Monthly Archives: October 2015
Calcuttan is kettlebell champ – 29-year-old gets top rank at Asian meet in Bangkok
He is an expert in the long cycle category and he had 10 minutes to prove his strength. Beside him was a man ready to snatch. But the Calcutta boy came back with top billing and international prestige.
No, he is not a cyclist or a rugby player, nor was someone trying to grab something from him.
Meet 29-year-old MNC employee Samrat Sen who got the top ranking at the Thailand Kettlebell Meet (long cycle category) on October 10.
The annual event was held as part of Asia Fitness Convention at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
Participants from nine countries tested their strength at the self-sponsored event, sanctioned by the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation (IKFF).
The Indian contingent of six did the country proud by winning the team jerk relay against Malaysia. Sen was part of it.
“This is the first time India won a gold in kettlebell relay abroad. In a relay, the four best lifters of each country lift double kettlebells (2 x16kg) for three minutes each for a total of 12 minutes,” he said.
“India and Malaysia were head-to-head but towards the end we edged past them in a thrilling victory.”
A resident of east Calcutta, off the EM Bypass, Sen is happy to have gained international recognition for a sport that very few know of in the city, except those who are into fitness and weight training.
Kettlebell is a weight-training programme where you have to lift cannonball-like equipment as many times (repetitions) as possible in a minimum of 10 minutes.
Sen clocked 85 reps with double 16kg kettlebells. The feat secured him the top seed in the IKFF rankings.
“In Thailand, one could compete under the long cycle (clean and jerk), snatch (one bell), jerk (two bells) and biathlon (a combination of jerk and snatch) categories,” Sen told Metro over the phone from Bangkok.
“Lifters, of every category, stood side by side and put their strength and endurance to test for 10 minutes. But there is a catch – for those 10 minutes you cannot keep the kettlebells on the ground. You have to hold on to them and keep doing the reps. It is also a test of mental strength and focus.”
The Calcutta lifter, who has never compromised with his weight training despite work pressure, said the competition was not just about appearing on stage and lifting the kettlebells. “It is also about how you lift them. One needs to follow the right technique and pacing and have tremendous cardiovascular fitness to succeed in this sport,” he said.
What started as a fitness regimen in 2012 soon turned into a passion for Sen. “I took up kettlebell training to improve my fitness levels, not to compete. I found it difficult to lift them even a few times, leave alone holding on to them for 10 minutes,” he said.
“But I would keep surfing online about the discipline… I came across international lifters who would lift the heaviest of kettlebells with absolute ease and clocked ridiculous number of reps in 10 minutes, hardly breaking into a sweat. That motivated me… with my coach Arnav Sarkar egging me on, I soon took up the sport seriously.”
What followed was one gruelling session of practice after another to make Sen “competition ready” – a disciplined life and a strict diet with little leisure or fun time.
“I do not go to a gym, but I train every day after returning from work. It’s extremely challenging after a stressful day… but once I get started, I know I will complete the whole routine.”
Sen allows himself to cheat once a week with some ice cream, cold drinks, a plate of tandoori chicken or a Chinese meal.
A kettlebell is a traditional Russian training tool that is used to develop full body conditioning and fitness. The first-ever Kettlebell meet in India was held in Calcutta at the Calcutta Rowing Club in 2013. It had only 15 participants. By February 2015, the Calcutta meet saw a surge in lifters with 30 putting their strength to test.
“The kettlebell sport community is a small but extremely tight-knit one… with lot of support and encouragement for new lifters,” Sen said.
My message for Samrat Sen is…. Tellttmetro@abpmail.com
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Chandreyee Ghose / Monday – October 12th, 2015
Reviving an 800-yr-old art
Kolkata :
Among the stories of torture, loot and oppression that the British left behind for us, one of the most common is that of how the thumbs of muslin weavers from Bengal were chopped off to wipe out the ancient art form from the face of the country. Muslin has since then been an item only to be seen in museums across the world.
A fine cotton textile making art that originated in India in the ancient times, with the maximum concentration in Bengal, and proliferated under Mughal patronage since the 17th century, muslin died an unnatural death when the British decided to smother it so that they can bring in their own mill-made textiles from Manchester to India.
Recently, the West Bengal chapter of Crafts Council of India has taken up a project to revive the art of muslin making. It started in 2010 and now weavers who were being re-skilled for producing muslin, have finally been able to reach an enviable thread count of 500.
After the Mamata Banerjee government came into power, the state micro, small and medium enterprises department also started thinking on how the fine textile making art can be revived in Bengal. The MSME department scouted for experts in villages across five districts of the state where muslin used to be produced traditionally. In this manner, some 793 weavers’ families were chosen from Birbhum, Murshidabad, Nadia, Bankura, West Misnapur and Burdwan, who had all been connected with muslin making some generations ago. The state government encouraged them to take to the art once again.
When the thread count reached 300 last year, muslin made by weavers under MSME made its way to the government’s Biswa Bangla Haat. MSME department is trying its best to increase the count further because the higher the count, the better is the quality of muslin.
During the time of the Mughals, muslin weavers from Dhaka were able to reach a count of 1500. Samples of these are available in museums across the world. A 500 count means that the two threads crisscross each other to create a mesh 500 times in the span of a square inch. “It all started quite by an accident. An American advertising honcho, Anne Johnson, had visited us with inquiries about muslin and whether any efforts were being made to revive it. She was fascinated with muslin and was even prepared to fund it if we took up a revival project, which we eventually did at a cost of Rs 70 lakh,” said Ruby Pal Chowdhury, who heads the Crafts Council of India here.
The Crafts Council project took place in Kalna, where master weavers, who are otherwise associated with the production of khadi yards under the aegis of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) of the central government and West Bengal Khadi Board (WBKB), kept experimenting with spinning of the yarn with the right thickness out of cotton sourced from Gujarat.
“Once the yarn is spun, it has to be soaked in starch made of kolma or dohor nagra varieties of rice. The water used is essentially rain water to keep the solution soft. There is no formula for this, these are part of family knowledge that are being gradually recalled through re-skilling,” said Pal Chowdhury.
The weavers of the council have not only been able to weave muslin yards but also entwine antique jamdani motifs in it. These have been christened as muslin jamdani and a pure saree woven thus costs nothing less than Rs 20,000. These creations are now available for viewing at Artisana, the council’s outfit at Chowringhee Terrace, while a mega debut is also being planned.
Considering the huge expense that such revival incurs, the council is also trying to tie up with Biswa Bangla to take the revival issue a step forward.
“We would welcome this because the final aim is to bring back muslin to its original glory. That will be possible only if we are able to keep giving incentives to weavers to sacrifice other commercial interests and concentrate on spinning finer yarns and then weaving finer counts,” said Sinha.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey , TNN / October 11th, 2015
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Danish tavern to be restored
FRUITS OF SERAMPORE INITIATIVE
As our car tried to wriggle through vehicle-clogged Rishi Bankim Sarani of Serampore on Tuesday morning, I noticed that somebody has tried to prettify the miserable Subsidiary Correctional Home opened in 1803 by the rulers of this former Danish colony (1755 to 1845).
It was a modern institution based on humanitarian ideals and the then administration had taken into account the health problems, religions and caste system prevailing in India while planning it. And now its high walls are painted a blinding cobalt blue. A model park will soon be opened on the pavement in front of this jailhouse, and replicas of Chhota Bheem and other such cuties have been installed there.
In a few minutes we arrived at the ruins of what was once the double-storeyed Denmark Tavern & Hotel, where a ground-breaking puja was to be performed as the National Museum of Denmark will take it up for restoration. It is on the banks of the Hooghly, and Nishan ghat in front of it lies on the main axis connecting the main landing place near the ghat with the Government House, the seat of the former Danish government.
The museum had launched the Serampore Initiative in 2012 and took up the restoration of St. Olav’s Church (1806), whose steeple can be seen from Barrackpore on the opposite bank of the Hooghly; the south gate, once the guard house and used as a police lock-up as well facing Tin bazaar, then the main market; the main gate of the compound that houses the sub-divisional court.
It has acted in an advisory role in the restoration of what was once the old single-storeyed, colonnaded Danish Government House (1771) or Governor’s House. This compound dates back to 1755, when the Danish Asiatic Society Company established a trading post in Serampore.
The West Bengal Heritage Commission, which had taken up restoration of the Governor’s House, now exists only in name – most restoration work has come to a standstill. And the state government has made it clear built heritage is not uppermost on its mind.
However, Bente Wolff, curator, National Museum of Denmark, who is here to inspect the work being done by conservation architect Manish Chakraborti under the supervision of Intach, has good news.
Wolff has visited this town several times since the Serampore Initiative was launched and spends much of her time in the corridors of power to keep the dialogue with the government going. She has been in and out of Nabanna and the Chinsurah district magistrate’s office, and she has been informed that a tender will be floated soon for the last phase of the restoration work on the Governor’s House.
The cost of the ongoing projects: St. Olav’s Church and the South gate will be around Rs 3.5 crore when they are completed early 2016; the Denmark Tavern will be Rs 2.5 crore at least. The cost of restoring the main gate and some upgrading of the square in front of St. Olav’s Church and the court compound has not been estimated yet.
Wolff said the final phase of the Government House was kept in abeyance for a long time and its plinth will have to be constructed. An effort will be made to free the natural ventilation system. The government election building between the Government House and the South gate had to be demolished, which was not an easy task.
About Denmark Tavern & Hotel, Wolff said a painting of the establishment dating back to 1790 exists. The tavern found a mention in the March 1786 issue of Calcutta Gazette. According to the news item, Mr Parr, former owner of London Tavern, opened the Denmark Tavern & Hotel in the upper-roomed house near the flagstaff in Serampore.
It had a billiard table and coffee room, drinks were served and it did catering for wealthy people. The exact location of the hostelry was not known, but after examining archival sources, historian Simon Rasten came to the conclusion that it was adjacent to the SDO’s residence.
The rear section of this pile of bricks was used by the police, and a sign on the gateway reads Serampore Emergency Force Line, West Bengal Police. Once restoration work is done it will be handed over to the tourism department of the West Bengal government, which is expected to turn it into a coffee shop.
Chakraborti says it will take one-and-a-half months to clean the debris, and work will start in December. The central space will be an atrium for light and air, and accommodation for five to six guests will be provided. The Danish architect, Flemming Aalund, will be here in November to fine tune the work done.
G.M. Kapur, state convener of Intach, says he hopes this will become a nodal point and catalyst for such restoration projects and give a fillip to tourism in West Bengal.
The dilapidated main gate of the sub-divisional court dates from the late 18th century and has a high historic significance as part of the shared Indian-Danish heritage. Early drawings and photographs exist of the gate. These are being used for the restoration project. The cost will be defrayed by the National Museum of Denmark, and it will be reconstructed complete with a pediment and rustication to the original appearance based on verified evidence in 1851.
Restoration of St. Olav’s Church is in the last stages. The timber of the roofs in the ceiling has been replaced with steel beams and it will be opened for service next February. This is the historic core of the town, and the bus terminus is being relocated. Ideally, the square in front of the church should be cleared of the heart-shaped enclosure. The trees that obstruct the view should be transplanted elsewhere for a clear view of the magnificent church.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Soumitra Das / Thursday – October 08th, 2015
28th Japanese language contest to be held in Kolkata on Saturday
Kolkata :
The 28th Japanese language speech contest of eastern India will be held at Kalakunj Auditorium in Kolkata on October 10. Forty one students from various institutes will be participating in the contest which will be organised by Consulate General of Japan in Kolkata in collaboration with Indo-Japan Welfare & Cultural Association.
Winners from the eastern zone will get a chance to participate in the all-India speech contest to be held in New Delhi. Students winning at the national level may get a grand opportunity to go to Japan.
MOSAI, an initiative of the Japanese consulate, started the all India speech contest in 1985. The first round of contests (Zonal Contests) is held in North, South, East and West Zones and the finals will happen in Delhi. Students can participate either in junior or senior category depending upon the level of training in the language. Candidates are nominated by the organisation where he/she is learning Japanese language.
The speech contest is meant to encourage students to express spontaneously their own thoughts in Japanese language. It is not merely a memory test of a written speech. This is followed by a round of questions from the judges.
Mr Kazumi Endo, Consul General of Japan in Kolkata, will address the occasion and will hand over the awards and certificates to the successful contestants Gouri Bakshi, General Secretary, Indo-Japan Welfare & Cultural Association will also grace the occasion.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN / October 09th, 2015
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Historian tips for Hooghly heritage
Kolkata :
The Hooghly isn’t just an Indian river but belongs to the world, historian and international authority on heritage conservation Philip Davies said at a seminar on heritage based urban development for the Hooghly riverfront held in the city on Wednesday.
Referring to the former European colonial posts—the Portuguese settlement in Bandel, Dutch in Chinsurah, French in Chandannagore, Danish in Serampore and Engligh in Barrackpore—along an 80-km stretch of the river’s western bank, Davies said the West Bengal government could source funds from the European Union as well as the World Monument Fund to revitalize these heritage precincts.
“The built heritage of West Bengal is greater than the entire United States and can be a powerful economic driver for the state,” Davies said while pointing out that much of it was crumbling and needed immediate repairs.
Conservation architect Manish Chakraborti agreed that the Hooghly riverfront heritage had an outstanding universal value and felt the way forward was to put it on the Unesco tentative list for world heritage sites. “Once it is on the list, the goal will be set. We can all then strive to achieve it,” he reasoned.
But stitching together a site that extends nearly 80 km along the river bank and covers Dalhousie Square, the central business district of a bustling metropolis like Kolkata, isn’t easy. This is particularly so about Kolkata and Bengal where things move at a snail’s pace.
Davies and architect Partha Ranjan Das have had a taste of it in the past. While it took Moe Chiba, the section chief and programme specialist (culture) Unesco, nine years to bring all stakeholders, including Kolkata Port Trust, Railways and PWD, on a single platform, Davies had prepared a blueprint for restoration and development of the Strand Warehouses in Kolkata 12 years ago but it is yet to take off. Das, too, had prepared a land use development plan for the entire heritage stretch along Hooghly but it has been gathering dust as well.
“There has been enough talk. It is time for decisive action,” Davies said at the seminar organized jointly by Unesco, the state government and non-government organization Indian Heritage Cities Network. “The inertia here is frustrating when compared to what is happening elsewhere. Kolkata has been extremely slow in taking advantage of its heritage resources. The delay could lead to destruction of what is unique. Already, one of the warehouses has been lost. Letting the warehouses rot is a dreadful waste of opportunity. In the past 50 years, they could have fetched crores of rupees in income and generated many jobs. Political will is needed to drive such an initiative. The involvement of chief minister and mayor is crucial,” he said.
While the heritage precincts in the erstwhile colonies have been identified and some restoration work funded by Dutch and Danish governments has already begun, Davies suggested that one of the options to fund the initiative could be to use cross-subsidy.
“There are areas along the riverbank that can be developed by private parties. The development will be in sync with the overall master plan. The funds generated from these projects can go into restoring the heritage zones and bringing them back to life,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / October 04th, 2015