Keeping Telugu culture alive via competition

MORE than 90 students nationwide participated in the finals of the 15th Annual Telugu Cultural Competition organised by the Telugu Association of Malaysia, reported Makkal Osai.

The competition began with more than 200 students of Telugu background competing in preliminary rounds in each state over the last two months, said organising committee chairman R. Soorinarayana.

They competed in various categories such as traditional dance, poetry recital and story telling. The winners in each state competed in the finals in the association’s arts and cultural centre in Serendah, Selangor.

The competition is organised every year to encourage Telugu youths to learn and appreciate the language and culture.

> More bungles have cropped up in the implementation of the new smart cards as ration cards in Tamil Nadu, India.

In one instance, the image of a man’s feet was placed where his face was supposed to be, reported Tamil Nesan.

Magesh Chinnasamy, who collected his Family Card last week, was surprised to see his slipper-clad feet on the front of the card, along with his other details.

When he approached the department that was in charge on Friday, he was told to return on Monday as the state government staff members were on strike.

In an earlier incident, a 64-year-old woman received a card with the photo of a popular Tamil cinema actress printed instead.