The Observer Volume 21 Issue 16 Dailies 2

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The Observer An IIJNM publication

Vol. 21, Issue 16

Minister Ashwath Narayan encourages not to seek profit in higher education at NEP Conference | P 3

Website: http://www. theweeklyobserver.in

Doctors’ strike continues for the second day as young meds march towards Town Hall | P 4

A lot of study material is sent on WhatsApp

By Kashish Sharma

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There was a lot of emphasis laid on the digital revolution and the advantages it offers for education. However, an ASER study puts forth the stark reality about the lack of access to technology | Credit: Kashish Sharma So most of the learning material comes through a WhatsAppgroup,” said Harsha Kashyap, a student of class 10 who studies in a government school.

The presence of a smartphone at home is only a half-step towards online learning, when infrastructre is seen missing.

Epaper: https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Rise in smartphone ownership does not ensure quality study

he availability of smartphones among Indian students saw a 31 percent rise, including public and private schools since 2018,according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021. However, their full accessibility at home continues to remain an issue.

According to the report,the percentage of students who had a smartphone at home stood at 36.5 percent in 2018, 61.8 percent in 2020, and 67.6 percent in 2021.

Karnataka saw a rise of 29 percent in students having at least one smartphone. In 2018, 43.1 percent of Karnataka students a smartphone at home. The percentages for 2019 and 2020 were 68.6 and 71.6 respectively.

“I do have a smartphone which my sister and I share. In school, some students don’t have Android phones that support video classes.

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Vijayalakshmi T, a teacher at GHPS school, Vajarahalli, informed The Observer: “Most children depend on their parents’ phones, and this makes it difficult to conduct online classes. In many houses, only the father has a phone.When he is out for work, the only option left for teachers is

to make home visits or send lessons through voice messages which they can listen to later in the day. Many government school students also watch a DD channel to catch up with lost lessons.”

“Every time my girl has a class, we have to leave the phone back at home when we are going out.

There is no other choice. One feels handicapped without a phone.It affects our functioning….This system comes with a lot of compromise from both parents and children,” said Maya Gupta, mother of an 11-year-old girl.

Owing to the unavailability of smartphones among students during lockdowns, many government schools had to limit their virtual teaching options.

“We had clubbed classes 1 to 3, 4 and 5, and 6 and 7 and had organized one online class for each of these groups. Most of the learning material was exchanged through WhatsApp. Students were asked to submit worksheets on the groups which were corrected and send back to them” said Radha, the headmistress at GHPS School, Bidadi. ►See full report on http://www. theweeklyobserver.in

News briefs No decision taken on nationwide NRC The government has not taken any decision yet to prepare a nationwide National Register of Citizens, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

7-day quarantine must for international passengers

Amid mounting concerns over the new Covid variant after two South Africa returnees tested positive for Covid-19, Bengaluru airport mandated seven days of quarantine for all international passengers as precaution.

Vaccines less effective against Omicron

Drugmaker Moderna's CEO set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets on Tuesday after he warned that Covid-19 vaccines were unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they have been against the Delta version, sparking concerns.

CBSE class 10 board examinations begin

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted the Social Science paper on Tuesday, November 30, the first day of the class 10 major exam. Candidates who appeared in the exam reviewed the question paper as moderate and balanced.

Financial literacy missing B’luru college holds big Rajyotsava function despite govt’s advisory from school syllabus Health minister Sudhakar gives it a miss

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tudents are deprived of basic concepts of finances because they do not figure in school curriculums. Parents have to teach their children at home, reports Anwesha Singh.

Rather than financial literacy – a life skill that they should learn in school –children are mostly taught things that don’t have much use of in day-to-day life.

A school-goer should know about savings, investment, budgets and managing wealth, but these are never taught in schools.

A child is capable of learning these concepts step by step, but there are no provisions for the same in the school curriculum. Inculcating financial concepts early on create a sense of monetory respnsibility among youngsters.

By Chhavi Vohra

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Teaching kids about money can help them later | Courtesy: Pexels.com According to the National Centre for Financial Education's (NCFE) Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey 2019, the South zone has a 30% financial literacy, a little higher than India’s financial literacy, standing at 27%. ►Details on page 4

Karnataka Rajyotsava function was held at the SJB Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, despite a government advisory to postpone all social and cultural events in educational institutions for two months. This was issued due to the Covid-19 situation.

Education and Health Minister K Sudhakar was invited to the event, but he did not come. Dr Ajai Chandran C.K., Principal of the college, said: “This is a formal function. All precautions are

All the Covid rules were seen flouted in the event | Credit: Chhavi Vohra being taken. We thought of post- here. We are following all governponing the event as per regula- ment norms and Covid guidetions, but it has been 21 years of lines. Vaccination certificates are our existence. We will soon an- being checked at the entrance.” nounce ourselves as an auThe Observer, however, noted tonomous institution.” that social distancing guidelines Tejas Babu, the institute-level were being flouted. Nobody had a cultural coordinator, revealed: mask on, neither was facility to “There are 4,500 students and check vaccination certificates.

400 faculty members present ►Continued on page 4

COVID IMPACT

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The Observer Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Visvesvaraya Science Museum still not back to its glory days

Footfalls still not par with pre pandemic levels

By Saumyangi Yadav

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hildren , with their masks hanging on their chins, hasten about the lifelike model of a dinosaur. Muffled voices of joyful squeals can be heard mixed with the mechanical noise of machinery and science models. Parents stand in a corner, looking over their young ones experimenting with various exhibits. The museum is buzzing with people, but has still not regained its pre-Covid glory.

The number of people visiting the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM) has increased as Covid cases have shown a downward trend. However, footfalls are still far from the pre-pandemic level.

K.A. Sadhana, the director of VITM, informed The Observer: “The footfalls have definitely increased, but until now, we have only reached 30- 40 percent of the pre-pandemic number of visitors.

Before the pandemic, we used to get around 11 lakh visitors every year. This year, the museum opened on July 19 after lockdowns. Since then, we have only got around 1 lakh visitors so far.”

When the museum reopened in July, Deccan Herald reported it had had good footfalls.

Covid tracker

Karnataka New Cases

371

Active Cases

6831

Total Cases

1,646,193

New Vaccinations

281023 Total Vaccinations

72098531

India New Cases

6990

Active Cases

100543

Total Cases

3,45,87,822

With the reopening of schools, VITM authorities expected better footfalls, but the situation did not change that much. Another reason stated for low footfalls is the lack of interstate visitors | Credit: Saumyangi Yadav Devika M, a ticket-seller at the museum, said: “On a good day, we get somewhere around 700 to 800 visitors. But usually the footfalls are around 500. On weekends, we get more visitors, say 3,000 to 4,000. Before the pandemic, we used to get around 10,000 people on every weekend.”

With the reopening of schools, museum authorities expected better footfalls, but the situation did not change that much.

P. Radhakrishnan, the security and maintenance officer at the

museum, said: “Hardly any schools come to visit the museum anymore. Schools have faced a lot of backlog in terms of education as they were closed for one and a half years. On top of that, they have faced financial challenges as well. Of course, a trip to museum would not be their priority” Another reason for low footfalls is a lack of interstate visitors.

“We used to get visitors from all over the country — largely from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, but also

from the north and northeastern states. Whoever visits Bengaluru also visits this museum. If you check TripAdvisor, Visvesvaraya museum is one of the top five tourist destinations in here. But since the pandemic, inter-state and foreign visitors have stopped visiting,” Radhakrishnan added.

Increase in footfalls means a rise in maintaining Covid protocols.

Isha Rastogi, a college student who recently visited the museum, said: “I came here with my friends. It was a good experience.

However, with so many young kids, it is hard to keep social distancing. Many of the exhibits are out of order right now. The museum needs a little more maintenance and stricter Covid norms.”

Asked how they are ensuring safety, director Sadhana said: “We have installed contactless washing stations at the entrance of the museum. People use them before entering. Plus, we ensure there is a one-way flow of visitors, so that people don't bump into each other and a safe distance is maintained.… In one section of the museum, we have contactless exhibits as well. Which means that, people do not need to press any buttons in order to interact with the model here.”

On November 14, VITM organized a special initiative for blind and underprivileged children.

Many children turned up for the programme, the director shared.

Authorities hope more schools will visit the museum soon. saumyangi.y@iijnm.org

Citizen’s Voice India should ban flights from high-risk countries The increase in Covid-19 cases in Karnataka is a matter of concern.

I believe the government has taken charge of the situation proactively. But I think that they should also ban flights coming from high-risk nations. Omicron, the new Covid variant , if it comes to India, will make the situation worse.

Rahul Sharma

Give booster shots to senior citizens, others Amid fears of Omicron, a new Covid variant, it would be useful if the government rolls out booster shots for senior citizens and people with comorbidities since these people are the most vulnerable to the virus.

Prashant Bodas

Animes have a strong cultural impact I read an article on anime culture in the November 29 edition of The Observer. An anime fan myself, I found it well researched and unbiased. It correctly mentions that anime culture has grown in India during the pandemic. There is a very strong cultural impact of this.

Sahil Choudhary

Auto fare hike will drill a hole in our pockets I am worried over the recent hike in autorickshaw fares in Bengaluru. My request to the authorities is to reconsider the fares and make autos run on natural fuel.

Raja Banerjee

Plant nurseries in Bengaluru struggle to recover from losses after the pandemic With no biz, cost of upkeep crushed them

By Tina Freese Plant nurseries in Bengaluru are struggling to revive from pandemic-inflicted losses. This also prompted many to leave the business, say nursery owners.

Puttaswamy, the owner of Garden Care nursery, informed The Observer: “During the pandemic, like any other business, we suffered too. But for us, it was even worse because there is no way we could have reached our customers. There was no business at all for nearly five months. Many small nursery owners had to leave the business. Speaking of my business, it survived.”

Sales are better than they were during the lockdown, he added, but are nowhere near the prepandemic levels. “The sales are 50 percent less than what we had

Plants were damaged in the lockdown | Credit: Saumyangi Yadav before the pandemic.”

M. Devappa, who owns M. Devappa and Sons nursery, said that due to recurring losses, he had to lay off some of his employees. “Things were very bad for a few months. I started to think of alternative business options. I had to cut salaries and even ask some of my employees to leave.”

Sales have picked up as the city has few Covid cases and people

have started going back to old habits like gardening. “ Although sales are not very good and nowhere near the pre-pandemic level, we are still hoping that they will considerably increase post this rainy season,” he added.

Bibdipla Das, who runs The Green Grower nursery, said nurseries had to bear more losses because they had to maintain and keep the plants alive. “Sales were a part of the reason why we were facing losses; but on top of that, we had to pay rent to store the plants. We survived mainly on our savings. Many of our plants were damaged during the lockdown. Taking care of the plants was a big challenge for us. We paid rent of the shop, but there was no business for more than three months,” he shared.

They even tried to take up online orders and deliver goods, but that was of no help. “Towards the latter half of the pandemic, we had some orders for landscaping.”

Owing to huge losses, nurseries were forced to either lay off their employees or cut their salaries.

Jasmine Kavya, 25, who works in My Dream Garden is one such worker. “The nursery I work for faced a lot of losses. They did find a way to provide services online and through doorstep delivery, but sales weren’t the same as prepandemic levels. Our salaries were cut as a result, and we faced a hard time, but now sales are better and our salaries are back to normal,” she said.

Archana Lal, 45, who loves gardening and keeps a variety of plants, said: “The pandemic was a difficult time for every business.

I buy a lot of plants, but during the pandemic, it was the last thing on my mind. I took care of my plants and mainly ordered pesticides online. Going to nurseries or hiring gardening services was not safe at that time.”

Many people found gardening therapeutic and started it during the pandemic. According to a report published by the Deccan Herald newspaper, some people turned towards gardening during the extended lockdown. tina.f@iijnm.org

CITY

The Observer Tuesday, November 30, 2021

EECP therapy is a little known alternative to angioplasty Surgeons don’t recommend, call it ineffective

By Ayndrila Banerjee

E

nhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is a less expensive and safer alternative to angioplasty procedures.

Awareness about it is relatively low among heart patients.

Dr Sabir Pasha, a general physician, informed The Observer: “Despite the fact that the therapy requires no surgery, not many people know about its existence.”

Dr Pasha has given EECP therapy to many patients.

EECP is a non-invasive therapy that lowers the number of “angio episodes”. . Dr. Pasha explained how the treatment works: “The treatment requires a patient to lie down. Three cuffs are wrapped around the calves, thighs, and buttocks. There’s a machine attached to these cuffs which constantly monitors the heart rate and saturation levels. Blockages are unclogged through a natural bypass. The standard protocol is to conduct 36 sessions, each session of one hour.”

EECP therapy has shown impressive results.. Syed Sameer, 37, shared his experience with The Observer: “This treatment is much better than getting surgeries. It is also very affordable. I

Quiz 1.Famous fictional character Sherlock Holmes, first made his appearance in which of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels?

2. Who wrote The Iliad?

3. How many acts are in Romeo and Juliet?

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was originally published in which language?

5. What is the seventh and final installment in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series?

6. Who wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Goldfinch?

7. Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is set in an underground world of which city?

8. Mary Ann Evans is the pen name of which famous English novelist?

9. Who wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?

10. Which historical event does Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities concern?

11. Who gave birth to the popular fictional character, Hercule Poirot?

12. Which Russian writer is the author of the classic work Anna Karenina?

13. Which Brontë sister was Jane Eyre was written by?

14. Which infamous leader's autobiography is Mein Kampf?

15. Alfred Jingle is a character from which of Dickens’s novels?

EECP therapy is completely non invasive and there is no drug usage while angioplasty require stenting and drug administeration through injection | Credit: Ayndrila Banerjee had an attack in July 2021. So I went to a private hospital and underwent surgery which cost me a lot of money. I had three blockages and the surgery could only open one of the blockages.”

The average cost of an EECP therapy is around Rs 85,000, whereas an open-heart surgery costs Rs 2.9 lakh to Rs 3.6 lakh.

Sameer got to know about

EECP through a friend after he realized he had two more blockages. “I came to know about this treatment and thought of giving it a try. Luckily, after the completion of my treatment, I have now no blockages left.”

But surgeons advocate openheart surgery or angioplasty to recover from heart diseases instead of EECP therapy. Dr. Sus-

mit Bhattacharya said: “The treatment is not very effective as far as recovery is concerned. Patients might get some symptomatic relief, but it is not suitable for the long term. We don’t recommend this treatment at all.”

The main difference between an EECP therapy and angioplasty or open-heart surgery is that the former is completely non-invasive and there is no drug usage, while the latter require stenting, some amount of surgery and drug administration through injection.

Prashant Bodas, 56, underwent heart surgery many years ago.

The concept of EECP hadn’t reached India by then. However, he wishes he had known about it.

“If I was given an option between angioplasty and EECP, I would have gone for EECP therapy based on how many sessions an angioplasty takes. Plus, the fact that the treatment is completely non-invasive might draw more and more patients towards this treatment,” he said.

EECP has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Nevertheless, awareness about it is low. One reason for this is that heart surgeons, who first diagnose heart disease, don’t suggest it. On the other hand, some patients would rather go for traditional heart surgery instead of an unknown treatment. Centres that offer EECP treatment promote it through digital marketing and social media. ayndrila.b@iijnm.org

3 Around the city Standup comedy live, comedy show, Claytopia, Kormangala Bengaluru, Tuesday, November 30 onwards Standup comedy: Kalyan Nagar, Comedy show, Glen’s bakehouse, Kalyan Nagar, Tuesday, November 30 onwards Pottery workshop, pottery workshop at Lahe Lahe, Bengaluru, Wednesday, December 1 Planetarium show, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru, Tuesday, November 30 Indian Music Experience Museum, Indian music experience, Bengaluru, Tuesday, November 30 onwards Gaurav Kapur Live, standup show,Phoenix Marketcity, Whitefield Main Road, Bengaluru, December 3, 7.30 pm The Nonveg Live show, standup comedy show, FlaxHealthy Living, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, November 30 onwards, 1.30 am Free Walking Tour Bangalore, Walking tour of Bengaluru, Near Cubbon Park, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru. November 27 to December 5. 7.23 am Mystery Rooms- Bangalore, Live escape game, Mystery rooms Bangalore, HAL 2nd stage. Indiranagar, Bengaluru, December 1, 3 am Autotechnika, leading trade fair and exhibition, Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre, Hobli, Bengaluru, November 30, 6 pm Bookwriting workshop, Writing and publishing book workshop, Bengaluru, December 1, 8 am Weekday Blues, standup comedy show, Marcopolo Cafe, Kormangala Industrial Layout, Bengaluru, December 1

Higher education is the only field where profit is not the main motive: Minister Ashwath Narayan

By Arshreet Singh

H

igher education is the only field where we need not work for profit. We need to make this clear, said Dr. Ashwath Narayan C.N., Minister for Higher Education for Karnataka, speaking at the National Conference on the Implementation of NEP-2020 conference.

Talking about the high fees of educational institutions, he said: “Healthy competition between private and government institutions needs to exist for the benefit of the students, the government of Karnataka has not distinguished between private or government institutions.”

The average fees for engineering in private colleges ranges from Rs 2.5 lakh - Rs 3.5 lakh in the country, according to Careers360.

Dr. M.R. Jayaram, Chairman of the Gokula Education Foundation, speaking at the conference said that Karnataka has taken the lead in the implementation of NEP 2020. “We are not following the Government of India or the Supreme Court, but have established a better education system.”

Minister Ashwath Narayan talking about higher education at the conference | Credit: Arshreet Singh However, a report by University World News says that research expenditure in India has continuously risen in the past 5 years.

T. Mangeshwar, Vice Chancellor at the S.R.M Institute of Science and Technology, rebutted his fellow speaker, saying: “People have asked for government support. Gupta Ji, why do we need this support? Universities are quite well to do. We should support innovations like these and

we should support research. Innovation department is important to compete with universities around the whole world.

Dr. G. Vishwanathan, Chancellor of Vellore University, stressed the need for the government to increase its expenditure on education. “For the last 60-70 years, it has been requested that six percent of GDP should be spent on education. So far, we have not crossed 3 or 3.5 percent. 147 countries spend more than India on education and related things.

Stressing on the need for better education, Vishwanathan said, “Inequality in education brings inequality in society. Wealth inequality must be addressed… I ask the government to lift the GST on educational institutions so amount can be useful.

The Government of India currently levies a GST of 18 percent on private institutions.

On the other hand Professor V.B. Nanda Gopal, Ex-professor of innovation and incubation at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore had a different opinion . Talking to The Observer about funding from the government, he

said: “Most of the institutions expect the government to give money. Institutes have no lack of funds. They should not be dependant on the government .”

Dr. Mahaling Murde, professor at the Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Technology and Electronics, told The Observer about challenges faced with implementing NEP 2020: “The option to enter or exit a course at any time is good. If a student studies at our institute for one year, we need to provide a skill-based diploma. Most of our current syllabus is not skill based.

Professor Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education said:. “70 percent of education in India is funded by privately funded institutions.”

Suhanya, a professor at IFIM Law School in Bengaluru, said: “I attended this conference to know about the skills we can incorporate and the challenges. I’ve made my set of pointers which I’ll implement in my organisation.”

EPSI aims to facilitate quality education in the country, and is currently functioning in 20 states. arshreet.s@iijnm.org

CITY

4

The Observer Tuesday, November 30, 2021

No space for financial ed in curriculum Students learn about savings, budget at home

By Anwesha Singh

F

inancial literacy doesn’t find a place in school curriculums; parents have to teach their children the basic finance concepts on their own.

Gauri Gupta, an M.Sc. student who had studied economics in school, shared: “What we studied was just from the exam’s perspective. There were some big topics regarding the economy of the nation, but I didn’t find anything in the syllabus that would have helped me in my day-to-day life.”

Asked whether her economics studies help in her day-to-day life, Prerika Sharma, a psychology student who had also studied economics in school, informed The Observer: “Not at all. It was all bookish knowledge and it is completely different from what we need in daily life. What they taught us is not going to be of any benefit for us.” She believes that the education system is only grades- and job-oriented and doesn't care about students gaining knowledge.

“However, if you are pursuing

Financial education that schools provide has no use in the day-to-day life of students | Credit: Anwesha Singh higher education, then they might teach the concepts that can help you in your life, but those who don’t opt for it, lag financial education,” Sharma added.

According to the Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey 2019 of the National Centre for Financial Education, the southern states have a 30 percent financial literacy while the nation’s financial literacy stands at 27 percent.

Nilay Kumari, mother of a seven-year-old girl, shared: “I be-

lieve my daughter is old enough to know small things about finance. There are no such subjects for it, but I will make sure that I start expanding her knowledge on finances.” The first thing she taught her child was savings.

“We have opened a bank account for her and try to teach her the basic concepts,” she added.

Rati Priya, mother of a 10-yearold, teaches her son money matters and finances. She makes her son understand basic things like

the difference between need and want. “I try to make him understand the importance of money and make sure that he gets to know how to manage money and make a budget and spend according to it. These learnings will help him throughout his life.”

One of the essential life skills is financial literacy. Teaching kids these skills can help them make wise decisions in life.

Shubham Khandelwal, an economics teacher, spoke to The Ob-

server about financial literacy among students. “Only textbooks cannot make you financially literate. There are advertisements by RBI which makes us aware about various frauds. These kind of things help a child gain knowledge and initiate interest in them.” Schools should have some free periods where students should be taught banking, savings, loans and debts, household budgets and managing them.

“It’s important for them to learn these things. Or else they can fall prey to online frauds which are at a peak,” Khandelwal added.

Bhuvan T.M., who is a finance professional, considers financial literacy a core life skill to adopt and change in a competitive world. Students need to take charge of their finances to be competitive in a dynamic and changing environment, he believes.

“Primary principles like budget, spending habits, small investments and other things which will enable them to make well informed financial decisions on their own should be taught by parents,” he further added.

If a student is going abroad for higher studies, he/she can learn about finances, but in schools, classes should be conducted for financial literacy and empower the students from the beginning. anwesha.s@iijnm.org

Doctors agitated over delayed Social distancing is not counselling move on the streets possible, say students

By Kashish Sharma

T

he silent medical protest that had begun yesterday at the Victoria Hospital of Bengaluru was joined by more young doctors making a march to the Town Hall as they felt unheard by the state government.

“We want to be seen and heard.

We will not go to the freedom park to protest as prescribed by the government," said Dr Naveen KL, who told the Observer why they had planned to March towards Town Hall this morning.

Among the three demands of fee reduction, most important matter of concern is the delay in PG NEET counselling that is one of the calls of these young doctors.

Dr K.M.D Shoaib, a post graduate student of Victoria Medical College said, "We will pass out of the college next February and then there will be just one batch left in the college and no new interns. When will they study if there is no alternative work force.

The government fails to understand that these students need to study as well. We can't run hospitals with 33 percent work force."

Dr Pallavi Swamy, a second year post graduation student said," As per the new government policy on reservation, some courses like general physiology, dermatology and radiology has maximum seats for reserved classes. General students will hardly have access to such colleges. This

In the wake of the emergence of the new variant, less medical force can lead to catastrophe | Credit: Kashish Sharma reservation conflict is still being resolved in the Supreme Court and that is why there is so much delay in counselling.

Dr Dayananda, a senior resident and former president of Union Doctors Association, said "The strike will be indefinite till the state yields in. We were supposed to have three post graduate batches in one college and with the current delay in counselling, we are just left with two batches.”

These young students who are working s doctors have exams to attend to, they have to submit thesis but they are taking roles which are not theirs. This is unfair." he further added.

"Delaying counseling of MD, MS students is like keeping good capable doctors at home when the nation needs them the most, es-

pecially in wake of third wave of Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

Dr Naveen KL, who is the coordinator of Karnataka Resident Doctors Association said, "We are not satisfied with the tweet of Minister K Sudhakar ( Minister of Medical Education and Health, Karnataka) who promises to release the funds at the earliest.

They have been promising us for last 6 months. We don't believe in their empty words anymore.”

Though the police refused to give any statement as the protest went on peacefully, the Indian Medical Assocoiation president, Anuradha Parmeshwari came in full support of the movement.

The young doctors are in no mood to give up as they plan to meet the chief minister at earliest. kashish.s@iijnm.org

Precaution is better than cure, says film star Ramachandra Raju who graced the event | Credit: Chhavi Vohra ►Continued from page 1 opular film actors like Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Ramachandra Raju of KGF movie fame were also present at the Rajyotsava event today.

Raju said he was happy to be a part of the event and meet the students. Everyone should follow Covid-19 guidelines as precaution is better than cure, he added.

Spoorthy AB, an engineering student,said: “I am very excited about the event. Everybody will be performing. However, it’s not possible to maintain social distancing at an event.”

Sanket Bhatt, an ISC student, said: “Rules are followed, but today is a function. We are not being told to wear masks today.”

P

Health experts caution such large-scale events should not be held during the pandemic.

Dr Dakshinmurthy from the Chinmaya M ission Hospital, a government hospital,said: “I am against such mass cultural events during these difficult times. Bengaluru should be under the watchdog considering the rising cases in the city. Social distancing rules should be followed.”

CM Bommai on November 27 hinted at tightening curbs to control the rise of Covid as thecases have become a cause of worry with new clusters emerging.

There is also a threat posed by the new Covid variant Omicron, which emerged in South Africa. chhavi.v@iijnm.org

SOUTH

Just 8 ft left for vehicles to pass Smart City work leaves people of Seshadripuram 1st Main Road irritated

By Anwesha Singh

A

t any time of the day, long lines of vehicles stand on either side of a point on 1st Main Seshadripuram. Drivers honk incessantly, many of them not realizing that only 8 feet of space is available for vehicles to squeeze around a huge excavation for Bengaluru Smart City Ltd work. Three-fourths of the road is not navigabl even on foot.

Residents of the area are distressed because of the unending road construction work.

“I am now used to the honking of vehicles. It's a part of my everyday routine,” shared Javed Khan, a shopkeeper in the area. “The work has been going on for a long time. For sometime, they had stopped it. But now, they have resumed the work again.”

Asked what difficulties he faced as a shopkeeper, he explained: “Mine is a bathroom supply store.

Whenever goods come in, there is a problem for me as there is not enough space. Also, the area in front of my shop is not good. They have kept pipes, bricks and mud which cause difficulty for workers asthey have to unload goods.”

Residents of the area fear for their children, who might fall into the hole while playing. Even the elderly who walk around might stumble due to construction material lying around the area.

Vikas Srivastava, owner of Sri Sai Baba Enterprises, has faceda

Smart city construction work causes discomfort to people; forcing them to take longer routes to reach the main road.| Credit:Anwesha Singh lot of troubles. “The work has beengoing on for so long but still hasn’t been completed. Right in front of my shop, there is this pile of bricks and mud which affects the customers. Old people don’t want to come. No one wants to come to thisarea.” He shared that the work had stopped for about

two months. It resumed when anews channel covered the issue.

There is no space for pedestrians on the road. The footpath is occupied by construction material like pipes, cement and iron roads.

Naga Raj, a resident of the, area has faced difficulties. “My home is onthe main road.To come to the

main road, we have to take a long route. The entrance of the alley is blocked by construction materialthat is lying around. The main problem we face is during emergencies when ambulances are not able to come to our place or get stuck in this traffic jam.”

Krishna Anand, a tea seller in the area, said the biggest problem he faces is the lack of parking space. “Customers come to my stall but don’t stay long as there is no parking space. My business has been affected by this a lot.

Even when they are at my stall, the long queue of vehicles makes it inconvenient for them to stand.

The construction work is causing problems like pollution and “it is uneasy for us to remain in dust all day long,” he shared.

According to the locals, approximately a month ago, Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao, had visited the area and reassured them that the construction work would be completed soon.

Asked how long would it take for the work to get over, BBMP contractor Manou said: “In the next 14-15 days, the work will be completed... The completion of the work took time because there was heavy rainfall in the past few days. We have made the arrangements to resume the work and it will be done soon.” The contractor pointed out how the water that has collected at the site is an obstacle for them. anwesha.s@iijnm.org

Couple stranded on NH 16 DSS to celebrate B.R. Ambedkar’s death aniversary

By Tina Freese

warnings against disruptions and vandalism

By Ayndrila Banerjee

T

he Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, on Tuesday, announced that they will be celebrating the 65th death anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on December 6.

DSS President H. Marappa made the announcement at a press conference at the Press Club of Bengaluru today. "We have called this press conference to let people know that we will celebrate the 65th Mahaparinirvan Divas. We will start marching towards Vidhan Soudha from Banapa Park," he said.

Marappa added that men, women, workers and students would offer one rose to BR Ambedkar's statue in the city at Vidhan Soudha.

Dalit Sangharsh samiti was found in 1974 by B. Krishnappa, a professor and the pioneer of Dalit literary movement, to hold protests against Dalit oppression in the state of Karnataka.

When asked if their previous demands have been met, K. Tammaiya, a member of the organisation said: "Our demands for Ration cards and reservations for engineering students have been fulfilled. We made efforts to prioritise these demands, hence they have been fulfilled."

The Observer also asked if the organisation is planning to hold any protests in the near future.

Tammaiya said:" We will hold a protest if the issues are real and legally permissible. If people have any issue regarding anything, they can inform us and we will protest to seek justice."

However, the group has no plan to hold protests, as of now.

President Marappa said they will not tolerate any discrimination against the community during the event. "We are warning against people who try to create a nuisance during the event. If anyone, no matter who it is, an MLA or MLC, tries to disrespect Babasaheb or throws discriminatory slurs against us, we will make sure that we surround their houses and hold protests."

About 1000 people are expected to participate at this event on Monday, December 6, 2021. ayndrila.b@iijnm.org

T

ravellers were stranded on National Highway 16 in Andhra Pradesh as floods damaged big stretch of the road.

Kirti Singh, 28, who was travelling from Jharkhand with her husband, informed The Observer: “My husband and I were stuck on NH 16 near a village called Manubola in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district. The place is nearly 350 km from Bengaluru.

The condition was very bad. It was raining incessantly and the road was flooded. Nearby farms looked like rivers because they were inundated. Government agencies were working to clear the situation, but we had to wait for the entire day yesterday.”

Pratik Singh, Kirti’s husband, who was driving, said: “There were not many options for us. We could have either travelled back to Vijayawada that would take us nearly five hours or stayed there.

We decided to wait it out. The police told us to wait… It was a scene of utter confusion and chaos. There were ambulances patrolling continuously as many people were falling sick. Our dog was irritated the whole time.”

There was no accommodation available in the area. Villagers helped the stranded people by serving food and tea . “There were

People were forced to stay in their cars due to flood | Courtesy: Kirti S a lot of people stranded, mostly tourists like us… We met many people from Karnataka. Most of us had to stay in their cars. There were many trucks stuck in the middle of the flood,” Kirti added.

According to a report in The Hindu, floodwater from the Pambaleru river caused severe damage to NH 16. Highway authorities decided to let the water recede and then start repair work. A 16- month -old baby was killed due to a wall collapse.

A report in Hindustan Times said 44 persons died and 16 were missing after the unseasonal rain.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rainfall warning for coastal Andhra Pradesh for the coming week. tina.f@iijnm.org

5 This day, That year On this day in 1858, physicist Jagdish Chandra Bose was born. His experiments on the quasi-optical properties of very short radio waves, pioneering in radio and microwave optics.

Quote of the day Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds —Arundhati Roy

Weather Maximum temperature:27° C Min temperature: 20° C Precipitation: 10% Humidity: 71% Wind Speed: 21 km/hr UV Indec: Very high, 9

Quiz answers 1. A Study in Scarlet 2. Homer’ 3. Five 4. Swedish 5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 6. Donna Tartt 7. London 8. George Eliot 9. Maya Angelou 10. The French Revolution 11. Agatha Christie 12. Leo Tolstoy 13. Charlotte Brontë 14. Adolf Hitler 15. Pickwick Papers

The Observer Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Team Observer Editor: Simran Sharma Reporters: Arshreet Singh, Ayndrila Banerjee, Anwesha Singh, Chhavi Vohra, Kashish Sharma,Saumyangi Yadav, Tina Freese Copy Editors: Anwesha Singh, Kashish Sharma, Tina Freese, Saumyangi Yadav, Shristi Achar A, Swarali Bodas, Simran Sharma, Chhavi Vohra Photo Editors: Saumyangi Yadav, Tina Freese, Swarali Bodas, Shristi Achar A Page Layout: Saumyangi Yadav, Tina Freese, Swarali Bodas, Shristi Achar A Supplement: Jinit Parmar

6

Music Unmuting the silent music industry

The Observer Tuesday, November 30, 2021

SUPPLEMENT

Listening to music became a coping mechanism and a way to find inner peace during the lockdown, says Jinit Parmar

D

uing the lockdowns forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, many people found inner peace through music. Listening to music became a coping mechanism for many to break from the restrictions. But do we ever wonder how the pandemic affected those who make music?

Musicians, whether popular or otherwise, those who perform in public or those who work behind the scenes, have all been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as by the restrictions it brought along with it, including the nation-wide lockdowns.

Many of them expressed their disappointment over the lack of awareness of how musicians earn a living. This, they believe, is one probable reason for the lack of support they received from the government in those hard times. They were also vocal about the struggles of people who work behind the scenes – the post-production staff and event-management staff.

Event management staff includes those who set up the stage, lights and sound.

Chugga Khan, a folk musician from Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, who had performed in over 120 countries for over 25 years before the pandemic, says: “It’s been 18 months since I performed a live concert”. Khan, who used to work abroad for at least two to three months or even a year in preCOVID times, said thatnow he is solely dependent on concerts for his income.

“Even the concerts in India have been cancelled.

This [folk music] is all I know,” he said.

Khan, primarily plays the morchang (a percussion instrument) and bhapang (a single stringed percussion instrument), sings Sufi and writes his own songs. He has performed with renowned national and international bands and independent musicians such as the In-

dian Ocean, Radiohead, Sushila Raman and Vikku Vinayakram. In Rajasthan, his group used to sing at weddings, dargahs and temples, but during the pandemic, even these options were not available.

The story for many rock and metal bands in the country was slightly different., Rock musicians could not feel the vibe and energy while performing for a digital-concert when compared to a public concert.

They had to adapt to the changing scenario.

Delhi-based singer and audio-engineer Rohan Solomon said that since Covid restrictions did not permit bands to play live on stage, many artists would go live on Instagram and other such latforms once in a while and just perform with an instrument for people who would join and chat. “It is a good way to connect with your audience as it gives you a sense of how your last single may have impacted someone,” he further added.

Singer Ishaan Nigam, who collaborated with lyricist-composer Brite Roy for the songs ‘O Jaana’, ‘Saawariya’,’ Qaafirana Shayrana’ and ‘O Chaand’ during the lockdown, emphasises sustaining the fan connect.

“Frequent live streaming on social media platforms is important. Apart from that, it is imperative that one releases new music and collaborates with other artists,” he said.

Kochi’s annual Mojo Rising festival was postponed when it was scheduled to be held on 14 and 15 March 2020, featuring the likes of Sid Sriram, Agam, Anand Bhaskar Collective and Aabha Hanjura’s band Sufistication, among others.

Lakshmi Venugopal, head of corporate communications at organizing firm Wonderwall Media, said that they just decided to prioritize “safety and health over anything

else”. “The situation now will definitely lead to an unimaginable crisis if this status quo continues. Even during the floods (in 2018), we faced issues, but this pandemic being a global crisis has shut

down the industry in totality,” she said.

The global music industry is worth over $50 billion, with two major income streams: live music, which makes up over 50% of total revenues and is derived mainly from the sales of tickets for live performances.The other one is through recorded music, which combines revenue from online streaming, digital downloads, physical sales and synchronisation revenues (licensing of music for movies, games, television and advertising).

Live events and gigs often feature original compositions and songs that have been created by, or made popular through, popstars or cinema.

According to the Indian Music Industry-Deloitte report, musicdriven live events generated Rs 1,280 crores in 2019. The live events industry was valued at Rs 6,500 crores the same year.

The Events and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) in 2020 conducted a member survey with 170 companies that were affected by COVID-19. After the event cancellations following the virus outbreak, 63.1% of the live event companies in India reported losses in their revenue of Rs 1 crore or less.

Rahul Chaudhary, an independent singer-songwriter based out of New Delhi said that the times have been tough for singers from a long time.

“Covid-19 brought the worst time for independent singers,” he said. “Bad times last for some time.

It is a lesson for us to learn something out of it and produce the best of our art,” he added.

Although cheerful about the times ahead, he said that the feeling to write something that has not yet been explored in the world and to curate a tune to lyrics gives him the best feeling.

“Not just the sense of creating a hit song but writing a good song is equivalent to going to a therapy session. It eases your mind and gives you eternal peace.

I can’t put a word to this feeling. It is like being transparent to yourself,” he further added.

Rahul Ram, bass guitarist and vocalist of Indian Ocean said, “Members of bands like ours, or Parikrama and Euphoria have homes, and bank balances. They would be able to stay afloat during this crisis. We have taken a hit too; we did not get 90% of our income last year.

But it did not drive us to sell cars or drastically curtail our lifestyles,” The fact that people are coming out to live gigs slowly after the lockdown has ended, is a ray of hope for these music artists. But beyond those reasons, what many musicians are seeing is that there is a lot of support they could get from the market for businesses.

But then again, as the third wave of Covid-19 looms, everyone is unsure of what is in the store for the Indian music Musicisians faced losses during the lockdown | industry .

jinit.p@iijnm.org Courtesy: StarClinch.in, Rohan Solomon, Arnav Kamble.