Monthly Archives: March 2012

Lawyers advocate ‘Green Bench of India’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Uncategorized

Lawyer-friends T. Lajapathi Roy and G. Prabhu. — DC

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,” writes Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran.

With this precious quote from the author of The Prophet on stately trees inscribed on the invite, two leading lawyers of the Madurai bench of Madras high court help open the eyes of their colleagues, litigants and general public to the greenery of the court.

Their love for the court where they argue for justice turning green, the lawyer-friends T.Lajapathi Roy and G.Prabhu Rajadurai take the reader on a breathtaking journey into the woods of the bench campus in their bilingual book ‘Green Bench of India’.

It presents the rich biodiversity on the premises through captivating pictorial representations. Almost all species of trees – evergreen, flowering, landscaping, nut and forest trees and orchards, flowers, birds and insects thriving on the sprawling 107-acre campus are graphically captured.

Yet, they gripe. “We would have left out some 15 species of birds in the campus. Had we used high-end cameras, then we would have featured them too,” says Roy while co-author Rajadurai chips in, “We chanced upon snakes when we were on the job but could not click them. Hence, we have presented the picture of its slough we spotted in the orchard.”

The campus is infested with snakes, says Rajadurai as Roy adds it is balanced with a good number of peacocks too.

More a catalogue of nature’s charms, it has taken eight-long months for the duo to bring out the glossy book encapsulating the pictures of species of trees, both native and non-native (74), local migratory birds (28) and insects (14), and their individual characteristics.

“There must be at least a hundred varieties of butterflies. So, we have now recommended to the court administration to allot two to three acres exclusively for wild growth for the tiny winged creatures to feed on,” Roy says.

Most high court campuses in the country, the authors say, are only concrete jungles mainly due to lack of space. Fortunately, the expanse of the Madurai bench has worked to nature’s and nature lovers’ advantage. Says Roy, “There were only three species before the bench came into existence. The rest were raised only after it was established in 2004.”

Now, the Madurai Bench High Court Advocates’ Association has planned to utilise the services of Lady Doak College, whose students planted 300 trees in the site on an occasion, for a biodiversity project to make it greener.

As the flora and fauna in the court sanctuary is set to grow, the book, the authors hope, will also see its updated edition on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Madurai bench.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Regions> Madurai / by AR Meyyammai/ DC / Madurai, March 07th, 2012

Agriculture terminal market to have 1500 tonne capacity per day

Business & Economy

Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa lays foundation stone at Perundurai, Erode

Chief minister J Jayalalithaa has laid the foundation for the agriculture terminal market complex (TMC) at Perundurai State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot), Erode district. The complex will be set up at a cost of Rs 120.62 crore under the public-private partnership model.

According to the state government, nearly 100,000 farmers across seven districts would benefit from this. It is expected to create jobs for 200 people directly and 800 indirectly. Further, the TMC would reduce the post-harvest loss of farm goods from 30 per cent to 10 per cent.

The complex has a capacity to handle an average 1,500 tonne farm goods per day and each collection centre 75 tonnes per day.

Agriculture Department officials said the facility was the first-of-its-kind in the country being promoted in public-private partnership, and would spread across 47.9 acre land.

Of the total cost, the National Horticulture Mission would give Rs 28 crore and the agriculture marketing department Rs 1 crore. The share of ryots would be Rs 3 crore.

The main aim of the TMC was to mobilise flowers, vegetables and fruits from 20 collection centres, to be set up under the new initiative, in Erode, Salem, the Nilgiris, Namakkal, Karur, Coimbatore and Tirupur.

Of the total collection, 70 per cent would be perishable and the rest non-perishable commodities, officials said. It will also have cold storage units.

Apart from selling the goods on the spot, it will also sell through e-business.

A minimum commission of three per cent would be charged on the goods being sold. This would be the revenue for the TMC. Those goods that could not be sold through the collection centres could be brought to the cold storage unit of the TMC. According to the price quoted by traders, the goods would be sold later. The TMC would also store the farm goods in the unit. Similar markets would come up soon at Chennai and Madurai, they added.

source: http://www.Business-Standard.com / Home> Economy & Policy / by BS Reporter / Chennai, March 06th, 2012

Last 2012 car unveiled as HRT’s F112 breaks cover

Sports

HRT became the final team to reveal their 2012 challenger on Monday afternoon as they took the wraps off the F112 at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. The new car then made its on-track debut at the Spanish track, with driver Narain Karthikeyan behind the wheel.

“Today was a shakedown of the F112 and I have had the honour to be the first driver to test it,” said Karthikeyan. “The first impressions are quite good; it’s definitely a step up from last year. We couldn’t do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now.

“Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They’ve done a proper job with the car and I’m sure that it’s a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year.”

With its debut delayed following a failed crash test, the new Cosworth-powered HRT wasn’t ready in time to participate in last week’s final pre-season test. But once the car had been homologated, the team worked tirelessly to ensure it would complete some track time before the season opener in Australia later this month.

The F112 eventually only arrived at the Barcelona circuit on Monday afternoon and, after some final adjustments by the team’s mechanics, Karthikeyan made it out on track just four hours later. The Indian managed to complete over 10 laps as he carried out system checks.

“I’m very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day,” said team principal Luis Peres-Sala. “I’m very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead.”

Karthikeyan’s team mates Pedro de la Rosa, Dani Clos and Vitantonio Liuzzi were also present at the track to watch the car’s debut, as well as Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsports Federation and Salvador Servia, General Director of the Circuit de Catalunya.

“Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues,” added De la Rosa. “This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress.”

The team will now continue their preparations before journeying to Melbourne for the 2012 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, which takes place in the Australian city from March 16-18.

For tickets and travel to 2012 Formula One races, click here.
For Formula One and F1 team merchandise, click here.

source: http://www.Formula1.com / March 06th, 2012

Anyone to see the writing on the wall?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

People welcoming of British officials at 300 year- old wall painting in Uma Maheswarar temple at Konerirajapuram in Nagapattinam district. / Photo:B.Velankanni Raj

Ancient murals at Angavalanayagi Samedha Umamaheswaran temple at Konerirajapuram, about 20 km from Kumbakonam, are in danger of fading off soon, provoking calls for steps to preserve them.

Many of the paintings on the roof of the front mandapam and on the walls of the temple are peeling off fast. Interesting among the murals, said to be 150 to 200 years old, are those depicting the Thanjavur quartret, Chinnaiah, Ponnaiah, Sivanandam and Vadivel, who introduced the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam, welcoming Englishmen and poses of dance girls (‘adal mahalir’ in Tamil).

In line with the importance attached to the procession of the deity in the temple, a painting brings alive the ‘Swamy purappadu.’

“The purappadu is very famous in Konerirajapuram. The painting depicts a typical scene with hundreds of people watching the Lord being taken in the palanquin. It also shows Saivites and Vaishnavites watching the procession together, indicating that there were no differences among them,” says Dhenuka, an art critic of Kumbakonam, who has conducted detailed studies at the temple.

“The paintings should be renovated with the support of organisations such as the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH),” he said.

The Konerirajapuram temple, also called Thirunallam, houses one of the biggest bronze idols of Nataraja in the world. The 7.5 ft high Nataraja is a solid structure without any hollow space. “The idol belongs to the later Chola period though the temple was built by early Cholas nearly 1300 years before,” Mr. Dhenuka said.

The temple was built by Sembiyanmadevi, grandmother of Raja Raja Cholan, as a “Katrali” (stone structure) in memory of her husband Kandarathitha Cholan.  A sculpture of Sembiyanmadevi and inscriptions confirming that she had built the temple are found in the temple. The temple also has sculptures and inscriptions belonging to the period of various Chola kings.

The temple ‘vahanas'(vehicles), made of ‘athi maram’ (ficus wood) are also in a dilapidated condition and require renovation.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Arts> History & Culture / by G. Srinivasan / Thanjavur, March 03rd, 2012

SHOWBIZ: The best of Asean

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, Uncategorized, World Opinion

A festival that celebrates the diversity of Southeast Asian music illuminated Istana Budaya for two days, writes Dennis Chua

 MK delivering a powerful Tamil number

The  last day of February 2012 will go down in Southeast Asian history as one where the region got together for reportedly its biggest celebration of music in Kuala Lumpur’s splendid Palace Of Culture, Istana Budaya.

Musicians from the Association Of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and this country — brought joy to and garnered applause from the national theatre’s 1,000-odd audience at the Asean Musical Extravaganza 2012 on Feb 29 and March 1.

The extravaganza, organised by the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry, was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

It was organised in conjunction with the 11th annual Asean Ministers Responsible For Information (AMRI) Conference 2012 in KL.

The member countries introduced their performers in alphabetical order, beginning with Brunei and ending with Vietnam.

As host, Malaysia showcased three popular singers representing the country’s three major communities.

They were One In A Million 1 champion Suki Low, popular Tamil singer MK and the country’s pop king Jamal Abdillah.

Dressed in elegant purple, Suki delivered an outstanding rendition of  the Chinese song Beauty Within.

Sporting a new, short hairdo reminiscent of Jaclyn Victor, the singer from Seremban showed fans across the region that she was “growing with her music”.

Not only did she shine in her Chinese number, Suki also delivered a perfect rendition of Joget 1Malaysia, a remake of the 1960s hit Joget Malaysia made popular by Tan Sri P. Ramlee and his wife Puan Sri Saloma.

And she had the perfect singing partner in Jamal, who with MK nicely complemented Suki as the male voices of the patriotic joget.

Jamal received a standing ovation for his spiritual song, Samrah Mentari, dressed in a golden baju Melayu and sporting a moustache.

His deep, caressing voice was as good as ever, and the 26 backup dancers from the theatre’s troupe were stunning in their whirly footwork and stylish in their green, gold and red Egyptian-style dresses.

MK did not disappoint either. He delivered a powerful Tamil number, Ravanah Veera, which was an ode to heroism and the victory of good over evil.

Brunei’s 11-man traditional music group Senandung Darussalam, with six kompang players, a guitarist and four dancers, performed some spiritual Hadrah songs. Their performance was a combination of modern popular music and traditional religious hymns.

The group was formed in 1985, a year after Brunei’s independence.

Cambodia’s King Music Band, with two vocalists, two guitarists, two xylophonists, a keyboardist and a drummer, delivered two melodious songs that are hugely popular back home.

They were Dancing At Angkor, which celebrated the country’s most iconic temple Angkor Wat, and Phnom Penh, an ode to the Cambodian capital city composed by the country’s former monarch King Norodom Sihanouk.

Indonesia thought out of the box by introducing a Minangkabau dance titled Sabalah. Performed by seven female dancers of 30-year-old cultural troupe Krida Budaya, it told the story of black mushrooms and their growing process in the tropical rainforest.

The ladies were elegant in green and gold blouses, colours that reflected the rainforest and sun. And they also wore large black skirts that reflected the mushrooms’ umbrella-like formations.

Laos chose a straightforward performance with the KL-12 Lao Pop Stars, a special musical project for the festival that combined the talents of the country’s best musicians and vocalists.

KL-12 had a sweet-sounding vocal quartet, backed by a guitarist and drummer with gusto. The group performed two Laotian songs about human values, Ban Mea Hao and Ban Kird Hao.

Myanmar proved the most entertaining guest that evening by presenting the traditional Myanmar opera U Shwe Yoe And Daw Moe.

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to our own dondang sayang, makyong and Chinese opera, this performance focused on a middle-aged man and his no-holds-barred wife.

The dancers’ acrobatic yet graceful movements delighted the audiences, as did the four musicians who complemented them with three traditional drums and a traditional flute.

Myanmar also presented the Kayin Doan Dance, a traditional dance by the country’s Kayin community from the east.

The Philippines gave audiences a performance out of the ordinary by the Diwa De Leon group, Hegalong Project.

De Leon, a gifted and popular folk musician, is the country’s master of the hegalong, a home-grown lute.

His group comprising percussionists Frances Escape and J P Hernandez and vocalists Abe Dalena and Zob Reyes delivered two haunting songs, Moon Rise and the instrumental Stormy Night.

Fans loved the Hegalong Project, for it showed a whole new side of Philippine popular music, one that was rooted in the hills, mountains, countryside and tradition.

Singapore’s instrumental quintet Five Elements was a show-stealer too. Comprising conductor-cum-flutist Ghanavenothan Retnam, accordion player Ismahairie, pipa player Chin Yen Chien, erhu player Shunta Goh and percussionist Sai Akhilshwar, it performed the souful songs Ode To Joy, Fast Forward and Shanti, and the upbeat Joget.

Thailand paid homage to its King with the Royal Dance Troupe. Its nine members performed a traditional dance drama Lakhon and a traditional mask play Khon.

The troupe also performed the song  Falling Rain, a composition by King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Vietnam’s National Academy, with 10 musicians on the traditional Trung, flute, zither and monochord, belted out traditional tunes that reflected the country’s beautiful landscapes.

The group’s vocalist also sang a moving Ode To The Missing Loves, which is a United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organisation (Unesco) heritage of the country.

Throughout the two-hour showcase which began at 8.30pm, the Malaysian Traditional Orchestra’s 86 members did a splendid job backing up every performance. Likewise the Istana Budaya dancers who opened the showcase with a traditional joget.

Last but not least, every performer got together at the grand finale to sing the Asean anthem Under The Asean Sky to roaring applause from the VIPs and fellow guests.

Showcase of diversity

THE Asean Musical Extravaganza 2012 is the first celebration of music from all 10 member countries of the Association Of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia.

It is the brainchild of Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and organised by the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture in Istana Budaya, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

Held in conjunction with the annual Asean Ministers Responsible For Information (AMRI) Conference 2012, it is aimed at showcasing the diversity of musical traditions from Asean member countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

And for host country Malaysia, it introduces music lovers to the budding musical and dance talents from fellow Asean countrie

source: http://www.nst.com.my / New Straits Times / Sunday Life & Time / by Dennis Chua,   dchua@nst.com.my / March 04th, 2012

Full of spirit and energy

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Tiruchi Ramesh.   Photo: M. Periasamy

The rendition of kritis by Ramesh reflected his grooming under stalwarts.

The vocal concert by Tiruchi Ramesh, organised by Upasana, the cultural wing of Sri Kothandaramaswamy Devasthanam, Coimbatore, at Abhinava Vidyatheertha Pravachana Mandapam, reflected his good grooming under great teachers such as Musiri Gopalarathnam, Tiruchi Swaminatha Iyer and Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. His close association with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer was evident in his alapana and swarakalpana.

Ramesh began with ‘Jai Jai Ganapathy Mangala Kaarin,’ by Ganapathy Sachindananda of Mysore Dutta Peetam. The old favourites ‘Vara Naarada Naaraayana’ in Vijayashree and ‘Nenarunchi Naanu’ in Malavi followed. The briga-filled portrayal of Ritigowla gave a good sample of yesteryear music that filled the rasikas with nostalgia. This was followed by an emotional ‘Nannu Vidachi Kadhalakuraa,’ by Saint Tyagaraja, who pleads with Rama not to leave him.

CASCADING SWARAS

The refreshing kalpanaswaras for ‘Padavini Sadbhakti’ in Salaka Bhairavi were enjoyable. The main piece was in Sriranjani. When people were expecting a pallavi after the elaborate ragam and tanam, Ramesh surprised everyone with ‘Marubalka,’ another popular composition of Tyagaraja. The cascading swaras in rapid succession evoked admiration for his skill and hard work.

Mullaivasal Chandramouli’s violin was smooth and delightful. The beauty of Ramesh’s presentation appeared in a more pronounced manner in his violin. A disciple of Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Konerirajapuram Varadarajan wove interesting rhythmic patterns on his mridangam, while Tiruchi K. Shekhar (ganjira) and Malaikottai R.M. Deena Dayalan (morsing) joined him with joyous supplements. Their brilliant individual performance was as appealing as their combined outpouring. Though Ramesh took some time to gain momentum he was full of spirit and energy till he concluded his concert with the Thiruppugazh verse, ‘Apagaara Nindhai Pattuzhalaadhe’.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Arts> Music / by RamaDevi / March 01st, 2012

Madurai Meena’ to showcase city to the world

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Uncategorized

Dressed in a colourful ‘pattu pavadai’ (silk skirt), jasmine flowers on her hair, bangles and earrings, ‘Madurai Meena’ is all set to be the temple city’s brand ambassador for culture and heritage throughout the globe and will start her journey on February 27.

Gaurie Gupta, in charge of the programme, which is a part of ‘Madurai Vizha’ hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) says that they plan to reach out to the world with the doll. Twenty replicas have been made of this hand-painted, two feet tall wooden doll and will be sent to people of different countries with some information on Madurai. Organisers hope that people who receive the package will not merely retain her as a souvenir but send her on a chain of journeys, taking the message of Madurai and its culture.

The three-day second edition of ‘Madurai Vizha’, which was inaugurated on Friday, is being hosted by the CII. It is an initiative of the tourism wing of CII to showcase the rich culture and heritage of Madurai to the outside world.

At the venue, visitors could witness sculptors making stone sculptures and garland makers stringing the famous ‘Madurai jasmine’. There were cultural programmes showcasing the various art forms such as ‘poikal kudirai’ and ‘karakattam’, local cuisine to suit the taste buds and even the ‘ilavattakal, the round stone that young men had to carry over their shoulder and prove their might to win the hand of the girl of his choice.

The receivers of Madurai Meena have just one duty to perform, that is, to take a photograph of themselves with the doll in front of a famous landmark in his or her city or town and upload it on the special webpage, which is linked to the website | Madurai Tourism.

CII hopes that Meena would be photographed in front of the Buckingham palace, Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House, Vatican and even the Alps and Amazon. The objective is to create a chain of the doll across various countries, without age barriers, who will become aware of Madurai’s ancient history, culture and heritage while keeping track of the doll on her webpage. When a person uploads a photograph of himself with Meena on her webpage he or she will promptly receive a postcard from the organisers.

The doll will begin its journey on February 27 and people can start tracking her journey from the second week of March 2012. It is hoped that this doll will form a social network of people, interested in the culture and heritage of Madurai and visit this ancient city.

source: http://www.penmai.com / February 27th, 2012