The second edition of The Telegraph She Awards, presented by IIHM in association with Senco Gold & Diamonds and StarOm Realty, celebrated the achievements of seven extraordinary women from Bengal at JW Marriott on Thursday evening.
The winners were selected by a jury comprising US consul-general Craig L. Hall, danseuse Tanusree Shankar and actress Koel Mallick. Arundhati Bhattacharya, the former chairperson of State Bank of India, was inducted into The Telegraph She Awards Hall of Fame.
“If you really want to do something and find it interesting, you will always find a way of learning what you need to learn. So one needs to be learning throughout life,” said Bhattacharya, after receiving the award from filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and fashion designer Anamika Khanna.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / March 30th, 2018
Shikanto Mandal, 15, from Mathura, who had developed a unique machine to collect garbage, was invited by the President for dinner on Tuesday. However, it was cancelled at the last moment and the dinner was hosted by science and technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at the CSIR centre at Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi.
Mandal, who hails from West Bengal, had showcased his innovative machine at the Festival of Innovation being held in Delhi from March 19 to 23. Earlier speaking with TOI while on his way to New Delhi, Mandal said he had dined with then President Pranab Mukherjee during the Festival of Innovation.
The young inventor said hopes to become a successful engineer one day and fulfil all wishes of his parents and give them every comfort of life. Mandal’s parents are daily wagers. Talking with TOI, Mandal’s teacher Manoj Kumar, who helped him in his project and under whose guidance he built the machine, said he had developed the manual waste lifting and dumping machine when he was in Class IX at Jai Gurudev Balya Balak Vidyadan Higher Secondary School in 2016. He is presently studying in Class XI at KR Inter College, Mathura.
Mandal’s invention, inspired by Swacch Bharat Mission, was chosen for display at the district-level exhibition organized by the department of science and technology in 2016. His machine’s model was then showcased at a state-level exhibition held in Lucknow and later, at the national level.
His model has been patented by a Gujarat-based company, where he holds a 50% stake of the market share.
In January, Mandal was invited by film star Akshay Kumar his movie, “Padman”, screened at the Innovation conclave in which 16 innovators from across the country participated and received Rs 5 lakh each for their innovation.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Agra News / TNN / March 21st, 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to S.N. Bose (below) on his 125th birth anniversary via video-conferencing from New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)
Calcutta:
Physics was his calling but he could play a complex classical raga on the esraj with as much dexterity as he could read out a French novel in impromptu English translation.
Stories highlighting the multifaceted genius of Satyendra Nath Bose, after whom the Boson particle is named, on Monday filled the curtain-raiser to a yearlong commemoration of his 125th birth anniversary.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event from Delhi through video-conferencing, reminding the audience at the SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences in Salt Lake that “just as a quantum particle does not exist in isolation, we should also get out of isolation”.
Modi said the scientific ecosystem needed to connect with innovators, entrepreneurs and technocrats to work on artificial intelligence, big data analytics, machine learning, genomics and electrical vehicles. “These are some of the rising technologies on which we need to get ahead,” he pointed out, holding up Bose as the inspiration to test new frontiers.
Born on January 1, 1894, Bose had collaborated with Albert Einstein to create what came to be called the “Bose-Einstein Condensation”. Physicist and author Partha Ghose, who did his PhD under Bose, recounted one among many instances of how humble he could be despite his brilliance.
“He was in a reflective mood one day and spoke about the ‘photon spin’ aspect in his derivation of Planck’s law. But then, with a mischievous smile, he said, “But the old man (Einstein) struck it off”.
Ghose said the anecdote left him flabbergasted because Nobel laureate C.V. Raman’s research later vindicated Bose’s derivation.
“When I asked him why he didn’t claim credit for his discovery, he said, ” Ki ba eshe gelo? Ke baar korechhilo tatey ki eshe jaye? Baar to hoyechhilo (How does it matter? Who discovered it is not the main thing, is it? At least it was discovered)’,” he reminisced.
Planck’s law is the basis of quantum theory.
In his speech, the Prime Minister said many Nobel prizes had been won for work based on Bose’s research.
Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan also paid tribute to Bose.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Anasuya Basu / January 02nd, 2018
A mountaineer from Kolkata completed the rare feat of scaling nine peaks, including the Seven Summits (the highest peaks of each of the seven continents), on Saturday. Software engineer Satyarup Siddhanta, 34, climbed Mt Vinson in Antarctica shortly after 9am (local time) – his ninth summit since 2012.
An asthma patient who has never had any formal training in mountaineering, Siddhanta climbed the Everest in 2016. He has also scaled Mt Albrus, Mt Aconcagua, Mt Kilimanjaro, Puncak Jaya and Mt Denali. These apart, Siddhanta has also climbed Mont Blanc and Carsten’s Pyramid in Pappua New Guinea – the highest point in the Australian continent.
A resident of Kalitala Housing in Thakurpukur, Siddhanta is now based in Bangalore. According to his fellow climber Rudraprasad Haldar, Siddhanta once went to the Everest Base Camp and was inspired to begin his mountaineering journey, though he had no training. “It changed him forever and he decided to climb the Seven Summits,” said Haldar. Siddhanta’s website, however, mentions that he is a certified mountaineer from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling.
He overcame asthma which could have been a major barrier. “I realized I needed to reduce my dependency on inhalers when I was in college. I was also allergic to food items which triggered asthma. I struggled for years, continuously challenging myself by avoiding inhalers and consuming the food I was allergic to, without taking anti-allergic medicines,” Siddhanta wrote on his website.
But he didn’t give up. “I wanted to push limits to see how far I could go. Finally, with exercises, discipline, diet and some considerable will power and determination, I got rid of asthma,” he wrote.
His mother Gayatri, a homemaker, stayed up all night on Friday, following his march to the peak of Vinson.
“I couldn’t sleep a wink. I was more relieved than happy when he finally reached the summit,” she said. Siddhanta’s father Subhamoy is a doctor.
Gayatri said Siddhanta received funds from a few corporates for the climb. “He also auctioned some of his belongings and took a loan of Rs 30 lakh,” she added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.inditimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News / by Monotosh Chakraborty / TNN / December 17th, 2017
Kolkata driver wins award for shunning horn for 18 years | Kolkata News – Times of India
Kolkata :
It will be tough to find people who can resist honking on the roads for 18 minutes. But this man from Kolkata has done wonders.
Meet Dipak Das, a city-based driver, who has not honked for 18 years. Seems incredible? His car even has this placard, ‘Horn is a Concept. I care for your heart.’ Das has won awards for this unique and rare habit.
With this no-horn policy, Das wants to inspire others to follow the practice. Thus noise pollution can be reduced, he believes, saying if a driver follows this no-horn policy, she/he will become more alert while driving.
He dreams of making Kolkata a “no-honking city” someday.
The 52-year-old, who lives with his wife and daughter, has worked as a Metro Rail helper. Dipak got his driving licence in 1991.
He says, “One day, I dropped a passenger in Golf Green area. I was taking rest in front of a school, but was woken up rudely because of senseless honking of cars.” On that day, he decided not to honk while driving. Das said, he was influenced by a poem of famous Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. Das’s daughter rides bycycle, but like her father she also does not honk.
Earlier, people used to call him ‘disturbed’. But today they respect Das’s ideology. He was awarded in this year’s Manush Mela. Eminent personalities who have travelled in Das’s car also appreciate this.
“I went to various places with him. He is special. His patience, sensibility has amazed me” says famous percussionist and tabla player Tanmoy Bose.
Singer Sidhu of the famous Cactus band also said, “I went to Mukutmanipur with Dipak. The guy has not honked for once. He is a rare talent.” Seriously!
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News> Civic Issues / by Sumit Dey El Samay / December 13th, 2017
Young artists with their works at the second edition of Colours of Innocence, in association with TTIS, at Mukti World Banquet on Sunday.
Curated by Vayjayanti Pugalia, founder of Sonali’s Cubo, the auction was a blast of colours and imagination.
Students from NGOs and city schools poured their hearts out on canvas, under the guidance of artist Gunjan Daga, to raise funds for charity.
Present at the auction were singer Usha Uthup, PR veteran Rita Bhimani, fashion designer Sharbari Datta, theatre actor-director Ramanjit Kaur and others. “It is a wonderful and inspiring experience. The paintings are beautiful and I am glad to be a part of this event,” said Usha Uthup who rang in the festive cheer with Jingle Bells along with the kids.
“COI is my vision come true. This is my way of giving back to the society,” said Pugalia.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Samabrita Sen / December 1th, 2017
A group of middle-aged women — school friends of the 1981 Madhyamik batch — reunited over Facebook and WhatsApp and have now started a literary website. Many of the 20-odd contributors are scattered around the country but the three core committee members hail from Salt Lake and New Town.
“We are all former students of Sunity Academy in Cooch Behar,” says Dolanchampa Dutta, a homemaker from EE Block and one of the editors of batayan.in. “It so turned out that instead of forwarding jokes on our WhatsApp group many members were sharing their write-ups. So we thought of taking it further.”
Batayan has sections on poetry, short stories, travelogues…. Those who do not have a knack for literature have contributed recipes, paintings and body care tips. “We also have a section for our children, called Sabuj. This is the only section where we allow English articles as most children these days are not comfortable writing in Bengali,” says Sumita Majumder, a homemaker from New Town’s Shaporji Palonji complex. “These days the youths are hardly inclined towards literature but I’m happy that my college-going son and working daughter have sent articles for us too.”
The e-magazine was launched on Mahalaya and will be quarterly. “We shall soon accept articles from outsiders too and if we are able to get some ads then shall pay contributors,” says Manjushree Ray, another member, from Purbachal, Cluster X.
The women say launching an e-magazine has been much simpler than running a print one. “We would have to find a publisher, distributor and post copies to members scattered all over India,” says Ray. “Instead an IT professional-friend from BL Block — Sumit Sarkar — built us this website and made things very simple. And we forward the link ourselves to friends and relatives as a way of marketing and we are delighted that we got 600 visitors to come read our works.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Brinda Sarkar / December 01st, 2017
West Bengal: Miss West Bengal ’17 votes for cleanliness in her hometown | Agra News – Times of India
During voting for civic body elections at ward no. 74 here on Wednesday, all eyes were on Shivankita Dixit, a 23-year-old who was crowned Miss West Bengal 2017, who turned up to vote.
Dixit, a resident of Manas Nagar, has been living with her aunt in Kolkata for a year, and had participated and won the contest in that state. She then auditioned for the Miss India contest in Mumbai. She returned to her hometown to vote for the civic body elections.
Wearing tiara on her head, Dixit told TOI, “My vote was for cleanliness. I want the winning candidate to give priority to creating garbage-free localities and clean roads. A clean environment is the first step to a healthy life.”
Apart from cleanliness issue, the local businessman Sanjay Dixit daughter said, “I’m not aware of Agra city, but in my locality, the residents are conservative. They don’t allow their daughters to go out and explore the world. My vote in civic body polls is also important because the mayoral candidate which I have voted for is expected toward empowerment of girls in the city.”
Shivankita Dixit completed her graduation from Dayalbagh University and is the first beautypageant winner from Agra.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Agra News / by Arvind Chauhan / TNN / November 23rd, 2017
Calcutta-born Millie Banerjee has been appointed the new chairman of the UK’s College of Policing.
Actually, she has been interim chairman since November last year so her appointment was today made permanent by the home secretary, Amber Rudd.
“Working with Millie over the last year I have been impressed by the insight she brings from her time leading other public and commercial organisations, including the British Transport Police,” Rudd said on Thursday.
Millie’s responsibilities are highly sensitive – keep an eye on “standards in policing” across the 43 police forces in England and Wales; developing knowledge and “what works”; and assisting with education and career development.
It is possible she will want to exchange notes on policing in Calcutta.
“Millie” is really her nickname but it has come to stay as she has become part of the great and good in Britain. She was born Urmila Ray-Chaudhuri in Calcutta on June 30, 1946, and is friendly with a number of prominent figures in the city, among them the physicist Bikash Sinha.
Millie, who was honoured with a CBE on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2002 and was High Sheriff of Greater London in 2012-13, was chairman of the British Transport Police Authority for seven years and spent 30 years in the telecommunications and satellite industries. This included 25 years with BT in senior positions.
She is currently the chairman of NHS Blood and Transplant and a board member of East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Reacting to her confirmation, Millie said: “I have spent many years in policing and it has been a privilege to witness the dedication and compassion of officers and staff to protect the public. This is evident when I see that public approval for police has remained high despite officers and staff being faced with ever more complex crime, a reduced workforce and greater demand.
“We are dedicated to providing access to the best knowledge and skills which sits behind the bravery, dedication and compassion shown by police on a daily basis. We have ambitious plans ahead and I intend on working with people across policing to continue building a professional body that supports all officers and staff.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcuttu / by Amit Roy / November 17th, 2017
Shruthi started Anthyesti in February 2016 with Rs one lakh that she borrowed from her husband
Death is grim business, but Shruthi Reddy Sethi, a young, enthusiastic software engineer in Kolkata has made it her business to make it easier for those left behind. With her uniquely focused services, in just over a year, her company Anthyesti has notched up a turnover of Rs 16 lakh.
Shruthi’s work begins in the aftermath of a life sadly ending. “Once we get a call,” she explains, “we first arrange for the hearse van and also ask if there is any need for preservation, such as a freezer box.
“After the hearse van moves to the crematorium, we assist the family to procure the KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation) death certificate if they seek our help. We then offer them our priest package if they want.”
Her company – Anthyesti – offers well-organized and efficient post-demise packages such as VIP hearse services, mobile freezer or embalming, repatriation of remains, and Shraadhs (a ritual to pay homage to the deceased in the family) for communities such as the Arya Samaj, Gujaratis, Marwaris and Bengalis. These services range from Rs 2,500 to Rs one lakh.
Yes, that’s right, Shruthi Reddy Sethi, 32, is a funeral services planner – officially the first such company in this sector in Kolkata.
“I first shared the idea of setting up a company that provides cremation and funeral services, with my husband,” she says. He promised to support her.
“But my parents,” she adds, “especially my mother, were very upset and said that this kind of ‘ignominious’ work was an insult for an IT engineer. She didn’t talk to me for a month!”
Shruthi had moved to Kolkata in 2015 to be with her husband who had shifted there with his job. Originally from Hyderabad, where she completed all her education, she was the older of the two siblings, with a brother.
Her father worked as an electrical engineer in Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), while her mother sold saris from the home to supplement the family’s income. Shruthi studied in Sai Public School till Class 10, after which she joined Little Flower Junior College in 2002.
By 2006 she had completed a degree in engineering from Bhoj Reddy Engineering College and she left her home town. “I joined an IT company in Bengaluru as a junior programmer,” she says, “and moved back to Hyderabad with another IT job in 2011.
In 2009, she got married to Gurvinder Singh Sethi who worked in Tata Motors in Hyderabad. “Life was moving smoothly till my husband was transferred to Kolkata in 2011,” says Shruthi. Her employers let her work from home at first, but in 2015 when they asked her to move back to Hyderabad, she resigned.
Shruthi had to plan her next step. “I wanted to do my MBA as I thought it would help me set up my business,” she recounts.
“With a view to joining one of the year-long executive programs in IIM and other reputed B-schools, I took the GMAT exam and cleared it.”
She got admission offers from IIM-Indore and IIM-Lucknow. She was about to get enrolled in one of them, when Siddharth Churiwal, a businessman friend, suggested: ‘Rather than spend that money on a degree, use it for bootstrapping your business. Have faith and you will find everything else on the way up.’
His advice took seed, even though Shruthi had no idea of the nitty-gritty and formalities of entrepreneurship.
“The concept of a funeral service start-up was subconsciously in my mind,” she recalls, “as I saw my husband facing a lot of problems at the death of his maternal grandfather in 2014 – making all the arrangements for cremation and prayers meant that he didn’t have time to grieve with his family.”
So that’s how she started setting up a company geared to efficiently and sensitively taking care of every aspect relating to the processes and ceremonies following a death, starting from embalming human remains to the conclusion of all rituals.
She had the business logic for it. “There is a large population of single old people in Kolkata,” she explains. “There are many people who live all by themselves. They would be more than happy to find someone to help in their last moments.”
In order to gain knowledge of the market and costs, Shruthi began to visit crematoriums, find out about the number of deaths every day, research charges for hearse vans, mortuaries, priests and pujas.
People working in this male-dominated sector were mostly uneducated, and many were drunkards. “My friends and family thought that I had lost my mind as I was busy with the dead throughout the day,” Shruthi says. “It was very tough.”
Finally, Shruthi started Anthyesti Funeral Services Private Limited on 19 February, 2016, with an investment of Rs one lakh, which she borrowed from her husband.
She is the founder-director of the company with 99 percent shares, while her mother, Suhasini Reddy – who came around to support her daughter – is the other director with one percent share. “It took me days before I zeroed in on the name Anthyesti, which means funeral rites in Sanskrit,” Shruti shares.
The company started with two employees in a rented office space of around 1,000 sq. ft. The concept was new to Kolkata and while Shruthi invested in marketing, the gradual increase in her business was mainly due to word-of-mouth publicity. “There were no sudden breakthrough moments,” she says.
“I built contacts with hearse van drivers and priests to be paid on a case-to-case basis,” she explains. “We got enlisted on Justdial in April 2015, from where I started getting calls for funeral services.”
But people normally called for the hearse van and not for cremation or performance of last rites. Shruthi found a solution and purchased two freezer boxes in June 2016 and an air-conditioned hearse van with an investment of around Rs seven lakh.
Now, bookings for Anthyesti’s can be made on the phone or online. The company now has six employees, receives around 35 orders every month, and its turnover has touched Rs 16 lakh in just over a year.
Wait there is more – with an eye on the future.
Anthyesti also offers services for pre-planning funeral service packages – ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 – for those who live alone. “Pre-death packages are an assurance to such clients that, should something happen to them all of a sudden, we are there to carry out the last rites,” says Shruthi. “Our legal agreements for this are prepared and vetted by experienced lawyers.”
Anthyesti is filling a much-felt gap. “Death is a crucial part of life and it needs to be served with professionalism, poise and dignity,” says Shruthi. “Staying calm, sensitive and empathetic is what I and my team focus on.”
Shruthi plans to expand and scale up through the franchising model by 2020. She feels her experience has taught her the value of money and the fact that death is the only truth in life.
“Make your presence on earth worthwhile so that you can benefit mankind,” this mother of a four-year-old son says wisely. She also shares her mantra for women entrepreneurs: “Have belief and never underestimate yourself. Small things will take care of themselves when you aim big.”
This Article is Part of the ‘Super Startups’ Series
source: http://www.weekendleader.com / The Weekend Leader / Home, Vol. 8, Issue 44 / by G. Singh, Kolkata / November 01st, 2017
