12 years, as well as of Kathak maestro Birju Maharaj. As Sharma describes the atmosphere in which his father was nurtured, one gets a sense of the great artistic crucible that was the Lucknow of those days and of the weighty lineage he has inherited through history and his genes.
Pandit Rasik Behari, born on October 12, 1929, was the son of Pandit Ram Gopal, an eminent sitar exponent of Lucknow and a professor at the famous Bhatkhande Music College. A disciple of the great sarod maestro Ustad Sakhawat Hussain Khan Saheb of the Shahjahanpur gharana, Rasik Behari had his initial training under great maestros in varied fields. These included Pandit Ratan Jayankar, renowned vocalist, Pandit Sakha Ram the famous pakhawaj exponent and Pandit Shambhu Maharaj the great Kathak maestro.
“Great artists were living in Lucknow at that time,” recounts Sharma. “My father worked with Pandit Ravi Shankar ji who was a producer at AIR and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb who was a staff artist.” He adds that iconic violinist Pandit V.G. Jog, who was teaching at Bhatkhande, and Pandit Gajanan Rao Joshi from AIR were also part of his father’s circle, as were Pandit Birju Maharaj, then a young man receiving his training from his uncles, and the celebrated Begum Akhtar, ‘Malika-e-Ghazal’.
“There was also Pandit Dhruv Tara Joshi, who helped train Ustad Vilayat Khan sahib after the death of Ustad Enayat Khan when Vilayat Khan sahib was very young,” adds Sharma.
On December 4, 1960, sarod maestro Pandit Rasik Behari Lal succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 31.
(The programme takes place on March 31, LTG auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi, 6.30 p.m.)
Great artists were living in Lucknow at that time…my father worked with Pandit Ravi Shankar ji who was a producer
at AIR and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb who was a staff artist.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Anjana Rajan / March 27th, 2015
JK group chairman Gaur Hari Singhania passed away today following a heart attack.
Singhania (80) was also the president of JK Organisation and a promoter director of JK Cement Ltd since its inception in 1994.
A sports lover, he was the chief patron of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. He is survived by his son Yadupati Singhania.
He was cremated this afternoon at Bhagwat Das Ghat in the city.
Expressing his condolence, chairman and managing director of Jagran Prakashan Mahendra Mohan Gupta said Singhania was a true well-wisher of Kanpur city, where he was born on June 12, 1935.
“Gaur Babu not only promoted sports-related activities in Kanpur and the state but also participated in all industrial activities,” said Gupta, who is also the former president of the Merchant Chamber of Uttar Pradesh.
In the field of education, he contributed to various universities and had opened an university at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Singhania held chairmanship in other companies, including Jaykay Enterprises, JK Cotton and JK Traders.
He served as the chairman of the Merchant Chamber of Uttar Pradesh and the Employers Association of Northern India. Apart from that, he was the founder chairman of the UP Stock Exchange and founder patron of the Associated Chamber of Commerce.
Singhania was a director in various corporations such as Pradeshiya Industrial Investment Corporation of Uttar Pradesh, UP State Industrial Development Corporation and Uttar Pradesh State Sugar Corporation.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Business> Story / Thursday – February 05th, 2015
Veteran journalist and Outlook’s editorial chairman Vinod Mehta died in New Delhi.
I first met Vinod Mehta across the net of a table tennis table. We were at a TT coaching camp in Nainital; he was already the UP champ while I was a budding junior. I was the youngest in the group, and small for my age and so was subjected to bullying by a particularly nasty older and bigger boy. Vinod came to my rescue, and for the 15 days of the camp he became my protector, his weapon a sarcastic wit to which the bully boy had no answer. Was this a sign of Vinod’s later championing of the underdog?
We met years later in London purely by accident. The National Film Theatre was premiering Merchant Ivory’s Shakespearewallah. Somehow, in spite of the years, we recognised each other. When we came out of the theatre, we saw Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and the star of the film Felicity Kendal at the door. Vinod and I looked at each other. “We must talk to Felicity,” we said in unison. We looked at each other again. “You go first,” he said. “You go first,” I said. This table tennis like rally went on for a while with both of us indecisively stuck to our spot when a limousine came and whisked Felicity away.
I suppose that was the last time shyness held Vinod Mehta back. When I came back to Bombay in the early 70s he was already here. He had self published ‘Bombay, a Private View’, a rather presumptuous book considering he was a young man who had just come to the city, but it was a statement of intent. Vinod wanted to write; even more, he wanted to be in journalism, and perhaps the book was his passport into this desired territory. He soon met Susheel Somani, an industrialist who had shocked his conservative family by launching Debonair, India’s answer to Playboy.
It was a rather poor answer, but Vinod as editor transformed it. Its nudes continued to be terrible (Vinod probably gave only a fleeting moment to them), but Debonair became a magazine you wanted to read. The qualities that made Vinod Mehta such a very different editor from the usual mould were on display here: his lively irreverence, his unflinching honesty, his sharp wit and his penchant for the gossipy anecdote. He gave me my first column (which he called Dharker’s Dilemma) and I met him quite often but his real Bombay friends were Behram Contractor (Busybee to his countless admirers) and Mario Miranda (the cartoonist). They formed Bombay’s gossip troika, and one wonders how many reputations were good naturedly demolished every evening over a bottle of Old Monk.
Vinod was greatly influenced by British journalism and his oft-stated ambition was to start a Sunday paper like London’s Sunday Times or The Observer. Ashwin Shah of Jaico Publishers gave him that opportunity with The Sunday Observer and while Vinod ran it, it was probably the best Sunday paper in the country with often provocative articles and a letters page which became a Vinod Mehta trademark — opinions of every shade were allowed to be expressed, the more against the paper’s views the better.
What distinguished Vinod from his contemporaries was that he was no respecter of reputations, and politicians particularly were the objects of his mockery. That’s why when he moved to Delhi, he never developed a cosy relationship with ministers and politicians. His run-ins with proprietors was partly a result of this at-arms-length attitude. His falling out with Vijaypat Singhania at The Indian Post and LM Thapar’s Pioneer were spectacular in their suddenness, but he was stubborn in not following any diktats. In the battle that ensued someone had to go. Obviously that was the Editor.
If he stayed at the helm of Outlook for 17 years it was not because he had mellowed in his approach but because in Rajan Raheja he found a proprietor who supported him in full. In one of his books, Vinod tells the story he calls ‘Foster PM’, of how Ranjan Bhattacharya, with the help of NK Singh and Brajesh Mishra, seemed to bypass Prime Minister Vajpayee in awarding major contracts to dubious firms. The consequence of the detailed stories was an income tax raid with 700 officials (as reported by Hindustan Times) descending on the group’s offices in 12 cities. Outlook, fortunately, didn’t flinch and continued its anti-establishment ways with Arundhati Roy’s long diatribes (10,000 words plus) in sensitive issues like Kashmir, terrorism and Naxalites and gave full rein to the Radia tapes, all of these invariably treading on government and corporate toes.
In a sense, Vinod’s career encapsulates the uneasy relationship between the state and the media: we have on the surface an unbridled free press, but the sub text is, you can go this far, but no further. What Vinod Mehta showed is that if you are fearless, if you are ready with your resignation letter in your pocket (his phrase), you can keep pushing the boundaries one step at a time. You might offend a lot of people, hurt many interests, but in the end you will have bravely served the larger cause. Vinod Mehta continued doing this till the very end.
(Anil Dharker is an Indian columnist and author)
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities / by Anil Dharker, Hindustan Times / March 08th, 2015
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
Classical singer Shubha Mudgal, Bollywood playback singers Rekha Bhardwaj and Kailash Kher, journalist Vinod Mehta, theatre artists Urmil Kumar Thapiyal, poet Khushbir Singh ‘Shaad’, kathak exponent Kum Kum Dhar, as well as actors Jimmy Shergill and Nawazuddin Siddiqui were among 56 achievers who on Monday received the Yash Bharti Award for 2013-14 & 2014-15 at a grand ceremony held at Ram Manohar Lohia Park.
The award, given by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, carried a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a citation and a shawl. The Yash Bharti Award is one of the highest state-level awards conferred for excellence in literature, fine arts, classical music, folk music and sports. The awards were instituted in 1994 by Mulayam Singh Yadav to honor achievers in different fields. Addressing the awardees, Akhilesh said, “As these awards are given to generate social awareness in the society, I consider each of the recipients ‘real’ ambassadors of Uttar Pradesh, representing the state across the globe.”
Among the awardees, bhajan maestro Anoop Jalota donated his award to a city-based trust to promote Bhagwad Gita through spiritual concert ‘Ram Bhi Rahim Bhi’. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui said his joy of receiving the award doubled as he also got a chance to visit the city which taught him the basics of acting and theatre at Bhartendu Natya Akademi
Kathak exponent Kumkum Dhar, said, “It certainly feels great when the government and people of your own state not only recognize your work but applaud you in such a grand way.” “Besides the support of my family, it is actually the blessings of my guru Lacchhu Maharaj that helped me sail through these 40 years of my career with such ease,” she added.
Renowned poet Khushbir Singh ‘Shaad’, who is currently settled in Punjab, expressed joy over receiving the award and said, “It is certainly a matter of pride for me that Lucknow still remembers me with the same love and affection.”
The other list of awardees include classical singer Rajan Saajan Mishra and Rita Ganguly, music composer Ravindra Jain, international level judo referee Munawar Anzar, educationist Jagdish Gandhi, Abhishek Yadav for special commando training, wrestler Aka Tomar, ghazal singer Rita Ganguly, lyricist Sameer, poet Bekal Utsahi, writer Maata Prasad Tripathi and Devi Prasad Pandey.
Along with these, two bravery awards were also conferred. While Resham Fatima was awarded Maharani Ahiliyabai Holkar Award, Seema Tiwari was given the Rani Laxmi Bai award.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / February 10th, 2015
When the Tanjore king Achuthappa Naik (1560-1614) was bedridden after he suffered a paralytic stroke, many believed it was due to some black magic. The matter was informed to a visiting saint who eventually restored the king to health. Whether one believes in miracles or not, Nagore still thrives on it.
“Nagore is known for its religious harmony for more than 500 years. It is all because of the saint Qadir Wali who is enshrined there in a place widely known as Nagore dargah to which people of all religions throng with faith and problems. The miracle has been happening since 16th century and it still continues,” said A S Mohamed Rafee, author of the recently released book, “The Ocean of Miracles: Life of Qadir Wali”.
Qadir Wali travelled to many parts of the world and stayed in Mecca, Medina, Turkey and Palestine for many years before he came to Nagore where he lived for 28 years. “At a time when the world is facing serious threats in the name of religion, it’s remarkable that Nagore still survives on harmony, a reason why more sandal smeared heads are seen in the Sufi dargah. Wali served the people of all religions with his miraculous powers,” said Rafee, who is associate professor at the Mazharul Uloom College, Ambur.
Qadir Wali was born in 1504 in Manikkappur, a town established by Firoz Sha Tughluq in Uttar Pradesh, some 60 km from today’s Ayodhya. His parents, Hasan Guddus and Fatima, were descendants in the lineage of Prophet Muhammad and Abdul Qadir of Jilan, a great saint of the 12th century in Iraq.
Nagore dargah was built on land donated by king Achuthappa Naik. Many important parts of the dargah were built by the generous donation of non-Muslims, a reason cited why it’s a symbol of religious harmony. “The dargah has five minarets and the tallest one is called Periya Minar. It is 131 feet high with ten storeys. It was built by king Pratap Sing of Tanjore (1739-17633) after his wish for a son was fulfilled by praying to Wali 200 years after his passing away. The Peer Mandapam was built by the Dutch.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of Ibdia / Home> City> Chennai / by M T Saju, TNN / February 09th, 2015
Flagging off the Agra Taj rally from Etawah’s lion safari, Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav said the Uttar Pradesh government plans to promote tourism beyond the iconic Taj Mahal in the state. Saying the government will also develop places of interest around the monument of love in Agra.
“For the purpose, religious, cultural, wildlife tourism around Agra would be developed as well as adventure tourism so that the state can emerge as tourism-friendly,” Dimple said, while flagging off Agra Taj car rally. Laying emphasis on the state’s efforts to increase tourist footfall and employment opportunities around tourism in UP, Dimple said, “Tourists who come to Agra return from there. But with lion safari, they will come here leading to more employment opportunities for the locals and development of this region.”
The Agra car rally flagged off by Dimple will cover a distance of 450km passing through the Chambal, Jarar, Chakarnagar ravines and reach Agra in two days.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / February 01st, 2015
