The Rapid Action force is in town and did a flag march on the streets of Belgaum to show their presence in the city. They are here for the 'Bandobast' for the SEEMA PARISHAT called by the MES and other Marathi speaking organizations.

The SEEMA PARISHAT has been called for the rejuvenation of the cause for Marathi and to spread awareness about how the Marathi people have been denied of their rights and what are ones rights.
The DC recently ordered all offices in the district to make arrangements to make all official documents to be made available in Marathi as well. This was done after the National Minorities commission summoned the authorities and also for the reason that the commission will hold its meeting here in Belgaum later this year.
SEEMA PARISHAT will be held at Subhash Maidan (Lele Ground) in the afternoon and thousands of people will come for the same the organizers said. The district authorities have not officially granted permission for the event but the Corporation gave a conditional permission for erecting the pandal at the venue.
Today some women activists of the Kannada organizations tried to commit suicide at the DC's office in protest of the authorities giving permission for the event.
Today morning a huge rally was organized by MES with various demands from Ration cards, Marathi sign boards, to getting good value for the crops.

The language game and politics is at its peak and this SEEMA PARISHAT which was planned way before this all started may be an appropriate time for discussing the issue, many feel. The Mumbai for Marathi's issue is gaining ground day by day with almost anyone falling into the discussion from Sharukh Khan to Snajay Nirupam to Raj & Udhav Thackrey.
The worst part of all this for city of Belgaum is not good.
When one sees the photos of RAF and this bandobast, people from outside will not come and this will hit and impact business as a whole.

The Mumbai for Marathi's is the hottest topic of the news channels for the past 4 days and what is Belgaum for ????? “Belgaum is for Belgaumites.”
People from both parties can fight it out as a discussion but what is going to happen in reality is a question.

More than 100 companies in Bangalore create more than 80% of the semiconductor in the state. To encourage the growth oft his industry else where in the state, a new Karnataka Drafts Semiconductor Policy was laid down today at the ISA Vision Summit 2010, by CM B. S. Yeddyurappa.

The policy is drafted in such a way that govt. shall ensure that its objectives are met. It will be a role model for other states to follow. The focus will now not only be Bangalore but also Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Mysore, Mangalore.

More than 30% of the total potential in the semiconductor industry would be tapped in the state, which would lead to creation of numerous job opportunities, he added.

Source: Channeltimes

Belgaum's most famous holy, picnic and childrens play park Military Mahadev is being renovated.

And AAB gets you the FIRST look of the Mahadev Temple after its temple domb from the outside has been newly made and renovated with a lot of carving very similar to that of temples in south India. The same will also be painted later.

Old simple Look now has been changed.

Some more changes are also planned to done to the present garden areas and the same will beautified.

All Photos: Team AAB.

The premier Special Interest Group of the IT-BPO companies in Belgaum,ITBelgaum’s initiative of doing technical seminar and workshops was again exceedingly appreciated by the students and the faculty of Jain College Belgaum.

The presentation was made to students from BBA & BCA on topics which they can make use of in their lives.

R K Patil of Vayavya Labs Pvt. Ltd. gave an introduction which enthralled the audience all time. His way of presenting IT Belgaum was an eye opener to many when they came to the existence of so many IT companies in Belgaum. IT Belgaum concept was well received by all and the idea of ITBelgaum were appreciated.

Dr. Aadil Bandukwala, Chief Evangelist Talent Onions spoke about Orbit shifting Innovation. Aadil's flashy style of getting his concept through the audience was a pleasant surprise for the audience.

Mr.Uday K, Editor AAB took an unusual topic, Social Media. The topic seemed out-of-the-way but the same is very essential in this net Savoy and lighting fast life. He tried to emphasize and share his points on the use of Social media site for growth of a site or for that matter a business.

ITBelgaum group has been conducting workshops in colleges and creating awareness amongst the students and telling them a path ahead for a career. The group mainly aims at spreading the knowledge and creating awareness about IT companies in Belgaum.

AllAboutBelgaum.com has been a pioneer in the formation of this group and has got on board all these IT-BPO companies from the city under one roof and spreading the word about IT.

Shobha Gurtu has a voice that pleads, cajoles, entices, prays and finally drowns you in a sea of emotion. An individual of extraordinary versatility, this doyen of Thumri singing who belongs to an artistic family with a long history from Goa, is the undisputed queen of her genre today. She must have inherited some of her enviable talent including her expressiveness and histrionic capabilities from her mother, who , we are told was one of the most sought after dancers and singers of her time. Apparently Manekabai Shirodkar, the mother, taught her daughter every nuance of singing. The little girl, Shobha, was encouraged to sing at religious festivals and soon her talent came to be reckoned with by all.

She was born Bhanumati Shirodkar in Belgaum on February 8, 1925 and was initially trained by her mother, Menakabai Shirodkar, a noted dancer schooled in the Atrauli Jaipur `gayaki` of Ustad Alladiya Khan. She married Vishwanath Gurtu, and took the name Shobha Gurtu. Her father in law, ‘Pandit Narayan Nath Gurtu’, was a highly placed officer in Belgaum Police, scholar and a sitar player

Shobha continued her musical education with ustads of the eminence of Nathan Khan in classical singing and Ghamman Khan in light classical and popular music. She was particularly influenced by singer Begum Akhtar and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

The grand dame of Thumri was thoroughly steeped in pure Classical Music. But she was better known for her light Classical Music. Shobha Gurtu was considered to be in a class by herself not merely because of the unique qualities of her warm and sensuous voice that blended strength with suppleness and vigour with grace. It was equally much the unique combination of talent and soul that she brought to bear on her music. She rendered with equal ease, everything from thumri, dadra, hori, kajri and chaiti to ghazal, bhajan and Marathi Natya Sangeet, with all regional and stylistic variations blended subtly.

A popular broadcaster and television artiste, she regularly featured in major musical events held all over the country. She had also created the musical scores for several Marathi and Hindi movies and had also lent her voice to the silver screen.

In 1989 she received the Sangeet Natak Academy award. She also got the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar, Shahu Maharaj Puraskar and the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. In 2002, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

After reigning over Hindustani classical music genre, for five decades, as the Queen of Thumri, Shobha Gurtu died on 27 September 2004, and was survived by her two sons.

In 1987, she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and later awarded the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar, Shahu Maharaj Puraskar and the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. In 2002, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Another reason to be proud that we are from Belgaum.