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The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Writers must serve a social purpose.

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267 Jan. I am back to ubuntu. Back.
I got a taste of ubuntu almost two years ago. I liked it so much, that I moved the entire Community Radio SARANG 107.8FM Studio set up to ubuntu. But there were a few issues – which forced me back to Microsoft. Hence found a middle-path – some ubuntu, some windows, and some both!
A couple of months ago, my lappy started troubling me – some hardware problems. While working on its hardware and drivers, Ubuntu naturally had to make way for windows alone! Well, the monopolizer never sleeps, (do they say?)! That’s what happened.
And when someone who could help me with windows, failed to, I took it upon myself to go back to Ubuntu, at least on my lappy, and at least for now!

In the bargain, I had to learn quite a bit. Learnt to create a live USB. Learnt to create a live CD. Configurations. Setting….and what else!? Substantial.
It’s linux based, and is stable. Gives much variety. It’s free! It’s open! It’s “quite easy” to begin with! I am sure, I will be at ease in some time!

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26 Jan.It’s 63rd Republic Day of India. A day when our country celebrates diversity. Hails unity. Appreciates variety. Respects difference.
Sad though some mischief makers just don’t tolerate it.
Mangalore has been a hotbed of mischievous activity since 2008. The year is very significant for the political ramifications in the state and also the country, if you remember the unfortunate events and tyranny unleashed by certain elements on hapless sections of society.
But the government and its goons which enjoyed power unlimited, never slept peacefully. Every moment they sensed others as aliens. Have been. Political bosses manipulated and used some goons and thugs to their political motives. A few extreme rightists played hide and seek. They have been.
Mantra: Attack the innocent and the weak. If it succeeds, claim credit for it, and also enjoy mundane political benefits. If the plot foils, blame it on “former members” of the organisation!
There is a Konkani saying, “you pretend to beat, I pretend to cry!” That’s what they have been doing.

Fast forward three years.
The rightist government is not at ease, due to its own sharp contradictions, greed for power and identity crisis of the impending court proceedings and elections. So, one needs to divert attention of the public and cheat them! Eh? Lest the public should chastise the erratic government and unscrupulous politicians!
There have been attacks on the innocents and weaker communities in Karnataka day in and day out. All false and baseless allegations. The usual conversion bogie. Cow slaughter trumpets. ‘Aliens” fears. Manufactured “Pakistan” phobia, etc.
Most heinous of these was when the members of the extreme right organisation Sri Rama Sene’s failed attempt to incite communal riots in north Karnataka! A week ago, the mischievous gang members planted Pakistani flag on a Tahsildar’s office, and tried blaming it on Muslims. But to their bad luck, they were immediately nabbed, by our otherwise inefficient and right-leaning police force.
Muthalik, of Pink Cheddy notoriety,first pointed fingers at RSS. Then when he got rapped on his knuckled, he attacked Muslims. By then police had arrested a few of his gang with evidence!

Before that there was Haleyangadi incident – where right-wing members attacked a private Christmas celebration of some Christian splinter group. But the police bought the saffron version of “conversion” in a private house! Christmas celebration! The trouble makers got scot-free.
Before that there were unfortunate stone pelting incidents at grottos and statues of mainline Catholic places. No action! Police officers simply washed off their hands with flimsy excuses! Inefficiency and right-leanings at their worst!
In December 2012, there was the unfortunate incident in Puttur. Some bajran dal members beat up muslim youth by mistake (actually, muslim boys and Christian girls were together; but the saffronists mistook for Hindu girls and attacked). When the local police officer taught a lesson to the trouble makers, the officers were promptly transferred! Not a qualm of conscience! That’s our political bosses!
And now, four days ago in Uppinangady (a bit away from Bantwal), the unfortunate incident of communal attacks, after Hindu Samajotsava. At the end of the violence-inciting speeches by (K P) Bhatta of RSS, against Christians and Muslims, the majority youth pelted stones at Muslims. There were problems. The mischief mongers are at large. The man who should have been in Tihar jail, is bindaas! Who controls the political bosses and police force!?
It’s unfortunate! If Karnataka and India has to improve, progress and develop, BJP’s most inefficient and corrupt rule must end. The saffron right wing party has proved time and again, all over the country, that it is only capable of dividing communities and the country; that it can only loot resources of people and hold on to the chair, shamelessly! That, citizens can’t hope for justice in a right-wing ruled state!
You need examples? Take Gujarat! Take Karnataka! Take Uttaranchal, take….

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24 Jan. Though late, they are there! The photographs! You would love to see these few captured moments.

Emcees of the Inaugural program - Abhishek & Nivedita

Emcees Abhishek & Nivadita

Environmental Way to Inaugurate the Seminar on "Media & Environment"

Principal inaugurating, planting a sapling

Yours Truly - it is his turn to inaugurate

Convenor of the Seminar - Ms Laxmi Shenoy - giving form to the seminar

The Entire Team as represented on Stage - just the representative!

Principal - in CU - Presidential Address

Paper Presentation by the Faculty - (from your L to R:) Ms Shilpa Singh (Don Bosco, Panji), Dr Eswar Anand (Symbiosis, Pune), Yours Truly (Head, Dept of MCMS, St Aloysius), Mr Gagan Prakash (Symbiosis, Pune), Ms Baby, (SDM, Ujire)

Somethings are not just explicable!

Prof. Sureshnath, Dept of Botony, St Aloysius College - on Global Warming

Euphoria of winning - From Alva's (Ice Breaker)

Ms Anusha, Journalism, B.A., from SAC - receiving the Best RJ award from Fr Francis Almeida, Vice Principal

Honouring Our Nation - National Anthem at the end of the program

Champions' team from Fr Muller's Homeopathic College, Mangalore

Champions with the Hosts MCMS

Ice Breaker from Fr Mullers

The Champions on the dais

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Mangalore: ‘Media Manthan 2012’ at St Aloysius College Concludes.

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Mangalorean.Com- Serving Mangaloreans Around The World!.

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22 Jan. Media Mantha 2012, two-day National Level Seminar, with “Media and Environment” as theme is just over. We are still recovering from it. All the students of Mass Communication and Media Studies (MCMS) are busy with a workshop on Photography, conducted by Gagan Prakash! That’s a good, open-to-learning attitude from our post graduate students of Mass Communication! All of us realise the need -not only to conduct events/ competitions, help others present papers and further knowledge; what about enhancing our own learning (besides the experience of organising)? Workshops and seminars like this are one of the ways to help ourselves. That’s good wishes to my students, intent on learning.
Here are a few photographs for you – Thanks to Violet Pereira for being such a good friend of our Dept of Mass Comm.

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This Editor of www.mangalorean.com, beautifully captured some of the ecstatic moments of Media Manthan 2012, and faithfully sent me those photographs, for your sake!

Hearty congratulations to Ms Laxmi Shenoy (convenor of Media Manthan 2012), Mr Vishal Nayak (staff), Fr Francis K & Miss Tanya Pereira (student coordinators), and all the students who made a success of this seminar and media fiesta.
[Correction: At the end of the second day of the seminar, we had 10 papers presented by the teaching faculty and six papers presented by eight students; one student and two staff missed the bus!]

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20 Jan. That was the launch I was waiting for. Many were, too. Not so much as the glitterati. Not so much as the political bigwigs. If they are there, fine. Not so much as the media publicity. If that is there – so much the better.
But student participation. An intellectual tinge. And that happened. At least that was what I always wished for. Some experts presenting papers. Many students coming forward to make presentations – a claim to academic, intellectual fort hitherto thought of to be “professors’” forte!
Not anymore.
“Media and Environment” – that is the theme of Media Manthan 2012!
One of the young ladies, from a Goa College presented a paper on role and influence of media. For a lecturer just beginning her teaching career, it was so very good. Someone coming from Pune Symbiosis – presenting those two papers – made so much of sense! Someone far off Ujire theorizing on a news magazine’s role in struggle against coca cola definitely keeps hopes still alive!

Probably, the absence of “dignitaries” from politics and entertainment industry only added to focus attention on this all important aspect of intellectual exercise. Seven papers by experts from Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, and Maharashtra, in the morning, with discussions, and then media and environment related competitions for students from all over! It was day full of fun!

Tomorrow is the second and final day of this successful Media Manthan 2012. We have young hopefuls making their presentations, along with a couple of lecturers. It will be followed by second part of the competitions. And then you have valedictory.
This time there will be political presence – Mr Krishna J Palemar (Minister for Environment), Mr Krishna Byregowda (MLA) and Mr Ramanath Rai (MLA). Dont’ miss it. It’s at 4.30pm, Eric Mathais Hall.

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19 Jan. How can you tell an article from an advertisement?

Readers of Monday’s Economic Times, India’s largest-circulation business newspaper, may find that the difference isn’t always clear-cut.

A front-page article in the paper’s Delhi edition, which at first glance looked like a regular news story, read a lot more like an advertisement.

The article, “Move Towards ‘CoreFirst’ Competence,” praises a patented therapy as an “effective evaluation and treatment system that promotes optimum human performance by enhancing body mobility.”

It goes on to say that there are “less than 200” therapists certified with this method world-wide and that, with the help of the Times Group, this therapy is now available in India. The Times Group’s stable includes the Economic Times and the Times of India.

The article extensively quotes the two American “pioneers” of the therapy and says that this is “their first venture outside the U.S.”

It adds that the therapy will be available at VARDAN, a wellness center in New Delhi, which is “an initiative of The Times Group in collaboration with The Institute of Physical Art (IPA), USA.”

A box at the bottom of the story says, “Make your appointment today at VARDAN,” and lists a phone number and the company’s website.

For many, this story may seem like an advertorial—a promotional piece designed to look similar to a news story. Advertisers like advertorials because newspaper readers tend to give more weight to editorial content than to a regular ad, which they either may skip or which lacks the objectivity of journalism.

However, newspapers usually publish advertorials in a font different from their news stories and many papers label the article as advertising so readers don’t mistake it for news.

The Economic Times, like many newspapers, has a policy on advertorials, which they published last week. It said that the paper makes sure that all sponsored content is “clearly distinguishable from the rest of the paper,” adding that “sponsored content is printed in a font different from that used in our news stories. It is also set apart from the regular news pages by its look and feel.”

However, the Economic Times’ VARDAN article appears to have been published in the same font as the rest of the front page and had no visual features that distinguished it from other stories on the page— aside from the TM trademark symbol after CoreFirst.

Ravi Dhariwal, chief executive of Bennett, Coleman & Co., the newspaper’s publisher, told India Real Time in an email that the VARDAN article “is a news report, not an advt/advertorial. No money has been charged for it. We do cover our in-house activities/events/launches in a similar manner.”

In a phone interview, Mr. Dhariwal added that the wellness center is fully owned by Times Group and they are still trying to figure out a business model for this center.

Readers, do you think the article appears to be more like a news story or an advertisement? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

You can follow India Real Time and Shefali on Twitter @indiarealtime and @shefalianand.
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/01/17/is-this-a-news-story-or-an-ad/#

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19 Jan. Sr Augustina D’Souza, of the Sisters of Charity expired on Thursday morning, in Mangalore. She was 84.

Sr Augustine, as she was fondly known, hailed from Shirva parish. Born in 1927, she had six brothers and two sisters. After joining the Sisters of Charity congregation, she made her first profession in 1949. She was a teacher by profession, serving in Bela and Capitanio. In 1975, she also had a brief stint at Mount St Joseph, Bangalore, serving the retreatants for a year.

Sr Augustine retired from active teaching life in 1975.

When -in 1980- St Aloysius College, Mangalore, decided to start a Boys’ Home for the juvenile delinquents as a part of its Centenary Year celebration extension activities, Sr Augustine was drafted by her superiors as the founding mother of the house, and its little boys. The Aloysian Boys Home (ABH) was established in 1982, giving hope and shelter to scores of boys who were either victims of misery, domestic violence, or their own temperament. Hundreds of boys have found a shelter and a meaningful future under the loving care and leadership of Sr Augustine.

Sr Augustina D'Souza

She, along with Fr Leo D’Souza SJ, deeply respected the sensibilities and diversities of its inmates. In 1980′s when a Hindu inmate married, she made arrangements for the marriage to be had according to Hindu rites. A poojari came to solemnize the wedding!
Sr Augustine served the Boys’ Home for 14 long years, with single minded dedication.
In the recent past her health failed, and she was shifted to Casa Gaya, Charity Sisters’ house in Mangalore (Anjelore parish).
Sr Augustine will be given a final farewell on Friday in Anjelore at 4.00pm, IST. May her soul rest in peace.
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