Monthly Archives: July 2018

Mahana dials investors in run-up to ground breaking ceremony

Business & Economy

With a fortnight to go for the ground breaking ceremony in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of 64 projects worth Rs 55,000 crore on July 29, the industrial development department is abuzz with activity these days.

The amount of investment that the BJP government has been able to draw in two years is more than what the previous governments could do in 15 years, he claims.(Sunil Ghosh / HT Photo)

With a fortnight to go for the ground breaking ceremony in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of 64 projects worth Rs 55,000 crore on July 29, the industrial development department is abuzz with activity these days.

Industrial development minister Satish Mahana is busy contacting on phone those investors who had signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the state government during the UP Investors Summit in Lucknow in February.

Mahana says: “I have a list of the owners and officers of the 64 companies with their telephone number who have signed MoUs with the state government.”

He directs his staff to ring up an official of ACC, which has submitted a proposal to set up a cement plant in Amethi district.

When the officer comes on the line, Mahana asks him if the allotment of land has been completed.

He tells the ACC official that the state government officers have been directed to expedite land allotment. “If there is any hiccup, feel free to contact me,” he adds.

Next, he calls Gautam Kanodia of the Kanodia Group to know if a no objection certificate has been issued by the administration. When the reply is affirmative, he invites Kanodia to attend the ground breaking ceremony.

“I will talk to all the investors in the run-up to the ground breaking ceremony,” he says and adds chief minister Yogi Adityanath will also talk to the investors to get their feedback about the facilities provided by the state government to launch projects.

“It’s a prestigious project for the state government. We have named it ‘Rising UP Powering New India’,” Mahana says.

His staff tells him the owner of Intex, which has submitted a proposal to set up a project in Noida, is on the line.

Mahana asks him if he is facing problems in setting up the unit. The company owner tells him production work will start after three months as construction work is in progress now.

“I have talked to the owner of Telengana Electric Works and WTC who are investing in the IT and electric sector. DCM has signed an MoU for setting up sugar industry, Dharampal Prempal Company has signed MoU for investment in horticulture sector,” he says.

The amount of investment that the BJP government has been able to draw in two years is more than what the previous governments could do in 15 years, he claims.

Later, Mahana reviewed preparation for the ground breaking ceremony in a meeting with officers.

He told officers to contact businessmen and give clearances to projects, the foundation of which will be laid during the PM’s visit.

Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani, Infosys non-executive chairman Nandan Nilekani, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrashekharan and CII chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal are likely to attend the programme. Around 1500 businessmen, entrepreneurs and officers were invited to attend the programme, Mahana said.

Union commerce and industries minister, Suresh Prabhu, defence minister Nirmala Sitaraman and electronic and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will also attend the ground breaking ceremony.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Rajesh Kumar Singh,Hindustan Times,Lucknow / July 16th, 2018

Tryst with art and faith from Varanasi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Visitors at the exhibition at Subhadra Art Gallery in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar:

An ongoing art exhibition at Subhadra gallery here attempting to connect art and spirituality is attracting a number of art enthusiasts.

Titled, The Pilgrim, the exhibition features artworks by 20 artists from Varanasi.

Around 80 paintings are on display. A number of artworks from the artists of the state have also been put up.

P. Pranam Singh, professor of painting at Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, said: “Such exhibitions definitely attract more crowds as well as provides an opportunity to the artists to interact with art lovers.”

Artist Sunil Viswakarma from Banaras stressed on the visual importance of ancient Indian culture through his paintings.

Many of the paintings focus on nature and its connection with spirituality. Through deep colours, the paintings bring to life the full blooms flanked by majestic trees and vines.

The contemporary paintings by Sanjay Singh from Varanasi caught the eyes of many that have depicted modern life through brushstrokes

A painting on display at the exhibition. (Ashwinee Pati)

Snehalata’s painting on a socio-eco theme was highly appreciated both by art critics and guests present.

Former chief administrative officer of the Puri Jagannath temple and art connoisseur Pradip Kumar Jena, who inaugurated the festival, said: “The beautiful amalgamation of diverse paintings has really given the show a larger audience.”

Artists such as Sunil Kuswah, Pankaj Verma, Asha Prakash, Sarda Singh, Nidhi Tripathi, Vishka, Shradha Chaturvedi, Rahul Singh, Ajay Upasani, Satyendra Baoni, Pankaj Kumar Sharma, Baldev Maharatha, Raghunath Sahoo, Binodini Behera, Jaya Jena, Tuhina Joshi, Sanjay Ketan, Arun Pallur, Suresh Dhal and Manas Ranjan Jena were present on the occasion.

Gallery founder Rabi Rath said: “Cultivating the arts as a spiritual practice is a path to freeing our imagination and developing valuable skills for vital living in the world. The exhibition was an attempt of that.”

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Odisha / by Anwesha Ambaly / June 19th, 2018

NSD’s new chapter in Varanasi will revive Sanskrit plays

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Playwright Actor Director Ram ji Bali Ramji Bali has been appointed as the first director of the new branch.

Rangamy Ramji Bali.

In its six decades of history, the National School of Drama (NSD) has expanded itself outside its celebrated Delhi precincts with opening up of an extension centre in Varanasi recently. The renowned institute has roped in one of its eminent alumni, Rangamy Ramji Bali, to become the first director of the new branch.

As of now, the new centre will run a one-year certificate course and only deal with Sanskrit plays translated into Hindi. Like its parent branch, the centre will take in 26 students from all over India. The admission for the first batch is in process at the moment. The last date for submitting the forms is 20 July and the final interviews will be held between 25 and 27 July in Varanasi itself. The classes are scheduled to start from the first week of August.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Bali said that there is no better place to start the institute outside Delhi than in the land of Shiva, the originator of “Natya Shastra” or the science of dances.

Better known as Kashi, the place is considered as the land of Hindu mythology that connects Sanskrit scriptures to the rest of the country, he explained, adding that the new centre’s main objective will be to introduce this Natya Shastra written in these scriptures to the world.

“The NSD teaches everything to its students, from Western to Indian classical and contemporary. But there has always been a concern that our youths are not attached to their own culture in this modern era. Hence, NSD-Varanasi will help break this stereotype, as we will include everything—from dance to music to acting. This will be taught from an Indian classical point of view, which will be amalgamated with mythology and Natya Shastra,” said Bali.

Bali further added that the style of performance will be inspired by “Natya Shastra and mythology”, but the presentation will be in Hindi with a “touch of Sanskrit in it”.

Pointing out that there is a false impression that the youth is “rigid” when it comes to Sanskrit, he said, “It is a misconception. I have met a lot of students who have displayed their interest in Natya Shastra. This is why one of our main objectives will be to break this stereotype.”

The institute has plans to hire teachers on contractual basis, giving preference to scholars with Sanskrit background.

“People who have studied or are experts in Sanskrit will be hired for the job. This will give new opportunities to people with Sanskrit degrees,” Bali added.

The new centre aims at making its students realise the importance of Sanskrit scriptures that have mostly surfaced in Varanasi itself. “We will try to make our students understand the importance of Natya Shastra and then slowly teach the basics of Sanskrit in the span of one year,” he said.

The new NSD Director, who always wanted to encourage Natya Shastra, said he “personally wants every student, who walks out of NSD, to know something about Sanskrit”.

To provide students with an exposure to a wide array of knowledge on Indian culture, the students will be taken on a month-long trip to different corners of the country.

Explaining the involvement of NSD-Delhi, Bali said, “The plays will be staged independently by the Varanasi centre only. Though the centre will be guided by the Delhi branch, everything else will be done independently there.”

The new NSD branch will be opened at the Nagari Natak Mandali’s campus in School Kabir Chaura in the holy city. “It’s one of the oldest buildings in Varanasi. We don’t have our own campus yet, but are working on it,” said Bali.

A resident of Faridabad, Bali has penned seven plays and has directed approximately 75 plays so far. He is an alumnus of 2001 batch of the NSD, Delhi. He will be seen in the upcoming projects of noted director Tigmanshu Dhulia—“Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3” and “Yaara”.

source: http://www.sundaymagazineive.in / Sunday Guardian Live / Home> News / by Nibedita Saha & Nikita Jain / July 08th, 2018

Despite facilities, academies, UP short of TT champions

Sports

The Uttar Pradesh Table Tennis Association’s own academy at the UPTTA Complex has a poor record in terms of achievements as officials and coaches are not aware of the actual reason behind their failure.

Among all the academics in the state, JKG Academy in Ghaziabad being run by former UP player Vibhore khare has been producing some good talent in the game.(HT Photo)

For former UP player Vibhore Khare, the day starts at as early as 5 am and ends at 8 pm daily. Vibhore and his team of coaches meet 80-odd trainees and discuss their success and failures in detail.

The process continues since 2006 at the JKG Table Tennis Academy at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. The mission of the academy is to create TT champions. The academy has produced talented players, including international player Sarthak Seth.

“Training table tennis players is my bread and butter so I put my best foot forward to let every player feel that he or she can be the champion of tomorrow,” Vibhore said on the sidelines of the UP Ranking Tournament here on Friday.

Like Vibhore’s academy, other former UP paddlers Saurabh Poddar, Ibadur Rehman, Anil Sen, Shyam Kumar, Yogendra Agarwal, Parag Agarwal, Amit Singh, Sudarshan Prabhakar, and Hemendra Srivastava are running academies in places like Moradabad, Allahabad, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Agra.

However, only a few have succeeded in producing stars for the state.

The Uttar Pradesh Table Tennis Association’s own academy at the UPTTA Complex has a poor record in terms of achievements as officials and coaches are not aware of the actual reason behind their failure.

“We have good coaches, top class facilities and we even charge a small token amount for coaching but still we lack players at the UPTTA Academy,” UPTTA secretary Arun Banerjee said.

“It’s really difficult to understand why the game is getting such a poor response here,” he added.

Secretary of the Lucknow District TT Association NK Lahiry, while accepting a low turnout for the game at the academy, said that players found it difficult to come and play at the academy on regular basis.

“Parents as well as players want training facilities close to their respective areas. Most of them don’t want to travel to the academy daily,” said Lahiry, adding, “We charge only Rs 10 per day for coaching and provide all facilities like tables, balls and uninterrupted power supply.”

He said LDTTA as well as UPTTA conducted regular events at school and district level so that players in Lucknow get the opportunity to sharpen their skills in the game.

So far as Lucknow’s rich history in table tennis is concerned, a number of former ranked paddlers like Bishwajeet Gon, Tapan Bose, Vinod Mehta, SK Dey, Sanjeev Kapoor, Sujeet Gon, Gambhir Kapoor, and Rajeev Kapoor hail from this place.

Ever since the establishment of UPTTA Academy in 1993, it has managed to produce only top international officials, including the only Blue Badge umpire Amit Singh.

“We have produced 20-odd international technical officials, including myself, and I find that establishment of a training centre of the Sports Authority of India at the Colvin College from 1988 to 1999 robbed UPTTA Academy’s success. Most of the top players had joined the centre then,” said Banerjee, who claimed that establishing residential academies for the game would be a better option for the uplift of game’s standard in Lucknow.

“If someone comes with the idea of setting up of residential academies, UPTTA would support it fully,” said Banerjee.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Sharad Deep,Hindustan Times,Lucknow / June 30th, 2018

Hand amputated, this table tennis champ is now a super coach

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports

Having started off as a school level champ when she was five, Nikita was named the best coach at the first UP State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Lucknow.

Nikita Kumar(center).(HT Photo)

Hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi went on to become a great coach after he was humiliated for missing a goal. His turnaround was such an inspiration that his story was made into a blockbuster ‘Chak De’.

Those who know paddler Nikita Kumar, insist her story is no less inspiring.

Having started off as a school level champ when she was five, Nikita was on Sunday named the best coach at the first UP State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Lucknow.

This, despite the fact, that her left hand had to be amputated after a road accident in 2012.

While the tragedy could have torn apart anybody’s spirit, in less than two years Nikita went on to play for India at the Asian Para Games at Incheon in TT9-10 category in 2014.

“Table tennis is my life. No tragedy could have stopped me from playing it,” she said on the sidelines of the event where she was honoured on Sunday.

Grooming the batch of 40-odd kids at Ramprastha TT Academy in Ghaziabad, she never lost her spirit.

“See, life goes on and it was my body wisdom which inspired me to come out of the shadow of sorrow and pain and make a fresh start,” says Nikita, while adding, “I always wanted to play at the Asian Games but ended up playing Asian Para Games. But then such is life.”

“It all started off with a win at Manav Sthali School Silver Jubilee Table Tennis Tournament in New Delhi when I was a kid. It was opium for me. It ensured that I pursued table tennis even when my hands were amputated,” says the girl who has played skates, cager and a few other sports in schools.

“But, table tennis still remains my first love. I find myself most happy when I teach the finer points of the game to my 40-odd trainees,” she says.

“It is true that eight hours of training of my kids keep me busy, but even in the remaining 16 hours I keep thinking only about the game and the players. So it’s a full time engagement for me,” said Nikita, who won her first title at an international Para TT tourney at Bangkok in 2013.

“I always wanted to give back something to the game so along with my sister chose to start an academy in 2014,” she said.

“There is a big boom to the sport after India’s success at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, and I am very sure of Indians doing well at the upcoming Asian Games too,” she said.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Sharad Deep,Hindustan Times,Lucknow / July 03rd, 2018