Type your posts in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam in Blogger now

Blogger has incorporated typing new posts in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam using transliteration, a facility which till now was only available to Hindi as far as Indian languages are considered. So now you don’t have to type your regional language posts using some third party applications like Baraha, Quillpad and then paste the content in Blogger post. You can now directly type in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam in Blogger keeping the transliteration button on and selecting the required language. Advantage here is that you can correct the typing mistakes, the moment English letters are changed to Indian language letters.One more change which would be of interest to all the bloggers (for providing backtrack links to their blogs) is while providing comments to any Blogger post, you now have the option of choosing your identity from LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad and AIM. And if you own a domain you can also provide your URL in the comment form.For all the changes introduced by Blogger click the below link
Blogger Buzz

Updates : How to disable transliteration in blogger?

If you are not using tranliteration you can disable it using global settings. For this, go to Settings section in your blogger dashboard. Then in the lower half of this page you will find Global Settings. You can enable/disable transliteration facility as shown in the figure below.

Stona 2008 Bangalore

I had been planning to go for Stona 2008, an international granites and stone fair held in Bangalore. So, on last Saturday, 09th February 2008, I went for the show accompanied by my cousins. Stona 2008 was held from 06 – 10 February 2008. First three days of the show were reserved for business delegates and on the last two days, 09th and 10th Feb, general public was allowed view the exhibition. 2006 was the last time when the show was held. This time show was big with 2100 stalls (from 400 exhibitors) compared to 100 stalls in 2006. Exhibitors from Italy, China, Turkey, Egypt and other European countries were also present in the show.

Bangalore Palace

Bangalore Palace Grounds near Vasanth Nagar, where the show was held was busy with activity. Red carpet welcome was at its truest sense when the whole Palace ground was covered with the same. People flocking to see granites, marbles, tiles and various creations from the same was a common sight. It being a second Saturday had attracted many people from the city to witness the stone wonders.

'No War' Pistol

We started our Stona 2008 journey by visiting pure business stalls where information about the company and stones they dealt with, along with sample stones were on display. This as you would expect did not arouse much interest in us. I had seen photographs of some of the best stone creations in Stona 2008 in news papers, so was eager to see that. After visits of some similar business stalls, we saw those stone creations like – idols of Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna and other gods, animals like elephant, lion, themes like a giant pistol tied at the tip saying No War etc. Stone creations have been fascinating men from pre historical times and in this modern age it was no different. Lord Ganesha was the favourite of most of the artisans at Stona 2008, with most of the idols being of Him. Lord Buddha seemed to be the next favourite.

Granite Train

Apart from stone creations there were stalls which exhibited machinery which were used to give the artistic shape to a mere stone. Also on display were power tools, abrasives, house keeping chemicals, grinders etc. State owned companies in stone business from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too had their stalls. Andhra Pradesh map formed from various tiles available in the state was artistic. Apart from the business representatives, there were people buying stone work for that artistic and aesthetic look in their homes. One of the great attractions of the show was the train made out of granite by Granite Products Corporation.

Fountain

But the biggest attraction of the show, what I felt was the Shilpagram. Shilpagram was a congregation of some of the best artisans, where they used to display their works. Idols of gods, animals, temples, abstracts were on display. Main attraction here was the giant Lord Ganesha idol which was on sale for some 35 lakh rupees. Fine carvings made on the idol for over 3 years by the artisans were the prime reasons for the price. Artisans from north, south, east and west of India were present in Shilpagram showcasing their talent.

Lord Ganesha idol in Shilpagram

Truly it was an enjoyable experience in all, seeing the brilliant stone works on an otherwise usual Saturday!

Regards,
Raveesh

For all the photos from Stona 2008, Bangalore click on the slide image below.

Towards A Plastic Free World

Ira, a village in Bantwal taluk in Mangalore had achieved some thing big to be noticed by the national weekly, India Today. I was scanning through the latest edition of India Today dated February 11, 2008. It was then I came across this article about Ira, which said not only Indian media but international community too took notice of this small village of about 1300 families.

Well, there is a lot of publicity involved whenever an environmental initiative is taken up by some organization in the cities. But more often end result is not so impressive. May be it is too much to ask from the already stressed city dwellers. Anyway, here is a village which keeps itself free of plastic/polythene bags. Here is one village which is all clean and fully literate. Now this is something which will attract the national and international media attention. Visits by UNICEF team (which consisted representatives from Indonesia, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe), National Rural Development Department team, a 28-member team from Kerala, representatives from various districts from Karnataka to study the development here, bear testimony to this fact.

This inspiring story of Ira village began when it implemented Center’s Sampoorna Swachata Andolana or the total sanitation project in 2005. Active participation by the people of the village, women in particular, made it a success. After success of this scheme, anti plastic drive began. People were asked to refrain from using plastic and dump which they have to create plastic mountains. This collection of polythene bags was then sent to Bangalore for recycling. ‘Apna Desh’, an initiative started by former Deputy Commissioner of Mangalore, Mr. Bharat Lal Meena, 10 years ago, said to have made a big impact in the lives of the people here.

Success has its own rewards. Ira which is surely serving as model to many villages around the world, has won the Nirmal Gram Puraskar from the Union Government and will definitely earn many more in the future. For role models in keeping our environment clean, green and plastic free, we need not look outside our nation. It is in our own backyard. Just the strong will of our people is needed to create more Iras in our country.

Regards,
Raveesh

References:
India Today
Deccan Herald
Times Of India, Mangalore

Mangalore Beaches Series : Kasaragod Beach

Though Kasaragod lies in Kerala, it has been included in this series of Mangalore beaches purely because of its proximity to Mangalore and a bit of history. In fact, Kasaragod was a part of South Canara (present Dakshina Kannada or Mangalore) district till November 1, 1956. Kasaragod is 50 kms away from Mangalore, to where you can reach within one hour of bus journey.

Kasaragod Beach

Cricket connection: 50 km road stretch from Mangalore to Kasaragod is a national highway, NH 17. On the way, you will be finding a junction named Kumble, 40 km away from Mangalore. Yes, the same Kumble you will find in the name of Anil Kumble. Though present Indian Test cricket team’s skipper Anil Kumble, is settled in Bangalore his ancestors were from this place, hence the surname.

Fishing boats

Kasaragod beach or Kadappara (Kadappara in Malayalam means sea shore) beach, as it is called here, is at a distance of 3 kms from the town center. On reaching the place you will find numerous boats sailing in Arabian Sea for fish hunt and when a boat reaches the shore you will be able to buy the fish directly from fishermen, fresh from the sea!!.

You can also witness how the boat once coming back to shore, is moved to a safe distance from the sea by the fishermen.Coconut plantations near the shore, typical of Kerala, will sure catch your eyes.Kasaragod Lighthouse, maintained by Department of Lighthouses and Lightships, Government of India, is at this place. Stones have been laid on the sea shore to avoid the soil erosion, which can be seen even in beaches in Karnataka. Sea shore is not wide as the fishers’ colony is at a close distance from the sea. Though lacking in beauty this beach is calm and serene.

Boat being carried to a safe distance

This beach does not get listed in Kerala tourism destinations, since the place is marked for fishing. And nearby CPCRI beach scores over this in attracting visitors and is famous for its sunset. But to watch the boats in action, you should surely come to this place. Will not call a must visit to the travelers as there is also a historical Bekal fort beach, 15 kms from Kasaragod town. But if you come to Kasaragod and you have no time to explore other places, then this is a good place to enjoy your evening. As there are hardly any restaurants nearby, it is better you carry with you some snacks and drinking water.

Kasaragod Lighthouse

Here is how you can reach Kasaragod beach?
Distance from Mangalore City – 50 kms
Mode of transport – Private buses between Mangalore and Kasaragod, from Kasaragod town take an auto rikshaw.

Also Read,

Mangalore Beaches Series : Someshwara Beach

For complete set of photos of Kasaragod beach click the link below

Sunday – Hindi Film Review

“What if one day went missing from your life?” ask the posters of this Hindi movie, Sunday, a suspense thriller. Rightly so, first half of the film puts you into some puzzling situations. But rather dull second half takes the excitement out, though not fully.

Highlights of the movie:

• Comic relief from the jodi of two best comedians in Bollywood now – Arshad Warsi, whose presence in the entire film arouses laughter and then there is Irfaan Khan, the most versatile actor presently.
• First half of the movie filled with some good comedy scenes and some mysteries in the story, which remain unsolved.
• Stuffed with some unnecessary song and fight sequences.
• Ajay Devagan’s role as a bully, seems he has been stereotyped with such roles after Golmaal.
• Second half in which answers to your puzzling questions comes quite easily without much twist.

Picture Courtesy : www.webindia123.com

Plot begins with the murder of a girl in Delhi, with finger of suspicion pointing too many. Rajvir Randhava (Ajay Devagan) is a cop and Seher Thapar (Ayesha Takia) is a dubbing artist in an animation movie company, who lends her voice to some interesting animation characters. Seher keeps forgetting things and this time it is a whole day, Sunday. Arshad Warsi, who plays a taxi driver, keeps asking Seher to pay the rent claiming she had hired his taxi. But Seher fails to recognize him. Irfaan Khan, who is a drama artist, keeps chanting bhoot whenever he sees Seher. She is also frequently attacked by a gang, whose leader has a stop-n-play, girlish voice which is another attempt to arouse laughter. Rajvir, who falls in love with Seher, solves the mystery behind all these happenings, quite expectedly. Ajay Devagan has continued his bullying role in several films now with this role quite similar to the one he played in Masti. Ayesha Takia looks gorgeous throughout the movie. But real highlight of the movie is the duo of Arshad and Irfaan who outdo each other in making the audience laugh.

Though first half of the movie keeps you guessing about what the story is all about, second half reveals the secrets quiet easily. Story is not run of the mill and can be given a watch for the new things it presents.

Regards,
Raveesh

Aishwarya Rai Speaking in Tulu

Found this video on youtube in which Bollywood/Hindi cinema(whichever you feel appropriate) queen Aishwarya Rai speaks in Tulu, her mother tongue, in Kannada Rajyotsava function in Mumbai held on November 14,2007. Aishwarya Rai, who was born in Mangalore, later moved to Mumbai with her parents. At a time when one forgets his/her roots once he/she attains success in life, Aishwarya Rai is an exception.

Here is the translation of what she spoke in Tulu on that day - "Thank you all for welcoming me with your love and affection. I could not attend this function all these years because of my busy schedules. This year, organizers had informed my father about the function, 4 months in advance. I thought this is the best occasion to attend along with my husband. Definitely this programme would have been recorded. I would carry a cassette / CD of this function and show it to my husband. He was telling how children gave a good cultural programme today, showcasing our culture."

Also Read,

Tulu Cinema at 35