In an age where birth of a nation is a minor event, birth of a child is a curse, the birth of a newspaper is bound to be a non-event. More so when its founders and the Editor are from among the common men with no past of any distinction. Which is why there was no ceremonial inauguration of the publication of Star of Mysore or any promotional campaign.

It is natural, our readers may want to know what manner of a newspaper this Star of Mysore will be. A run-of-the-mill type that flutters and falls gently, like an unwanted old leaf, through the window into your drawing room every evening or the one that will interest you to welcome home and read with pleasure.

Yes, the Star of Mysore is conceived and produced to belong to the latter category.

This is a local paper and as such we are more interested in what is happening in our immediate surroundings rather than in the distant Delhi everyday.

Our investigative reporter will sneak into the Municipal Council Hall, go nosing around University campus, walk footloose along the Police beat, amble into the hospitals and slink under the seat of power to publish in cold print all that you always wanted to know but could not. Now a STAR is born to fulfil that need.

We, the publishers, reporters and the Editor are aware of our responsibility to our readers. And it is our hope that we will be able to find a responsive readership in you. We are also aware that in the final analysis, it is your patronage and support (both from the readers and the advertisers) that will sustain us in our noble goals and work-a-day life.

The best cannot come in the beginning. We have many constraints. We are improving now and will improve as days pass by. You will soon find better headline types, brighter layout and excellent printing. We are trying. The Star must shine.

[16.2.1978]

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Hard work is the key to success, says former VC of Rajiv Gandhi University, Prof. K.C. Belliappa

Mysore/Mysuru: P. Ayush a student of National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, won first prize in the Dasara Quiz contest organised by Rotary Mysore and Star of Mysore at Phoenix International Academy (Rotary High School) on KRS Road in the city last evening.

Ayush, who finished first, won a cash prize of Rs. 10,000, while B. Vyshali Shenoy, also of NIE, who won second prize, got a cash prize of Rs. 7,000 and S. Kiran Kumar of Jnanodaya PU College, Saraswathipuram, won third prize, winning cash prize of Rs. 5,000. Consolation prize of Rs. 1,000 was bagged by P.B. Shruthi of Geetha Shishu Shikshana Sangha (GSSS), Dhyan Sri Sai of Kendriya Vidyalaya and S. Shashank of NIE.

Rotary Mysore and Star of Mysore had jointly organised the quiz for PUC and Degree students on ‘Mysuru Dasara and Navarathri celebrations’. Six contestants in the final round vied with each other, showing their prowess in intelligence.

A total of 300 students had taken part in the first round of the quiz held online, while 110 among them were selected to the second round. Six among total 60 were selected for the final round. The competition was conducted in the online mode except for the final round.

Questions of final round

Some questions were as follows — Which elephant carried Golden Howdah in Mysuru Dasara for most years? The answer is ‘Drona’. Who penned Kayo Shri Gowri… the State Anthem of erstwhile Mysore province? The answer is — Basavappa Shastry. Who was the last Maharaja of Mysore to go on Golden Howdah during Jumboo Savari? The answer is — Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. What’s the name of the book authored by Krishnadevaraya? The answer is — Amuktamalyada. Who founded Vijayanagar kingdom? The answer is — Harihara and Bukka. Likewise, the questions were shot up in six rounds and the contestants were eager to outsmart each other.

KBG says…

Earlier, participating in the inaugural session of final round of the quiz, K.B. Ganapathy (KBG), Founder-Editor of Star of Mysore and Mysuru Mithra newspapers, said: “The quiz contest was organised for consecutive four to five years during 80’s, by Star of Mysore to encourage the students to broaden their general knowledge and also to promote the circulation of Star of Mysore in its initial years. I am reliving the memory now. Hence, I readily gave my consent to organise the contest.”

Competitive era

Prof. K.C. Belliappa, former Vice-Chancellor of Dr. Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, said: “We are in a competitive era, with everybody working to beat each other in the race. Even amid those obsessed with cell phones, there are youngsters having a penchant for reading. According to noted philosopher of 17th century Francis Bacon ‘Reading makes a complete man.’ Hence, we should understand the importance of the reading habit.”

The key to success is hard work and Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa stands as a shining example for us to follow, said Prof. Belliappa.

President of Rotary Mysore Arun Belawadi presided over the programme.

Industrialist R. Guru, Rotary District 3181 Governor H.R. Keshav, Academy Newspapers Private Limited Executive Director Ralie Ganapathy, Star of Mysore and Mysuru Mithra Managing Editor K.G. Vikram Muthanna, Editor M. Govinde Gowda, Rotary Mysore Vice-President Roopa Venkatesh and Member Nanjaraje Urs were present on the occasion.

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Mysore/Mysuru: Newspapers, Narratives and Nostalgia is a series of curated walks around Mysuru city that have developed out of Star of Mysore’s archives in collaboration with the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA).

Over the past year, Aishwarya, who is the project coordinator as well an archivist and museologist, has been flipping through dusty pages of Star of Mysore archives to piece together recent history of the city, especially the relationship between the citizens of Mysuru and its many heritage buildings.

Aishwarya says “With these walks, we will explore parts of the city which are familiar to us, but from the perspective of Star of Mysore’s archives. The first walk is titled ‘Markets, Museums and Mysuru’, where we explore the two vastly different sides of the city, even though they are barely a few kilometres from each other. The second walk, ‘Colonial Pasts and Community Futures,’ we hope we can start a conversation about perspectives and how we view our stories while the last one, ‘Boulevard of Stories’ is a trip down memory lane along the Boulevard in city.

Come walk with the archives. Use the QR code to scan for the google form or write to aishwaryakirit@gmail.com for any queries.

Schedule

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Last date for online registration is Sept. 16

Mysore/Mysuru: Rotary Mysore and Star of Mysore have jointly organised a ‘Quiz Contest on Dasara’ for College students on Sept. 30 at 5.30 pm at Phoenix International School (Rotary High School), KRS Road, next to Mandovi Showroom (near City Railway Station), Mysuru.

Quiz will be on the topic ‘Mysuru, Dasara and Navarathri celebrations.’

PUC (11th & 12th) and Degree College students may participate in the contest. The Qualifying and Semi-final round will be held online while Grand Finale will be held at the venue.

 Last date for online registration is Sept. 16 (https://forms.gle/LFEXCR7mnnX48Qmd6). The winners will get a cash prize of Rs. 30,000, certificate and gift hampers. Entry for the contest is free. For details contact Ph: 0821-4247823 between 10.30 am and 5.30 pm or e-mail: rotarymysore1994@gmail.com

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Mysore/Mysuru: City’s English eveninger ‘Star of Mysore’ celebrated its 46th anniversary on Feb. 16, 2023 by bringing out a 56-page Special Issue.

In appreciation of the paper’s achievement, the Mysuru District Journalists Association (MDJA) felicitated  ‘Star of Mysore’ and ‘Mysuru Mithra’ Founder-Editor K.B. Ganapathy (KBG) at a function held at Star of Mysore’ Office in Bannimantap yesterday.

‘SOM’ Managing Editor Vikram Muthanna and Executive Editor Meera Appaiah too were felicitated by MDJA President S.T. Ravikumar (RK), who is also the Chief Reporter of ‘SOM’ and ‘MM’ and MDJA General  Secretary M. Subramanya.

MDJA City Vice-President  M.S. Basavanna (Anurag Basavaraj), City Secretary P. Rangaswamy, Treasurer Nagesh Panathale, Executive Committee Member A. Krishnoji Rao, Rural Secretary M. Mahadeva, KUWJ State Executive Committee Member B. Raghavendra, ‘SOM’ Sub-Editor S. Kenneth Shishir, Photographer M.N. Lakshminarayana Yadav and ‘MM’ Sub-Editor C. Kumar were present on the occasion.

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Online applications invited for two IFA-SOM and two IFA-MM Creative Projects

Mysore/Mysuru: India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) in collaboration with Star of Mysore (SOM), Mysuru, has invited online applications for two IFA-SOM Creative Projects under its Archives and Museums programme which IFA  will implement.

Similarly, IFA in collaboration with Mysuru Mithra (MM), Mysuru, has invited applications for two IFA-MM Creative Projects.

A popular Kannada morning newspaper, MM is the sister publication Star of Mysore, an evening English daily, both papers published by the Academy Newspapers Pvt Ltd, Mysuru.

The Archives and Museums programme of IFA has been initiated with a two-fold objective: To provide arts practitioners and researchers an opportunity to generate new, critical, and creative approaches for public engagement with archive and museum collections; and to energise these spaces as platforms for dialogue and discourse.

The IFA-SOM and IFA-MM Creative Projects offer Project Coordinators the opportunity to engage with and research this archive over a period of a year and create public programmes such as exhibitions, talks, workshops, etc. both online and offline, over the project period, which IFA will implement.

Applications are invited from curators, visual artists, researchers, journalists, writers, performers and other creative practitioners with a strong interest in research and working with archival collections.

Practitioners who are Indian nationals are eligible to apply. Applicants from Mysuru and places close to the city will be given preference as the Project Coordinators will need to spend a considerable amount of time at the archive during the project period.

The deadline for receiving applications for IFA-SOM Creative Projects is March 6 (Sunday) and for IFA-MM Creative Projects is March 7 (Monday).

Interviews of shortlisted candidates are expected to take place in early March 2022.

The project will commence at the end of March 2022 for a period of one year.

Due to the current pandemic situation, applications may be sent via email to Suman Gopinath at: suman@indiaifa.org.

The Archives and Museums programme is part-supported by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi.

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S. Sukruthi, a second standard student of The Orchids School in Ramakrishnanagar, dressed up as ‘Star of Mysore’ girl, bagged first prize in the fancy dress competition held at the school recently.

The post The Star Girl appeared first on Star of Mysore.

Mysuru: The cultural and education hub, Mysuru, had  not seen anything like this before and as the day began this morning the eagerly-awaited Star of Mysore Education Fair got off to a flying start in the presence of leading educational institutions from KG to PG and educationists all gathered under one roof at the sprawling Maharaja’s College Grounds.

The inauguration of the Education Fair started on a simple note with Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) General President and former VC of University of Mysore Prof. K.S. Rangappa cutting the ribbon to mark the opening of the three-day fair.

Also present were UoM VC Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar, former MLA and Vidya Vikas Education Trust Chairman Vasu, JSS Science and Technology University VC Prof. B.G. Sangameshwara, JSS University VC Dr. B. Suresh, and Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy.

Prof. Rangappa, in his brief address, said that it was a unique moment in the history of the city that an Education Fair is being organised where both the schools and colleges from different parts of the city as also the neighbouring districts have come together.

Prof. Hemantha Kumar said that after roti, kapada aur makan, it was education that was the most important requirement and these days the stress is on quality education. While appreciating Star of Mysore for conducting a much-needed Education Fair of international standard he said, “An Education Fair like this gives ample opportunity for both parents and students to choose the schools and colleges of their choice under one roof.”

Former MLA Vasu delving into the history of educational institutions recalled the contributions of founders like Tataiah of Sarada Vilas, D. Banumaiah of Banumaiah’s and even the present day ones like Pushkarni. He reminisced how there was a time when the opening of CBSE schools were not allowed and how finally the first Kendriya Vidyalaya was granted permission and with it began the opening of CBSE schools in city.

JSS S&T University VC Prof. B. G. Sangameshwara said that he was very happy and excited to be a part of the event as the all JSS Institutions were participating in the Fair in a place which is called the University City. Such Educational Fairs will go a long way in helping both parents and students to select the institutions of their choice to study, he added.

Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy said that this is a unique kind of festival since education must always be a celebration which is nothing but celebration of life itself.

SOM has created an opportunity for parents and students to know what is happening in education. By organising this Fair, the idea is not to set up a competition between institutions but to know what is happening in the field of education, he said and thanked both Prof. Rangappa, who agreed to inaugurate the event at such a short notice and Prof. Hemantha Kumar.  

Star of Mysore Managing Editor Vikram Muthanna, who proposed a vote of thanks, said that while Star of Mysore is a local paper it has tried to deliver an Education Fair of global standards. He then thanked Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, District Minister G.T. Devegowda and MLA S.A. Ramdas, who though were not able to be present, had lent their support in organising the Fair.

He also thanked Prof. Hemantha Kumar, who suggested to him to hold the event at Maharaja’s College Grounds instead of Scouts and Guides Grounds.

Later, the dignitaries went around all the stalls in the Fair, which will conclude on Feb. 10.

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Mysuru: A three-day Star of Mysore Education Fair will begin tomorrow at Maharaja’s College Grounds in city.

The much-awaited fair is a golden opportunity for parents and students to directly interact with top-ranked educational institutions under one roof where queries related to application process, courses, coaching, financial assistance, campus facilities and accommodation and others are answered personally.

The Fair is being organised by Star of Mysore in association with Ministry of Higher Education, Government of Karnataka, University of Mysore and CBSE, ICSE and State Private Schools Management Association (CISPMAM). It is an event by CentreStage and entry to the Fair is free.

The Education Fair will be inaugurated by Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji tomorrow at 11 am.

District Minister G.T. Devegowda, MLA S.A. Ramdas, University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar, CISPMAM and FKCCI President Sudhakar S. Shetty and Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy will be present as guests.

The Education Fair is an attempt to showcase the ideal learning ecosystem of Mysuru region where educational institutions will showcase their academic activities, infrastructure and facilities before an eager and robust market of a large and potential student population in South Karnataka region comprising Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu Districts.

The Star of Mysore Education Fair is a one-stop solution for all education needs and will help students and parents make the right choice. It is a highly anticipated, well-branded and publicised event in the education history of Mysuru.

The value derived from it will be of immense importance to educational institutions and students.

The mega event being conducted in a 30,000-sq ft air-conditioned hall, housing 100 schools and colleges, is also hosting various cultural and brain-teasing events including dance, ballets, quiz, mono-acting and a virtual reality experience. Apart from this, there are lucky draws every day where Karbonn Smartphones, domestic air ticket, expensive bicycle, camera, free tickets, school bags, and many more gift vouchers will be given away as prizes. Also, the entire venue is Wi-Fi-enabled and visitors can satiate their hunger at food courts.

Edu Fair is open to public from 10 am to 9 pm everyday.

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Trials and Tribulations of a Newspaper Editor

By M.P. Prabhakaran, New York

Title:  Star of Mysore, Story of a unique evening english newspaper

Author:  K. B. Ganapathy

Pages:   144+viii

Price:     Paperback: Rs. 250, Hardbound: Rs. 350

Publisher: Talukina Venkannaiah Smaraka Granthamale,  Mysuru

K. B. Ganapathy, the author of Star of Mysore: Story of a unique evening english newspaper, is a close friend of mine. So, if you are looking for an objective review of the book, I suggest that you look elsewhere. If what I have penned below reads like an unabashed accolade, I plead guilty as charged. It’s my way of showing my greatest appreciation for what my friend has achieved, both as a journalist and as a businessman.

The subtitle of the book could as well be The unique story of a successful journalist who also made it as a businessman. They say, “You can either be a journalist or a businessman. You can’t be both.” As a person whose one and only experiment in straddling the two professions flopped in less than two years, I can vouch for that. But Ganapathy is one of the rare exceptions. This book can be presented as Exhibit A to make the case against those naysayers.

Ganapathy and I met as journalism students at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Bombay (now Mumbai), in the late 1960s. What began as a nodding acquaintance between us developed into a strong friendship over the years. It did not mellow one bit even after we moved on and started living continents apart: He lives in the Southern Indian city of Mysuru and I, in New York.

In our early days in journalism, we were always broke. Rookies in journalism were paid pittance in those days. Though broke, and at the bottom rung of our career, our desire to excel professionally knew no bounds. When our career path seemed headed for a dead-end, we started entertaining the idea of leaving socialist India in search of greener pastures in the capitalist West. In his impatience to rise, Ganapathy even switched his career to advertising, as an Account Executive, for a short period.

While working at a leading advertising agency in Bombay, he spotted an ad from a Kuwait-based firm looking for an Account Executive. Though a Gulf emirate is far from ideal for a steadfast believer in civil liberties and freedom of the press, he decided to apply for the position. His plan was to use Kuwait as a springboard for his eventual hop to the West, preferably the US.

He was ecstatic when, at the end of the interview for the job, he was told by the representative of the Kuwait advertising agency that he would receive the appointment order in a few days. I remember celebrating the joyous outcome over a drink at the auntie’s bar (speakeasy) near our bachelor pad, which we shared with another journalist friend, the late Colin de Souza.(In those days of farcical prohibition, most speakeasies in Bombay were operated by elderly Goan women. Hence our reference to them as aunties’ bars.) The Goan feni was our favourite and affordable drink in those days.

Ganapathy quit his job at the Bombay ad agency the very next day. His relationship with his immediate boss at the agency had soured by then, anyway. So, he did the quitting with gusto. The fact that he would have to wait only for a few days to start on the new job was another reason for the hasty decision.

Alas, as ill-luck would have it, the few days turned into a few weeks, and there was no news from Kuwait. After a month’s frustrating wait, he made inquiries through an independent source on what was happening. He was crestfallen to learn that the agency had reneged on its promise to hire him. He had no recourse to legal action because there was no commitment in writing.

I was with him in our bachelor pad when he received the numbing news. He and I sat there, he staring out the window and I staring at the wall and occasionally glancing at him. Neither of us uttered a word. After several minutes, I was able to persuade him to get out of the place and “join me for a walk.” He knew what I had in mind. Without a moments’ hesitation, he followed me. We were headed for the auntie’s bar. At the bar, after several minutes’ silence, sipping feni and munching potato chips, he managed to utter these words: “If I had any inkling of this, I wouldn’t have resigned the job in such a haste.”

In a few more days, he announced to me and Colin the next major decision he made in his life. The decision was to leave Bombay for good, move to Poona (now Pune), and start all over again from scratch. That was the end of our Bombay life together, sharing everything, except sex (both of us are straight) and dirty private thoughts.

File photo of Colin de Souza (left) with M.P. Prabhakaran at Aswan, Egypt, in 2010.

By the time we reconnected, both Ganapathy and Star of Mysore, the newspaper he started on February 16, 1978, had become household names in Mysuru, a city in Southern India with a rich history and a population of over a million. I recalled that fateful evening in Bombay when he received the heartbreaking news from the Kuwait ad agency and thought to myself: “That was the best thing that happened to him in his life.” Of course, his success is also attributable to his ability to see challenge in every crisis and his willingness to take risk. Not that all risk-takers have been successful. But without taking risk, none has achieved anything worthwhile in life.

If crises in life make one stronger, Ganapathy is a living proof of that. Refusing to be dissuaded by “the fear of the unknown” (which he talks about in the book), he ventured into newer and newer areas. Star of Mysore, which has been lighting up the media skyline of Mysuru every evening for 40 years now, is the outcome of one such venturing. The book of the same title that he has brought out now gives us an idea of the trials and tribulations he went through in making the paper the leading English daily of the city.

“Finances of the firm used to be tight” in its early, formative years, he says in the book. On one occasion, he had the humiliating experience of being subjected to this nasty remark by an angry employee who did not get his salary on time: “If you can’t pay wages, why employ us?”

On another occasion, a report in his paper — that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) “planned to sabotage the Mysuru-Chamarajanagar Railway line” — made the Mysuru Police furious. The reason? The report, which turned out to be based on bogus tips, had “made the Police sweat out from early morning till afternoon searching for [the non-existent] bombs.” They found a creative way of punishing Ganapathy: They descended on his house in full force at 10 o’clock at night, saying that they “had intelligence report that LTTE had planted bomb” in the house. The Police made Ganapathy and his family get out of the house and remain on the road until they completed the search. By the time the search was over, at one o’clock in the morning, Ganapathy was convinced that the search was in retaliation for the LTTE story that was erroneously published in his paper. It was alluded to by no less a person than the head of the Police team that conducted the search.

The book also has some blood-chilling sections that discuss how some stories in the paper even endangered Ganapathy’s life and how he “was saved by the timely and effective intervention” by a politician-friend of his. Of course, the politician, Shankaralinge Gowda, was showing his gratitude for the help he received from Ganapathy and Star of Mysore in his rise in Mysuru politics.

Episodes narrated in the book add to its readability. The “Prologue” to the book also gives some clues to Ganapathy’s work ethic and management style, which are influenced by David Ogilvy, “the wizard of advertising.” According to Ogilvy, as quoted in the book, “the best results are produced by men and women who don’t have to be told what to do.” Ganapathy considers himself lucky that he is blessed with such men and women as heads of the paper’s “five critical departments.” They are: Meera Appaiah – Editorial; T. S. Gopinath – Circulation; Maria G. Fernandes – Advertising; K. Kumar – Printing; and H. P. Prasad – Accounts.

Any institution in which the boss micromanages everything and refuses to delegate responsibilities doesn’t survive the boss. Ganapathy has taken care to make sure that such a fate doesn’t befall Star of Mysore. Aware that he, like me, is over-the-hill, he has put his two sons, Vikram Muthanna and Mickey Bopanna, at the helm of the ship, and is contemplating retirement. Before disembarking, he has this to say to his two sons: “Follow the advice of Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer, ‘The sea is dangerous and its storm terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore.’”

Bon voyage, Vikram and Mickey! Make your father proud.

P. Prabhakaran is the Editor and Publisher of The East-West Inquirer, an online monthly published from New York. email: prabha@eastwestinquirer.com.

NOTE: I thank Prabhakaran for dissecting the book with his immaculate language and admirable precision like what an experienced surgeon does with his scalpel. However, I would like to mention that the Kuwait Ad Agency did not renege as Prabhakaran has written. In fact, the Arab Advertising Agency Limited, Kuwait, was highly co-operative and understanding of the delay on my part in providing one document from the Police. When everything looked good, Jordan war started and first I was telegraphically informed to wait and later expressed inability to get me visa as the war prolonged. – KBG

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