Scoring 340 out of 360, Ravi Teja A.V. of Maharishi Vidya Mandir in the city, has topped Tamil Nadu in the JEE (Main) results announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Friday midnight.
An elated Ravi says he aims to get into one of the top IITs and so will work even harder for the JEE (advanced) test. Aniket Murhekar, who scored 309 out of 360 , finds computer science challenging, but could also look at other options. “As far as NITs are concerned I like NIT, Trichy. IIT-Bombay and IIT-Madras would be my other preferred options,” he said.
While Ravi was happy with the new test pattern, Aniket felt the old one provided him more flexibility and was student-friendly.
The top 1.5 lakh students who cracked JEE (main) will move on to take JEE (advanced) on May 25. Registrations will start on May 4 and end on May 9. Results will be declared on June 19.
Among the thousands who cleared the JEE (main) in the city, are three girls, Fathima Shabana, S. Shamala and L. Pavithra, students of the Chennai corporation schools, who surmounted many odds to qualify for admission to the NITs.
Shamala hopes she will be accommodated in Tamil Nadu but is ready to go to other states. She is aiming to clear the IIT (advanced) exam and so is Pavithra.
Fathima has scored the maximum among the three, with 83 marks out of 360, while Pavithra and Shamala follow her with 78 marks and 66 marks respectively. The Chennai corporation has been providing free training for its children in a tie up with FIT-JEE since the past four years.
“I spend three days a week to practice for the JEE exams,” says Fathima, who aspires to become a software engineer, but she is not sure if her family would let her pursue her studies if she gets the NIT seat in other states.
“We select students according to merit and provide training for the competitive exam. Three out of a class of 22 cleared the JEE (main) this time. Five students from corporation schools have made it through the mains in the past four years,” says R. Kailasam, Tamil Nadu regional course coordinator, FIT-JEE. “We also aid the students who excel in the exams with a sum of `45,000 for higher studies,” he added.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / by N. Arun Kumar / May 04th, 2014
The cow stands on a prosthetic leg after a successful surgery (Photo: Deccan Chronicle)
In an unusual gesture of kindness towards animals, a Tirupur-based woman who was upset after one of her cows had broken a leg, had arranged for replacing the broken leg of the cow with a specially designed prosthetic limb at the cost of several thousand rupees. Veterinary experts state that this is the first surgery of its kind in India.
Five months ago, Nirmala Jagadeesan (53) who owns around 50 cows and runs a milk producing unit in Tiruppur, noticed that one of her cows was unwell and took it to the nearest veterinary hospital for treatment. “When we tried to bring the cow down from the vehicle, it broke one of its hind legs. Veterinary doctors at the hospital advised us to take it to the Government Veterinary Hospital and College in Namakkal for further treatment and we followed the advice,” Nirmala said.
While Nirmala wanted to fix the injured leg of the animal, veterinary experts at the Namakkal College said that nothing could be done about it and sent the cow back to the farm.
“It was around that time that local veterinarian Dr. K. Ramachandran had suggested that we go for a prosthetic limb and suggested a manufacturer of such limbs based out of Nagpur,” Ms. Jagadeesan said.
Within a few days, a team of engineers from the firm reached Tiruppur and took measurements for manufacturing an artificial limb for the cow. “It is the first time such a prosthetic was made for replacing the leg of an animal,” Dr. Ramachandran says.
On May 5, a team of veterinary surgeons amputated the injured leg of the cow and replaced it with a prosthetic. “The surgery was successful and the cow got back on its feet within an hour of the surgery,” the veterinary doctor says.
More than two weeks after the procedure, the animal is reported to be healthy and mobile once again.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / by S. Thirunavukaarasu / May 15th, 2014
The booming cotton business attracted the Telugu community to the city in 1970s. Andhra Pradesh also being cotton producing state then and the growth of Coimbatore nearby as an industrial belt, the textile city was naturally a place for many Telugus to come and set up their business.
Down the years, many Telugus who came to work in banks and IT sectors also made the city as their second home.
ASN Murthy, a chartered accountant from Andhra Pradesh, came to the city in 1970s to prepare for his CA exams and completed the course successfully. He then entered into cotton business and being quite successful settled in the city.
Murthy, who is also the secretary of the Coimbatore Telugu Samithi, said several people like him from the neighbouring state have made the city their second home.
“Coimbatore is a peaceful and enterprising place where anyone who is willing to work hard can prosper. This has brought many from our region to this city,” he said.
Though the Telugu community is known as a prosperous community, Murthy said they were a heterogeneous community. “Apart from businessmen, there are professionals like doctors and chartered accountants to labourers from our state who have come and made this their home,” he said.
Organisations like Telugu Samithi organise events and celebrate festivals like Ugadi and Samkranthi to keep their culture alive. Folk dances and traditional programmes are held on a regular basis. Traditional art forms including folk dramas and kuchippudi are also conducted.
“We still include mango pickles and other traditional Telugu dishes in our regular diet. We have integrated into the city at the same time maintain our culture,” said Murthy.
“There is a large number of Telugu speaking people who had settled down here many decades back. They speak Telugu though they may not be able to read or write Telugu,” said Rajesh Govindarajulu, a history enthusiast.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Arun P. Mathew, TNN / May 12th, 2014
The Chennai boys’ team, winners of the U-18 inter-disctrict basketball championship. Coimbatore won the girl’s championship
Chennai boys and Coimbatore girls retained their respective titles on the final day of the St Joseph’s 26th junior inter-district (U-18) basketball championship, held at the Sports Village on Sunday.
The Chennai boys were in great form as they trounced Tiruvallur 100-43 in the final. Muthukumar starred for the hosts win 25 points, while Jedidiah Gabriel made a neat contribution of 20 points. For Tiruvallur, Surya top scored with 14 points.
Chennai played aggressively right from the beginning. Their excellent defence and passing helped them get to the magical 100 point mark for the first time in the tournament. Chennai pocketed `10000, while Tiruvarur got Rs 7000. Dindugul finished third and won Rs 5000. In the girls’ final, Coimbatore outplayed Erode 60-40. Shanu with 16 points was the top scorer for Coimbatore. The winners got a cash prize of Rs 10000 while Erode received Rs 7000. Chennai came third and pocketed `5000.
Dr B Babu Manoharan, Managing Director, St Joseph’s Group of Institutions and former Indian player N Robinson gave away the awards.
Heritage walks on the Madras High Court campus will be held on the second Sunday of every month — Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
On a carpet of withered leaves, under the shadow of a century-old building, a group of architecture and history lovers listened with rapt attention the stories the walls of Madras High Court had to tell, on Sunday.
“Just next to the lighthouse (constructed in 1838) where we stand, there used to be two temples. Water from the temple tanks were brought by priests and witnesses deposed had to touch the water and take oath,” said M.L. Rajah, advocate and member of the Madras High Court Heritage Committee, to participants of the High Court heritage walk. Later, the temples were shifted out of the complex, he said.
As the group strolled from one building to another, interesting anecdotes and stories behind the architecture unfolded.
“The buildings of the High Court, including the law college and the lighthouse, are exuberant examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture that display an amalgamation of Islamic, Moorish, European and Hindu styles, among others,” said Sujatha Shankar, architect and convenor of INTACH (Chennai chapter).
They also show how public buildings have been used to convey political messages; and what better way to communicate them than through architecture, she said.
After a glimpse of the architectural marvel of these buildings, Mr. Rajah led the crowd to the next stop: the statute of Sir V. Bhashyam Iyengar, the first Indian acting advocate-general.
“He had a morbid desire to die while arguing a case; and incidentally, during a court proceeding, when he felt uneasy, he walked up to the statute of Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer, and passed away,” he said.
The group then walked through the Madras High Court museum, the Madras Bar Association and ended the tour at the magnificent court halls.
Ann Neuman, a 45-year-old writer from New York who arrived in Chennai a week ago, seemed visibly excited after the walk.
“My friends specifically asked me to not miss this walk. It is wonderful to hear the history of the court systems here and what it has done to the city,” she said.
The heritage walk initiated by the Madras High Court Heritage Committee will be held on the second Sunday of every month. For details, contact: 9841013617.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar / Chennai – May 12th, 2014
Nestled along the Beach-Tambaram Railway line, Kamarajar Nagar, one of Tirusulam’s biggest slum pocket has over 500 households, but sadly not even a single toilet until a few months ago. Thanks to the efforts of the Pallavaram Municipality, the slum now has one that rivals public toilets in foreign countries in terms of technology — the suburb’s first operational ‘Namma Toilet’.
In the few months that the toilet is operative, it has found patronage among residents to the level that today an average of 300 to 400 people use the six cabin toilets in Kamarajar Nagar’s Nehru Street on a daily basis.
While the pan Tamil Nadu Namma Toilet Scheme has been gaining pace across various municipalities, which are completely devoid of public toilets, the one in Kamarajar Nagar, according to Pallavaram municipal officials, is one of the first in the city’s suburbs to be established in a slum area instead of public places such as bus stops and railway stations.
“We had conducted a community survey before installing the toilets and deduced that such slum pockets along the railway lines are at a place where open defecation is most prevalent. We have given the toilet established at a cost of `15 lakh to a firm on an O and M (operate and maintain) basis. The firm maintains it on a free use basis and users are required to register their usage. As of now, the toilets see at least 350 users a day,” informed an engineer with the Pallavaram Municipality, who is in-charge of the project.
According to the officials, a total of five such modern toilets have been planned in bus stops at Chrompet, Pallavaram, Keelkattalai and Anakaputhur, which will soon be set up.
Although the toilets have been witnessing heavy usage, the cost of maintaining them is very low, courtesy the technology, said officials.
“One of its main USP is it that it is completely solar powered. Apart from the latrines and urinals, the toilets have separate wash basins, borewell connection and lighting. In the evening hours, the lights automatically switch on when the door is opened, which helps conserve electricity,” the engineer said. Of the six cabins, three have been allotted for women, two for men and one separate cabin for persons with disabilities.
Although the number of toilets is not enough to cater to Kamarajar Nagar’s entire population, the residents seem happy with whatever is available.
“When these were first constructed, we didn’t know what they were and not many were using them. I actually thought it was some type of a machine,” said Mathivanan, who works at a tannery nearby. “But slowly almost everybody has started using them and in the evenings most of the time all cabins are occupied,” he added.
“It is very useful, but we also have acute shortage of water for regular use in this area. If they put up a tap near it with a connection to a borewell, it will be more useful,” said Moginiammal, a local resident.
With over five more such toilets planned in Pallavaram alone and many more coming up in areas such as Perungalathur and Peerkankaranai, the patronage this toilet has gained has given the project a good hope for success.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Arun Venkat – Chennai / May 07th, 2014
A plumber in Madurai has developed a robot that could save little children trapped in bore wells.
Last month the innovation by the 41-year-old plumber turned Instructor, Mr Manikandan at the TVS Community College in the temple town rescued a three-year-old boy who had fallen into a tube well in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
“It is a hand operated simple device with a built in camera that streams images from the depth. The operator can manoeuvre the robot’s arms to lift the child,” he told NDTV.
“I wouldn’t mind if this is not used, but for these accidents there should be a device. I feel proud to say this is India’s invention. I forgot all my worries when we rescued a child for the first time,” Mr Manikandan said.
Over the last five years at least six children lost their lives in abandoned bore wells in Tamil Nadu. Now experts in Tamil Nadu are reviewing the device for use by the fire and rescue department. Mr Ramesh Kuduwla, the ADGP of The Fire and Rescue Department says, “We will evaluate the device and then take a call.”
Mr Manikandan teaches at the TVS Community College which supports his mission. The Assistant Director Mr Srinivasan told NDTV, “We are sending our students and faculty where ever he wants to go as he is doing a social service. We are helping with financial help to procure modern equipment like camera and vacuum pump.”
Mr Manikandan is not seeking a patent. He just wants to save lives.
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> South / by J Sam Daniel Stalin / May 09th, 2014
I was delighted to receive an invitation the other day asking me to join them in celebrating ‘Genesis Day’ on May 17, for it indicated that there was at least one group in this city that recognised its beginnings even if they were 220 years ago. The invitation came from the Alumni Association of the College of Engineering, Guindy, and it asked me to join its members in marking “the starting of CEG on 17 May 1794”.
College of Engineering, Guindy. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
In their enthusiasm, the alumni were not quite correct; that date marked the birth of the Survey School in Fort St George. That technical institution, the oldest Western-style one outside Europe, was what grew into the College of Engineering. I wonder whether the College itself remembered the occasion and marked it — or, lost as it is midst the numbers that constitute Anna University today, did it leave it to the Alumni?
This August 22 will mark the 375 year of the founding of Madras and I look forward to that birthday being celebrated fittingly. But apart from celebrations, it would be fitting to remember that modern India developed in three stages from that day in 1639: the Age of Trade till 1757, the Age of Expansion till 1858, and then the Age of the Raj till 1947 when a New India was born. It was during the second stage, after the victory at Plassey, that the British, in fact the English East India Company, began thinking of ways and means of consolidating their position in India. The first steps to such consolidation included raising an Indian army, providing forts and fortifications for that army, and discovering, in the exploratory sense, the territories it was to move into and develop and protect. A fundamental need for all that was surveying and military engineering.
A definition of an engineer dating to this period stated, “An able expert man who, by perfect knowledge of mathematics, delineates upon paper, or marks upon the ground, all sorts of forts and other proper works for offence or defence. He should understand the art of fortification, so as to be able not only to discover the defects of a place, but to find a remedy proper for them, as also how to make an attack upon, as well as to defend the place. Engineers are extremely necessary for these purposes.” Such a definition, understandable in the context of the times, meant ‘engineers’, technical personnel, if you will, with skills in surveying, civil construction, and basic mechanical work.
It was to train such personnel that Fort St George decided to set up the Survey School at the urging of Michael Topping, the Chief Marine Surveyor. The Government Survey School opened for its first intake on May 17, 1794. The first eight boys were personally selected by Topping, mainly from the Male Orphan Asylum, on the basis of their knowledge of Arithmetic and writing in English. The School, headed by Topping as an extra assignment, was intended to produce apprentices capable of undertaking surveys, construct and repair tanks, and ensure a continuous supply of water for irrigation.
It was this School that became the Civil Engineering School in 1858 and, the next year, the College of Civil Engineering. It became the College of Engineering in 1862 and added Guindy to its name when it moved there in 1920. Its contribution to India, leave alone the Madras Presidency, over the years has been significant. That its genesis has been celebrated is something to warm any heritage-lover’s heart.
Saravana Bhavan in the NYT
By the time these lines appear, India is likely to have a new Prime Minister. But even he is unlikely to get the spread the New York Times magazine gave the Saravana Bhavan chain and its owner, P. Rajagopal, on May 7. What I received was a story in 13 A4-size sheets with the heading ‘Masala Dosa to die for’! The reference to death might have been complimentary; it might also have been a pointer to a third of the story which details the murder Rajagopal was charged with in 2002 and whose final verdict is yet to be given. Meanwhile, Rajagopal continues to expand his South Indian fast food empire.
At last count, according to Rollo Romig who has written this magazine-length profile, there were 33 Saravana Bhavan restaurants in India and 47 in a dozen other countries, from Sunnyvale in California to Hong Kong by way of Paris. And all of them serve a standard, high quality fare using the freshest of ingredients, a formula established by the founder.
Rajagopal arrived in Madras as a teenager from the deep South in 1968. He’d had little education, had during his journey cleaned tables in a hole-in-the-wall ‘restaurant’, and learnt to make tea the way those frequenting roadside tea stalls liked to drink it. But an eatery was not what he started that year — it was a small neighbourhood grocery to which he added a couple more in the area in due course. When the groceries proved losers, he began to look at food as an option — after a visitor to one of his groceries complained there was no place in K K Nagar to get good food at modest prices. And so was born Rajagopal’s first restaurant in 1981 in K K Nagar. It was a losing proposition to start with, but as word spread about the quality of its food, the cost, the hygiene and service, it began to be a winner, leading to the opening of other branches in the city.
Today, Rajagopal’s elder son Shiva Kumaar looks after the overseas operations and has been opening one Saravana Bhavan in each of several cities worldwide where there is a large expat Indian population. By ensuring that the food tastes just like what is served in its Madras outlets, he has been cashing in on homesickness, ‘the tastes of home’. He is candid about it; his restaurants are for the Indians and those who know South Indian food; if other foodies and the locals come in, that’s a bonus.
In Madras, Rajagopal’s younger son, Saravanan, manages the Indian business. And this wanted-to-be-an-engineer has brought the scientific element into management. Saravana Bhavan must be one of the few home-grown Indian food chains, if not the only one, that has a laboratory that’s busy every day. The lab tests food daily from all the Madras branches to ensure the same quality is being maintained. It also tests how labour-saving can be done. And what new flavours of ice creams can be created.
But what seems to have struck Romig as the chain’s greatest asset was its workers — 8000 in Madras alone — almost all village boys trained the ‘Annachi’ Rajagopal way, to his exacting standards and willing to accept his discipline, but “personally” loyal to him. In return, their perks in the U.S. are “fantastic enough even for Silicon Valley,” says Romig, who goes onto quote a Madras employee who half in jest said, “The only thing you can do with your salary is put it in the bank and save it. They take care of everything else.”
When the postman knocked…
– Meetings in Madras on May 1, 1923 may have demanded that May 1 be declared a holiday (Miscellany, May 5), but it took the Government 27 more years to make that a reality, writes reader Ramineni Bhaskarendra Rao. It happened only after the Republic was born. There had before been another appeal that International Workers’ Day be declared a holiday by the Government of India, recalls reader Rao. That was in April 1936 and the call was made by Prof. N.G.Ranga of Pachaiappa’s College and P Ramamurthi of Triplicane. They also demanded that all workers in prison for trade union activities be released on May 1. That date became a day of significance, Reader Rao narrates, because on May l, 1886 the United States committed itself to an 8-hour working day which had been agitated for there from the first years of the 19 Century. When many factories refused to implement the eight-hour working day, there was a mass protest in Chicago on May 4 that resulted in violence. Several workers were killed by the police, and an Englishman and six Germans, immigrants all, were arrested. Four of those tried, all Germans, were sentenced to death, the other three to life imprisonment. When the dust settled, the eight-hour day became the norm and May 1 was declared International Workers’ Day.
l9th Century American poster demanding an 8-hour working day
– Reader Thomas Tharu regrets that Prof. R.A. Kraus, who played a significant role in setting up IIT-Madras, has all but been forgotten and wonders whether anyone has detailed information about him. He also wonders what happened to the history of IIT-M written by IITian Ajit Narayanan for the golden jubilee in 2009 and whether that might have any information on Prof. Kraus. I’m surprised that reader Tharu makes no reference to the intriguingly titled pictorial history, Campaschimes, by Kumaran Sathasivam and Prof. Ajit Kumar Kolar — he was responsible for the excellent but little-known IIT-M museum — brought out in 2011, with a promise of a second more detailed volume in due course. Surely he would have received a copy given that he is mentioned in the acknowledgements made in the book. Be that as it may, Campaschimes does tell a bit of the story starting with a July 16, 1956 Indo-German agreement which had, tucked away in it, the following: “The two Heads of Government agreed that in co-operation between the two countries a technical teaching institution is to be set up in India for which the Federal Government will make available teaching staff and equipment (and) will endow scholarships (for) Indian students to attend German technical Institutions.” Once land was allotted to it in 1958 by the Madras Government, work on setting up the Institute began in earnest. A planning committee chaired by Dr A L Mudaliar was charged with formulating the education programme, but there’s no more said about all this in Campaschimes except that L.S.Chandrakant, Deputy Educational Advisor, Government of India, was appointed Special Planning Advisor, IIT-M, in 1959 and his German counterpart, Prof Robert Kraus, was designated Special Commissioner representing Germany. The lack of more information on the founding of the Institute is what reader Tharu regrets. He particularly feels Kraus deserves better, given his record. Kraus had spent most of his teaching life in China where he set up a technical university in Shanghai. When this was destroyed by the Japanese, he was in Germany and immediately began planning on resurrecting it inland, but World War II intervened. After the War, he set up Kharagpur’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 1953 and remained its first head till the German Government gave him the task of helping set up IIT-M. He remained a popular figure on the Madras campus till he left in 1964.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by S. Muthiah / Chennai – May 18th, 2014
Raja Elangovan has devoted himself to keeping his father’s Tamil literary society alive. / Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam / The Hindu
Rasavellar Shenbaga Tamil Arangu has been meticulous in promoting Tamil and global literary works
Among the many organisations beavering away at bringing literary appreciation to the common man in Tiruchi, few could be more diligent or remarkable than Srirangam-based Rasavellar Shenbaga Tamil Arangu.
The completely voluntary club has been hosting literary events since January 18, 1992, and judging its May schedule, the Arangu will continue to keep its date with lovers of Tamil fine arts.
“I have nothing to say about myself. I am known more by my father’s work,” says Raja Ilangovan, the son of the Arangu’s founder, the late K. Rasavelu Senbagavalli.
“My father was interested in the arts, literature, philosophy and politics from a very young age,” says Ilangovan looking at the portrait of his parents that hangs in the drawing hall of the family’s ancestral home where the Arangu holds its meetings every Saturday.
The Arangu was originally named after Ilangovan’s mother Shenbagavalli. The new name was adopted after the Rasavelu’s death last year.
Coming from a privileged family of municipal contractors in Srirangam, K. Rasavelu, born in 1936, made his name as a lawyer while nurturing his interest in the arts and politics.
“My father wrote and staged five plays soon after graduating from college – Ilango Thuravu, Nanbar Kanda Kanavu, Iru Vizhigal, Orey Neethi and Veerapandiya Kattabomman – and also played the lead roles in them,” says Ilangovan.
He staged these plays through his Tholkappiya Kalai Kuzhu troupe.
Lover of the arts
Around 40 years ago, he had founded a small Tamil Arangu which had hosted speakers like Kee Paa Ja, Nedunchezhian, Keeran and others.
The Shenbaga Tamil Arangu was a revival of sorts for the lawyer-cum-literature lover’s burning desire to make literary appreciation more accessible to the masses. “We have been holding these events totally on our own initiative,” says Ilangovan, who works as a Tamil teacher at a private school in Sirugambur. “Each Saturday meeting attracts around 30-45 people from various walks of life, and costs around a thousand rupees to host. A bigger event such as an annual anniversary function, costs up to Rs. 25,000 and we have to hire a separate venue. We have never asked for financial help, and even though we cannot afford to pay speakers, all of them oblige us with an appearance whenever we request them.”
As to the founder’s muse, Ilangovan says, “my father was deeply in love with my mother, even though she was an unlettered woman and came from a very different background to his. She passed away at the age of 46 due to cancer, so the five of us (four sons and a daughter) were brought up by our extended family.”
Rasavelu’s affection for his wife was so great that he wrote over 50,000 poems on her, 18 collections of which have been published so far. The poems came after Shenbagam’s death in 1989, even though Rasavelu had declared himself to be a ‘hater of poetry’ at first, says Ilangovan. Quite fittingly, the title of one his anthologies is Aval Kavignan Akkinaal Ennai (She Made a Poet out of Me).
Traditions revived
In 1969, after losing the municipal elections as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate, K. Rasavelu was appointed as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Sri Ranganatha Swami temple. “My father was an atheist, but he was mindful of the spiritual and literary importance of the temple,” says Ilangovan.
“He reopened the temple’s library to the public and also started a series of lectures on Kamba Ramayanam, at the same mandapam where Kamban premiered the epic,” adds Ilangovan.
He was also against overt nationalism, and kept the Arangu open to literature from other Indian languages while allowing scholars to explore canons of Western writing by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw.
By the age of 60, K. Rasavelu had lost his sight as a side-effect of the strong medication prescribed for a skin disorder.
“I was his eyes outside the home,” recalls Ilangovan, “and he’d be waiting for me to return from school everyday in this very hall, so that he could teach me how to organise the Arangu’s events.”
A wide platform
The Arangu is a forum for all points of view and also maintains a library and youth wing.
K. Rasavelu’s speeches were well-structured extempore renditions on a variety of topics.
“He often used to say that ‘maybe I lost my sight because God was afraid I’d read up everything in the world. And perhaps if I had still got sight, you may not have developed such an interest in literature,’” says an emotional Ilangovan.
The Arangu was closed for just one month after the founder’s death last year. “Many people thought we’d shut down permanently, but we have managed to keep the association alive,” says Ilangovan.
“Appa was so well-organised that he had already finalised our list of Tamil Maamani awardees for the next five years.”
Also on the cards is the 71st birth anniversary event (the Arangu’s 1173rd meeting) for Shenbagavalli on May 31, where Ilangovan’s daughter Shenbaga Devi (named after her grandmother) will debut as a public speaker.
What made K.Rasavelu’s last speech, on June 29, 2013, even more poignant was that it was meant to be the first of a series on his own life.
“We had never got the time or opportunity to put down his story in writing, so he thought it would be better preserved in the form of speeches. But even this had to be given up after his sudden demise,” says Ilangovan.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nahla Nainar / Tiruchirapalli – May 09th, 2014
Drums Sivamani with 1000 drummers record at YMCA ground, Saidapet. / Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu
Percussionists from the city made an attempt to set a Guinness record
The sun couldn’t scorch the spirit of a thousand drummers from having a crack at the Guinness World Records. Organised by the Stage Light Music Artist Union (SLMAU) to gain recognition and raise funds for its members, they were attempting to break the record, which was previously held by 798 drummers from the U.K., who played for six minutes and 30 seconds.
Led by ‘Drums’ Sivamani, the well-known percussionist, who started his career as a stage artiste, the group of over a 1,000 drummers was supposed to play for a little more than 10 minutes.
It was a logistical nightmare: how do you instruct a crowd (that also comprised kids as young as three) of over a 1,000 to set up their drum-kits? Thanks to the hardworking volunteers, it was possible.
On the day of the performance, the star-percussionist was walked into the venue accompanied by Tamil folk artistes performing the traditional Karagattam.
After taking the stage, Sivamani said that he would like to teach the group the first lesson he received from his master. “This is my gift to you,” he said and performed the two-stroke ‘Daddy-Mommy’ routine and its many variations.
As the sun was going down, the countdown began. After a minute’s silence for the blast victims, Sivamani began swishing his sticks. Unexpectedly, the group missed Sivamani’s beats right from the first 20 seconds. It took a while before the sounds got synchronised. Soon after, a volunteer announced that the group had successfully broken the old record.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – May 05th, 2014
