• ITC e-Choupal Wins Award
• India's UTV in $10-mn Deal With NY Firm
• NRI Doc Among 10 Outstanding Young Americans
• Indian America to Get Top Ten Outstanding Young
• UK Awards For TCS
• Age Old Mantra: Vedic ed Schools

• Young 'uns Make The Grade
• Sadhu Spreads Vedas in South Africa
• Picture This: Country's First Art Fund's Here
• 'Water' Creates Ripples at Toronto Film Fest
• India Could have Been Cradle of Civilisation

ITC has become the first Indian company and the second in the world to win the prestigious Development Gateway Award.It won the $1,00,000 Award for the year 2005 for its trailblazing ITC e-Choupal initiative which has achieved the scale of a movement in rural India. The Development Gateway Award recognises ITC's e-Choupal as the most exemplary contribution in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development during the last 10 years. ITC e-Choupal won the Award for the importance of its contribution to development priorities such as poverty reduction, its scale and replicability, sustainability and transparency. As the largest information technology-based corporate initiative in rural India, ITC e-Choupal was chosen from 135 nominations from across the world.

Courtesy: The Statesman, September 22, 2005

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The Bengal art scene is throwing up a fresh set of artists who have begun to make a mark on the price front. These painters, according to market sources, are names both collectors and investors can look out for in the future. "There was a lull in the Bengal art market after the impact created by some of the senior contemporary artists like Ganesh Pyne, Bikash Bhattacharjee or later Jogen Chowdhury. While some of the younger artists are still to discover an effective style, a clutch of painters have struck out with originality. This has started showing in the prices that they are fetching too," art market The names in the pack that have begun triggering a ripple effect are Kartick Pyne, Jaya Ganguly, Samir Aich, Chandra Bhattacharjee, Aditya Basak and Arindam Chatterjee.Jaya Ganguly's paintings, which are an extension of expressionism, are pegged between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000, while a large Samir Aich canvas is priced at Rs 1 lakh. Chandra Bhattacharjee's acrylic on canvas is going for Rs 75,000-150,000, with Arindam Chatterjee's abstract creations hovering in the region of Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh. In tandem, Aditya Basak's post-modernist tempera works are drawing price levels of Rs 60,000-85,000 and Kartick Pyne is attracting prices of Rs 50,000-100,000.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, September 21, 2005

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Indian broadcaster UTV Software Communications Ltd. said on Monday its animation unit, UTV Toonz, has signed a $10 million deal with New York's BKN New Media Inc.

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, September 20, 2005

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A Bangalore-based organisation is helping South African Indians rediscover their roots. Along the way, it has picked up native South Africans who have chosen the Hindu way of life. A South African youth from the warrior Zulu tribe goes with the name Halakanda, a title of Lord Shiva. Alfred Halakanda, 25, wears the sacred thread and chants the Gayatri Mantra daily. He will learn the Vedas and scriptures at Bangalore to further his knowledge of the Hindu way of life, so that he can "spread the message of love and peace" among his people. "He will work among the Zulus. We are planning a mass marriage ceremony with Hindu rites in South Africa. We will be training Halakanda for the purpose," said sadhu Prof. V. Rangarajan, founder-trustee of Bangalore's Sister Nivedita Academy and Bharat Mata Ashramam. Prof. Rangarajan said he was "not in the business of converting Christians" in South Africa. "Hinduism does not believe in conversion. For us, realisation of one's self and identifying with the Almighty is the essence of life. We are helping the Hindus rediscover their roots," said Prof. Rangarajan, who first visited South Africa in 1985, when the Apartheid regime was in place. South Africa has about one million Hindus. According to Prof. Rangarajan, about 200 blacks visit the Sarvadharma Ashramam at Durban every day, and their children come during the weekends. "They perform Rama Likitha Jebam (writing the name of Lord Rama). We presented a computer to a black girl who wrote the name of Rama seven million times. Amichand Rajbansi, minister of sports and recreation, and deputy mayor Logie Naidoo also attended our conferences," he said. Asked about the "Hindu marriages," he said that he had helped a few couples to "remarry" according to Hindu rites. "Their marriages happened in Church and they had just exchanged rings. They wanted to have a full-fledged Hindu marriage and the woman insisted on wearing the mangalsutra," he said. Prof. Rangarajan said that though South Africa had many temples, the Hindus there were not familiar with traditions and poojas. "We are teaching them," he said. He has initiated a few South Africans into sanyas. For instance, Paul was renamed Balasimha Bharati and took sanyas. Basil Naidu became Tulsidas, renounced life and joined the Life Divine Society. "He is now Swami Ramakripananda," Prof. Rangarajan said.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, September 19, 2005

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Indian American doctor Vikram Sheel Kumar will join the ranks of former US President Bill Clinton, entrepreneur Henry Ford and rock legend Elvis Presley as a recipient of the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA)" award. Twenty-nine-year-old Vikram, who is an alumnus of Modern School and the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, and the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, will be the first Indian American to receive the award. The honour will be given to him at the 67th TOYA awards ceremony at the World Trade Centre in Boston September 17, for showing leadership and helping people in the healthcare sector. The Junior Chamber of Commerce of the US set up the award in 1938 to felicitate 10 young Americans of 21-40 years of age for their contribution to the society and considered one of the most prestigious recognition programmes in the world. Among prominent personalities who have received the TOYA award in the past are former US presidents John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon, as also former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger. "It is an honour for me, my family and above all the whole country. I just can't express my joy," Vikram's father Vijay Sheel Kumar said. "Vikram helps people in the US through his clinic Dimagi. He provides healthcare to people in South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda and many other countries." Kumar leaves for the US Thursday night to attend the awards event and carries with him a congratulatory note from President APJ Abdul Kalam. "I am sure my son will be thrilled to receive the message from our president." Vikram, who migrated to the US in 1996, was earlier named among the 'World's 100 Top Innovators Under 35' in biotechnology and medicine by the prestigious Technology Review magazine of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The founder of a medical clinic - Dimagi Inc - in Boston, he was honoured by the magazine for his contribution in erasing the boundaries between life sciences and information technologies.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, September 16, 2005

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IT'S probably a first of sorts. Arguably the country's maiden art fund has arrived. Dubbed the Yatra Fund, the fund will be invested in a range of artworks, report Ashoke Nag and Anuradha Himatsingka in Kolkata. This product has been floated by Mumbai's Sakshi Gallery and two venture capitalists, Pravin Gandhi and Sanjay Kumar. Edelweiss Securities is backing this effort by helping to mobilise cash for the fund. "There has been a good deal of talk about setting up art funds. As we gather, Yatra Fund is the first structured art fund. The money raised will be invested in various works of art. An investment committee will advise on the acquisitions. We'll be cautious in our decisions to ensure maximum returns to the investor," Geetha Mehra, director of Sakshi Gallery and Yatra Fund's chief operating officer, told ET. It all began with the sponsors teaming up to form a trust called the Yatra Trust, with a capital of Rs 50 lakh. The trust, in turn, floated the close-ended, private fund with a hold-to-maturity period of four years. According to Ms Mehra, the target is to mop up Rs 15 crore initially. Investors need to cough up a minimum investment of Rs 20 lakh in two tranches. Globally, the concept of art funds is relatively new. An estimate suggests that a little over a dozen art funds have come up in the past two years. Some of the prominent ones include Fine Art Fund, Fernwood and ArtVest. Historically, there is one instance of the British Rail Pension Fund, which invested part of its portfolio in artworks as early as 1974.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, September 15, 2005

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For the first time, a young Indian American doctor has been selected for the top Ten Outstanding Young Americans awards in the US. 29-year-old, Dr Vikram Sheel Kumar would become the first person of Indian origin to get the award when he was bestowed the honour at the 67th TOYA annual awards presentation ceremony at the World Trade Center in Boston, Massachusetts on September 17, a statement said here today. Prominent recipients of this award include Bill Clinton, John D Rockefeller, John F Kennedy, Henry Ford, Robert F Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Elvis Presley and Henry Kissenger. The awards instituted by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, given annually since 1938, sought out the ten young men and women in America aged 21 to 40 years who best exemplify the finest attributes of youthful achievers and was one of the oldest and most prestigious recognition programmes in the world. Dr Vikram has been in news for quite a while for his contributions in the field of medical technology for mass-application. In 2004, Technology Review', the prestigious publication of MIT, named him as one of the world's 100 top innovators under age 35 in biotechnology and medicine for his contribution in erasing the boundaries between life sciences and information technologies. He also received the prestigious 'Technology in the Service of Humanity' award in 2004 from 'Technology Review', for his pioneering work's potential to transform the world. Dimagi created a new generation of information tools and infrastructure that would ultimately improve the quality of healthcare available to anyone, anywhere in the world. Dr Vikram's team built customised solutions that work in resource poor settings and systems that are power efficient and practically robust hardware platforms that ranged from mobile phones to mini-PCs. Dimagi had been at the forefront of developing and deploying systems in rural India, South Africa and Zambia. He was also the recipient of 'Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans', a founding fellow of Media Lab Asia, run at MIT with support from the Indian government, and a member on the advisory board of the Global Emerging Technology Institute.

Courtesy: www.uniindia.com, September 15, 2005

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The 30th Toronto International Film Festival opened with the world premiere gala presentation of 'Water', directed Deepa Mehta. 'Water' is the final film in Mehta's trilogy on the elements, following Fire (1996) and Earth (1998), which both premiered at the festival. We are extremely pleased to have Deepa Mehta open the Toronto International Film Festival for the first time with this extraordinary film," commented Noah Cowan, Festival Co-Director. "The Festival has been a long time supporter of her extraordinary career and she has been a wonderful partner for us in building this Festival and organization." "Canadian filmmakers are creating some of the world's finest cinema," said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group. "The Festival is proud to provide a nuturing, supportive, and inclusive environment for this growth to continue into the future."

Courtesy: Times of India, September 10, 2005

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THE British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, presented the `UK Trade and Investment Special Recognition Award' to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in recognition of the company's contribution to UK's knowledge economy. "For 30 years, TCS has been at the forefront of a process of dynamic change in the way business between India and the UK is conducted. Blending the best of British and Indian know-how and technology, TCS has developed innovative, world-beating techniques to develop high quality services that add value to business plans and efficiency to Government service delivery alike. Along the way, TCS has contributed to the economic success of both the UK and India," Mr Blair said. The award has been instituted to recognise exceptional contribution in business leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK, a TCS release said here.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, September 09, 2005

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Could India's oldest skull be the missing link between early man (Homo erectus) and modern humans (Home sapiens)? The CT-scan report of the 600,000-year-old skull, found by the Geological Survey of India in 1982 from Narmada Valley, may shed a new light on the evolution of man, hope experts. The scan on the skull was carried out at a city hospital on Wednesday. Former GSI (Nagpur) director Arun Sonakia told TOI on Thursday that the scan report might reveal something extremely exciting. "We need some time to interpret the results. However, what we can say now is that it can reveal something very exciting. It can prove that India was also a cradle of civilisation," Sonakia said. According to the modern theory of evolution, the evolutionary lines of apes and early humans diverged around seven million years ago. Some two million years ago, Homo erectus expanded out of Africa into Europe and Asia. Over the next 1.5 million years the populations of these three continents followed different evolutionary courses and became distinct species. Europe's became the Neanderthals, Asia's remained Homo erectus, but Africa's evolved into Homo sapiens, from where it spread again to the rest of the world. Sonakia said the skull was not of a Homo sapiens. Although a morphological study of the skull had been done soon after its discovery, there was no internal study.

Courtesy: The Times of India, September 09, 2005

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Like a blast from the past, a rhythmic chanting of Vedic mantras greets anybody entering the Navi Mandal Veda Vidya Mandir in the heart of Ujjain. Inside, 80 boys, between 8 and 18, in white dhoti and kurta with tricolour angavastrams recite the shlokas in unison. Their heads are shaved, save for a tuft of hair tied in a knot at the back. There are no desks and chairs; pupils sit on the floor to study. In an age when children surf the Net and dream of careers in the Silicon Valley, these kids are preparing to become priests. In this ancient holy city, a three-hour drive from Bhopal, there are several schools where students are taught the Vedas so they may become priests in the temples or pundits of 'dharmashastra'.

Courtesy: The Times of India, September 05, 2005

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