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Bengaluru, Feb 28: Historian S. Shettar, 85, breathed his last early on February 28 in Bengaluru. He was suffering from respiratory problems and was hospitalised for over a week.

Shettar was known for his multi-disciplinary work, encompassing linguistics, epigraphy, anthropology, the study of religions and art history. He had extensively worked on the Jain practice of ritual death in Karnataka and Asoka edicts. He had studied and compiled early edicts in Kannada and worked extensively on the growth of Kannada language down the ages.

Born in 1935 at Hampasagara, Ballari district, he went on to study at Cambridge University and started his career as a Professor of History at Karnatak University, Dharwad, his alma mater. He later headed the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology in 1978 and Indian Council for Historical Research in 1996. He was also a visiting professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

He was a bilingual historian who wrote in English for most of his career, but started writing in Kannada in later years. In the last two decades, he developed a keen interest in linguistics and wrote multiple books on classical Kannada and Prakrit. His 2007 book “Shangam Tamilagam” is considered a seminal work in the study of the early period of Dravidian languages. It won him Bhasha Samman from Central Sahitya Akademi. He later wrote two works on Halegannada, classical Kannada. His most recent work was “Prakrita Jagadvalaya” in 2018.

Newsroom, Jan 29: Karnataka’s capital has earned the unwelcome distinction of global capital of traffic congestion. According to a report by TomTom, the Netherlands-based global provider of navigation, traffic and map products, Bengaluru beat 415 other cities across 57 countries to earn the title of world's most traffic congested city in 2019.

“Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic," TomTom said in the ninth edition of its annual Traffic Index.

Three other Indian cities, namely, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi are also ranked in the 2019 edition of TomTom’s Traffic Index of the world’s most traffic-congested cities. 

The report released on Tuesday ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. TomTom index also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, how highways compare with surface streets, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.

Following closely on the heels of Bengaluru is Manila, Philippines, with the similar 71% traffic congestion. Among the top five worst traffic affected cities are Mumbai and Pune from India at the fourth and fifth place respectively, while Bogota, Colombia is on third spot.

Delhi, the national capital of India is on the 8th spot, while Moscow (Russia), Lima (Peru), Istanbul (Turkey) and Jakarta (Indonesia) are on 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th spot respectively.

Mumbai recorded a 65% traffic congestion with 9th September, 2019 being the worst day. On an average, a Mumbaikar lost 209 hours in traffic congestion. Pune has 59% traffic congestion with 2nd August, 2019 being the worst day. 193 hours are lost due to congestion. Delhi, on the other hand, has 56% traffic congestion. 23rd October, 2019 was the worst day, while 190 hours are lost in traffic congestion.

Interestingly, among all the four Indian cities, Delhi has the most number of cars. Previous studies have concluded that Delhi has the best road conditions among the Metro cities of India.

If you are wondering what exactly the percentages mean, a 53% congestion level in Bangkok, for example, means that a trip will take 53% more time than it would during Bangkok’s baseline uncongested conditions.

TomTom calculates the baseline per city by analyzing free-flow travel times of all vehicles on the entire road network – recorded 24/7, 365 days a year. The report by Dutch navigation and mapping company ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. It also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.