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AKTU to honour Mars Orbiter mastermind
Lucknow :
APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University will confer honoris causa on Indian Science and Research Organisation chairman A S Kiran Kumar on its convocation slated on January 22. An accomplished space scientist, Kumar was instrumental in evolving the successful strategy for steering the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft towards planet Mars as well as its Mars Orbit Insertion.
As many as 47 students, gold, silver and bronze in streams like engineering, management, fashion designing and pharmacy will be awarded medals. In the medal tally, girls rule the roost once again. Close to 80% of the medals to be awarded on the convocation ceremony are in the girls’ kitty. Out of 47 medals, 38 will be awarded to girls.
For the first time, graduating students of AKTU will wear a cream-coloured ‘angvastra’ over their traditional dress. Boys will wear white-coloured shirt and dark coloured trousers. Girls will wear saree. Printed on the angvastra will be Lucknow’s heritage and famous historical monuments of UP. In addition, it will also have sermons of former APJ Abdul Kalam. It is also decided that the dignitaries will wear a maroon angvastra and a cream-colour pagadi.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the function.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / December 16th, 20154
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City boy wins ‘renowned national shooter’ title
Lucknow :
City boy, Ishan Kalhans, student of class IX in La Martiniere College has become a ‘Renowned National Shooter’ under the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). He scored points much above the threshold in the category at the 59th All India Shooting Championship 2015 on Sunday. Along with this feat, Ishan is now eligible to appear in selection trials for the Indian rifle shooting team.
Ishan scored 580.5 points at the championship held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in Delhi in the under 18 ‘Youth’ category in the 10 meter air rifle shooting. “The player needs to score above 570 points to be able to achieve this title. I have become a national qualified shooter now,” said Ishan. After this, he will be participating in the KSS tournament scheduled at Kerala in February 2016, where trials for the Indian team will also be held.
The young boy was inspired by his father Siddharth Kalhans, who had earlier been an air rifle shooter. In 2014, when Ishan’s principal introduced the sport in the school, he started practising and participating. Taking up target practice for three hours daily, he first took part in the Uttar Pradesh State Shooting Championship in 2014 and won bronze medal. This year, he won silver medal in the same championship and also won silver medal in 10meter air rifle team in Uttarakhand State Shooting Championship, 2015.
He owns a German air rifle and wants to take up air rifle shooting along with Indian Civil Services in future. Ishan aspires to represent India at the Olympics.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / December 15th, 2015
Benaras boy Yatharth Ratnum wins first edition of The Stage India
In the finale aired on Sunday night, Yatharth won a Renault car, a contract with Universal music plus a 10-city tour.
Yatharth Ratnum, a 19-year-old boy from Benaras, has won The Stage India, the country’s first English singing reality show. “I know it is a crazy thing to get into English music growing up in Benaras. I had trained in Hindustani classical music for six years since I was seven, and that had stood me in good stead in whatever genre I have chosen to pursue ever since,” said Yatharth, who lists pop, R&B and soul as genres he loves singing the most.
In the finale aired on Sunday night, Yatharth won a Renault car, a contract with Universal music plus a 10-city tour. Not many may remember but Yatharth was the budding teenager who finished as a runner-up on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009.
“That was a different space. This is unlike anything that has ever happened in the Indian reality scene. The response we got on social media plus the comments, and shares that came our way have been heartening,” he said, adding that participation in the show happened purely by accident.
“I met up with a friend for coffee and she informed me she would proceed to audition for this reality show of English songs that was about to be launched. I decided to tag along because I had been involved with English music for around the last couple of years, writing and creating music in Los Angeles,” he pointed out.
The LA trip, he says, happed because of his Li’l Champs sojourn. “I got a call to perform at the Young Artist Award because they loved my Hindi songs!” he laughed.
His switch from Hindi to English happened because of two reasons. “I don’t want to be contained in India. At the awards do, I realised I could reach out to a wider audience if I wanted to. Plus, I tried writing in Hindi but could not.” He recalls he was just five when he heard AR Rahman’s Dil Se, an experience that had a strong impact on him. “My dad was in the audio distribution business, so I would a chance to listen to a huge variety of music. That let me develop a varied sense of sounds,” said Yatharth, who counts Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Rahman as a few of his inspirations.
Meanwhile, he has also bagged a film deal. “I have signed up for a Hindi film titled Blue Mountains, which also features Ranvir Shorey and Gracy Singh. I play the male lead and have also sung four songs in the film. Acting is something that lets me be who I am not.”
Music, though, will be his first love. “Music is music. I wake up and go to sleep with it,” he signed off.
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / Home> News> Mail Today / by Vinayak Chakravorty / Varanasi – December 14th, 2015