If I was MP of Belgaum

7:09 PM Posted by ukmad


If I was MP, is a very hypothetical question, but why can’t everyone believe this for a moment as in the shoes of a MP (Member of Parliament) of Belgaum. What can I do for Belgaum? [I request all to be the “I” here and comment on this post]

You all must be witnessing on TV live coverage of various political rallies and road shows held all over India. But in Belgaum such events never happen or at least I haven’t seen any. I first voted in 1998 general elections and from there I have voted for all the elections assembly, corporation. But I have never seen a big rally being held in city. What you get to see is the candidate stands on an open jeep and does a Namaskar from the jeep and someone from the background shouts slogans. For some acting and environment building the candidate comes down from the jeep and falls at the feet of a few elderly persons to take their blessings and the elderly also heartily bless them as they know they will have to repeat it only after 5 years when someone like him or he himself will come back. No discussions or debates or in fact no manifesto or plans.

The Congress declared its manifesto in this week; the BJP did it on Friday and made some hefty promises. Huge promises are made as they will not have to be implemented as there won’t be a single party majority and you will have adjust the manifesto with the allies, so the promises will only be fulfilled if there is a single party rule, which looks impossible these days.

I have a question to the candidates for Belgaum- I know none of them read this blog but why don’t they come on a platform and have discussion in presence of Belgaumites. Put forth their plans and tell how they would be implemented once elected; But this hard to happen. What will happen is a small press conference will be done and staggered points would be detailed with no meaning.

Normally development issues take a back stage in Belgaum as the language issue is in the fore front and also the caste bias while voting. This time also the same would happen.
I call upon all the readers to come forward and make some points what these to be MP’s should have or should carry out when they become MP. Some might just say what the use is discussing it all here when nothing is going to happen. So what let’s make a start, all parties boast of making the use of the internet as a best tool for reaching the voters, Then someone might just read it and respond.

If we fall behind now, we will never come forward.

Bird watching in Belgaum from Ram Mallyas camera

4:40 PM Posted by ukmad



Bird watching in Belgaum from Ram Mallyas camera

There are so many nature lovers in Belgaum and Belgaum and its surroundings have numerous flora and fauna. Birds are very common and Ram Mallya is one amongst the many nature lovers of Belgaum who has captured many images of various kinds of birds in and around Belgaum.

Ram has captured all these images from Kuwad, Khanapur, Rakaskop, Uchgaon, Bhootramati and its surroundings. Ram started to click photos from 2006.

ASIAN KOEL, GREY WAGTAIL, ASHY PRINIA, BEE EATER, LONG TAILED SHRIKE, COPPERSMITH BARBET, COPPERSMITH BARBET, YELLOW WATTLED LAPWING, BRAHMINY KITE, ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN these names of birds are fascinating and the most fascinating part of all the is so many of them are found around our city.
See the photos taken by Ram here. [http://www.indianaturewatch.net/view_cat.php?tag=RAM%20MALLYA]

Some excerpts of the interview with Ram:
1) How is that you started to take pictures of birds?
I have always been a nature lover since childhood and had a passion for photography.
First camera I got my hands on was the hot shot which was gifted to me by my sister when I was 12. Since then I have been taking landscape, scenes.
Earlier it was an expensive hobby as we did not have any digital cameras in the year 90 to 2000. So every click counts. So I had to wait for long to get my hands on a digital SLR.
Finally in the year 2005 I got a brand new Canon 350 d Digital SLR. IN 2005 I got an opportunity to join some professional photographers for a trip to Leh-Ladakh through a photography magazine. After this trip I started getting the hang of an SLR and started thinking more seriously about photography.
But to photograph birds I needed an expensive zoom lens to capture birds more closely so finally got a Canon 100-400 MM IS USM Lens in the year 2006 and later started photographing birds.
I was also inspired by Mr. Niranjan Sant of Belgaum who is a well known bird /wildlife photographer in India. He is a good friend of mine and I always take his advice while choosing my equipment. You can view his captures here.
2) Have you taken any training in the same?
I haven’t taken any training for photography. I have learnt photography with experience only.
I always use to fiddle with my uncle’s Canon mark 2 a pretty old camera (Now it must be a collector’s item).
3) Photographing birds are different but also knowing the birds is very difficult. So how did you study about birds?
Earlier when I just started photographing birds I never knew the names of birds other than sparrows and crows. So I used to mail all my bird pictures to a friend of mine, he used to identify the birds for me.
Later I found a very good book on birds “Birds of the Indian subcontinent” By Richard Grimmett. It has covered more than 1300 species found in the Indian subcontinent. Now I always carry and refer this book for birds.
4) You have a business right, tell us more about it.
We have a family owned business. It is a cast iron foundry and machine shop “The Allied Founders Pvt Ltd “established in 1968. My father, Mr. Ramanand .R. Mallya is the chairman and the managing director of the company.
It is one of the oldest foundries in Belgaum. We manufacture all types of industrial cast iron and ductile iron machined components. For further details visit http://www.alliedfoundersindia.com/

5) When do you find time for all this as it requires a lot of patience and time?
I and my wife Sheetal make it a point to leave early morning by 6 am every Sunday or on public holiday for photography along with my friends if they are willing to come along. So we never miss an opportunity for bird photography. Sometimes we are out photographing birds all day.
6) How is that your love for birds come up?
I started knowing the birds only after getting close to them with photography. As and when we started spending more and more time looking for different birds in and around Belgaum you will automatically fall in love with birds.
7) Do you remember the first bird you captured in your camera?
Yes I do, I had captured a common stone chat in Nanawadi when I bought my zoom lens.
8) Narrate any memorable incident while taking photos?
According to me every trip to the woods is memorable. Every time we find something new. If we are lucky we get a lot of verity of birds and sometimes just crows sparrows. Once I had been to Tillari with my friend Gautam we found more than 10 verities of birds at one place some of them were nesting. But when we visited the same place after a month we found almost nothing.
9) Does your family support you in this adventure?
As I already mentioned I go for photography along with my wife Sheetal , She also plays a important role in my bird photography by sighting birds with her binoculars and identifying birds.
She developed this hobby of bird watching when she started getting along with me for the bird photography. Sometimes I take my niece and nephew along and even they have developed interest in bird watching.
10) You also are crazy about Karting?
Yes as a mechanical engineer I have had love for automobile since child hood. I used to discuss technical stuff about a car with my father as he had a lot of knowledge as he worked for FIAT in early sixties in Mumbai before he shifted to Belgaum to start his business. After college when I joined business in 1998, I thought of building a kart and finished building in almost 2 years as I had to find spare time in our work schedule.
11) Also heard that you have created a cart by yourself, tell us something more about it.
Kart specifications:
Engine: Yamaha RX 135
Tyres: Imported Tubeless
Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes ( Maruti 800)
Transmission: 4 speed (same as Yamaha)
Drive: Chain drive at the rear
Steering mech: Rack and pinion
Max speed: 90Kmph
Check videos: 1, 2,
12) Any tips for upcoming bird lovers?
Please follow these birding ethics
♫ Support the protection of important bird habitats.
♫ Avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming.
♫ Avoid chasing, repeatedly flushing, excessive use of squeakers and "phishing”.
♫ Keep well away from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas, and important feeding sites to avoid disturbance and exposure to predators.
♫ Do not photograph nesting birds as this encourages poor ethics and draws attention of predators to nests.
♫ Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups.
13) What do you think about this site?
It is a very good site for all Belgaumites. As we can get instant news regarding Belgaum whenever required. Thanks to Uday for his thoughts on building this site.

BJP, BSP and Congress file nominations for Belgaum

10:20 AM Posted by ukmad






Suresh Angadi of the BJP, Amarsinh Patil of Congress and Ramanagowda Siddanagowda Patil of Savadatt filed in their nominations for the Belgaum constituency yesterday.



Movies as on 03-04-2009

10:11 AM Posted by ukmad

TheatreMovieTimings
Big CinemasAa Dkehn Zara12.30,3.30,6.30
 8 by 10 Tasveer1.15,3.15,6.15,9,10.15pm
Ritz Srikrishna  
   
NirmalKiran Bedi12.15pm,3.15,6.15,9.15
   
HunsPournami3.15,6.15,9.15
 Me shivaji Raje BB12.3
Arun 12.30,2,4,7
RoopaliAa Dkehn Zara12.15,3.15.6.15,9.15
BalkrishnaRaftaar ka Junnon (H)12.30,3.30,6.30,9.30
ChitraGoutam12,3,6,9
Swaroop 12,3,6,9
HiraEK12.15,3.15,6.15,9.15
   
PrakashKrishna12.15pm,3.15pm,6.15pm,9.15pm
Nartaki8 by 10 Tasveer12
 Me shivaji Raje BB3,6,9
SantoshJaji Mallige12.15pm,3.15pm,6.15pm,9.15pm
Globe 12.15,1.45,3.45,6.45
Kindly check the excat  timings with the theatres

Summer Camp for Kids

10:11 PM Posted by ukmad



Exams are over and now the parents have another big task in front of them, of utilizing the energies of the child effectively. For the next 2 months, the kids love to play all day round and do nothing else.

During the same time, various summer camps are being organized in the city. Form crafts, swimming, tennis to music camps are being organized for various age groups.

I just found one summer camp being organized for age group of 6 to 13 where the child will be engaged in doing paper art, crafts and gifts. Rasika at is organizing the camp at 79/1 Shankra Kashi Nilay, 5th cross Adarsh Nagar, Hindwadi Belgaum. Phone: 98808 16340. There are trained people in Crafts who will teach the children. The camp begins from April 6 and will finish on 25 April.
Therefore, instead of shouting at children that does not play all the time or watch cartoons, why do not you send them to such camps.

Then & Now Officers mess camp 1910 vs. 2009

5:37 PM Posted by ukmad

I was trying to start this series long back, but with the help and initiative of Mr.Sahir I have started this new series. Then & Now.

As the name suggests, it’s those old photos of Belgaum found on the internet, and this is the only site which has brought them for you in one place.
Here is the first one in this series.
This colored printed postcard c.1910 published locally by Mahadeo & Son shows a view of the Officers Mess at Belgaum.


See any difference other than the angle in the photo, all looks same. As it was 1910, a few trees have grown taller and few new ones have come in, Camp is a heritage area.

Old Photo: Sahir KitturLatest photo: Team AAB

Spundhan software development provider from Belgaum

5:06 PM Posted by ukmad


Spundhan is a leading provider of software development, training and consultancy services. To name a few, they specialize in embedded systems, RTOS, device drivers, software timing analysis and much more.
Incorporated in 2008, Spundhan is growing from strength to strength. They treat their Customers as guests and provide the highest quality of service.
Headquartered in Belgaum, they are close to major IT hubs (Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Goa) allowing us to reach out and help customers locally.
The word Spundhan (Spandhana/Spandana in Kannada language) has several meanings and origins. The Indian version of Spundhan means "heartbeat" and motivation. According to numerology, it is said that people or objects with this name tend to be very spiritually involved, often found lost in great thoughts and generally quite successful in business.
Spundhan Softwares, a private limited company founded in 2008, is headquartered at Belgaum,. Spundhan is committed to providing its customers/clients with a high quality of software development services in the form of product development, training activities and consultancy.
At Spundhan they believe in keeping it simple yet great. They provide a wide range of services that include:
· Product Research and Design
· Consultancy
· Embedded Systems
· Linux Integration
· Software Porting
Product Research and Design
You have a great idea? And no Resource to exploit it? They are here to help you. At Spundhan, they will nurture your idea and make it a reality. They offer complete or a partial package in product research and design activities. Their core competencies lies in the following software technologies:
· C/C++ and Ada for Windows/Linux.
· Products using the Linux operating system.
· Java technologies.
· Eclipse-based product development
· Real-Time Operating Systems, device drivers, software - hardware integration.
· Industrial Automation: computer-controlled devices, robotics.

The above list is only indicative of their competencies and is not complete.
Consultancy
Need help with your problem? At Spundhan, they provide specialized consultancy in the area of embedded systems design. They help clients with design problem, timing issues and software optimizations. Their expertise include:
· System integration problems.
· RTOS configuration or scheduling problems.
· Open source adaptation.
· Software Timing problems (WCET).
· Linux related issues.
Embedded Systems
They have immense experience in developing and deploying embedded system software ranging from high-level application development to low-level system software development such as real-time operating systems, device drivers, etc. They will help you design and develop your next embedded systems with the highest standards in terms of software quality and reliability.
Do you face timing problems when deploying your embedded software on target? They have a unique solution for you. They have partnered with Rapita Systems Ltd., UK, a world's leading provider of worst-case execution time profiling tools. They offer a range of consultancy services and WCET products from Rapita Systems to help you get rid of your timing issues forever.
Linux/OS Integration
Their team is highly skilled and experienced in custom operating system development. Are you looking to deploy an operating system to perform a fixed set of defined tasks and has no extra complicated features? Look no further... At Spundhan, they offer customization to the Linux operating system and/or development of a new operating system from scratch.
Spundhan has developed an in-house real-time operating system available FREE of cost with one of its training courses.
Software Porting
Tied to legacy software and want to port it to a new platform? Want to carry the success of your software on one platform to another? Why waste time training your staff to do a one time job? They are experienced in porting software written in C/C++ and Ada on Windows and Linux operating systems.
Address:
Spundhan SoftwaresH.No. 666, II stage, RC Nagar, Belgaum- 590006Phone: +91-831-2442200Website: http://www.spundhan.com/index.php

Ganesh idols in pond, who cares for them now

4:32 PM Posted by ukmad



The photos clicked by Vinod Chavan are self explanatory. Lots of Ganesh idols are seen in a small pond opposite to Barde petrol pump NH4 from Belgaum to Pune which is near the Indal factory. All the idols are seen facing the highway, which sort of appeal to the passing by public to see their state of affairs.

The use of Plaster of paris for making Ganesh idols has to be stopped as they don’t dissolve completely, now these idols are visible as the water in the pond has decreased and just look at the photos looks as if they were placed here only.

Thanks Vinod Chavan.

Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy to be premiered along with Mumbai

1:44 PM Posted by ukmad


This is after a very long time that a big budget film has been made in Marathi and also a fact that it would be released on the same day as in Mumbai; the movie is Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy.This is not a historical film but a film on the Marathi Manoos in Mumbai.

Normally many Kannada movies premier in Belgaum as with Bangalore but this is a rare occasion for a Marathi movie to be released on the same day as with Mumbai and this is making this a part of news.

You can see this movie in Nartaki for regular shows.

Belgaum Hindalga Argan talav was it The Hour Gun Tank

10:48 AM Posted by ukmad


Mr.Sahir Kittur, found this great old picture of the The Hour Gun tank as it is mentioned on ebay, it’s a post card.

The photo has been taken by S.Mahadeo & sons.

But my question is this the Argan Talav, next to Hindalga Ganpati Temple?

May be we changed the name from “Hour Gun Tank” to “Argan Talav”.

Your comments on this please.Source: Belgaumblog.com

Tree falls on mini bus

10:41 AM Posted by ukmad



The city experienced light to heavy thunder showers in the evening on Tuesday with heavy wind.

Many of the trees were uprooted and in one such incident a part of tree fell on a mini bus parked at Bogarves. No one was injured in the incident.

All bank ATM’s are now My bank Atm’s

10:26 AM Posted by ukmad

The customers can withdraw money from any (i.e. an Axis bank card holder can withdraw from a ICICI bank atm) ATM without paying any charge.

The Reserve Bank of India has directed the commercial banks to let customers’ free use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for all transactions from 1 April 2009.

According to an RBI announcement, the customers can also use ATMs of other banks for balance enquiries free of cost.
However withdrawal by use of Credit cards and use of international cards will attract a fee.
So from now on, all Bank atm’s are my bank’s atm.

About ATM: Donald C Wetzel introduced the concept of ATM (Automated Teller Machine) way back in 1969, but it was introduced in India by HSBC - the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in the year 1987. Since then there has been an explosive growth in non human interaction at banks. ATMs can be termed as “Life savers” in case of emergency, as you would find that ATMs are placed not only near or inside the premises of banks, but also in locations such as shopping centers/malls, airports, national highways, grocery stores, petrol/gas stations, restaurants.