Latest news with #Yadagiri
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Crafting objects that transcend faiths
Jehangir trusts only Yadagiri when it comes to the colourful decoration that is part of the Muharram commemoration in Telangana. Known as Peerula Panduga, the observance of Muharram, takes on a syncretic cultural aspect that is unique to the region and parts of rural Andhra Pradesh. The replica of battle standards used in the battle of Karbala which are known as alam are called piru in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 'There is nobody who has the skill, ability and craftsmanship like Yadagirisaab. Look at these paper flowers. They look real. No plastic decor can match what he can do,' says Jehangir who has travelled from Choutuppal to Charminar to pick up the decoration that is known as sehra. An intricate design that uses a bamboo frame with red and green coloured paper, mirrors, photographs and shimmer. 'The sehra is used to keep the alam in the middle,' says Jehangir who runs a chicken business in Choutuppal. Yadagiri is a fourth generation bamboo craftsman for the sehra and thotelu who lives with his wife Anusaya. 'He is an artist. He has a way of moving scissors or drawing a line that cannot be matched. Look at these figures and the cut,' she says proudly as Yadagiri's fingers move briskly from scissors, to adhesive to bending the bamboo sticks. Sitting inside another small room on the road to Charminar, with his mother and brother lending a helping hand is Naveen Kumar, another craftsman who nimbly weaves thin bamboo strands into a round object that will be the finial of another bamboo artefact of another faith — thotelu. On the first day of Bonalu festival, the tall square miniature temples (objects fashioned out of bamboo and covered with coloured paper), are taken out in procession through the streets. '90% of the orders we get for sehra are from the districts. People send photographs and place the order and pick them up three days before Ashoora (10th day of Muharram). We have more orders for Bonalu thotelu,' says Naveen Kumar who makes both the objects that transcend faith and belief systems. 'I know when Aashadam is and plan logistics accordingly. I know that Islamic calendar keeps advancing by a few days and track that as well,' says Santosh Anand, another craftsman near the oldest Jama Masjid in Hyderabad. While modern Hyderabad is considered one city, the tradition of Bonalu shows how it is a collection of cities with the first Bonalu celebration at the Golconda Fort, followed by Lashkar Bonalu or the Bonalu in Secunderabad and ending up with the Bonalu of Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Temple in the Old City. Not surprisingly, Bonalu is not celebrated in a big way in rural Telangana.
The Hindu
29-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
No meat, eggs or school uniforms in State Gurukuls
Students at SC, ST, BC and Minorities residential schools and colleges do not find egg, meat or fruits in their daily diet, or even school uniforms to wear, just a few weeks into the start of the new academic year. Contractors and suppliers of these essentials are vexed as their payments are pending for several months. Across the State, barring a few cases of goodwill, traders have openly protested with principals and ended meat and egg supplies. And the current diet, as reported by several principals and officials in the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS), mostly comprises vegetables. 'I have been waiting for my payment of about ₹10 lakh for six months now. I have stopped mutton supply. I manage to supply chicken and eggs just because I don't want to hurt the children,' says Jaleel, a city-based supplier. His uncles, who supply to hostels in Gowlidoddi and Narsingi, have already halted deliveries. Other suppliers said they approached the TGSWREIS head office with representations, but did not find any resolution. Yadagiri, an egg supplier to at least five SC, ST and Minorities hostels in Ranga Reddy district, says the usual supply is about 6,000 eggs a week. 'Principals of a couple of schools are trying to arrange some payment by pooling their funds, but it is not sufficient. The department owes me ₹3 lakh,' he says. According to a senior official at TGSWREIS, who acknowledged the crisis, 'the 'Common Diet Scheme' intended to ensure equitable nutrition is now faltering. How can principals be forced to improvise menus without sufficient budgetary support?' Another official, also requesting anonymity, said the 'indecision over the new centralised procurement policy', which was supposed to streamline tenders and supply, has no administrative order, and field-level officers are left without operational clarity. TGSWREIS officials and principals opine that without immediate intervention of the government, the overall implementation would slip into the next quarter, and an early decision would ensure basic supplies at least by September. The State government as 'Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's Diwali gift to all hostellers' in November 2024 enhanced the diet and cosmetic charges by 40%, and the 'Common Diet Scheme' aim was to benefit about 8 lakh students in about 3,943 residential schools. The carefully crafted four-week new common diet has egg at least five times a week, chicken four times and mutton twice a month, besides seasonal fruits and protein snacks every day. Regarding supply of uniforms, principals said students in ST Gurukuls are using cloth supplied for last year's uniforms, SC Gurukuls are yet to receive new sets for two consecutive years, and BC and Minorities' students received partial supplies.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
Farmer dies by suicide over mounting debt in Jangaon
Hyderabad: A 52-year-old farmer from Veldi village in Jangaon district died by suicide on Thursday after allegedly consuming pesticide in his fields, unable to cope with mounting debt. The deceased, N Yadagiri, was found semi-conscious near his agricultural well by his wife, Bhagya, around 10 am. According to her police complaint, the couple had argued the previous night over losses and debts from farming cotton and chilli crops. Yadagiri left for the fields around 7:30 am; when Bhagya brought him lunch later, she found him collapsed in their field. He was first taken to Jangaon govt hospital and later shifted to MGM Hospital in Warangal. Despite treatment, he died at 5 pm, said Raghunathpally sub-inspector D Naresh. Yadagiri's sons, Akhil and Ajay, work in the private sector in Hyderabad. Bhagya alleged her husband was under severe financial stress due to agricultural losses. Villagers told police he owed nearly Rs 8 lakh, though no suicide note was found. Police have registered a suspicious death case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The body was handed over to the family after postmortem on Friday. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
