Award and Prizes: July 2010
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Award and Prizes: July 2010 Perelman rejects award After taking a three-month timeout, Russia's math whizz Grigori Perelman has finally turned down a $1,000,000 prize he won for having solved a century-old puzzle. The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in March awarded its Millennium Prize of $1 million to the reclusive mathematician for proving the 106-year-old Poincaré conjecture, a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space. The eccentric Russian genius said the decision to give him the prize was unfair, as U.S. mathematician Richard Hamilton of Columbia University equally contributed to the proof. Dr. Perelman used a technique developed by Dr. Hamilton, to solve the Poincare conjecture. In 2006, Dr. Perelman refused to accept the Fields Medal, which is considered equal to the Nobel Prize . Sangeet Natak Akademi announces Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars for 2009 The Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars for 2009. These are awarded to artistes ³who have shown/demonstrated conspicuous talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.´ Young outstanding practitioners up to the age of 35 are eligible for the annual Puraskar. the following are the recipients of the Puraskar for 2009: Music:- Omkar Shrikant Dadarkar ± Hindustani vocal; Murad Ali ± Hindustani instrumental ± sarangi; Sanjeev Shankar and Ashwani Shankar (joint award) ± Hindustani instrumental ± shehnai; C.S. Sajeev ± Carnatic vocal; Mysore A. Chandan Kumar ± Carnatic instrumental ± flute; V. Balaji ± Carnatic instrumental ± mridangam; Anil Srinivasan ± creative and experimental music; and Moirangthem Meina Singh other major traditions of music ± Nata Sankirtana of Manipur. Dance:- Ragini Chander Shekar ± Bharatanatyam; Monisa Nayak ± Kathak; Hanglem Indu Devi ± Manipuri; Chinta Ravi Balakrishna ± Kuchipudi; Lingaraj Pradhan ± Odissi; Menaka P.P. Bora ± Sattriya; Manjula B. Murthy ± Mohiniattam; Swamimalai K. Suresh (music for dance) ± Bharatanatyam nattuvangam and vocal. Theatre:- Abanti Chakraborty and Sukracharya Rabha ± direction; Mukta Vasant Barve, Palani Murugan and Teekam Chandra Joshi ± acting; Milind Srivastava ± allied theatre arts ± lighting; Juhi Babbar ± allied theatre arts ± costumes; and S. Gobi ± (major traditions of theatre) ± Bhagavata Mela of Tamil Nadu. Traditional/folk/tribal dance/music/theatre and puppetry: Reshma Musale ± Lavani and Tamasha, Maharashtra; K. Nellai Manikandan ± folk dance, Tamil Nadu; Zohmingliana ± tribal dance and music, Mizoram; Takhellambam Shyamkanhai Singh ± Wari Leeba, Manipur; Sooraj Nambiar ± Koodiyattam, Kerala; Shahjan Ahmad Bhagat ± Bhand Pather, Jammu and Kashmir; Nazia Sayeed ± Odissi music, Orissa; and Lala Bhat ± Kathputli, Rajasthan. Paid news' interferes with concept of free, fair and objective press: Pratibha Patil President Pratibha Patil said the recent phenomenon of µpaid news' could distort news and this interfered with the concept of a free, fair and objective press. Speaking after presenting the 4th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, the President delved into the history and relevance of the Indian media and the challenges it faced in today's constantly changing world. The awards were given to 29 categories, comprising political reporting, business, sports, environmental and entertainment journalism, investigative journalism and on-the-spot reporting. Siddharth Varadarajan, chief of the Delhi Bureau of TheHindu, was selected for the Journalist of the Year award in the Print Category for his extensive reportage on the India-U.S. nuclear deal, the placing of India's civil nuclear reactors under the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and the exemption granted to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, was selected for Journalist of the Year in the Broadcast Category. Harish Damodaran of The Hindu Business Line won the award for the Best Non-Fiction Book in English for his work, ³India's New Capitalists.´ Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta announced a new award category for ³Journalism of Courage.´ It was given posthumously to Indian Express correspondent Vijay Pratap Singh, who died of the injuries he sustained in a bomb blast in Allahabad on July 12. Tilak award for Sheila Dikshit This year's Lokmanya Tilak Award will be given to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. This was announced by president of the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, Deepak Tilak,. The award is given every year by the trust. It consists of a gold medal, a memento, a citation and Rs.1 lakh. The ceremony will take place on August 1 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir on the occasion of the 89th death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. The award was established in 1983. The award is being given to Ms. Dikshit in recognition of her contribution to politics, Mr. Tilak said. Konkani litterateur Ravindra Kelekar presented Jnanpith Award 2006 Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presenting the prestigious Jnanpith Award to octogenarian Konkani litterateur Ravindra Kelekar. The 42nd Jnanpith Award for 2006 carried a citation, shawl, srifal, a bronze idol of Vagdevi Saraswati and a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh . Ms. Kumar congratulated Mr. Kelekar and said that his literature reflected culture, principles of non-violence and Buddha's teachings. Pattnaik wins Sand Sculpture Championship for 5th time Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the first prize at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Championship in Berlin for his sculpture that showcased the effects of global warming. Pattnaik's sculpture that had a crying tree trunk and three monkeys saying, ³You don't listen, You don't talk, You don't see, Don't put heads on sand, act now,´ won the maximum votes. Jaipur's Jantar Mantar inscribed in the World Heritage List The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now a World Heritage Monument. The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee, presently underway in Brasilia, has inscribed Jantar Mantar in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage List. Thirty-three countries across the world had submitted 32 sites for consideration this year. The UNESCO website observes that these structures µdesigned for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, embody several architectural and instrumental innovations. ' Located outside the city palace, this large stone observatory with its many instruments was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century. It is one of the one of the four existing astronomical observatories in India. The others are located in Varanasi, Delhi and Ujjain. The fifth one built in Mathura is not extant. The Samrat Yantra in Jaipur is one of the largest sundials in the world, with its gnomon raising about 73 feet above its base. India had also submitted the Matheran Light Railway line for consideration as an extension of the Mountain Railways of India, which includes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri railway and Kalka-Shimla Railway that are already inscribed as heritage sites. The other international sites added to the list this year include, 11 Australian convict sites, the palace ensemble at ad-Dir'iyah in Saudi Arabia, Tabriz historic bazaar complex in Iran and the natural site of the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka . So far, about 890 properties are included in the list for their ³outstanding universal value.´ The committee also oversees the disbursement of about $4 million annually from the World Heritage Fund. KCHR, British Museum share award The British Museum and the Thiruvananthapuram-based Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) have been jointly awarded this year's international partnership award by the British Academy. The award, which carries a grant of £30,000, is aimed at promoting research collaboration between two partner-institutions, one Indian and one British. The research proposal, titled ³Indian Ocean Trade: the Archaeology of Technology,´ by Roberta Tomber of the British Museum and P.J. Cherian of the KCHR, was based on major archaeological research work at the Pattanam site in central Kerala carried out over the last four seasons. Professor Cherian is the Director of the KCHR and of the Pattanam excavations, while noted historian K.N. Panikkar is the Chairman of the KCHR. The self-governing and independent British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, it has fellowship of over 800 scholars. Leelavathi Award for Simon Lehna Singh Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in mathematics. Named after the immortal mathematical treatise of the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation. It will be presented at the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which will be held in Hyderabad from August 19 to 27. National Film Awards revamped In a bid to give regional language films a bigger chance to bag the spotlight at the National Film Awards, the government has decided to introduce a two-tier selection system. The decision has been taken on the basis of recommendations submitted by an expert committee headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal. Five regional panels will be constituted to select the best