Vidur Acting Institute Spreads Across India …… Almost !!

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA           MARCH 27, 2016           08.25 P.M.

Vidur Acting Institute Spreads Across India …….. Almost!! Is it narcissistic? Is it megalomania? Some will yell, yes! But here are the reason and facts.

Few days back, I was posting a greeting for the people of Mizoram on the occasion of Chapchar Kut. I always write, ” To all my students, friends & well-wishers ……. ” I suddenly realised that I have yet to get an acting student from Mizoram. I started counting. Then I realised that apart from Mizoram, I don’t have any student from Arunachal Pradesh either.

Political Map of India

At this point of time there are 29 states in the Republic of India. They are : ANDHRA PRADESH //  ARUNACHAL PRADESH // ASSAM // BIHAR // CHHATTISGARH // GOA // GUJARAT // HARYANA // HIMACHAL PRADESH // JAMMU & KASHMIR // JHARKHAND // KARNATAKA // KERALA // MADHYA PRADESH // MAHARASHTRA // MANIPUR // MEGHALAYA // MIZORAM // NAGALAND // ODISHA // PUNJAB // RAJASTHAN // SIKKIM // TAMIL NADU // TELANGANA // TRIPURA // UTTAR PRADESH // UTTARAKHAND // WEST BENGAL

Out of 29 states of India, I have got and trained students from 27 states.  Only 2 states; ARUNACHAL PRADESH & MIZORAM are still out of my reach.

ONLY TWO [ 02 ] out of TWENTY NINE [ 29 ] !!

Therefore I titled the blog – “Vidur Acting Institute Spreads Across India …… Almost!!”

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Location of Arunachal Pradesh in the Map of India

ARUNACHAL PRADESH, one of the twenty-nine states of the Republic of India , borders Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Burma in the east and Tibet in the north. Itanagar is the capital of the state.

Formerly called the North-East Frontier Agency, [ NEFA ] , was ceded to Britain by the Tibetan government with the Simla Accord (1914).

NEFA was renamed as Arunachal Pradesh on 20 January 1972 and it became a Union Territory. Arunachal Pradesh became a state on 20 February 1987.

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Location of Mizoram in the Map of India

MIZORAM is one of the 8 states of Northeast India, with Aizawl as its capital. It is the southern most landlocked state sharing borders with three of the Eight sister states, namely Tripura, Assam, Manipur. The state also shares a 722 kilometer border with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Like several other northeastern states of India, Mizoram was previously part of Assam until 1972, when it was carved out as a Union Territory. It became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987.

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Apart from 2 above mentioned states, I have yet to get students from 3 Union Territories. They are : DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI // DAMAN & DIU // LAKSHADWEEP

At this point of time there are 7 Union Territories in the  Republic of India. They are : ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS // CHANDIGARH // DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI // DAMAN & DIU // LAKSHADWEEP // NCR DELHI // PUDUCHERRY

I have trained actors from 4 of the 7 UTs. Only 3 remain. They are; DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI // DAMAN & DIU // LAKSHADWEEP

ONLY THREE [ 03 ] out of SEVEN [ 07 ] !!

Therefore I titled the blog – “Vidur Acting Institute Spreads Across India …… Almost!!”

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Location of Daman & Diu in the Map of India

DAMAN & DIU : For over 450 years, the coastal enclaves of Daman (Portuguese: Damão) and Diu on the Arabian Sea coast were part of Portuguese India, along with Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Goa, Daman and Diu were incorporated into the Republic of India on December 19, 1961, by military conquest. Portugal did not recognise the Indian annexation of these territories until 1974.

The territory of “Goa, Daman and Diu” was administered as a single union territory until 1987. Then Goa was granted statehood, leaving Daman and Diu as a separate union territory.

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Location of Dadra & Nagar Haveli in the Map of India

DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI is a Union Territory in Western India. Nagar Haveli is wedged between Maharashtra and Gujarat, whereas Dadra is an enclave surrounded by Gujarat. The shared capital is Silvassa.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli map in pink colour depicting the Gujarati enclave village of Maghval in grey colour.

Maghval is a small enclave village belonging to Gujarat that is located within Nagar Haveli, just south of Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The Portuguese occupied Nagar Haveli on 10 June 1783 on the basis of Friendship Treaty executed on 17 December 1779 as compensation towards damage to the Portuguese frigate by Maratha Navy. Then, in 1785 the Portuguese purchased Dadra.

Under the Portuguese rule or the Estado da Índia (Portuguese State of India) Dadra & Nagar Haveli formed a single concelho (municipality), named “Nagar Haveli”, with its head in Darará until 1885 and, after that, with its head in the town of Silvassa.

After India attained Independence in 1947, the residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with the help of volunteers of organisations, subtracted the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese India in 1954.

In 1961 when Indian forces took over Goa, Daman, and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli was also merged with the Republic of India.

On 31 December 1974 a treaty was signed between India and Portugal on recognition of India’s sovereignty over Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

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Location of Lakshadweep in the Map of India

LAKSHADWEEP : formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 kilometres off the south-western coast of India. The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India: their total surface area is just 32 km² (12 sq mi). Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court.

In the 16th century the Portuguese took control of the archipelago but the islanders expelled them in 1545. In the 17th century, the islands came under the rule of Ali Rajahs /Arakkal Bheevi of Kannur, who received them as a gift from the Kolathiris.

The Aminidivi group of islands (Androth, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlath and Bitra) came under the rule of Tipu Sultan in 1787. They passed to British control after the Third Anglo-Mysore War and were attached to South Canara. The rest of the islands came under the suzerainty of the Arakkal family of Cannanore in return for a payment of annual tribute. The British took over the administration of those islands for non-payment of arrears. These islands were attached to the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency during the British Raj.

In 1956, during the reorganization of Indian states, the Lakshadweep islands were organized into a separate union territory for administrative purposes.

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Political Map of India

It is a proud moment for me. It is very satisfying for any acting institute. I feel blessed that out of 36 states and Union Territories of my country, I have trained students from 31. Only 05 still remain out of my reach.

STATES : ONLY TWO [ 02 ] remain out of TWENTY NINE [ 29 ] !! [ ARUNACHAL PRADESH & MIZORAM ]

UNION TERRITORIES : ONLY THREE [ 03 ] remain out of SEVEN [ 07 ] !! [ DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI // DAMAN & DIU // LAKSHADWEEP ]

INDIA : ONLY FIVE [ 05 ] remain out of THIRTY SIX [ 36 ] !!

Therefore I titled the blog – “Vidur Acting Institute Spreads Across India …… Almost!!”

 

[  Information about states & Union Territories have been taken from Wikipedia. I express gratitude. ]

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

www.vidur.co.in

www.viduractinginstitute.com

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Vidur’s Travel Diary – 17 : Andaman Calling

CHENNAI – TAMIL NADU – INDIA           JULY 24, 2015           10.45 P.M.

It was raining heavily today in Mumbai. Rains are romantic but only when you are at home and enjoying the downpour. Torrential rain, for me, is dreadful if you are travelling. You feel dwarfed in front of the fury of mighty nature. When I started from my apartment for airport, it was drizzling. But when I reached airport, it was dark and I could see rain water lashing out on the large window panes of the domestic terminal. I dreaded but had no option. I took the flight, because I have to be in Port Blair on July 26th.

I took the flight and reached Chennai in the night. It is my 5th Chennai visit. But this time I am visiting the city only as a transit passenger. I will be taking early morning flight to Port Blair, the capital town of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Apart from 29 states, India has 7 Union Territories. Out of 7 Union Territories, I have visited Delhi multiple times, Puducherry 4 times and Chandigarh once. 2 other Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are very close to Mumbai and I can visit them any day. But I never imagined that I could visit Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Never in my wildest dreams have I thought that I would be visiting Andaman in my life. So when my student Lakshmi Rao invited me to come to Port Blair as the Chief Guest of the 1st ever Andaman beauty pageant, I agreed immediately.

I searched Wikipedia and found some fascinating information about Andaman & Nicobar Islands. These island first came to light during Chola Empire. Then finally took shape during British rule. Britishers tried to colonise these islands but failed.

In 1858 the British again established a colony at Port Blair, which proved to be more permanent. The primary purpose was to set up a penal colony criminal convicts from the Indian subcontinent. The colony came to include the infamous Cellular Jail.

In 1872 the Andaman and Nicobar islands were united under a single chief commissioner at Port Blair. The capital of the union territory, Port Blair, is located 1,255 km from Kolkata, 1,200 km from Visakhapatnam and 1,190 km from Chennai

There are 572 islands in the territory having an area of 8,073 km. Of these, about 34 are permanently inhabited.

The Andamans are separated from the Nicobar group by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km wide. The highest point is located in North Andaman Island (Saddle Peak at 732 m .

The Andaman group has 325 islands which cover an area of 6,170 km while the Nicobar group has only 24 islands with an area of 1,765 km.

It is night halt at Chennai airport. I will take 5.00 AM flight and will be reaching Port Blair at 7.30 AM. A dream of my lifetime will be fulfilled.

Whenever I visit a new place , I always remember these famous lines of the great modern Hindi poet Agyeya :

पार्श्व गिरि का नम्र चीड़ों में , डगर चढ़ती उमंगों सी ;

बिछी पैरों में नदी ज्यों दर्द की रेखा , विहग शिशु मौन नीड़ों में ; 

मैंने आँख भर देखा , दिया मन को दिलासा ; 

पुनः आऊँगा , भले ही बरस दिन , अनगिन युगों के बाद ;

क्षितिज ने पलक सी खोली , दमक कर दामिनी बोली ;

” अरे यायावर ! रहेगा याद ? “

………………………………………………..अज्ञेय 

[ Tenderness of mighty mountains reflected in pine trees ,

Upward moving pathways symbolizing my enthusiasm ,

River , flowing deep down like a line of pain ,

Tiny tots of birds sitting silently in their nest ,

I saw everything with contentment ,

Consoled myself , I would come again ,

After a year or may be after ages ……….

Horizon opened its eyes , lightning dazzled in the sky ,

As if saying ………………

O Wanderer ! Would you ever even remember ? ]

 

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

www.vidur.co.in

www.viduractinginstitute.com

www.facebook.com/VidursKreatingCharacters

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