In a bid to popularise Tamil literature among the youth, a writers’ group here is set to launch a bi-monthly on Sunday. On the occasion, three important writers from the region will be honoured at the function to be held at Hindustan College in the presence of actor Kamal Haasan.
Ilaya Thalamurai, an organisation of writers and literature lovers, founded a year ago by P Jeyachandran, better known as ‘Paalai Nilavan’, will host the event and Kamal will honour the writers on behalf of Thalamurai at Hindustan College on Sunday. The writers to be honoured are Puviarasu, poet and translator, Kovai Gnani, a critic and editor with Marxist leanings, and Tho Paramasivam, a folklorist.
Puviarasu, who lives in the city, is best known for translating Shakespeare and Dostoevsky into Tamil. “Puviarasu wanted the Tamil masses, who do not know any another language, to enjoy world classics. The new generation must understand the value of such persons,” said Paalai Nilavan.
Gnani, a retired school teacher, used to edit and publish a quarterly magazine that provided a platform for many upcoming writers who later became well-known. Tho Paramasivam’s work is largely on traditions and beliefs of different communities.
Nilavan said the function will also help introduce the work of these writers to the youth. “Today, many of us are not aware of their contribution to Tamil literature. The presence of an actor like Kamal Haasan, we hope, will help us to reach a huge number of young people,” he said.
S Shankar, who writes under the pen name ‘Sudesamithran’ and an active member of the group, said Thalamurai will launch a bi-monthly literary magazine ‘Niche’ during the function. “There are many talented writers in the state, but they lack a proper platform to showcase their talents,” he said.
The bi-monthly will run excerpts from world classics, translations, poems and short stories. Paalai said that the response to the magazine has been overwhelming. “We already have got enough contributions for three editions. We will also include contributions from Tamil writers in Sri Lanka,” he said.
source: http://www.m.timesofindia.com / The Times of India – Mobile / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / April 28th, 2013
The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Adyar, founded on April 24, 1948 and the world’s largest leather research institute, celebrated its 66th foundation day here on Thursday. The foundation day events were marked by the participation of industry, universities and R&D institutions. “The Institute has over the years grown in stature and played a pivotal role in the cause of the leather sector on a global platform. The recent success in executing consultancy projects for the benefit of the Ethiopian leather sector is an example in this regard,” said A B Mandal, director, CSIR-CLRI.
“It has been a year of accomplishments for the Institute, especially in reaching industrial beneficiaries with appropriate technological intervention,” he pointed out. “There has not only been an extension of outreach on the international platform but has also been further reinforced, thereby sharing technical capabilities as well as expertise with the global leather sector.”
Delivering the CLRI foundation day lecture on ‘Innovation: An important tool in science’, D Balasubramanian, former director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and current director of research of L V Prasad Eye Institute, both in Hyderabad, stressed the need for technological innovation in every sector to usher in development and progress.
In a conscious effort to motivate researchers to protect intellectual properties, the Institute honoured staff members whose patent applications had been filed during 2012-13 with a ‘Certificate of Appreciation.’
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / April 27th, 2013
Touching Lives: Run by the students of M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women, M.O.P FM accords priority to issues affecting underprivileged women. / Special Arrangement / The Hindu
FM radio stations at three colleges spread hope, cheer and awareness in neighbourhoods across the city. Vasudha Venugopal tunes in
A few years ago, many city colleges were swept up on a wave of enthusiasm for community radio. While most of these campus initiatives flickered weakly and sputtered out, three are still burning bright. The students-run FM radio stations at Anna University, Loyola College and M.O.P. College have grown into thriving centres of education and entertainment for the neighbourhoods they were targeted at.
M.O.P FM
Run by the students of M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women, this community radio gives priority to issues plaguing underprivileged women. Women in the slums around the M.O.P. campus constitute its major target group. The radio station, launched in 2005, also deals with health care, entrepreneurship and related issues.
There are programmes that specifically target women domestic helpers and their children.
“These women are often unaware of the care they should take during pregnancy. It was only after one of the doctors in our shows asked a listener not to miss her regular scans that she went for a long-pending scan. Fortunately, she discovered she was going to have twins then,” said a volunteer.
Volunteers take the trouble to get off air and connect with these women in a more real manner.
“Our primary focus is to encourage these women into entrepreneurial roles,” said a student. So, while these women are trained over the radio in vocations such as beauty care, money management, catering and fashion designing by experts, they are engaged in interaction with college principal Nirmala Prasad in an attempt at helping them.
Interviewing achievers from the community is another key area. Said a student serving at M.O.P FM, “We interviewed this girl when she topped her school in Class X exams. Her parents were pavement dwellers. She came back for an interview when she again topped her school, this time in Class XII exams. Now she studies with us, in our college.”
LOYOLA FM
This community radio, started by the students of Loyola College in 2005, has 20 programmes designed to serve 23 slums in Nungambakkam and Chetpet. The effort to reach out to these slum residents in this manner has brought the issues plaguing them into sharper focus.
“Every student in Loyola has to spend at least 120 hours every year in social service activities, and the radio station enables them to reach people they have to assist,” says Rex Babu Jaysingh, project manager at Loyola FM.
Loyola FM is also a big-hearted promoter of efforts at creativity. It lends its air waves to music created by student bands.
ANNA FM
After grueling work involving three houses, domestic help Shanthi settles down to listen to Magalir Neram every day on Anna FM. This 32-year-old mother of two does not stop with lapping up advice from doctors and experts drawn from a variety of fields. She sometimes dons the cap of an active participant, sending in recipes or getting involved in other ways.
“We started with the women in the slums of Kannigapuram. With a view to making them feel comfortable, we encouraged participant only from women,” said Christie, who manages the station. A graduate of electronic media, Christie got in on the ground floor. From 2004, when Anna FM was launched, she has seen this community radio touch numerous lives. “For a short period, I worked with other organizations. I came back to Anna FM when I realized nothing else I do could be more fulfilling.” The possibility of sustained engagement with neighbourhoods appealed to Christie and eventually brought her back to the world of community radio. Christie says the reward of community radio is two-fold. “There is so much to learn from people. And there is so much more to give back to people.”
Anna FM is on air for nearly 11 hours a day and seeks to engage women from subaltern sections. Social awareness programmes are a hallmark of this station. And interestingly, the listeners are sometimes roped in as resource persons. As part of orientation drives, people in surrounding neighbourhoods are taken on a tour of the station. They are encouraged to go on air, after which they are allotted slots. In an effort to involve the community, radio sets have been distributed to people in nearby slum.
“Our programmes are largely related to health, hygiene, education, setting up an enterprise, developing new skills and yoga. Almost everything geared to developing people into better and happier citizens,” said Christie. “True empowerment is possible only when you impart skills to the community and let them take charge of their lives.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vasudha Venugopal / Chennai, April 29th, 2013
About 74 students from the first batch (2011-13) of IIM-Tiruchippalli (IIM-T) have been placed with companies such as Cognizant, KPMG and BPCL, among others, at annual salaries ranging from Rs 11.5-18.25 lakh.
These successful placements for the 2011-13 batch were notwithstanding the difficult economic environment, an IIM-T release said, adding that this was the largest first batch among new IIMs in India to have registered for final placements.
Prominent recruiters like Cognizant Business Consulting, KPMG, Perfint Healthcare, BPCL, Indian Bank and Berger Paints have each recruited four or more students.
It was a good mix of profiles to choose from, both in terms of broad domains and specific roles like corporate banking, product liability management, international sales, general management, operations consulting and supply chain planning, the release added.
Six students opted out of the placement to pursue specific interests in niche sectors/roles such as dental healthcare management and product management.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News / by PTI / Tiruchi, April 30th, 2013
The Royapuram Railway Station was the first in South India, which made the locality a centre for Anglo-Indians | EPS
It was just after Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498, throwing doors open for Indo-European trade. Since it was difficult for Portuguese women to travel to India, the Portuguese men were allowed to marry Indian women, specifically only those who were fair and from good families.
The marriage resulted in descendants of mixed race, who came to be known as Lucitanians. Somewhere around the same time, the Muslims had already entered India to rule a considerable part of the country.
Harry MacLure, editor-publisher of Chennai-based Anglos in the Wind, an international magazine for Anglo Indians, and Anglo Ink that is engaged in encouraging Anglo-Indian literature, reveals, “In places like Santhome, there was a visible Lucitanian population and it is said that the British was surprised to see the non-Indian looking crowd. In fact Anglo-Indian is a relatively newer term. They were known as Eurasians. Later those of European-Indian origin came to be classified under the Anglo-Indian category. It is actually fallacious to believe that Anglo-Indians are only British descendants.”
Former MP and Tamil Nadu MLA Beatrix D’Souza points out to an interesting Anglo-Indian connect to French Governor Dupleix, in one of her articles for Anglos In The Wind. Dupleix married a Tamil-Portuguese widow from Mylapore called Jeanne Vincens.
Referred to as Creole, with a Portuguese father, she could be classified as one of the earliest Anglo-Indians. Santhome, she says, earlier known as San Thome named after one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, St Thomas, became one of the first settlements for Lucitanians.
The locomotive and carriage workshops of the Madras Railway at Perambur were a centre for several Anglo-Indians, making them a significant part of the workforce. Even in other government sectors like telegraph, customs and forest department they were found in large numbers.
With the advent of railways, the Royapuram railway station was built in 1856, becoming the first railway station in South India. It was a strategic spot for the British operations due to its proximity to Fort St George. Royapuram railway station remained a hub for railway operations till the Central Railway Station replaced it in 1907. Found in large numbers in other areas like Perambur, Purasawalkam, Vepery, St Thomas Mount, Pallavaram and Aynavaram, their lives have always been intertwined with the railways.
“That became a pattern for settlement for Anglo-Indians, just like railway colonies came up next to railways yards,” adds MacLure, who is working with S Muthiah on a book that documents the 500-year-old history of the community.
It is said that during those days people set their watch according to the arrival time of the Bangalore Mail. D’Souza adds,” Those were the days of the Anglo-Indian train drivers who ensured that the train ran on time and as per schedule.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Janani Sampath / ENS – Chennai / April 29th, 2013
North Tamil Nadu has been industrially active — at least 2,000 years ago! This surprising piece of information could provide ample lead to probably rewriting the history of mankind and his abilities to utilise natural resources to make iron-based tools and utensils.
In addition to an ironsmelting unit in Kariamankalani village, evidences of the earliest human settlements — presumable that of well-organised tribes who knew the uses of iron was discovered for the first time in Kariamankalani village about 30 km from here. Both these discoveries came to light during a recent excavation by S. Rama Krishna Pisipaty, professor and geoarchaeologist, SCSVMV University, Enathur They seemed to have mastered the art of making blocks with iron ore and charcoal husk. “The settlement shows signs of early living place of humans and contains evidences of temporary huts,” says the professor who unearthed stone boulders at the site near Vadamangalam, a nondescript village near Sriperambudur.
The big boulders were used to form a circular structure. About 50 such circular structures besides 20-25 iron smelting units using bloomery method has been unearthed for the first time in northern Tamil Nadu. Also some 15 x 10 cm rectangular blocks were found. “It may not be workers’ dwelling places,” Pisupaty said in reply to a query.
Though people were nomadic at that time, they however lived in groups close to the places where natural resources abounded. “This explains the presence of habitations near the smelting units. Hardly 3 km away, last year I had found the tortoise-shaped burial grounds dating back to the same period,” he adds.
Besides a mountain, a lake also exists close to this site. Preliminary estimates reveals that the people during the Iron Age had extracted iron, purified the metal and made blocks, which were exported to other places.
Pipes (for blowing wind and cooling the molten iron) of varying sizes are also found. At Palnerllur in 2010 the same team discovered iron smelting and smithy. The present site is much earlier than the Palnerllur site. Human activities at the new site dated back from Stone Age.
Pebble and other microlithic tools were also found, says professor Pisipaty.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by J. V. Siva Prasanna Kumar – DC / March 31st, 2013
“Hard work brings success and that’s my victory mantra,’’ said Dr Ashok Arun Thamburaj who secured all India sixth rank and first rank from Tamil Nadu in the civil service final exam, results for which were announced on Friday.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on phone from Karnataka, where he has been posted for election duty, Dr Thamburaj said he had cracked the exam in 2011 in his first attempt to choose IPS (Delhi cadre) and at present he was under probation at the national police-training academy in Hyderabad.
“Right from my childhood, I wanted to become an IAS officer but I scored 197 out of 600 in Zoology in my first attempt due to which I had to take IPS. But now I am sure that I have scored more”, a jubilant Thamburaj said.
97 from TN clear civil services exam
Ninety-seven candidates from Tamil Nadu have cleared the UPSC civil service main exam this year for which results were announced on Friday. A total of 998 aspirants have been selected for 1,091 vacancies in four services, including Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and Central Services (A&B).
According to civil service trainers, 97 students from Tamil Nadu have cleared the final interview to join the civil service. “This year it was not an easy walk for students they had to take on the tough interview panel which fired aspirants with several questions. As our students had good training to answer any kind of questions they managed to outperform others to bag several slots in the list,” one of the trainers said.
Another trainer from a top city based IAS coaching academy felt that more engineers and doctors have been successful in clearing the exam as they were trained to clear analytical oriented questions.
Interestingly for the third consecutive year, a woman has topped the prestigious examination. Forty five students from Mayor Saidai Sa. Duraisamy’s Manidaneyam IAS academy cracked the finals successfully to get a slot in the all India list.
TN top ranker clears exam in second attempt
Dr Ashok Arun Thamburaj, who secured all India sixth rank and first rank from Tamil Nadu in the civil service final exam, said he had taken Geography and Zoology as optional papers as he thought these papers would fetch him high marks.
He stood first from class I at St.Bedes Higher Secondary School at Santhome. Thamburaj had secured state first among police officers’ children and received chief minister’s gold medal. Thamburaj said he had believed in change which made him attempt civil service for the second time.
As an MBBS student, Thamburaj had bagged two gold medals in Surgery and Gynecology subjects and finished his house surgeonship at Madras Medical College. He is the son of T. Ashok, former principal of the police training college in the city. His sister Vijayarani works as assistant professor at a private medical deemed university in the city.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by N. Arun Kumar – DC / May 04th, 2013
Five students from the region have made it to the civil services this year.
The standout performer among them is S Suresh Kumar, the son of a daily wager, who, in his third attempt, secured the 343rd rank. Kumar graduated in BSc plant biology from PSG college of Arts and Science and did his MA in defence studies from Madras University.
The 24-year-old, who chose political science and Tamil literature as his optional papers, started preparing for the UPSC examination while studying for his post graduation. He took tuitions and worked as a students’ reporter with a local magazine to make his ends meet. “My parents would never let any of us work. My mother began to sell food to make my ends meet,” says Suresh, who is now pursuing his M Phil at the South Asian University in Delhi.
Suresh’s father, M Subburaj, worked as a daily wager at a garment manufacturing firm. A few months he moved joined a relative’s firm as a salesman. Thenmozhi, his mother, would cook food for college students to supplement Subburaj’s income. Suresh’s brother, Sathish Kumar is pursuing graduation in a Coimbatore college.
For the political science paper and interviews, Suresh took the help of city-based Higher Studies Centre, which is run jointly by Coimbatore Corporation and Government Arts College. All the five candidates from the region selected for the services had got coached at the institute.
Suresh, who expects a posting in IAS or IFS, wants civil service aspirants not to lose heart with failure. “Hard work never fails. Be persistent in what you do,” he adds.
Another candidate, P Krishna Kumar stands at 460. “I’m a businessman turned civil servant,” says 29-year-old Krishna, who belongs to Uthukuli in Tirupur. An engineering graduate, this was Krishna’s fifth attempt. He helped his father in their rice mill business while preparing for the examination. “Never give up. There may be obstacles, but passing the civil services examination is surely achievable,” he says.
The others from the region who have been ranked by the UPSC are B Abhinaya Nishanthini at 817, N Manoj at 771 and P Karthikeyan at 789.
source: http://www.m.timesofindia.com / The Times of India – Mobile / Home / TNN / by Arun P.Mathew / May 04th, 2013
Innovative: Ramanathan in his sugarcane nursery. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
Sugarcane nursery boasts low overheads and high yield
P. Ramanathan, a 42-year-old farmer, sits beside a heap of seed sugarcane in his coconut grove, chipping buds from the cane stalks.
The farmer from Akramesi, a remote village near Pandiyur in Nainarkoil block, is all smiles. He is the first farmer in the district to raise a single bud chip sugarcane nursery, a cost-effective alternative to conventional cultivation.
Optimistic
It has been just two months since he started raising the nursery with the help of Sakthi Sugars, a private sugar mill, but Mr. Ramanathan is optimistic. The single bud sugarcane growing system is gaining popularity among the farmers as a low-cost option.
In the conventional system of sugarcane cultivation, four tonnes of seed cane are cut into pieces with two to three buds and the stalks planted in the furrows. This has posed problems for the farmers in transporting, handling and storing of the seed sugarcane.
In the process, the seed sugarcane undergoes rapid deterioration, reducing the viability of the buds and sprouts. To overcome the snags, reduce the overheads and increase the yield, the Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI), inspired by the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), had been developed and is fast catching on in Dharmapuri and Erode districts, B. Ilangovan, Deputy Director, Horticulture said.
Shade net house
Mr. Ramanathan is raising the nursery in a shade net house, with a capacity to grow three tonnes of seed sugarcane, and with two hand lever machines for chipping buds provided free of cost by Sakthi Sugars.
“From one tonne of seed sugarcane, we can chip 80,000 buds, which means we can raise as many seedlings in the nursery,” the farmer points out. If he bought one tonne of seed sugarcane for Rs.2,400, he would spend another Rs.2,000 to chip the buds, soak them in a solution of calcium chloride, urea and a fungicide before placing them in trays for sprouting.
Still, he makes a profit of nearly Rs.4,000 per tonne, selling the seedlings each at Rs.1.30 and reselling the budless sugarcane for crushing. After soaking for 10 minutes, the buds are covered in a wet gunny bag and kept indoors for five days before they are placed in sprouting trays filled with manure and stored in the shade net house for the next 15 days.
After sprouting, the seedlings are exposed to sunlight for another 10 days before being removed for planting, he said. He started raising the nursery two months ago, and has already sold 30,000 seedlings. Currently, he has an order for supplying 1.5 lakh seedlings. In 40 days, he expects to chip buds from seven tonnes of sugarcane and raise 5.6 lakh seedlings. This could increase manifold, if he uses an electric powered machine.
Gets a boost
Mr. Ramanathan got a boost recently when Collector K. Nanthakumar, along with a retinue of officials, visited his nursery and was all praise for his venture. Under the system, 100 per cent germination is assured, Mr. Ilangovan assures sugarcane farmers. He said the incidence of pest attack and disease was also reduced significantly.
The National Agriculture Mission helps farmers set up shade net houses and provides a subsidy of Rs.600 per square metre. For wooden shade net houses, the subsidy is Rs.410 per square metre. Nurseries for tomato and chilli could also be raised in shade net houses. At the moment, there are few takers among the local farming community. But with Mr. Ramanathan blazing a new trail, hopefully innovative methods of farming will be the wave of the future.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by D.J> Walter Scott / Ramanathapuram – April 30th, 2013
Caption: The winners in the AITA Raghuveer Cup 30k Men’s Tennis Tournament seen with the prizes: (Standing from left) N.P. Raghuveer, Suraj R. Prabodh (runner-up), Vijay Kannan (winner) and Sabareesh (Chief Referee)./ Star of Mysore
Mysore :
Second seed from Tamil Nadu and former Davis Cupper, Vijay Kannan playing attacking tennis on both the flanks scored an upset win over top-seeded Karnataka lad Suraj R. Prabodh 6-2, 6-2, and won the men’s singles title on the concluding day of the 30K AITA Men’s Tennis Tournament for the Raghuveer Cup at the Raghuveer Tennis Academy courts here on Friday.
Vijay Kannan dominated the proceedings right from the beginning and broke Suraj in the second and fourth games and wrapped the first set with ease at 6-2. In the second set too, he capitalised on the unforced errors of his rival and took full control and went on to win the set and tie at 6-2.
