In 1956, Saget was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia. His parents were supermarket executive Benjamin Saget and hospital administrator Rosalyn “Dolly” Saget. The Saget family eventually moved to Norfolk, Virginia. Bob received his early religious education at Temple Israel, a synagogue of Norfolk which adhered to Conservative Judaism. He was reportedly a rebellious student.
Saget spend part of his high school years in Los Angeles, where he befriended veteran comedian Larry Fine (1902-1975).
He attended a Philadelphia high school during his senior year. He was originally interested in a medical career but his English teacher Elaine Zimmerman convinced Saget to aspire to an acting or filmmaking career instead.
Saget received his college education at the “Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts”, a college associated with the Temple University of Philadelphia. One of his student films won a merit award at the Student Academy Awards. He graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts in 1978. He had already started performing in comedy clubs during his college years.
In 1978, Saget intended to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California. He dropped out due to health-related problems. He almost died due to a gangrenous appendix, costing him a loss of confidence. He decided afterwards to lose some weight, in the belief that it would improve his health.
Following his graduation, Saget spend about a decade working mostly as a comedian. He appeared in minor acting roles in both films and television. In 1987, Saget was performing comedy bits for the short-lived non-fiction show “The Morning Program”. The show offered a mix of “news, entertainment and comedy”, but was canceled due to low ratings.
Saget’s big break came when he was chosen to portray widowed father Danny Tanner in the sitcom “Full House” (1987-1995). The series depicted Danny’s efforts to raise three young daughters, with the assistance of his best friends. The show suffered from poor viewership in its first season, but attracted a family audience due to its portrayal of the struggles associated with parenting. By its third season, it was ranked among Nielsen’s Top 30 shows. Saget became a household name, and the series lasted for 8 seasons and 192 episodes. The series was eventually canceled due to its increasing production costs. Its rating had remained high until its final episode.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Marilyn Monroe
born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer. Known for playing comic “blonde bombshell” characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era’s sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2022) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a pop culture icon.In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her as the sixth-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood.Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage[5] before
marrying James Dougherty at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don’t Bother to Knock. Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.
By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars. She had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a “dumb blonde”. The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and cover of the first issue of Playboy magazine. Monroe played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but felt disappointed when typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career.
When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe’s contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).
Monroe’s troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide. Norma Jeane Mortenson later took her mother’s name, Baker. Her mother was frequently confined in an asylum, and Norma Jeane was reared by 12 successive sets of foster parents and, for a time, in an orphanage. In 1942 she married a fellow worker in an aircraft factory, but they divorced soon after World War II. She became a popular photographer’s model and in 1946 signed a short-term contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, taking as her screen name Marilyn Monroe. After a few brief appearances in movies made by the Fox and Columbia studios, she was again unemployed, and she returned to modeling for photographers. Her nude photograph on a calendar brought her a role in the film Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! (1948), which was followed by other minor roles.In 1950 Monroe played a small uncredited role in The Asphalt Jungle that reaped a mountain of fan mail. An appearance in All About Eve (1950) won her another contract from Fox and much recognition. In a succession of movies, including Let’s Make It Legal (1951), Love Nest (1951), Clash by Night (1952), and Niagara (1953), she
advanced to star billing on the strength of her studio-fostered image as a “love goddess.” With performances in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954), her fame grew steadily and spread throughout the world, and she became the object of unprecedented popular adulation. In 1954 she married baseball star Joe DiMaggio, and the attendant publicity was enormous. With the end of their marriage less than a year later she began to grow discontented with her career.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Drake
Aubrey Drake Graham born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter.An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–08), he pursued a career in music releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. He followed this with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.In 2022, Drake released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind and the collaborative album, Her Loss, with 21 Savage. Known for frequent accompanying releases to his albums, Drake achieved critical and commercial success with the mixtapes If You’re Reading
This It’s Too Late (2015) and More Life (2017).
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the “global ambassador” of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black. In 2022, he became a part owner of Italian soccer club A.C. Milan.
Among the world’s best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the RIAA.Heralded as the undisputed leader of a new hip-hop generation in the early 2000s, the Toronto-born former Degrassi: The Next Generation star served notice on his early mixtapes that a new voice was emerging from the North. Since his official debut album Thank Me Later (2010), Drizzy has become one of the most consistent hitmakers of the 2010s — racking up the most charted songs (205) as a solo artist in Billboard Hot 100 history — as comfortable with a poppy hook as he is with battle rap bars.Drake is among the acts who adapted most smoothly to the quarantine, releasing mixtape “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” in late April 2020.
The project zoomed to No. 2 on the Billboard charts, narrowly losing the top spot to Kenny Chesney.
Dark Lane Demo Tapes” included several popular singles including the viral hit “Toosie Slide.” The Canadian hip-hop star indicated plans to release a full album in summer 2020.Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Dennis Graham, an African-American musician born in Memphis, Tennessee, and Sandi (Sher) Graham, a Canadian Jewish educator. As a young man, Drake appeared in several commercials, for such retailers as Sears and GMC. In 2001, Drake rose to fame playing the role of “Jimmy Brooks”, a character on Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), a basketball star who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by a classmate. In 2006, Drake launched his music career by releasing his first mix tape, “Room for Improvement”. Three years later, his third mix tape, “So Far Gone”, garnered him critical and
commercial success, and, the following year, he released his official debut album, “Thank Me Later”, to generally positive reviews. Aubrey Drake Graham has established himself as a multi-talented young Canadian, and the entertainment industry has great expectations for him.. Often raps and sings about his relationships, with atmospheric production Dysprosody: he, controversially, often adopts pseudo-foreign accents which have included Jamaican Patois (“Views”), Spanish (“What a Time to be Alive”), and British (“More Life”). Often features voicemails on songs (e.g. “Look What You’ve Done”, “Marvin’s Room”, “How Bout Now”, Can’t Have Everything”)Has a son named Adonis with French sculptor Sophie Brussaux.
Has tattoos of Aaliyah, Denzel Washington, multiple tattoos of Sade, Robin Givens, Lil Wayne, Skepta, Popcaan, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and his late friend Fif. Only receives $8.25 in royalties from Degrassi.
He has a Swedish tattoo “Oktober Lejonhjärta” dedicated to Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta, Afro-Swedish twin models (also born in October) he frequently works with.
Is the first artist to reach a billion streams in one week, after the release of his 5th album “Scorpion;
As of 4 October 2018, he was ranked No. 1 as Spotify’s most streamed artist with 52 million monthly listeners.
Working on the fourth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001).
Created his own record label called OVO Sound/[2012].
Mother’s name is Sandi.
Good friends with Al Mukadam.
Began a hiatus from music after More Life to focus on film and television.
Has two dogs named Diamond and Winter.
Is a huge fan of Adele.
According to Forbes, has a estimated net worth of 90 million.[May 2017].
Told Rolling Stone that he doesn’t like that Jay-Z exclusively raps about fine art, but he hopes to also own some one day.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Roger Federer
Roger Federer ( born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He won 103 singles titles on the ATP Tour, the second most of all time, including 20 major men’s singles titles, a record eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles, an Open Era joint-record five men’s singles US Open titles, and a joint-record six year-end championships. In his home country, he is regarded as “the greatest and most successful” Swiss sportsperson in history.Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014, following their Olympic doubles gold victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Federer also won a silver medal in singles at the 2012 London Olympics, finishing runner-up to Andy Murray. After a half-year hiatus in late 2016 to recover from knee surgery, Federer returned to tennis, winning three more majors over the next two years, including the 2017 Australian Open over Rafael Nadal and an eighth singles title at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2018 Australian Open,Federer became the first man to win 20 major singles titles and shortly the oldest ATP world No. 1 at age 36. In September 2022, he retired from professional tennis following the Laver Cup.
A versatile all-court player, Federer’s perceived effortlessness made him highly popular among tennis fans. Originally lacking self-control as a junior, he transformed his on-court demeanor to become well-liked for his graciousness, winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times. He also won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times. Outside of competition, Federer played an instrumental role in the creation of the Laver Cup team competition. He is also an active philanthropist. He established the Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in southern Africa, and has raised funds in part through the Match for Africa exhibition series. By the end of his career, Federer was routinely one of the top ten highest-paid athletes in any sport, and ranked first among all athletes with $100 million in endorsement income in 2020.Federer made his ATP debut at the 1998 Swiss Open Gstaad in his home country of Switzerland losing to Lucas Arnold Ker in the first round. Later that year, he won his first ATP match in Toulouse against Guillaume Raoux. He got a wildcard into the 1998 Swiss Indoors and lost in the first round to 4th seed and former world number 1 Andre Agassi. Federer finished his career as a 10-time champion of the tournament.
Federer entered the top 100 ranking for the first time on 20 September 1999 and started at the 1999 Marseille Open defeating the reigning champion of the 1998 French Open, Spaniard Carlos Moyá. His first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.The 2006 season was statistically the best season of Federer’s career.In November 2011, Stephen Tignor, chief editorial writer for Tennis.com, ranked Federer’s 2006 season as statistically the second-best season of all time during the Open Era, behind Rod Laver’s Grand Slam year of 1969.Federer won 12 singles titles (the most of any player since Thomas Muster in 1995 and John McEnroe in 1984) and had a match record of 92–5 (the most wins since Ivan Lendl in 1982). Federer reached the finals in an astounding 16 of the 17 tournaments he entered during the season.In June 2009 Federer won his first French Open,giving him a championship in each of the four Grand Slam tournaments over the course of his career. Additionally, the win was his 14th Grand Slam title, which tied Federer with Sampras for the most in all time. The following month at Wimbledon, Federer defeated American Andy Roddick in a thrilling marathon five-set match (5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14) to win his sixth Wimbledon championship and his record 15th career Grand Slam title; he subsequently regained the world number one ranking. In January 2010 he won the Australian Open, defeating Andy Murray of Great Britain. Federer again defeated Murray in 2012 to win his record-tying seventh career Wimbledon title. A month later the two men faced off in the gold medal match at the London Olympics. This time, however, Federer lost to Murray and had to settle for a silver medal.Federer endured an injury-riddled 2013 season, and in 2014 he reached just one Grand Slam final (a loss at Wimbledon to Novak Djokovic) He did still manage a career highlight that year by leading Switzerland to its first-ever Davis Cup victory. In 2015 he appeared in the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals but lost to Djokovic both times. Shortly after losing in the Wimbledon semifinals in July 2016, he withdrew from the remainder of that tennis season because of a persistent knee injury.
Federer entered the first Grand Slam tournament of 2017, the Australian Open, as the 17th-ranked men’s player but shocked the tennis world by winning the singles title in an epic
five-set final against Nadal. Federer continued his resurgent play at that year’s Wimbledon, where he did not lose a single set during the tournament and won a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon title. Federer’s hot streak continued into 2018 when he won his sixth career Australian Open singles title. With the victory, Federer set a record for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles (20); that mark was later matched by Nadal and Djokovic, and in 2022 Nadal became the first to surpass it. Federer reached the semifinals at the 2019 French Open and advanced to the final at that year’s Wimbledon, where he lost an epic 4-hour 57-minute match (the longest final match in Wimbledon history) to Djokovic.
After losing in the semifinals at the 2020 Australian Open, Federer had two knee surgeries that caused him to miss the rest of the season. Although he returned in 2021, his play was limited. However, he did compete at Wimbledon, where he lost in straight sets in the quarterfinals. That proved to be his last Grand Slam event. Federer was again sidelined by knee problems, and in September 2022 he announced that he would be retiring after the Laver Cup. Later that month he played in his final competitive match, a doubles event in which he paired with Nadal; they lost.
In addition to tennis, Federer was involved in various philanthropic causes, with a particular interest in South Africa, his mother’s home country. In 2003 he established the Roger Federer Foundation, which sought to help underprivileged children in Switzerland and southern Africa, primarily through educational projects.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Thomas Golubic is a Los Angeles-based Emmy-nominated music supervisor, Grammy-nominated record producer, and DJ. His music supervision credits include the AMC series Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Halt and Catch Fire, the HBO series Six Feet Under, Netflix series Grace & Frankie and Love, the Amazon series Sneaky Pete and the Showtime series Ray Donovan, among many other film & television projects. In 2017, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Supervision in Season 3 of Better Call Saul. Since 2017, Thomas has served as President of the Guild of Music Supervisors, and is a founding member of the organization. The Guild twice awarded Thomas with “Best Music Supervision in a Television Drama” for his work on Breaking Bad.
He was twice nominated for a Grammy awards for producing volumes one and two of the Six Feet Under soundtrack album in 2003 and 2006. Alongside former partner Gary Calamar, he was responsible for the use of Sia’s “Breathe Me” in the final scene of the series. It is considered one of the most memorable uses of music in television, and launched Sia’s music career in America. Thomas is also responsible for producing numerous soundtrack albums for Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead, Halt and Catch Fire and Breaking Bad, also writing the liner notes for the Breaking Bad 10th Anniversary 5-Album Box. Additionally, he has assembled various remix projects for EMI-Capitol Records and MGM, including reinterpretations of Peggy Lee, The Beach Boys, Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther theme and EMI’s Christmas Classics remix compilation ‘Merry Mixmas
His formative years, musically speaking, were spent as a DJ, music programmer and on-air host for tastemaker LA radio station KCRW 89.9 FM. After ending his 10-year residency at KCRW,
he turned his attention to music production and live audio/video DJ work. He formed The Arbiters, a music collective creating mash-up music and video productions, free-released two EPs in 2006 and 2010, and created audio and video mash-up productions for clients including Google, YouTube, Microsoft and Levi’s.
Thomas has also become known as an innovative club DJ spinning broadly eclectic music sets, often with live synchronized visuals. His SYNCHRONIZE re-score project, featuring live DJ re-scores of classic films has been featured at the Sundance Film Festival, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Luminato Festival in Toronto, Dubrovnik Film Festival, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, various residencies in Los Angeles, and has been profiled on Turner Classic Movies.
Since September of 2017, Thomas has served as President of The Guild of Music Supervisors, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and support the craft of Music Supervision through education, advocacy and celebrations of excellence in the profession. During his time as President, Thomas has expanded the annual GMS ‘State of Music in Media’ Conference with over 700 in attendance in 2018, sold out the annual GMS Awards show, and established a monthly GMS newsletter and podcast. With the Guild, Thomas strives to create ladder-up opportunities that promote greater diversity in the community, a climate of professional respect and cooperation and to better serve and inspire the next generation.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Viktorija Golubic
born 16 October 1992) is a Swiss professional tennis player. Golubic has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, two singles WTA Challenger titles, as well as ten singles and 15 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit so far. On 28 February 2022, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 15 January 2018, she peaked at No. 63 in the doubles rankings.Ranked world No. 66 at Wimbledon, Golubic reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time defeating en-route two seeded players, 23rd seed American Madison Keys in the fourth round and 29th seed Veronika Kudermetova, plus two more Americans, Danielle Collins and Madison Brengle, respectively. Having won 43 matches already in 2021, Golubic guaranteed herself a top-50 debut with this breakthrough run, moving 18 places to world No. 48 on 12 July 2021, having never passed the third round of this major before. Playing for Switzerland at the Fed Cup, Golubic has a win–loss record of 6–6. At the 2016 Fed Cup semifinals, Golubic earned surprising wins over Karolína Plíšková and Barbora Strýcová, defeating both in three sets. Although it was not enough for Switzerland to beat the Czech Republic, Golubic was praised for her performance. The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Total Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009–2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The two tournaments have since alternated status every year. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.Golubic started playing on the ITF Women’s Circuit at the $10k event in Budapest in June 2008.She played her first two WTA qualifying tournaments at the Hungarian Open and Gastein Ladies in 2010. She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Gastein Ladies in 2013, where she recorded her first WTA win and reached second round. However, all of her attempts to qualify for a major failed.Golubic’s most
significant results in 2018 came at the ITF Circuit and WTA Challenger Tour. In the early season, she reached the final of the $60k Burnie International, losing there to Marta Kostyuk.Later, she reached quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Challenger, $100k Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer, Bol Open and Manchester Trophy.Ranked world No. 66 at Wimbledon, Golubic reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time defeating en-route two seeded players, 23rd seed American Madison Keys in the fourth round and 29th seed Veronika Kudermetova, plus two more Americans, Danielle Collins and Madison Brengle, respectively. Having won 43 matches already in 2021, Golubic guaranteed herself a top-50 debut with this breakthrough run, moving 18 places to world No. 48 on 12 July 2021, having never passed the third round of this major before.Golubic has won one singles title on the WTA tour, as well as eight singles and 14 doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. On 3 April 2017, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 51. On 24 July 2017, she peaked at world number 69 in the doubles rankings.
Golubic started playing on the ITF circuit in 2008 in Hungary and played her first two WTA qualifying tournaments in Budapest and Bad Gastein in 2010. She played her first match in the main draw of a WTA event in Bad Gastein in 2013, reaching the second round. However, all of her attempts to qualify for a Grand Slam failed.After winning her eighth ITF title, Golubic reached her first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open through qualifying and lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round of the tournament. She then reached the quarterfinals of another ITF event before failing to reach the main draw of her next three tournaments. At the Katowice Open, Golubic entered the main draw as a qualifier and beat Paula Kania in the first round before losing to Tímea Babos.
At the Fed Cup semifinals, Golubic earned surprising wins over Karolína Plíšková and Barbora Strýcová, defeating both in three sets. Although it was not enough for Switzerland to beat the Czech Republic, Golubic was praised for her performance.
Prior to the French Open, Golubic played in the qualifying of the WTA Prague Open, where she lost to Viktória Kužmová in the first round. After a quarterfinal appearance in Saint-Gaudens, she entered Roland Garros through qualifying and earned her first Grand Slam main-draw win with a three-set victory over Alison Riske. She lost to Lucie Šafářová in round two.
Golubic started her grass-court season at the Ricoh Open, entering the main draw as a qualifier and defeating Anna-Lena Friedsam and Risa Ozaki en route to her first WTA quarterfinal, losing to Belinda Bencic. Her next two tournaments (the Mallorca Open and Wimbledon) ended in qualifying. She also lost in the first round of her next ITF tournament in Budapest.
At the inaugural Ladies Championship Gstaad, Golubic beat number 7 seed Mona Barthel, Evgeniya Rodina, Carina Witthöft and Rebeka Masarova en route to her first WTA final. She then defeated third seed Kiki Bertens to lift her first WTA trophy. With the title, Golubic entered the top 100 for the first time.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Kodagu, also known as Coorg, is a rural district in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka. In the area’s north, Madikeri Fort has 2 life-size elephant statues at its entrance, plus a Gothic-style church with a museum on its grounds. Nearby, the Hindu
Omkareshwara Temple dates back to the 19th century. Farther north are the domed Raja’s Tomb, a burial place of Kodava kings, and cascading Abbi Falls.Coorg, also known as Kodagu, is a beautiful hill station in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is famous for its coffee plantations, steep hills, countless streams, rich flora & fauna, lush forests and breathtaking views. Some of the must visit tourist attractions of Coorg include Nagarhole National Park, Abbi Falls, Iruppu Falls, The Raja’s Seat, Madikeri Fort and Tibetan Buddhist Golden Temple. Being an important leisure destination, Coorg is well-connected to other major cities of the country by air, road and rail.
How to Reach Coorg by Air
Mangalore Airport, located about 160 km away, is the nearest airport to Coorg. The airport has scheduled flights to major Indian cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad Unwind in the lap of nature in Coorg where aromatic coffee and spice plantations, lush green hills, cascading waterfalls and a distinct old-world charm sooth the Senses Kodagu district (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State It occupies an area of 4,102 square Kilometres (1,584 sq mi) in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. In 2001 its population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district’s urban Centre, making it the least populous of the 31 districts in Karnataka.
The nearest railway stations are Mysore Junction, located around 95 km (59 mi) away, Thalassery, and Kannur, the latter two located in Kerala at a distance of about 79 km (49 mi). The nearest airports are Kannur International Airport in Kerala (90 km (56 mi) from Madikeri) and Mangalore International Airport (144 km (89 mi) from Madikeri).The district is bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest, Hassan district to the north, Mysore district to the east, Kasaragod district of Kerala in west and Kannur district of Kerala to the southwest, and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. It is a hilly district, the lowest elevation being 50 metres (160 ft) above sea-level near makutta. The highest peak, Tadiandamol, rises to 1,750 metres (5,740 ft), with Pushpagiri, the second highest, at 1,715 metres (5,627 ft). The main river in Kodagu is the Kaveri (Cauvery), which originates at Talakaveri, located on the eastern side of the Western Ghats, and with its tributaries, drains the greater part of Kodagu.
Rivers (Mouth)
Kaveri (Bay of Bengal)
Payaswini (Arabian Sea)
Tejaswini (Arabian Sea)
Kuppam River (Arabian Sea)
Valapattanam River (Arabian Sea)
Harangi (Kaveri)
Lakshmana Tirtha (Kaveri)
Barapole (Valapattanam River)
Kumaradhara (Netravathi River)
Two members of the legislative assembly are elected from Kodagu to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, one each from the Madiker and Virajpet. Dr. Mantar Gowda represents the Madikeri constituency while A.S Ponnanna represents the Virajpet constituency; they are from the Indian National Congress. Kodagu, formerly part of the Kodagu-Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore) constituency, is now part of the Mysore Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency. The current MP for this constituency is Shri Pratap Simha, from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hindus are the vast majority. They include the Kodava tribe, other Kodava language speakers, Arebhashe Gowdas, Brahmins, most Yeravas and Kurubas.
A huge minority of Muslims dot the Coorg district, especially the towns of Kushalnagar, Virajpet and Mercara. A sizeable of them are the Nawayaths who shifted in the eighties from Bhatkal and Murdeshwar in order to pursue coffee & arecanut plantations and textile business. The numerous mosque dotting the landscape is the testimony of Muslim presence in the district. The Codava National Council and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are campaigning for autonomy to Kodagu district. A small number of Mangalorean Catholics are also found in Coorg.[quantify] They are mostly descended from those Konkani Catholics who fled the roundup and, later, captivity by Tippu Sultan. These immigrants were welcomed by Raja Veerarajendra (himself a former captive of Tippu Sultan, having escaped six years of captivity in 1788) who realising their usefulness and expertise as agriculturists, gave them lands and tax breaks and built a church for them.According to Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy (Karnataka’s Kodava Literary Academy), apart from Kodavas, and their related groups, the Amma Kodavas, the Kodava Peggade (Kodagu Heggade) and the Kodava Maaple (Kodava Muslims) 18 other smaller-numbered ethnic groups speak Kodava Takk in and outside the district including the Iri (Airi, or the carpenters and the village smiths), the Koyava, the Banna, the Kodagu Madivala (washermen), the Kodagu Hajama (barber, also called Nainda), the Kembatti Poleya (household servants and labourers) and the Meda (basket and mat weavers and drummers).Among other Kodava speaking communities are: the Heggades, cultivators from shimogga; the Kodava Nair, cultivators from Kerala State; the Ayiri, who constitute the artisan caste; the Medas, who are basket and mat-weavers and act as drummers at feasts; the Binepatta, originally wandering musicians from Malabar, now farmers; and the Kavadi, cultivators settled in Yedenalknad (Virajpet). All these groups speak the Kodava language and conform generally to Kodava customs and dress.Less frequent are Tulu speakers Billavas, Mogaveeras, Bunts, Goud Saraswat Brahmins.
The Arebhashe gowdas,or Kodagu Gowdas,and Tulu Gowdas, are an ethnic group of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu. They live in Sulya (in Dakshina Kannada) and in parts of Somwarpet, Kushalanagar, Bhagamandala and Madikeri. They speak a language known as Arebhashe a dialect of Kannada. Guddemane Appaiah Gowda along with many other freedom fighters from different communities revolted against the British in an armed struggle which covered entire Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada. This was one of the earliest freedom movements against the British called “Amara Sulliada Swantantrya Sangraama”(Amara Sulya Dhange formally called the ‘Coorg Rebellion’ by the British) started in 1837.Kodagu is rated as one of the top hill station destinations in India. Some of the most popular tourist attractions in Kodagu include Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Nisargadhama, Abbey Falls, Dubare, Nagarahole National Park, Iruppu Falls.
and the Tibetan Buddhist Golden Temple.The temple on the riverbanks here is dedicated to Lord Brahma, and is one of only two temples dedicated to Brahma in India and Southeast Asia. Bhagamandala is situated at the Sangama (confluence) of two rivers, the Kaveri and the Kannika. A third river, the Sujyothi, is said to join from underground, and hence this spot is called the Triveni Sangama. Iruppu Falls is a sacred Kodagu Hindu spot in South Kodagu in the Brahmagiri hill range. The Lakshmana Tirtha River, with the waterfalls, flows nearby and has a Rameshwara temple on its banks. It is said that this sacred river was created when Laxmana, prince of Ayodhya and younger brother of Lord Rama, shot an arrow into nearby hill, the Brahmagiri hill. Chelavara falls and Thadiandamol peak are also in South Kodagu. Nagarahole is a national park and wildlife resort.Nisargadhama is a man-made island and picnic spot near Kushalanagara, formed by the river Kaveri. The Tibetan Buddhist Golden Temple is at Bylakuppe near Kushalnagara (Mysore district), in the Tibetan refugee settlement. Abbey Falls is a scenic waterfall 5 km from Madikeri. Mallalli falls is 25 km from Somawarapet, downhill of the Pushpagiri hills.Kootu Poley dam is also popular among tourists. Omkareshwara Temple is a beautiful temple built in the Indo-Sarcenic style in Coorg. A legend is associated with the temple, built by Lingarajendra II in 1820 CE. The king put to death a pious Brahmin who dared to protest against his misdeeds. The spirit of the dead man began to plague the king day and night. On the advice of wise men, the king built this temple and installed a Shivalinga procured from Kashi, North India. St. Mark’s Church is located within the Mercara Fort and was raised in 1859, by the officers and men of the East India Company.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Buland Darwaza
Door of Victory”, was built in 1575 by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is the main entrance to the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, which is 43 km from Agra, India.Buland Darwaza is the highest gateway in the world and is an example of Mughal architecture. It displays sophistication and heights of technology in Akbar’s empire.The Buland Darwaza is made of red and buff sandstone, decorated by white and black marble and is higher than the courtyard of the mosque. The Buland Darwaza is symmetrical and is topped by large free-standing kiosks, which are the chhatris. It also has terrace edge gallery kiosks on the roof, stylised buckler-battlements, small minor-spires, and inlay work with white and black marble. On the outside, a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving the gateway additional height. It is 40 meters high and 51 meters from the ground. The total height of the structure is about 54 meters from the ground level. It is a 15-storied high gateway acting as the southern entrance of the city of Fatehpur Sikri. The approach to the gate consists of 42 steps.It is semi-octagonal in plan with two smaller triple-storeyed wings on either side, it has three kiosks on its top surrounded by thirteen smaller domed kiosks. There are smaller turrets surrounding the gateway.The expanse is broken by arched niches, small laudas, and marbles which highlights the courtyard of the Jama Masjid. The principal arch stands in the centre of three projecting sides and topped by a dome. The central arch is broken into three tiers with rows of smaller arches and flat brackets.The expanse is broken by arched niches, small laudas, and marbles which highlights the courtyard of the Jama Masjid. The principal arch stands in the centre of three projecting sides and topped by a dome. The central arch is broken into three tiers with rows of smaller arches and flat brackets.The great gate itself is plain. The three horizontal panels of buff stone noticeable in the Badshahi Darwaza are also present here. The plain red sandstone spandrels are framed in white marble with a flower-like ornament inlaid in white
marble at the apex of the arch, and a flattish rosette, centered with the narrow panel above it, on either side. The cusped ornament, large and bold in fact, but small and delicate when seen from below, is carried down below the springing of the arch. Two pieces have been broken off from the left hand side and eight from the right. The arch has three actual openings bordered by decorative panels and superimposed by three other arched openings crowned by a semi-dome. The total height of the Gate above the pavement is 176 ft.A Persian inscription on the eastern archway of the Buland Darwaza records Akbar’s conquest of Uttar Pradesh and the victory in Gujarat in 1573.On the main gateway, an Islamic inscription written in Persian reads “Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) said: ‘The world is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day may hope for eternity, but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer for the rest is unseen.’
Isa was advising his followers not to consider the world as a permanent home and hope for worldly things, as human life is of short duration.
Verses from the Quran have been carved in the Naskh (script) along the top. These were drawn by Khwaja Hussain Chishti, a disciple of Sheikh Salim Chishti.
When was it Built: 1601
Who built it: Mughal Emperor Akbar
Time taken: 12 Years
Where is it located: Fatehpur Sikri, Agra District, Uttar Pradesh, India
Why was it built: As a victory archway
Architectural Style: Mix of Hindu and Persian styles of architecture
Visit Timing: Daily, morning to evening
How to Reach: Nearest railhead is Fatehpur Sikri railway station (around 1 km) and nearest airport is Agra Airport (40 km). One can also avail UPSRTC or private bus services and cabs from Agra and neighboring regions to reach this place.
Buland Darwaza or the loft gateway at Fatehpur Sikri was built by the great Mughal emperor, Akbar in 1601. Akbar built the Buland Darwaza to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. The Buland Darwaza, approached by 42 steps and 53.63m high and 35 meters wide, is the highest gateway in the world and an astounding example of the Mughal architecture. It is made of red and buff sandstone, and decorated by carving and inlaying of white and black marble. An inscription on the central face of the Buland Darwaza throws light on Akbar’s religious tolerance and broad mindedness.
The Buland Darwaza towers above the courtyard of the mosque. It is semi octagonal in plan and is topped by pillars and chhatris, echoing early Mughal design with simple ornamentation, carved verses from the Koran and towering arches. There are thirteen smaller domed kiosks on
The roof, stylized battlement and small turrets and inlay work of white and black marble. On the outside a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving the gateway additional height. A Persian inscription on eastern arch way of the Buland Darwaza records Akbar’s conquest over Deccan in 1601 A.D.This colossal monument that forms the main entrance of the palace at Fatehpur Sikri stands as a fine example of the architectural brilliance of the Mughal Empire that showcases an excellent mix of Hindu and Persian styles of architecture. Also called the ‘Gate of Magnificence’, it was added years later to the compound of Jama Masjid as a victory arch by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great in 1601 A.D. to commemorate his successful Gujarat campaign of 1573. It took around twelve years to construct this architectural wonder.
This symmetrical entrance gate with chhatris or large kiosks atop is quite high than the courtyard of the mosque and is built with red and buff sandstones and embellished with black and white marble. There are gallery kiosks bordering the top centre of the roof which has small minar spires and carved indentations and is inlaid with black and white marble. The semi octagonal gateway is 15-storied high and has two three-storied wings on its two sides. Height of the mammoth structure is around 54 meters from the pavement and can be approached by climbing 42 steps from ground level. The top centre of the structure has three kiosks behind thirteen small domed kiosks. The gateway is surrounded by small turrets.The main arch of the gateway with a dome atop lies in the middle of three projecting sides and is divided into three tiers having small arches in rows as also flat brackets. The two triangular surfaces, one of the three sides of each of which are bounded by the outer curves of the arch, are in plain red sandstone bordered with white marble and decorated with a flower like design made of white marble. The tip of the arch is also embellished with white marble sculpted like flower. The central arch again has three small arched openings that are outlined with ornamented panels and crowned by a semi-dome.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Chow Hang-tung
Tonyee Chow Hang-tung born on 24 December on 1985 is a Hong Kong activist, barrister and politician. During the crackdown by authorities on the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which began in June 2021 and was mainly based on national security charges over the Alliance’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Chow was cast into the limelight, having become the convenor of the group after the arrest of leaders Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho in April.Chow was born and grew up in Hong Kong. She studied geophysics at University of Cambridge. Chow realised that human rights issues were her real interest, so she gave up doctoral studies and returned to Hong Kong in 2010, where she studied law at the University of Hong Kong after having spent some time working at an NGO.Chow serves as vice chairwoman of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised annual marches and vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. On 4 June 2021, Chow was arrested for promoting an unauthorised assembly on the 32nd anniversary of the protests.
Human rights lawyer and China’s labour rights advocate Chow Hang-tung, currently imprisoned, was charged for “inciting subversion” under the new National Security Law on September, 9th 2021 and faces potential 10 years imprisonment. She, together with other core members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), was targeted simply for peacefully commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.he isbarrister
and woman human rights defender in Hong Kong. She has advocated for the protection and promotion of labour rights, as well as for the rights of persecuted human rights defenders in mainland China. She is one of the current vice-chairs of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Hong Kong Alliance), a grassroots advocacy group established in 1989 in Hong Kong to campaign for the release of Chinese political prisoners, democratic reforms in China, and accountability for the extrajudicial killings and other violations by the Chinese authorities during the lethal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in June 1989. As a barrister in Hong Kong, she has also provided legal assistance to activists and protesters targeted by police and judicial actions for their involvement in pro-democracy activities.For China’s Communist Party rulers, historical memory must be vigilantly patrolled. The government attempts to airbrush out events such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Chow Hang-tung resisted. She kept the flame alive — literally, by helping organize candlelight vigils commemorating the violent attack on pro-democracy student protesters. Ms. Chow, a 38-year-old lawyer in Hong Kong, has been imprisoned for her actions and her beliefs; she is awaiting trial.The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the U.N. Human Rights Council found that Ms. Chow’s imprisonment is a breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in 1998. What’s more, the U.N. group has sharply criticized the new national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong, and under which Ms. Chow is being prosecuted. The group concluded Ms. Chow should be freed. The group is right.In 2016, Ms. Chow became vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. The group campaigned for democracy and the release of individuals wrongly imprisoned, organizing annual public gatherings on June 4 to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre. Some years, these vigils attracted as many as 180,000 people. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has nominated Ms. Chow and five others in Hong Kong for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.Ms. Chow also worked for labor rights and in defense of human rights on the mainland. This put her in the crosshairs of the Hong Kong authorities, who answer to China’s party bosses in Beijing. From 2020 onward, she was arrested four times and released three times. She was arrested June 23, 2020, for participating in that year’s Tiananmen commemoration. She was released, then arrested June 4, 2021, on the same charge, based on a social media post urging people to light candles throughout the territory, and again released. The third arrest came June 30, 2021, this time on suspicion she had encouraged people to participate in a pro-democracy demonstration, but evidence was lacking; she was released on bail after 37 days in pretrial detention.Her fourth arrest came Sept. 8, 2021, along with that of other alliance leaders, for refusing to comply with a police order to turn over information about the group. The authorities wanted to determine if it should be labeled a “foreign agent” under the new national security law. The alliance leaders decided to dissolve the organization on Sept. 25, 2021. Yet she has remained in prison and has been denied bail on the latest charges, all while battling the earlier ones linked to the Tiananmen commemorations. One conviction was overturned on appeal. In March, she and two other members of the alliance were convicted of one charge under the national security law for refusing the police request. Ms. Chow still faces another charge, “incitement to state subversion,” which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.She is representing herself from prison, where she has no internet access,no
computer and limited access to books. The U.N. group expressed concern about overly broad application of the national security law to harass and close media outlets; block online content; arrest and arbitrarily detain journalists, politicians, academics, students and human rights defenders who have expressed dissenting views; and carry out censorship. Moreover, the group said any law must be precise enough so that people can follow it — and the new national security law is “clearly lacking” this basic principle. The group Hong Kong Watch said the law is being “used for political reasons without regard for the rule of law.
Exercising freedom of expression and association — such as by carrying a candle in memory of Tiananmen — should not be a crime. Ms. Chow is wrongly imprisoned and should be freed.A prominent Hong Kong activist has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for incitement for a banned vigil to commemorate those who died in Beijing’s crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Chow Hang-tung, the former vice chairwoman of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was handed the new jail term in the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old lawyer is already serving a 12-month sentence on charges of participating in and inciting,an unauthorised assembly for her role in the 2020 vigil.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Bernardo Silva
Born: 10 August 1994 (age 28 years), Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.73 m
Current teams: Manchester City F.C. (Midfielder), Portugal national football team (#10 / Midfielder)
Dates joined: 2017 (Manchester City F.C.), 2015 (Portugal national football team), more Weight: 64 kg
Nationality: Portuguese
Parents: Maria João Mota Veiga
Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Manchester City and the Portugal national team. Silva is known for his creativity, dribbling, stamina, versatility, and work-rate. Paris Saint-Germain have had an initial offer for Bernardo Silva rejected by Manchester City as they attempt to secure the transfer of the Portugal international for a second successive summer. City hope to persuade Silva to change his mind on a move to France and extend his contract at the newly crowned European champions.
PSG – who are competing with offers from the Saudi Pro League and Barcelona for Silva’s signature – have been told that the player’s preference is to leave Manchester for Paris. Their pursuit has been led by the club’s Football Advisor, Luis Campos, a close friend of Silva’s who launched the midfielder’s Champions League career by bringing him to AS Monaco in 2014. Manchester City FC LOGIN
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TENACIOUS, HARD-WORKING PLAYMAKER…
City signed Bernardo Silva in July 2017 after he helped Monaco to the Ligue 1 title and a hugely impressive run to the Champions League semi-finals.
Blessed with balance, guile and great technique the Portuguese midfielder is a threat both centrally and out wide and earned the nickname ‘Bubblegum’ due to the manner in which the ball sticks to his feet on mazy dribbles
Add to that a tireless work-rate and it’s easy to understand why Bernardo has been influential in his two-years in Manchester, helping City win two Premier Leagues, two Carabao Cups, an FA Cup and the Community Shield.
His career began with Benfica, where he progressed from the B team, but found first-team opportunities limited, which led to a season-long loan at Monaco in 2013/14.
So impressive was he, that the Ligue 1 outfit made the deal permanent six months into the agreement and he flourished over the next three seasons.
A third place finish and Champions League run to the quarter-finals in 2015/16 was eclipsed the following year when Bernardo provided 12 assists and scored 11 goals as Monaco won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League last four.
His form earned him an international debut against Cape Verde in March.
He moved to City that summer and grew into his role in an impressive first season, netting nine times and adding 11 assists as he ended the campaign with a Premier League and Carabao Cup medal.
The 2018 World Cup followed, with Bernardo playing in all four games as Portugal reached the last 16.
His second season in Manchester proved even better on both a personal and team level. City swept all before the domestically and the 24-year-old was sensational throughout.
He recorded 13 goals and 14 assists in 51 appearances, winning Man of the Match in the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea and ending the campaign as the Club’s Player of the Season.
Early in 2019 he signed a contract extension which keeps at City until 2025.
In 2019/20, he made 52 appearances and scored eight goals – his third campaign in a that he clocked up a half century or more for the Club.
Bernardo was again integral to the City team in 2020/21 season, making 45 appearances to take his Club total to 201 – an average of 50.25 games per campaign.
2021/22 proved to be another magnificent season for the popular midfielder.
As well as winning three successive Etihad Player of the Season votes, he played 50 times and equalled his best goals tally with 13.
Armed with extensive experience at international level too, Silva was part of the Portuguese squad that reached the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup finals.
He made five appearances in total at the Qatar showpiece, impressing throughout for the Iberian nation.
Bernardo had the distinction, in March’s 2-0 home win over Newcastle United, of scoring City’s 1,000th home goal in the Premier League era, his all-important in that Etihad Stadium game securing a valuable three points.
The Portugal international continued to be a key figure in Pep Guardiola’s team for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign to help us lift our third consecutive Premier League title.
He also played the entirety of our 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup final to help City win it for the second time under Guardiola’s tenure.
Silva played another electric game in our 1-0 win over Inter in the Champions League final to help City secure the Treble. Bernardo Silva plays the position Midfield, is 28 years old and 173cm tall, weights 62kg. In the current club Manchester City played 6 seasons, during this time he played 338 matches and scored 55 goals.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Energy Center.The Wild were founded on June 25, 1997, but did not start playing until the 2000–01 season.They were the first NHL franchise in Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas in 1993. They won their first game 9–1 to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and recorded their second win
against the Tampa Bay Lightning the next game.Following the departure of the Minnesota North Stars after the 1992–93 season,the state of Minnesota was without an NHL team for seven seasons. Saint Paul mayor (and future U.S. Senator) Norm Coleman began a campaign to either recruit the relocation of an existing franchise to the city or the award of an expansion franchise to a Minnesota-based ownership group. These efforts came close to success in the mid-1990s when Minnesota interests purchased the original Winnipeg Jets intending to relocate the franchise to Minnesota; however, arena negotiations at the Target Center fell through, and the Jets instead relocated to Phoenix, Arizona.
Following the failed attempt to relocate the Jets, the NHL announced its intention to expand from 26 to 30 teams. Businessman and Minnetonka native Bob Naegele, Jr. became the lead investor for an application to the NHL for an expansion franchise and, ultimately, the first majority owner. On June 25, 1997, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that Minnesota had been awarded an expansion franchise, to begin play in the 2000–01 season. The six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise (Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, White Bears, and Wild), were announced on November 20, 1997.Jac Sperling was named chief executive officer of the Minnesota team,Doug Risebrough was named general manager, Tod Leiweke was named President, and Martha Fuller was named chief financial officer.The team was officially named the Wild at an unveiling at the Aldrich Area on January 22, 1998, with the song “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf playing over the arena’s speaker system. The Minnesota Wild announced its first major sponsorship agreement with MasterCard from First USA. It was the earliest that First USA had ever signed an agreement before a team began play (31 months). The State of Minnesota adopted legislation in April 1998 to loan $65 million to the City of Saint Paul to fund 50% of the estimated $130 million project costs for the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. The legislation also provided that only $48 million of the loan needed to be repaid if the team met the requirements to have an agreement in place during the lease term with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission. The City of Saint Paul issued an additional $65 million in bonds, with roughly 90% of the debt service on the bonds and the repayment of the state loan coming from scheduled rent and payment instead of taxes from the Minnesota Wild. Deconstruction of the Saint Paul Civic Center began soon after. Designs were announced for the Xcel Energy Center and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Xcel Energy Center was hosted in Saint Paul.The Minnesota Wild announced a 26-year partnership agreement with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC). The Minnesota Wild-MASC partnership is the first partnership of its kind between a private professional sports team and a public amateur sports organization. Doug Risebrough was named executive vice president/general manager of Minnesota Wild and the Xcel Energy Center was completed and ready for use.
The Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first head coach and the team picked Marian Gaborik third overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Gaborik scored the first-ever goal for the Wild in their franchise debut on October 6 at Anaheim.The Wild played their first-ever home game on October 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers and skated to a 3–3 tie.Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson scored the first-ever home goal for the Wild. The most notable game of the year was the first visit of the Dallas Stars, who had formerly played in Minnesota as the Minnesota North Stars. The Wild rode an emotional sellout crowd of over 18,000 to a 6–0
shutout in Dallas’ first regular-season game in Minnesota since a neutral-site game in 1993.The Wild got off to a strong start in the 2001–02 season by earning at least one point in its first seven games. However, the Wild finished in last place again with a record of 26–35–12–6. En route, there were signs the Wild were improving, as second-year speedster Gaborik had a solid sophomore season with 30 goals, including an invite to the NHL YoungStars Game, and Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points.Gaborik spent much of the 2002–03 season vying for the league scoring crown before slumping in the second half, and the Wild, in their first-ever playoff appearance, made it to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4–0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Previously, the Wild had beaten the favored and third-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games, coming back from a 3–1 series deficit and winning both Game 6 and 7 in overtime. Brunette scored the series-clinching goal, the last on Patrick Roy.[17] In the Western Conference semi-finals, the Wild beat the fourth-seeded Vancouver Canucks, again in seven games, and again after being down 3–1 in a series. In the process, the Wild became the first team in playoff history to capture a seven-game series twice after facing elimination during Game 5.When the 2003–04 season started, the Wild were short-handed with both Pascal Dupuis and Gaborik holding out. After struggling in the first month, the Wild finally got their two young star left-wingers signed, but both struggled to get back into game shape as the Wild struggled through much of November. In a deep hole, the Wild did not make it to the playoffs, despite finishing the season strong, with wins in five of their last six games as they finished last in the competitive Northwest Division with a record of 30–29–20–3.In the 2005–06 season, the first season after the lockout, Minnesota finished in fifth and last place in the Northwest Division, eight points behind fourth-placed Vancouver Canucks. En route, Marian Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season at 38, and Brian Rolston set a new highest point total by a Wild player in a season at 79. The goaltender controversy between Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson ended when Roloson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a first-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.The Wild signed veteran free agents Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, Branko Radivojevic and Keith Carney. On the day of the NHL Entry Draft, it traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O’Sullivan to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran Slovak Pavol Demitra. Niklas Backstrom was the starting goalie for the Wild after previous starter Manny Fernandez sprained his knee on January 20. Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on March 6 and was removed after allowing three goals in two periods in the Wild’s 3–0 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Josh Harding was brought up from the Wild’s AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, when Fernandez was hurt and remained on Minnesota’s roster for the rest of the season as the backup goalie. All-Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a groin injury in January 2007 and made an immediate impact, bringing a new spark to a lacking offense.The relocation and rebranding of the Atlanta Thrashers as the “new” Winnipeg Jets in 2011 meant Winnipeg was once again Minnesota’s second-closest geographical rival after Chicago, and led the NHL to reconsider its divisional alignment. Even before the NHL’s return to Winnipeg, Wild management had lobbied repeatedly for a move out of the Northwest Division, where they were the only Central Time Zone team. Among the alignments considered was having the Jets replace the Avalanche in the Northwest, but Wild management strongly objected to this alignment as it would have left them as the only American team in their division. Following protracted negotiations both amongst the owners and with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, in 2013, the NHL collapsed its six
Divisions into four and dissolved the Northwest Division. Consequently, the Wild moved into the Central Division along with the Jets and Avalanche; the Canadian teams from the Northwest moved back to the Pacific Division. The Wild now share their division with not only the Blackhawks but also the Dallas Stars, the Wild’s predecessors in Minnesota, and the St. Louis Blues, another major rival of the North Stars during the Norris Division era. Thus, the 2013 Blackhawks–Wild playoff series was seen as the rebirth of the old Chicago–Minnesota rivalry in the NHL.
[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Jessica Watson
Jessica Watson OAM (born 18 May 1993) is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16. Although her voyage did not meet the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation, Watson was nevertheless named the 2011 Young Australian of the Year and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012 for “…service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world [sic], and as a role model for young Australians”.She currently resides in Melbourne.At the arrival in Sydney, she was met by thousands of spectators including then-Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. He said “Jess welcome back to dry land. Welcome back home to Australia. You know something, you may feel a little wobbly on your feet just now, but in the eyes of all Australians you now stand tall as our newest Australian hero.” The crowd then sang a special rendition of Australia’s national Anthem Advance Australia Fair as a salute to Watson.Since completing her circumnavigation, Watson has been recognised with a number of awards. These include the “Spirit of Sport” award from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and “Young Performer of the Year” for 2010, an award voted by the Australian public and presented at the annual Sports Performer Awards in Melbourne.At the age of 16 Jessica Watson has just made the new world record of youngest person to ever sail solo around the world. On October 18th 2009 Jessica set off from Sydney Harbour to see if she could sail solo around the world and 7 months later (210 days) she returned home to Sydney Harbour.Youngest individual to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world.
Winner of the 2011 Young Australian of the Year award.
She has two sisters, Hannah as well as Emily Watson, and also a brother Tom Watson.
Resident of Buderim, Queensland, Australia.
In 2011 she skippered the youngest crew, to date, to compete in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.Jessica was born in Australia and grew up sailing, but she never saw herself as someone who would sail around the world. Critics doubted her ability to complete the trip, but she proved them wrong and made international headlines. The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, even deemed her an “Australian hero” upon her return.“I’m just an ordinary girl who believed in her dream,” Jessica said in a speech. “You don’t have to be someone special, or anything special, to achieve something amazing. You just have to have a dream, believe in it, and work hard.”Jessica was only 16-years-old when she started her voyage around the world on October 18, 2009. She was born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia on May 18, 1993.Her parents are originally from New Zealand, and the sailor has dual citizenship in both countries. She is the second of four children, with an older sister, Emily, and two younger siblings–her brother Tom, and her sister Hannah.Jessica began sailing at 8 years old. In fact, her family actually lived on a 16-meter cabin cruiser for five years when she was young, according to the Australian Museum. When Jessica was 11, her mother read her Lionheart by Jesse Martin while aboard their family’s
boat.The book detailed Jesse Martin’s experience on his own solo sailing journey across the world. This moment in her life inspired Jessica to work to make the voyage herself before her 17th birthday.Jessica’s journey ends with her biggest test yet, as multiple major storms merged into one. The giant waves flip her boat upside down, and she gets stuck 15 ft. underwater for an extended period of time. It’s a terrifying scene, and it turns out, the movie version isn’t even the full story.
There were seven knockdowns,” Watson reveals. “Not all of them were quite that bad. A lot of the time, it’s just the boat being knocked over. But the 15 ft. underwater is real because my emergency beacon did self-activate as the boat sank. That happened. But the time I was upside down for, it certainly felt like a long time. I haven’t really got a concept of how long it was in reality, but we are talking seconds compared to what we see in the movie, which stretches on forever in minutes and minutes and minutes. That’s a little bit of an exaggeration there, but it was real to the experience of it feeling like forever.”Absolutely! When Jessica arrives in Sydney Harbour at the end of her journey, it looks like all of Australia came to celebrate her accomplishment. And as the credits roll, real footage from that moment plays, showing the real Watson reuniting with her family. Incredibly, a young Croft was there in attendance that day.
“I was actually there in Sydney Harbour when she came in, but I’d forgotten since I was only six,” Croft says. “When I came across this script, my parents were like, ‘We were there!’ I’ve been trying to figure out where we were in the crowd to see if you can see me in that footage. Maybe I’m there in a little pink skirt or something ridiculous.”Many movies change some details from the real story, and while Netflix’s True Spirit is relatively accurate, it still has some key differences from the truth. True Spirit tells the story of Jess Watson, an Australian teen who attempted to become the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the globe. Jess’ journey lasted 210 days, from October 18, 2009 to May 15, 2010, and despite facing obstacles and opposition, her circumnavigation remains an impressive feat, which True Spirit aims to celebrate.
During her journey in Netflix’s True Spirit, Jess was supported from Australia by her family and her mentor, Ben, who guided her through the obstacles that the teen faced. However, while the Netflix movie does a good job of dramatizing Jess’ story for the most part, some details deviate from real life for the sake of the movie’s plot. Here are all the details that Netflix’s True Spirit changed from real Life Officially announced in May 2009, the journey was expected to take eight months with an estimated sailing distance of 23,000 nautical miles (43,000 km). To fulfill the plan of sailing non-stop and unassisted, during the journey no other person would be allowed to give her anything and she must not moor to any port or other boat, although advice over radio communication would be Permitted Such a crossing was carried out near Kiritimati, though it is not clear whether the planned voyage took the WSSRC’s orthodromic distance criteria into consideration. Watson arrived back in Sydney Harbour at 1:53 pm, Saturday 15 May 2010.
The Los Angeles Times reported Watson’s reason for her journey: “I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hated being judged by my appearance and other people’s expectations of what a ‘little girl’ was capable of. It’s no
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