INDIA RECORDS: KARNATAKA – TRAVEL & TOURISM: India’s First Sand Sculpture Museum in Mysore

The museum was conceptualised by the famous sand artist, MN Gowri. She took around four months to create the whole look.

Mysore (or Mysuru) is a historic city of Karnataka brimming with incredible attractions including Mysore Palace, Vrindavan Gardens and Mysore Zoo, among others. But did you know that Karnataka’s cultural hub is also home to a unique sand sculpture museum which has taken the country by surprise. It is also India’s first sand sculpture museum.

The museum was conceptualised by the famous sand artist, MN Gowri. She took around four months to create the whole look.


So, first of all, let’s talk about the location of the museum which is awesome. The museum is built close to Chamundi Hill and displays the rich cultural heritage of the city. The incredible museum is home to around 150 monoliths made using 115 truckloads of sand, water and a little glue!

source/content: timesofindia.indiatimes.com /timestravel

KARNATAKA RECORDS: HISTORY, ARTS & CULTURE: The 19th Century Saint Pant Maharaj’s Portrait finds a place in the Art Gallery of Sambra Airport, Belagavi

A portrait of Pant Maharaj, a 19 th century saint from Balekundri village, now adorns the art gallery at the Sambra Airport in Belagavi.

This is a tribute to the proponent of Avadhut Navanath philosophy who spoke of the need for love for all humans, in his books Datta Prema Lahari and Prema Tarang.

Apart from a brief biographical detail about the seer, the 64 sq ft image contains a road map and directions to Balekundri, that is just four kilometres away from the airport.

A contemporary of Swami Vivekananda, Pant Maharaj was a proponent of spiritualism devoid of strict rituals. People from various castes visit his Samadhi and temple at Balekundri. Thousands from across Karnataka and Maharashtra gather at the annual festival in December.

Pant Maharaj was born in 1855 and passed away in 1905. He worked as a teacher in Belagavi for some years, before becoming a monk. He considered Sri Balmukund and Sri Kallappa Maharaj as his Gurus.

Pant Maharaj chronicled his experiences of meditation in his books and essays.

He met Swami Vivekananda when the latter visited Belagavi in 1892.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: INDIA RECORDS: KARNATAKA RECORDS: Kannada Spoken in the Canadian Parliament by Canadian Parliamentarian, Ontario’s MP Chandrakanth Arya

Canadia parliamentarian Chandrakanth Arya spoke in Kannada in the House.

Canadian parliamentarian Chandrakanth Arya, hailing from Sira in Tumakuru district, spoke in the country’s parliament in Kannada and posted a video on Twitter on Friday, earning praise in his home State.

Mr. Arya was elected as an MP for Nepean, Ontario, in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019.

He made a brief statement in Kannada saying him speaking in Kannada would make the people of Karnataka happy and proud.

He said Canadian Kannadigas had celebrated Kannada Rajyotsava in Parliament in 2018 and now he was speaking in Kannada.

He signed off with the lines of a Kuvempu poem: “Elladaru Iru, Enthadaru Iru…Endendigu Nee Kannadavagiru’‘ (Wherever you are, However you are…always be Kannadiga).

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

KARNATAKA: Queen Abbakka Made Special Contribution to Country’s History. Rani Abbakka Tulu Research Centre Inaugrated.

“Rani Abbakka has made a special contribution to the history of the country. The government should introduce her to the entire nation,” said retired Supreme Court justice N Santhosh Hegde.

He was speaking after unveiling the Rani Abbakka Tulu research centre and Rani Abbakka statue at Tulu Baduku museum, Sanchayagiri, B C Road here. “The efforts of Tukaram Poojary to establish the centre to introduce Rani Abbakka to the world is worth commending,” he said.

source/content: daijiworld.com (edited)

KARNATAKA RECORDS : ARTS & CULTURE : Bharatanatyam Exponent Dr. Vasundhara Honoured With ‘Kadali Shree’ Award

Renowned Bharatanatyam exponent Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy was conferred with ‘Kadali Shree’ award at a function organised by Akhila Bharata Sharana Sahitya Parishat and Kadali Mahila Vedike at Navajyoti Auditorium of JSS Women’s College in Saraswatipuram yesterday as part of Kadali Mahila Vedike’s anniversary celebrations.

Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, retired Vice-Chancellor Dr. Chidananda Gowda, Akhila Bharata Sharana Sahitya Parishat President Prof. Maleyur Guruswamy, Parishat Mysuru City Unit President M.G. Sadanandaiah, District Unit President Helavarahundi Siddappam, Kadali Mahila Vedike President Sharada Shivalingaswamy and other office-bearers were present on the occasion.

source/content: starofmysore.com (edited)

ARTS & CULTURE: HISTORY: Prof. Ravi Korisettar, NIAS-Bengaluru, gets MP Government’s Dr. Vishnu Sridhar Wakankar National Award

Ravi Korisettar, adjunct professor at NIAS, Bengaluru, and honorary director of Robert Bruce Foote Sanganakallu Archaeological Museum, Ballari, has been chosen by the Madhya Pradesh Government for the Dr. Vishnu Sridhar Wakankar national award for 2018.

Prof. Korisettar served in the Department of History and Archaeology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, from 1989 to 2013.

His discovery of the youngest Toba tuff (YTT), volcanic ash of Sumatra origin, in peninsular river deposits has been hailed as a ‘great discovery’ and its significance in dating the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic has brought the Indian subcontinent to the forefront of the debate on the expansion of modern humans out of Africa.

Prof. Korisettar is credited with the discovery of a large number of prehistoric painted rock shelters in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh which led to a series of investigations on identifying suitable dating methods for rock art and understanding the non-material culture of the authors of these paintings.

He was co-editor of Quaternary Environments and Geoarchaeology of India (Geological Society of India,1995), The Rise of Early Human Behaviour in Global Context (Routledge,1998), Indian Archaeology in Retrospect (ICHR and Manohar [4 volumes], 2001/2), and a special issue of Quaternary International (vol. 258, 2011) and editor of  Beyond Stone and More Stones (Vo. 1: 2017 and Vol. 2: 2018).

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

GLOBAL – FIRST IN INDIA: Bengaluru, First Indian City to join the global Silk City Network

Bengaluru has become the first Indian city to get into the global network of silk cities, celebrated French textile artist Isabelle Moulin said in Kolkata, expressing hope that in the next few years West Bengal’s Murshidabad district — known to produce fine silk in the over the past 300 years — may join the global silk city network.

“Two days ago, I launched the membership of Bengaluru — the first Indian city in the global Silk City network.

Now, we have nine countries and 13 cities.

If everything goes fine, then with time, I hope ‘Murshidabad Silk’ too can make it to the network.

The network helps artisans and craftsmen to exchange knowledge, build trade relations and understand various craftsmanship techniques,” Ms. Moulin said during an interactive session with select media persons at Kolkata’s Oxford Bookstore.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

WORLD RECORDS: Tallest Statue of Panchamukhi Anjaneya Swamy in Tumakuru District

Chief  Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said that there will be good times ahead for Karnataka as he unveiled the 161-ft tall Panchamukhi Anjaneya Swamy statue, touted to be the world’s tallest, installed by Basaveshwara Mutt at Bidanagere in Kunigal taluk of Tumakuru district.

“Panchamukhi  Anjaneya is a special form of Hanuman, which is mentioned in the Ramayana.  

Hanuman took this form for the welfare of the world. It is the divine wish of Hanuman to have his 161-ft tall statue installed in Karnataka.  

The sculptors have done a wonderful job,” Bommai added.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

Mysuru City Gets Karnataka’s First Tribal Museum

The City of Palaces and Museums has got one more museum — a Tribal Museum — adding a new feather on its cap.

The Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute (KSTRI) has set up Karnataka’s first Tribal Museum at Kergalli and the facility will be inaugurated the Minister of Tribal Welfare and Transport B. Sriramulu. District Minister S.T. Somashekar and other dignitaries will be present.

source: starofmysore.com

Mangaluru: Fr Ronald Serrao honoured with Victor Rodrigues Konkani Literary Award

“The contribution of the Catholic Church in the development of Konkani language in this region is commendable,” opined Dr Edward Nazareth, renowned Konkani literate and Professor of Orthopaedics at Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences, while felicitating Fr Dr Ronald Serrao, Rector of St Joseph Seminary who was bestowed upon Victor Rodrigues Konkani literary award 2021.

The award ceremony was organized at ‘Matha-Kripa’ hall of Samanvaya at Grurpur-Kaikmaba on Sunday February 27. Fr Antony Lobo, parish priest of Gurpur-Kaikamba parish was the chief guest.

rr