Malayalam Poet and Jnanpith Award Winner Akkitham Passes Away
Renowned Malayalam poet and Jnanpith award winner Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, who is said to have heralded modernism in Malayalam poetry, passed away. He was 94.
Popularly known as Akkitham, his ''Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam'' (Epic of the 20th Century) is considered as one of the first truly modernist poems in Malayalam literature. A popular verse - ''Velicham dukhamanunni, thamasallo sukhapradam'', which is roughly translated as "light brings sorrow, my child, darkness is bliss" is like a proverb for Keralites. It is also interpreted as "worldly knowledge is pain my child, ignorance is bliss."
He penned around 45 books, comprising poetry anthologies, plays and short stories including ''Balidarsanam'' (The Vision of Bali), ''Arangettam'', ''Nimisha Kshetram'', ''Idinju Polinja Lokam'', ''Amrita Ghatika'', and ''Kalikkottilil'' and many more.
Former New Zealand Captain John Reid Passes Away
The International Cricket Council (ICC) condoled the demise of former New Zealand skipper John Reid, who passed away at the age of 92.
Reid, a hard-hitting batsman and pacer, appeared in a total of 58 matches for New Zealand in the longest format of the game. He had played 34 of those Test matches as captain and notched up 3,428 runs and 85 wickets in the format from 1949 to 1965. He was considered an extraordinary fielder.
Reid's record as the captain was unique because he not only led New Zealand to their first victory after 26 years in Test cricket when the team defeated the West Indies in Auckland in 1956 but also to their maiden success abroad when New Zealand won two Tests on a tour of South Africa in 1962.
Oct 15, 2020
DGP Bhupendra Singh Retires, Appointed as RPSC Chairman
Director General of Rajasthan Police Bhupendra Singh was appointed as chairman of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission after he took voluntary retirement.
The state government also appointed four members in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
DG (Crime) ML Lather was given the additional charge of DGP Rajasthan.
Governor Kalraj Mishra issued the appointment order of Singh as RPSC chairman for a period of six years or until the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.
An IPS officer of 1986-batch, Singh was appointed the Director General of Police (DGP) in June 2019. He was to retire on December 31, 2019, but the government had extended his tenure till June 2021.
Singh replaced RPSC chairman Deepak Upreti, whose tenure has ended.
Renowned Kuchipudi exponent Sobha Naidu, a recipient of Padma Shri and numerous other awards, passed away.
Naidu, who was in her sixties, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Sobha Naidu's major achievements include choreography and presentation of Ballets, Vipranarayana, Kalyana Srinivasam and many others in which she was the main protagonist and donned various roles like Satyabhama, Devadevaki, Padmavathi, Mohini, Sai Baba, and Goddess Parvati which won her great appreciation.
Oct 13, 2020
Noted Music Director Rajan Dead
Eminent music director Rajan of Rajan-Nagendra fame died at his residence due to a cardiac arrest.
Rajan and Nagendra were born in a middle-class musical family at Shivarampet in Mysuru.
Their father Rajappa was a harmonium and flute player who played background music for silent movies.
While Rajan was a violinist, Nagendra was an expert in Jal Tarang. The brothers used to perform for Jaya Maruthi Orchestra. The brothers had a good hold over Carnatic as well as Hindustani classical music.
Oct 12, 2020
South African Human Rights Lawyer Priscilla Jana Passes Away
Renowned Indian-origin South African human rights lawyer Priscilla Jana who represented many anti-apartheid political leaders, including Nelson Mandela, passed away at the age of 76.
Jana was the Deputy Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
As a black female lawyer she overcame pernicious limitations imposed by the apartheid system that marginalised her on the basis of race, sex and gender and fought for the liberation of the then oppressed majority of South Africans.
In early 60's, Jana was granted a Government of India scholarship to study medicine in India where she completed studies in Inter-Science.
Oct 10, 2020
Indian-origin Srikant Datar is Dean of Harvard Business School
Eminent Indian-origin academician Srikant Datar has been named as Dean of Harvard Business School, succeeding Nitin Nohria and becoming the second consecutive dean hailing from India to lead the prestigious 112-year-old institution.
Datar, an alumnus of University of Bombay and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, is the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration and the senior associate dean for University Affairs at Harvard Business School (HBS).
He will assume charge as the school's next dean on January 1, 2021.
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