Articles by Navya P K

Navya PK is a freelance journalist based in Kerala. She covers stories on environment, health and human rights. She has previously worked with Citizen Matters, Deccan Herald and The New Indian Express.

Vasu Dixit, Bangalore-based music composer-vocalist-guitar player for the folk-fusion band Swarathma, has recently turned music-director with his first movie Bengaloored. The 90-minute English movie directed by Swaroop Kanchi features Kannada actors and has received good reviews both for its music and performances. From humble beginnings in 2002, Swarathma has grown to be one of the major fusion bands in the city now. After regrouping in 2006, the six-member band’s first music album, also called Swarathma, was released in 2008. Their second album was Soundpad Sessions, a project by UK Producer John Leckie, in which they were featured as one of…

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Amidst all the excitement of the FIFA World Cup, Bangalore had its own mini world cup tournament last week, with players representing France and Spain fighting it out in the finals on Sunday. The KIPSTA Cup football tournament ended with two ‘France’ teams - Rootsports (representing Bangalore based sports management firm Root Sports) and BSSF (Bangalore School Sports Federation) - winning the cup in the Senior and Under-15 categories respectively. The runners-up in the two categories were ARM Technologies Pvt Ltd and SPT (from SPT Sports Academy) respectively. Kipsta cup U15 team in action. Pic: Navya P K. A small…

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Even though Bangalore does not have many professional clubs, the game is increasingly becoming popular, according to observers. “Over the last decade there has been lot of exposure to football through the broadcast of international matches on TV and internet. There are many sports camps and private academies now and people are taking to these,” says Sunil Kumar K, Player at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Football Club and former Captain of the State Football Team.Ramesh B, an upcoming player, says, “Earlier even though I had interest in the game, I couldn’t get much exposure and faced difficulties. Three years back…

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Dr Shyamala Mani, Associate Professor at the Centre for Neurosciences (CNS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), was conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the French Government on June 14th, 2010. The award, given to individuals for their contribution to academia and education, was awarded to Dr Shyamala for her research on neonatal lesions and the effects of malnutrition on the fetal brain. Dr Shyamala Mani. Pic credit: cns.iisc.ernet.in. Originally hailing from Vellore, Dr Shyamala completed her graduation in Psychology from Delhi University and then went on to complete her Master…

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Next time, if ever an emergency occurs in your area, you need not be a silent spectator because of the sole reason that you are not trained to tackle such situations. Civil Defence (CD), an organisation that is not so well known but is increasingly becoming popular in the city, enables citizens to actively respond in case of emergencies. CD is a government organisation functioning according to the Civil Defence Act, 1968. Civil Defence Act, 1968The act provides the basis for the formation of Civil Defence Corps, which it empowers to take any action - not amounting to actual combat…

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The first year of BJP administration in the state has been marked by lack of democratic process and increased corruption and violence, according to a report by DAKSH, an independant civil society group. The report assesses the overall functioning of Karnataka state government from June 2008 to November 2009.  The detailed master report was released in January 2010 while the summary report was available a month earlier. The report was compiled from data obtained through RTI applications, annual reports of government departments, newspapers and reports by various national agencies and NGOs. Daksh 2009 Review of the Karnataka Govt. The Daksh…

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