Prehistoric rock paintings found in Andhra Pradesh

By Sudhakar Reddy Udumula
Prehistoric rock paintings found in Andhra Pradesh Posted by TANNArchaeoHeritage, Archaeology, Asia, Breakingnews, India, South Asia 7:00 PM Archaeologists in Vijayawada have discovered prehistoric rock paintings near Kadiri of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The rock, locally known as Rukalagundu in Kadiri mandal, was found to have prehistoric paintings dated to Mesolithic times. The prehistoric rock paintings which were discovered near Kadiri of Anantapuram  district of Andhra Pradesh. Some pictures on rocks resemble men dancing,  hunting tools, geometrical designs [Credit: Deccan Chronicle] Dr E. Siva Nagireddy, CEO of The Cultural Centre of Vijayawada, and his team, during investigations in Anantapur district following information given by one Mr P. Anjanappa Naidu, a resident of Potulavandlapalli in Kadiri Mandal, discovered the rock paintings.

Mr Reddy said, “We have noticed a few rock paintings which include a lizard, men dancing, hunting tools and geometrical designs, all executed in red ochre, at Rukalabanda, a small hillock located three kms from the village towards the east.” Mr Anjappa Naidu, along with one Mr Mohammed Rafi, who are enthusiastic about historic remains, were the first to spot these paintings. “The rock art is datable to the period between 10000 – 8000 BC. This is based on earlier finds of similar technique and typology at Velpumadugu and Budagavi in Uravakonda mandal and Tenakal and Enugugavi in Kalyandurg mandal by Dr N. Chandramouli, a specialist in South Indian rock art,” said Mr. Reddy. Mr Anjanappa Naidu said, “The hill rock on which the paintings are located is called Rukalagundu because locals use to pay their taxes in cash called Rukas during the British regime, where until recently, village fares were conducted.” The site is near the Kadiri –Rajampet road. Archaeologists have asked the district administration, district tourism promoting council and the department of Archaeology and Museums to provide an approach road to the spot, minimum amenities like legend board, signage and to declare it as a protected archaeological site and connect it to the tourist spots of Kadiri, Katarupalle and Timmammamarrimanu in the district.

Japan: Tech tradition and peace. Traveler's guide to Japan from India

BY U Sudhakar Reddy

A classic union of ancient and modern, Japan pays tribute to its traditions even as it enjoys the latest in what the 21st century has to offer

Kiezu no Hi, the eternal flame which has been burning for the past 1,200 years on Miyajima Island, speaks volumes about Japan. There’s a sense of resilience, a certain discipline, which has no parallel anywhere else on the planet. Japan is a country that has successfully blended tradition and technology. You’ll see people walking about with the latest gadgets but they’ll still greet you with that overwhelming bow. If you’re from one of those nations topping the annual rudeness list, the gracious Japanese will leave you stunned. Alongside skyscrapers, you find amazing Shinto Shrines, Buddhist temples with pagodas, castles of Shoguns in top cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Tokyo. And then there’s the bullet train, blazing through the country’s gorgeous countryside. But more on that later.

The tour started on a spiritual note with a visit to Asakusa town. Several shops line the street on the way to the Senso-ji temple, selling many things including lovely folding fans. Another must visit place in Tokyo is the Tokyo Sky Tree which I’d suggest you visit around twilight. The view from the 634 metre-high tower is simply breathtaking. And speaking of breathtaking, do not miss a morning visit to Mount Fuji after a breakfast of Miso soup. That sunrise over the volcano that formed thousands of years ago is to die for. Mount Fuji is now a world heritage site with five lakes around it. The peak is at 3,776 metres and the temperature at the top in December is close to -15 degrees. The official climbing season is from July 1 to August 26. Mount Fuji is also a place of worship.

If you’re planning a visit, then late March or early April is perhaps the best time. Japan’s beauty grows multi-fold during these months, with the air filled with cherry blossoms. In the latter part of the year, there’s a chill in the air but the warmth of Japanese hospitality will surely keep you comfortable. While it was snowing in Hokkai-do in the north of Japan, Tokyo (when we landed) experiences an average day temperature hovering somewhere around 15 degree centigrade.

Another pride of the Japanese is the Shinkansen or the bullet train system. Take a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and you’ll know why punctuality is almost a religion here. The trains arrive and leave with not a minute wasted on either side. But Kyoto is where you’ll also experience the tradition. This ancient city will surround visitors with the finest wood and around 80,000 Shinto shrines and castles. Out of 300, only 13 are original castles and rest have been rebuilt. “While Europe is a culture of stone, Japan is a culture of wood,” says our master guide, Mr Toshihiro Kamba.

Kyoto city looks like a chessboard with its 1,068 temples and 820 shrines. And the best-rated tourist spot is the Fushimi Inari Shrine, vividly painted in vermilion. Founded in 711, it is the main shrine of all the 30,000 Inari shrines all over Japan. Vermilion signifies life forces and counter spells and due to the colour, Shinto shrines resemble Hindu temples.

As far as castles go, there’s the Nijo J-Jo castle, one of the finest examples from the early Edo period and Momoyama culture, filled with detailed paintings and carvings.

Communication could get a little difficult in Japan because the signboards are mostly in Japanese and few speak English. But that’s the thing — the country loves its language. It is, however, very manageable if you learn basic conversation skills. And if you’re travelling in a group, do engage an English-speaking certified Japanese guide. Also, make sure you are aware of Japanese etiquette because it needs to be followed at the shrines and temples.

Carry hard cash as well, since the Japanese prefer cash over cards. And ATMs of Japanese banks will not accept your debit cards. To give you a sense of how much cash you’ll need on the trip, an English newspaper, like the Japan Times, costs 210 yens (over `100 in Indian currency).

But at the end, no tour of Japan is complete without a visit to Hiroshima. The city lost 1.4 lakh people to a device of war built by man. But today, it has been rebuilt into an absolute paradise. The peace memorial still has that clock which stopped at 8.15 am — the time of the bombing on August 6, 1945. A cycle on rent in most cities in Japan like Hiroshima, is a good option. There’s also the river cruise in Hiroshima — from the heritage sea route of the atomic bomb dome to Miyajima. And it’s on Hiroshima where another flame still burns, until the world is completely rid of nuclear weapons.

There’s also a message written: Let all the souls here rest in peace. For we shall not repeat the evil.

India unit chief in Syria directed ISIS terror plot

The operations of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, who were arrested on Friday and Saturday, were directed by the chief of the “Warriors of the Caliph in India”, Shafi Armar, alias Yousuf, who is waging war for the terror group in Syria. Yousuf passed on instructions to the three terror commanders, including Mohammed Nafees Khan of Tolichowki, arrested in Hyderabad, and elsewhere in the country.

above; Shafi Armar Below: Sultan Armar

Yousuf is among the top three leaders of “Janood ul Khalifa e Hind (Army of the Caliph of India)”, the Indian arm of ISIS. Yousuf had a brother, Sultan Armar, who died in Syria along with Adilabad Mancherial resident Waseem in March 2015.
Top sources in the police said that Nafees Khan had left his job recently to become full-time chief of the terror group in Hyderabad and took the alias of Abu Zarrar Nafees had prepared the suspects to take part in a training camp in a forest in Karnataka.
Apart from carrying out terror attacks, their aim was to secure the release of Indian Mujahideen former operative Yasin Bhatkal by carrying out a jail attack.
Bhatkal had claimed that he would be released from jail by ISIS. The police now believes that he was banking on the Armar brothers and their network in India.
A top intelligence official said, “Nafees Khan is the key man behind procuring explosive substances like ammonium nitrate, gun-powder, nuts and bolts, pipes, jihadi literature and also organising the three suspects who were arrested from the city. He was the de facto head of ISIS in the city.”
The officer said Nafees Khan, who is married and has children, was in touch with Mumbai handler Mudabbir Mushtaq who is the Indian head of the group. There is another suspect from Uttar Pradesh who has an important place in the hierarchy. Nafees Khan came in touch with Mudabbir and Yousuf online.
Mudabbir, 33, a software engineer, took the name of Abu Musab, after Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who is credited with starting ISIS.
The police said Nafees Khan received funds for terror operations in the city from Mudabbir. Yousuf is believed to have fled to Syria and he was involved in several blasts prior to 2013 and was named in an NIA chargesheet. Yousuf radicalised all the 13 youth, including the four from Hyderabad, online, the police said.
“Yousuf, alias Shafi Armar, was recruiting several youth from India and Hyderabad was a potential recruitment ground,” said an intelligence officer.
The suspects were in touch with Yousuf for one to two years. After the death of Sultan, Shafi took the name Yousuf and took over the Ansar ul Tawhid, an offshoot of the Indian Mujahideen, and joined ISIS.
Sultan Armar figures in the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast chargesheet where he chatted with Yasin Bhatkal, who is accused No. 5 in the Hyderabad twin blast case.
The NIA, in its Dilsukhnagar chargesheet, said Sultan met all the accused of the twin blasts and was closely associated with Yasin Bhatkal.
From July 22, 2013 till August 26, Yasin Bhatkal chatted with Sultan on the ID farafe546@yahoo.com. Yasin was arrested and was lodged in Cherlapally jail. Intelligence agencies said several absconding terror suspects of the IM have joined ISIS.

ANSU CASE : Court acquits Husband and Friends. CBI fails in prosecution

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad: The VIII Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge at Hyderabad has acquitted Mr Ribu John Varughis and his friend Mr Syed Abdul Rasool Chagla in CBI case of Ansu Kuruvilla, who was found hanging in her Madhapur apartment.

Mr Varughis was Kuruvilla’s husband. The court cleared both the accused of all charges and observed that there was no evidence to point that it was a murder as had been claimed by the CBI prosecution. The court ruled that none of the witnesses had testified that Mr Varughis and Mr Chagla had a gay relationship or that that a financial angle was the motive.

Kuruvilla, an MNC employee, had been found hanging in her apartment on July 19, 2006. Three agencies had conducted investigations based on a complaint lodged by her parents. The Banjara Hills police had initially concluded that she had committed suicide.

The case was then handed over to the Women’s Protection Cell of the AP Crime Investigation Department, which concluded that Kuruvilla’s was a case of dowry death. Finally, the CBI conducted an investigation and came to the conclusion that it was a murder and chargesheeted the two accused for criminal conspiracy, murder and erasing evidence.

The trial court observed that the victim’s father, Mr A.M. Kuruvilla, had interfered in every stage of the investigation, including approaching the post-mortem doctors and investigating agencies .

The court also rejected the allegation of a contusion on the head of the deceased. The rough notes that were prepared at the time of the first post-mortem by the forensic doctor did not mention the details of this alleged contusion. The contusion was later incorporated in the final post-mortem report after Mr Kuruvilla met the doctors at the forensic department.

Of the 53 witnesses that were examined, the court found that not a single witness spoke against the accused or doubted their character to commit an offence of this nature against the deceased.
Advocates Mr S. Nagesh Reddy and Mr V. Surender Rao appeared for the accused and the CBI was represented by the Special Public Prosecutor.

After the accused were acquitted, Ansu Kuruvilla’s father Mr A.M. Kuruvilla said he would continue his fight for justice. Speaking to DC over phone from Chennai, Mr Kuruvilla said, “Hope CBI will file an appeal in the higher court. I am working on how to continue my legal fight and to go for judicial review. I have been fighting for justice for the past 10 years and will continue the same.”

He added, “My question is, what happened from midnight when the death took place to the time Ansu’s husband Ribu informed the police? Around 12 hours had lapsed. What happened during this period of time is very crucial in the case.”

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation digs up gas goldmine Krishna Godavari Basin

U Sudhakar Reddy

Hyderabad: A promising exploration in the Bantumilli south field for hydrocarbons by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Deyyaladibba, off Krishna Godavari basin, seems to be turning out into a goldmine for the energy major. ONGC has found more gas than what had it initially anticipated. 

 

The gas reserves would be more than 10 billion cubic metres. Top officials in the ONGC have revealed that a new exploratory well called BTS-2 drilled in Bantumilli South field near Deyyaladibba in Bhimavaram of West Godavari district raised hopes as it is likely to turn out as the biggest in discovery in recent years on land of the Krishna Godavari basin. 

 

Bantumilli was originally in Krishna district and the entire range is named after it up to West Godavari district. A source said, “In 2013-14 when Bantumalli South was discovered by digging exploratory well BTS-1, it was estimated it would be 10 billion cubic metres. Due to various technological hitches, drilling beyond 4,200 metres could not be continued further. 

 

With the pressure, it was estimated that the production could be one lakh cubic metres per day from the well. The BTS-1 well was capped and again recently another well BTS-2 was dug up to 4,600 metres. However, ONGC needs technical equipment and manpower to explore the field further as there is a high pressure.

 

Meanwhile, officials said even the Malleswaram field in Krishna will yield oil in large quantities. The Bantumilli South field is spread over 18 square kilometres. ONGC’s asset executive director Mr P.K. Rao said, “Bantumilli South is one of the most promising fields.”