Category: Amazing Feats

** New scheme to support the marginalised

Focus is on rehabilitation, medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development

A scheme for rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging and for providing support to transgender persons was expected to be launched soon, according to a statement by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on Thursday.

The Ministry said it had formulated an umbrella scheme, SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise), that included two sub-schemes for the welfare of transgender persons and persons engaged in begging. The scheme will cover rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development and economic linkages.

** Amid Ladakh standoff, India inaugurates world’s highest motorable road: 5 points

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday inaugurated 24 bridges and three roads built by Border Roads Organisation to strengthen strategic capabilities of India. Among these projects is the Chisumle-Demchok road at Umling La Pass.

** Sahitya Akademi award for Tamil writer Ambai

Ambai is the fourth woman writer from Tamil Nadu to get the award.

Tamil feminist writer Ambai, whose writings challenge the stereotyping of women, has won this year’s Sahitya Akademi award. She has been awarded for her short story collection Sivappu Kazhutthudan Oru Patchaiparavai. Ambai is the fourth woman writer from Tamil Nadu to get the award.

Another Tamil writer Mu Murugesh bagged the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for his collection of short stories, ‘Ammavukku Magal Sonna Ulagin Mudhal Kadha

** Srekala pays tribute to freedom fighters

Srekala Bharath’s ‘Veeram Vilayndha Bhoomi’ wasn’t backed by powerful dramatisation

Puli Thevar, Velu Nachiyar, Marudu Sagodharargal, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, V.O. Chidambaram, Bharathiyar and Kodi katha Kumaran are freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu, but barring a few popular names, most people may not be much familiar with others. So it was a good idea to present their stories as an ode to these freedom fighters and to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

Tamil Nadu

** 1839 struggle by Tai Khamti is India’s first war of independence: Arunachal Deputy CM

Chowna Mein urges Centre to recognise battle in northeast

The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 may not be India’s first war of independence.

The first such war, not recognised by Indian history, took place in 1839 between the Tai Khamti people and the British. The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began, Arunachal Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said.

** The Hindu’s Shiv Sahay Singh wins prize at Ramnath Goenka award

The Hindu’s West Bengal correspondent Shiv Sahay Singh won the Ramnath Goenka award in the “Uncovering India Invisible” category for his 2019 story “Death by Digital Exclusion” which exposed how the Jharkhand government’s insistence on digitisation deprived people living on the margins of the benefits of the public distribution system (PDS).

** Find vintage mopeds and motorcycles at India’s first museum dedicated to two-wheelers

Come 2022, experience vintage mopeds, scooters and motorcycles at India’s first museum dedicated to two-wheelers in Mahabaleshwar by Vinit Kenjale

The museum, Vintage Miles, has been decades in the making. Spread over a large plot in Mahabaleshwar, the impressive collection will be organised in three sheds: one each for mopeds, scooters and motorcycles. “The idea is to have audio-visual aids for visitors, so they can experience what these vehicles sound like on the road. Some vehicles will be available for experiences and rides as well. I want to keep the ticket sales affordable,” adds Kenjale, whose collection has been featured in the Limca Book of Records in 2018.

** Discovery Channel Makes A Feature Film On The First Indian Wildlife Photographer, Yashas Narayan

Yashas Narayan, one of the most reputed wildlife photographers of India. It would be prudent to say that he is one of the best big cat trackers that India has seen. Proudly known for his astonishing and mesmerising portfolio of India’s tigers, leopards, and black panthers, he is now the first Indian wildlife photographer to get a feature film made by the Discovery networks.

Titled “Eye to Eye With a Tiger”, Yashas got an opportunity to lead a team of highly dedicated professionals to capture the serenity amidst the short lives in the modern world. Partnering with the World Wildlife Fund to support Project CAT, Discovery’s collaboration aims to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022 by spreading awareness about deforestation, poaching, and overhunting of the tigers’ prey. Similarly, Samsung has sponsored this film to raise awareness about Project CAT.

** Meet Rajasthan’s Ravi Soni – Guinness World Record holder for largest drawing by an individual

Udaipur-based designer Ravi Soni recently broke the Guinness World Record by creating the World’s Largest Drawing measuring a whopping 629.981 square meters (6781 sq.feet). Soni created his huge painting on November 30, 2021 at Maharana Bhupal Stadium, Udaipur. It took him around 24 hours to complete the drawing spanning across 5 days.