Soheb Samad, Regional Director, Southern Region of India Tourism (fourth from right ), is seen inaugurating the two-day Convention of Tourist Guides organised by the Tourist Guides Federation of India (TGFI) at Hotel Radisson Blu in city this morning. Others seen are (from left) former TGFI Vice President Anahita Tarapore, S. Mahalingaiah, President of Indian Association of Tour Operators, TGFI President Narendra Singh Rathore, Executive Committee member Sudhakar Embar, General Secretary Dr. Ajay K. Singh, Mikael Delafuente, Regional Director, Alliance Francaise de Bengaluru, Dr. Arun Raj, Superintendent of ASI, Bengaluru and Ramakrishna Aithal, President, Tourist Guides’ Association of India
Mysuru :
The two-day 18th annual National Convention of Tourist Guides organised by the Tourist Guides Federation of India (TGFI) began at Hotel Radisson Blu Plaza in city today.
Inaugurating the convention, Soheb Samad, Regional Director, Southern Region of India Tourism, said that 7.02 million foreign tourists visited India, thus giving a boost to the tourism industry. India Tourism has launched Athiti Devobava programme to attract more tourists from abroad, he added.
Stressing the role of tourist guides and stakeholders in tourism industry, Soheb Samad said Yoga and Medical Tourism had put Mysuru and Karnataka on the world tourist map. The tourism industry has generated 9 percent employment in the country, he added.
Samad said the tourist guides should give correct information and image of the country when explaining to tourists and added that the Ministry of Tourism has been imparting training for the tourist guides to enhance their language and knowledge.
Pointing out that learning is a continuous process in tourism industry, he said that the Ministry would consider the protection and welfare of tourist guides on priority basis. The tourist guides should aim at providing quality service to the tourists, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Arun Raj, Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Bengaluru, said that the tourist guides were the ‘Real Ambassadors’ of India, adding they should update their knowledge by attending refresher courses in tourism. ‘Every tourist guide should know the tangible and intangible history of the land.’
As many as 170 tourist guides from all over India are participating in the two-day National Convention. TGFI President Narendra Singh Rathore, former Vice President Anahita Tarapore, Vice President K. Monikantan, General Secretary Dr. Ajay K. Singh, Mikael Delafuente, Regional Director, Alliance Francaise de Bengaluru and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Saturday – June 13th, 2015
A free seminar on ‘Wealth and Value Creation Free of Interest Intervention’ has been organised by Rehbar Financial Consultants, Bengaluru, tomorrow (May 31) at Taj Convention Hall, Bannimantap, from 2.30 pm onwards.
Islamic principles and guidelines for a just economic system and a prosperous society;
Challenges faced by the Muslim business community in modern era and solutions and other related topics will be discussed during the Seminar which will be followed by a question and answer session.
For details, contact Saifur Rahman on Mob; 98860-06767.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Brief / Sunday – May 24, 2015
Delegates from China will attend TechXpo 15 that gets under way at P A College of Engineering (PACE) on Friday.
The college’s mechanical engineering department will host an auto engineering show. Chinese delegate Schichun Tao, sales director, Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Latin America of Launch Tech Pvt Limited will be the chief guest .
A seminar will be conducted on technologies related to high performance lubricants, automobile diagnostics evolution and future trends.Indoor exhibits on latest technologies in the automotive industry, outdoor exhibits on modified and vintage cars and bikes will be open to public. Free auto diagnostic scanning for new generation cars with OBD 2 and Entice 15, a technical competition, will be held. Joy Yan, sales manager, Launch Tech, Sasi Menon, retail head, Mobil 1, and Shamnas Mohammd, managing director, Candour Auto Tech, will be present.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / TNN / May 07th, 2015
In an exclusive interview, costumes designer Reza Shariffi talks about how he devises a frame to design and create costume, how he tries to retain the integrity of the character and the costumes that he has designed so far.
What inspired you to be a costume designer?
I was exposed to a wide variety of fabrics very early in life. I was the first born in my family, having six maternal aunts. For the first five years of my life, they never made me wear a single garment repeatedly. When I grew up I naturally returned that favour and till the date I always wanted to dress them up in my creations. I think this is the source of my inspiration.
When I started working as a designer in a Boutique in Bandra, Mumbai, one of the top designers bought my outfit to style a famous Bollywood actress. It gave me immense satisfaction when I saw the outfit on the screen. That satisfaction germinated into a strong desire.
Since you have designed for almost all the well known B-Town celebrities, How do you manage to pull out the best for everyone?
As a professional costume designer, I devise a frame within which I need to design and create a costume. I keep in mind a few things before I design like the comfort zone of the star, physical attributes of the celebrity, purpose of the costume (is it for movie, live performance, appearance etc.), the time it will be worn (day, night, how much time on the body) and finally my vision of the costume. After I create the costume I evaluate it on all the five parameters very stringently. The outcome rarely falters.
What are the key points, you keep in mind while designing for actresses like Shilpa Shetty, Shraddha Kapoor and others?
As I told you earlier, my five parameters work for each and every costume I create. For movies I try to retain the integrity of the character as much as possible. Tanu Weds Manu and Tanu Weds Manu Returns are the cases in point. I believe ‘clothes maketh the character’ and my costumes are very loyal to the characters my actors play.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is said to be the perfectionist in traditional attires, how did you manage to meet his expectations?
Yes he is a perfectionist. For a Filmfare award function he wore a black kurta designed by me that was the biggest compliment from him. When I worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Devdas, I had extensively made research on my outfits for the movie. It was during Devdas that I crystallised my principles of ‘character integrity’. That we worked again in Saawariya was a compliment in itself.
Kangana Ranaut has worked in movies like Fashion, Queen and Tanu weds Manu, What were the challenges you faced while designing for her upcoming sequel of Tanu weds Manu?
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is the fourth project I have worked for Kangna. As I have designed for both Tanu Weds Manu and soon to be released Tanu Weds Manu Returns, I had a definite line of thought to work on, right from the beginning. Tanu (Kangna as Tanuja Trivedi) is still the feisty lady who could say “Darti to Main kisi ke baap se bhi nahin” in Tanu Weds Manu and “Haalat dekhi hai? Adrak Ho gaya hai ye aadmi” in TWM Returns. Obviously the clothes need to match up!! The colours are bold (as in part one). I have given her costumes which have inherent shock value adding quirky twist using hounds tooth print in pink, Shibori fabric, tie and dye, kilim fabrics with leather and suede combination trimmings and jackets. I have designed printed draped dhotis in ethnic colours and mildly embellished kurtis
In Tanu Weds Manu Returns Kangana also plays Datto aka Kusum. Kusum has a wardrobe of printed floral Salwaar kameezes paired with sporty jackets, knits and sweaters. The colours used for her are more subtle. Datto (a ward of Delhi University from Haryana) wears sporty track suits while practicing her sport on field.
What are your hobbies other than designing?
I love road trips. Shopping from every nook and cranny of the places I stop on the way to my destination gives me happiness beyond compare. When I shop, I focus on its aesthetics first and price later. Though I love small / miniature artifacts, I am not averse to life size animal statues too. I love taking care of stray animals.
Out of all the costumes that you have designed so far, which was your favorite?
A film costume needs to be appealing and independent in the current fashion trend. Then they become memorable because of the way they are carried by the actor in the movie and how they are shot. I don’t think I would deliver a costume unless I love it myself.
Among my many favorites are Devdas – Dola re Dola; Wajood (Madhuri Dixit Nene), Kismat- particularly the dance costumes (Priyanka Chopra), Garv (Shilpa Shetty), Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon (Antra Mali), Shabri (Isha Koppikar), Rahena Hai Tere Dil Mein- Zara zara song (Dia Mirza). Latest is Kangna’s white suit in Tanu Weds Manu (Rangrez song). The list is endless, I can pick one (at least) per project I have done so far. There are times when some outfits are chopped on the editing table or used in a shot for just a few seconds and so on, they never get registered or see the light of day.
You have achieved many awards and designed for almost all the stars. What is your ultimate goal in life?
Keep working.
The film industry has a lot of well known designers, who among them is your role model?
Bhanu Athaiya and Leena Daru.
What is your message to all the aspiring designers?
I maintain that for any chosen field the basics need to be strong. Get your foundations right and then slowly keep building on it. More than theory, practical working knowledge is important. Remain a student all in your life, learn more and more, evolve…
We have learnt that you are currently working for Jacqueline Fernandes and Mallaika Arora Khan, would you like to share about the projects?
Yes, I have been doing lot of work with Jacqueline Fernandes and Mallaika Arora Khan for their live performances.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Fashion / by Nibedita Mohantha / April 27th, 2015
MDSSIA office-bearers (sitting from left) M. Abhishek, Hon. Treasurer; A.S. Satish, President; C.M. Subramanian, Hon. Secretary and N.D. Nagaraje Urs, Hon. Joint Secretary; (standing from left) Committee Members: Lingaraj, Mohd. Ghouse, H.D. Raghavendra, P. Kumar and N.H. Jayantha.
Mysuru, Karnataka :
A.S. Satish, President, Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), has been elected as the President of Mysore District Small Scale Industries Association (MDSSIA). The other office-bearers are: Suryanarayana – Vice-President, C.M. Subramanian – Hon. Secretary, N.D. Nagaraje Urs – Joint Secretary and M. Abhishek – Treasurer. The Managing Committee members are: H.N. Nagaraj, Mohd. Ghouse, H.D. Raghavendra, N.H. Jayantha, Lingaraju, P. Kumar and Nagesh.
MDSSIA, started in 1964 by a group of young entrepreneurs, is the only apex body in Mysore District for Small Scale Industries. Many programmes including seminars, exhibitions and interaction with various Government Departments regarding the problems faced by SSIs have been planned.
Micro and SSIs, who are not members of this Association, may enroll as members.
For details, contact Secretary C.M. Subramanian on Mob: 88808-88853.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 28th, 2015
The Hashimpura massacre left a whole group of aggrieved women “victims” of state injustice
For several years, residents of Meerut found it rather odd to see a Muslim woman in a black scarf running a hardware shop on the Hashimpura main road. Little did they know that it was only the massacre of 1987 that led Anjum, a shy housewife then in her early twenties, to be transformed into a sharp businesswoman who is known in the vicinity as “hardware wali Anjum.”
The 42 who were killed in cold blood by the Provincial Armed Constabulary on May 22, 1987, included Mohammad Jameel, her father-in-law, an employee with the Meerut Municipal Corporation, who was the main breadwinner of the house and his youngest Naseem. Unable to bear the death of his father and younger brother, Mohammad Saleem, her husband committed suicide the same year, leaving her alone to take care of three children.
For Anjum, who was just four years into her marriage then, it was not an easy decision to make. Like any other Muslim woman in Hashimpura she had never stepped out of her in-laws’ house.
“Seeing my husband commit suicide left me broke from within. Finding me without any male in my family, my in-laws attempted to encroach on my husband’s shop and the rest of the property,” says Anjum while dealing with customers in between the conversation.
“But I had to take a decision. And it was not an easy decision to make,” says the woman in her early forties. Her education till graduation from Ismail Girls College in Meerut, came in handy when she had to don the role of a business woman.
Anjum, the owner of “Janta hardware store,” is not alone in this. The Hashimpura massacre left a whole group of aggrieved women “victims” of state injustice but many of them decided to instead become the controllers of their destiny.Women of as many as 42 families who lost their men to the bullets of the PAC decided to defy the stereotypes about Muslim women as docile homemakers and started working to survive. The society where the idea of working woman used to be a social taboo soon witnessed a large number of houses having women in the role of breadwinners and financial guardians. In the process, Hashimpura also became the only area in Meerut with the largest number of working women.
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre the task of running 42 homes was an overpowering challenge before the Committee for Justice for Victims of the Hashimpura Massacre, a group of the survivors and family members of those killed in the massacre.
“It was a big tragedy we were faced with — the fact that 42 families lost their breadwinners. The biggest priority for us was to ensure survival of these families,” says Zulfiqar Nasir who had deceived the bullets of the PAC while remembering how the Army had herded all the “young and productive” men of Hashimpura into the truck on the fateful Friday, May 22, 1987, only to kill 42 of them in cold blood.
Zaibun Nisa, who was one of those women who started working after she lost her husband Iqbal in the massacre, in order to run the family of three, recalls, “So, the Hashimpura Justice Committee decided that women can go out and work. There was resistance from the rest of the Muslim society in Meerut but we didn’t care because we had seen the biggest tragedies of our lives and our priority was to survive.”
Naseem Bano recounts to this correspondent how she was into her early twenties when the deaths of Siraj, then 23 year old, her only brother in the massacre, left her father a “dead man.”
“My father, who used to sell bangles, couldn’t bear the tragedy of seeing his young son getting killed. After his death, I had three young sisters to take care of. I started teaching Urdu in the local senior secondary school,” says Ms. Bano whose husband left her when she started working.
“All of us, the man-cum-women of our respective houses, became in a sense sisters. Seeing so many of our sisters in difficult circumstances also became a source of inspiration and determination that all of us have to work and survive,” she narrates while supervising the construction of her house.
Inspired by the stories of courage and strength of women in Hashimpura, Mohammad Naeem one of the survivors of PAC’s bullets, is hell bent that all of his daughters are not only educated but receive higher education. His eldest daughter Nuris Parveen is doing M. Phil. in Social Work from Mahatma Gandhi Hindi University in Wardha. Seeing his commitment, V.N. Rai, a retired IPS officer and former Vice-Chancellor of the university, had a few years ago, decided to facilitate her education.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by Mohammad Ali / Meerut – April 07th, 2015
The Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT-Kanpur organised TEDx on Saturday. In this event, seven visionaries and performers from different fields narrated their stories before the audience both from IIT-Kanpur and the city.
The event started with a formal inauguration by IIT-K director Indranil Manna and Prof B V Phani. The first talk was given by Ad-man Abhijit Avasthi, followed by Amit Deshpal, a graduate from IIT-Madras in 2008 and joined the private equity arm of World Bank. Inspired by Tagore’s and Tolstoy’s thoughts on education, he quit his job a year later to start a learning space for children.
He spent nearly three years travelling around the country learning from different places and tried to understand meaning of education beyond formal schooling.
Talks were also delivered by renowned pantomime artist Padma Shri Niranjan Goswami and Anand Patwardhan, a critically acclaimed and socio-political documentary film-maker and activist. Other speakers were Irfan Alam, a social entrepreneur based in Patna working towards organising and empowering rickshaw-pullers through his organisation Sammaan, Aabid Surti, National Award winning author, artist and playwright-turned-environmentalist, Dipendra Manocha, founder of Saksham Trust that works towards developing communication devices for the visually impaired. The organisers of TEDx said that these talks may seed the notion of entrepreneurial zeal in individuals to think differently and act smartly. Many entrepreneurs and well-known people of the city attended the programme.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / March 29th, 2015
Premji said he was “not a political person” but “deeply interested in and concerned about my country”.
New Delhi :
Wipro chairperson Azim Premji on Sunday caused ripples of surprise when he attended Rashtriya Sewa Sangam, a meeting of NGOs organized by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Premji was invited by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who was present on the dais when the entrepreneur-philanthropist addressed the gathering.
Admitting that “some people expressed apprehension” over his participation at an RSS meet on the ground that it would be “seen as endorsing the ideology of the Sangh”, Premji said that “merely speaking at a particular forum does not in any way mean that one endorses all, or any, of the views that might be expressed at the forum, or which may be held by the organizers”.
Premji said he was “not a political person” but “deeply interested in and concerned about my country”.
Focusing primarily on education as the ultimate game changer, Premji also told the gathering of nearly 500 NGOs – mostly Sangh affiliates – that as a “great pluralistic nation, we must accept our differences”.
“It is vital that we accept them and find a common ground to work together. Negative people only focus on differences. How empowering it would be for us as a nation if we focus on common causes,” Premji said. “If there are differences of views or divergence of ideas, they can only be resolved through discussion and dialogue,” he added.
Detailing the work done by his foundation and university – both named after him – Premji stressed on the need to improve governance, weed out corruption and ensure safety for children, women and disadvantaged sections. Terming government investment in education – 2.8% of GDP – to be “woefully inadequate”, he said it had reached 3.5% in most developing countries and 5%-6% in the developed world. Higher expenditure, he said, needed political will and prioritization.
Premji said based on the experience of his foundation and university, there was a need for government to strongly and visibly reaffirm the importance of quality public education as it was “foundational to democracy and helps beak down social and economic inequalities” so that an equitable society can be built. He also said many excellent policies and intentions of the government were poorly executed on the ground.
The Wipro founder said change in education system was possible only if all stakeholders worked together, especially teachers. He highlighted the critical role of teachers and how they needed to be empowered and given “adequate voice”. Premji suggested reforms in Cluster and Block Resource Centres as well as 600-plus District Institutes of Educational Training.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by Akshaya Mukul, TNN / April 06th, 2015
The 32-year-old Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industries (IACCI) has set up its South India chapter in the city with Asif Iqbal as its Executive Director and singer-actor Lucky Ali as the Cultural Director. “The chapter will identify new areas of mutual cooperation to ensure the smooth flow of trade, investments, joint ventures, and technology between Indian and Arab industries,” Mr. Iqbal said in a statement on Aug. 4. The chapter will cover Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa. In the Arab world, it will cover 18 countries.
Established in 1980, the IACCI aims to provide a link for promotion of commercial and economic relations between India and the Arab world. It is also an active forum for Indian businessmen who have close contacts with the Arab world.
The IACCI has supplied manpower and made a breakthrough in construction and project exports, thus ensuring the economic development of the Arab world. The Gulf chapter of the IACCI is in Muscat, Oman. The Bangalore office is located at World Trade Centre, 22nd Floor, Unit 2201A, Brigade Gateway, 26/1. Ph: +91 80-49365431, 98455-84891. Fax:+91 80 49365301. E-mail: asif@indoarabchamber.org
source: http://www.karnatakamuslims.com / Karnataka Muslims / Home> District> Bangalore / by Staff Reporter, KMNM / August 05th, 2012
Minorities Finance Corporation extends age limit by another 15 years
A good number of petty traders can now escape the stranglehold of moneylenders. The government’s decision to relax the age limit for availing the bank-linked subsidy-cum-loan scheme of the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation has brought cheers to thousands.
Last date
Recently the government raised the age limit from the existing 21-40 years to 21-55 years paving way for a large number of minority candidates to avail the scheme. The revised age eligibility is on a par with the backward class and tribal candidates. The last date for online registration for the self-employment scheme for the year 2014-15 is also extended up to April 15.
The age relaxation has led to a spurt in online registration for the economic support scheme. Since March 13 when the GO 15 was issued, a total of 10,816 persons have applied and the number keeps increasing. The maximum of 4,008 applications have come from Mahabubnagar followed by 1,421 (Hyderabad) and 1,387 (Medak). Officials expect a flood of applications in the coming days.
In the current budget the Telangana government has allocated Rs. 82.40 crore for the bank-linked self-employment scheme. But going by the response, officials feel, this amount will prove to be quite insufficient. The increase in age eligibility by 15 years will enable more number of people to apply. This time instead of ration card, the applicants should submit the Aadhar card, income certificate and business quotation. Maximum subsidy of Rs. 1 lakh or 50 per cent of the unit cost will be sanctioned. The maximum loan will be of Rs. 2.50 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh for transport scheme.
Plan shelved
The Minorities Finance Corporation also toyed with the idea of providing microfinance so that petty traders who borrow money on a daily basis can come out of the clutches of moneylenders. But considering the difficulty in recovering the loan the plan is shelved. “We don’t have sufficient staff to recover petty loans”, says Prof. S.A. Shukoor, managing director, Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J S Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – March 31st, 2015
