Indian fabrics sales are expected to double in the next three years, according to the Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC).
“The Minister of Textiles, Dr. Kavuru Sambasiva Rao, is trying his level best to increase exports, and also domestic export of textiles, because it is next to agriculture in terms of revenue generating capacity. He has already talked to the government that there should be skill development, there should be some separate chapter for the interest deduction,” said A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC).
The Indian Government is also taking all effective steps to make sure there is a surge in the textile exports by implementing different schemes and benefits for the workers working in the garment industry.
“I think all the steps have been taken. Now, 700 crores has been released two days back and the state development scheme is already announced. The Minister of Textiles is also talking with the government and the Labour Ministry for the 50 hours work. And also he is talking about the separate chapter especially for the textile export with the Finance Minister. He has met already the Prime Minister of India and in turn he met a group of ministers to recommend what are the steps can be taken by the government to increase the export as ell as the import market,” added Sakthivel.
The reasons for buyers to get attracted towards India are raw material strength and due to the rupee depreciation India has now been identified as a new market by both Japan and Australia. (ANI)
source: http://www.newstrackindia.com / News Track India / Home> Economy /by ANI / Coimbatore – Saturday 05th, 2013
Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam, in collaboration with Global Education and Leadership Foundation, conducted Harmony 2013, a talent quest in debate, chess and street play recently. Nine schools across South India participated in the event, with several students from PSBB, Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam, PSBB and Jindal Vidya Mandir school bagging prizes.
Harmony, a regional-level event, was launched last year to encourage students to interact and bring out their talent.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / October 15th, 2013
Striking architecture, history and faith greet K. Jeshi as she visits some old monuments
Tipu Sultan offered prayers at Kottaimedu. His soldiers prayed at the Thondamuthur mosque. On their way to battle at Palakkad, they rested at Idayarpalayam with their horses. Then in the 1800s Athar merchants from Tirunelveli made Coimbatore their home and built the Athar Jamath mosque. According to M.I. Mohammed Ali, general secretary of Coimbatore District United Jamath (that heads 193 Jamaths in Coimbatore district), there are 120 mosques within the corporation limits. “In some mosques the older structures have given way to expansion while some Jamaths have taken efforts to preserve them.”
Minarets of Athar Jamath Mosque on the Oppanakara Street in Coimbatore / Photo: K. Ananthan / The Hindu
Athar Jamath Mosque
Oppanakkara Street
A pair of silver minarets shimmer in the morning. It’s 9 a.m. and sun rays filter into the Mosque on the bustling Oppanakkara Street, one of the oldest mosques in the city. Traders stroll in one by one, some of them straight from the market with their goods, spend a few minutes in silent prayer and get going. It is not just Muslims, people from other religious communities too stop by.
At the entrance, a giant hand-crafted wrought iron gate gives way to a hauz or a water pool (where Muslims perform a ritual before offering their namaz) and then comes the prayer hall. The building has Italian and Mohammedan architecture influences. The white pillars that dot the prayer hall are Italian while the colour scheme of white and green and the multi-coloured window glasses are quintessentially Mughal. Externally, the domes are decorated with geometric designs. “It was a thatched hut in the 1830s built by our forefathers who were athar sellers from Tirunelveli district,” says Abdul Kaleel, a retired Tahsildar and muttavalli (head imam ) of the mosque. The Jamath has over 1000 members, all descendants of athar merchants. An executive committee with 15 members looks into the maintenance of the mosque. The construction, spread across 10,000 sq.ft., began in 1860 and was completed in 1904, under the supervision of 52 athar families. “Our forefathers had their homes in the area and built the mosque here,” says Kaleel. The mosque is built beside the tomb of Hazrat Jamesha Waliullah, which is now a dargah. “On the same road, we have St. Michael’s Church, Koniamman temple and the mosque. All the structures are over 100 years and they stand testimony to a time when communities beautifully co-existed. Even today, the Koniamman temple car procession halts at the mosque for a few minutes and then proceeds,” he says. Personalities including Russian premier Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and stalwarts such as Kamarajar and Kalaignar Karunanidhi have visited the mosque. The prayer hall easily accommodates 3000 people during prayers on Eid. “Fifty years ago, we could see the minarets of the mosque when we trekked to the Marudhamalai Hills,” says Kaleel.
Kottai Hidayathul Islam Safia Jamath Mosque
Kottaimedu
Hidayuthul Islam Shafi Jamat Mosque at Kottaimedu is one of the oldest mosques built by Tipu Sultan.in Coimbatore./ Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
Kottai Hidayathul Islam Safia Jamath stands tall at Kottaimedu. It dates back to the 17th Century and is one of the biggest mosques to be built in Coimbatore during the reign of Tipu Sultan. He is supposed to have offered prayers here. “The original mosque was built in 1776 by Tipu Sultan, which was destroyed by the British,”says T.I. Abdul Wahab, general secretary of Kottai Hidayathul Islam Safia Jamath Mosque.
Hidayuthul Islam Shafi Jamat Mosque at Kottaimedu is one of the oldest mosques built by Tipu Sultan in Coimbatore./ Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
In 1901, Haji Mohammed Pillai Rawther raised the structure and it was completed in 1910. The inner pavement is of white marble slabs, ornamented with black borders. It is beautiful and lends coolness to the place. The white marble pillars represent Indo-Arabic styles. The floors are lined with exquisite pink carpets that came from Mysore. Traditionally, smaller size bricks were used for the construction of pillars, which were then polished with a mix of limestone and egg. The mosque also imparts education. A madrasa, a higher secondary school and an Arabic college function on its premises.
Ahle Sunnath Dakhni Jamath mosque or Tipu Sultan Mosque
Idayarpalayam
Ahle Sunnat Dakhni Jamat ( Tipu Sultan Mosque) at Idayarpalayam in Coimbatore is over 250 years old./ Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
A muscular limestone wall, two gleaming teak pillars with intricate work, an elaborate teak wood roofing with horizontal and vertical wood panels, and a central enclosure (for the Imam) that has a semicircular arch-like entrance with delicate carvings … the Tipu Sultan mosque at Idayarpalayam is a piece of history. Built in the Mohammedan style, it is as old as 250 years. “Tipu Sultan, his horses, and his soldiers rested at Idayarpalayam on their way to Palakkad, and that’s when he built the mosque,” narrates E. Nizamuddin, president of Ahle Sunnath Dakhni Jamath Mosque. He says references to this event can be found in the book Danayakan Kottai, a history on Tipu’s reign at Dandanayakan Kottai in Sathyamangalam. “ Those days, 13 people could stand in a single line inside the prayer hall and offer namaz. A small thinnai in the front accommodated some more and totally 40 people could worship at a time. Now, after making extensions, 400 people can pray together.”
The traditional prayer enclosure is covered on three sides with a single entrance and no windows. “This was a strategy followed by Tipu to protect themselves from backdoor attack by enemies,” he says.
The Jamath has over 600 members from Idayarpalayam and the president says with considerable pride how different communities co-exist peacefully. Now, they are geared up for the grand celebrations of Hazrat Noorsha Aulia’s dargah that completes 255 years on October 19. “The celebrations begin at the house of Oor gounder P. Radhakrishnan. He leads the procession of ‘santhanakudam’ that culminates at the dargah. This is followed by night-long prayers in which everyone participates.”
This article has been corrected for a factual error.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by K. Jeshi / October 15th, 2013
The mom and her baby along with the team of doctors at the hospital . —DC
Salem:
In a rare feat for a taluk government hospital, doctors at the Thiruchengode taluk hospital in Namakkal district performed an ABO incompatible blood transfusion procedure on a newborn successfully. The baby, suffering from severe jaundice, is now stable and recovering fast, doctors at the hospital said.
Nandakumar (30) and Shobanavalli (25) from Konniayaru village near Thiruchengode had their first child on October 5, 2013. The infant, whose blood group was different from the mother’s, had a severe attack of newborn jaundice and was in a critical condition.
The child was rushed to the Thiruchengode government hospital on October 6 and a three-hour-long blood transfusion took place at the hospital. Doctors at the GH said they had replaced 480 mg of blood from the newborn through the navel following the procedure.
“Now the child is recovering very well and is stable. The jaundice is almost cured and the baby is healthy,” said Dr Prakash from the hospital. He pointed out that while patients usually have to go to bigger cities like Salem or Coimbatore to do these transfusions in the past, government taluk hospitals were now equipped with facilities to perform such complicated procedures.
“Thanks to the insurance scheme for poor, our hospital also gets paid for the treatment given to poor through insurance companies which has helped us procure latest equipment for care of mother and child,” he said.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current affairs / DC / October 13th, 2013
Four maize varieties have been recently released by the maize department of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) at the national level this year.
All of them have passed rigorous field trials held across various states. “These varieties have passed tests proving that they have a higher productivity than 4 high varieties,” said G Nallathambi, professor of maize breeding, department of millets at TNAU. These maize varieties were developed with the support of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). A variety tested successfully in 4 states can be released at the national level.
Nallathambi said that maize is considered to be a crop which would replace rice at the global level. “With temperature rise, paddy is becoming tough to cultivate, whereas maize is an ideal substitute,” he said. Moreover, without any support mechanisms, farmers are able to get attractive rates.
Thousands of products can be developed from maize. This includes food, poultry feed and industry products. “The uses of maize are growing. Glucose and starch can be made from maize. Maize is even used to build the outer body part of airplanes. United States is focusing on developing bio-fuels from maize. Maize takes around 75 to 110 days to mature.
In 2005-06, maize was cultivated across 2 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu, generating an annual production of 2.41 lakh tonnes. In 2011-12, when the latest study was held, the cultivation area was 2.81 lakh hectares and productivity stood at 16.95 lakh tonnes. While in 2005-06, the average productivity was 1,189 kilos per hectare, it increased to 6,042 kilos per hectare in 2011-12. “This jump in the productivity levels can be attributed to improved varieties of crops from both the public and private sectors.
Nallathambi said that many crop varieties are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, one of their varieties released last year, CO6, which is known as CMH08-282 at the national level has begun to receive acceptance from other states. Two weeks ago they received a letter from the Gujarat State Seeds Corporation (GSSC) saying that they wanted to take up the production of CO6 variety of seeds and sought seeds from the centre. “We hope our efforts will help fulfill the food requirements of the nation,” he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore> Maize / by Arun P. Mathew, TNN / October 07th, 2013
Auspicious deco: Palaniappan inspecting the raffia strings holding up the ‘thoranam’ in Sri Thendayuthapani Temple. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network
It took more than 2,200 strings of leaves and flowers to set a new record for the longest thoranam – a decoration done for auspicious Indian events.
The 371m long thoranam hanging in the hall of Sri Thendayuthapani Temple will be entered in the Singapore Records.
About 150 people took part in the “Thoranam 1000” event organised by the Chettiars’ Temple Society. They made strings of jasmine and rose flowers and coconut and mango leaves and strung them all around the temple.
The youths connected with Indian culture through learning how to make flower garlands.
Among the participants was S. Palaniappan, 54, who was seen standing on a mobile scaffold to put up the strings of flowers.
The event was held in conjunction with Navarathiri, a nine-day Hindu festival. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network
source: http://www.thestar.com.my / The Star Online / Home> News> Regional / Monday – October 07th, 2013
P.S. Seshadri looks like any other person in their sixties, but perhaps what sets him apart from others of his age is his passionate devotion to a hobby. Seshadri has been a philatelist for the last 51 years. He is also the holder of the Limca Record for having the largest collection of commemorative stamps of a single design in the country.
Speaking of the record he says, “I made it in 2010 and am all set to break it now. Currently, I have 1,70,071 stamps of the same design.” The year was 1962 at the Don Bosco School in Salem and Seshadri was then in Class 8. “I was in the principal’s office,” he recalls, “and glancing at his table when a stamp lying there below the glass triggered my interest. It was a rare Italian stamp. Father was more than happy to part with it, and quite unwittingly, this gesture of his made a stamp collector out of me in due course.”
Seshadri’s parents too were supportive of his hobby, and his father, especially, would return with a new and rare set for him every time he visited Chennai. He kept his hobby alive through the years even as he pursued his studies with equal diligence. He sought out pen pals who could be a source of stamps, a magazine providing the avenue of making friends with like-minded interests. “And that’s how I was able to collect stamps from other countries too,” he says.
He continued to collect stamps even after taking up a job, but he thinks that at that time he did not have sufficient guidance in his task. Then a Swiss friend whom he met through his work – introduced him formally to the world of philately, and then on, there was no looking back. Seshadri’s collection was on display on Saturday at the DAV school, Velachery.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Jackson Jose / August 25th, 2013
The demand of the fishermen in coastal Kanyakumari district for establishing a harbour at Colachel is decades old. Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s allocation of Rs 87.75 crores after approving the revised project estimates has raised hope among the fishing community that the project would fructify soon.
The issue had echoed in the state Assembly on several occasions when Congress legislators raised the issue demanding that the state government initiate steps to pave way for developing a natural harbour in the historic town of Colachel, which is in existence since 1920.
At one stage, an exasperated Congress member J. G. Prince, who could not withstand the delay in commissioning the project, stood up and appealed to Jayalalithaa to take a personal interest and ensure the project materialised.
The Chief minister promptly assured that the project would be taken up and also reminded him that the state government had to fund several major projects despite little help from the Centre on the financial front.
In the absence of good berthing facilities, over 1,500 mechanised boatmen of this tiny town on the west coast have been depending on Kerala ports and port at Rameswaram for berthing. Some of them had even switched operations to neighbouring states and this often led to territorial disputes.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar / October 07th, 2013
Lt. Col. G.S. Gill was among the first of the prominent Punjabis who settled in the city and made important contributions./ Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Lt. Col. G.S. Gill was among the first of the prominent Punjabis who settled in the city and made important contributions
Fellow heritage enthusiast Sreemathy Mohan posted this photograph on Facebook leading to much merriment. Ironically, the ‘Gill’ who is commemorated was a doctor and therefore, technically, a giver of life.
Born on September 16, 1893, Gurdial Singh Gill was from Faridkot, Punjab. Sent to England to study law in 1912, he opted for medicine and moved to Edinburgh University from where he graduated in 1919, throwing in for good measure, a few months service in the Indian Field Ambulance Training Corps during the World War I.
Dr. Gill and his English wife Rena Lister Gill set up his practice and home at Bolton near Manchester for a while and raised a family of four sons. In 1923, they came to India where he joined the Indian Medical Service (IMS) and became Lt. Col. G.S. Gill, IMS. With the IMS being abolished in 1930, he moved to prison service and became inspector general of prisons, Madras, which meant all gaols in the presidency were under him. Most Madras-based Congress leaders arrested during the Quit India movement became his wards and there developed a close affinity between them and the warm-hearted Sikh.
Post independence, Gill opted to stay on in Madras. He and other prominent Punjabis settled here at that time were to make important contributions to the city. The Punjab Association was founded in 1937. The body was to be tested to the hilt in 1947 when scores of Partition refugees began arriving, most having no idea about the city to which they were making their way.
Lt Col. Gill would invariably meet them at the station. A ‘sharanagat rahat punarvas’ (refugee rehabilitation) committee was set up and with money obtained from donations, a colony was formed. The enterprising newcomers soon struck roots, becoming successful entrepreneurs and professionals. The colony became Gill Nagar.
Lt. Col. Gill was a close confidante of Maharani Vidyawati Devi Sahib of Vizianagaram, a princess from Keonthal near Shimla, who had married into a princely Andhra family and had, like him, been transplanted to the South. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had been an early protégé of hers. In her, Gill found a powerful patron and supporter. In 1951, when the Punjabis in Madras felt the need for a gurudwara, it was the Maharani who helped. Work began in 1952, with Gill personally supervising the work. When the Maharani died she left her personal properties in a Trust to be administered by Gill, the income to be used for education.
Being the founder president of the Guru Nanak Society, in 1971, he got the Trust to part-fund the Guru Nanak College. Gill Adarsh Matriculation Higher Secondary School, set up in the 1980s and managed as one of the Adarsh Vidyalaya Schools run by the Punjab Association, also commemorates him. Lt. Col. Gill died in May 1982. His son was the celebrated Lt. Gen. I.S. Gill, PVSM, MC, whose life was documented in ‘Born to Dare’ by S. Muthiah.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sriram V / June 04th, 2013
On a muggy evening at Nageswara Rao Park, Malaiarasan is enacting a scene from his childhood. “‘Dei, what are you watching? Go there! Fetch that tool!’ That’s how my grandfather spoke to me when I worked as his assistant. His house, on Eldams Road, was right across my father’s. But I spent most of the time at my grandfather’s house, watching him make harmoniums. His name was Madurai N. Ponniah, very famous!” he tells me, his eyes speaking as easily as words. “I was still in school then, but wasn’t interested in studies. I used to dump my bag, and go to the beach with a friend. When I returned home, they would spot the sand on my legs and beat me.”
Malai’s heart was always tuned to music. Not surprising, given that, for three generations, their family has made, tuned and serviced musical instruments. He learnt to make harmoniums from his grandfather, the art of tuning them from his father, and the skills of cutting and placing the keys from his uncle, M. K. Ponambalam. The harmonium is made of two types of wood; the outer body is made of teak (“for show”), while the keyboard is a jaathika palaga, as it won’t bend, is easy to play and produces a nice sound. “Grandfather’s harmoniums were much sought after,” Malai says.
“The instrument which maestro Ilaiyaraja uses, was made by my grandfather in 1940s, for Ilaiyaraja’s elder brother,” says Malaiarasan with obvious pride. Many top artists have visited his shop – M.S. Viswanathan, T.M. Soundararajan, T.R. Mahalingam… the list goes on. Malai’s grandfather also made a gamaka harmonium. After a quick alapana in Khambodi ragam, Malai says the gamaka harmonium can produce that effect. “That’s the kind of musical family I come from.”
Since he took up harmonium work as a lad of 15, Malai has serviced about 10,000 harmoniums. Are there so many in the city? “Wherever they sing bhajans, there’s one,” he says, as he breaks into a bhajan. There’s a sentimental value attached to the older instruments. “People call me and say, ‘My mother used it. Can you repair it?’ The timbre of the older instruments is excellent.” Malai can also make new instruments, but he does them against orders. “A harmonium now costs Rs. 4,500. In grandfather’s time, it was just Rs.150 or Rs. 200,” smiles the 51-year-old.
A few years ago, Malai started repairing veenas as well. “I owe that to the owner of Murali Musicals. He taught me and encouraged me. I also started listening to bhajans and attending cutcheris to hone my knowledge. I do not have formal education, but I am interested in learning about music.”
Repairing a veena is a highly skilled job, says Malai, explaining how he places the 24 melams on a bed of wax, mixed with kungiliyam, sambarani and rosanam, so that it sets like stone. “That’s when the sruti stays,” he says.
Malai lives in Chrompet. His two sons are also in the musical line. One is a salesman in a musical store and the other repairs veenas. “But after my father, it is my wife who’s my right hand. I have not saved money over the years, but I’m still very keen on repairing musical instruments. I will never stop my work. You know, I just want to die, one day, over a veena or a harmonium, as I’m working on it,” and he flops his hands and hangs his head, mimicking the final act.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Chennai what it is)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Columns / by Aparna Karthikeyan / May 12th, 2013
