Kolkata to host 130th Edition of Durand Cup 2021

Kolkata will host the Durand Cup - world's third oldest and Asia's oldest football tournament between 05 September to 03 October 2021, with matches being played at various venues in and around Kolkata.
The prestigious tournament was first held in 1888, at Dagshai (Himachal Pradesh) and is named after Mortimer Durand, who was then the Foreign Secretary in charge of India.
The tournament was a conscious way to initially maintain health and fitness amongst the British troops but was later opened to civilians and currently is one of the leading sports events in the world.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are the most successful teams in the history of the Durand Cup winning it sixteen times each.
The winning team is presented with three trophies ie the President's Cup (first presented by Dr Rajendra Prasad), the Durand Cup (the original challenge prize - a rolling trophy) and the Shimla Trophy (first presented by citizens of Shimla in 1903 and since 1965, a rolling trophy).
The Tournament was shifted from Delhi to Kolkata in 2019.

DigiYatra

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia on December 01, 2022 launched DigiYatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru.

It will be launched to 4 more airports (total 7) namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.

About Digi Yatra

DigiYatra envisages that travellers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding pass.
The entry of passengers would be automatically processed based on the Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) at all checkpoints – including entry into the airport, security check areas, aircraft boarding, etc.
The DigiYatra app will be available for passengers taking domestic flights only.

Pioneer of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) Dilip Mahalanabis Passed Away

Renowned paediatrician Dr. Dilip Mahalanabis, who saved millions of lives through his Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) - simple solution consisting of sugar, salts, and water has passed away on 16 October 2022.

Mahalanabis saved umpteen lives during an outbreak of cholera while serving in a refugee camp at Bangaon in West Bengal during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.

Naga Poet Temsüla Ao Passed Away

Temsüla Ao was a Naga poet, fiction writer, and ethnographer who passed away on 9 October 2022.

She had served in several key positions, including the chairperson of the Nagaland State Commission for Women.
She was awarded the Padma Shri award for her contribution to Literature and Education.
Her book ‘Laburnum For My Head’ received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in the short story category.

‘Villu Paatu’ doyen Subbu Arumugam Passed Away

Noted Indian musician, writer and Villupattu theatre art exponent Subbu Arumugam has passed away on 10 October 2022.

While villupaatu is performed in the temples of folk deities such as Sudalai Madan, Esakki Amman, and Mutharamman during kodai — festival during summer — Subbu Arumugam modernised the singing methods, the texts and introduced stories with social themes.
Subbu Arumugam was conferred with Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian award, by the Centre in 2021. Earlier, he was presented the Sangeetha Natak Akademi Award by the President of India. He was also honoured with Kalaimamani Award and Bharathi Award by the Tamil Nadu Government in 1975 and 2017 respectively.

Villu Paatu

Villu Paatu, also known as Villadichampaatu, is an ancient form of musical story-telling method performed in Southern India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), where narration is interspersed with music. It is also practiced in North-East Sri Lanka.
This art form is popular among Nadar and Ezhava castes of erstwhile Travancore kingdom.
Simple tunes and verses make the story easy to follow.
The villu (bow), the age-old weapon of warriors - paradoxically lends itself to be used as a primary musical instrument (a musical bow) for the Villu Paatu artists.

Independent India’s First Voter Shyam Saran Negi Passed Away

Shyam Saran Negi, Independent India’s first voter, passed away in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur on 5^th November 2022. He was 105.

Negi, who first voted in 1952, had even cast his postal ballot vote for the 2022 Assembly elections just two days before his death.
In independent India’s first General election, Negi cast his vote at Kalpa and became the first voter in free India.

Joint Military Training-2022

On 03 November 2022, the 11th edition of the annual Joint Military Training (JMT) between the Indian Air Force (lAF) and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) commenced at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda.

This edition of JMT would be conducted over a period of six weeks. The bilateral phase of the exercise will be conducted from 09 to 18 November 2022 and will see the two Air Forces engage in advanced air combat simulations.

Garuda-VII

Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) carried out bilateral exercise Garuda-VII at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 26 October to 12 November 2022.

‘Varuna’ is an annual naval exercise between India and France and ‘Shakti’ is a biennial military exercise between the two countries.

‘Simbex’ - 2022

The Indian Navy hosted the 29th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) from 26 to 30 October, 2022 at Visakhapatnam.

SIMBEX-2022 was conducted in two phases – Harbour Phase at Visakhapatnam from 26 to 27 October 2022 followed by the Sea Phase in Bay of Bengal from 28 to 30 October 2022.
SIMBEX series of exercises began in 1994 and were initially known as ‘Exercise Lion King’.

IMT TRILAT

The first edition of India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise (IMT TRILAT), a joint maritime exercise among the Indian, Mozambique and Tanzanian navies was held at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from 27-29 Oct.

Indian Navy was represented by the guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and MARCOS (Special Forces).

French Honour to Carnatic Vocalist Aruna Sairam

Carnatic vocalist, composer, collaborator, humanitarian and speaker Aruna Sairam has been honoured with the French government's highest honour- Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des award.

Aruna Sairam has been selected for this award not just for her singing prowess, but also for her contribution towards development of the Indo-France relationship.