Monthly Archives: September 2018

Telugu Bible turns 200

The cover page of the New Testament that was first translated and printed in Telugu in 1818. | Photo Credit: Special Arangment

It was translated in Vizag and West Bengal

On September 30, based on a resolution adopted by the United Nations, the world celebrates the International Translation Day (ITD). It is observed in honour of fifth century St. Jerome, a priest from northeastern Italy, who was the first to translate the Bible (New Testament) into Latin from Greek manuscripts. He also translated parts of the Hebrew Gospel into Greek.

The ITD has a unique connection with Visakhapatnam. The churches in the city will be celebrating this year the 200th year of the translation of Bible from original Greek to Telugu.

First attempt
The first attempt to translate the Bible (New Testament) was made by one Rev. Benjamin Schulz (1689-1760) some time in the mid-1760s, and the manuscripts were sent to Germany for printing, but it was not printed and the manuscripts were lost.

The second serious attempt was made simultaneously at Vizagapatam (as Visakhapatnam was then called) and Serampore, then unified Bengal, some time around 1805-1806.

Telugu Pandit’s role
In Serampore, the project of translation was led by Rev. William Carey of the Baptist Missionary Society. In Visakhapatnam, young Christian missionaries of London Missionary Society Rev. Augustus De Granges and Rev. George Cran took up the work of translating the Bible from original Greek to Telugu. The missionaries in Vizagapatnam were assisted by a local Telugu Pandit Anandarayar.

The untimely death of both Granges (1809) and Cran (1810), however, did not deter Anandarayar from pursuing the work of translation under the guidance of Rev. John Gordon and Rev. Edward Pritchett, said V. Edward Paul of INTACH.

“The first three gospels out of four translated in Vizagapatam were sent to Rev. Carey in Serampore and the translation work continued simultaneously at Serampore and Visakhapatnam. The full extent of translation was completed with the fourth gospel, letter and acts and sent to then Madras Presidency for expert opinion of Rev. Thompson and Mr. Campbell, a reputed Telugu scholar in the Presidency. It was certified and then printed in 1818, and that makes the translation 200 years old, as of today,” said Mr. Edward Paul. The Bible that was printed in 1818 in Madras Presidency is today considered the authentic Bible and has undergone several revisions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Visakhapatnam – September 28th, 2018

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Nasscom to host first SME conclave in Kolkata

Kolkata :

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) on Thursday said it will host its first international SME conclave here on January 10-11, 2019, to provide entities an opportunity to establish a business connect.

The two-day conclave will be attended by over 2,500 delegates, 100 chief information officers, while over 200 companies will showcase their products and solutions, the association’s SME Council Chairman Kamal Agarwala said.

Small and medium enterprises constitute about 80 per cent of the association’s membership and they contribute about 20 per cent of the total software exports of the country, according to industry sources.

source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> The News Scroll / September 27th, 2018

Winners of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology 2018 announced

Dr Aditi Sen De is the only female winner this year
On the occasion of its foundation day, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has put out the list of recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for 2018.

Every year, several scientists below the age of 45 are selected from various institutions across the country and awarded for their outstanding scientific work in the last five years.

Here is the full list of winners this year in various categories

Category Winner Affiliation

Biological Sciences
Dr Ganesh Nagaraju IISc Bengaluru
Dr Thomas Pucadyil IISER Pune

Chemical Sciences
Dr Rahul Banerjee IISER Kolkata
Dr Swadhin Kumar Mandal IISER Kolkata

Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences
Dr Madineni Venkat Ratnam National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Tirupati

Dr Parthasarathi Chakraborty CSIR-NIO, Goa

Engineering Sciences
Dr Amit Agrawal IIT Bombay
Dr Ashwin Anil Gumaste IIT Bombay

Mathematical Sciences

Dr Amit Kumar IIT Delhi
Dr Nitin Saxena IIT Kanpur

Medical Sciences
Dr Ganesan Venkatasubramanian NIMHANS, Bengaluru

Physical Sciences
Dr Aditi Sen De Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad
Dr Ambarish Ghosh IISc Bengaluru

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech / by The Hindu Net Desk / September 26th, 2018

Paintings that pioneered modern art in India to get a permanent gallery in Kolkata

Victoria Memorial Hall is all set to unlock a set of 5,000 paintings from the Bengal School that paved the path of modernism in Indian art.

Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH), one of the museums with the highest footfalls in the country, is all set to unlock a a set of 5,000 paintings from the Bengal School that paved the path of modernism in Indian art.

“This winter we will open a permanent gallery dedicated to this collection. It includes the largest and most important collections of the works of Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore, two of the pioneering figures of modern Indian art,” said Jayanta Sengupta, curator and secretary of VMH.

Notable among this collection are the works by cousins Abanindranath and Gaganendranath, as well as Nandalal Bose. The three are among India’s nine artists of national importance whose works cannot be taken outside the country.

“This collection is one of the most important in the context of Indian modern art because modern art movement in India centred on Kolkata, and this collection comprises works of the formative days,” said Sushobhan Adhikary, art critique and former curator of the museum at Kala Bhavana of Visva Bharati.

The Bengal School art movement that started in the late 19th century led to the development of modern Indian art during the early 20th century.

The 300-odd works of Abanindranath is the most exhaustive collection of his works and include the iconic series on Arabian Nights, Mughal Empire, Mangalkabya and the mask series. Among most famous paintings are ‘Bharat Mata’ (1905) and ‘Passing of Shah Jahan’ (1902), Krishna Lila series and the 12 original illustrations for Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat (1909-1911).

Gaganendranath’s 200-odd works include those of cubist style and his signature-style of satiric works and caricature.

Besides, there are pencil sketches of Jyotirindranath Tagore, Rabindranath’s elder brother whose art influenced the poet’s drawings in his early days.

“The permanent gallery will be a treat for art lovers,” Adhikary added.

“Jyotirindranath had the unique habit of sketching people sitting in front of him and then to get the sketch signed by the person. The collection comprises several dozen of such signed portraits,” said Subhashis Mukherjee, treasurer, Rabindra Bharati Society (RBS).

The collection of about 5,100 paintings, sketches and doodles was in the strong-room of RBS from 1945 to 2011, when it was handed over to VMH on enduring loan.

The authentication and cataloguing was going on over the past six years and is now complete. The framing and mounting has been done afresh in most cases.

The gallery, which is almost ready, will be able to display about 250-300 paintings. The works from the collection will be put on display in turns.

“We already had an exhaustive collection of the Company school of art. Now, we have a great collection of modern Indian art. At present we are equipped to provide one of the best visual documentations in India of late-medieval and modern South Asian history from the late 17th century to the middle of the 20th century,” Sengupta said.

Among other important artists in this treasure trove are Mukul Dey, Radha Charan Bagchi and Sunayani Devi, Asit Haldar, Sudhir Khastagir and Sarada Ukil – all important personalities of Bengal art.

There is also a set of about 100 paintings of ‘unknown artists’, belonging to the Bengal school and the Rajput school.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Kolkata / by Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times / September 19th, 2018