Category Archives: Records, All

Lucknow University to confer Lifetime Achievement to Lord Hameed

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Lucknow :

This foundation day, on November 25, Lucknow University alumnae society will confer `Lifetime Achievement Award’ to Lord (Dr) Khalid Hameed. Hameed is the chairman and CEO of London International Hospital and chairman of Alpha Hospital Group. Lord Hameed completed his MBBS from Lucknow University in 1967.

LU alumni society will felicitate eight other illustrious former students who have brought laurels to their alma mater by doing exceptionally well in their respective professions.

Among those who will be felicitated this year are Justice SS Chauhan of the Allahabad high court; IAS officer Lov Verma; director general, Archaeological Survey of India Rakesh Tewari; CEO Biotechnology Park Prof Pramod Tandon; senior journalist Rahul Dev; eminent theatre personality SM Kulshreshtha; chairman-cum-managing director, Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd Gopal Dhawan and noted Awadh historian Yogesh Praveen.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Isha Jain, TNN / November 16th, 2015

This 62-yr-old covered 1,000 miles inside 24 hours

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, Travel

Agra:

When Suresh Pal Singh took his first long distance trip on a motorcycle from Agra to Kolkata on a Royal Enfield motorcycle at the age of 19, little did he realize that his passion for riding would make him set a record 43 years later. Meet 62-year-old Singh, a retired mechanical engineer, who has become one of the very few senior citizens from the country to have accomplished the “Saddle Sore” endurance ride, certified by the Iron Butt Association of USA. This competition requires a motorcyclist to cover 1,000 miles (1,610 km) in less than 24 hours.

Astride his Royal Enfield 500, he commenced his ride on October 10 from Agra at 10pm. He traversed the Yamuna Expressway, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur Ajmer, Beawar, Pali and Dingai, before returning by the same route to arrive at the start point on October 11 at 8:40 in the evening. He travelled the requisite 1,000 miles in less than 23 hours, stopping only for fuel and nourishment every 250-300 km during the course of the ride.

“As per my calculation, I was aiming to complete this challenge in less than 22 hours, but for a traffic jam at Gurgaon and refueling problem in Rajasthan,” said S P Singh, adding that he will now be pursuing for Limca Book of Records as well.

The Saddle Sore challenge conducted by the Iron Butt Association is a strong group of 50,000 toughest motorcycle riders worldwide, who share their experience on safe long distance motorcycle riding.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / TNN / October 15th, 2015

Bharat Sewashram Sangha: Celebrating traditions since 1936

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Varanasi :

The city wore a festive look as Ashtami, the eight day of Navratri, was celebrated on Wednesday. The celebrations were visible at Bharat Sewashram Sangha (BSS) as several devotees thronged the sangha to witness the traditional Durga puja celebrations here.

Established in 1936 by Acharya Swami Pranabananda Maharaj in Varanasi, Bharat Sewashram Sangha has been celebrating Durga Puja in traditional and grand way ever since. Devotees from all across the country as well as from abroad have been visiting the Sangha to attend various cultural programmes held as a part of the puja celebrations.

“I have been coming to BSS during Durga Puja since 1996 and the celebrations are much like my hometown Kolkata. After marriage I am living here and I miss Kolkata. Like every Bengali I feel the craving to visit pandals of my hometown, but after visiting here I feel the same essence of puja celebrations here. Besides, unlike Ramkrishna Mission in Kolkata, there are no limitations or time constraints here at BSS. The ancient ‘Laathi Danda Khela’ is my favourite,” said Anjana Rani Saha, resident of Kamaccha area.

“Every devotee has his own traditional beliefs and those who have been associated with Sangha always make it a point to be here during Durga puja celebrations. Every year, a three-day programme is organised along with a grand ‘Hindu Dharma and Sanskriti Sammelan’ in evening. Prior to the Sammelan, the revelers can witness one of the ancient art form, an exquisite ritual of our pandal – acrobatic performances ‘Laathi-Chhura-Talvar’ and display of yogic asanas,” general secretary of BSS, India, Swami Biswatmananda told TOI on Wednesday.

Earlier, a ‘shobhayatra’ from Kamaccha to BSS in Sigra was taken out on Mahashashthi on October 19, witnessing participation of scores of number of people. Like previous years, the display of symbolic warfare by volunteers of math-mandir added to the glamour. “The procession has always been a significant part of Durga puja celebrations as the idol of goddess Durga is brought to the Sangha with pomp and show. The Trishankha puja aarti in the evening also witnesses a huge crowd of devotees,” said Swami Biswatmananda.

A dhrama sammelan was held on ‘Importance of Sangha on National Integration’ on Wednesday. Earlier, on Tuesday, the sammelan was held on the topic, ‘Importance of sacrifice and religion in ancient culture’. The final sammelan on ‘Contribution of Swami Pranabanandaji in Social Solidarity’ will be held on Thursday. A grand idol immersion procession will be taken out on the tenth day of Navratri on October 23.

On the recent idol immersion row, Swami Biswatmananda said, “I believe that as a citizen we must adhere to HC’s order on ban of idol immersion in the Ganga. But, at the same time I think the administration could have followed something on the lines of immersion done in Kolkata. In that way, the age-old tradition and beliefs of people would not have been affected.” “We have spoken to district administration and would immerse the idols in a pond near Rajghat area where Ganga water would be sprinkled on the idols,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Varanasi / by Punkhuri Kapoor, TNN / October 22nd, 2015

In Lucknow to trace their roots, love for India

Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Lucknow :

He is not an Indian but a part of India always lived inside Noel Gunther. In fact, the desire to see ‘Charbagh’ grew with this Briton in mid 50s. On Saturday, his dream came true and the ‘happiness of its achievement’ rolled down his eyes as tears.

Overwhelmed with joy, Noel said, “I could feel the warmth of my grandfather’s love in the air.” Noel represents a group of some 1.2 million non-Indians surely in love with India brought together by London based ‘Families in British India Society (FIBIS) a not for profit organization started in 1998. Accompanied by 15 others, Noel reached India to trace his roots in September.

“Charbagh was the workplace of my grand-father Robert Upshon who worked as electrician in Indian Railways and stayed in Lucknow in the 1920s – the formative years of Charbagh Railway Station,” he said.

Trustee of FIBIS, Elaine MacGregor who headed the group said, “Ancestors of all FIBIS members have a common heritage emanating from India. Their forefathers have worked or lived in cities of Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Meerut among others in years between 1600 and 1947 AD.”

So far, the group has covered Delhi, Meerut, Amritsar, Dharmshala and Shimla. After Lucknow, they would travel to Kanpur, Bithoor, Agra and Jaipur before leaving in the coming week. “While other places are important, Lucknow stands out because a large chunk of people who visited India are connected to it,” Elaine told TOI.

“Lucknow’s importance may be gauged from the fact that one-third of all queries received by FIBIS are related to it,” she added. In Lucknow, the group would pay a visit to La Martiniere and Residency on Sunday morning besides having a brief walk in Hazratganj.

Like Noel, other members in the group are also very sure of their Indian connection. Some of them have done individual researches to establish their links. Noel for instance had Baptism record of his aunt who was born in Lucknow.

Others relied on FIBIS which ‘joins the dots’ for British in love with India with the help of references. “We have a name data base of 1.28 million members extracted from hundreds of documents including East India Company Parish Registers, Newspapers, Directory of British residents in India, old books, photographs and diaries,” said Elaine.

Besides reclaiming one’s history and origin and answering ‘who do you think you are?’ the journey is a nostalgic experience to most. Twenty year old Mark, youngest member in the group says that decided to explore a country they are so passionate about while Penny from Brisbane wanted to see her alma mater – the La Martiniere Girls College once again.

A secondary aim is to document condition of British cemeteries in India. Valmay, who is compiling the report said, “Many cemeteries are overgrown and missing. But there are some positive stories as well as in case of Shimla where a local pastor has volunteered to save cemetery.”

Two other groups starting from Bengaluru and Kolkata would come in the subsequent weeks.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Shailve Sharda, TNN / October 11th, 2015

NBRI develops cotton plant resistant to whitefly

Agriculture, Records, All, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

Even as Punjab farmers rue the loss of nearly two-thirds of their cotton crop to whitefly, Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) has developed a cotton variety that is resistant to the pest.

The technology has been tested on cotton plants at the institute’s polyhouse, where a gene derived from a vegetable – which the institute did not disclose – was found effective against whitefly. The ones injected with the ‘gene’ at the polyhouse are healthy and others are stunted and infested with whitefly.

“The ‘gene’ makes whitefly sterile thus controlling the reproduction of the pest,” said Dr PK Singh, principal investigator of the project, ‘Development of Resistance against Whitefly in Cotton’, at the institute. NBRI, a research lab of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has applied for a patent for the technology in eight countries.

Whitefly is a common pest which affects 30 plant varieties, including cotton, brinjal, papaya, tomato, okra and cucurbits, both in open fields and polyhouses. Though cotton is grown in nine states – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it’s the northern states where the pest affects the crop more.

Whitefly is a sap-sucking pest which affects plants in two ways: it sucks all the nutrients from leaves and excretes on the leaf’s surface thus causing fungal infection. Worse, the crop infested with whitefly may not wither completely but remains stunted. This gives farmers the hope that an overdose of fertilisers and pesticides would save the plant, but actually the yield from unhealthy plants is too little.

Once there is an outbreak it is difficult to check it. Spraying pesticides may not always help as the canopy formed by grown up plants may not let pesticide act on each and every leaf. Besides, the pest sticks to the base of the leaves and lays eggs there. “Treating each and every leaf can help but that’s a tough task,” said a scientist.

Once the pest spreads, it can destroy the crop in six to eight weeks. It was after testing genes from 250 plants that NBRI found the gene from a vegetable effective on cotton.

The protein formed by the gene was found safe and also easily digestible in the laboratory trials. The technology is now ready for field trials. “We want industrial partners to take the technology forward for field trials and efficacy test,” said director, NBRI, Dr CS Nautiyal.

The institute has done the trial on ‘coker’ variety of cotton which is not cultivable for low yield. “It needs to be crossed with other varieties and after six to eight crossings, we can transfer the gene to varieties which are commonly cultivated,” said Singh. ‘Coker’ is competent to take any gene.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Neha Shukla, TNN / October 09th, 2015

Maharajas’ Express bags global luxury award

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Allahabad :

Maharaja Express, the luxury train that offers royal tour on five routes, including Agra and Varanasi, was recently conferred the coveted ‘Seven Star Global Luxury Award’ in Indonesia. The award, launched in 2013, is given for excellence in the field of hospitality. The train is operated by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Maharajas’ Express beat internationally renowned luxury trains like The Deccan Odyssey (India), the Rocky Mountaineer (Canada), Rovos Rail (South Africa) and other brands such as Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Bali Food Safari and the Luxury Charter Yacht to win the award.

It also has the distinction of being voted as ‘The World’s Leading Luxury Train’ at The World Travel Awards for three consecutive years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

North-Central Region (NCR) public relations manager Pradeep Dutta said, “By bagging the Seven Star Luxury Award, Maharajas’ Express has cemented its brand and reputation as ‘The World’s Leading Luxury Train’. It is truly a special award that will bolster the reputation of the train internationally.”

Maharajas’ Express currently runs on five circuits across north-west and central India, covering a dozen destinations, mainly in Rajasthan, between the tourist months of October and April.

The Luxury Tour Circuits on wheels, allows one to explore exotic locales including trip to one of the largest dinosaur fossil parks at Balasinor with opportunity to meet one of the Indian royal family, a trip to erotic temples of Khajuraho, to participate in the exhibition elephant polo match at Jaipur, cocktail & barbeque sundowner on the sand dunes at Bikaner, champagne breakfast overlooking the immortal beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra and boat trip on the Ganges at the Holy City of Varanasi.

Since its inaugural run in 2010, Maharajas’ Express has been redefining elegance and opulence, luxury and comfort, recreating lifestyle of the princely era and showcasing Incredible India.

All its carriages are equipped with an array of top notch facilities such as live television, DVD player and wifi. All coaches are equipped with individual temperature control, attached bathroom and water filtration plant. Besides round-the-clock valet service and a paramedic is available throughout the journey.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Allahabad / by Ashraf Jamal, TNN / September 29th, 2015

On foot and two wheels, city finds its legacy

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

Luknow :

Nearly 200 citizens took part in Lucknow Heritage Walk-Kaiserbagh and Lucknow On Cycle (LOC), organised on the occasion of World Tourism day by the state department of tourism along with The Times of India and NBT with support from NGO Itihas which is working in the field of heritage conservation. Old and the young evinced special interest to know more about Lucknow.

Major General R S Malave who participated in the cycling event termed it as a good and timely beginning. “We are trying to create a similar heritage circuit in Lucknow Cantonment, which has heritage buildings such as Dilkusha and will co-ordinate with the district administration for the project,” said Malave.

Retired bank employee P K Shinde was of the view that such events must be held at frequent intervals. Shinde said, “Cycling on roads of Lucknow and on a Sunday was a fantastic experience. There were many things we came to know. Such events will help even tourists and visitors learn something about the city.” Ramkrishna from Hyderabad, along with Telugu speaking Lucknowites Satish and Satya Narayan said, “The Biryani link between Hyderabad and Lucknow is there, but events like this would attract people from far and wide.”

Conducting the walk, Smita Vats highlighted the cooling features of Taikhana. Meanwhile, a monkey hopped from a banyan tree and sat on a participant’s cycle for five minutes, giving all opportunity click pictures.

Buoyed by the availability of cycle tracks, Lucknow district administration is mulling some in Old City, especially in the Hussainabad area. District magistrate Raj Shekhar said, “We are proposing cycle tracks around Bada Imambara, Chhota Imambara, Clock Tower, Picture Gallery, KGMU, Tile Wale Masjid, etc. Once the cycle track is in place, Hussainabad Trust will start a free cycle kiosk with 100 bicycles for tourists at Bada Imambara, free of cost for 2-3 hours on deposit of photocopy of ID card.”

The DM went to Bada and Chhota Imambaras, Clock Tower, Rumi Gate, Satkhanda and Kaiserbagh. The DM said such events should be made a part of Lucknow’s annual tourism calendar. “It was a ride of around 6-7 kilometres. It was a great fun and also rare learning experience for us. It is a healthy tourism practice which will save lot of time, parking space and have added health advantage. But it needs more coordination with tourist police, co-ordination with LMC, traffic police, an escort vehicle with loud hailer and need of cycle track in the above areas. Once stabilised it will be a special attraction of Lucknow tourism,” the DM added.

Cold, filtered water 500 litres each at Bara and Chhota Imambara and 200 litres at Picture Gallery are also being planned. DG tourism Amrit Abhijat complained about the lack of cleanliness on Kaiserb

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / September 28th, 2015

SP committed to honour Social Heroes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that one needs to search his role model from the society he comes from as they can be the guiding light for the generation to come and the government on its part should honor those personalities.

“Samajwadi Party (SP) government is committed for honoring these personalities because a small encouragement could send a positive signal among the masses,” Yadav said in a function held at his official residence where different personalities who contributed for the betterment of society were honoured.

Yadav said that, he expects that people will draw inspiration from these people. “The SP government is committed to provide an opportunity to these people and the youths of state, who have the will to struggle and work for the society,” he said.

“We always try to find fault among others. We never try to see goodness among the people around us. There are many who are struggling to make both ends meet. Their success story could be inspiring for the next generation,” he said.

The Chief Minister provided a monetary cheque to many of these ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, including the 13-years-old Harendra Singh of Noida, 15-year-old girl Sushma of Lucknow and an elderly typist of Lucknow, Krishna Kumar whose typewriter was broken by a policeman during an anti-encroachment drive.

The 13-year-old boy Harendra Singh has drawn global attention for his commitment towards his studies. He studies in the morning in a school and at night earns livelihood at Noida Metro station. His commitment has gone viral in the social media. CM gave him a cheque of Rs 5 lakh.

Earlier, Yadav had honoured eight personalities that includes photo journalist Ashutosh Tripathi, whose photo of police beating up typist Krishna Kumar became viral in the social media.

Other awardees were Ramjit Yadav of Mirzapur who recently saved 10 children from drowning in Ganga and was given Rs 10 lakh. Rajkumar, Sanjay and Pintu Sahani of Ballia were awarded Rs 1 each for saving public from crocodile.

CM also honoured noted urdu shayar Wasim Bareilvi, who was present on the occasion.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Chaudhry and ICDS Minister Kailesh Chaurasi were also present in the meeting.

source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> State editions> Lucknow / PNS, Lucknow / Monday – September 28th, 2015

CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow Wins the CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development – 2014

Records, All, Science & Technology

DG, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. Girish Sahni, on the occasion of CSIR Foundation Day, today announced bestowing of CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development (CAIRD) – 2014 upon CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow for “Enhancing incomes of farm communities through Vetiver based Technological Interventions”.

CSIR had instituted the “CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development” in the year 2006 to recognize and honour S&T innovations that have helped transform the lives of rural people.

The effort through this award, in a way, is also to give a boost to rural development through intrinsic innovation and its implementation at ground level.

The award, which has emerged as a very prestigious one, carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh, a citation and a shield.

source: http://www.pib.nic.in / Press Informaion Bureau, Government of Indai, Ministry of Science & Technology / by KSP / September 26th, 2015

Aligarh dairy farm: A Colonial-era legacy lost in time

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Aligarh :

In a quaint corner of the nondescript Aligarh village Cherat, time seems to have stopped several decades ago. A pile of rust iron, an old Ambassador, a dust-laden Royal Enfield, a few worn-out offices where locks are still hanging but the doors have given way — are all that is left of the iconic Aligarh Dairy Farm, set up in 1899 by the legendary Swedish dairy expert Edward Keventer.

The once sprawling farm seems like a ghost town now. It has rugged towers watching over a deserted stretch which is being gobbled up slowly by overgrowth of foliage. There are dilapidated quarters with no population and even a railway track which hasn’t seen a train in decades.

Keventer, who was appointed by the British government in 1890 to ensure good health of their soldiers in India, came to India the same year, strengthened his knowledge on dairy products and developed a unique and efficient dairy purification technique that marked the beginning of the Keventer saga. By 1899, he had established a strong network of dairy farms and plants, promoting modern dairy technology. He set the Aligarh Dairy Farm in the same year.

His business flourished and expanded rapidly across Karachi, Rangoon, Calcutta, Lucknow and Delhi, reaching its peak between 1908 and 1920. His dairy products became so popular that British King George V conferred on him a Royal charter for supply of fresh dairy and farm products.

Aligarh farm began to lose sheen soon after Keventer’s death in 1937 and the departure of the British from the country in 1947 further pushed it into oblivion.

In 1948, the Uttar Pradesh government took over this farm and renamed it Central Dairy Farm. It worked well until 1998 when it ran into losses and went out of business. Piling up liabilities as well as a host of court cases made it financially unviable, said officials.

Chief veterinary officer RK Yadav told TOI, “In 1948, the entire farm was given to the UP government. It was well-maintained and functioning. The ghee, butter, cream and pork was supplied to different states as well as the Army till 1998. After that, the farm stopped functioning because it came into losses and many court cases were filed against it. There are about 150 court cases against Central Dairy Farm at present.”

In another corner of the sprawling 1,700-acre Colonial-era farm, the state government runs a pig breeding centre, currently under the animal husbandry department.

As spiders listlessly make life-size cobwebs around the century-old farm’s rusted gate, its fate remains equally uncertain in the government files gathering dust in the faraway state capital.

“There are many court cases, and then there are different departments in the administration vying to get this farm. Some want to convert it into a green belt. Whatever the government decides will shape the future of this farm,” farm in-charge Abhinesh Pal Singh told TOI from Lucknow.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cit> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / September 09th, 2015