Karnataka First

The first Indian superintendent of Lalbagh, he was crucial in Bengaluru earning the ‘garden city’ title.

Sharmila Bhaktaram from Bengaluru remembers how she, as a kid, used to go to school with exotic Magnolia flowers which her friends would watch with awe.

“Back then they were still rare. But we as kids, while growing up, had all the possible fruits which we could grow and exotic plants such as magnolia planted in our yard.”

For this, Ms. Bhaktaram thanks her grandfather, whose name is etched in the memory of Bengaluru, and all of India’s horticultural history. None other than Rao Bahadur H. C. Javaraya, he was the first Indian superintendent of Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, and the brain behind the fruit research station in Hesaraghatta which later became the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research.

Keeping the memory alive

Named by Gustav Krumbiegal as his worthy successor at the age of 30, Javaraya took forward the former’s vision of the city as a garden, and played a crucial role in earning Bengaluru the moniker ‘garden city.’ While the name has stuck around, the city has changed much since then. Green spaces have been giving way to concrete structures, and many of the smaller gardens are no more maintained.

As the city chokes, keeping the memory of Javaraya and his works alive has become all the more important. With this aim, a film screening, and book discussion on him is being organised by his grandchildren – Harish Padmanabha, Dr. Vivek Bhaktaram, and Sharmila Bhaktaram – on Saturday at the Indian Institute of World Culture.

Film screening and book discussion

The biopic documentary film on Javaraya, produced and directed by Ganesh Shankar Raj, will be screened at the event. A conversation between historian and INTACH convenor Dr. Meera Iyer, and Dr. Harini Nagendra, ecologist and professor at Azim Premji University, based on Javaraya’s biography ‘A Gardener and A Gentleman’ is also planned.

“During Javaraya’s stint, a whole bunch of new public buildings were built around the city all of which used to have a garden. Not just the bungalow gardens that everyone knows of, but even these smaller gardens had an important role in creating and nurturing the image and aesthetics of the city. That has been completely forgotten now,” says Ms. Iyer who authored the book.

Scholarship planned

Ms. Bhaktaram notes that the event is aimed at building more awareness of the importance of having greenery in cities and creating inspiration around the works of Javaraya.  

“From his family’s side, we also are considering forming a trust and offering scholarships to people who want to pursue horticulture. We hope this would encourage people to study streams like botany and horticulture also and that these professions also become popular,” she says.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited0

The award is given to nurses based in Karnataka who have made a significant contribution to the nursing profession.

It was a special moment for Jemimal Christopher when she received the Florence Nightingale Award last week at a ceremony in Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru. In her career spanning 42 years, Christopher says, this was the first time she was awarded for her contributions to the nursing profession and the healthcare system.

The Florence Nightingale Award was first established in 2000 by Ivan Nigli, former MLA of Karnataka. Now the Florence Nightingale Award is organised by The Anglo Indian Unity Centre and Garshom Foundation, Bengaluru, in association with the Karnataka government’s Health and Family Welfare Department.

The award is given to nurses based in Karnataka who have made a significant contribution to the nursing profession. This award is named after Florence Nightingale, who is known as the founder of modern nursing. Florence Nightingale was an English nurse who gained fame during the Crimean War for her pioneering work in nursing, which helped to establish nursing as a profession.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Christopher said, “It was a great honour to receive this prestigious award from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and to be acknowledged for my years of service.”

Christopher, presently a senior nursing superintendent at SPARSH Hospital, Bengaluru, says compliments from the recovered patients are satisfying.

“I have been in the nursing profession for 42 years and the one thing I really love about the job is the satisfaction that patients feel when they recover from their illnesses and as a nurse that is an emotional reward for me. Receiving emotional rewards from a patient is very satisfying, especially from vulnerable patients. They think nurses are angels, so we experience the satisfaction of contributing something to society. I get happy when patients appreciate my work,” she tells indianexpress.com.

Recalling the days of the Covid pandemic, when patients visited hospitals with breathing difficulties and were put on ventilators, Christopher says, “They walked back home after we treated them, appreciating our nursing. There was so much uncertainty during the first wave and this virus was affecting everyone. However, we took it as a challenge. In the nursing profession, we have to dedicate ourselves to the service of people. We never said no to anyone.”

haring one of her experiences which she remembers even today, Christopher says, “There was a civil war when I was in the Yemen Republic in 1992-93. It was the first time all of us experienced war first hand. We had only heard stories and news about wars until then. There was no communication between my husband and I for six months because there were no ships or satellite phones. My son was seven-year-old then and they were in Tamil Nadu. My husband worked in CMC Vellore and watched the TV daily, hoping to see me. My son used to ask my husband if I was alive. We treated many soldiers, many of them wounded by bombs. We used to treat the Yemenese. They appreciated the help because we worked all day and all night.”

Born in Tirunelveli district in Valliyur, Tamil Nadu, Christopher completed her schooling in the same district before moving to Madurai to pursue nursing.

Recalling her early days, she says, “I moved to Madurai for nursing and worked at The Christian Mission Hospital, Madurai. After completion, I was sent to CMC Vellore and over there I worked for six to seven years. In 1997, my husband passed away and I joined Mallya Hospital in Bengaluru. For career growth, I joined Apollo Hospital, Mysuru. I was the one who had set up the nursing department at Apollo and later on I joined SPARSH Hospital in 2011 and it’s been 12 years. I am continuing my services at SPARSH as a senior nursing superintendent and it has been a great journey.

In sixth and seventh grade, she would often observe nurses and admire their courage and strength. Christopher was enchanted by nursing as a profession. At a very young age, she aspired to become a nurse.

“The sight of their uniform instilled in me the confidence to pursue this profession. Coincidentally, my brother was employed at a hospital in Madurai, which I frequently visited and witnessed firsthand the polite and compassionate behaviour of nurses and their interactions with patients. These experiences made me want to become a nurse. Over the course of my 42-year career as a nurse, I have never once questioned my choice. I have always found fulfilment and happiness in my profession, and I take immense pride in being a nurse,” she says.

Christopher firmly believes that dedication and commitment are two key fundamental qualities that every nurse should have. Through their actions, attitude and unwavering dedication to their profession, she believes that young nurses should serve as a source of inspiration for their colleagues and others. Moreover, she emphasises the importance of gaining essential skills necessary to effectively handle challenging patient scenarios independently, manage patients with utmost care and adeptly solve problems as they arise.

Asked if the nursing profession has changed in the last 42 years, she responds, “When I was a student or rather a fresher, we would think only about the dedication towards the profession. We got plenty of clinical experience back then because most of the colleges had attached hospitals. Today, there are nursing colleges in every corner but not all have attached hospitals, hence people come with no clinical experience and zero technical knowledge. They have only theoretical knowledge. Further, everyone flies abroad for which they need a one-year experience certificate. They come for a year of experience and have no dedication towards the profession. This is my sincere message to all my junior staff that dedication, empathy and sympathy are important when you work as a nurse because the emotional reward from the patients only comes when you work hard and are dedicated.”

source/contents: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

India’s most loved cueist Pankaj Advani got his hand on his first cue at the age of 10 and so far has gone on to win 25 World Titles and 13 Asian Titles across both snooker and billiards. Hopes are high to see more of these titles add up as he is currently in Iran to participate in the Asian Team Snooker Championship and the Asian 6 Reds Snooker Championship happening from June 16 to 22, with competitors from  20 countries taking part. 

“I am excited to represent India in both events. Since it’s a short format, anything is possible. However, India has done well in the past. A medal-winning performance is what I’ll be striving to achieve,” says the 37-year-old.

Considered the poster boy for snooker in India, Advani feels the snooker scene has improved a lot in the country. “We have got so many tournaments now. Earlier it was just the clubs with a snooker table, and it was considered very niche. But now, we can see many hangouts in the city having snooker tables where people can try it out. Also, when you have so many players in the game it just adds to the inspiration,” says Advani, adding that he grew up watching the likes of Geet Sethi and Micheal Ferreira. 

However, it was Advani’s elder brother and sports psychologist, Shree Advani who passed on to him the metaphorical ‘snooker baton’. “Shree used to play this game initially. He used to play at Bowring Institute but I wasn’t allowed to play due to being underage! I only watched and learned at that time. It was during the summer holidays in 1996, when I used to watch him play at a snooker parlour called Top Gun in Fraser Town, a few minutes walk from my house on Wheeler Road…After three years of watching him play, I thought why not give it a shot? And in my first shot, I got the ball in. I would like to think it was natural talent,” says Advani with a laugh, further adding, “After that shot, I was hooked to the game.”

With so many laurels like the Padma Bhushan and various championship titles to his name, Advani mentions it was his first World Championship in 2003 that continues to hold a special place. “I went to China to play in the World Championship and was representing India for the first time. I went there as a nobody. I was supposed to be knocked out of the tournament, but a fluke changed the whole course. I went on to win the world championship at the age of 18,” recalls Advani. That year Advani defeated a player from Pakistan to win the coveted trophy. “I remember it was Deepavali, and many people mentioned it as ‘Pankaj’s Diwali gift to India’. It was a special moment for me,” he says.

A quintessential Bengaluru boy, Advani’s family moved to Bengaluru from Kuwait after the Gulf War broke and mostly ‘because of the city’s lovely weather’. He did his schooling at Frank Anthony Public School. “I was a very shy boy in school. My school was really supportive of my sporting career. When they saw me succeeding, they encouraged me and I even got to miss a few exams,” adds Advani with a smile.

When you have a charming personality, with a promising sports career at such a young age, it’s not hard to lose focus. “Since I have to practice, which is both mentally and physically challenging, I have to have a disciplined life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Advani, adding that he loves watching superhero movies when he is not preparing for his tournaments. Apart from his professional career, he is also working towards introducing billiards to different schools in India, where children can get access to proper professional training.

Pankaj Advani, presently in Iran to participate in the Asian Team Snooker and Asian 6 Reds Snooker Championships, speaks about representing India for all these years and how Bengaluru shaped him into the snooker star that he is today.

source/contents: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)