today's GK(7-9-13)

Vettel captures Italian Grand Prix pole

World champion Sebastian Vettel captured pole position on Saturday in a Red Bull one-two for the Italian Grand Prix.

Vettel posted a fastest lap of 1 minute 23.755 seconds at Monza for his fourth pole of the season on Sunday’s grid.

Teammate Mark Webber was 0.213 seconds behind, with Sauber’s Nico Huelkenberg a surprise third ahead of the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

Sangeet Natak Akademy awards conferred

Thirty-two artistes under the age of 35 from all over the country in various categories of performing arts were today presented with the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2011 by Sangeet Natak Akademi.

The awards were presented by chairperson of the Academy Leela Samson at a function in New Delhi, which also marked beginning of a week-long festival of music, dance and theatre by the award-winning artistes.

“This is a day to register in your minds that the country recognises you as young artists of great merit. Also, this award comes with great responsibility,” Ms. Leela Samson said.

Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy for music, dance and drama had instituted the awards in 2006 in memory of shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan who died in August that year.

Ms. Leela Samson, herself a noted Bharatnatyam dancer, said the country had “produced a long and illustrious line of very great artists like Yamini Krishnamurthy” who she and others looked up to inspiration “to show the light at the end of a very dark tunnel”.

“We live in very skewed times when the commerce of things has overtaken us. As artists, it is important that aesthetics and sensibilities of our times must reflect in our expressions,” said Ms. Leela Samson.

She pointed out that the 32 artists were selected by their engagement with the traditions of the art forms that they represented.

“As India’s apex cultural body, we are conscious of the complexities of nurturing those traditions and the very thin line between what tradition stands for and the compulsions of the commerce which lies almost at its heart and centre,” she said.

Wishing the awardees an exciting and wonderful career she exhorted them to fulfil a responsibility to “inculcate a love and respect for the arts into the next generation, the children.”

“With the respect, it is also important for them to learn that this respect costs something” she said.

The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar award carries prize money of Rs 25,000.

Eight musicians were awarded in the field of music are Jayateerth Mevundi for Hindustani Vocal, Satyajit S Talwalkar for Hindustani Instrumental (Tabla), Srinibas Satapathy Hindustani Instrumental (Flute), Rahul Sharma, Hindustani Instrumental (Santoor), Abhishek Raghuram, Carnatic Vocal, Manda Anantha Krishna, Carnatic Instrumental(Flute), Punya Srinivas, Carnatic Instrumental(Veena), H N Bhaskar Carnatic Instrumental (Violin).

The dancers awarded are Meenakshi Srinivasan (Bharatnatyam), Namrata Pamnani (Kathak), Renjini K P (Kathakali) Gurumayum Chandan Devi (Manipuri), Kuravi Venkata Subrahmanya Prasad (Kuchipudi), Sonali Mohapatra (Odissi) and Sudha Raghuraman Music for Dance.

In the field of theatre, the awardees were Ramji Bali and S Murugaboopathy for Playwriting, Pravin Kumar, Rashi Bunny, Shankar Venkateswaran and Pabitra Rabha for Direction, Rayanti Rabha for Acting and Gautam Haldar for Allied Theatre Arts.

In the category for Traditional, Folk, Tribal, Dance, Music, Theatre and Puppetry, the awardees were Pathan Parvez Ahmedali Khan, Folk Dance (Gujarat), Mahadev Das Baul, Folk Song (West Bengal), Mickma Tshering Lepcha, Lepcha Music (Sikkim) Geetanjali Sharma, Brij Folk Dance (Uttar Pradesh) Krishna Pandurang Musale, Folk Music (Maharashtra), Padi Parambil Rajeev Kutiyattam Vidya Kolyur, Yakshagana (Karnataka), Budhram Sori, Folk and Tribal Dance (Chhattisgarh)

Population of Water Voles Declined by a Fifth in UK: Research

The research carried out by the Environment Agency and Wildlife Trusts in UK revealed that the water voles dropped down by a fifth in UK since the year 2011. The reason for their declining population was predation by American mink, habitat loss as well as changing weather. Environment Agency and Wildlife Trusts carried out the research. The organisation is working for the creation of more vole-friendly waterways.

Water Voles were common sight centuries ago, but since 1970s, their number has declined by over 90 percent. This has happened because of breaking habitat and loss of habitat as well as escape of American mink into the countryside. American mink came to UK for their fur, but these, instead started feeding on the water voles. The problem of decreasing water voles is also prevalent in other parts of Europe, primarily Belgium and Netherlands.

Environment Agency and Wildlife Trusts were working towards creation of the new habitats for these voles. The Environment Agency is aiming towards creation of 10000 hectares of rivers and wetlands for prevention of these water voles.

What are Water Voles?

• The European water vole or northern water vole, also scientifically known as Arvicola amphibious, is the semi-aquatic rodent.
• It is also known as water rat.
• Water voles have round nose, deep brown fur, short fuzzy ears and chubby faces. They do not completely resemble the rats because the rats have paws, tails and ears covered with hair.
• The life of water voles is merely five months. Their maximum longevity in captivity is 2 and half years.
• The population of water voles in UK declined from approximately 8 million from pre 1960’s to 2.3 million in 1990. In the year 1998, the population of the water voles in UK was 354000.

India Gave One Million Dollars Aid to UNRWA for Palestinian Refugees

The Union Government of India on 4 September 2013 gave one million US dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for providing food and medicines to Palestinian refugees.

The financial assistance to the UN agency was given as a part of India's annual contribution to it. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from the UN member-states.

About UNRWA
• After 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestinian refugees.
• UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight.
• UNRWA is the main provider of basic services – education, health, relief and social services – to 5 million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East.