Category Archives: Records, All

Meet the master behind flutes, big and small

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

Agra :

Dinesh Shandilya, now 76, made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for designing and playing a five-feet long and 3.5 inch diameter width flute made of plastic pipe way back in 1996, but his passion for crafting the wind instrument in new shapes and sizes has not diminished even a bit over the years.

After a lot of experiments in the flute design, his latest creation is a 25-feet long flute with one inch diameter which he plays with ease. His name has also been recorded in Limca Book of Records for playing the smallest flute, just 4.5 inches long, in 2000.

For this engineer-turned-musician, the inspiration for playing flutes of various lengths came from his eagerness to play some difficult ‘ragas’. He says he could not find bamboo of desired quality and diameter even after extensive search, after which he used PVC pipes to make his longest flute to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

What’s more, he used sorrow as a motivating force to come up with something unique and beautiful. “I suffered from nervous breakdown and depression after the death of my younger brother and later, my wife. No therapy could cure me. I, at last, got solace in Vrindavan, where I heard devotional music in temples and flute recitals of Hari Prasad Chaurasia which helped me recover from illness,” says Shandilya.

Grief-stricken, he found solace in soul-stirring flute recitals, which led him to create something which has likely lent new dimensions in the mellowness and depth of notes in the flute.

Over the years, he has made several flutes of bamboo and fibre in sizes ranging from 9 inches to 25 feet, enabling him to produce notes of around 6 to 6.5 octaves. He has specially made bass flutes of different diameters so as to unfold elaborate rendition of profound and classical melodies of ragas like darbari, marwa, pooriya etc.

In the process, he says he has devised a new technique of finger manipulation suitable for playing different sizes of flute.

“Playing a flute is not easy, one needs to have strong lungs to start with. This can be achieved with practice. I spend more than four-five hours daily practicing the instrument. While designing new types of flutes, one has to keep in mind the quality of bamboo. It has to be lightweight and not have knots. The best bamboo is found in Assam,” he says.

In September 2014, Shandilya was conferred doctorate in record breaking ‘honoris causa’ for largest and smallest flute by the World Records University. His feats have been recorded several times by India Book of Records and Limca Book of Records since 1996.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Aditya Dev, TNN / October 31st, 2014

Kalibari continues with ancient Trantrik Puja tradition; Replaces Mass Sacrifice Of Goats With Sugarcane

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

The 154-year-old Mutthiganj Kalibari is a living testimony to the religious influence of Bengali Community in the Sangam City. Till recently the temple was a centre of ancient ritual of ‘tantrik puja’ on no-moon Diwali night. Goats were offered as sacrifice to Goddess Mahamaya. Though sacrifice is still performed but with a minor change – goat has been replaced with leafy sugarcane with roots.

However, despite abandoning of sacrifice, the Kalibari continues to attract hundreds of devotees from across the Northern India on the intervening night of Diwali. In order to cater to its devotees across the globe, the Kalibari has this year decided to telecast the puja ceremonies live on official website.

Allahabad Kalibari Maintenance Society secretary Arun Kumar Bannerjee said, “A decade back, mass sacrifice of goats was an integral part of Kalibari ritual. Rituals cannot be changed overnight in any religion and the sacrifice tradition was no exception. It took a few years to stop mass sacrifice.”

“Following consultations with renowned and noted priests, the animal sacrifice was replaced with sugarcane as part of the tradition,” he said.

“The offering of sugarcanes with roots and leaves, pumpkin and coconuts are offered as sacrifice on the night,” added Bannerjee, which is regarded as ‘symbolic’ sacrifice.

This year, the special puja of Goddess Mahamaya would start in Kalibari after the onset of no-moon-night at 8 pm while Mahapuja would start at 12 am on October 23 and continue till the moon changes its course early next morning. Pushpanjali, Havan and lighting the temple with 108 earthern diyas are the essential rituals.

Kalibari – the most popular temple during Diwali – was established by seer Krishnanand Brahmachari from undivided Bengal in 1860 as a part of his initiative to set up temples of Goddess Kali in every part of the country.

After establishing Kalibari in Peshawar and Lahore (now in Pakistan) along with 31 other places countrywide, the seer finally arrived in Allahabad which was a small town then. He established a small temple at Mutthiganj on a land donated by an employee in Collectorate Raas Bihari Ghosh and donated it to the Bengali Society of the city. Now Allahabad Kalibari Maintenance Society looks after the Kalibari.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal. TNN / October 22nd, 2014

Annu Rani returns with Javelin bronze to grand welcome

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Meerut :

Days after Meerut-based Annu Rani won a bronze medal in the women’s javelin throw event at the Asian Games in South Korea, she was given a grand welcome by people at Bahadurpur village on Monday afternoon. Villagers garlanded the 21-year-old several times over, and gifted her a shawl.

Amarpaal, Annu Rani’s father, who was at first not so enthusiastic about her interest in the javelin throw sport, said, “Villagers have given such a grand welcome to her that we are all feeling like celebrities.”

Annu Rani is the second contestant in these Asian games to have returned to Meerut with laurels. Seema Punia, who won the gold medal in the discus throw event, also belongs to Meerut. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav announced a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh to Punia.

On Monday, as Annu Rani returned, few people even remembered that when she first took to javelin throwing, her father and neighbours had tried to dissuade her.

“I would never have imagined that among these are people who opposed my participation in the games,” Annu Rani said. District president Meenakshi Gaur visited the family on Monday.

Annu Rani’s throw of 59.53 metres was her personal best, but Chinese duo of Zhang Li and Li Lingwei grabbed the first two places at the Asian Games, outperforming her.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Meerut / by Ishita Bhatia, TNN / October 06th, 2014

When IIT-Kanpur put a Jugnu in the sky

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kanpur :
Three years ago, India launched its first nano satellite, Jugnu, made by a team of 45 IIT-Kanpur students. The team, including five girls, made the accomplishment under the guidance of project director Prof NS Vyas of IIT-K. The satellite was launched by scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) through a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) into the Earth’s orbit on October 11, 2011. Three years later, the little marvel ceases to exist.

The nano satellite, a couple of months ago, had stopped sending the beacon signal to its base station in Isro. The satellite tracking centre that was raised at IIT-Kanpur for tracking the satellite three years ago has also closed down.

Talking to TOI, Prof NS Vyas, currently on deputation to Rajasthan Technical University as vice chancellor, says the nano satellite had outlived its life of six months and while sustaining in the Earth’s orbit, it had performed all necessary functions.

“Jugnu was the most challenging and complex project undertaken by any academic institution post- independence. The students who started with nothing got success in developing a complete satellite in two years’ time. At the advanced stage of the satellite’s development, the students were interacting with Isro scientists at their frequency. The scientists gave equal importance to the students. This was unique,” says Vyas. After a while, the students had started learning from each other by way of discussions and deliberations, he added.

Vyas recalls how the students used to work day and night and eat and sleep on the lab premises. “It was a massive exercise during the golden jubilee celebrations. The students not only designed and developed the satellite but also fabricated it. They had also designed the ejection system for Jugnu”.

Shantanu Agarwal, a former student head of the team of Jugnu, says the nano satellite lost its connection with the ground station and might have converted into debris in the Earth’s orbit. According to him, Jugnu was made for a period of six months but it outlived its life and till last year when its second anniversary of launch was celebrated, the satellite was alive and ticking.

“Jugnu was last tracked by a group of HAM radio professionals from Japan in 2013. Now, it has lost touch with the ground station in Isro”, says Agarwal, who now runs a two-year old start-up in aerospace sciences along with one of his team members from IIT.

Shantanu reminisces how tired students used to fall asleep in the lab while working on different components of the satellite. For all of them, it was a challenge to work on Jugnu while managing their studies.

But no student would ever regret it. Shantanu says it was an experience of a lifetime because as a student it is almost impossible to get a chance to work on a satellite and also to see its launch.

“Working with Isro scientists was a great opportunity for all of us. They never treated us like students but professionals. Our potential was given recognition by the scientists and this is how we ran high on confidence,” says Shantanu.

“At the time of Jugnu’s launch via PSLV C-18 from Sriharikota, we were present there. We had installed and integrated the satellite in the launch vehicle. We were overhwelmed and shouted at the top of our voices when the launch became a success,” says Shashank Chintalgiri with pride. He was a senior member of the student team of Jugnu.

The aim of Jugnu is to develop long-term infrastructure and human resources in IIT-K for future space research programmes in collaboration with Isro.

Vyas however, expresses concern that once technology is developed it should be passed to more users. “The concern is that technology developed dies inside a lab if not put to use. To keep it alive, we need to pass it on to more users,” says the project director for Jugnu.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Abhinav Malhotra, TNN / October 19th, 2014

Book to renew Kolkata’s tie with Wajid Ali Shah

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

Kolkata :

“It’s the only book I’ve read twice. And my favourite line is ‘life can’t be divided into chapters’,” mused Shahanshah Mirza, great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, referring to ‘The Last King in India’ by Rosie Llewellyn-Jones. The British historian has made waves by compiling facts about the legendary nawab whose memory still divides opinion.

Rosie smiled: “Thanks for helping me investigate the mind of the last king. The British opposed him because they wanted to take his kingdom. Mirza nodded: “You’ve dealt with his seclusion rather well.” He thought the agony associated with the annexation of Awadh is well portrayed in the book.

Rosie begins with a chapter following this act, when the nawab’s mother travels to petition Queen Victoria for justice. Unknown to her, the Queen had no power to return Awadh. The bleak start sets the tone for the book — the British duplicity, with the king caught between forces over which he had no control.

For inputs, Rosie has watched ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ “several times”. “Ray did a lot of research,” said Rosie. “When Ray met my father in 1978, he was asked if it was easy getting Amjad Khan into Wajid’s skin. He had said ‘Amjad was blinking a lot. When a ruler is angry, he doesn’t blink. His eyes are wide open’,”
said Mirza.

Rosie’s Kolkata connect goes a long way — since she found Mirza on the royal family website in 2004. “I came here and we did a lot of research together,” she said. The cover is a painting of the nawab which belongs to Mirza’s relative Sultan Ali Sadiq.

Rosie pointed out: “In nearly all his pictures, the king has his left breast exposed.” Mirza explained: “I guess the poet in the nawab wanted to show that his heart was always open.”

The book will be unveiled for the third time on Sunday after a London launch in June followed by another such ceremony in the nawab’s very own Lucknow last month. “Now it is Kolkata’s turn and we had to have Shahanshah,” said Rosie. Mirza has given Rosie inputs on the king settling down in Metiabruz (or Metiaburj, which literally means a clay tower). An old watchtower had once stood there, guarding the Hooghly river bend, giving the place its name.

“The book shows that even 127 years after his death,
Wajid Ali Shah, who himself authored 117 books (Rosie found some of them at the London Library), is still a subject of interest.”

The king contributed greatly to Kolkata’s culture. Kathak and kite-flying were introduced by him. He opened a menagerie which attracted a lot of visitors. According to Rosie, the king tried, within his limited resources (he had to live off a pension given to him by the British), to recreate a miniature Lucknow in Garden Reach-Metiabruz where he lived his last 31 years. He brought with him the music, the poetry, the cuisine, the adab that had made Lucknow under him the byword of culture and etiquette.

“His Calcutta stay changed many aspects of its social life. The British failed to fathom (deliberately) the love that he enjoyed from his subjects,” said his great-great-grandson.

The British, who deposed him to Calcutta in 1856, could hardly accept a ruler who believed that his subjects singing his songs was enough guarantee that he was seen as a good ruler. “Do Queen Victoria’s subjects sing her songs?” Satyajit Ray makes Wajid ask his chief minister in ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’, thus capturing the differing notions of kingship.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Ajanta Chakraborty, TNN / October 12th, 2014

Meet Tabassum Bano – the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel

Tortured by her in-laws for dowry, Tabassum was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, she decided to not give up.

Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw - Mohammad Anas
Tabassum Bano riding the e-riskshaw – Mohammad Anas

Tabassum Bano decided to fight and not surrender despite facing so many hardships some years back. She had been tortured physically and mentally by her in-laws for dowry, she was thrown out of the house with her six months old son, but Bano didn’t give up. She braved all the difficulties and challenges of her life. Confident and self dependent, Bano has set an example of courage as the first female e-rickshaw driver of Allahabad.

“I came to Allahabad in the year 2005. My family lives in a small village Narsimhagarh in Pratapgarh. One year after marriage, my in-laws started torturing me for more dowry. My son was just six months old at that time. One day they even took my clothes off and threw me out of the house. Tired of their torture, I had even thought of committing suicide, but my child gave me the reason to live and fight,” Bano broke into tears as she narrated her life story to iamin.

“Finally, I decided to get divorce from my husband and made up my mind to come to Allahabad and start a new life. With just two rupees in hand and my son in my arms, I began my journey from Pratapgarh by foot and reached Allahabad after walking 50 kilometres. Once when I wa at new Yamuna bridge, out of hunger, my son started crying uncontrollably and I became restless and helpless in this unknown city. An old man saw us and brought us to Sister Sheeba Jones. My life changed since that day,” said Bano who lives in a rented room at Teliyarganj colony in Allahabad with her son.

Bano gives the credit to Sister Sheeba for changing her life. “Sister Sheeba first taught me how to ride a scooty and then four-wheelers.” Besides riding the e-rickshaw, Bano also works as a maid in houses to bear her expenses of her family members.

Yes, apart from her own son, Bano is taking care of six other members of the family. “After my brother-in-law’s death, I took care of my sister and her three children. My brother died in the year 2011 and his daughter is also my responsibility. There is no male member in our family. I take care of my old mother too,” said Bano.

Besides work, Bano who was an illiterate before coming to Allahabad started studying and cleared class X examination. Her son Abdullah studies in a reputed English school in the city. “I want a better life for my son so, I work hard to send him in a good English medium school.”

Sharing her experience as a female e-rickshaw driver, Bano asserted, “I want to change people’s attitude towards women. There are different types of people in our society. Some people stare at me awkwardly while some praise and encourage me. I want to show that women are strong and can face challenges.”

Bano also uses her scooty to carry people. She sometimes drops school children to their homes free of cost in her e-rickshaw. Tabassum is surely an inspiration for women in the country.

source: http://www.iamin.in / I am in DNA of Allahabad / Home> Allahabad> Trending News / by Mohammad Anas, Edited by : Longjam Dineshwori/ Tuesday – October 21st, 2014

Vintage treasures wheel across city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

Lucknow :

A cool Sunday afternoon was made colourful by history cruising on Lucknow roads in deep red, yellow, olive green and dark gray. Seventy cars from the bygone era took part in a vintage car run organized by the Vintage Car & Motorcycle Club of Lucknow and State Bank of India.

His clothes in colour coordination with his yellow and blue 1947 MG TC, Dr Tarun Sehgal said he had heard words of awe and amazement for his vintage possession.

The caravan passed through Hazratganj and towards Gomtinagar through Lohia Park, crossing GPO and back to SBI head office from where it had taken off.

“Obtaining original parts is next to impossible. The mechanics too are not much adept with vintage engines and styles to be dealing effectively with them,” says Ravi Shankar Rajput, whose three generations have been into vintage cars. He now owns a 1935 Fiat Balilla.

Seldom taking out the 1934 Dodge owned by the police force, DGP Anand Lal Bannerji has to take another car for safety reasons. “It is a Dodge that dodges everyone and I need advice from experts for maintaining it,” he said.

“My father owned a two-seater Austin that he had to sell off, so when in 1944, I got hold of this second-hand four-seater Austin 7, I bought it and have been maintaining it ever since,” said Dr Sadiq about his deep red ‘baby Austin’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / October 20th, 2014

Freedom fighter Captain Abbas Ali dies

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Freedom fighter Captain Abbas Ali, 95, died of a heart attack around Saturday morning, at a hospital here.

Ali was a captain in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Later he joined the socialist movement and was a close associate of Ram Manohar Lohia.

He left party politics in 1988.

His son senior journalist Qurban Ali told IANS: “Captain Sahab was active till the last minute”

Abbas Ali was born in in 1920 Khurja, Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. Early in life he was inspired by Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-IANS> Politics / IANS / Aligarh – October 11th, 2014

Sangam City a part and parcel of 160 yrs of postal service

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

The postal department will complete 160 years of glorious service on Wednesday. However, many of us are unaware that the Sangam City has been a vital spot in this journey and has many firsts to its credit. From the launch of first horse cart postal service to air-mail and railway-mail service, the city has always been the first choice.

The credit of launching horse cart service in 1841 goes to prominent trader of chowk area Lala Thantimal. Owing to diversified business, he felt the need for a speedy mail service and hence the first horse cart service came into existence. His mail service also used to carry letters of public but for a price.

The launch of service led to Lala Thantimal’s business growing by leaps and bound. Later, he finally settled in Kanpur. “A decade later, he started postal company ‘Inland Transit Company’. Initially, the company carried mails and parcels between Kanpur and Calcutta (now Kolkata). The services were later expanded to Meerut, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi,” said director, postal services, Krishna Kumar Yadav. Thantimal’s great grandson Vinod Tandon now lives in Kanpur but is engaged in separate business. Incidentally, Yadav has conducted an extensive research on the topic.

In another first, the Britishers in 1864 launched railway-sorting section between Allahabad and Kanpur. “The section was later converted into rail mail service which now occupies over 70% of postal delivery services in the country,” said the director.

The world of postal services was, however, revolutionized by world’s first airmail service. It too was started from Allahabad to satellite town of Naini in 1911 and carried letters of freedom fighter Motilal Nehru written to his son Jawaharlal Nehru.

“The first air mail took off from the Parade Ground in February 18, 1911. It carried 6,500 letters and after 13 minutes it landed near the Central Jail in Naini,” said Kumar, adding Allahabad was the most suitable place for starting the postal service as it was situated between Kolkata and New Delhi and between Mumbai and New Delhi.

It may be mentioned here that a clergyman of the Holy Trinity Church, currently situated on Sarojini Naidu Marg, requested Englishman Walter Windham to participate in an exhibition on Parade Ground with his aircraft. There, Windham performed an aerial show to raise funds for the construction of a hostel. As a part of their contribution, a lot of people had also posted letters with postage stamps which were delivered to Naini.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / Vinod Khanna, TNN / September 30th, 2014

‘Fellow of Academy’ award to BHU prof in plastic surgery

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Varanasi:

Head of the department of plastic surgery, Institute of Medical Sciences of Banaras Hindu University, Prof V Bhattacharya was awarded with the ‘Fellow of Academy’ by National Academy of Medical Sciences for his immense contribution in the field of medicine along with the new inventions in plastic surgeries.

Every year, National Academy of Medical Sciences awards the diligent plastic surgeons for their contribution in the field of medicine and this year, Prof V Bhattacharya has been chosen and would be honoured at the 54th National Convention on October 18 in Hrishikesh.

Prof V Bhattacharya is known for the invention of new technologies and contribution in the field of plastic and cosmetic surgeries and has also received various accolades like Kilner Prize, HariOm Ashram Award for his work and contribution in the field of medicine. For the holistic development of the world of medicine, he has also created two short films of which ‘Sushrut – The Father of Plastic Surgery’ holds a significant place on an international level.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / October 09th, 2014