Job Opportunity

Communication officer to work for 

Govt of Odisha’s  Urban Development 

Omm  Communications, a leading video production house and PR consultant in Odisha  is looking for a bright and passionate candidate for the following post. Omm Communications was established in 2009 with its head office and studio in Bhubaneswar. We has several reputed national and international organizations as our clients including big corporate and Odisha Govt.

Post: Communication officer to work for Govt of Odisha’s  Urban Development Dept.

Place of posting: Bhubaneswar.

Contract: Two years contractual job with Omm Communications.

Work Profile:  Work under a senior IAS officer in Govt of Odisha and directly report to him. The place of work will be the concerned IAS  officer’s office in Bhubaneswar. The candidate is desired to do all media relate activities and PR work as required by the department.

Qualifications: The candidate should have a very good command over English language and can prepare media release and related material independently. He/She  should be smart, active and passionate to enhance the PR activities of the Dept. The candidate should have a journalism education background, preferably with 2 to 3 years of experience. Knowledge of Odia will be an added advantage. However if the candidate is very good enough suiting our requirement for the job, then previous job experience and Odia knowledge will not be a hindrance in selection.

Remuneration:  Salary will be Rs 30,000 (Rs Thirty Thousand) per month and an additional monthly allowance of Rs five thousand will be paid against conveyance and mobile charges. So the total pay package will be Rs 35,000 per month.  Depending on the performance to the satisfaction of the client, the salary may be increased further in the second year of contract.

Process of application: Interested candidate with their detailed CV and photograph with contact details, stating their interest for the job may be applied to Rojalin karan, Proprietress, Omm Communications at the following mail id:

omm.communications2009@gmail.com

The application should reach before 6^th of July. Candidates having the right profile will be contacted by us for a formal interview in Bhubaneswar. For any further query interested candidates may contact on Mobile no: 9437015089.

Carrtoonists of Odisha 2 | Sudhansu Deo

Published in Odia daily Suryaprava, Saturday, 27 June 2015

Information | Fellowships

Fellowships for middle-level print journalists

The Press Institute of India, Chennai and  the ​ UNICEF Office for Tamil Nadu & Kerala are offering fellowships to middle-level print journalists.

The 2015 fellowships programme will focus on five high-priority issues affecting children in Tamil Nadu: Maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition and anaemia, open defecation, quality of education, and ending violence against children.

Fellowships this year are being awarded only to working journalists in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The duration is from July 20 to December 20.

The last date for submission of applications is July 15.

Information | Competition for Features and Photographs

Press Institute-Red Cross Competition for 

Best Features and Photographs

Like in the past few years, the Press Institute of India (PII), Chennai, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New Delhi, are together organising a competition for the best three articles and the three best pictures on a humanitarian subject.

The article or photograph should have been published in an Indian national

or regional newspaper or magazine between April 2014 and March 2015 and can be in any Indian language or in English. The participating candidate will have to produce proof of his or her article having been published. 

The theme for this year is Reporting on the fate of victims of natural/ man-made disasters. The top three prizes in each category are worth Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively.

Last year's (2014) prize winners for the best articles were Sohini Chattopadhyay (Open Magazine), Lakshmi Subramanian (The Week), and Pervez Majeed (Sahara Times) and Sumir Karmakar (The Telegraph). In the Best Photograph category, photojournalist Pattabi Raman won the second prize while the third prize went to Manob Chowdhury of The Hindu. The first prize in the Best Photograph category was not awarded last year.

--Please visit:http://pressinstitute.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PII-ICRC-AWARD-2015-ADVT.pdf Please contact:
call +91-9042231343, 9871798386 

Information | Science Seminar

Information | Conference

 National Conference on Communication for Social Change, Sept. 18-19 at Shimla

The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla is organising a National Conference on Communication for Social Change and Development: Imperatives and Constraints on September 18-19, 2015

Abstract Idea: In a country as diverse as India, framing of narratives for social change and development needs to take a number of factors into consideration. The political establishment has been particularly sensitive to this as it impacts upon its fortunes at the time of the polls. A run over of political sloganeering in successive elections reveals that this has varied from one political party to another depending on the social group or sub-group it has considered important for its electoral victory. But, the process of nation building cannot be left to the vagaries of political arithmetic. A nation, after all, is greater than the sum-total of its political parties. There could be times when such political rag-tagging could be at variance with the interests of the nation. Political cartelization cannot be ruled out as a means of hijacking the national agenda to suit one dominant group, not necessarily in terms of numbers, could be even in terms of access to communication media and/or prevalent ideology. This calls for the framing of a coherent national communication policy that takes into consideration the cultural and developmental interests of all social groups and sub-groups while framing the imperatives of growth and development at the national level. What is important is the direction of the policy-making process. It should begin from the bottom of the pyramid and work its way up to the summit of the pyramid; an approach as old as the Gandhian philosophy and as new as the post-modernist insistence on the micro-narratives, as opposed to the beguiling meta-narratives. This would call for a huge effort at the grass-roots level, which is not difficult in these days of big data analytics and management.
This Conference attempts to bring together communication experts from the academia, government, independent thinkers and non-governmental organizations to address the issue of national communication policy formation and the role of various stakeholders in its formation and implementation. The following list of areas in which experts can present their papers is not exhaustive, but suggestive:
1. Media and Citizens’ Right to Communicate
2. Media and Social Empowerment
3. Social Media and Agenda Setting
4. Democratization of communication
5. Media Ownership patterns and Narrative Strategies
6. Media Economics and Right to Freedom of Expression
7. The Politics of Media Ecology
8. Gender and Media Management
9. Media and Social Justice
10. Media Ethics and Nation building
11. Media Access and Control

Due to financial constraints the department will not be in a position to pay TA/DA. You are requested to manage it from your respective institutions.
However, will extend local hospitality whose papers are accepted.

Registration fees for the teachers Rs1000/-
Students Rs 600/-

For any further query you can contact the following persons:

Dr(Mrs) Virbala Aggarwal
Professor and Chairperson
Mobile: 09418168234
Email: virbala.aggarwal@rediffmail.com
or
Dr Vikas Dogra
Assistant Professor
Mobile : 09418033126
Email: vikasdogra77@gmail.com

Column | Jagate Thiba Jetedina, 27 June-3 July 2015

Cartoonists of Odisha | Silpee Ashok

Shilpi Ashok: Creator of Sutu 

Shilpi Ashok (born August 2, 1961) has been drawing cartoons since 1988. He started his career from the Prajatantra. Since 2005 he has been drawing cartoons in the Samaja. He has been drawing a regular pocket cartoon titled Jane Hasibe in the Samaja since 2005. He also publishes a cartoon magazine titled Silpi Ashokanka Cartoon Saptahiki. He has also published a compilation of cartoons of noted litterateurs of Orissa, titled Lekhaka Lati.

Like the ‘common man’ of R.K.Laxman he has created a character and named him ‘Sutu’, who represents the archetypal common man.

Shilpi Ashok (real name Ashok Khuntia) is born in Bont, Bhadrak. He is the younger brother of cartoonist Dillip Khuntia. Ashok has his school education at JU Vidyapith, Shendatira, Bont. He studied in BNMA College, Paliabindha, Bhadrak.

He learnt cartooning from his elder brother and honed his skills as he grew. He likes to draw cartoons on contemporary events and often resorts to wordplay.

**

 

New Odia Books

Pitabas Routray publishes two books

Pitabas Routray has recently published two books: an anthology of fiction centred around Lord Jagannath titled " Katha Dharare Shree Jagannath"(Shree Jagannath in the stream of Tales); and a collection of his humorous stories and articles (in Odia this genre is called ramya rachana) titled "Chati Chiridele Tu"(If I cut open my heart, you are there).
Both the books have been published by Cuttack based publisher Jagannath Rath. "Chati Chiridele Tu"was released on 1 June on the occasion of the birth centenary of the legendary humour writer of Odisha, Faturananda.
Routray is a well known littérateur in Odisha who has published three fiction collections and three ramyarachana collection.
He loves to write on and about Lord Jagannath. He has published 11 anthologies on people's impressions on the Lord, 5 collections of stories, 1 poetry collection and 2 essays collection centred around the Lord.
For his contribution to literature he has received several awards and has been ffelicitated by many literary and cultural organisations.
"Chati Chiridele Tu" has 19 of his select ramya rachana and his interview with Saroj Bal.
Katha Dharare Shree Jagannath contains 27 stories, authored by well known fiction writers of Odisha including Chandrasekhar Rath, Santanu Kumar Acharya, Banaj Devi, Prativa Ray and others.

Cartoons | How smart phones take over our lives

Smart Phone,  Dumb People

Smart phones have sounded the death knell of conversation. It has taken over our lives like no other device has done in human history. It keeps us glued to its tiny screen at the cost of our health, our relationship. It is impacting us in several fields and changing the social dynamics.

Here are some interesting cartoons on this phenomena. 

I got all the cartoons from email forwards.

Column | Window Seat, 21 June 2015

Visakhapatnam

I had recently been to Visakhapatnam. Nicknamed Vizag, it is the largest city in present Andhra Pradesh.  The city is often known as The Jewel of the East Coast, The City of Destiny and the Goa of the East Coast for its unique location, natural beauty, economic prowess and cosmopolitan culture.

Visakhapatnam's history stretches back to the 6th century. Historically, it was considered part of the Kalinga region, and later ruled by the Vengi kingdom, the Pallava and Eastern Ganga dynasties. Archaeological records suggest that the present city was built around the 11th and 12th centuries CE with control over the city fluctuating between the Chola Dynasty and the Gajapati Kingdom until its conquest by the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century. Conquered by the Mughals in the 16th century, European powers eventually set up trading interests in the city, and by the end of the 18th century it had come under French rule. Control passed to the British in 1804 and it remained under British colonial rule until India's independence in 1947. After independence, Visakhapatnam developed into one of the country's chief ports and became the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

It used to be a clean and beautiful city till cyclone Hudhud hit it. What Phailin had done to South Odisha in October 2013, Hudhud did to Visakhapatnam in Oct 2014. The city has not yet recovered from the destruction the cyclone had caused. The greenery at the sprawling campus of Andhra University located close to the beach is completely destroyed. Many of the buildings are yet to be repaired. The beautiful beach road has lost its marble clad embankments. There are ugly craters at places of drainage. The roads still wear a ravaged look, parks forlorn.

But as my friend Prof Bobby Vardhan of Andhra University said, “We Telugu people are resilient and hardworking. They will recover. Come next year, you will see a refurbished Vizag.

Hope to find it so.

Health Benefit of Yoga

Dr. A. Pallavi Assistant Prof. Dept. of Physical Education and Prof. M. Shyam Babu, Director of Physical Education Andhra University, Visakhapatnam have written an interesting paper: Effect of Yogic Practice on Physiological and Hematological Variables among Engineering College Lady Students. (Andhra University Jouirnal of Humanities and management, Vol 1, No 1, Jan-June, 2013)

The paper definitely concludes (after 12 weeks of on field experiments) that Yoga has health benefits. Yogasana practice has much influence on selected biochemichal parametres.

Yoga Day: Why on June 21?

June 21 has been celebrated as International Yoga Day on a grand scale, thanks to all out effort by the Union Government. Photographs of Yoga Day being celebrated all over the world have flooded social media. Coverage in mainstream media reached almost saturation point. 

However, I find some people asking why is it celebrated on June 21? Why not on some other day?

Here is the answer: June 21 is the day of Summer Solstice. It is the day which has highest day time in the year: 13.5 hours, whereas during winter solstice, the duration is of 10.2 hours. Summer Solstice marks the transition of Sun from Uttarayana to Dakshinayana.

It is believed that it was on this day Lord Shiva first taught yoga to his disciples. That is why several yoga gurus advocated celebrating June 21 as Yoga Day.

Yoga Day celebration at Kalinga Stadium, Bubaneswar. Photo: Ashok Panda

Tail Piece: Yoga story

On the morning of Yoga Day husband got up early and was getting ready to celebrate Yoga day by practicing yoga. Meanwhile wife woke up.

Husband asked, Darling, will you like to join me?

Wife: For what?

Husband: To practice Yoga.

Wife: You mean to say, I have become fat?

Husband: No, no. If you do not want to join, it is ok.

Wife: You mean to say, I have become lazy?

Husband: Why are you angry?

Wife: You mean to say, I always quarrel with you?

Husband: Are, when did I say that?

Wife: You mean to say I tell lies?

Husband: Ok, ok. I am not going for yoga.

Wife:  I understand everything. You did not want to go in the first place.

Husband kept quiet and went back to sleep.

(Courtesy: Sanjeev Bhanawat on social media)

***

21.6.2015

The author, a journalist turned media academician lives and works at Dhenkanal, Odisha. 

Contact: mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com

Column | Jagate Thiba Jetedina, 20-26 June 2015

Cartoonists of Odisha 1 | Dibakar Mishra

Published in Suryaprava, 20 June 2015

Cartoonists of Odisha | Introductory Chapter

I am writing a series 'Cartoonists of Odisha' in Odia daily Suryaprava every Saturday, beginning 13 June.  It will feature bio-profile, photograph and sample of works of one cartoonist a week.
Here is the introductory chapter.

Cartoonists of Odisha | Hiralal Bariha

Cartoonists of Odisha by Mrinal Chatterjee

Hiralal Bariha

Hiralal Bariha(born 15 Feb 1968) has been drawing illustrations, caricatures and cartoons from mid 1990s. Hailing from Burla, he completed his Graduation from Sambalpur University.

He has been drawing illustrations in Kadambini and drawing cartoons in Odia daily Orissa Express for over 10 years now. 

Bariha's forte is strong lines and a keen sense of human anatomy.

He has won several awards including  Sambhabana – Swanakshatra Samman – 2011,   Kadambini Chitrasilpi Sambardhana – 2011 (on Ten Years Complition),    Swanakshatra Samman – Odisha Express – 2012.

He can be contacted at hiragd@yahoo.co.in

Here are some of his cartoons.

Column | Jagate Thiba Jetedina, 13-19 June, 2015

Stalwarts of Journalism in Odisha | Radhanath Rath

Published in Odia fortnightly Samadrusti, 1-15 June 2015

50 Great Indian Cartoonists | Gopulu

50 Great Indian Cartoonists | Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

Gopulu, the 'artoonist'

S. Gopalan (known widely in his pen-name Gopulu), the famous Tamil cartoonist likes to call himself ‘artoonist’. Facile with both hands, Gopulu has charmed readers with his illustrations for six decades.

Gopulu was born at the temple city Tanjore (Tamil Nadu) on 18 June 1924 and spent his early years there. Tanjore is considered as the cultural capital of South India. The city and its culture had a profound influence on his life and art.  He studied at the Kumbakonam School of Art. The exposure to several beautiful temples and sculptures in and around Thanjavur and Kumbakonam was the beginning of his long and eventful career.

In 1941, he came to Chennai looking for a job in Ananda Vikatan. There, he met the legendary cartoonist 'Mali[1]', who commissioned a number of paintings for the magazine's Deepavali special. It was not till December 1944, however, that Mali offered Gopulu a job at the magazine. Mali was also the one who gave Gopulu his pen-name. Though Mali was known as a social cartoonist, Gopulu's heart yearned for variety. His creativity encompassed jokes, cartoons and illustrations, which were social, historical and mythological in nature. He did a series of pantomime jokes for 17 years in Ananda Vikatan from 1951 to 1968. He worked in several genres: cartoons, illustrations, even painting. This continued for decades in Ananda Vikatan as well as in other journals. In the course of the next twenty plus years, till 1968, Gopulu did political cartoons, cover designs and illustrated columns for the magazine.

Gopulu believed that a cartoonist should essentially be a humanist, a humourist and a critic. He should reflect society through his works. However, during his stint in Ananda Vikatan, some of his cartoons did hurt politicians. One of the former Chief Ministers even went to the extent of making a complaint to the then editor of the magazine.  After that Gopulu stopped doing political cartoons. As he said in an interview: “What I realised is that the political class in the country is not prepared to view cartoons as cartoons nor relish satire''.

Loss to the cartooning genre was a gain for the fine art and illustration genre. As an illustrator, Gopulu worked on popular serials such as Thillana Mohanambal and Washingtonil Thirumanam. He is known for his work with the writer Devan for whom he illustrated the serial Thuppariyum Sambu in comics form. Devan's bumbling detective is remembered in the form in which Gopulu first drew him. Gopulu also travelled with the writer Saavi in 1953-54, to Ajanta, Ellora, Delhi, Jaipur, Calcutta for a travel series.

In 1972, along with Mrs. G. Vimala he started an Advertising Agency “Adwave Advertisements Ltd”.  He designed the logo of the Tamil magazine Kungumam, and that of Sun TV too. The emblem of Shriram Chits — the little boy with his raised hand, is also Gopulu's creation. In 1994, just as suddenly as he had quit his job in Vikatan, he quit advertising and began to freelance for journals like Kalki, Amudhasurabhi, Vikatan and Kungumam.

Gopulu has a great sense of humour. He even jokes about the stroke that he had in 2002. "Maybe it was my obsession with strokes that led to my brush with a stroke!" he says.

 But it was his art that helped him to recover. The stroke left his right hand paralysed. But the artist in him wouldn't give up. So even while in hospital, he sat propped up against the pillows, and taught himself to draw with his left hand! He was 78 at the time! Gradually, he regained the use of his right hand too. Thus he became an ambidextrous artist!

Gopulu is very modern in his outlook relating to the use of devices to draw cartoons and illustrations. He says: “in the present era of cyberspace, an artist should make use of the latest tools, which will provide a new dimension to his/her works. `But, the basics remain the same''.

Awards and Honours

Sri Gopulu was confirmed with an award ‘Kalaimamani' by the Government of Tamil Nadu on 1991. He was conferred M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar Trust Award in 1994, ‘Chitra Kalarathna' award on 1995, and Kalaignar's Murasoli Trust Award on 2000.   In 2001 he was honoured with the lifetime achievement award by the Bangalore based Indian Institute of Cartoonists.

His contribution

Gopulu has influenced and impacted the art of cartooning and illustration in Tamil Nadu in no uncertain term. Generations of Tamil youth have grown reading the comics created by Gopulu. His illustrations, drawn several decades ago for ``Thillana Mohanambal'' and ``Washingtonil Thirumanam'', the popular serials featured in the Tamil weekly, Ananda Vikatan, are still fresh in the memory of many.

To promote young artists, Mr. Gopulu associated himself with the establishment of `Gnana Bharathi' awards, which are given to persons from different fields of creative activity.

S. Gopulu breathed his last on 29th April 2015.

***

---

[1] T. R. Mahalingam (pen-name 'Mali') was a pioneering illustrator and cartoonist from Tamil Nadu in the pre-independence era. He is known to be the Tamil Press's first caricaturist.

Cartoonist of Odisha | Kamala Kanta Rath

Cartoonists of Odisha | Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

 Kamala Kanta Rath

Kamala Kanta Rath (Oct 12, 1967), popularly known as KK, is a Cartoonist, Illustrator & Graphic designer. Ever since in College, KK Rath has contributed to different newspapers and Magazines. His first cartoon was published in a Tabloid called 'City Consumer'. He had also then contributed cartoons to 'Sun Times’ – an English daily published from Bhubaneswar. He joined the latter, as a Cartoonist after his graduation. Other than this, his cartoons have been published in ‘Nabalipi’, ‘Sachitra Bijaya’(Odia Magazine), ‘Jala Jiban Sambad’(developmental magazine), ‘Twin City – Times of India’, Odia daily ‘ The Samaj’ and in many other publications.

KK has done graduation in Commerce but drawing was his passion ever since childhood.

Most of his present cartoons are on social issues. At present he is contributing cartoons in ‘Political & Business Daily’. He has 4 comic books to his credit & is also the author in one of them. His latest work is “Prithivirajankara Munda Garam’ – a comic book on Climate Change.

Apart from Cartooning KK Rath is also a graphic designer. He has served many organizations and institutions, both national & international, as a design consultant.

As a faculty member of the Loyola Centre for Communication & Culture, Bhubaneswar, he has taught many students on Cartooning & Graphic designing, during 2002-2004. Besides this, he has conducted many workshops on subjects like visual communications & cartooning.
From 2013 he is working as a Cartoonist in Bhubaneswar based Odia news magazine Pratinidhi.

Exhibitions:

International Cartoon & Photograph Exhibition ‘PIX & TOON-2002’, Bhubaneswar.

Solo Cartoon Exhibition at Hotel Oberoi(now Trident Hilton) on 31st Dec. 2002, Bhubaneswar.

International Cartoon & Photograph Exhibition ‘PIX & TOON-2003’, Shillong, Meghalaya.

Solo Cartoon Exhibition at Deptt. of Culture, Government of Nagaland, Kohima, Nagaland.

Solo Cartoon Exhibition at Press Club, Guwahati, in aid of ‘Snehalaya’ (Children’s Home), Guwahati, Assam, May 2006.

Cartoon Exhibition at Seminar on Climate Change, Red Cross Bhaban, Bhubaneswar, 2008, organized by Focus Orissa Forum.