Meet the key man

For those who are passionate about a hobby will go to any extent to practice it and eventually master it. Sometimes even they spend their entire lifetime, learning and experimenting on their own to achieve complete mastery over their passionate hobby.

Here is one such, 53-year-old lock smith G Ashok who open several different varieties of locks by using standard techniques and instruments developed on his own, some of which include innovative ones not found anywhere.

He has converted a portion of his house into a workshop in Agrahar, where he takes various research works and has developed hundred of self invented tools and other instruments to open the locks. For all most all types of key he has different type of instruments. Based on the lock, using suitable instrument he will open the keys. He says, only in countable cases he has failed to open the keys.

What initially started as a hobby for Ashok when he was a 15 years old boy, gradually grew into a profession. By the time he completed his PU he had acquired all the necessary skills required to open locks without using keys.

In his 40 years of self taught practice he has opened locks of thousands of houses when the owners approached him. Because of his services, he has not only saved property and other inadvertent incidents, but even a couple of lives.

When KL Sudheer (present Commissioner of Police for Mysore) was Deputy Police Commissioner II in 1992, Ashok was appointed on adhoc basis as a special Police officer to avail his services for the Police Department.

The money he obtains from the service he donates it for good cause. He says, apart from money service is important. Based on the instruction of KL Sudheer, he has even created awareness among people about safety measures to be followed to avoid theft, and tips about safeguarding keys.

'I always desired to come out with something innovative. The result of my hardword and dedication is what I am today. As thousands of combination of lock and keys are available I have to constantly come out with new innovations and update my knowledge, which is suitable for present day technology,' he says.

'First I make a thorough study of the case, whether its genuine or not. Later, I open the keys,' he adds. He claims, even most of the lock smiths also fail to say about his instruments.

Couple invent a novel tracker to catch chain snatchers

Chain snatching has become an urban menace putting the cops on their toes to catch the culprits. Distressed over this, here is a couple who have come out with a novel smart electronic gadget to track down the culprits and know their where-abouts before catching them red-handed.

Titled 'ATME Technology-Ultimate Real Time High Speed Tracker for Serious Convert Operation' the device is invented by BS Manusudhan, Lecturer ECE Department, along with his wife S Sowmyasudhan, Lecturer CSE Department. Both lecturers of the ATME College of Engineering.

How it works

The chip Micro Electronic Mechanical Switch (MEMS) with a customized real time GPS tracker will be embedded in the gold chains and ornament. A mobile number will be assigned to the tracker. The biasing voltage required for operating the chip is generated by the body temperate of the person wearing the ornament.

When a chain is forcibly snatched, the weakest link disconnects and the chip transmits an emergency high priority signal to the nearest mobile tower and there by switching to the nearest police station and also sends an SMS message to the per-designated cell phone number.

The Police need to have equipment or a computer to monitor the incoming signal and to track the coordinates of the chain snatchers. As the GPS Tracker keeps sending the message for every five seconds, the culprits are tracked in real time. Another advantage of the tracker is that even if the culprits takes it to a goldsmith to melt ornaments, the exact last location can still be known and the culprits can be traced.

Naming the processor as 'ATME – P2011' the couple have applied for a patent. In the meantime, they have also obtained a digital signature for implementing this prestigious project. The Approximate cost of this tracker is around Rs 1200.

Manusudhan says, 'We conducted a detailed survey before working on the Tracker. Police informed us that between 2008 and 2010, around Rs 1 crore worth of gold chain snatching cases have been registered by 223 victims. It has become a challenging task for the Police Department to catch the culprits.

The smart processor ATME-P2011 in the gold chain or any valuable, tracks the criminal and can be put behind bars,' he said. The couple are presently working on extending the concept to transmit video signals in real time to nearby police station when untoward incidents occur.

He thanked ATME College Principal Dr KS Srinivasan and Chairman L Arunkumar for extending support to establish a project cell and launch the product by coming years.

No traffic signal at this busy junction

There are several traffic junctions in the city which do not have any signal lights in-spite of the heavy vehicular movement. One such junction is at Chandramouleshwara Temple Circle adjacent to the Saraswathi Theater.

The junction links four roads, one leading to Chamarajapuram Railway Station (District Court), one towards Fire Brigade (connecting Ramuswamy Circle, Vinobha Road), other roads lead to Saraswathipuram, and another road heads towards KG Koppalu. In spite of heavy vehicular movement on this Road, Traffic Police have failed to provide a traffic light here.

To avoid vehicle riders meeting with accidents, the nearby residents had hoisted Kannada flag for a pole in middle of the road. As a result people used to circle it or bypass it. But during the demolition driver of temples, the officials have removed the pole, which has pushed the commuters into confusion.

Apart this, some trees roots to pose threat her. For road widening about 4-6 trees have been chopped long ago, but so far no measures have been taken to clear the roots of the tree and asphalt the road.

Tailor L Balaram, 'Must and should we need a traffic signal here. People get confuse while crossing this junction and daily about 10-12 people suffer from minor injuries. There are even some incidents where people have meet with the accidents.'

Ganesh says, 'even after repeated complaints to officials no one has look into this place. When the pole was erected the situation was quite good. During Railway signals, it is still more hard to cross this road.'

DCP Basavaraj Malagatti said that he will look into the issue and take appropriate action.

'The concerned officials should make efforts to either construct a proper circle at the place or install signal lights and make the road safe for drivers.'
- Borappa, KG Koppalu resident.

Millet Savers Mela at HD Kote

Pipal Tree, in association with Sahaja Samrudda, has organised a Millet Savers Mela at Myrada, Handpost, HD Kote on April 10. The aim of the Mela is to motivate communities to revive the cultivation and consumption of millets, most of which have almost disappeared from our food system since the introduction of the green revolution and the centralised food policies.

The Mela will bring together millets farmers and organic farmers from different parts of Karnataka. There will be an exhibition of millets varieties grown in different parts of Karnataka by the participating farmers. The Mela will also provide an opportunity to those farmers who would like to revive the tradition and culture of millet farming to procure seeds at the Mela.

Krishna Prasad of Sahaja Samrudda, said that these traditional food grains are storehouses of nutrition and far more nutritious than rice and wheat. The elderly people in the communities testify how strong and healthy they were when their food system was based on millets.

'There are enough indications that the country will face huge food shortages with dramatic shortfalls in the production of wheat and rice by about 2050 or earlier as a result of the increase in atmospheric temperature and shrinking water sources. Millets could be the solution as they are rain fed crops, growing with little water,' he states.

Farmers who have carried forward the wisdom across generations will be honoured on the occasion. HD Kote MLA Chikkanna will inaugurate the event.
For details contact 99728 30387 / 91414 77660.

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Millets and food security, a mela with a difference

Despite of soaring temperature, farmers from all over Karnataka gathered at the Millet Mela jointly organised by Pipal Tree and Sahaja Samrudda in HD Kote, Mysore District on Tuesday.

The exhibition at the mela provided varieties of millet seeds for farmers to takeaway and grow. The Mela emphasised the importance of 'Akkadi' or mixed cropping in millet cultivation.

A group of women talked about traditional millet based recipes. They hoped to collect all these recipes and disseminate them to a new generation that was not aware of them. Some farmers enumerated all the different varieties of millets that were grown in Karnataka. Others went into the reasons why millets suffered a setback in the context of the green revolution and other government policies.

HD Kote farmer Bhaskar, insisted there was wealth to be earned from minor millets like Samay, Navane, Ragi, Baragu, and Oodalu. There were also discussions on using the SRI method in Ragi cultivation, where a Haveri farmer Mookkappa Poojar, has harvested 25 quintals of Ragi from one acre of land following this method. Haveri farmer Nagappa asked farmers not to fall into the prey to the seed companies.

Speaking on the occasion, Krishna Prasad from Sahaja Samrudda, stated that returning to millets and mixed cropping was a return to sustainable agriculture and good health. He further highlighted the importance of women in propagating millets.

'Men appear to have easily succumbed to the lure of Bt cotton and cash crops. But women have more health conscious and they play a pioneering role in promoting the return to millet farming in a big way,' he added.

Siddhartha from Pipal Tree stated that the food security situation is likely to become extremely serious in the next few decades. Wheat and rice will suffer dramatic shortfalls in production due to water shortages and rise in temperature.

'Millets, which are rainfed crops, grow with very little water. Given the fact that much of the agricultural dry land in India was suitable to millet farming, the government needed to promote millet farming on a war footing. This could be the most important 'adaption' measure in the context of climate change,' he added.

Over all, the the general consensus of mela is present trends with chemical agriculture leads to disaster.

Insurance cover for students provides security

An Engineering college in the city has implemented the novel idea of providing insurance coverage for students as well as staff. Academy for Technical and Management Excellence (ATME) College of Engineering which started in 2010, has provided insurance coverage for all its students and staff under Education Package Policy.

Since day one all the student and staff members are covered under this policy, both on campus as well as off campus. So far about 481 students and 64 staff have been provided with insurance cover of which four of them have already claimed the insurance.

Recently parents of two students (MV Suraj Nag and S Ravi Kumar) who died in a road accident have received Rs 1 Lakh each under this insurance coverage. Staff members who met with a road accident and a snake bite have also been duly reimbursed of their medical expenses under this insurance coverage.

Deceased Ravi Kumar’s father SM Shivanna said that he came to know about insurance only after college staff contacted him. He says, 'if the insurance coverage is introduced in all the colleges it will be helpful'.

ATME College Chairman Arun Kumar said, 'as more number of students own vehicles, the insurance coverage will be very helpful. The coverage is being provided as part of social responsibility.'

'Another added benefit of the insurance is in case of accidental death or permanent disability of the earning parent, all outstanding fee amount will be
paid lumpsum to the Institute to ensure continuity of education of the
student', he said.

The policy also has provision to provide relief in the event of accidental contingencies to the students. It covers medical expenses incurred on the medical treatment of students for accidental injuries, including specified day care treatments. The same benefits apply to staff members also.

Enjoy 88-year-old's four dimension work

Eighty Eight year-old GJ Mannur Gurappa has added a new dimension to the art field by creating a four dimension art-work titled, 'light effects on colour' by giving external light and sound affect for the painting. The paintings look different both when the lights are turned 'on' and 'off'.

Aptly named, 'light effects on colour', his painting of the four dimension on Deputy Commissioner's office on a rainy day, seems quite normal when the lights are switched off, but when the lights are tuned 'on' it makes the viewers spell bound.

He has used three bulbs in which thunderstorm, lighting, and reflection of DC office in the rain water collected at oval grounds, can be seen when the lights are turned on. With the work on lighting just completed, he is now concentrating to give appropriate sound effect and will be exhibiting it shortly.

So far he has created 51 such three dimension paintings and has sold two of them to art connoisseurs in France and Germany and has donated most of his paintings to University of Mysore.

Apart from being a creative artist, he is also good at writing and has penned six books some of which has bagged awards such as the one he penned on Corruption 'Bharat My Proposal' and the other titled, ' Sharana Sahityadalli Vigyana'.

He says, 'I took to art seriously after taking voluntary retirement in 1975 from the Department of Agriculture. In the beginning I worked only on two dimensions like and later started giving light effects for them. This four dimension work by providing sound is my first and last work.'

'Visualisation and appropriate colour combination are needed to create a picture with 'sound and light effect. In all my paintings I have tried to convey a message to populace.'

About his work

To start with he sketches the painting on a drawing sheet and fills it with colours. Later using a wooden box he fixes the painting inside the box and provides lighting effect based on the virtue.

For example: A painting which depicts a farmer ploughing dry land using cow when the lights are 'off', will change suddenly to a farmer ploughing green land using tractor when lights are turned 'on'. In this painting he has conveyed the message that mechanization in agriculture is required to grow good yield.

This farmer conserves traditional seeds

This 62-year-old MK Shankar Guru has created a new innovation in the Agriculture Sector by growing an improved and high yielding variety of paddy 'NMS-2' and other varieties of paddy strains. In his 30 acres of land he has grow 14 varieties of rice strains and has utilized about 8 acres of land for plant breeding.

Hailing from Madarahalli Village, T Narsipura taluk, Shankar belongs to traditional agriculture family. Being in agriculture field from past 40 years he has grown all varieties of paddy in his field. Since 1992, he has started collecting and conserving traditional seeds.

The field trials in his land have been conducted by UAS Bangalore and the results were positive. He has distributed the seeds to farmers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

'NMS2' (Narsipura Madarahalli Shankar and even 'N' stands for his wife name Nirmala) is a fine rice of brick red colour. He has been developed through simple selection from local heterogeneous land race varieties.

He says, the seeds are very good for local atmosphere. He has taken seven years to stabilize the charters of variety of 'Salem Sanna'. For his innovation, University has provided him a certificate of performance. At present he is working to innovate some more new varieties of seeds.

He says 'in the 1960's many seed were developed using latest technology but the seeds did not sustained for long term. Whereas, the seeds developed with the traditional grassroots of crops have sustained from past 500 years. Even today there is a good demand for Rajamudi, Gheergesanna, and varieties of Salem Sanna,'

KSOU to sport a new look by 2013

The sprawling 30 acres land belonging to Karnataka State Open University(KSOU) will sport a new look by the beginning of the next academic year.

KSOU which has made rapid strides in the field of Distance Education has over 3.5 lakh students enrolled for various courses from all the over the world and the number is expected to increase further in the coming years.

In order to provide better facilities and cater to the needs of students enrolled for Higher Education, KSOU has taken up several developmental works.

The construction of Administrative Block, Pariksha Bhavan (Examination Bhavan), Science Student's Hostel, Convocation Bhavan, Study Materials Godown, Academic Bhavan, Vighyan Bhavan and other buildings works have been taken up in a phased manner.

The estimated cost of the entire project is between Rs 50 to 60 crores and all the above construction works are expected to be completed around March 2013.

KSOU Vice Chancellor Prof KS Rangappa said, 'the present strength of students including those from abroad is above 3.5 lakh and the need of the hour is to provide quality education in tune with the motto of KSOU 'Higher Education to Everywhere Everywhere'.

'The next convocation will be held in our campus building. Henceforth all valuation will be held at Examination Bhavan where CCTV cameras will be installed to curb malpractices,' he added.

'Hitherto contact classes were held by paying hefty rents to other colleges. Hence, construction of a building with 10-15 lecture halls exclusively for teaching is already underway at Vijayanagar 3rd stage', informed VC Prof Rangappa.

'Even though we have provided on-line facility, most students are not making use of it. The need of Science Bhavan has become all the more relevant now to enable students to conduct some minimum practical experiments' he observed and said, "we want to make KSOU a model open university in country.'

Competitive examinations training center at KSOU evokes good response

The ambitious project of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) to provide training for the candidates who were aspiring for civil posts and various other education department exams receives overwhelm response.

Though the competitive examinations training center was started six month ago (September, 2011), at free of cost in KSOU premises, the center has attracted thousands of students from far and near by places.

So far, about 800 students have attended the training programme which will be held from 9 am to 1 pm. Apart this, Spoken English training programme will be held in the center between 9 am and 10 am.

The center is imparting training for banking and LIC examinations, civil services like KAS, IPS, SI and other police cadres, Panchayat Development Officer (PDO), National Eligibility Test (NET), Karnataka State Eligibility Test (K-SET), State Level Eligibility Test For Lectureship (SLET), UGC, BEd, DEd exams, spoken English and various other central and state government administrative posts.

Center co-ordinator Jayanahalli Satyanarayna, who is providing training for various courses from past 28 years, said that the objective of the center is to provide proper training for candidates. He said that expert faculties, and professors, will provide training for the candidates and students will be provided study materials.

KSOU Vice Chancellor Prof KS Rangappa said that in coming days measures will be taken to provide all sorts of facilities for candidates. He said that using the existing facility candidates will be provided with hostel facility, library, and needed infrastructure works will be taken up.

'As the coaching is free, it has helped hundreds of candidates. The coaching are very good and experts from various fields will conduct classes', said Radha.

Training classes
The IAS training classes will be conducted from April 10 at Center premises in KSOU. Interested to enroll can contact 2515944.

Unscientific construction of drains

In spite of the roads and footpaths are in quite good condition on Mahatma Gandhiji Road, the open drains and the unscientific placement of barricades over drain is posing threat to pedestrians on this road.

While widening the roads the concerned officials have failed to take appropriate measures about closing three drains situated on this stretch (behind exhibition grounds).

The barricades used over drain are been placed on the road at the distance of about 8-10 feet, causing inconvenience for both pedestrians and motorist. Due to this, pedestrians walking on the footpath are forced to step on the roads, while coming on this open drain.

Being one of the prominent road and connects several surrounding tourists places, thousands of vehicles ply on this Road and hundreds of people visit the vegetable market and the drainage have become hurdle for commuters. According to near by residents, some vehicles have hit the barricades, and its hard to pass over the drain.

Apart this, on both the sides of the roads the shrubs and weeds have grown widely on the vacant place, and has become heaven for snakes, mongoose, and rats.

Mani says, 'it seems like officials are waiting for any tragedy to happen. During rainy seasons the drain water fills till brim. If anyone unaware of the drain step in, what will be the consequences. Officials should think over this issue seriously and should provide commuter friendly footpaths.'

When contact Zone 9, Assistant Commissioner Mahesh said that infrastructure works comes under MUDA and he will visit the place shortly.

'Due to unscientific construction of drains, we are forced to walk on road. The drains should be closed at the earliest,' says Sudha.


Shruthi says, 'it will be a herculean task to use the footpaths in night. The officials should place a sign board near the drain.'

Rock song in tulu steals the show at techNIEks,

Two tulu rock songs played by the 'Shifting Scales', Mangalore band troupe steal the show at the second day of national level youth meet, techNIEks, held at National Institute of Engineering in city on Friday.

The team members Austin (vocal), Kishin (lead guitar), Ranjan (rhythm guitar), Rahul (base) Ruben (drums) played two original number of classic rock they follow. They say, 'When people listen to our music, apart from listening to music they fell the emotions in the song.'

Another team members of 'Dead Incarnation' said that its a extentic pendulum for them to showcase their talent. 'We have played in Delhi, Hyderabad, Surat and many other places and the experienced obtained here is totally different,' says team members Somsarshai (drum), Siddhanth (vocal), Ashish (lead guitar), Ramizon (rhythm guitar), Abhimanyu (base guitar).

In total, 12 team of bands from different colleges took part in the rock band contest. Five team of participants had come from Bangalore, while one from Mangalore and rust from Mysore set fire on stage.

Each band comprising of four to five members of various colleges, have named their band troupes like 'Djentle Symphony', Dayanand Sagar College, Bangalore; 'Shifting Scales', Mangalore; Dead Incarnation, Bangalore; Ifret away – Bangalore; Cosmic Alchemy - NIE, Mysore and much more.

Only some students played music for album songs, whereas most of the students played the lyrics composed by them only on heavy metal rock band, Progressive, and various other. Some of the troupe members said that its a perfect platform to showcase their talent and share the ideas of other team members.

Rock band programme co-ordinator Sumanth said that there is a huge response for the show and plans have been made to extend the event from next year. Apart this NIEght Lights, the laser show will be held on March 31 at 8 pm. The students have also organised NIE-10K, the marathon run based on the theme 'Life is Beautiful' at 6 am.

Six islands in Karanaji Lake to be restored soon

If everything goes as planned Karnaji Lake will become even more attractive. In a bid to attract more number of tourists and provide shelter for birds, six islands at Karanji Lake Nature Park will be restored shortly by Zoo authorities. Already one island has be restored at a cost of Rs 5 lakh and another six islands will be restored at the cost of Rs 30 lakh.

Karnataka Zoo Authority Chairman, M Nanjudaswamy said that the there are altogether 11 islands in the Zoo and all them will be developed as tourists spots shortly. 'At present these islands are in neglect and due to water logging, the lands were submerged there is no space for birds to breed,' he said.

'More birds are flying to Karanajai Lake for breeding, some even from far off countries. By restoring these islands birds can breed comfortably in the coming season. We are planning to prevent erosion of soil by building a wall all around the islands using boulders and stone slabs. Measures have even taken to protect tress and plants in the islands,' he added.

He said on the lines of Patna Zoo ponds there are plans to develop ponds in the lake using varieties of ornamental flowers. Separate birds enclosures are being constructed to house rare bird species and the enclosures will be covered with glass and decorated with lights.

In order to make the place attractive for small children play-things are erected at the cost of Rs 10 lakh inside the park. Underground Drainage works will be undertaken at the cost of Rs 3.3 crore for which the Mysore City Corporation will invite tenders shortly.

Animal sacrifice unabated at foot of Chamundi Hills

In spite of several efforts made by Government to stop the ritual of animal sacrifice in temples and other places of worship it is surprising that the practice is still being continued till today at the foot of Chamundi Hills (where people climb by foot) and Devi Kere.

Every Tuesday and Friday dozens of sheep and chicken are being slaughtered here as part of fulfilling vows made to the Goddess Chamundeshwari. Apart this, during Chamundeshwari Festival and one month prior to Ugadi more people visit the temple and offer their 'Harake'.

The meat of these slaughtered sheep is cooked and consumed at the foot of hills only by collecting water from the nearby tap. Whereas some people carry back to homes. The blood stains can be seen on the footsteps splashed after the slaughter.

Though the District Administration has been making elaborate arrangements to put an end to such practices as it recently did at the famous Kappadi fair near Chamarajnagar, it is indeed surprising that it has not taken any steps to ban this practice right at the foot of Chamundi Hills visited by thousands of tourists and devotees.

Bettada Balaga Team members Vittal, Babu who climb steps regularly, said that 'The sight of animals being openly slaughtered is disgusting to watch. It spoils the serenity and sanctity of the place and disturbs the mind. Even though we have protested many times and requested Deputy Commissioner to take appropriate action there is no use. Sacrificial offerings should be banned here too, as the rule enforced everywhere.'

When contacted DC PS Vastrad his mobile was switch-off, while Police Commissioner KL Sudheer said that he will look into the issue.

Conjunctivitis rise in city

Due to increase in temperature and pollution, eye problems are common in summer and Mysore is no exception from this. The conjunctivitis has increased three times in city.

According to KR Hospital Ophthalmologist Department HoD Dr Venkatagowda per day about 40-60 people are visiting the hospital citing eye problems, in which about 30-40 people are suffering from allergic conjunctivitis and viral conjunctivitis. He says, during the winter about 8-10 persons suffer from eye problem.

The symptoms of eye problems are itching and redness of eyes, pricking sensation, discharge and watering in eyes. One can prevent the spread of infection by maintaining good hygiene and washing the eyes with clean water, he added.

According to Vasan Eye Care Hospital Dr KV Rajesh conjunctivitis spreads very easily and compare to elders, children are more vulnerable for allergic disorders.
The persons having viral conjunctivitis should not share their handkerchiefs or towels and limit their contact for the first couple of days and should use antibiotic eye drops and eye ointments only under medical supervision.

Where as the persons having Allergic conjunctivitis, should wash their hands with cold water twice a day and should stay away from dusty areas, should wear protective eye glasses and use eye drops, wear googles to prevent chlorine allergies and swimming pool conjunctivitis.

Dry Eyes
Dry eyes syndrome is also common in summer due to increase temperature and rapid tear film evaporation. To avoid this preservative free lubricating eye drop, good sleep for six to eight hours helps to rejuvenate eyes in a natural way, says Dr Rajesh.

Eye care tips

- Use standard sunglasses to avoid harmful Ultra violet rays to enter the eyes
- Care of personal hygience is important.
- Rubbing of eyes with dirty hands can aggravate the problems.
- Avoid eye make-up as far as possible
- Take lots of fluids to avoid dehydration
- Use lubricant eye drops on regular basis, after consulting the doctor

This visually challenged aspires to become IAS officer

As the adage goes where there is a will there is a way.. here is a visually challenged person aspiring to become an IAS officer and render service for downtrodden people.

Hailing from Kakamary taluk in Belgaum, 26-year-old Siddu S Loute is doing his 5th year LLB at MS Ramaiah College in Bangalore and at the same time also preparing for IAS.

He can multiply any two numbers in his mind and give the answer in a very short time. If given any month and year he can tell the day of the week. He can multiply upto 99 crores and announce the day of the week for 5 lakh calendar years. He has memorized around 45,000 mobile numbers.

He has brought out a CD on Personality Development specially for students, to train and boost the confidence-level among them. He also gives counseling and spoken English training to students and is an anchor for private television channels too. By doing all this he earns his livelihood.

He wishes to enroll for IAS coaching class at Delhi as he found out in Bangalore there were no separate coaching classes for visually challenged and they have to attend the same as that given for normal people which was indeed difficult to understand.
He made a request to Government and NGO Forums to help him complete his IAS, not because of sympathy, but considering his talent.

Though having studied in Kannada medium he can communicate in English quite fluently. When questioned about this he said, 'after completing my SSLC, I went to join a Computer class where they said that knowing English is must. I learnt English in a span of just 15 days and joined the class. Now, I can speak confidently with anybody without any fear.'

His philosophy of life is, 'Always think positively. If you have a positive thinking you can achieve any thing in life. No one is born successful, one gains success only by his thinking and hardwork.'

Born blind, Siddu left home at the tender age of five and joined a Government hostel in Hubli. His parents Shankar and Seetha are agriculturists. 'I have seen several ups and downs in life. I don't want to be a burden for anyone. There were days, where I even begged for sustainance. But I never gave up my will power and confidence, because of which today I am capable of achieving some thing in life."