STADIUMS IN BANGALORE

Principally there are three stadiums in Bangalore. The KSCA stadium of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, The Bangalore Football Stadium and the Kanteeriva stadium. The KSCA stadium stands at the end of the M G Road, the Football stadium in Richmond Town and the Kanteeriva stadium near the Richmond circle.

Mostly cricket matches are held at KSCA stadium ; once upon a time football matches were held regularly at the bangalore football stadium and athletics and other sporting activities in the kanteeriva stadium. The kanteeriva stadium has come up in the location that earlier was the Sampangi tank. The cubbon park is adjacent to this stadium.


As a boy I remember witnessing a foot ball match at the Bangalore Football Stadium between ITI Ltd and Orkay Mills - must be in the late or near-mid 70' s at the Bangalore Football Stadium.It was a close match and I very vividly remember the fine goal keeping of Bangera the goal-keeper of Orkay mills through whose consistent telent and effort the ITI team failed at making a goal all through the first half and had to execute the ultimate surprise and deceit in the closing minutes of the game to get a goal through one of the distinguished center forwards of the side whose name I dont recollect now. Sundareshan I think is the name of the goal keeper of the ITI side. These matches were played as part of the Federation Cup matches and in the finals ITI played East Bengal. Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal, Mohan Bagan, ITI Ltd, Salgoacar, Dempo sports were the key football teams of India during this time.


I have not witnessed any cricket match at the KSCA stadium but had some association with the Kanteeriva stadium where as school boys were called upon to participate in taluk level volley ball matches and also in 1990 as a sprinter in BPL intramural competitions.

THE IIM KOZHIKODE

I have visited few IIM's but the IIM kozhikode is truly fascinating.

Let me explain how IIM-B looked like in 1986 when I happened to pay a couple of visits. It was a large barren land with the central stone structure visible from far and few occasional flights that take off from the old Bangalore airport could be clearly seen gaining height above this stone structure. It was indeed a splendid sight that evening. I had met Mr. Ravi Kumar of the department of psychology during a subsequent meeting. The IIM-B today is a more refined structurally speaking and one of my recent visit left me spell bound in the consistency of architecture employed and the many parks and greenery abound. Indian educational institutions like the IIM's showcase to the world that primarily we are second to none when it comes to designing such educational enterprises of national significance. I had known the present director Mr. Pankaj Chandra earlier and happened to call on him some time back. I had met a HR professor Kalyani Gandhi in one of my visits.

I was thrilled when the govt was mulling setting up an IIM at Kozhikode may be something long overdue ...I dont know the exact year this enterprise was established possibly few years prior to the year 2000 and the IIM's did operate out of REC Calicut for few years before the present set up came up at Kunnamangalam. Kunnamangalam is an important node on the calicut-wayanad highway roughly 15 kilometers from Calicut / Kozhikode and can be approached through the civil station road or via the Medical college road that runs adjacent to the PG hostel terminating at Karanthur. Kunnamangalam was an important hub for we REC students too...the sindhu theatre down the junction where we were visitors for movie in the afternoon or evening. There was no bus stand in Kunnamangalam prior to 1984 and the present small bus stand coming up in the june of 1984 and the IIM is somewhere mid-way between Kunnamangalam and Karanthur. IIM Kozhikode can be called an IIM on the hill which it precisely is and possibly the only educational institute in the world where one cannot just walk into. This aspect must be adding some additional advantage and largely contributing to placidity essential to learning and assimilation.


I happenned to visit the interior of IIM Kozhikode in 2006 and the view from the IIM around is truly breathtaking the large stretch of vegetation that catches ones sight almost instantly a rare sight to be enshrined by any visitor who takes the rugged path from the base uphill. Somewhere I find Calicut/Kozhikode changing in that the various hills that signify the city going bald with the tonsuring of the trees that perch on them for human and economic ends a turn of events that does appall me...and if at all these trees are tonsured they must instantly give way for new saplings to replace the old. No one must compromise with the the green facade of Calicut or Kozhikode and any irresponsible attempt at defacing the trees must be countered healthily. I met Prf. Broaca and Prof. Bhatt during this visit and also dined with Prof. Bhatt.


IIM Kozhikode instantly puts Calicut/Kozhikode on the world map for various reasons and that the Govt. executed in all ts wisdom such an institute with professional designs is laudable and
K P P Nambiar was in some way a key figure in the conception and execution of this venture is somewhere enthralling to me.

The ITI theater and Auditorium

Deep within the ITI complex is an edifice the sign and thought of which fills me with glee and some anguish of some special kind...the ITI theater or Auditorium or what ever it may be called. Glee because I saw many a movie in this theater and anguish because the "HOUSE FULL" board greeted me at times...nevertheless this theater was to ITI and to its surroundings what the Arena was to Rome.

I was associated with this theater as a child or may be even as a baby....Malayalam and Tamil movies were screened at this theater in the early 1970's only to be discontinued for some reason soon after. English , kannada and Hindi movies were the main stay ever since and the people in the surroundings had a surfeit of them all.


What is this theater all about...It basically skirts the Vidya Mandir school and is a rectangular structure with a ground floor and a balcony with an elevated projector room which had metal stairs to it ; The balcony had slightly more than 300 seats and the ground loor had a total of roughly 1000 seats divided between first class and a lower class. In 1975 the fare for the balcony was Rs. 2/25 ; the first class Rs. 1/60 and the second class Rs0.90 a very moderate standard even by the rates of the day. It had a 35mm screen covered with a curtain used to raise with a specially designated signature tune which was specifically entertaining and amusing. The staff who worked at the theater were employees of the ITI factory who volunteered their services and were paid for their service.

There is no movie in the history of moviedom that did not find its place to be screened at this theater..every single movie in the the english, kannada and hindi found its way into this theater. You could reserve your tickets for the balcony in the mornings between 10:00 Am and 12:00 am and first show and second show was screened every day at 6:15 and 9:30 respectively and a matinee show at 2:15 on holidays.

Why did I choose to write about a common place object like the ITI theater..I was witness to many a battle that was fought at and near the box office for tickets for many a movie - the scrambling - the hurry - the resentment- the satisfaction - the many scrambles and altercations-the restlessness and uncertainty.........all to see a movie at the ITI theater. I was a witness to all this as a boy especially the long queues that diminished rather slowly and not to mention the sudden emergence of the "House Full" board and the last minute rush of many through the dark inside the hall to find their seats sometimes sitting on some one already perched on a seat leading to pandamoneiun and confusion of sorts only to be sorted in a hurry by the many around who were feeling disturbed and the light of the long torch of the supervisors trying to help many a family find their trusted spot....this was the frenzy at the theater and how could some on forget it and not to mention the accidental stamping of somebody's foot in the dark and the shreiks of pain.


Each movie for me is a case study. I went to reserve tickets for "SHOLAY" and the house full board greeted me after a long wait in the queue and I made an entry into the first class after spending time in another queue...For the movie "Daari Tappida Maga" I had to go twice or thrice for the ticket.


This is the ITI theater and let me thank the Managements of ITI at various periods of time for organizing and maintaining such an enterprise and above all running it well and also showing the most ultimate altruistic gesture of throwing the gates of the theater open for the wide public irrespective of being directly or indirectly linked with this great institution called ITI.

Lt. General Satish Nambiar

Lt. Gen Satish Nambiar

Lt. Gen K P Candeth

Our part of India has provided India with a distinguished and thinking soldier in General  Satish Nambiar and it makes me happy that some one of our stock through perseverance has waded and peirced through uncertain situations to become an active Lieutenant General and retired after serving as the head of United Nations Multi national combat force in Yugoslavia and alsoas Deputy Chief of Army staff. I would have been happier if he had become the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army. Later he served as the Director for twelve years of the United Armed Services institute in Delhi.....I hope I have got the name of this institute right.

There was another Lt. General in the Indian Army K P Candeth who liberated GOA from the Portuguese control who I understand has his roots in our part of the world. He was also the first Lt. Governor of Goa.

The following is a video link showing Candeth;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnqB6jZYag

Chenicheri is the name of the house of Lt. General Nambiar and a house often fondly spoken about of by my mother. Hats -off to Cherukunnu and Chenicheri...We want a Chief of Staff badly from this place.

THE BANGALORE CANTONMENT

Having seen Bangalore city from a very young age and also many other cities thereafter every other day as a keen observant find something special . Bangalore is a blessed city in many ways and has the potential to become a very very key city at a rapid pace in the world arena.

I see a particular part of Bangalore and find it quite different if not special from the many other parts,the large area of land around the Ulsoor lake. The view of this lake cannot but help me make various presumptions and according to me the heart of Bangalore city is this lake. Adjacent to the Ulsoor lake is a rock and a temple which I have not visited but appears to me very historically significant. Kempe Gowda must have been drawn to this rock and set up some kind of a tower there and when upon this rock a breath taking view of the surroundings were possible. The lake and the rock combined must have been some sort of an abode for various communities since time immemorial. There is a similar rock inside lalbagh and i have seen one more at hebbal. These rocks are sacrosanct and possibly provided refuge from enemies and acted as a watch tower to identify invaders.Bangalore city needs to reinvent its roots and in these structures ly embedded the past in various forms.

When the British take control of India I think the MEG or what is called the Madras Engineering Group find the ulsoor lake ideal for providing aquatic training of various kinds to its recruits as such military training begins to become more and more relevant for the british troops and there could be no other place than the Ulsoor lake. Ulsoor must have been the anglicised version of Halasuru and Halasu must be some vegetable or fruit in the colloquial. Note that troops of various kinds were probably routed to this point for training there by ceating military outfits and residenes and laying for ever the foundation for the "Bangalore Cantonement"..how logical , crucial and eternal. What must have looked worse than a hamlet becomes a key breeding ground for various activities of a world class nature and the modern day M G Road owes its existence to these events. One can see the Bangalore Cantonment railway station very close to the ulsoor lake as with time supplies to the MEG centre were becoming increasingly larger necessitating the use of railway and as more and more of the english making settlements around this area there began the need for another railway station the "Bangalore East" not far away. Thus this lake and its hillock proved a central attraction for english settlers and their activities from whence grew this city of Bangalore - how resplendant. As a child growing not more than ten kilometers from this point never knew to myself or appreciated the fact that I was reared and lived in the vicinity of history which was a judicious combination of the western and the local... I realise it very much now and how different and suave a place I spent childhood for largely good in many ways and may be bad in very miniscule ways.

An area of a radius of around 15 kilometers around the ulsoor lake is the Bangalore Cantonment which had military parade grounds; residences for trainee military men; residences of British serving officers;churches; railway and road systems; recreation centers ; cricket grounds; auditoriums; public offices not to mention schools and the British brought them all converting to the exclusion of its immediate environment a formidable patch of land which could be called little-england into which only a secluded few could make entry and to the best of my knowledge there is no other place in India which could have had a large scale and concentrated British influence as this stretch and every english- man of these times enjoyed his tryst with this belt as we did many decades later as children mutely appreciating the aura of some kind around us.

The Richmond Road, The Residency Road; South Parade;Cavalry road and the Infantry road formed key roads of the official part part of the Cantonement and note the military linguistics that formed part of the names of these roads. There were many inter connecting roads of a criss-cross kind like the Brigade road and the Lavelle road. The Infantry road probably housed the offices of the Infantry who were possibly trained and paraded near by and so was the cavalry which means mounted soldiers and note that all these key roads are almost parallel to each other. During the world wars there was need for an airport and hence the old airport some where close by sums up this part of the city in those times. All these roads were on the left side of the lake and to the right side of the lake and yonder came various residences and the Coles Park which we call Bangalore East today.

THis is Bangalore Cantonement of the past and any one who comes to Bangalore of today must identify and associate oneself with this distinct past and this patch or stretch or periphery or domain or whatsover one may wish to attribute to it is an un-erasable stamp of the British on the lives of a common Bangalorean or a common Indian of today ; everything commencing from a hillock and a lake nearby called the Ulsoor Lake.

THE GREENS THEOREM

When I was a student at a technical school I had real problem with this theorem and thought to myself why not try to simply this theorem to any present day student who would be having difficulty at understanding this theorem.

I have seen many people who forcibly digest these theorems with no understanding what so ever of what they are doing. Mathematics and its many variants have been confused profusely by humanity in some form or another so much so that many practitioners fail to assimilate or atleast ponder to give many things a thought.

They say Greens theorem is another version of the stokes theorem about which I have no idea but will dwell upon it some time in the future.

At the center of the greens theorem is the cartesian co-ordinates which can be treated both as a vector or scalar co-ordinate. Note that scalars do not have direction as against thevectors. When some one uses the cartesian co=ordinates in a polar form it becomes vector co-ordinates and is defined by r and theta..r signofying the magnitude and theta signifying the direction. Whenever we define and treat the cartesian co-ordinates by x and y they are scalar co-ordinates. Hence we have both scalar and vector algebra arising from the cartesian plane.

What are the basic components of the Greens Theorem;

1. A closed curve chosen to be traversed in the counter clockwise direction also called positive direction.

2. Another function defined by X and Y components called F which is integrated upon the above curve which can be smooth or piece-wise smooth.( A circle is smooth whereas a triangle is piece wise smooth).

3. Greens theorem like many simple theorems says that the line integral over the curve is equal to a partial double integral over the plane.

The theorem goes something like this;

Closed Intregral of f.dx + g.dy along the curve mentioned

equals

Double Integral of the function resulting from the subtraction of PD of g with respect to x and PD of f with respect to y.

(the above will be mathematically described by any text)

PD means partial derivative

f is the x component of the plane F which will be a function in x and y

g is the y component of the plane F which will be a function of x and y

Example : Let F be defined as ( -y x) and let the curve in question be a circle x^2 + y^2 = 4 which would be a circle centered at the origin with radius 2.

Note that at the end of the day "What does Green's theorem do ?" that is very simple. A line integral of a function over a closed loop is calculated easily using a partial differential equivalent.

In the above problem suggested f is -y and g is x and please compute the partial integrals and you get 8 phi which is twice the area of the circle.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT OF MATHEMATICS YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GO MORE INTO THE DETAIL OF THIS THEOREM. IF YOU ARE A STUDENT OF ENGINEERING GET THE ABOVE IDEA WHICH I HAVE GIVEN AND ALSO LEARN THE MATHEMATICAL PROOF AND SOLVE SOME SIMPLE PROBLEMS. THIS AREA IS SOMETIMES CALLED COMPLEX ALGEBRA NOT TO BE CONFUSED AND FRIGHTENED ABOUT..THIS IS JUST AN ALGEBRA OF TWO FUNCTIONS ON THE CARTESIAN PLANE.

GOOD LUCK

Dr. O T George at NIT Calicut

At NIT Calicut during our time there was a professor who used to teach Mathematics. His name is O T George. He did some help to me which I cannot forget.

The subject Mathematics IV in the fourth semester was a very problematic one for me. For some reason this subject gave me trouble. It had Greens theorem in it and for some reason it took some time to get a hang of it. Recently I was going through Greens theorem all over again. So I decided to take some help from this great person who always had a smiling nature and was the warden of the B hostel when I enrolled at the hostel.

He did help me very willingly for about a fortnight and would sometimes inquire about my well being in the canteen. I used to visit his house almost every day during this period and one night there was no power and he taught me in candle light. Actually my room mate M M Shajan was instrumental in introducing me to Dr. O T George.

I always wanted to meet him after I graduated but could not for some reason and through this write-up let me thank him for his help and succor and his concern for me in surmounting the most difficult of hurdles at NIT Cali cut.