Monthly Archives: October 2012

Christian Dior’s magic element: Madurai’s jasmine flower

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Chennai:

The flower market of Tamil Nadu’s Madurai is a crowded, busy place. It is the place the perfumer creator of French fashion house  Christian Dior, Francois Demachy, visits every year to imbibe the fragrances that help him create the floral perfumes that Dior is renowned for.

(Dior uses extracts of jasmine sambac and tuberose sourced from Tamil Nadu, along with other raw materials, for J’adore, one of the top selling fragrances in the world.)

Dior uses extracts of jasmine sambac and tuberose sourced from Tamil Nadu, along with other raw materials, for J’adore, one of the top selling fragrances in the world. “Jasmine sambac is used in all J’adore fragrances due to its olfactory qualities,” says Demachy, who was in Madurai recently. “For me, it is a very strong and unique ingredient, and I link its uniqueness to Indian soils.”

That is why he has been making a yearly trip to Tamil Ndu for the last eight years. For him, it is essential to see the flower grow. “It is important to feel the flower and see it in the ground, see the people who grow it and keep it in your mind like a bank,” says Demachy, who is usually off to the fields by the crack of dawn.

When Demachy joined Dior after 28 years with Chanel, J’adore was already their best selling perfume. “But I used jasmine sambac as a key ingredient for different versions, like J’adore L’Absolu, J’adore L’Or and J’adore Eau de Toilette,” says the perfumer, who is from Grasse, which is also known for its jasmine. Dior has been sourcing jasmine sambac for J’adore from the beginning. “It is one of the main ingredients along with other key raw materials like rose damascena and ylang ylang,” says Demachy.

The fragrance of many flowers that bloom in the soil of Tamil Nadu also permeate the House of Dior. “We use jasmine sambac and jasmine grandiflorum from Tamil Nadu and tuberose for J’adore Eau De Parfum, Poison, New Look from La Collection Privee CD and Escale a Pondichery,” says Demachy.

Jasmine CE Pvt Ltd has been supplying Dior with jasmine grandiflorum, sambac and tuberose extracts since 2007. “We are completely aware of their quality specifications, and products are supplied accordingly. We also hold stocks for them and supplies are made just in time for their production,” says Raja Palaniswamy, director of Jasmine CE Pvt Ltd. His company owns small fields close to Coimbatore, where the flowers are grown organically.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / TNN, October 07th, 2012

Magic Dots – Kolam Workshop – Oct. 13, 2012

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Learn to draw beautiful kolams this Navaratri. Creative Ladder in T. Nagar is organising a workshop in kolam on Oct. 13, 2012 from 2.30 to 5 p.m.
The workshop will be conducted conducted by Gayathri Shankarnarayan who is also known as Kolam Gayathri and will be held at Creative Ladder, South Boag Road, T. Nagar

Gayathri has learnt kolam from Guinness world record holder MR. Ramdev and Kolam Naayakan Mr.Hanumantha Rao.
Special technique using fingers 1 to 5 fingers to make beautiful designs will be taught.

Traditional patterns, Kalyanakolam or padikolam, Big dots kolam, Maharashtra Rangoli, Chikku kolam, Maa Kolam will be part of the workshop. Open to kids and moms.

Workshop Rs 1500/-
Contact 9380515031 for registration.

source: http://www.youcee.in / Home> What’s On / by The Editor / October 2012

Grave matters at Presidency

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

 The graves belonged to members of the erstwhile ruling family of Arcot.  Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu

The graves belonged to members of the erstwhile ruling family of Arcot

I was invited to visit Presidency College last week. It is a campus I had always intended exploring, it being the first major work of Robert Fellowes Chisholm in Madras city. Wandering about the place was a fascinating experience but what intrigued me was the presence of three Mohammedan graves on the southern side, almost in the shadow of the main building.

It being evening, there was not a soul to explain the significance of the tombs. Scrawled in chalk on the wall of the enclosure were the names of the three people buried within – Hazrath Syed Zahoor Ali Shah Qaderi, Hazrath Syed Zainab Beebi Saheba Qaderi and Hazrath Syed Shahbuddin Ali Shah Qaderi. All three are in good condition, painted repeatedly and with a roof of recent origins, protecting them from the elements.

Just as I was leaving, there turned up a Muslim gentleman who began making preparations for prayer. He informed me that the three graves belonged to members of the erstwhile ruling family of Arcot and that they had been buried here around 200 years ago. When construction of the Presidency College began, care was taken to leave the graves undisturbed. The trio enjoy saintly status and an Urs festival is conducted each year in their memory during the Islamic month of Rajab.

Who they are is a mystery. But what I did glean from S. Anwar, photographer and heritage enthusiast who researches the Islamic history of this region, was that this was once the garden of Sultan-un-nissa Begum, daughter of Nawab Mohammad Ali Walajah, who in the 1760s, built the magnificent Chepauk Palace.

Sultan-un-nissa was a strong-willed person. Her father’s death in 1795 saw her brother Umdat-ul-Umrah being installed as Nawab. He managed to resist the takeover of his kingdom by the British, and in this he was probably aided by his sister. On his death in 1801, the English forcibly occupied Chepauk and tried to get Umdat-ul-Umrah’s son to hand over the kingdom, citing the infamous Arcot debts as the reason. When Umdat-ul-Umrah proved a chip off the old block, his cousin, the willing Azeem-ud-Dowlah was installed on the throne. He signed away the kingdom, retaining Chepauk Palace and its gardens alone.

He was strongly castigated for this by Sultan-un-nissa and her son Rais-ul-Omrah Bahadur (after whom a street, now sadly truncated to ROB Street still survives off Mount Road). To which he replied that he may have lost the kingdom but he had at least saved Chepauk Palace without which they would have had no roof over their heads. The response to this was sharp – would it not have been better to lose a home to save a kingdom? Sultan-un-nissa finally settled in Basrah.

Given her resistance, her property must have been among the first to be confiscated. A part was allotted for the Presidency College in the 1860s, and the rest is history.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / October 09th, 2012 / by Sriram V / October 09th, 2012

3 Chennai professors among 9 selected for National Science awards, 2012

Education, Resources of Free Materials, Science & Technologies

Chennai:

Three academics from the city are among the nine awardees selected for the Indian National Science Academy Awards, 2012. The INSA Teachers Awards was instituted to value consistent and high levels of teaching in colleges, universities and other higher educational institutions.

Professor of Chemistry department of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Dhamdodharan Ragavachari, professor A Subbiah Pandi of Presidency College and professor P Gautam of Anna University have been selected for the award. Professor Dhamodharan, who completed his PhD in UMASS at Amherst in the US, is also a senior Fulbright Research Fellow.

The other awardees are professors Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit of the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai; Achuthsankar S Nair of the University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram; Anil J Elias of IIT-Delhi; Pratap Kumar Pati of   Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Raja Ram Yadav of the University of Allahabad; and Shibnath Mazumder of the University of Delhi.

Nominees come from all disciplines of science and technology. The awardees will receive a scroll, a cash award of 50,000 and a one-time book grant of 20,000.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / TNN, October 09th, 2012

The Bulkley tomb resurfaces

About Chennai(Madras) / TamilNadu, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

“Have you been able to locate Dr. Edward Bulkley’s tomb?” was a frequent query raised by the Chief. “In its time it was a landmark of Madras, and a point of reference for surveyors.” He had written about it in October 2004 in The Hindu, and wondered about its whereabouts. A correspondent had replied that it had vanished after Independence when the Army began construction on the western glacis of the Fort. There matters lay.

Early in August, Karthik Bhatt and I embarked on the search. Vestiges of Old Madras by Love located it opposite the Madras Medical College, in the Ordnance Lines. But we drew a blank despite repeated searches. I wrote about the same in my Hidden Histories column for The Hindu on September 25th.

Capt. Harold Barnes, Security Officer of the Department of Archaeology, then called. He took us to the tomb, which is located inside the premises of the Shaurya Army School, at the intersection of Poonamallee High and Evening Bazaar Roads. The tomb lies exactly where Love found it.

Bulkley, one of the early medical reformers of Madras, presided from the 1690s till 1708 over what was to later become General Hospital. He was buried in his own garden in 1714.

The tomb, given its size, has survived the travails of nearly 300 years. Not so its railings, which have partially vanished. Certainly, the place could do with some maintenance. But it is good to see that the good Doctor still rests in peace.

Bulkley was the doctor who issued India’s first medical certificate which cited illness as a cause for inability to work and the first injury certificate. On August 28, 1693 he performed the first medico-legal autopsy in India. He is certainly someone to be remembered as part of the medical history of not only Madras but also the country as a whole. Will the General Hospital authorities and the Army team together to maintain the site?

source: http://www.madrasmusings.com / Home / by Sriram. V / Vol.xx11, No.12, October 1-15th, 2012

Jewel on the Marina

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

he Senate House is one of the most beautiful structures on the Marina. It is part of the University of Madras, one of the three oldest surviving universities in India, the other two being Bombay and Calcutta.

These universities were established by the British in the mid-19th century to provide modern scientific knowledge through the English language to Indians.

Soon after the establishment of Madras University, the Senate House was conceived as a grand auditorium for public functions, mainly the University’s annual Convocation.

In 1864, the government announced a competition for the design of this building in which British architect Robert Fellowes Chisholm’s design was adjudged the best.

He supervised the construction of the building that was completed in 1879 at a cost of Rs 2,89,000.

The Senate House is a unique building with certain artistic and architectural features unknown in any other edifice in the city.

Inspired by the Byzantine style of the Middle Ages, it was built basically in the Indo-Saracenic style, which is a combination of the Hindu, Islamic and British styles.

It has a large Central Hall, measuring 50m by 15m and is around 16m in height. It can accommodate over 1600 persons.

The hall is flanked, on the east and west, by long verandahs, lined by sturdy stone columns with capitals bearing sculptures displaying Hindu and European motifs.

Some of the interior walls feature rare paintings of the style that prevailed in medieval Europe. The richly ornamented domes and stained glass windows make the building stand out.

The author is an archaeologist and Tamil Nadu State Convenor, INTACH

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Tabloid> Others / by Dr. S. Suresh, DC, Chennai / October 08th, 2012

A locomotive marvel

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nature, Records, All

Scenic Ride

Few trains offer the type of excitement that the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) does. The leisurely journey it takes is best suited for nature lovers, as it offers a view of the mountain flora, and life in the hill at close quarters.

It was the British who, in the year 1908, planned and built the railway line, in order to reach hill stations such as Coonoor and Ooty. The NMR covers a distance of 41.8 km between Mettupalayam and Ooty, at an altitude of 2600 m, spanning 208 curves, 250 bridges, and 16 tunnels. It has a unique narrow gauge of 1,000 mm and rack pinion arrangement to negotiate the climbs and steep descents. It has one of the steepest gradients to climb during its journey.

The once popular steam locomotives have now been replaced by diesel engines between Ooty and Coonoor. The upward journey takes about five hours while the descent takes about four hours. A daily passenger train runs between Mettupalayam and Ooty.

However, four shuttle trains ply daily between Ooty and Coonoor and back.

In 2005, UNESCO designated NMR as a World Heritage Site, as part of the Mountain Railways of India. The NMR has hosted the filming of a few Indian as well foreign films.

The NMR is an engineering marvel, which must have been tough to build on a difficult terrain a century ago. It is still a challenge to run the train during rainy months.

I was impressed by the fact that tickets are issued as per the capacity of the compartment, with no standees allowed. However, if seats are available in the reserved coaches, then these are filled up at a higher rate, that includes reservation charges. The large windows facilitate easy viewing of the passing scenery of verdant forests, hills, dales, towns and villages. Tea estates fill up the gentle hill slopes. We pass through quaint stations with romantic names like Arvunkadu, Lovedale, Glendale and Wellington.

The diesel engine hoots constantly to keep away stray animals and people who might be caught unawares by the rushing train, though at 10.4 kmph, it might be the slowest in the country!

The manner in which the driver and the station staff communicate might appear amusing in this day of technological advancement. If there is a problem, such as a failed signal, the only way around it is to send a messenger on foot to the stranded train with a note stating that the driver is authorised to drive the train to the station.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> Sunday Herald Travel / by DBN Murthy / October 06th, 2012

Awe your guests with jute-made gifts

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment

Wondering what to gift your guests this Navarathri season? You could then drop in at the exhibition organised by the South India Jute Association (SIJA) in Adyar to pick up products that are “attractive, durable, ethnic, eco-friendly and versatile,” which are made of jute. Well, if you thought jute was only for  movers and packers, think again. The colourful exhibits ranging from office bags, stationery, shopping bags, wallets, wall hangings, durries, jewellery, footwear and garments are sure to surprise you.

The exhibition is making its fourth annual foray in the city with around 21 stalls. Prices of the products range between ` 20 and ` 1,000. “The exhibition has been partly sponsored by the National Jute Board and partly by the entrepreneurs,” R P Srinivasan, coordinator, SIJA, told City Express.

SIJA took off four years ago, after entrepreneurs in the South realised the potential of the “beautiful, golden fibre,” Srinivasan said. “After getting the raw material from West Bengal, we started manufacturing contemporary, value-added jute products.”

Realising the need for support in procuring raw materials, manufacturing and marketing, entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala came together and formed SIJA. Today, the association has around 52 members. Workshops are held under  schemes sponsored by the Union Ministry of Textiles, where the entrepreneurs are given training in design development and skills augmentation. A leading player in the field, Srinivasan runs his own unit at Kilpauk.

Women too are making a big impact in the industry. SIJA president and entrepreneur Janaki Ananth has been crafting jute bags since 1985. One of her customers is Poompuhar, run by the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation. Last month, she won the Priyadarshini Award for ‘outstanding entrepreneur’ from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Welfare.

“We want to motivate self-help groups from rural and urban areas to manufacture jute products by promoting awareness and giving them training,” she said.

For budding craftswomen, help is at hand in the form of Marketing Organisation of Women Entrepreneurs (MOOWES), a voluntary non-profit organisation, set up in 1990.

“There are about 40-50 active members in MOOWES. Most of them are home-makers,” Janaki Ananth said. “Many of them have diversified into manufacturing jute products after realising its potential and we conduct periodic exhibitions to showcase their products.”

For instance, A Mahalakshmi’s unit at Ekkatuthangal employs six persons and her unit specialises in making wall hangings, mirrors, table tops and letter and magazine holders. With turn-over of around ` 12 lakh per year, she also exports her products to Mauritius.

Running a larger unit in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, is D Nagendran, a member of the National Jute Board. His unit specialises in manufacture of yoga mats and kalamkari-printed durries, which are sold in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Varanasi.

Sujatha Jaishanker, a former teacher and story-teller, who was among the first visitors to the exhibition, claimed she was “pretty stunned” at the collection this year. Her son was soon getting married and she was scouting for gifts for the wedding guests.

Pointing at her bag, Sujatha Jaishanker said she started buying jute products after she decided to turn eco-friendly two years ago. And the jute items suited her ethnic tastes too. “Compared to last year, there is a lot of variety. I am overwhelmed by the finish, finesse and the vibrant colours of the products.”

Promise of support and assistance for the entrepreneurs came from the State Minister for Handlooms and Textiles Dr S Sundararaj, State Textiles Secretary G Santhanam and Market Promotion Officer of National Jute Board T Ayyappan.

The exhibition is open from October 4 to 11 at Vijayaraja Thirumana Mandapam, First Avenue Road, Shastri Nagar, Adyar.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Home> Latest News / The New Indian Express, Express News Service / Chennai, October 06th, 2012

‘N.Ram’ Delivers the James Cameron Memorial Lecture

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Influential Indian journalist Narasimhan ‘N.Ram’ Ram delivers this year’s lecture entitled ‘Sharing the Best and the Worst: The Indian news media in a global context’

Narasimhan Ram, known to his readers simply as ‘N.Ram’, delivered the James Cameron Memorial Lecture at City University London last night, and gave journalists in India a call to arms saying they needed to ensure that “transparency, accountability and social responsibility are more than just slogans.”

His speech entitled ‘Sharing the Best and the Worst: The Indian news media in a global context’ began with a glowing tribute to James Cameron who he described as “writing like and angel when in flow, with deceptive richness and shiningly honest value judgements.”

Turning his attention to his home country N.Ram described his frustration with the mix of “joys and sorrows” that are hallmarks of Indian media. On the one hand he described “a real vibrancy” within the industry in stark contrast with the depressive atmosphere here in the West. However the poor quality of journalism and reliance on young, inexperienced talent who aren’t properly nurtured greatly subdued his sense of optimism.

Next on his hit list was the over confidence of the media industry in India. He warned that the “uplifting” narrative of Indian media, especially print, must not be “romanticised” and that “the social reach of the Indian press is not impressive.”

At the heart of Ram’s lecture was the tension between freedom of the press and the corrupt, controlling government. He urged the press to champion the poor and underrepresented and recognise that the government’s record for corruption actually presents India’s independent media with “limitless opportunities” and enables them to “win strong public support for what they do”.

He closed by suggesting that the media industry in Indian could benefit from the forensic-level of scrutiny that the British media have been under during Lord Leveson’s investigation “The Indian situation cried out for such an independent, comprehensive, hard look into the culture, practices and ethics on the news media.”

The James Cameron Memorial Lecture has been delivered by a distinguished group of speakers including Ben Bradlee, Michael Grade, Alan Rusbridger, Tony Benn, Greg Dyke and Sir Max Hastings.

Professor Hugh Stephenson organised the lectures and chaired the judging panel from the inaugural lecture in 1987 to 2010. From 2011 this was taken over jointly by Professor Howard Tumber and Professor George Brock.

Read the full text of N.Ram’s speech here and hear a  from City’s student radio station ”City OnAir”

source: http://www.city.ac.uk / City University London / Home> News / October 04th, 2012

Lord Mayor of London to visit Chennai

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Chennai, October 03:

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, David Wootton, will be in Chennai next week.

On October 9, the Lord Mayor will meet senior government officials in Tamil Nadu to explore how UK companies can collaborate on projects associated with the State Government’s Vision 2023 across sectors such as transport and energy, skills, health and education.

He will also launch a report that recommends use of fiscal instruments in developing a low-carbon pathway in Tamil Nadu.

He will also meet senior business leaders in Chennai.

The Lord Mayor’s visit to India also includes programmes in New Delhi and Mumbai. He will discuss opportunities for increased interaction in areas such as infrastructure financing, financial sector development and regulatory reform and dispute resolution.

Ahead of his visit, the Lord Mayor said: “I will reinforce the mutual benefits for India and make the City of London’s case for real economic reform in India, and reassure policymakers that the UK’s commitment to India remains strong.

Our companies want to do more business in India…Greater participation of UK firms can help facilitate economic development because they can introduce new products, services and expertise to the market…”

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> News / by Hindu’s Bureau / Chennai, October 03rd, 2012