Sufi singer Ibrahim Sutar, midwife Narasamma among 9 Padma awardees from Karnataka

News Network
January 26, 2018

As many as nine achievers from Karnataka figure on the list of those chosen for the prestigious Padma awards for 2018. Cue sports stalwart Pankaj Advani has been chosen for the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the country.

Eight persons have been chosen for Padma Shri. Rudrapatnam Brothers — R.N. Thyagarajan and R.N. Tharanathan, Ibrahim Sutar and R. Satynarayana have all been selected for the honour in the music category. The others are writer and film lyricist Doddarange Gowda (lyrics), Sitavva Jodatti from Belagavi (social work), midwife from Tumakuru Sulagitti Narasamma (social work), and Siddheshwara Swamiji (spiritualism).

Sufi singer

Known as Kannada Kabir, 77-year-old Sufi singer Ibrahim Sutar is famous for spreading social and communal harmony through his songs and bajanas for the last 40 years in Karnataka and neighbouring states.

Born at Mahalingapura in Mudhol taluk in Bagalkot district in 1940 in a poor family, Sutar set up Harmony Folk Music Mela (team of artists) in 1970.

He used funds collected at his performances and organised social welfare programmes including yoga sessions, set up water tanks in villages and built class rooms to government schools.

A weaver by profession, Sutar studied till Class 3. Sutar and his team members staged performances singing devotional songs in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Goa, Odisha and Rajasthan.

He is popular among masses in North Karnataka region for his spiritual discourses. He is married to Marembi and has three children.

1,500 deliveries in 70 years

The famous midwife from Tumakuru district Sulagatti Narasamma, 97, started performing traditional deliveries when she just a 16-year-old girl.

A resident of Krishnapura village of Pavagada taluk, Narasamma, has performed over 1,500 deliveries over the last 70 years, without failed evence once.

An illiterate Narasamma learnt midwifery from her grandmother Marigamma. She was married to Anjinappa, at the age of 12.

She performed traditional deliveries not only Karnataka, but also in neighbrouing Andhra Pradesh.

She also provides neonatal care for about nine days.

In 2013 she was chosen for a national award recognising her contribution to the women's health by performing out such a large number of deliveries among poor families in remote rural areas.

Such is her popularity that there are instances when people from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh have taken her to their villages for deliveries.

She is a recipient of Rajyotsava award. Tumkur university has conferred an honorary doctorate degree on her. A lesson on her life has been prescribed in Class 9th text book.

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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News Network
December 7,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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