Indian Museum is pushing back the history it has been narrating thus far. It has ‘excavated’ Paleolithic stone age tools, some of which are up to 1.5 million year old, from its own sub-terranian store and will put them on display at a new pre-historic gallery that will open next month
Kolkata :
Indian Museum is pushing back the history it has been narrating thus far. It has ‘excavated’ Paleolithic stone age tools, some of which are up to 1.5-million year old, from its own sub-terranian store and will put them on display at a new pre-historic gallery that will open next month.
The collection, handed over to the museum in the 19th century by geologist-cum-archeologist Robert Bruce Foote, had been gathering dust in the underground store till they was re-discovered recently. Foote is considered the father of Indian pre-history and was the director general of Geological Survey of India.
Museum officials stumbled upon the collection of 100-plus tools that were discovered by Foote in south India. The oldest among them were unearthed in Atiram Pakkam, an area in Pallavaram, Chennai. These finds were named Atiram Pakkam tools.
“The Bruce Foote Collection is indeed the oldest collection of human tools anywhere in India. This treasure trove has never been viewed since it was brought to the museum. The inventory has swelled for 200 years without proper cataloguing. We are now sorting and classifying the collections scientifically,” said Indian Museum director Rajesh Purohit.
About 40 stone tools comprising of hand axes, scrappers, cleavers and arrow heads, mostly made of quartzite, will be brought out from that collection and displayed in the new gallery that will replace the Harappa gallery which had been till now the starting point of history at Indian Museum. The Harappa gallery has remained shut to public for nearly 15 years. Handpicked items from the Indus Valley Civilisation will also be exhibited at the new gallery.
The focus though will no longer be on Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, because these are both in Pakistan today and a large number of excavations on the Indian side around a circumference of 1.22 lakh sq km have revealed footprints of contemporary civilisations. “We can build our own history around these sites that have been unearthed in Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan. While in the earlier case, the civilisation developed along the Indus, on the Indian side the civilisations sprung up along Ravi, Chenab, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum, Saraswati, Hakra and Ghaggar,” Purohit explained.
While Lothal (Gujarat) and Kalibangan (Rajasthan) excavations are well-known, other explorations in Rakhigarhi, Krunal, Birhana, Banawali and Firmana that have happened later and have led to discovery of thousands of archaeological remains like pottery, figurines and seals will now be part of the new gallery.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey / TNN / April 15th, 2018
Kolkata Gate, a steel-and-glass structure with giant arches at the Rabindra Tirtha crossing of New Town, is almost ready. The two steel arches that criss-cross each other 55m above the ground can be spotted from several kilometres away.
A circular viewing gallery made of steel and toughened glass has been set up at 25m above the ground level. The 10ft-wide and 60m-long gallery has been constructed by interlinking four prefabricated structures that resemble aerobridges. These structures in turn are welded and attached to the steel arches at designated points. The facade is made of toughened glass with laminated silicone sheets that can withstand gale-force winds, hailstorms and extreme heat.
A bird’s-eye view of New Town clicked from a landing a few feet below the viewing gallery of the Kolkata Gate. The view from the gallery will be unhindered as nothing taller than the gate will come up in the area, New Town being a planned city and with pre-determined floor levels for every plot.
Programmable LED lights and flashers have been placed along the length of the steel arches to give it a snazzy look at night. The viewing gallery will have a snacks counter during the day and a fine-dining restaurant after 7pm. At night, only diners will be allowed inside the gallery that will offer a panoramic view of the township. The walls of the gallery have been painted with murals with an entire wall dedicated to the schemes and achievements of the state government.
“The restaurant will offer a one-of-a-kind experience. It will be unlike any other in the city and will offer cuisines from across the world,” said Debashis Sen, the chairman of Hidco. It is likely to open doors in June, officials said.
Two lifts with a glass facade made of toughened glass similar to that used in the viewing gallery will take visitors up to the gallery. The lifts are equipped with telephones at every level so that the operators can get in touch with visitors in case of an emergency. Hidco is mulling a Rs 30 fee per person for a visit to the gallery. Diners at the restaurant won’t need to pay the fee.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Snehal Sengupta / Photos by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya / April 30th, 2018
Magicians tell Uddalak Mukherjee why the fun has gone out of their craft
Gillee, Gillee, Gone! Most magicians today are happy to replicate popular tricks without innovating
Dipak Roychowdhury’s life had changed one evening in 1983. Roychowdhury, a magician – he had learnt the ropes from the legendary Gautam Guha, who had taught the tricks of the trade to even Satyajit Ray – was scheduled to perform at an event organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The problem was that P. Ramamurthi, the veteran Marxist, was expected to speak before Roychowdhury’s performance. The magician, he was a young man then, feared that the crowd would leave with the politburo member. But the crowd, a packed house at Rabindra Sadan, chose to stay. Since that day, Roychowdhury – he now teaches magic to children in a school in Brahmapur – spent 12 years travelling all over Bengal with his bag of tricks. He still loves talking about that evening in 1983.
Sanjoy Chatterjee’s life, on the other hand, had been changed by a book. Chatterjee had bought Ganapati Chakraborty’s Jadu Bidya for four-and-a-half rupees almost three decades ago. The book, a sort of a Bible for amateur magicians, was Chatterjee’s key to a magical kingdom that he has called home since.
The Magic Mela organised by the Federation of Indian Magic Associates (Fima), now in its fourth edition, had brought together young and old performers like Chatterjee and Roychowdhury at Calcutta’s Mohorkunja ground recently. A motley crowd hung around savouring not just the acts performed by magicians – they had gathered for the occasion from near and far – but also the merchandise that was on show.
Chatterjee and Roychowdhury shared their stories and their views on the art of magic at Fima’s tiny office at the venue. The Magic Mela, held between March 28 and 30 this year, is an initiative that seeks to provide a durable platform for magicians all over the country to reach out to a wider audience and a market. According to Chatterjee, Fima has enlisted almost 950 performers in its ranks. Hearteningly, it also accommodates affiliates that are integral to magic’s ecosystem. For instance, at the Magic Mela, one also came across Samdari Lashkar, whose family firm has been supplying magic equipment for over three generations to almost 48 countries.
The conversation with the artists mostly centred on the changes that magic has had to endure as a profession. Some of these transformations are encouraging. Chatterjee talked about the support from the government. The venue for the Magic Mela had been provided free of cost. He added that there has been some progress in talks with a telecommunications giant to build a magic academy in New Town, Rajarhat. There has also been noticeable improvement in the quality of props – without these a magician would be crippled on stage.
But some of the other challenges, Chatterjee said, merit concern. Even though magic as a profession has become far more accessible, there has been a precipitous decline in the spirit of individual innovation. Most magicians seem to be content with replicating popular tricks without adding new dimensions to them. Funds remain short, perennially. Magicians, especially underprivileged performers who ply their trade in, say, local trains, lack medical insurance. There is also an acute need for pension for aged artistes. But the biggest threat – Chatterjee mentioned this more than once during the interview – comes from new-age technology. The digital media, no less mighty a sorcerer, is weaning children, magic’s most trusted patrons, away.
Roychowdhury, however, confided that he has a trick up his sleeve to bring children back to magic – education. As a teacher, he insists that budding magicians would first have to learn the trick of striking a chord with spectators. Magic, in his opinion, should transcend the trappings of illusion. It should, instead, function as a tool that helps the audience relate to their own lives.
Evidently, Roychowdhury views magic not merely as a livelihood. Magic’s philosophical dimensions consume him. For instance, he talked animatedly about the decline in the purity of form in magic. This he attributed to the increasing commercialisation of the craft. Incidentally, Roychowdhury’s reservations had been echoed by Ray in his short story, Dui Magician, where Tripuracharan Mallick, an advocate of magic as an aesthetic sensibility, accuses his ward, Surapati Mondal, of falling prey to the lure of razzle-dazzle.
Roychowdhury also described the relationship between the performer and his audience as one of power and asymmetry. Perhaps he was referring to the magicians’ temporary hold over the patrons.
So does he miss it now? The thrill of putting a spell on an audience?
The crowd outside the Fima office was leaving as the first day of the Mela was coming to a close. Roychowdhury heard the question, took sometime to reflect, and then answered in a rather quiet tone: “I miss the sight of a packed hall the most.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Uddalak Mukherjee / April 21st, 2018
Several aspirants from Kolkata cracked the civil services final exam, the results of which were declared on Friday. Among the successful candidates were Azar Zia, who ranked 97th, Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary, who bagged the 216th position and Purnava Ganguly 498th.
Son of a retired state civil servant, Tiljala resident Zia was confident of clearing the exam in his third attempt. “The first time I took the exam in 2015, I was unprepared, and during the next attempt in 2016, I was down with chikungunya. This time I prepared well,” said the St James’ School alumnus. Finishing plus-two in 2005, Zia scored over 90% in both ICSE and ISC. “I did my BTech in electronics and communication engineering from a private engineering college in Kolkata. Though I got placed, I didn’t take up a job immediately. I studied for CAT in 2009. I pursued MBA from FMS Delhi and in 2012, landed a job in a corporate biggie. But I quit in 2015 and from 2016, started preparing for UPSC,” he said.
What made him shift to civil service? “After three years in the corporate sector, I realized money was not my motivation. I wanted to contribute to society,” Zia said. He studied at a residential campus in Delhi for UPSC. “I was mostly dependent on online material.” The two main areas Zia wants to focus on are alleviation of poverty and uplift of kids through education.
Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary cracked UPSC even last year and is now undergoing IPS training at Hyderabad. He did his MTech from IIT-Delhi in communication engineering, before studying physics at Presidency College and BTech at Rajabazar Science College. “Earlier, I worked as a state civil service cadre in the commercial tax department.
After I cracked UPSC last year, I joined IPS. But since my rank is better now, I will probably move to a different service,” said the Teghoria resident. “I will work to help generate more employment.”
For Purnava Ganguly, success came at the fifth attempt. “I went to Patha Bhavan, after which I graduated in civil engineering from JU in 2010. I did my Masters in international business from Delhi School of Economics. I currently work at a central government undertaking at Jharsuguda, Odisha.” Ganguly expects to get through IRS or Indian Audit and Account service. “I am also interested in Indian Trade Service,” he said, adding his parents living in Garia were happy with his performance.
“My advise to youngsters is get into civil services. The more aspirants we have, the better for Bengal,” said Jyotirmoy Pal Chaudhuri, who runs a civil service coaching school here.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News> Schools & Colleges / by Somdatta Basu / TNN / April 29th, 2018
Did you know that the City of Joy is also a city of museums? We’re not talking about the most obvious ones, but several that are tucked in forgotten corners, waiting for the elusive visitor to drop in. In fact, many of these museums provide a wealth of material for those who are interested, but lose out because few people know they exist. Utsav Basu does the rounds of a few of Kolkata’s lesser-known museums
Sabarna Sangrahashala
Located in Barisha, Sabarna Sangrahashala is a museum on the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family and the city of Kolkata. Developed by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury Paribar Parishad in 2005, the museum mainly caters to young students and researchers who wish to learn more about the history of the City of Joy. The museum – or rather a collection by the family trust – possesses rare documents and articles, including ‘kabilatipatras’ dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Among them is an important artefact which bears the signature of Kavi Rama Prasad Sen dated 1794. The highlight of the museum is the historic judgment of the Calcutta High Court in the Kolkata birthday case and the expert committee report on the matter, which states that Job Charnock was not the founder of Calcutta (Kolkata), nor is August 24 the city’s birthday.
Other articles include a huge earthen rice pot dating to 1840 with can carry 240kg of grain, a metal hookah from 1878, a metal candelabra from 1795, grinding wheels from 1845 and a wooden table used by Antony Firingee’s grandfather, John Firingee, from 1680.
Timings 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm every day except Thursday
Entry free
Gurusaday Museum
Tucked away in a corner of Joka, Gurusaday Museum, run by Bengal Bratachari Society, is a house of folk art forms conceptualised by civil servant, folklorist, and writer Gurusaday Dutt. A deep interest in Bengal’s folk art led Dutt to collect around 2,325 specimens of various art forms of Bengal. These artefacts were later housed in a museum, which was thrown open to the public in 1963 by Humayun Kabir, the then Union minister of education. The museum now reels under financial crunch, after the Centre, in a notification, asked it to run on its own. The museum authorities claim this is a breach of agreement between the President of India and the Bengal Bratachari Society of May 23, 1984. Before the recent turn of events, it was funded by the Ministry of Textiles.
From specimens of Bengal’s ‘kanthas’ to ‘patachitras’, the museum is a paradise of eclectic artefacts that range from clay dolls to sandesh chhach (sweet moulds) and Dutt’s personal belongings. A few interesting things include ornaments made of paddy, archaeological specimens from the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, dokra crafts and manuscripts of undivided Bengal.
Located on Raja Rammohun Roy Sarani near the Amherst Street crossing, the nearly 200-year-old house owned by Raja Rammohun’s family houses a history that talks about his life and work. Through various documentations, the museum talks about his ideological battles with his father, compatriots and with a few British officials.
Though the museum does not have any of the real documents or objects used by Roy, a beautiful recreation of the period talks about his life. There are, however, a few original documents such as the original cover of the ‘Tuhfatu’l-Muwahhidin’ (A Gift to Deists), which was a frontal attack launched by Roy against idolatry and superstition plaguing Hinduism in the 18th and 19th centuries, the cover page of the first sermon of the Brahmo Samaj, and photocopies of a few letters written by Roy to various luminaries of the day.
Started in 2000 as a permanent exhibition, the museum slowly took shape through donations from many quarters and the tireless efforts of teachers and professors of Raja Rammohun Roy College. The museum, like any other lesser-known museums of the city, reels under a financial crunch and is thus not being able to expand and house many other artefacts related to the reformer.
Timings: 11am to 4.30pm, all days except Mondays Entry 10;50 for photography
State Archaeological Museum
Located near the Behala tram depot, the State Archaeological Museum, under the state government, is divided into six departments – Site and Sights, Early Historic Period, Sculptures of Bengal, Paintings of Bengal, Metal Sculptures gallery and the Nandadirghi Vihara: Jagjivanpur.
Inaugurated in 1980 by then chief minister Jyoti Basu, the museum has a collection of rare tools of the Early, Middle and Late Stone Ages from Susunia (Bankura) and other sites, proto-historic antiquities from Pandu Rajar Dhibi (Burdwan), sculptures, stone and stucco from the Gupta, Maurya, Shunga, Kushana, Pala and Medieval times.
The painting section of the museum boasts Mughal miniatures, paintings on wooden planks, Kalighat patachitras and watercolours. Primarily painted by court painters of different rulers, the section also has paintings that tell stories.
The main attraction of the museum, however, is the Nandadirghi Vihara: Jagjivanpur section, which documents the 1992 excavation activities at the site in Malda. The section doesn’t have all the real artefacts found in the excavation, but has flawless replicas, apart from a few real exhibits. It also has a model of the excavation site in Malda.
Timings 11am-4.30pm (Wednesday to Sunday) Entry Rs 5
Cultural Research Institute
Barely a two-minute walk from the Kankurgachi crossing, beside the Bureau of Indian Standards building is the Ambedkar Bhawan Cultural Research Institute, which houses a museum divided into four sections. Run by the state government, the museum was earlier at the New Secretariat building. In 1980, it was shifted to Ambedkar Bhawan.
The cultural institute, through the four sections – Ethnographic, Puppet, Kantha and Boat – has an interesting collection that talks about Bengal and its varied cultural background.
The ethnographic section displays baskets of several tribes, tribal musical instruments, Birbhum paintings, masks and other artefacts that talk about Bengal’s ethnic milieu at length. The puppet section breaks the popular belief that Rajasthan is the only land from where puppetry originated. This section has a collection of puppets that were used to tell stories of Dakshin Rai and Bon Bibi and that of other kings who ruled Bengal and their valour. The Kantha section is also quite interesting. This section displays some of the finest examples of kantha.
The main attraction is the boat museum, which boasts a collection of around 40 models of several boats of Bengal, used for various purposes. This section is a virtual boat-ride through a wave of stories. Through detailed descriptions about the type of boats used for specific reasons, the narratives also throw light on the areas of Bengal where the boats were used or made.
Timings 10am-5.30pm (Monday to Friday)
Entry Free
Acharya Bhawan
The museum on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose at his house built in 1902, beside the Bose Institute on APC Road, houses furniture used by Bose and his wife, the original instruments used by him for his various scientific experiments and his personal belongings. A request to the trustees can also take you to the attic room where Bose used to carry out his experiments.
Restored by INTACH and looked after by the Sir J C Bose Trust, Acharya Bhawan has not been changed a bit from its original glory. The trust has arduously taken the task of keeping intact the feel of the house as it was more than 100 years ago.
A section of the museum has the original chairs and the table which Bose exclusively used while interacting with his friend, Rabindranath Tagore. The museum also has the dark room and the observatory used by Bose for his experiments.
Timings 2pm-4pm (Wednesday and Friday) Entry | Free
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City News> Kolkata News / Utsav Basu / TNN / April 28th, 2018
Years before she was selected to train as the first woman firefighter at the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a chemistry teacher had given Tanya Sanyal the moniker birangana meaning ‘brave woman’. Tanya’s elder sister Tanima had always known her to be fearless.
“One evening at the chemistry class, the girls suddenly screamed and scrambled up on to the chairs. I realised it was a cockroach that had caused the panic. I caught it and threw it out of the window. The teacher was shocked and named me Birangana,” recounted the Dum Dum girl who suddenly finds herself in the limelight in an allmale profession.
Good at classical dance and painting, Tanya wasn’t aware of where she was headed till she bumped upon the AAI advertisement that changed the course of her life.
“I had a desire to do something different, but didn’t know what till this opportunity came by. The exam went off well. On Panchami, a letter arrived stating that I had qualified and had to report to Bhubaneswar for physical fitness and medical tests. Thrilled, I forgot about Durga Puja and began to train for the fitness exam,” she narrated.
She passed the test, that included a 100-metre sprint within 20 seconds, lifting 40kg and climbing up a rope.
Currently undergoing training in Delhi, Tanya is enjoying the course. “Since I am the first woman, everyone is very supportive and encouraging. I consider myself extremely lucky,” said Tanya.
She is aware of the challenges that the job entails. Tanya says the biggest thrill in the job is the lightning speed with which the team has to head into a crisis. “At an airport, there is the criticality of time. The Rosenberg tenders have to move out within 90 seconds. If a plane catches fire, it must be doused within 2 minutes and 18 seconds. For that is as much one can get before the fuel tank catches fire and explodes,” she explained excitedly.
She can’t wait till June 9 when she gradutes and is given the first posting at an airport.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News> Civic Issues / by Subhro Niyogi / TNN / April 26th, 2018
Modern High girls to represent India in contest with learners from 72 countries Mayukhi Ghosh and (right) Yukta Raj, who will represent India at the International German Olympiad this July
Ballygunge:
Two students from Modern High School for Girls have German television soaps and pop music to thank for topping a national-level language competition and earning the opportunity to represent India at the International German Olympiad in Freiburg this July.
Yukta Raj, a student of Class XII, and Mayukhi Ghosh, who is in Class X, have been learning German for many years. But the fluency they needed to compete with other learners in a language Olympiad came as much from following popular culture as from classroom lessons.
“I started watching German TV shows like Jojo sucht das Gluck and Tyrkisch fur Anfanger to prepare for the competition. It was basically learning while enjoying oneself,” said Yukta, who is the president of her school’s Deutschind club.
For Mayukhi, who inherited her love of German from her mother, pop music has been an unlikely learning tool. Her favourites include the rapper Cro and fellow artiste Namika.
Mayukhi was in Class I when she heard her mother speak a smattering of German and tried to emulate her. A decade later, it is the teenager who insists that her mother converse with her in the language and “keeps correcting her”.
“My mother is not fluent now for lack of practice. I ask her to randomly have a conversation with me in German,” Mayukhi said.
She and Yukta see the chance to compete with learners from 72 countries in the IDO – Internationale Deutscholympiade as an extension of their future plans. Both girls are looking at Germany as an option for their undergraduate studies. Yukta is fascinated by German “discipline” while Mayukhi loves the concept of artists’ colonies, of which that country has several.
For now, Yukta and her junior teammate are focused on enhancing their ability to not just speak and write German but also think in that language. “It’s started happening a lot. Since I started practising for the Olympiad, thinking in German has become a habit,” said Yukta.
Bina Ghosh, who teaches German at Modern High, said inter-school events and an exchange programme with a school in Germany had helped increase her students’ proficiency. “Even communicating over WhatsApp and Skype helps,” she said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Jhinak Mazumdar / April 25th, 2018
(From left) Thyelnai Dawn Khaling, Jamuna Tuddu, Subhas Datta, Simon Oraon, Major General A.K. Sanyal, GOC, Bengal Sub Area, Vijay Srinivas of National Insurance, D.D. Purkayastha, MD and CEO, ABP Group, Eva Katherina Kleekamm, Moirangthem Muktamani Devi, Surya Prakash Rai, Sankar Halder, Vikash Das, Sharda Radhakrishnan and Rosalin Patasani Mishra at the National Insurance presents True Legends Awards 2018 in association with The Telegraph, at Taj Bengal on Monday. Maj. Gen. Sanyal, Purkayastha and Srinivas were among those who gave away the awards. Pictures by Pradip Sanyal and Bishwarup Dutta
Alipore: Eleven heroes. Eleven battles. One award.
National Insurance presents True Legends Awards 2018, in association with The Telegraph, honoured men and women for changing lives in their own unique ways at the Crystal Hall of Taj Bengal on Monday.
The award recognised their outstanding perseverance, contribution and dedication to go beyond their calling, overcome obstacles to make this world a better place for many.
From health care to animal welfare and education to environment, this year’s legends contributed in varied ways in Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and the North-east.
An audience comprising diplomats, doctors, educationists and more listened with rapt attention and broke into applause every time a story unfolded.
K.B. Vijay Srinivas, general manager, National Insurance Company, saluted the legends. “In our society there are people who do big things, who do great things, they are marked, they are revered, they are talked about. Yet, society carries on through the works of innumerable men and women who take small steps to answer unfulfilled needs. These are people who care, who have a passion for taking it upon themselves to do something meaningful.”
Metro salutes the True Legends
Bengal
SUBHAS DATTA, 70
A chartered accountant by training, a crusader by choice. Subhas Datta fought for issues that most people didn’t recognise as significant.
Datta proved in Calcutta High Court, citing the state pollution control board’s data, that the fair Calcutta so loved could actually kill its people. The air pollution level in the Maidan area took a leap during the Book Fair. “A Telegraph journalist helped me find the pollution control board report,” he says. The court ordered the Book Fair to be shifted away from the Maidan. Even the then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s complaints didn’t make Datta relent.
He is also the man behind the phasing out of two-stroke autorickshaws from the city roads, to be replaced by four-stroke ones with better emission standards.
Datta is now fighting the state government for a switch to CNG vehicles.
Spotlight speak: I consider myself to be the scavenger of this city. I was once featured in a book with a broom in my hands. It is really nice that the Unputdownable is recognising the down-to-earth activist.
SANKAR HALDER, 43
The IT professional founded a non-profit organisation in 2003 to “repay” his neighbour who had sponsored his education. Fifteen years later. NGO MUKTI is synonymous with a better life in the Sunderbans.
In 2017-18, the NGO arranged sponsorship for 129 students from poor families, including 28 who are studying to be doctors and 33 who have enrolled for engineering.
MUKTI has also built more than 20,000 toilets in villages, set up a book bank and created women’s self-help groups. One of its newer projects focuses on educating farmers to switch to organic agriculture and marketing their produce.
Spotlight speak: It is not an individual’s recognition. This is a recognition of the people I want to help and the people who help me do this.
EVA KATHERINA KLEEKAMM, 47
The former banker from Munich is godmother to about 25 children in the city. She admitted them to school and pays for their education from her own savings and with some help from friends in Germany.
It all started in 2004, when a seven-year-old girl’s face peeped out from behind her mother and said she wanted to go to school. The little girl is now a student at a hotel management institute in the city.
Eva has settled down in the city and goes to Germany only on vacation. Even when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, she decided to stay back in Calcutta to be with “her children”.
Spotlight speak: When I first heard (about the award) I was speechless because I thought very important people get such awards. I do not give too much importance to myself. But this award will be a big support for my children and when I show it to my friends in Germany they will be proud too.
SHARDA RADHAKRISHNAN, 59
A hospital for animals in Sonarpur that is home to 500 dogs, seven horses, several cows and even injured kites has been this animal lover’s life and passion for the past 10 years.
The dogs at Chhaya include strays injured in accidents as well as pets of various breeds – Rottweiler, German shepherd, Great Dane, bull mastiff, spitz, golden retriever and Labrador – abandoned because of old age or sickness.
When a horse named Moti was found lying on the Maidan last month, Chhaya took it in and nursed it back to health.
Radhakrishnan has trained youths of the neighbourhood around Chhaya as para vets, who manage the hospital and take the ambulance to north and south Calcutta on alternate days to pick up stray dogs that need treatment. When Radhakrishnan started the hospital, she would ferry ailing and injured dogs in her own car.
Spotlight speak: I never thought the kind of work I do is worthy of such recognition and I thank The Telegraph for it. But, on second thoughts, this award is important for people to realise there are animals who need to be cared for and that it is our responsibility to help them.
BIHAR
SURYA PRAKASH RAI, 36
A community library in a small village in Bihar’s Gopalganj district, some 200km from Patna, has changed the way 400-odd students and their parents think about education.
Rai wants to help eliminate the caste system and encourage students of different backgrounds to come together in the same room to read, study, and interact with each other.
Spotlight speak: This is a huge recognition. Our efforts are bearing fruit and this will give us a lot of impetus going forward.
Jharkhand
SIMON ORAON, 84
Born into a family of farmers who relied heavily on rainwater for agriculture, this Class I dropout went on to build five irrigation reservoirs.
He is the man behind mass tree plantation, digging of wells and ponds in the Bero block near Ranchi that covers 51 villages.
Back in 1961, Oraon tried building a reservoir at the foot of a hill. He succeeded after two failed attempts. The waterman, as he is popularly known, received the Padma Shri in 2016.
Spotlight speak: I am happy to receive the award but I would be happier if the farmers back home got enough water to farm and drink. Only when that happens would I be truly happy.
JAMUNA TUDDU, 38
The resident of Muturkham village in Chakulia, Jharkhand, has been protecting forests in the area since she was 18.
She began her crusade against the timber mafia with just five women by her side. Together, they would visit the forests thrice a day and fight those who tried to cut trees. Tuddu’s arms include bows and arrows.
Twenty years on, Tuddu has 200 Van Suraksha Samitis in East Singhbhum district to patrol and protect the forests. Each committee has 15 women and 10 men.
“I have been pelted with stones, my home has been robbed but I have not given up,” said Tuddu.
Spotlight speak: It makes me proud that The Telegraph is acknowledging the efforts of women working in remote villages and honouring them in the city. We never thought when we started that so many people outside our district would know about us.
Odisha
VIKASH DAS, 29
A social enterprise set up in 2014 has built a network of nearly 2,300 women across four states and changed their lives.
The organisation has developed a sustainable business model to ensure financial independence for women in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bengal.
Das’s life changed when he saw a tribal woman being dragged out of a festival for being a “lowborn”. He left his cushy IT job and set up Vat Vrikshya.
Spotlight speak: We don’t work for awards. But this incredible recognition puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I hope I can live up to that.
ROSALIN PATASANI MISHRA, 36
The founder of Parichay Foundation, that works for empowerment of women, education for underprivileged children and promotion of Odiya art and culture, has taken up a new project in Salia Sahi Slum, the largest slum in Bhubaneswar.
Spotlight speak: We go through a lot of stress and pain. It is good to get such recognition at times. This will motivate me to keep going.
Manipur
THYELNAI DAWN KHALING, 42
A doctor and an Indian Air Force wing commander, he set up a classroom in his house for children whose parents could not afford to send them to school,
Khaling, who hails from a village in Khangshim, Manipur, stressed the need for education. The school he started was an attempt to educate the children of a domestic help working at his home.
“People should not miss out on education because they can’t afford it. Education empowers children to face the challenges of the future with dignity,” Khaling said.
His father was the first person from the Uipo Naga community to pass the matric examination.
Khaling’s classroom has grown over the years and today it has more than 30 children. He takes classes after his shift ends at 5pm.
Khaling’s Ascension Educational Trust (AET) also provides free coaching for MBBS entrance test besides CPR and first-aid training.
His colleagues from the air force also contribute to the project as volunteers whenever possible.
Spotlight speak: It is a recognition of what we have been doing though we never sought any recognition. So it came as a surprise.
MOIRANGTHEM MUKTAMANI DEVI, 59
In 1989, Muktamani Devi couldn’t afford a pair of shoes for her daughter. She knitted a pair on the sole of a torn shoe with woollen threads for her second daughter. At school, her daughter was scared when her teacher approached her during assembly. The girl knew the shoe she was wearing didn’t conform to the school uniform. But the teacher smiled and asked, “Who made these?”. The teacher wanted the same shoes for his daughter.
This was how Muktamani Devi’s journey in shoe-making began. Today, she exports shoes to Australia, the UK, France, Mexico and some African countries. She set up Mukta Shoes Industry in 1990-91.
Over the years she has helped train many unemployed women in Manipur so that they could earn a living making shoes.
Spotlight speak: I would dedicate this award to women back home who have been working relentlessly along with me. In the beginning, I only knew how to make ends meet in my family but today I am proud to bring in so many women like me to follow their dreams. My story of adversity gave birth to Mukta Shoes Industry.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / The Telegraph Bureau / April 24th, 2018
“The logic system can be recycled for three cycles by adding a heat deactivation step,” says Jyotirmayee Dash (sitting).
Sixteen combinations of different enzymes were used to make up the desired outputs
Scientists at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata, have been successful in designing DNA-based logic devices that would find application in DNA-based computation. They have designed reusable YES and INHIBIT logic systems by using a small molecule that serves as a fluorescent probe and binds to both a four-stranded DNA structure (G-quadruplex) present in human telomeres and nucleic acid cleaving enzymes (nucleases).
Fluorescence
The fluorescent probe — carbazole ligand — selectively binds to the G-quadruplex over other DNA structures present in the human genome. Once it binds to the DNA (G-quadruplex), the small molecule inhibits certain enzymes (nuclease S1 and exonucleases) from degrading the DNA. However, certain other enzymes (DNase I and T7 endonuclease I) can degrade the DNA even when bound by the small molecule.
While the small molecule by itself shows weak emission at 373 nm and 530 nm, the fluorescence intensity gets enhanced 14-fold at 530 nm once it binds to the DNA. Similarly, the small molecule bound to the DNA exhibits different fluorescence behaviour in the presence of different enzymes and this has been taken advantage of by the team led by Prof. Jyotirmayee Dash from the Department of Organic Chemistry to design conceptually novel logic devices. The results were published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology.
Computation
For instance, DNase I enzyme degrades the DNA-bound small molecule and so when both the DNA the DNase I enzyme are used as inputs the fluorescence at 530 nm weakens. The output is therefore taken as zero. On the other hand, nuclease S1 enzyme does not degrade the DNA bound by the small molecule and so when both DNA and nuclease S1 enzyme are used as inputs the fluorescence at 530 nm does not get affected. The output is taken as one.
“So the INHIBIT logic gate is constructed using DNA and DNase I as inputs while the inputs of DNA and nuclease S1 form a YES logic gate,” says Prof. Dash.
Once the DNA is degraded by the DNase I enzyme, the logic system can be reused by supplying heat to deactivate the enzyme. “The logic system can be recycled for three cycles by adding a heat deactivation step. After three consecutive cycles, the efficiency of the system decreases by only 33%,” says Prof. Dash.
The team went a step further to design combinatorial logic systems (individual logic gates integrated into one another such as INHIBIT−INHIBIT and NOR−OR) by using different combinations of four nucleases (enzymes) as inputs.
16 combinations
The researchers were able to get 16 different combinations by adding one, two, three or four enzymes (nuclease S1, Exo I, T7 Endo I and DNase I) to the DNA-bound small molecule. The different combinations of the four enzymes are taken as inputs and the fluorescence response at 530 nm is taken as the output.
Of the 16 combinations, only four combinations are fluorescent (output taken as 1) and 12 are non-fluorescent (output taken as zero). The square numbers (1, 4, 9, 16) are assigned as fluorescent combinations, whereas the rest are assigned as non-fluorescent combinations. “So by suitable programming we can modulate the system to carry out complex calculations (for example, identification of square numbers up to 16) by varying the inputs,” she says.
“We hope that these DNA logic gates will provide the ability to not only create more complicated, sequential DNA computations but also create interfaces between silicon and DNA-based computers. The DNA-based nanodevice could be useful for diagnostic sensors and other biomolecular machines,” Prof. Dash says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Science / by R. Prasad / April 21st, 2018
The city’s trams may have been sidetracked by taxis and buses, but they soldier on carrying passengers and a proud legacy
As he drives a tram through the busy streets of Kolkata, Dinesh Singh keeps a watchful eye for yellow taxis. When he started work 35 years ago, Mr. Singh, who is from Uttar Pradesh, did not have to worry so much. The electric cars ran smoothly on dedicated lines with nothing coming in their way. But now, vehicles running on fossil fuels have gained the upper hand.
The trams may not have kept pace with the city’s fast life, but they refuse to roll down into the sunset. Making slow progress through busy streets without leaving a smoky trail, the trams offer a ride down history. Running continuously since March 27, 1902, the Kolkata trams make up one of the oldest transport systems in Asia. “Earlier, tram lines used to be separate from the regular traffic. But as the city grew, those lines were merged with the main traffic routes. Hence, tram services run even more slowly now. Youngsters no longer prefer it, and it is only the elderly passengers and women who still use it,” says Uma Shankar Sharma, who has a history with trams. The 59-year-old took up driving trams after his father completed 40 years of service piloting them through the city’s streets.
Bombay, Madras, Delhi and Karachi have no trams now, though the British introduced them in these cities also. Exuding an old-world charm and nostalgia, the slow-moving, eco-friendly transport system is part of Kolkata’s charm. The Calcutta Tramways Company was registered in London in 1880. The British managed it even after Independence. In 1967, the West Bengal government took over the operations. But as time passed, taxis, private buses and India’s first metro simply outpaced the trams. The tram tracks became a casualty of rapid urbanisation. Many tracks were removed. The slow speed, infrequent timings and failure to change network patterns worked against trams. The tramway corporation even introduced bus services to increase its revenues.
Indrajit Singh, a timekeeper at the Esplanade tram depot, says only 10% of the tram lines in existence in 1995, when he joined service, are functioning now. He cites the expansion of the metro and other means of transport as the reason for the decline. The depot, from where the first electric tram car in Asia was run, today houses a tram museum and a cafe, serving history buffs and tourists. A 2011 study by the University of Calcutta said improving Kolkata’s tramways would have greater economic and environmental benefits than replacing it with other means of transport such as buses.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by K.R. Deepak / April 21st, 2018
