Students sing, dance to understand subjects

February 1, 2012

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Mangalore, February 1: When most of the students attempting SSLC exams in the next few months are buried in their books studying, students of Swaroopa Adhyayana Kendra are busy singing, dancing and painting.

Students of Swaroopa Adhyayana Kendra painting a picture, while singing their institution anthem, at Town Hall in Mangalore on Tuesday.However, people who are thinking that these kids are up to tom-foolery will be shocked to find out that they know their theorems, science experiments, history dates, English poems, Kannada grammar on the tip of their tongue.

How are they able to do it? Well, thanks to the innovative learning methods of Gopadkar.

Swaroopa Adhyayan Kendra is the brain child of Gopadkar, which aims to break the barriers of conventional education system which is limited to six subjects, exams and marks.

Gopadkar showed the wonders of his alternate education methods at 'Swaroopa Shikshana Jagruti Jatha' organised at Mangalore Town Hall on Tuesday.

“Who ever knows everything and understands everything, tends to forget. One who does not understand and is ready to accept that fact and learn is a student. When you do not understand, you are forced to think. Hence, it is better not to understand than understand,” said Gopadkar.

'Swaroopa,' means understanding oneself with an aim to develop. The alternate education system aims to bring change, development, experimentation and creativity, he said.

The students of Swaroopa, then demonstrated various learning techniques they learnt at the center and left the audience awestruck. The students presented a well-choreographed Bollywood dance. Later, they explained that the dance is just not a dance, but a depiction of Flemming's Right and Left Hand Rule. The students have memorised the entire rule with the dance moves.

The students performed various other dances which depicted Maths theorems and also the multi-tasked education dance, where students presented four different subjects in one dance.

Later, Gopadkar demonstrated the memory skills of his students, who could name more than 50 items in its chronological order and also randomly. “With this technique, my students have entered the Limca Book of World Records by naming 1000 items,” he said.

The students also demonstrated their concentration power, by doing 11 tasks at once. The students drew pictures in their left hand, counted in the right and memorised items, numbers, questions asked by their teachers simultaneously and also told what the audience were doing.

Any mobile number in the world can be memorised by these children and they can remember it permanently. The students have denoted numbers to various actions and they remember them through the story technique.

The First War of Indian Independence, seemed to come alive when the students enacted an entire chapter of the social science subject with an Yakshagana.

Later, they presented a puppet show “Artha Agtha Illa” (I don't understand) which showed the plight of the students in present education system.

“Stop Bonsai education. Try to solve the lacunae in the present education system. All children are geniuses, one has to know to use the human resource,” said Gopadkar and added that he and his students have toured Karnataka for three months, demonstrating the education techniques in over 54 centers. However, the education department is not considering to include the alternative study techniques in the education system,” he regretted.

“Earth is looted by the educated. Today's education is leading one to a destructive path. The society has become monotonous. There is a great need to have a change in the education system and hence emphasise on experimentation and creativity,” said Scholar and artist Gururaj Marpalli delivering the key-note address.

The programme was inaugurated by Artist K P Shenoy, with a painting which was backed by the Swaroopa institution anthem sung by the students.

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News Network
January 6,2025

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Karnataka’s first C Band Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) in Mangaluru, work for which was supposed to have been finished by January 15, will be postponed slightly due to some technical difficulties, said N Puviarasan, head of India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Bengaluru centre.

“We are hoping to get it running by this month's end at least,” said Puviarasan on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ workshop organised by the IMD Bengaluru on January 4 to commemorate 150 years of IMD. The workshop was held at the premises of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) and had day-long sessions, including technical ones by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bengaluru and Department of Agro Meteorology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru.

Puviarasan also said the IMD ran into obstacles in its bid to establish a S-band DWR in Bengaluru, due to problems in acquiring the land required. “We need 30X30 space to put up a tower and a small utility room,” said Puviarasan. According to him, IMD had originally planned to put up the radar in Nandi Hills. But, on Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje’s request, he said they started scouting for an appropriate place in Bengaluru. On July 23, 2024 Karandlaje had posted on X: “Following my request, the IMD has greenlit the installation of a Doppler radar in the city (Bengaluru), scheduled to be operational by year-end. This is a major step towards better weather forecasting & preparedness for natural disasters."

She had also posted a letter written to her by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh, who said the radar will have an operational range of 250 km and will be installed in Bengaluru by 2024. He also mentioned that the site for the radar installation has already been identified and the Centre had informed the state government to acquire the site. “But the site suggested by the minister is not feasible because of the elevation issues,” said Puviarsan.

According to IMD scientists, there should not be buildings higher than the radar within its range, as readings will be affected. Puviarasan said they have now identified a place within a government school in Bengaluru and are awaiting permission to establish the radar. He said usually land acquisition is a huge problem. “This time, it’s a government school. Here, we don’t even need to raise a boundary wall, as it exists already. So, we’ll see,” said the director. If this is not working out, he said IMD will go back to its initial plan and will establish the radar in Nandi Hills. Mangaluru radar, being established near Kadri, is expected to cover 250-300 km radius, putting regions prone to heavy rains during monsoons in Karnataka, like Agumbe, Hulikal, Talakaveri, Kerekatte and Bhagamandala within its range, said a IMD scientist. Earlier, in his presentation, Puviarasan had also said apart from Bengaluru and Mangaluru, one X-band DWR is coming up at Dharwad. He also said proposals have been submitted for S-band radar at Honnavara and C-band at Ballari.

Without a DWR, Karnataka has been depending on the radars in Goa, Hyderabad and Chennai for more accuracy in forecasts for thunderstorms and rainfall so far, said IMD officials. In his presentation, Director of KSNDMC, Bhoyar Harshal Narayanrao, talked about why Karnataka is vulnerable to hydro-meteorological and geological disasters. He also said 80 per cent of Karnataka is prone to drought, and that in the last 23 years (between 2001 and 2024), 16 years are drought affected. He also said maximum number of landslides leaving widespread damage and casualties have occurred in Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Chikkamamgaluru, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan, Chamrajanagara Mysuru and Chikkaballapura. The year 2018 saw the most landslides, at 462, between 2006 and 2024. Narayanrao also said Karnataka is the only state in the south with its own disaster monitoring centre and seeing its success other states are also thinking of establishing one on the lines of KSNDMC. He said KSNDMC is also being approached by a few startups to involve Artificial Intelligence in disaster management. “We are taking a cautious approach towards the idea. We are looking into what AI can offer and will decide accordingly,” said Narayanrao.

Other presentations included an overview of IMD services by S Balachandran, head of Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai and possible integration of climate services in support of Karnataka State Action Plan on climate change by K J Ramesh, Former Director General, IMD. Sanjeev Verma, AGM, Air Traffic Management, Airports Authority of India, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru also made a presentation of how weather forecasting is integral for air traffic management.

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News Network
January 18,2025

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Kadaba, Jan 18: In a heartrending incident, a 16-year-old student lost his life on Friday, January 18, after the motorbike he was riding skidded off the road and plunged into a culvert on the Dharmasthala–Mardhala–Subrahmanya state highway near Gargaspal, Peradka. 

The accident spot falls under the Noojibaltila gram panchayat in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. 

The victim, Ashish, a tenth-grade student from a private school in Peradka, was the beloved son of Vishwanath of Hosamane Kaana in Noojibaltila village. His untimely demise has left his parents and sibling in profound grief.

The accident occurred during Ashish’s routine commute to school. Despite the swift intervention of a local resident, Sridhar, who rushed him to a private hospital in Kadaba, medical efforts could not save him. A case has been registered at the Kadaba police station.

The culvert where the accident happened has long been criticized by locals for its flawed and unsafe design. Numerous accidents have reportedly occurred at this spot, prompting repeated appeals from residents for immediate rectification. Community members have once again called upon authorities to prioritize repairs to prevent further tragedies.

Responding to the incident, Kadaba tahsildar Prabhakar Khajure underscored the importance of curbing underage driving. He directed the police department to take stringent action against minors found operating vehicles and cautioned parents about the serious consequences of providing vehicles to underage children.

This incident serves as a grim reminder of the pressing need for both infrastructural improvements and stricter enforcement of traffic regulations to safeguard young lives.

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News Network
January 17,2025

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Mangaluru, Jan 17: A heart-wrenching accident at Nadupadavu near Kattukodi on the outskirts of the city claimed the life of a young scooter rider this morning. 

The victim, identified as Abubakar Siddiq Razwi (22), son of Moydeen Kunji Bavu and a resident of Nadupadavu, tragically succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

The accident occurred when a scooter traveling from Deralakatte collided with an Ace Tempo heading from Mudipu to Thokkottu.

Abubakar, a final-year student at an Arabic Shariah College in Kasargod, leaves behind a community in mourning. The tempo driver also sustained injuries in the collision.

The Mangaluru South Traffic Police have registered a case and are conducting an investigation into the incident.

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