Launch of Amma Samayal - another initiative by Celebrity Chef Dr Vinoth Kumar
Renowned Chef Dr Vinoth Kumar has launched Amma Samayal
What is special about this?
There are quite a few. First and foremost, it is the brainchild of Chef Dr Vinoth and this was inaugurated by Celebrity Chef Mrs Mallika Bardinath and Paati Vaithiyam
The event also witnessed the presence of Mallika Angela, Ghun Jain, Instagrammers Regional Foodie and Chennai Foodie among others.
1. Finest Chefs
2. Hygienic Kitchen
3. Affordable Cost
4. Home made feel food
They serve delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner. While breakfast and lunch are on Takeaway concept as of now, Dinner will also have dine-in option. Since they have good amount of space, people who walk in can sit under the tree, enjoy the nature and have their food.
I tasted Rava Kesari, Idli, Pongal, Vada, Coconut & Hot Chutneys, Sambar, Podi Dosai, Muffins and Donuts.
I was thoroughly impressed with the taste and the quality.
They have a cart like structure wherein you could get your favourite dosas prepared hot and served.
They also have eggless option for muffins/cupcakes and donuts.
Location is given on the description.
Empower and Enrich your knowledge with IBM
IBM is one of the few companies in this world which
engages in empowering the knowledge of its end users. They are constantly
innovating thereby adapting themselves to the ever-changing world. They invest
heavily in the technology which includes the likes of Artificial
Intelligence (AI), Block Chain, Machine Learning (ML), Data Science to name
a few.
Why
is this so important?
Technology
has been the frontrunner across various sectors wherein it has helped not just
the company which is deploying it but the entire Nation/World to reap the
benefits that is arising out of it.
Consider
the following examples:
1.
Constructing a
building with the help of 3-D Print technology. This has enhanced the speed and
the capability of the engineers. The output is more accurate and appealing
2.
Weather
Forecasting. Unlike earlier, countries were able to predict the weather and its
aftermath more accurately. This helps in averting major disaster by making the
nation equipped with all the requirements to combat the storm/floods.
These
are just couple of examples which flashed in my mind as soon as I thought about
the usage of technology which augments the human life and behavior.
There
is a famous saying “Change is Constant”. Since companies like IBM are in
the Technology space, it comes to them naturally where they invest heavily on
it. By doing this, they not only help themselves but the World as a whole. Speaking about technology and its uses, I am
sure you would have come across their famous “Call for Code” campaign
which sees some of the brightest minds from across the globe competing actively
to prove their mettle and see them bagging the coveted title along with the
cash prize of USD5,000. The theme for each year gets changed as per that
particular year’s requirement and this year, the winner who bet on AI Farming
has bagged the title. You could see more about this by clicking here
The
ideas that were incubated found its light through this campaign which otherwise
would have remained a dream. When you get a platform which only recognises your
idea but also help you in achieving it, will you not be taking the first step
to move towards it? Technology is playing a vital role wherein the developer
could come out with most sustainable and actionable solutions for a greater
support to the mankind.
Having
discussed about all the above, we should also look into some ground level
reality. Not all could afford to undertake courses to sharpen their skills due
to their financial commitments or otherwise. To make this process simpler and
affordable to all, IBM is also offering FREE Courses.
YES.
You read it right!
They
are offering courses on:
- 1.
Cloud
- 2.
Data Science
Foundation
- 3.
Python for Data
Science
- 4.
Deep Learning
- 5. Setting Up Your Own Chatbot
- 6. Introduction to Containers, Kubernetes and Open Shift
Doesn’t
this sound interesting to you? If yes, all you need to do it to enroll
yourselves by heading over to this website
IF
you ask, why you need to do this and what is in it for you, consider these
pointers.
- a. These courses
are offered absolutely FREE of cost.
- b.
These are
self-paced courses which means you can progress at your own pace.
- c.
Certification
from IBM which is recognized globally.
- d.
Empower
yourself with the practical knowledge.
- e.
Implement them
and make your dream become a reality.
When
there is such an opportunity available right in front of you, would you think
twice to grab it? You do not get something of great value for FREE but when
there is one, you need to grab it before it is gone. Do you agree with me?
Spend
your holidays in a productive way by
enhancing your skills with these beautifully curated courses.
Author Focus - Amit Sati(Author of "Lo-Fi + Mashups: A Journey of Continuance")
1.What motivates you to write?
For me writing is all about documenting my thoughts collected by interacting with others and myself. A compelling incident or discussion with people around me or a news article or something like that could really motivate me to write it down. I am still new into professional writing, so things are still edgy and that looks pretty reasonable to me.
2. How did you feel after publishing your books?
After publishing my first book, it would be difficult to simply say I am happy. It felt like many emotions rushing across my mind for days. I was excited and happy, but more stressed about the fate of that book, scared about reviews, and a bit relieved that finally I published a book.
3. What are some of your favourite novels and authors?
I think Franz Kafka and Albert Camus are my favourite authors these days. The writing style of Kafka is so striking and moving that it takes a long time just processing the content. Camus’ objective writing style, which leads to the philosophy of Absurdism is still refreshing and fulfilling, even though he wrote almost half century ago.
4. What inspired you to write the books(in general)? Any tales to tell…
I must thank Covid-19 outbreak if it comes to my actual inspiration to complete my first book. There has been so much time staying at home that my casual writing was propelled and in just few months my Google notes app was filled with poems. At that moment, I realised, I should get these published to clean up my notes app.
5. What was your biggest learning experience throughout the writing process?
It’s a bit easy to write than to talk about it. At times, it becomes difficult to explain few emotions to people around us but easy to write it down.
6. Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break in as a writer?
Still too early to say anything.
7. Any future books that you would like to discuss now?
I have already started working on my second book, it’s a fiction. It revolves around the life of a war refugee woman. The book will talk about her emotional journey to survive everyday in a new city all alone. There are emotional, ethical and physical challenges that she has to fight every day.
8.Do you write the story at a stretch or you take your time to complete it? If you take a longer time, wouldn’t you be forgetting the story? How do you tackle it?
I don’t write at a stretch for sure. But yes, I try to finish the part that I am think about in a stretch. Because I still haven’t written a story as such so, I can take the liberty of writing in bits and pieces.
9.How is the response so far for the book?
To be very frank, not a lot of people has purchased my first book. It’s only friends and family that I was able to convince to read my book. Everyone looks impressed, most of them would be shy to really criticize. Mostly people are happily surprised that I actually wrote a book. I will wait for the book to reach the wider audience and find out more about how people feel about it in coming days.
PR - Launching of FRUITS Portal - an initiative of e-Governance Department
Chennai, 22nd December 2020: A function was organized on 22 December 202 , wherein the “FRUITS”(Farmer Registration and Unified Beneficiary Information System) Portal, a project of e-Governance, Government of Karnataka was inaugurated.
Delivering the key note address, Ms. A. Manimekhalai, Executive Director, Canara Bank, observed that Karnataka State Government has always been in the forefront of technical initiatives to improve the ease of Banking as can be seen from the various initiatives like BHOOMI Package, Debt Waiver Portal and currently, the FRUITS Portal. The FRUITS Portal is integrated to the BHOOMI Package of the Karnataka State for fetching and validating the land details. One other important facility of this Portal is online creation of charge by which visit of farmers to Sub-Registrar Office is avoided. She thanked the Karnataka State Government and NABARD for identifying our Bank for launching the pilot project and assured that they will take all necessary steps to make the Project, a success.
Speaking on the occasion, Sri Rajeev Chawla, Additional Chief Secretary, e-Governance, Government of Karnataka informed that this is the latest initiative from the Government of Karnataka to bring all the farmers in the State with land and other details to a single Portal. In this Portal, all the farmers will be registered and given a FID Number. Using this number, the Financial Institutions and Lending Institutions can access the land details of the farmers as well as their borrowings and take a quick decision on lending to the farmers depending on their requirements. It is hoped that Bankers will find this initiative, a very useful one. He also lauded Canara Bank for agreeing to take up the Project on a pilot basis. Once the same is found successful, all other Financial Institutions will be brought on to the Portal so that at one place, all the data pertaining to the loans of the farmers will be available.
Sri Niraj Verma, Chief General Manager & Head of Karnataka Regional Office, NABARD informed that NABARD is always in the forefront to enable improvements in the living standards of farmers by taking initiatives in various fronts such as providing refinance at cheaper rates to Societies and RRBs etc. He also informed that FRUITS Portal is the first of its kind in the country wherein the land and other details of all the farmers in the State are being captured and he hoped that this Project should serve as a role model to other States in the country. Karnataka, being the IT Hub of the country, always had tech-enabled initiatives and this FRUITS Portal is one such proposal from the Government. He also appreciated Canara Bank for accepting the pilot Project and hoped that soon all financial institutions will be onboarded to the Portal so as to have a single data source of the farmers. He thanked Department of e-Governance, Government of Karnataka for spearheading this initiative.
The gathering was welcomed by Dr K U Viswanathan, General Manager, NABARD and vote of thanks was proposed by Sri K.R. Badrinath, Deputy General Manager, Canara Bank.
About Canara Bank:
Widely known for customer centricity, Canara Bank was founded by Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, in July 1906, at Mangaluru, then a small port town in Karnataka. Canara Bank is the fourth-largest public sector bank in the country after its amalgamation with Syndicate
Bank in April 2020. At present, it is functioning with 10,498 Branches, and 13,023 ATMs throughout. The Bank has gone through various phases of its growth trajectory over the hundred years of its existence. The growth of Canara Bank was phenomenal, especially after nationalization in the year 1969, attaining the status of a national level player in terms of geographical reach and clientele segments. In June 2006, the Bank completed a century of operation in the Indian banking industry. The eventful journey of the Bank has been characterized by several memorable milestones. Today, Canara Bank occupies a premier position in the comity of Indian banks.
PR - Store, Save & Share in India, says Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, launches Digiboxx - India's first indigenous Digital Asset Management platform
Chennai, 22.12.2020: DigiBoxx is India’s first digital management provider. I am very glad on how this offering has evolved from a mere concept, just an idea to an actual product which will greatly benefit Indian citizens as well as private and government institutions, when it comes to providing digital storage and asset management services. The development of DigiBoxx, in many ways is a testimony to kind of impact the tech start-ups in India are making and kind of role they should play in enabling to make rapid technological advances in the post COVID era. I am very happy to know that DigiBoxx offers digital file storage and organization by providing an easy secured way to store data, all on an Indian digital storage cloud. The development of DigiBoxx is also in line with a mandate of storing data within the country and therefore ensure data sovereignty and security. We have been working with the private sector to develop cutting-edge security products which would enable our country to lead in the post COVID era. Working with the private sector, we were able to develop several products which address themes ranging from financial inclusions to making higher education accessible to all. Therefore, I am indeed very proud when I see young technopreneurs taking the lead and working towards solidifying India’s future as the product, artificial intelligence and technology lab of the world. With over 600 million connections, India is the largest consumer broadband in the world. 500 million + are using smart phones. India is world’s highest data usage for smart phone at an average 9.8 GB per month and the number is set to nearly double by 2024. Not to forget the availability of mobile data at cheapest cost. There lies an opportunity to proliferate the citizens and ensure that the government services reach the last mile. In fact a lot of e-governance initiatives throughout the country have been deployed as cloud services at digital India programme and this is the growing need for cloud services in order to significantly improve infrastructural bottle lines. The pandemic has further boosted the need for a robust and ubiquitous digital asset management services in India in the same way as monetization boosted digital payment.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will present here today’s testimony to the fact that NITI Aayog and the Government have been an active participant in enabling innovations and developing new frontier solutions. NITI Aayog, along with AWS has launched the frontier technologies, cloud innovation centre, a public-private partnership which would address societal challenges through digital innovations. At the same time, the government’s vision of cloud 2022 is aimed at making India a global hub for cloud storage, management and computing. To the team at DigiBoxx, we, at the Government of India, are indeed very proud of what you’ve been able to achieve. Start-ups such as yours will provide the boost for India to take the lead of post COVID era which will be driven by transformational technology solutions. I would also urge people as well as institutions to try DigiBoxx, India’s fully homegrown data storage and asset management service. This prouduct is a great achievement for our country and entrepreneurs and we must not only support DigiBoxx but also search innovations which are unique to India and are driven by young and promising technology leaders. I would once again like to congratulate the DigiBoxx team and wish them all the best and all the success for their product. I am sure that the people will avail your service and give your product a try. I look forward to more innovative solutions from you and all the other start-ups of the country. We are all here to provide you all the support, assistance and hand-holding. Thank you very much.
Book Review - Shall we Tango, Charlie?
There are only very few books out
of hundreds and thousands out there which celebrates womanhood and portray the
character as a protagonist. This title is one such and unlike others, the
subject that was handled in this beautiful novel is about the lives of the
women who chose an unlikely profession – to be in the Indian Air Force.
This story discusses in great
detail about the pressure and other unlikely circumstances which the women has
to go through in the job which begins with vigorous training and how they brave
it and overcome. I loved the way the story had flowed from the beginning till
the end which shows the two faces of a woman – Soft and Hard nature.
Soft nature when it comes to
personal/family affairs and Hard nature when it comes to handling the
challenges in the work front. This book carries the spirit of hopes, love,
affection, determination and all other characters which flows naturally through
the lead character Ahana Lamba.
Ahana Lamba gets selected
along with Dana Dixit, Priya Shetty and few others to be inducted as a
Garud Commando in the IAF (Indian Air Force). Though she considered Dana as her
arch nemesis, they soon become good friends and complement each other when the
training was imparted. Priya Shetty on the other hand was a soft-spoken girl
whose grit was brought out by Ahana and Dana.
Ahana had lost her parents and
was raised by her Uncle Ranjeet and Aunt Shashi in the U.K. She has a carefree
attitude and is an expert in Krav Maga and other Martial Arts. Dana too had
lost her father and her uncle considered her as a disgrace since he never thought that she
could make it to the military force (since her entire lineage served the Indian
Military in various capacities).
When they were getting trained up
in BTI, Wing Commander James Matthews tries to act smart but he gets it
back royally from Ahana.
What did she do?
Ahana was suppose to become the
first ever female Garud Commando but chooses to extend her training at GRTC for
another 40 weeks.
Why did she choose to extend it?
Wing Commander Tej Randhawa
was heading GRTC and Ahana gets trained by Flight Lieutenant Suri who
was nick named Maverick by Ahana. This 40 weeks of extended training with each
of the 10 training – in Desert, Jungle, High Altitude, Paratrooping and others
were such an intimidating task to clear.
Did Ahana clear these vigorous
training modules?
It was really interesting to read
the face-off between Latif Squad headed by Dana and Katre Squad
headed by Ahana. Which squad emerged victorious?
While everything was going fine,
Ahana meets Aamir Hussein under an unusual circumstance. He and his girlfriend
Miriam become close to her. There was some hidden secret behind Aamir.
What was it?
Like I mentioned earlier, this
book has the right proposition of all that is required for a novel and will
have you captivated from the beginning till the end. I would surely recommend
this novel.
This book is available on Amazon in paperback format.
Author Focus - Kanika Singhal(Author of " Rage Of The Immortals : The Caretakers")
1.What
motivates you to write?
I write because it is fun.
I enjoy the process of creating scenes and dialogues in my head and then
putting them down in writing. I enjoy coming back to old pieces and re-reading
them, editing them, making them better, or deleting them altogether. I enjoy reading
a twist, even when it is my own writing so I know what's coming. Sometimes I
wake up in the middle of the night, a chapter already in my head and I know
that if I don't write it immediately, it will be gone by morning. Having said
that, a lot of writing involves spade-work, the fillers and the connections
between chapters, which are not as much fun, but still need doing. You do it
because until you do, the story is not complete for sharing with others.
Details that you take for granted in your head, still need to be put to paper
for others to enjoy your work as much as you do.
2. How did
you feel after publishing your books?
Before publishing, I had
honestly thought that my work is over. I can wrap up this book and just focus
on the next. I can already hear seasoned authors laughing! Post-publishing has
been a lot of work as well. It was surprising that people don't automatically
come to know of your book, don't automatically trust you enough to read your
work. Looking back, it should have been obvious! It has been a learning curve
and I am thankful to all the people who took the time to explain the
nitty-gritties to me.
3. What
are some of your favourite novels and authors?
Terry
Pratchett is my all time favourite! Jeffrey Archer, JK Rowling are authors I
grew up with. Bankim Chandra and Devkinandan Khatri are authors I read in my
childhood but I still remember how I felt reading some of those stories. I
specially liked Devkinandan Khatri-ji's style of always keeping the reader in
suspense. I feel if I can write even half as well as any of these, I will
consider myself a success as a writer.
4. Is
there a specific reason for naming your novel?
Yes, I am so glad you
asked. There is a dual reason for the name of the book. The first is that the
book revolves around the enmity between two immortals, and how everyone else
just becomes pawns in their games. The second is that the book introduces
Emotions as sentient beings, and Rage is one of the main characters.
5. Where
do you write from? Do you go to some specific place, like beachside or the
hills?
I wish! No, I write
whenever I can get a few minutes to myself. I write on my phone, a few
sentences at a time usually. Longer blocks of writing need to be arranged
around my day-job and my kids. I can either write or binge-watch a series.
Sometimes I choose one, sometimes the other. That's why this book has taken
almost four years to complete!
6. What was
your biggest learning experience throughout the writing process?
That you can't wait for the
stars to align. You can't wait till the conditions are just right to put down
that first sentence, to tell your story.
The second is that your story
grows with you as a person, so something you write today might seem silly by
the time you end. Your language also grows better, stronger. That's why I can't
emphasize the importance of self-editing and getting the assistance of a
professional editor, enough. Those can make or break your work. Also, you
should have good beta-readers who can give you an honest opinion on what works
and what does not.
7. Any best
piece of writing advice that you would like to share with new or
struggling writers?
I am myself new, still at
the stage of seeking advice. I would not presume to give others any, except to
keep on writing, keep polishing old pieces, keep learning.
8. Something
personal about you people may be surprised to know?
I think one thing that usually surprises people is that I am quite an
introvert, and avoid talking to people, specially strangers. It takes a lot of
mentally kicking myself to make me summon the guts to reach out to people. I
also have a major fear of public speaking, and every meeting, every
presentation in my day-job is an exercise in overcoming that fear.
That's a recurring theme in my book as well - my characters struggle
against innate shortcomings and strive to be better, like Cifer who struggles
against his anger, Kara who struggles against her inner demons and Atom who
struggles to balance the opposing aspects of his personality.
9. Any future
books that you would like to discuss now?
I am working on the next
book in this series. I am calling it "Hell Freezes Over" and it picks
up from "Rage of the Immortals'.
10. What other
profession excites you the most?
I really like my day-job a
lot. I am a business analyst and that is something I quite enjoy doing.
11. Any special
mention about your reader (be it with reviews/feedback or anything else)
Yes! Please read the book
and let me know what you think - Do you like it? What parts do you like best?
Was there anything that especially resonated with you, or you found especially
interesting?
My instagram is
rage.of.the.immortals
My facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/RageOfTheImmortals
I am on twitter as https://twitter.com/KanikaSinghal_
12. Do you
write the story at a stretch or you take your time to complete it? If you take
a longer time, wouldn’t you be forgetting the story? How do you tackle it?
I took quite long,
specifically 4 years from start to finish. I had to work around my day-job and
daily responsibilities, but I wrote small bits at a time to finish the book.
You are right, there is a risk of forgetting the story, and that's why I had to
spend a lot of time re-reading the book at interim stages so ensure the
coherence of the book.
13. Traditional
or Self-Publishing? Why?
I self-published, mostly
because I was so glad to have finished the book and so eager to get it off my
hands so that I could start on the next one.
14. How is the
response so far for the book?
The response has been
great! People who have read the book have been reaching out to me to tell me
how much they enjoyed it. It gives me great pleasure to hear their thoughts and
their praise for something I have worked on for so long. It took me 4 years to
build this book, but now the four years seem quite well spent!
PR - First Ever Applied Theatre Conference in India Grabbed International Attention
Applied Theatre is a creative process which can be used in diverse sectors with different kinds of stakeholders such as schools, Government & Non-Government Organizations, Businesses, Social and Community Development etc. To explore the practices and potentials in India Applied Theatre India Foundation organized India’s first ever virtual conference on ‘Role of Applied Theatre in Indian Society’ which took place on 12th and 13th December 2020. The conference was supported by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi.
The conference was inaugurated by the hands of Shri Dinesh Patnaik, Director General, ICCR and in the presence of Dr. Swaroop Sampat – Rawal and Shri Kaustubh Bankapure, Director, Applied Theatre India Foundation. Shri Kaustubh said, ‘The purpose of Applied Theatre is to make people aware about their real issues and help them explore the best possible way to deal with it. Applied Theatre is gaining importance worldwide because it deals with a tremendous amount of hope and possibility of exploration to deal with issues in a very positive way. It’s a high time now that Applied Theatre should be introduced as a mainstream area of study supported by solid research by the practitioners and the virtual conference is the first step towards formalizing the Applied Theatre study in India.’
Shri Patnaik said, ‘This is a new concept and this needs more elaboration. I am happy to see that we are getting together through this conference to see how Applied Theatre touches all of us in our everyday life. We will continue to do this kind of conferences in future also.’ Dr. Swaroop Sampat – Rawal from Mumbai delivered a key note speech on ‘The Magic of Drama in Education’ and Dr. Sanjoy Ganguly from Janasanskriti, Kolkata delivered a valedictory speech on ‘Theatre, an Art of Creating Connection’.
Ravi Ramswamy, Radhika Jain, Srividya Srinivas (Bangalore), Manasee Mahajan, Mahrukh Bharucha, Vaibhav Lokur (Pune), Dr. Nilesh Parekh and Ms. Priyal Shah, Dakxin Bajarange (Ahmedabad), Saket Raje (Mumbai), Dr. Selina Busby (London), Abhishek Goswami (Jaipur) and Dr. Sarah Saddler (USA) participated virtually and presented their research papers in this conference. These papers discussed various Applied Theatre subjects such as theatre in education, theatre of the oppressed, playback theatre, special education need, National Education Policy, Theatre in Corporate and storytelling. The conference were attended by more than 15,000 viewers from India, UK, USA, Brazil, Germany and Australia.
Kaustubh Bankapure added further, ‘The conference presentations are available on Applied Theatre India Foundation’s YouTube channel and all the research papers will be available in the form of an E-book which will be available for free.’
Reference links:-
https://www.facebook.com/appliedtheatreindia/
https://youtube.com/channel/UCqJSmZc-9-tjX8W3SHENLqw