The final round of the National Barista Championship-2016, held recently here, saw baristas employed in various cafes competing to win in seven categories such as ‘Best Signature Drink,’ ‘Best Latte Art’ and ‘Best Communication Skills.’
There were 18 participants from the city. The ‘Platinum Winner’ of the championship will represent India in the World Barista Championship, to be held in Dublin, Ireland, on June 23. The contest, organised by Coffee Board of India, is aimed at identifying skilled baristas and focuses on promoting excellence in coffee value chain, strengthening and encouraging skill development, and promoting cafe culture in India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – March 04th, 2016
A 52 ft. statue of Lord Shiva was installed on the grounds of Sri Rajarajeswari temple in Karnangeri near Madikeri in Kodagu.
Mysuru:
A 52 ft. statue of Lord Shiva was installed on the grounds of Sri Rajarajeswari temple in Karnangeri near Madikeri in Kodagu, here on Friday. As many as 108 Shivalingas brought from Kaashi were also installed around the statue which Madikeri artist, Ravi, took a decade to sculpt.
The 52 ft Shiva statue at Sri Rajarajeswari temple at Karnangeri village near Madikeri (Photo: DC)
The temple, 3 km from Madikeri, attracts thousands of devotees from around the state and country every day ,who arrive here to worship goddess Mangaladevi of Mangaluru. The crowds swell on Tuesdays, Fridays, Mondays and Saturdays, when the goddess is said to fill the temple priest with her aura and resolve the problems of devotees during a holy darshan. A Jaathra Mahothsava of the goddess is held at the temple every first Tuesday of May.
It was in the early 1960s that late Sannaiah Swamy of Thombaththu Mane near Haakathur established the temple at Karnangeri after the goddess reportedly appeared in a dream of his mother-in-law Manjamma. It is said the goddess helped Sannaiah’s ailing father-in-law, Kariappa as well. The statue was installed by Dharmasthala Dharmadhikaari, Sri Veerendra Hegde.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Shilpa P, Deccan Chronicle / March 05th, 2016
The winner, Paras Bindra, will take part in the World Barista Championship, which will be held in Dublin this year
Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint
Bengaluru:
If you are a coffee aficionado and haven’t tasted it yet, order the Kaapi Nirvana the next time you walk into a Café Coffee Day outlet. The iced espresso with its coconut undertones, laced with shards of dark chocolate and topped with whorls of light-as-air whipped cream is delightful. And I’m not the only one who thinks so: it won the silver medal at the 2002 World Barista Championship in Oslo.
Vikram Khurana, who was working with Café Coffee Day when he won the medal nearly 15 years ago and was a judge at the 2016 National Barista Championship held in Bengaluru on 25-27 February, says that the coffee culture in India has evolved considerably since then.
“We are the sixth largest producer of coffee, but only one-third of what we produce gets consumed here. However, recently I have noticed there are a lot more cafes opening up in tier 2 and 3 cities here,” he says, “It is a good thing—coffee helps people get more connected.”
The energetic wave of applause that greets 20-year-old Nahid Khan, one of the finalists at the competition, seems to confirm it. With a shy smile, she acknowledges the applause and says, “The people who grow and pick coffee are women, but those who make coffee at baristas are almost always men. This is for all the women behind coffee in India. I wanted to prove that a woman could make coffee well too,” she says, proceeding to do exactly that.
Out of 100% finely roasted Arabica beans, she prepares three sorts of coffee—an espresso, a milk-based beverage and a signature special coffee blend—which need to be made in 15 minutes without waste or spillage and served to the judges. Incidentally, there are eight of the judges around: four to focus solely on the tasting, while the other four hover around the contestant, grading the efficiency with which he/she makes the coffee. Obviously, coffee is taken very seriously here.
“The winner of this championship will attend the World Barista Championship, which will be held at Dublin, Ireland, this year,” says Aarti Dewan Gupta of the Coffee Board of India, which is organizing the national competition. “We hope to streamline the coffee industry and attract more girls and boys to it.”
Young talent is certainly not in short supply here. Take Sachin Krupakar, another finalist, whose signature drink had people in the audience clambering on to the stage to taste, “It has khus syrup, cheesecake with cream and coffee in three distinct layers,” he laughs, pointing out that the vermillion, white and green colour of the drink also bore a patriotic message.
“It is a great event that showcases the coffee industry in India,” says one of the judges, Sunil Pinto, who works with Tata Coffee, “It is a happening industry today. After all, coffee shops aren’t so much about the coffee as the experience.”
And it certainly has been a fantastic experience, agrees this year’s winner Paras Bindra, whose signature concoction of reduced orange juice, espresso and cinnamon will take him to Dublin this year.
“I have already started thinking about the flavours that I will take abroad. What works on an Indian palate may not necessarily work on a western one,” says the 30-year-old.
And we certainly hope he nails it.
As Khurana says, “No coffee-producing nation has ever produced a champion yet. I hope India will be the first.”
source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Consumer / by Preeti Zachariah / Wednesday – March 02nd, 2016
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, IDL Foundation, a non-profit organization, is all set to organize a unique and innovative programme – IDL Blind Pinkathon – for the benefit of blind and visually-challenged on March 6 at NGO Hall, Cubbon Park.
Speaking with Iamin, Dr P K Paul, founder and executive trustee of IDL Foundation, said that the NGO plans to organise similar programmes at other cities for the benefit of blind and visually-challenged people. “Our objective is to provide a platform to the special people to showcase their talent and provide opportunities to celebrate womanhood in a special and unique way by organising a programme for interaction among abled, differently abled and celebrities which will be a life time memory for the participants,’’ Dr Paul said.
Participation is open to all on the first come first basis, provided they possess a Medalor Blind Certificate.
Sandalwood actress Harshika Poonacha, the brand ambassador of this project, had launched the IDL Blind Pinkathon logo in the presence of blind and visually-challenged couples on Valentine’s Day at Cubbon Park recently. “I am inspired to see the love and affection I received from the special people. I appeal general public to come forward to lend a helping hand to blind and visually-challenged people to cross roads, to board BMTC buses, read books, and write exams,’’ Harshika Poonacha said.
According to Dr Paul, there are loads of goodies awaiting special people. “We have made arrangements to give Rs500 each as honorarium for 500 participating blind and visually-challenged women, girl students and children. Each participant will get a designer ladies bag and five gifts such as talcum powder, oil, shampoo, soap, cream and moisturizer as a token of appreciation of participating and memorabilia,’’ he said.
Those who want to participate in the programme may contact at 880268787/7813018787/7813028787.
When: Sunday, March 6.
Where: NGO Hall, Cubbon Park, Bangalore.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Locality> Bangalore Central / by Y M Reddy / Tuesday – March 01st, 2016
Flight trials conducted at facility in Kerala, 58 km from Virajpet.
Flight trials were undertaken on Monday at the newly constructed international near here.
Though the facility is not in the district and is part of the neighbouring state of Kerala, it is expected to provide an impetus to the economic development of the district, especially in the tourism sector.
The airport has come up at Mattanur (Kannur district), just 58 km from here. Though the official inauguration is slated for a later date, preparations for the trial run were being made for the past one month. Work on the runway was undertaken, overcoming many hurdles.
The construction of 2,400-metre of the proposed 3,050-metre runway has been completed in the first phase. Monday’s trial run was conducted on 1,500 metres of the runway.
Commercial operations are likely to begin in September this year, if all goes well, sources in the government and the Kannur International Airport Authority said.
The opening of the airport will put pressure on the Virajpet-Kannur interstate-highway that passes through Virajpet town, the Virajpet-Hunsur highway and the Virajpet-Madikeri highway. But work on upgrading and expanding these stretches is still in the initial stages.
The construction of the airport is expected to cost a total of Rs 1,892 crore and the project was approved when C M Ibrahim, who hails from the State, was the union minister for civil aviation in the Deve Gowda government at the Centre. At present, the Mandakalli airport in Mysuru is the nearest to the district (100 km from Virajpet). The other nearby airports are the Mangaluru airport (160 km from Virajpet) and the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru (250 km from Virajpet).
The new airport at Mattanur is also expected to help exports of the commercial crops grown in the district. It will also be useful for those pursuing studies and seeking employment abroad, besides giving a boost to cultural exchanges with foreign countries. The real estate sector in the district is likely to witness a boom too.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com /Deccan Herald / Home> State / Virajpet(Kodagu) / DHNS – March 01st, 2016
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