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We thank thee, O father: Four generations of happiness

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , ,

Thiruvananthapuram, KERALA :

KakkatMPOs19jun2016

Thiruvananthapuram :

The Kakkat family has always been a big one. During marriages and other functions the ancestral house fills up with relatives. It is these past few years that the sons and daughters of the family have started living separately.

This family has always stressed on  the importance of living in harmony and with  generations together. In the Kakkat house it is a normal thing to see grandchildren and great grandchildren of the same age playing together. Four generations sit together and reminisce about their childhood and their fathers.

The great grandfather

Leaning heavily on a walking stick is eighty-year-old Moideenkutty Haji who loves spinning tales of the past. Stories mostly about his father Alippu Haji, and his grandfather, who was killed in the wagon tragedy. His favourite pastime include gathering all the young ones and regaling them with all kinds of anecdotes.

“There are so many stories that I can tell you,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes. “My father was a good man, very brave. He used to have this business (malancharakku), where he would take the goods from home (Kattuppara in Malappuram) to Ponnani Sea port. I was the eldest and he would often take me with him.”

The grandfather

Like his father before him, Ashraf Ali, now at 56, began dabbling in business at a very early age. “By the time we were 15, we started accompanying vappa (father) to different places as he went about with his business. He used to travel a lot, but when he came home he used to make sure that we knew about his experiences and such.” Though he had a job in the Gulf as a marketing manager in a watch company, he was keen on starting his own business. “Vappa is not a very educated man. He learned what he did during his travels. He taught us that. To seek knowledge from the world around us,” says Ashraf.

The Father

“Uppa (father) never told me outright what to do. Sometimes he would not answer all of my queries but made me find the answers myself,” Mohammed Thabith talks about his father. “This used to frustrate me a lot. But his discipline and his penchant of pushing me to find solutions myself helped me find my independence later in life.”

Great onus was put on the need for education. Thabith recalls how his father used to be adamant that all of his children be highly educated.

“We were all pushed to do the best we could. And that didn’t stop with education. I’m thirty-year-old. Even now he gives us practical pieces of advises from time to time. Now that I have a son, I will definitely ape my father and teach him how to question things and learn the truth by himself, while being a strong person for him.”

source:  http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Hana Ashraf / June 16th, 2016

Engineers come forward to support distressed farmers

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Green Products, , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The quartet who are part of the start-up Toe-Up | Express Photo
The quartet who are part of the start-up Toe-Up | Express Photo

Hyderabad :

Concerned over the plight of farmers, whose fortunes depend on the vagaries of weather, four engineers have shouldered the task of developing an app to help them out.

S Saquibuddin, Shaik Mukheet, Neha Bandari and Asma Fatima, working at the T-hub in Hyderabad are in the process of developing ‘Niyantran’, an app to provide crop related information to the farmers and help them seek help of experts for better yield.

“Initially we wanted to create an identity for ourselves and decided to take the startup route instead of a waiting for a job. As agriculture is the most neglected sector in spite of being the most important one, we decided to concentrate on this area. As we came to know about the plight of farmers, who land in debt-trap due to vagaries of weather, we decided to develop an app for the farming community,” said S Saquibuddin, CEO and co-founder of the startup christened ‘Toe-Up’.

Saquibuddin, Mukheet and Neha have graduated from Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Dundigal and being aeronautical engineers they have experimented the use of drones to monitor crops. But as it proved unviable due to practical difficulties and cost factor, they have decided to come up with a more convenient and easy tool for farmers.

“After downloading the ‘Niyantran’ app, farmers can seek expert opinion regarding the problems they face in farming. They can click the picture of the plant or crop affected by pest or other problems and send it to the experts. He will immediately receive guidance from experts regarding pest control. They can even record their voice and send it like in WhatsApp for information and guidance,” explained Neha.

The quartet has been working on the app for the past eight months and it will be ready for launch in a month.

While these youngsters are not keen about financial returns through this app, they are ambitious about building a profile to catch the attention of venture capitalists and investors. The start up received a shot in the arm as NASA selected it to conduct its space app challenge in Hyderabad.

“Besides being selected for T-Hub we are also part of Collab House, co-working space launched by Mozilla in Hyderabad. This has given us good mentors and exposure. Our focus is on developing apps that will bring out a positive change and Niyantran is part of that effort. Once we add value and bring in a positive change, we believe that success will follow,” stated Saquibuddin.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by J. Deepti Nandan Reddy / Express News Service / June 16th, 2016

Faiz Fazal Makes Smashing ODI Debut as India Flatten Zimbabwe 3-0

Sports, ,

Faiz Fazal justified his selection to the Indian ODI team with an unbeaten fifty against a hapless Zimbabwean side in Harare. On Wednesday, the Vidarbha cricketer earned his first cap from Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Faiz Fazal made his debut for India vs Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. (Image credit: BCCI/Twitter) / © Twitter
Faiz Fazal made his debut for India vs Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. (Image credit: BCCI/Twitter) /
© Twitter

Faiz Fazal on Wednesday became only the third cricketer from Vidarbha to represent India when he replaced Karun Nair for the third and final One-Day International against Zimbabwe in Harare. He justified his selection by scoring an unbeaten 55 as India coasted to a  10-wicket win to sweep the series 3-0 .

Only Prashant Vaidya and Umesh Yadav are the other two from Vidarbha to have played for the Indian cricket team. Both Vaidya and Yadav are pace bowlers.

The 30-year-old Fazal had almost lost hope of getting selected for India but was surprised when he was picked for the tour of Zimbabwe last month. This was purely on the basis of his fine domestic performance.

The Nagpur-born Faiz fazal scored a century playing for Rest of India against Mumbai in the Irani Trophy in March. In January, he scored a century in the Deodhar Trophy final playing for India A vs India B.

On Wednesday, the left-handed opening batsman realised his dream when he was handed the India cap by none other than skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni  .

Though the result of the match in inconsequentioal, Fazal can make an impact with his performance ahead of the three-match Twenty20 International series which starts on Saturday.

Fazal, who has 79 first class matches under his belt, has been through the domestic grind for close to a decade now, and was playing league cricket in England when he got selected. He was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad for four seasons before he was left out in 2012. He scored 183 runs in 11 innings for the Royals.

“This is a massive surprise for me,” Fazal told ESPNcricinfo after he was picked for the Zimbabwe tour.

“For two years before this, I kept looking up to see if I was picked every time a squad was announced. But I was disappointed each time.

“I’ve tried to consciously steer away from thoughts about selection, so to receive this news early morning from India is a big surprise, but I’m happy. It’s funny how when you stop expecting something you have always chased, things start to happen.”

The Nagpur-born has 5341 runs in first class at an average of 40.15 with 11 centuries and a highest score of 200 not out. He can roll his arm over too with some medium pace bowling and also has one four-wicket haul in his domestic career.

source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / Home> Cricket> News / by Sandip Sikdar / June 15th, 2016

Award for physician

Science & Technology, ,

Thiruvananthapuram,  KERALA :

Physician M. Muhammad has been selected for the first N.M. Muhammad Ali Memorial Award instituted by Kerala Gazetted Officers Association.

The award, which carries a purse of Rs.50,001, a statuette, and citation, will be presented to Muhammad at a function to be held here on June 10 at the VJT Hall. The winner was selected by a jury headed by public health activist B. Ekbal.

Other jury members were psychologist K. Praveen Lal, dancer Rajashree Warrier, and journalist R. Parvathy Devi. Minister for Electricity and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran will present the award.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by A Corrrespondent / Thiruvananthapuram – Junel 05th, 2016

ATME students develop Nano Tractor

Education, Science & Technology, , , , ,

Mysuru ,  KARNATAKA :

A boon to small farmers

NanoTractorMPOs04jun2016

Mysuru :

The final year Mechanical Engineering students of ATME College of Engineering, Mysuru — Aathir Md. Suhaib, Anthony Johny, Aquib Arbaz and Mujahid Khan — as a part of their project work, has developed a low cost, compact and versatile tractor named Nano Tractor.

The farming sector, especially vegetable growers and horticulturists, were in need of a small sized, economical and easy to maintain type of farm equipment. The new Nano Tractor developed by the students may be the answer for it.

Students to begin with have surveyed the farmers in and around Mysuru and understood the necessity of a smaller and versatile farm equipment at affordable cost. Then they have come up with the idea of fabricating a Tractor with a relatively smaller engine but can perform various farming activity with advantages like easy handling and less maintenance.

They have used an old 600 CC, 7.5 bhp engine of an auto- rickshaw and other parts from old vehicles. The performance test conducted indicates that it definitely fulfils the requirements of the small farmers as stated above.

The subject knowledge gained in their engineering course and with the able guidance of N. Rakshith, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, they have successfully completed the Nano Tractor Project at a cost of Rs. 60,000.

The Model and Concept can be used to design and manufacture in large scale can definitely help a sector of Farming community.

The students’ effort has been hailed by many including the industry people and the farmers. Principal and staff members have congratulated them on their feat.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General Nes / June 03rd, 2016

Kickboxing Contest : Bangalore lad knocks out opponent in just 6 seconds to win Gold Medal in State-Level Kickboxing contest

Sports, , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Mahmood Shariff Zain took part in a full-contact 74-kg bout in Mysore

Bangalore:

Mahmood Shariff Zain, a student at Dayananda Sagar College here, has won the gold medal in the Karnataka State-level Kickboxing Championship 2015-15.

He knocked out his opponent in just six seconds in the full-contact 74-kg bout held at Annaporna Complex, 2ndFloor, 1st Stage, Hebbal, Mysore, on March 27.

Mahmood Shariff Zain with the gold medal and certificate.
Mahmood Shariff Zain with the gold medal and certificate.

Zain, a resident of BTM Layout, trains at the Indian Combat Sports Academy located at 55, 2nd Floor, Bannerghatta main road, UCO Bank building, Bangalore-560076.

The win promises to be a stepping stone to a bright career in a sport that is mostly played to beat stress and get back in shape.

Those who wish to contact Zain and congratulate him can call +91 95917 99217.

Mumtaz Begum elected Mayor

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, ,

Bangalore,  KARNATAKA :

Lakshminarayana elected Deputy Mayor; BJP candidates lose by huge margins

______________________________________________________________

  • Mumtaz Begum is the first Muslim Mayor
  • JD(S) and JD(U) abstain from voting
  • Ms. Begum defeated Nagaratna Nagaraj by 37 votes
  • Lakshminarayana polled 58 votes as against 22 by L. Srinivas
  • ________________________________________________________

 

VICTORIOUS: Out-going Mayor Narayanaswamy (centre) with newly-elected Mayor Mumtaz Begum (right) and Deputy Mayor M. Lakshminarayana in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
VICTORIOUS: Out-going Mayor Narayanaswamy (centre) with newly-elected Mayor Mumtaz Begum (right) and Deputy Mayor M. Lakshminarayana in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore :

With the Congress deciding on the candidate for the post of Mayor two days in advance, Mumtaz Begum was elected 43rd Mayor of Bangalore on Tuesday. She is the first Muslim Mayor and the fourth woman Mayor.

M. Lakshminarayana, who represents Gali Anjaneyaswamy Temple ward in Binnypet Assembly constituency, was elected 44th Deputy Mayor. His candidature was finalised on Tuesday, as there was a keen contest between Mr. Lakshminarayana and Audugodi corporator K.B. Mohan for the post.

Chaos prevailed in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Council even before the elections were held. The Congress nominees, who were certain of donning the coveted mantles, were busy posing for photographs even before the official announcement.

Though the elections were held in the presence of the entire Opposition — the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party — the Janata Dal (Secular) members abstained from voting like in the past. As soon as the meeting began, the Opposition members objected to the elections being conducted despite some organisations approaching the court seeking a change in the reservation category.

“How can you hold the elections when the matter is in the court? What if the court orders a change in the category?” the members led by Kachakaranahalli corporator Padmanabha Reddy asked.

This apart, the election proceedings were delayed by over 40 minutes as the Opposition members alleged that the ruling Congress had violated the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act by not notifying the election of members to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Library Authority and other organisations along with the Mayoral elections. The members calmed down after the Mayor justified that the court had not stayed the elections.

The BJP fielded the Sampangiramnagar corporator Nagaratna Nagaraj and the Padmanabhanagar corporator L. Srinivas, against the Congress nominees for both the posts. But they were defeated by huge margins. Ms. Begum defeated her rival by a margin of 37 votes. She bagged 58 votes while Ms. Nagaratna secured 21. Mr. Lakshminarayana polled 58 votes as against 22 by Mr. Srinivas.

Ms. Begum (46) a graduate, representing Shivajinagar in north Bangalore is a third-time corporator. She was elected 25th Deputy Mayor in 1984 when she was in the erstwhile Janata Party. She joined the Congress in 1988 and was elected corporator in 1990 for the second time. In the present BMP Council, she has headed the Standing Committee on Appeals in 2001 and was also member of the Standing Committee on Education and Social Justice in 2003. She represented the BMP in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) from 1992 to 1995. She has worked as the general secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Mahila Wing (1991-1995), president of Shivajinagar Block Congress Committee (1993-1997), general secretary of Bangalore City District Congress Committee (1995-1997), general secretary of KPCC (1997-2002) and executive committee member, KPCC (2002-2005).

Mr. Lakshminarayana (46) belongs to the Vokkaliga community. He represents the Gali Anjenayaswamy Temple ward for the second consecutive time. He is the 44th Deputy Mayor as there were two Deputy Mayors in 1965. After D.Thamayya’s death, C. Bhaskaran was elected Deputy Mayor then.

Both the candidates filed their nomination papers earlier in the day and the elections were conducted from 11.40 a.m. onwards. Unlike in the past, the Mayoral elections went on without the usual “drama” (convincing members to withdraw in the last minute, as there were no rebels) in the BMP Council hall.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Online edition / Home> Karnataka / Wednesday – November 30th, 2015

City MMA Fighters Bag Medals at National Championship

Sports, , ,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Subrahmanya Sumanth clinches Light Heavy Weight Title

Seen in the picture are (from left) Mohammed Zulkarnain, M.R. Darshan, Alan Fernandes, Vice-President of AIMMAA, Head Coach Kru. Vikram, Prasad Gaitonde, General Secretary of AMMAK, S. Lohith, Subrahmanya Sumanth and Mari John.
Seen in the picture are (from left) Mohammed Zulkarnain, M.R. Darshan, Alan Fernandes, Vice-President of AIMMAA, Head Coach Kru. Vikram, Prasad Gaitonde, General Secretary of AMMAK, S. Lohith, Subrahmanya Sumanth and Mari John.

Mysuru :

Five Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Fighters attached to Academy of Martial Science (AMS), representing Mysore Muaythai Trust and trained by internationally-accredited coach Kru. Vikram of AMS have won one title, three Silver and one Bronze medal respectively at the Bangalore Open National Amateur MMA Championships held at Fitness Time MMA Gym in Bengaluru recently.

The Championship was sanctioned by All India Mixed Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA) and hosted by the Association of Mixed Martial Arts of Karnataka (AMMAK).

Results: M.R. Darshan (Flyweight) Silver Medal; S. Lohith (Featherweight) Bronze Medal; Mari John (Welterweight) Silver Medal; Subrahmanya Sumanth (Light Heavy Weight Champion) and Mohammed Zulkarnain (Heavyweight) Silver Medal.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / June 02nd, 2016

How to be your own boss at 19

Business & Economy,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

NabhaanTELAN02jun2016

HYDERABAD:

It has once been said, “Follow your own heart, not the world”. To achieve something in life, and to make your mark in the world, you have to have to courage to face the odds and follow your dreams. Here’s someone, from our very own city, who had the courage to follow what his heart said, and has made his dreams come true, at such a young age.

Meet Nabhan Mahmood, a young entrepreneur and the CEO of Iron Threads. The firm in Banjara Hills, deals with clothing and apparel solutions whilst also managing sporting arenas and facilities.

The clothing line manages customised and retail merchandise, ranging from college, corporate to individual orders. He established his very own company when he was 19 in November 2014. Through the past two years, he has successfully made his company an international brand name, signing contracts with Hyderabad Cricket Association, Platinum Motor Cars Detroit, Telangana Basketball, Telangana Hockey, and New York University (NYU) Football, to name a few. Graduated from Amity University, Delhi, this young entrepreneur is presently pursuing Law from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

So what inspired him to start Iron Threads at such a young age? “I was intent on making a difference in my own life and in the lives of those around me. Being an entrepreneur was the most plausible and exciting route to accomplish that. I dreamed of being my own boss.”

He thanks his parents let him venture into something like this at such a young age. “I started my company on a shoestring budget – from the savings I had made from winning football tournaments. My parents initially assumed it was a source of added pocket money so they did not oppose it. As time passed, when they saw that my venture was growing rapidly and that my grades weren’t suffering from my added work load, they too became comfortable with the idea of me going ahead with this venture.”

Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision that contributed to his success? Nabhan says, “The decision to invest my savings in my own venture rather than a mutual fund. It kept me in charge of my money and investments and gave me the drive to use it as tactfully as I could.”

Currently he hires people whenever he needs. “Otherwise, I’m a one-man army,” he adds.

Everyone looks back and wish they had done things differently. If he could time travel back to day one of his start-up and have 15 minutes with his former self, what would you tell yourself? “I’d tell myself to find multiple options of transport of consignment sooner. This would help me avoid dependence on any one agency, as the workload gets too cumbersome for any one agency to handle efficiently and on time.”

“Business has taught me that you’ll only be to achieve the things you’re willing to suffer for and that fear is a phenomenal source of motivation to chase your goals,” he says.”

“It is also okay to be different from your peers. In fact, it is necessary to be different if you want to shape your life according to your ideals and achieve stellar success that would give meaning to your time and efforts. Anyone can be ordinary just as anyone can be special- a disciplined work ethic and passion and fearless approach is what separates those who dream from those who achieve those dreams.”

His mantra is what Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Drishika Adhiya / June 01st, 2016

Mustafa emerges Runner-Up in AITA U10 Tournament

Sports,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

MustafaBF01jun2016

Mysuru :

City’s Mustafa M. Raja, a student of Nagara Tennis Academy, emerged as the runner-up in the AITA 10 and Under Tennis Tournament held at KSLTA Stadium in Benglauru recently,

9-year-old Mustafa showed grit and determination to continue playing his matches despite sustaining injuries in both his legs.

He overcame the pain to reach yet another finals where he lost to Jason in a close encounter lasting almost two hours which went to the third deciding set.

Jason won the finals with the score of 4,3; 3,4 and 1,4.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / May 31st, 2016