Month: July 2021

** Meet Abhimanyu Mishra, 12, the youngest chess grandmaster in history

The New Jersey resident broke a record held by Sergey Karjakin for almost 20 years.

Abhimanyu Mishra started playing chess when he was just two, Now, at the age of 12, he has broken one of the oldest records in the game to become the youngest grandmaster in history.

The youngster, who is from New Jersey, broke a record held by the Russian former chess prodigy Sergey Karjakin, who earned the title in 2002 at the age of 12 years and seven months. Abhimanyu earned the title at 12 years, four months and 25 days on Wednesday at an event in Budapest.

** New book maps south Indian clans’ 6,000-year-old Gandhara trek

About 6,000 years ago, some clans of forest settlers from South India set out on a great journey, which took them along the coast, traversing through several areas up North, and reaching as far as Gandhara (Kandahar in present-day Afghanistan). It is one of the great adventures involving movement of people, etched in India’s prehistory, at a time when even the wheel was not invented. Research has thrown light on certain facts, such as the families which embarked on the journey along the coast, crossed rivers either by boat, walk, or on the backs of animals.

Several such unknown intricate bits of knowledge on prehistoric India, dating back some 10,000 years, are now being preserved and compiled by noted linguistic anthropologist, and Padma awardee Ganesh N Devy. His book titled, ‘India Before History’, will be a 1,500-page documentation-orientated work, which will also involve close to 70 articles from the country’s eminent scholars.

** Rs 40 crore windfall for UAE-based Indian taxi driver and his 9 friends

The 37-year-old Somarajan came to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008 from Kollam district in Kerala. He started his Gulf career as a taxi driver, and after 13 years of hard work, is on the verge of joining a new job in a private company with a monthly salary of 3,500 dirhams (Rs 71,200).

** 12-year-old sailor from fishing community earns place in Indian team for World Championship

 Hailing from the fishing community, he always has a liking for water. But little did Eklavya Batham know that he will be representing India within four years of taking up sailing.

At 12 years and nine months, the Bhopal sailor may also be one of the youngest from the country in recent times to compete in an international event. He along with four sailors was selected for the Optimist World Championship scheduled in Riva del Garda, Italy, on the basis of their national rankings.

** A natural actress: Assam girl Shiva Rani Kalita steals the limelight at Ottawa film festival

Filmmaker Kripal Kalita said he looked for the qualities of a village girl in the lead actress which he found in Shiva Rani.

** Greeks bearing gifts: Understanding the history of Indo-Greek cuisine

Alexander the Great would be pleased with London-based Indian cuisine mogul Arjun Waney whose brand portfolio reads like the Debrett of fine dining—Zuma, Roka, La Petite Maison, The Arts Club, Il Baretto, Oblix at The Shard and Coya.

One of his vast global holdings is Meraki, a salute to Greek cooking in Fitzrovia, in the heart of London, which opened in 2017 and is still going strong.

** Telugu-origin Sirisha Bandla to join Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic’s next flight to space

Sirisha Bandla’s zeal to learn more about space led her to pursue Bachelors of Science degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from Purdue.

** Army inducts 10m bridging system developed by DRDO

The fully decked roadway will ensure faster movement of troops, says Defence Ministry

The Army on Friday inducted the first production lot of 12 Short Span Bridging System (SSBS)-10m, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Larsen & Toubro Limited, the production agency.

“The SSBS-10m plays a crucial role of bridging the gaps up to 9.5m as a single span providing a 4m wide, fully decked roadway, ensuring faster movement of the troops,” a Defence Ministry statement said. The project involved the development of two prototypes of 5m SSBS on Tatra 6×6 chassis and another two prototypes of 10m SSBS on Tatra 8×8 re-engineered chassis, it stated.

** Rohan Bopanna-Sania Mirza pair wins historic all-Indian Wimbledon match

It was the first time in open era that two Indian teams competed against each other at a Grand Slam tournament.

The experienced pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza defeated the brand new combination of Ramkaumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina 6-2 7-6 (5) in the historic all-Indian mixed doubles first round match at the Wimbledon here on Friday.

It was the first time in open era that two Indian teams competed against each other at a Grand Slam tournament.