RECORDS, INDIA (National) – Page 17

World Para Athletics Grand Prix: Devendra Jhajharia won silver

Indian javelin thrower, Devendra Jhajharia has clinched a silver medal in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix, in Morocco.

Indian javelin thrower, Devendra Jhajharia has clinched a silver medal in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix, in Morocco. Paralympics gold medalist Devendra threw the javelin to a distance of 60.97 meters to capture the silver. Devendra is a three-time Paralympics medalist. While 2020 Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Nishad Kumar won the gold medal in the men’s T47 high jump, javelin throwers Ajeet Singh and Devendra Jhajharia bagged gold and silver respectively in F46 category.

India has so far won 3 gold medals, two silver, and a bronze in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Morocco. Other medalists for India include Neeraj Yadav (F55/56 discus- Gold), Anil Kumar (T54 100m- Silver), and Ranjeet Bhati (F57 javelin- Bronze).

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Kerala-based Jesudas Puthamana makes 13 kinds of personalised Japanese kitchen knives

Hankotsu, usuba, nakiri… Jesudas Puthumana of Chendamangalam, Kerala, makes 13 kinds of personalised Japanese kitchen knives

Nirvana 2019, the house Jesudas Puthmana built on Valiya Pazhampilly Thuruth — one of the tiny islands that dot the Periyar and make up Chendamangalam, Kochi — looks especially Marquezian on a rain-drenched day.

Fashioned in such a way that it seems like an extension of the scenery, it is a labour of love, and a passion project, for which he drew the plan, sourced the material, designed the floor tiles and even calculated the angle of the sun’s shade on the roof. He built a wood-fired masonry oven for its kitchen, where he bakes pizza, bread, cake and naan. Jesudas also makes artisanal Japanese kitchen knives under Urukk Blades.

He brings out five handmade knives, in different stages of completion, and lovingly explains each. For use in the kitchen and by chefs, the knives are personalised with the name stamped on one side of the blade and a unique serial number on the other. Japanese kitchen knives are varied, each with a different purpose, for example, usuba, a traditional knife used for vegetables and intricate cutting, hankotsu, a boning knife, nakiri, a vegetable cleaver for up and down chopping. Jesudas makes 13 types of knives, with a choice of four finishes and three types of wood handles.

Meat cleavers to bread blades

Since March 2022, when he started, he has delivered 45 knives, to a clientele that includes chefs Thomas Zachariah of The Locavore, Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen, and Avin Thaliath, co-founder and director, Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts.

“I want my knives to be used, and chefs who understand a good knife because it is their primary tool,” says the 44-year-old mechanical engineer. The Serbian meat cleaver among the Japanese kitchen knives proves he is up for a challenge. Next, he plans to make a bread knife for a Mumbai-based baker by adapting a serrated type of Japanese kitchen knife.

He forges, sharpens and polishes knives out of Ultra High Carbon (UHC) steel also known as tool steel for the same reason as he built his house and its wood-fired oven — “the feeling of making something from zero, to build something out of scratch.” Or, if he were to be ‘arrogant’, he jokes, “because I can!”

If he were to pinpoint what piqued his interest in swords/knives, he pegs it on a documentary on Japanese Katana swords. While working for a construction company in Dubai, with access to a workshop, he made a couple of knives on a whim.

Steeped in geometry

However, a visit to a blacksmith in Palakkad, in early 2022, to get knives custom-made revived his interest. “The blacksmith had an order of Japanese-style knives, which he was making while I was there. It got me curious enough to go back to Kochi and spend a month on homework for the types, design, and drawings of the first set of knives. On the next visit, I made the three knives.” Reference material for the blacksmith was some photographs; at the end of the stay, he carried home what he saw and learnt.

While locally-made knives are forged from High Carbon steel, “the geometry or shapes are random, these are made as per the blacksmith. Japanese knives have a continuous tradition where each knife’s geometry has evolved to specific usage because of which knives with specific names and functions exist.”

Jesudas put that knowledge to use in March this year when he finally decided to take the plunge, encouraged by the response to his first three knives. “I did nothing else but work on them.” The knives can be ordered on his socials, via Facebook or Instagram.

He shows Excel sheets of the knives he has made so far, he has the specs down to the measurements and weight of each knife. He works with a couple of local smithies near his house, hours working with blacksmiths forging and hammering UHC steel blanks into knives. Although he does not work continuously, each knife is more than 15 hours of work.

The handles — rosewood, beech and olive — are made by an artisanal carpenter. The other processes are done by hand in his workspace at home hand wrought by Jesudas: sharpened on a whetstone and polished in his workspace at home. Customisation requests include dominant hand preference, he charges a small amount for some requests. He has, however, not been asked for customisation for a particular hand.

Focus on functionality

Gyuto, santoku and bunka are all-purpose knives suitable for a variety of functions — cutting/chopping meat, seafood, and vegetables. The most popular of the lot is gyuto, which accounts for 30% of orders. “Japanese knives have evolved over centuries, and the nuances of knife edge geometry have been streamlined perfectly. The edge geometry differs from conventional Western knives as most of these have a single bevel (sloping surface or edge) and a steeper bevel angle. UHC steel can maintain such steep and thin edges.” While designing the logo, he tapped in on the artist in him. Although in Malayalam, the font, style and colours have a distinctly Japanese vibe.

Listening to him talk about metallurgy and steel, its origin in South India and how it was taken from here to other parts of the world, one gets the sense of where his interest lies. He jokes about wanting to make urukk steel or Wootz Damascus (Damascus Steel) from iron ore, “People will think I am crazy!” For now, he wants to keep it to forging knives.

The prices of the knives range from ₹4000 to ₹10,000, @urukkblades on Instagram

How Bridlen is using its Indo-Japanese collaboration to craft Goodyear welted shoes in Chennai

Bridlen, a family owned business from Chennai, on its Indo-Japanese collaboration to craft Goodyear welted shoes

Leather shoes, made to order, that fit like a glove, and look like a dream. That is a rare luxury in a market dominated by e-commerce, where even designer brands are churning out collections by the season. For the true shoe connoisseur, only a customised product, can fashion a sartorial statement. So following slow food and slow fashion, now there’s a focus on slow manufacturing. At Bridlen, a shoemaking enterprise in Chennai that started in 1986, making Goodyear welted shoes the old-school way is a rich legacy that has continued into the 21st Century.

Started by the late K Mohamed Hasan, who began his career in shoemaking with solely creating uppers , he then turned his eye to create not just custom shoes, but footwear that would please, whom he considered the most discerning customers — the Japanese. As a first-generation shoemaker with clients in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, he found a friend in Jose Maria Watanabe, a Japanese shoemaker with four decades of experience in the business. What started as a unique friendship, then turned into a partnership that coalesced the best of Japanese design and Indian craftsmanship.

The Japanese connect

Following the untimely demise of its founder in 2019, Bridlen is now managed by his son, Mohamed Affan Kolandaiveedu. Affan explains why their Goodyear welt design is a cut above the standard, “ We don’t attach a cotton rib to the insole. We take a channel on a much thicker insole and stitch the welt to that. This is what separates us from most other brands at our price point or even a few brackets above. A search on the authorities of the classic shoe world from Simon Crompton at Permanent Style or Jesper of shoegazing.com have singled out this feature as a point of strength, something that you don’t normally find on factory made shoes,” explains Affan.

The story of Bridlen is fashioned by an Indian team guided by Watanabe. A Goodyear welted shoemaker based in Spain, he worked with a European partner, and was looking for a manufacturing capacity closer to Japan, when he heard about a small factory in India and came to visit. “Watanabe and Hasan really hit it off with their philosophy for quality, ethics in business and demeanour that they decided to do something together even though the original plan to move the Spanish production to India did not work,” states Affan.

Watanabe looked to pass on his skills, to Indian craftsmen who were serious about preserving the trade. “My project with Affan Shoes was the production of a finished shoe, something they had never experienced before, and at the same time it was a quality standard that was accepted worldwide.” Explaining how his mentor acclimatised to the new workspace, he adds, “Watanabe took great pains in the early days to get along with the workforce in our factory. He learnt a bit of Tamil and taught basic Japanese to some of the staff and their children on weekends. He would spend half the year in Chennai, and loved to partake in social gatherings, our festivals, and cultural practices.”

Adani names son Karan to run cement firms; injects ₹20,000 crore in Ambuja Cement

Adani completes acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s son Karan will helm the cement firms his group has acquired to become India’s second largest cement player and extend his burgeoning empire that spans from ports and energy to airports and telecom.

In a media statement, Adani group announced the completion of the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC for a total consideration of $6.5 billion which includes the buyout of Swiss major Holcim’s state in the two firms and subsequent open offers to minority shareholders.

Soon after Adani’s takeover, the two cement firms announced the resignation of their board of directors, including the CEOs and CFOs.

The conglomerate named its founder chairman Gautam Adani as the head of Ambuja Cements. His son Karan, who currently heads the group’s ports business, was named as a director of both the cement firms and as chairman of ACC Ltd.

Adani group also quickly named independent directors on the boards of the two firms. These included former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar on the Ambuja Cement board and former Shell India head Nitin Shukla on the ACC board.

It named Ajay Kumar as the new CEO of Ambuja Cement in place of Neeraj Akhoury and Sridhar Balakrishnan for ACC.

Karan, 35, is an economics graduate from Purdue University, U.S., and has been overseeing Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, which has grown from two ports to a string of 10 ports and terminals.

Gautam Adani, 60, the world’s third richest man, has two sons Karan and Jeet. The younger son Jeet, a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania – School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is vice president for group finance at the conglomerate.

The new board of Ambuja Cements approved an infusion of ₹20,000 crore in the company by way of preferential allotment of warrants to equip the firm “to capture the growth in the market.” The acquisition of the two cement firms is the largest ever buyout in the infrastructure and materials sector so far in the country and also the biggest acquisition by Adani.

The Adani family, through their special purpose vehicle Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd, completed the acquisition after completing the transaction with Swiss firm Holcim and open offer, as per a statement.

“Post the transaction, Adani will hold 63.15% in Ambuja Cements and 56.69% in ACC (of which 50.05% is held through Ambuja Cements),” the statement said.

The combined market capitalisation of Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd is $19 billion as of date, it added.

“The transaction was financed by facilities aggregating to $4.50 billion availed from 14 international banks”, which includes Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank AG.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani described cement as an exciting business, with headroom for growth in India, which exceeds that of every other country well beyond 2050.

PM Modi releases Namibian cheetahs at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park

When cheetahs run again in Kuno National Park, the grassland ecosystem will be restored, biodiversity will increase further, the Prime Minister said

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on September 17, released a coalition of cheetahs into the Kuno National Park, in Madhya Pradesh.

Eight Cheetahs — five of which are female — were flown from Windhoek, Namibia to Gwalior, followed by a helicopter ride to the grasslands of Kuno Palpur.

The cheetahs were brought in wooden crates and will be released in a specially designed enclosure where they will live for a month and begin a lifetime of acclimatisation to Indian prey and forest conditions.

Mr. Modi, in a televised address, said it could be “months” before ordinary citizens could visit Kuno to spot the animals. “They have now come as guests and it will take some time before they can be used to living in India,” he said.

The cheetah are radio-collared and their movements will be tracked. Each animal has their dedicated tracking team. There is also a team of wildlife scientists, biologists and Laurie Marker, a renowned zoologist and founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund which has worked on restoring the species in Africa.

The introduction of the cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah which, according to the Environment Ministry, is the first time a large carnivorous species has been moved across continents for establishing a new population.

“Decades ago, the age-old link of biodiversity that was broken and became extinct, today we have a chance to restore it,” said Mr. Modi, adding “Today the cheetah has returned to the soil of India.”

He remarked that even though cheetahs had become extinct from India in 1952, no meaningful effort was made to rehabilitate them for the past seven decades.

The process to bring cheetahs into India spans several decades including an ingenious proposal in 2005 by the CSIR — Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, to clone an Asiatic cheetah. This came to naught after Iran, where the species was extant but dwindling, refused to share an animal.

In 2010, the Environment Ministry put together a plan recommending locations in India suitable for the cheetah and for sourcing cheetahs from Africa. This however brought legal problems as conservationists challenged estimates by the Wildlife Institute of India, an autonomous government body, of the suitability of Indian sanctuaries for the animal. Kuno Palpur, one of the recommended sites, was originally intended as a second home for the Asiatic lions in Gir, but which the Gujarat government has opposed despite a Supreme Court order directing the transfer.

In 2012, the Supreme Court stayed the Environment Ministry project to bring African cheetahs to Kuno.

In 2017, the National Tiger Conservation Authority revived the proposal and appealed to the Supreme Court to “clarify its order”. The Supreme Court in 2020 removed its bar on importing the cheetah and allowed it in on an experimental basis and this paved the way for the first batch of cheetahs.

About 10-12 cheetahs are expected to be brought into India every year and around 35 are believed to be necessary to create a sustainable population.

The success of this batch of animals will be the touchstone of India’s initiative to be home to four wildcats — the tiger, lion, leopard and cheetah.

Indian-Origin Artists Create Giant Mural Tribute To Queen In London

Two Indian-origin artists from west London are working on a giant mural of Queen Elizabeth II as a tribute to the late monarch who passed away aged 96 in Scotland last week.

Jignesh and Yash Patel have been working on the community project since the news of the 96-year-old Queen’s death broke on Thursday, which will be visible from a distance in the Hounslow area of west London.

An Indian Diaspora in UK (IDUK) group is supporting their project with an online fundraiser on the Go Fund Me website, which has already raised donations of over GBP 1,000.

“This artwork will not only give tribute to the Queen but also will be a piece of art that will be enjoyed by thousands of people across the UK for many years to come,” IDUK said.

“Jignesh and Yash Patel are renowned artists who have five Guinness World Records such as the world’s largest bubble wrap painting, which they created in the year 2021 by filling 200,000 bubbles to set a new world record. The duo is very active in various charity and community projects via their art,” the group said.

The mural is being created on a two-floored building in Kingsley Road area of Hounslow east as a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The artists, who have also painted a large mural of Dutch impressionist artist Van Gogh in the area, said they have been wanting to cover their street with murals to uplift the area.

“It was only right that we show our tribute to Her Majesty the Queen with the one skill we are good at,” said Yash Patel.

He said the project has also brought together people of the local area and has been a “collective community effort” with the local councilors also on board.

outlook

Wrestling Worlds: Vinesh gets a bronze high

She became the first Indian female wrestler to win two medals at the event.

Grappling with injuries and self-doubt, Vinesh Phogat has endured a difficult 12 months. After her shocking loss at the Tokyo Olympics, there were even thoughts about retirement that clouded her mind and the eventual fallout with the federation left her emotionally drained.

But the fighter that she is, Vinesh decided to give herself another chance at the world stage.

On Wednesday, she got the rewards of her perseverance — winning her second bronze medal at the wrestling world championships.

After losing to Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia in her first bout on Tuesday, Vinesh came back with vengeance in the repechage round of the 53kg category. Competing against Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan – a multiple times Asian Championships medallist – Vinesh was at her attacking best and pinning her opponent in the first period. Vinesh brought Eshimova down with a front head snap and swirled around her quickly to take control. Eshimova tried to defend but Vinesh locked her up and turned her sideways for the pin.

Vinesh got a walkover in her next match against Leyla Gurbanova of Ajerbaijain who was injured in her semi-final bout on Tuesday.

In the bronze medal bout, it was Vinesh’s defence that came to the fore initially. Emma Jonna Malmgren of Sweden kept launching quick attacks but she was first denied by Vinesh’s defence and then forced on the back foot by the counter-attacks as the experienced Indian eased to a comfortable 8-0 win.

Malmgren, a junior world champion, was quick to pounce on Vinesh’s legs at the start but the Indian countered for two points. She seemed to have hurt her ankle in the process. The entire bout played out in the same fashion. Malmgren — quick and attack-minded — swooping low to take hold of Vinesh’s legs and the latter using all her experience and skill to turn the move in her favour, eventually making it a lopsided contest.

It was Vinesh’s second international medal this season, having won her third successive Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham last month. The competition in CWG was not of highest quality and if there was any flicker of doubt about whether Vinesh was looking for to continue in the path of Paris Olympics, she erased that in Belgrade. She became the only Indian woman wrestler to win two world championships medal, having won her first in 2019. The 53kg gold was won by USA’s Dominique Olivia Parrish who defeated Khulan Batkhuyag.

Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2022: ‘How TTK Prestige Became a Billion Dollar Company’ among 10 nominees

Author Gita Piramal’s “Rahul Bajaj: An Extraordinary Life”, Mircea Raianu’s “Tata – The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism” and Narotam Sekhsaria’s “The Ambuja Story” are among the 10 longlisted books for the fourth ‘Gaja Capital Business Book Prize’.

The longlist announced on Wednesday comprises books on “entrepreneurship, Indian family businesses, India’s digital tech revolution, important events in the Indian business landscape, economics and stories of personal success and failure covering the entire gamut of Indian business from independence to more recent, contemporary stories”, informed the organisers.

Other titles that made the cut include “Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India’s Largest Private Dairy Company” by Harish Damodaran, “Disrupt and Conquer: How TTK Prestige Became a Billion Dollar Company” by TT Jagannathan and Sandhya Mendonca, and “Harsh Realities: The Making of Marico” by Harsh Mariwala and Ram Charan.

“I’m confident the jury will curate an excellent reading list that should be on the bookshelves and desks of entrepreneurs, business owners and anyone interested in India’s growth potential.

I am especially hopeful that these interesting stories encourage young entrepreneurs to read and learn from the experience of others,” said Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner of Gaja Capital in a statement.

“As for writers, journalists, and entrepreneurs, this will continue to serve as a platform to share their stories and create a body of knowledge that others can leverage and build upon,” he added.

“The Struggle And The Promise: Restoring India’s Potential” by Naushad Forbes, “Xiaomi: How a Startup Disrupted the Market and Created a Cult Following” by Jayadevan PK, “Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Work, Life and Leadership” by Arundhati Bhattacharya, and “Maverick Effect: The Inside Story of India’s IT Revolution” by Harish Mehta are also in the contention for the coveted award.

The jury for the prize this year comprises stalwarts from the worlds of industry, investments, academia, public policy, and governance.

They will announce the shortlist in November 2022, and the winner in January 2023.

Instituted in 2019 to encourage Indian entrepreneurs, writers, and journalists to tell their stories for the world, the award offers prize money of Rs 15 lakh — making it the “biggest book prize” in the country to honour authors transforming the business ecosystem with their creativity.

Amrit Raj’s book “Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield,” a gripping account of how a strong Indian brand became global, was the winner of the 2021 ‘Gaja Capital Business Book Prize’.

nie

Punjabi singing sensation AP Dhillon throws official ceremonial first pitch for baseball team Toronto Blue Jays

Former US Presidents including Obama & Bush as well as Hollywood elite like Tom Hanks have been part of Major League Baseball’s celebrity ritual of throwing the first pitch. The Canada-based crooner from Gurdaspur, was the chosen one at Robers Centre stadium, playing to the beats of his hit number Brown Munde.

In a first, Punjabi singer and artist AP Dhillon, who shot to fame with his chart-topping numbers like Brown Munde, Summer High and Fate, threw the official ceremonial first pitch for Canadian Major League Baseball team Toronto Blue Jays in their American League baseball match against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Roberts Centre stadium in Toronto on Tuesday night.

The Gurdaspur-born 29-year-old Dhillon, who is now based in Canada and does shows across the world, was donning a blue and white two-time Major League Baseball champions Toronto Blue Jays jersey, and accompanied the team’s mascot Ace on the pitch before making the official ceremonial first throw of the match.

Nxtra to be the first data center company in India to install Fuel cell technology

Fuel cell technology converts chemical energy from hydrogen and other fuels into electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion, thereby reducing carbon footprint

Bharti Airtel’s subsidiary Nxtra Data Limited to deploy low environmental impact fuel cell technology at its data center in Karnataka.

It will be the first data center company in India to deploy this technology.

The hydrogen-ready fuel cell unit will supply much cleaner energy to Nxtra’s data center in the state of Karnataka and is said to reduce emissions.

The company plans to start the unit on non-combusted natural gas and then switch to 50% hydrogen. The natural gas-powered cells will be used for primary generation with utility electrical grid and generators as backup sources.

Fuel cell technology converts chemical energy from hydrogen and other fuels into electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion, thereby reducing carbon footprint.

Nxtra has already invested in developing renewable energy power plants across India and aims to achieve 50% of its power requirements through renewable energy sources in the next 12 months.

The Carlyle Group-backed company offers data centres in India to leading enterprises, hyperscalers, start-ups, SMEs and governments.