Kundapur: Two ancient standing stones (megalithic menhirs) discovered during archaeological survey
Udupi: Two ancient standing stones dating back to the Iron Age have been discovered in the Kundapur taluk of Udupi district during an archaeological exploration carried out recently by the national cultural organisation Adima Kala Trust, according to its founder-director and archaeological researcher Prof. T. Murugeshi.
One standing stone is located at Hilkodu, in the Daivada Haadi on the left side of the state highway from Nerlekatte to Aajri in Kundapur taluk. Locals refer to it as the Neecha Daiva or Bobbarya stone. The second standing stone was found at Mavinakere Haadi in Kenchanur village of the same taluk, beside the roadside. Prof. Murugeshi stated in a press release that locals have recently tied a cloth around half of this upright stone and begun worshipping it as Rakteshwari.
The Mavinakere standing stone measures 112 cm in height and is slightly inclined towards the northwest. The Hilkodu stone stands around 135 cm tall. A trial excavation beneath the Hilkodu stone revealed pieces of red and ochre-coloured pottery, indicating its antiquity.
People of the Megalithic culture traditionally erected large upright stones either on burial sites or nearby as memorial monuments after funeral rites. Such stones typically range from 3 feet to as much as 16 or 17 feet in height. Across South India, these are known by various names including Rakkasagallu, Nilskal, Nintikallu, Garbhiniyar Kallu, Basurikal, and Anekallu.
Historical significance
The standing stones at Mavinakere and Hilkodu belong to the later phase of the Megalithic period. The pottery fragments found beneath the Hilkodu stone support this assessment. The standing stones at Nilskal and the Heragal group in Hosanagar taluk of Shivamogga district are believed to date back to around 800 BCE.
The newly discovered stones in Kundapur are estimated to belong to a period between 300 BCE and the 1st or 2nd century CE. Prof. Murugeshi noted that remnants from the Megalithic age have greatly influenced the cultural life of Tulu Nadu and stressed that preserving such heritage structures is a collective responsibility.
He expressed gratitude to those who assisted in the research, including Vishwanath Gulwadi, Sudhakar Shetty, Agriculture Officer C. Nagaraj Shetty, Manju Poojary of Hilkodu, and Adima Kala Research Team members Murulidhar Hegde (Iduru–Kunjadi), Shreyas Bantakal, and Gautham Belman.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
