The Perumal Maistry streets around the historic Madurai Meenaksh Amman Temple are testimony to the adage ‘Hard work never fails’. The four streets — East Perumal Maistry, West Perumal Maistry, North Perumal Maistry and South Perumal Maistry — were named after Perumal for honouring his contribution to the expansion of the city in the 1840s. Perumal, a ‘mestri’ (supervisor of construction works) helped the then Madurai collector John Blackburn to realise his plan to develop the areas around the famous temple.
Few city residents know the history behind the naming of Perumal Maistry streets. Even the residents of these streets themselves are ignorant about their history. However, K Muhamad Basha Ilampirai and M Mohammad Ismail who reside on the streets are exceptions. Ilampirai, 73, said that Blackburn wanted to demolish the fort walls around the Meenakshi Amman temple for the development of the city. He realised that it would cost a sizable fortune of the government to dismantle the thick walls of the fort. Besides, the channels adjoining the fort had crocodiles to prevent anyone to reach the fort by crossing the water.
“When the British rulers realised that it was not possible to demolish the fort and fill the huge channel with soil, they decided to seek public participation. To lure the public, the collector announced that people can demolish the fort wall and fill the channel to become owners of the land. People from several villages gathered and completed the work,” he said.
K P Bharathi, programme leader of the tourism development division of Dhan Foundation, a Madurai-based NGO, said, “The whole development took place in 1840s. Two people were crucial to the project — Perumal, the mestri, and Marret, an engineer. They helped Blackburn in the uphill task by supervising the work. To honour Perumal and Marret, the collector ordered the names of the duo be given to the streets newly created in the place of the fort wall and the channel. The four streets near the Perumal Maistry streets are called as Marret streets, he said.
C Santhalingam, a retired archaeological officer who confirmed the history behind the street names, said that there is no government record about the naming of these streets. However, references have been found in several historical records, he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by V. Devanathan, TNN / May 19th, 2013
Gearing up for a colour co-ordinated wedding retinue, courtesy Rangeela | P RAVIKUMAR
Want to wear customised designer clothes for your wedding, but don’t know where to find them? Rangeela, a designer studio at T Nagar offers ready-to-order bridal sarees and lehengas for that special occasion.
Rangeela, launched earlier this month, offers a line of sparkling designer wear in a wide variety of colours, intricately designed on smooth and silky fabrics with utmost care. “Every sari or lehenga will take at least 30 days to make, with 4 to 5 people working on it. We bring the design on paper and accordingly instruct the workers, who have come from other states. Most of the bridal attire is made from satin or velvet fabric,” explained Rajesh Jain, one of the owners of the store.
Apart from the conventional saris and lehengas, one can even opt for a lehanga that can be draped as a saree. This could cost anywhere between Rs 7,000 to Rs 70,000. Lehengas are priced from Rs 5,000 onwards while bridal sarees could range anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2 lakh.
But what makes the store unique is their one-stop shopping concept where both the bride and the groom could look for colour co-ordinated outfits for their special day. They also have matching wear for the family members of the couple. A sherwani set that includes safa (head gear) and juti (footwear), designed with simple beads and stones, could cost Rs 0,000 while, an Indo-Western wear for the groom starts from Rs 10,000.
“Everything is ready-made here. We adjust the fittings accordingly, apart from the customized orders we take,” said Rajesh’s partner, Rajendra Kumar Kankaria. In addition to their designer wear, Rangeela offers bridal make-up and hairstyling. “These days we find more South Indians opting for designer wear for their weddings. We have a huge variety to suit their preferences,” Rajesh smiled.
(Rangeela is located at City Centre Complex, 66, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar)
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / May 16th, 2013
Artist S.V. Valliappan with his Tanjore painting.— Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
When his room-mate introduced him to Tanjore painting a quarter century ago S.V. Valliappan would not have imagined he would come out with a masterpiece one day.
On May 11, Valliappan, a drawing master in the Kandanur Chittal Achi Memorial Higher Secondary School near Karaikudi, was the happiest man as he had completed his masterpiece, a 26-foot long 8-foot wide Tanjore painting, depicting the life of Lord Krishna.
He was busy giving final touches before the painting, made in three pieces of wooden planks, was taken for packing at the front yard of his house at Karaikudi to be transported all the way to Kolkotta.
An art-loving businessman from Kolkotta has ordered the painting to install it at the entrance of his renovated heritage house.
“I took it as a challenge, when Sanjay Sachdev running Domus Art Gallery in Kolkotta approached me through e-mail and asked whether I could do the project for him, as I have never attempted such a huge painting in my career,” says Valliappan.
Talking to The Hindu , the middle-aged Valliappan said he was excited about the size of the painting when Mr Sachdev detailed the project. He consulted his octogenarian father C.V. Sivaraman, an expert in stump powder paintings, and accepted the challenge after his father said he could do it.
Mr Sachdev, who was doing liaison for his architect friend, however, gave him the project only after Valliappan made a painting of Lord Ganesh, a breathtaking brilliant piece.
After completing the formalities, he started the painting in January and completed it in five months under the watchful eyes of his father and Sachdev. Two artists and two carpenters assisted him, he says.
“We used to start the work at 4 a.m. and go on till 8 a.m. in the morning session. In the evenings, we used to work from 6 p.m. to even beyond midnight,” Mr Valliappan says. They used teakwood planks and canvas cloth as the base. As the customer wanted it in antique style, he made the gold glitter more sober and used subtle colours. More than 1000 numbers of 22 carat gold foils and 5000 imitation stones have gone into painting, he said.
The four sides of the frames, surrounding the borders, were adorned with mirrors in squares and cotton thread covered with gold foil to provide the elegance.
“I learnt a lot after completing the project,” says Valliappan, striking humble. He was not sure he could get into the Guinness Book of World Records as the painting was not in single piece and done in three pieces to be fixed as one frame.
He took interest in Tanjore paintings after his room-mate Mayilvaganan in Chengalpattu introduced him the art, when he had gone for teacher training course in St. Xavier Higher Secondary School in 1987, he says.
After a three month course, he developed interest, he recalls.
Mr Sachdev and his architect friend took interest in the classical south Indian painting, when they visited ‘Naivedyam’, a south Indian restaurant in Delhi, where they saw a Tanjore painting.
Impressed with the art form, the architect decided that he would suggest this painting to his businessman customer and when the latter gave the nod, they searched for the artistes. After searching through the internet, they shortlisted half a dozen artistes in Bangalore and Coimbatore and zeroed in on Mr Valliappan.
“While others sounded commercial and not devoted to the subject work, Valliappan looked genuine,” Mr Sachdev, who was making his fourth visit to Karaikudi to oversee the packing, told The Hindu .”
The only condition laid was that the painting should depict the happy life of Lord Krishna and there should not be snakes or bloodshed, keeping the vaastu point of view.
Mr Sachdev promised more orders for Valliappan as Mr Sivaraman looked at his son proudly.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Miscellaneous / by D. J. Walter Scott / Sivaganga – May 18th, 2013
To celebrate its platinum jubilee from tomorrow with series of new programmes
Starting off with just a 5 KW medium wave transmitter when it was launched 74 years ago, All India Radio, Tiruchi, which now covers 10 districts with a 100 KW high power transmitter, is poised to celebrate its platinum jubilee from May 16 with a series of new programmes targeting both urban and rural listeners.
The first broadcast conveyed a message on spreading happiness to excited listeners from the then Chief Minister of composite Madras State C.Rajagopalachari who inaugurated the country’s sixth AIR station in Tiruchi along with the first Controller of Broadcasting India Lionel Fielden, on May 16, 1939. After a year, a separate time chunk was introduced in July 1940, and in July 1969, Ilaya Bharatham (Youth Programme) was started. It was followed by the launch of Regional News Unit on November 14, 1981, for broadcasting daily news bulletin in Tamil, and Audience Research Unit on September 3, 1991.
Ilaya Bharatham, according to senior officials of AIR Tiruchi, has been serving as a platform for youth to analyse their problems and find solutions through talks and interviews.
Youngsters are given guidance and counselling regarding employment training facilities, entrepreneurship and self employment. The impact of the Farm and Home (‘Pannai Illam’) Unit, AIR Tiruchi, established during 1966 to provide purposeful and effective information to the farming community was such that ADT 27 variety paddy released during that time was popularly called ‘Radio Rice’ by the agricultural community. During the silver jubilee celebrations of ‘Pannai Illam’, 30,000 farmers took part in a function spread over two days.
AIR Tiruchi, started as one of the six pioneering stations in pre-Independent India and second station in the erstwhile Madras State after the first one at Madras, would continue to spread happiness with its range of programmes covering education, culture, literature, music, science, community, and farming, T. Periyaswamy, Deputy Director General (Engineering), AIR, Tiruchi, and M. Jothimani Elangovan, Programme Head, told mediapersons on Tuesday.
About 1,000 archived programmes including talks by leaders such as late Chief Minister Annadurai and performance of folk artistes would be packaged in a programme titled ‘Pavazha Malli’ and presented to listeners till May 15, 2014. The station would also conduct invited audience programme in each of the 10 districts covered by AIR Tiruchi on music, agriculture, health, industry and other topics, in its programme zone covering 56 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s total area encompassing Tiruchi, Perambalur Ariyalur, Karur, Salem, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Pudukottai districts. The programmes cater to all age groups, Ms. Jothimani Elangovan said.
The platinum jubilee celebrations would begin with a formal inauguration at 5.30 p.m. on May 16. The inauguration would feature Natyanjali, a dance programme by Bala Kala Vidhanam dance school students; a folk arts events, and felicitations by P. Kumar, Tiruchi MP, and other invited speakers. South Zone Additional Director General, AIR and Doordarshan, Chennai and Bangalore, G. Jayalal, would preside over the inauguration programme.
From May 16 onwards, a photo exhibition open for public would feature a collection of 350 rare photos with footnotes illustrating AIR Tiruchi’s growth path. Sets of photos will be changed periodically.
A programme titled ‘Namathu Vaanolikku Vayathu 75’ would be broadcast on the prime channel at 9.30 p.m. on May 16. It would be preceded by folk programmes and jugalbandhi of Hindustani and Carnatic music.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by R. Krishnamoorthi / Tiruchi – May 15th, 2013
A session of the two-day entreprenuership workshop conducted by NEN at MOP Vaishnav. | P Ravikumar
An entrepreneurship revolution is slowly being nurtured in classrooms with new start-ups mushrooming on college campuses around the city.
Currently, there are 62 startups in colleges, which are being nurtured by the institutes along with the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), said Vishnu Priya, senior manager (consulting) of NEN in Chennai.
NEN aims at penetrating classrooms to nurture young entrepreneurs. They have been successful to an extent with the help of entreprenuership cells in the colleges. These cells help kick start the entrepreneurship spirit among college students with the help of faculties.
Interestingly, some colleges like MOP Vaishnav College have been in the forefront in nurturing young entreprenuers, said Rosy Frenando, a former head of the Department of Commerce in the college and now an NEN consultant.
She said MOP Vaishnav College pioneered the programme on entreprenuership on campus.
“The focus was to educate faculty in colleges so that they can speak about entrepreneurship education. We trained the faculty, who in turn, identified student-entrepreneur leaders in a bid to ignite the thought of entrepreneurship among students,” said Rosy during a entrepreneurship workshop on the campus.
Interestingly, MOP has a series of start-ups, which include floral bouquets, MOP Health and Beauty (beauty parlour) and MOP Beyond Breads (Cafeteria). “All these happened through incubation,” said Rosy.
Interestingly, the initiative is no cakewalk for NEN as there are numerous challenges faced by the proponents of entrepreneurship in institutes. Sometimes, it is the parents who want their children to focus more on studies rather than on trying to be an entrepreneur and at times it is the institute which is afraid that the students would fare poorly in the exams.
But then, NEN along with the Tatas, have been successful in kindling the entrepreneurship spirit among youngsters. “Across the nation, we have nearly 461 start-ups,” said Priya.
To a query on the lifespan of these start-ups, Priya said that it is hard to come up with a figure.
“On an average, some have a lifespan of two to three years and some have mushroomed into big firms providing employment to many people,” she says.
“The question is not how many are successful. The aim is to nurture the youngsters in entrepreneurship besides equipping them to face the challenges in the real life,” Priya added.
And, it is not only in MOP Vaishnav, but also in other colleges such as KCG College of Technology, Ethiraj College, Women’s Christian College and Shahsul Jain College, that start-ups are mushrooming, Rosy added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities>Chennai / by C Shivakumar – Chennai / May 15th, 2013
Workshop where ornaments were manufactured. | Express
In a major find that throws evidence to Erode’s connection to Tamil Brahmi era, a research team of Pondicherry University found several pot shells containing Tamil Brahmi letters dating to 500 BC at Kodumanal near Chennimalai.
A team of students from Pondicherry University, led by Dr K Rajan and TN archaeological department assistant director Subramaniam, has been carrying out research for the past one month in the region. Recently, the team during its work in Kodumanal found several antiques, besides the pot shells.
Team members, while explaining about the Kodumanal find, said that Tamil Brahmi words like Adinthai, Madanthai, Kuviran, Sumanan, Samban, Vindaveli, Pannan, Bagan, Yadan, etc were found on the pot shells.
Detailing the Chennimalai’s connect to ancient days, the team pointed out that the area had 165 tombs and of these 17 were taken up for research.
While in one of the tombs, many precious stones were found, the team during its study in the region also stumbled upon shell bangles, roulette pottery and sword bit contained spheroidal graphite phase and forge welding of high carbon cutting edge, etc.
The present excavations were made in 8 points near Pandiyan Nagar and a burial ground. Many beads, high quality iron materials like arrow heads, spears, swords, megalithic tombs, iron and steel furnaces, several precious stones like garnet, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, quartz, etc., were found. The area also contains some objects made of tusks and other materials which could have been used for weaving cotton in those days.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States>Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Erode / May 17th, 2013
One man’s trash, that’s another man’s come-up,” sings Macklemore in Thrift Shop, which once topped the Billboard Hot 100. In this chartbusting song, the American rapper talks about the high he gets from buying second-hand, a caboodle of products with just 20 dollars. Well, only a true-blue shopaholic can understand the elation that comes from such a trip to the market.
And now, if the song was going to be re-created within a Chennai context, Macklemore would have an array of second-hand shopping markets to draw inspiration from.
To name just as few, Lily Pond Complex with its second-hand books, antique items, old gramophone players and the works; Bells Road and Pillayar Koil Street (Jafferkhanpet), both of which are lined with used motorcycle shops; a section of Third Avenue on Indira Nagar, where old furniture is a big draw; Pycroft’s Road with its pavement book shops; the Friday shandy at Pallavaram, where you can get anything from cassettes to car accessories; and the New Park Road, where film and television production houses flock to procure used items for their sets.
***
Members of production houses are among regular visitors to a line of shops on New Park Road – near Central Railway station – which sells discarded electronic goods, ranging from expensive-looking television sets to desktops and typewriters. They can be seen rummaging through these items, mostly piled up under makeshift tents, to find something that can be used in their sets. These items are used for a diversity of scenes, ranging from the depiction of a bomb blast site to a quietly functioning office. Not just film makers, a cross-section of people are apparently interested in these items for the same reason.
“An architect once bought five typewriters from our shop to decorate her client’s space, whose theme was old-school,” says Sathish, who main business involves sale of functional DVD players, each costing Rs. 400 (open to bargain).Goods that are in great condition have enthusiastic buyers. Where do the traders get such goods from? Sathish, who claims to have a fully-functional home theatre that is available for Rs 10,000, says, “People who go abroad and want to quickly get rid of these items contact us.”
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Even the nearby Lily Pond Complex has shops that feed the media industry with used items. One such example is Shop no. 79 at the Complex, which stocks a collection of used alcohol bottles, another of Marapacchi dolls and one more consisting of unique cameras.
“Most of these items are used in movie sets and only collectors show interest in fiddling through the junk,” says N. Shankar, owner of the shop.
A second hand electronic shop near Moor Market. / Photo: Romani Agarwal / The Hindu
Anyone in the city who values reading has more likely than not checked out the Lily Pond Complex, near the Central Railway station. A warren of shops in this facility – built to rehabilitate traders of the Moore Market which was gutted in a fire in 1985 – sell second-hand books, ranging from Grisham thrillers to Marx’ treatises and C++ programming manuals. Hundreds of students and book lovers visit the complex to either buy and sell books or do both. Palini B. of Renuka Book Stores, says, “In the beginning of the academic year, business peaks. School and college students come here to buy and sell their course and reference books. We buy the books at 40 percent of the market price and while selling it, we sell it at 60 percent – however, a lot depends on the condition of the books.”
Book lovers also flock enthusiastically to Pycrofts Road in Triplicane, where a row of pavement shops sell used fiction and non-fiction books as well as magazines in Hindi, English and Tamil. Among smaller but popular used book markets are the one near Loyola College and another in Mylapore.
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From iconic Royal Enfield models to classic scooters and regular bikes, Pillaiyar Koil Street in Jaffarkhanpet and Bells Road in Chepauk have much to offer anyone looking for a motorcycle on the cheap.
“We deal with two-wheelers of all brands and models,” says V. Palani , owner of G.R.M Auto Consultant. He explains, “Auto showrooms these days have exchange offers where they buy used bikes. We have our agents stationed there, who buy them directly from the sellers. Apart from this, people themselves come to us to sell their bikes. Our customers include businessmen, mostly restaurant owners who place bulk orders for two-wheelers that could be pressed into home delivery.” Most shops have in-house mechanics who test the bikes before the deal is struck.
Dawood Khan Lodhi of Paradise Motor, who is also the secretary of Bells Road Two & Four Wheeler Auto Consultant Owner’s Association, says, “My father, Azad Khan Lodhi, was one of the first people to introduce this concept in the city. While buying or selling a motorcycle, we are very particular about the documents. We scrutinise the papers carefully and look at the engine number and chasis number. If any irregularities come to light, we drop the deal. We also cross-check with the sellers to make doubly sure we are not dealing with stolen bikes.”
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A second hand furniture shop at Royappetah High Road. /. Photo: Romani Agarwal / The Hindu
Mani’s& Co. at Royapettah High Road, opposite Pilot Theatre, has carried the same look through for decades – mounds of furniture crammed into rooms and some more lying scattered out in the open. Anyone digging into these piles of wood and steel is sure to be rewarded with furniture that bear the mark of great artistry and good taste.
Mani’s started its business in 1970 as an auctioning shop. Now it is only into retail, with 15 dealers supplying it furniture. It stocks both old and new furniture and is famous for its large collection of teak and rose wood furniture, some of them imbued with antique value. “But, it is becoming more difficult to get antique furniture from homes. Most of the ones we get today are mere replicas,” says N.Muthukumar, who owns the place. The shop is closed on Tuesdays.
In Indira Nagar (Adyar), Shri Sangkara Enterprises also buys and sells old furniture. S. Anandavasan procures furniturefrom families that have left the country. Book shelves and single cupboards are a few of the most sought-after goods at this store. Karpooram boxes with a number of secret chambers, sourced from Karaikudi, are another attraction. The boxes double as centre tables. If you want any specific furniture, the shop will deliver it a few weeks after the placement of an order.
A second hand shop for bikes at Ashok Nagar. / Photo: Romani Agarwal / The Hindu
(With inputs from Liffy Thomas)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – May 18th, 2013
Writer Mari Selvaraj with his book | N Vinoth Kumar / Express
The infamous Manjolai incident, in which 17 persons succumbed in police brutality on July 23, 1999, has been brought out as an autobiographical short story.
The incident happened during a procession in support of the Manjolai estate labourers’ struggle for wages on the banks of Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. The story is one among the 21 short stories penned by Mari Selvaraj, which has been brought out as a collection, Thamirabharaniyil Kollappadaathavargal, by Vamsi Books.
Probably, Mari Selvaraj is the first writer from Tirunelveli to document the incident through a short story and his short story collection has gained momentum in literary circles now.
Born in Puliyankulam of Tirunelveli district, Mari Selvaraj is the fifth son to his parents, who are agricultural labourers. “The freedom that poverty offered me has given me rich experiences and I have many stories to share,” says the author.
Speaking to City Express, Selvaraj shares about his journey as a writer to an assistant director in Kollywood. “My entire schooling was in my village. It was when I stepped into the law college, I first came to a town. But college life was not a good experience. The first question I faced was about my caste. Since I was considered as an insubordinate student, whatever I did went wrong. At one point of time, a police case was registered against me and that was when I discontinued my studies and ran away from home,” says Selvaraj.
Selvaraj came to Chennai with Rs 1400 and took up jobs in places like petrol bunks while simultaneously searching for a better job.
“My search ended when I joined as an office boy in the office of film director Ram,” he says.
Ram was making Katradhu Thamizh then, which had actor Jiiva in the lead role. “The film developed my interest in cinema. After the film, Ram had a break for three years. That’s when we came close by getting to know each other well. Ram gave me books and films, and guided me well. He also started a blog named Kaatchi for me so that I could convey my thoughts through writing. The stories of Thamirabharaniyil Kollappadaathavargal were first published in this blog. Later, I became an assistant director to Ram and it’s been seven years of my association with him.”
The stories in this collection travel in diverse platforms and are mostly about either politics or relationships.
“Party leaders see politics as business. Mine was ‘frustrated politics’ because whatever I lost in it during my early life have not been compensated till now. Tamil Nadu is in a state of ‘sexual poverty’. Having a woman’s friendship is considered a fantasy. At this juncture, understanding either sex becomes critical. I think my stories reflect that criticality.”
Inspired by writers G Nagarajan and Saadat Hasan Manto, Selvaraj wants to direct a film as well.
“Though I keep writing, my ultimate aim is to direct a film which brings reputation to whatever I learnt from Ram. I believe that will be the true respect to my mentor,” he concludes.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by N. Vinoth Kumar / ENS – Chennai / May 08th, 2013
Training would be extended in agri-enterprises for three months at an integrated training centre run by the Co-operative Department for candidates from Ariyalur district.
According to a release from M. Ravikumar, Collector, of the total cultivated area of 1,06,409 hectares in the district, 67,158 hectares is rainfed and 39,254 hectares is irrigated.
While paddy is raised in 26,000 hectares, maize is raised in 16,000 hectares, pulses in 3,400 hectares, groundnut in 11,000 hectares, gingelly in 2,000 hectares, cotton in 8,000 hectares, cashew in 27,500 hectares, and sugarcane in 8,000 hectares. Besides, crops like chillies, tapioca, tamarind, mango, brinjal and banana are also grown in a considerable area. “Hence, Ariyalur district is quite conducive for starting agri-allied industries. By establishing units for value addition of agri-products, processing, grading and preparation of by-products, there is potential for generating considerable employment and also augmenting agricultural income.” Those who have studied agri-related courses in Plus Two, graduates and postgraduates in agriculture, diploma-holders in agriuculture and those who have secured either a diploma or a degree in any of the agri-related sectors like Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Horticulture, Forestry, and Dairy would get training. Those interested may contact Director, Natesan Institute of Co-operative Management and Training Centre, 2377-A, Anna Nagar, Chennai — 600040 (ph: 044-26210423). Log on to www.nicmchennai.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Special Correspondent / Ariyalur – May 14th, 2013
G. Muriel, who scored 1,047, wants to do a B.Tech course./ Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Nearly four years ago, G. Muriel was rescued along with four other girls from an unrecognised home in Tiruvallur district, by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
Today, she and her friends have passed the State board class XII examinations with flying colours.
Another young student, Padmavathi, a resident of Pallipattu in Villupuram, who was rescued from a forced child marriage last year, also passed, scoring 795 out of 1,200.
The six girls are inmates of a home run by Madras Christian Council of Social Service in Perambur.
Muriel scored 1,047, and is over the moon. She, along with Mary Ann (972), Sheeba (961), Rejolia Mary (982) and Esther (680), studied at Everwin Matriculation School, Kolathur. Padmavathi studied at Government Higher Secondary School, Villivakkam.
“Muriel and her friends were rescued by CWC after a complaint about the unrecognised home. The home was subsequently closed down. The six students were referred to us by CWC. Since it is vacation time now, they are about to begin part-time jobs,” said R. Isabel, director of Madras Christian Council of Social Service.
Muriel wants to pursue B.Tech in information technology. “I want to study well and earn a good salary. I am very happy that all my friends have passed. We have been together since childhood,” she said.
Padmavathi wants to do a degree in mathematics and work in a bank.
Ms. Isabel said the students were in need of sponsorships to be able to go to college.
The Government Children’s Home for Girls, Kellys also had reason to cheer, as nine of the 10 girls who had appeared for the exam, passed. “Some of them are orphans, while others have single parents. They are studying at the Government HSS, Purasawalkam,” said an officer at the home.
Of the nine, V. Shanthi scored 760, followed by M. Gokila (727) and B. Pradeepa (711). Gokila, a native of Dharmapuri, wants to become a nurse to take care of the health of her villagers.
Nine of the 12 inmates of Puzhal Central Prison who appeared for the board exams have passed. Notable among them is suspected Maoist leader Sundaramoorthy, who scored 835. Thirty-nine convicts lodged in different central prisons across the State had attempted the exams.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / May 11th, 2013
