* Udupi boy from Hindi daily soaps shines in Tulu movie ‘Yeregauvye Kiri Kiri’

A youngster from Udupi has shined brightly in Tulu movie ‘Yeregauvye Kiri Kiri’.

Mohammed Naim made his Coastalwood debut in the recently released Ram Shetty directorial ‘Yeregauvye Kiri Kiri’. Naim hails from Udyavar in Udupi. After completing his education, Naim moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in dance.

Naim struggled a lot to become a hero. He got an opportunity in ‘Kum Kum Bhagya’ Hindi serial telecast on Zee TV and later went on to feature in serials like ‘Apnasa’ and ‘Siddi Vinayaka’.

* Samanvi bags The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021

Udupi student pips four finalists for Voice of the Year prize

Samanvi, a second year B. A. student from Udupi, was on Friday awarded The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021, Voice of the Year, presented by Parry’s Amrit Brown Sugar at the Grand Finale held at The Music Academy here.

“I plan to pursue music as a career,” said the youngster who has been undergoing training with Guru V. Aravinda Hebbar in Gurukulavasam and under Chitravina N. Ravikiran.

Ms. Samanvi, who has been learning and performing along with her long-time friend Archana, will get to record an album with SaReGaMa.

The award was presented by Aruna Sairam, renowned Carnatic vocalist and guru, and Navaneeth L.V., CEO, The Hindu Group.

* Kannada writer-activist Champa passes away

A proponent of Kannada medium education, Prof. Chandrashekhar Patil, better known by his pen name Champa, was one of the rare writers who could say all his children and grandchildren studied in Kannada medium

Noted Kannada writer, activist and public intellectual Prof. Chandrashekhar Patil, 82, better known by his pen name Champa, passed away in Bengaluru on January 10. 

Known for his acerbic wit and employment of irony and his anti-establishment ‘bandaya’ stance throughout his life, Champa was an important voice in the public discourse of Karnataka for over half a century. He was the only Kannada writer to be arrested during the Emergency for his street play Jagadambeya Beedinataka, a satire on then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was one of the founders of the Bandaya movement of Kannada literature, a strand that took a radical stance in both literary form and view of society.

Born in 1939, Champa taught English at the university, but was a passionate proponent of the Kannada cause. He was one of the key leaders of the Gokak Agitation in the early 1980s, arguing for making Kannada the mandatory first language in school education across Karnataka. He played a key role in convincing matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar to join the agitation, which gave a fillip to the movement. A proponent of Kannada medium education, he was one of the rare writers who could say all his children and grandchildren studied in Kannada medium.

* Bopanna-Ramkumar win Adelaide doubles title

The unseeded pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan beat the top seeds, Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 7-6(6), 6-1 in the doubles final of the $521,000 ATP tennis tournament here on Sunday.

It was the first professional tournament together as a pair for Bopanna and Ramkumar, who had partnered each other in the last Davis Cup tie against Finland.

In five matches, the Indian pair dropped one set and did not drop even one service game, to collect the winner’s share of 250 ATP points and $18,700.

* Udupi: Dr Kiran Kamal Prasad conferred prestigious CNCDH Award

Dr Kiran Kamal Prasad, founder and coordinator Jeevika Free, a organization working for providing freedom to bonded laborers in Karnataka has been conferred with the prestigious CNCDH – 2020 (National Consultative Commission on Human Rights – France) Award. The award was conferred to Dr Kiran Kamal Prasad by Ambassador of France in India Thierry Berthelot.

Dr Kiran Kamal Prasad aka Cyprian Lobo is a native of Barkur. In 1988, Kiran Kamal Prasad begun the Jeevika Free, an NGO working for the eradication of bonded laborers in Karnataka. They help to free bonded laborers from the jaws of mighty and powerful and rehabilitate them to lead a meaningful and dignified life.

* City Fighters Win Medals At National Kickboxing Championships

Fighters of Elite Academy, Mysuru, have excelled in the WAKO National Kickboxing Championships-2021 organised by Amateur Sports Kickboxing Association, Maharashtra, at Balewadi, Pune, in September.

Syed Abubakar clinched Gold medals in the Seniors Category while M. Satyanand bagged Gold and Silver Medal in the Sub-Junior category.

Ahmed, Mohammed Adnaan, Mohamed Abaan and Mohamed Eshan won Gold Medal and Afreed Khan won Gold and Silver Medals in the Junior Category. Manav D. Sangwan won Gold Medal in Youngest Cadets.

All the fighters are trained by Mohamed Farjath Iyaz, Chief Instructor and Founder of Elite Academy.

* Folk artist Basavalingaiah Hiremath passes away

The Karnataka government had honoured him with a Karnataka Rajyotsava award for his life time achievement in the field of folk theatre

Basavalingaiah Hiremath, senior theatre personality, actor, singer, director and folklore expert, died in Bengaluru on January 9 morning.

The Karnataka Rajyotsava award winning folk artist was known across the country for his performance of `Sri Krishna Parijata’, the classic Kannada play. The three-hour-long drama about the life of Lord Krishna and his wives Rukmini and Satyabhama was peppered with song -dance and long dialogues. The performance was in Doddata folk theatre style.

The original play was 12 hours long and was written by Kulgod Tammanna, a folk artist who imagined it to be an overnight performance. Hiremath reshaped it to under three hours, to give the viewer the experience of watching a movie. His team presented over 1,000 performances of Sri Krishna Parijata, in India, U.A.E., Europe and U.S.A.