Orthopaedic surgeon Mayil Vahanan Natarajan has taken the technology of custom-made prostheses across the country
In 1996, when Keshava Raghunathan was 12, he was diagnosed with a bone tumour.
“My parents were terrified that I would lose my leg. The surgeon we consulted, asked us to see Dr. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan,” he said.
The first thing eminent orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Natarajan said, according to Mr. Raghunathan, was, “This boy can walk.” And, after a limb salvage surgery using a custom-made prostheses, Mr. Raghunathan had 15 glorious years of walking, running, trekking and mountain-climbing. “It is only because I have grown taller that I now need a surgery again,” he said.
Mr. Raghunathan was one of several patients who spoke at a ceremony held to mark Dr. Natarajan’s completion of 2,000 limb salvage surgeries using custom mega prostheses, held on Saturday.
Eleven-year-old Subbaiah M. Nuchimanyanda, another patient, who underwent the surgery in 2009, said he was now writing a book.
“When I started out as a young doctor 25 years ago, we would come across case after case of patients with malignant bone tumours at the general hospital or Cancer Institute, Adyar. Back then, the only option was amputation of the limb, which would leave both patients and their families shattered. Also, imported prostheses were very expensive. It made me determined to come up with an alternative,” Dr. Natarajan said.
And thus, in 1988, began an indigenous design-and-manufacturing process for the development of custom-made prostheses. These, since they did not involve amputation and were considerably cheaper than the imported ones, soon became popular. “After 10 years of studying the effects on patients, I took the technology across the country, encouraging doctors to use it, and training them,” Dr. Natarajan said.
About 15 States have now adopted this methodology and the limbs of thousands of patients have been saved thanks to them, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Health / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – June 16th, 2014
K. Manoj Kumar (right) at work with his team members in his mushroom farm near Kadachanenthal in Madurai./ Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu
Besides running mushroom farms, Manoj imparts training too
K. Manoj Kumar, who was born with hearing and speech impairment, never let his disability deter his dreams and success.
A B.Com graduate with gold medal from St. Louis College for Hearing Impaired in Chennai, Mr. Manoj’s entry into the league of achievers is motivating.
Seven years ago, Mr. Manoj and his wife M. Krishna Kumari, a microbiology graduate, started a small scale mushroom farm at Pudhupatti.
Ever since, there is no looking back for the couple, who run ‘Udayan Mushroom Farm,’ which now exports oyster and milky mushroom to Kerala, Hyderabad and Maharashtra.
“We had to shift our farm to Kadachanenthal because the environment at Pudhupatti was not conducive. Initially, when we started farming, we found it difficult to sell even one kilogram of mushroom,” says Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
Today, Mr. Manoj’s enterprise has 25 small scale mushroom farms functioning under it and he has trained around 500 persons in the past two years on mushroom cultivation.
His team of support staff in the farm include three hearing impaired persons and four persons who underwent rehabilitation for mental disabilities.
“I started my own mushroom farm inspired by their success and with the help of their encouragement. The business is quite profitable,” says Shantha Devi Akilan Davis, an elderly neighbour of the couple. She is also involved in the training activities undertaken by Udayan Farm.
J. S. Gopinath, who underwent rehabilitation at M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, says he enjoys working under Mr. Manoj.
“He has taught me how to cultivate mushrooms. I also learned to rear ornamental fish,” he says. Mr. Manoj also rears “fighter fish” for his father’s farm.
According to P. Moorthy, co-ordinator of the training programme, a large number of differently abled people have benefitted from the training.
“There is a high demand for mushrooms in the market. Most of the people who underwent training here had physical disabilities or were from an economically backward background. This has helped them sustain their livelihood,” Mr. Moorthy says.
The simple person that he is, Mr. Manoj attributes his success to his wife, who has been his major support all along.
“People with hearing impairment generally tend to depend on others for income. We wanted to be self-reliant. We are also happy to support others in need,” signs off Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – June 17th, 2014
A 100-member delegation visits America to study business opportunities and improve bilateral trade
If the delegation of Young Entrepreneur School (YES), a youth development programme of the Tamil Nadu Chamber Foundation, signs a trade contract during their visit to the popular brand’s Visitors’ Centre in San Francisco, Madurai can expect a Levi’s jeans manufacturing unit.
“It is part of our plan,” says V. Neethi Mohan, Chairman, YES. “The Visitors’ Centre is a permanent installation in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Levi Strauss and Co. showcasing the company’s history and business. We will be visiting the Levi’s facility on June 23.”
The 17-day trip is titled as ‘Bizcover America’. Members drawn from various YES centres such as Chennai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Karur and Sivakasi leave on June 8. The delegation will also visit US India Business Council, a premier business organisation representing America’s top companies investing in India. They have planned to visit New York, Washington, Niagara, Orlando, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“We have also planned to visit ZAPPOS.com, a popular online store for shoes and clothes based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The store is presently owned by Amazon.com. We will be there to study their business culture and understand their core values,” he says. The team’s prime focus is to improve trade links in food processing and garment industries.
According to Neethi Mohan, e-commerce is a rapidly growing business in the country as the total business done through online shops in the country at present stands at around one billion dollars and it is expected to grow up to 76 billion dollars by 2020. “Already showrooms are being converted into warehouses and businessmen are showing keen interest in e-commerce,” he says.
“The team will study the business models, tools for business development and their best practices. The key objective is to increase volume of bilateral trade and promote industrial investments,” says S. Rethinavelu, chairman of the foundation.
The group will also be at the Infocomm 2014, one of the largest professional AV shows in the world with more than 950 exhibitors from over 110 countries attending.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by T. Saravanan / Madurai – June 05th, 2014
The DGP office near Marina beach would have been razed around 20 years ago but for the efforts of a group of heritage lovers. The police department wanted to demolish the building and erect a modern skyscraper that would house all its offices. The local chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) filed a case against the demolition in the Madras high court, which ruled in favour of its preservation.
The judgment is widely hailed as a landmark in the heritage preservation movement in India. It is one of the earliest instances, in the entire country, when a voluntary agency successfully fought a legal battle against a government department for the cause of heritage.
The case inspired voluntary groups in other cities to fight for local historic structures. In recent years, Intach has approached the courts to save Chennai’s other historic landmarks such as Bharat Insurance Building on Anna Salai.
Although India is rich in historic buildings, there are hardly any laws to preserve them. The archaeology department protects a limited number of structures. It is in this scenario that the role of volunteers in heritage conservation becomes crucial.
For centuries, the task of conserving historic sites and monuments was the prerogative of the government. In the nineteenth century, people around the world realized the need for voluntary organizations for heritage preservation. These organizations, called National Trusts, were intended to supplement the role of the state and also question government action (or inaction!) in the field. Intach is India’s National Trust, started in 1984 and modeled on the English National Trust.
Throughout the world, National Trusts have been fighting court cases to save historic properties. Since 1970, the American National Trust has been involved in over 130 court cases including the most well-known Penn Central Transportation Co vs City of New York, 1978. In this case, the US Supreme Court prevented the erection of a 55-storey office tower atop New York’s Grand Central Rail Station.
Voluntary efforts need not always be channeled through the courts. Appeals and non-violent agitations can sometimes have the same effect. Right on Marina, Queen Mary’s College, next to the DGP Office, was slated to be demolished in 2003 for building a new state secretariat. But protests by citizens compelled the government to give up the plan. In 2012, the highways department, acting on appeal from Intach, changed the alignment of a proposed road near Villupuram to save a 1,000-year-old temple.
There’s a lot that people can do to stand up for heritage and it starts with just wanting to keep history alive.
(The writer is Tamil Nadu convener, Intach. As a Fulbright scholar, he earlier worked in American National Trust in Washington DC)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / June 06th, 2014
Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI), part of the Murugappa Group , is expecting its South African plant to increase its sales by $10-million sales with the addition of new capacity.
The group had invested around 115 million Rand (Rs 63.6 crore at current currency rates) to hike capacity at the Bubble Zirconia plant to 5,000-tonne from last year’s 500-tonne. The plant produces electro minerals used in various applications in refractories for possessing thermal shock resistance.
K Srinivasan , managing director of Carborundum Universal Ltd, recently told analysts the Bubble Zirconia plant had been a big challenge for them as the production remained less than 500 tonne for the entire last year despite seeing an investment of 115 million Rand. “It took far more effort and time than what we thought it would be,” he said.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by BS Reporter / Chennai – June 06th, 2014
Dr. Nandakumar with his Bonneville bike./ by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Prince Frederick talks to T.M. Nandakumar about his love for big bikes
German being something that I barely managed to cope with at college, I’m a bit amused to find myself going back to a German dictionary this week. Ironically, to look up the word for triumph. It sounds close to English: noun is der Triump and verb, triumphieren.
The phonetic similarity is not restricted to German. In French, the noun istriomphe and the verb, triompher. In Spanish, it is triunfo and triunfar.
When Triumph set up business in Britain, around 1885, as an exporter of cycles, it was named after one of its two founders, Siegfried Bettmann. The Bettmann trade name was soon replaced by Triumph, as everyone agreed that this word would be easier on lips across the globe, as many people were either using it or using something that sounded almost like it.
The name has stuck, having weathered changes and is continuing to conquer newer lips. As you must be aware, Triumph Motorcycles has entered India with dealerships in place in major cities and the latest launch having taken place in Chennai on June 6.
With the journey of Triumph motorbikes beginning in 1902, when its first motorcycle — essentially a bicycle made to feel powerful by a 1.75 hp engine with a surface carburettor — hit the roads, the brand has had a long innings, riding on the shoulders of different establishments, which include the defunct Triumph Engineering Co. Ltd., and the current Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.
At various stages of its long existence, Triumph bikes have produced many stories that could be counted among the inspiring because they signified, well, the triumph of the spirit over the flesh.
One of these inspirational stories has to do with a biking enthusiast, Basil H. Davies who wrote regularly for a British magazine The Motor Cycle, which ran from 1903 to 1983.
In 1905, Davies was signed up for a novel and daunting exercise: he would test-ride the latest Triumph, one that was fitted with an engine manufactured in-house. His ride would last six consecutive days and his daily chart included having to chalk up 200 miles. The effort was seen as the best way to market the brand and its motorcycles.
In the words of Davies himself, as he writes in The Motor Cycle, following the ride clocking 1,279 miles in six days, taking a different route from Oxford every day: “The machine used was a 1905 3h.p. Triumph with a magneto ignition, and was an absolutely standard pattern. The only special point about it was the spring fork, with which the makers are experimenting for next year.”
As he approaches the fag end of his six-day run, Davies writes, “Only one day is left. Would my luck hold? I did not mistrust the machine, but my misfortunes are proverbial among my motoring friends, and I felt positive I should split a cover or collide with a cow.”
His fears were not unfounded. He was attempting the six-day ride for the second time. He had taken up the challenge the previous week, only to abandon it on the fifth day.
The front down tubes had broken down. The engine parts had also registered considerable wear and tear, though that was not the reason for the failed attempt. Davies succeeded the second time around, and it is reported that during the course of this successful week he had to strip the engine down a few times to fit in new valves. Following this, Triumph is said to have got in touch with a metallurgist and the quality of its bikes improved considerably.
Another inspiring story, in my opinion, happened this week. It was on June 10, when the Triumph showroom on Ethiraj Salai was visited by an interesting customer. T.M. Nandakumar, a medical practitioner from Krishnagiri, was there to take delivery of his Bonneville. The sprightly 76-year-old doctor started from the showroom at 7.30 a.m., rode all the way to Krishnagiri in four hours, whch included a 30-minute halt along the way, at Walajapet.
Only around a month ago, he had had a bad fall from his 1969 Bullet, while riding alone to his farm, around 8 km from Krishnagiri.
“I fell into a ditch and sustained three fractures on the right side of my rib cage,” recalls Nandakumar, who has evidently recovered fast to be able to take home his 865 cc dream machine. “I love British vehicles. In the 1970s, I had a 1954 Triumph Thunderbird,” Nandakumar explains his decision to go in for a Triumph machine now.
The doctor, who belongs to the 1959 batch at Stanley Medical College, is a key member of Wheeled Wanderers, a biking group from Krishnagiri. Consisting mostly of twenty-year-olds, some of them from Hosur, the group does long rides, which include trips to Munnar, Kodaikanal, Ooty and Meghamalai.
Over the years, Nandakumar has had various bikes, including a Matchless, a Norton, many Bullets and a Rajdoot.
“Now, I have a Suzuki Bandit 1250S, a 1969 Bullet, a 1988 Yamaha RX-100, a Honda Dio, which I use for regular rides around the town, and, of course, the Bonneville.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Prince Frederick / Chennai – June 11th, 2014
Seven students belonging to a city school bagged prizes at a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten to college. The annual event called the “Odyssey of the Mind” was held at the Iowa State University in the US last month.
The students of Alpha Wisdom Vidyashram Senior Secondary School who took part in the event came 21{+s}{+t} among the 236 teams that participated in the competition.
The competition was held by Creative Competitions, Inc, based in New Jersey. During the contest, team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem. They also participate in a spontaneously held contest where in players have to generate solutions to a problem they have not encountered before. The seven-member team from the school belonged to Classes 7 to 10. The students are R M Muthumeena, 12, C Indumugi, 14, S M Nhanthini, 15, P Aditya, 14, R Sivaprasath, 13, D Akshay, 14 and S Laushiya, 14.
Seven teams from India took part in the event. The students said that they won the hands-on competition by scoring 93 points. We solved problems with ease despite difficulties, said C Indumugi. Rajeshwari Ramakrishanan, the teacher who accompanied the students to Iowa, said the team also won the floating banner competition wherein they presented a temple-like structure.
Thousands of teams from throughout the US and from about 25 other countries participate in the programme annually. The 2014 event was held from May 28 to May 31. In the contests, team members are asked to apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / June 11th, 2014
The gopuram of the ancient Sri Veerateswarar temple with the flag staff (Photo: DC)
Chennai:
Seeped in rich ancient political and religious history Thirukovilur, a temple town in Villupuram district near here, is waking up to development and is getting readied to welcome hundreds of visitors. Recently, the state government had come forward to provide more infrastructure and this initiative will ensure more amenities around the ancient Sri Veerateshwar temple. The town is also held in esteem by Vaishnavites as it houses the renowned Sri Trivikrama or Ulagalanda Perumal temple, on the southern banks of Krishnabhadra. Besides here, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Ulagalanda Perumal at neighbouring Kanchi.
Thirukovilur, about 190 km from here, is one of the “Ashta Veeratanams” (eight places of bravery) and it is believed that Lord Shiva took various forms (incarnations) to destroy evil and establish justice manifested Himself at Thirukovilur. The goddess of the Veerateswarar temple, on the banks of river Pennar, is Brhannayaki. Legend has it that Avvayaar wrote the famous “Vinayagar Agavel” at this temple.
It is said the greatest Tamil king, Rajaraja Chola, and his brother, Chola Prince Aditya Karikalan were born in Keelaiyur, Thirukovilur. About 1,000 years ago, Thirukovilur was regarded as one of the four largest cities in the southern region almost on par with the all time famous pilgrimage towns of Kancheepuram, Madurai and Thanjavur. The Sri Raghothama Theertha Brindavanam of the famous saints of Sri Madhwa parampara, Sri Raghotamma theertharu, along the banks of river Pinakini, is located about 36 km from Tiruvannamalai and 2 km before Thirukovilur, on Tiruvannamalai — Thirukovilur highway.
According to an order issued by Mr R. Kannan, principal secretary, tourism, culture & religious endowments department, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa ordered to provide basic facilities at 14 important tourist centres, at a total cost of Rs 10.58 crore including Thirukovilur in Villupuram district. About Rs 1.27 crore would be spent to improve tourist infrastructure at Thirukovilur including establishing promenade, on Sannadhi street and sanitary complex around Sri Veerateswarar temple and water supply work.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / by J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar / June 01st, 2014
Arvind Remedies , a producer of branded and generic pharmaceutical products, has entered into a memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) with SRM University in Chennai to use the university’s patent to manufacture and market drugs for type II diabetes and coronary heart disease.
These drugs will be manufactured in the form of tablets and will be launched in mid of 2015, first in the domestic market which will be followed by the global market.
“According to the International Diabetes Federation, 382 million people across world have diabetes, which is expected to rise to 592 million by 2035. The number of people with type II diabetes is increasing in every country. In order to curb this disease, we have come up with new drug that is from the botanical source which ensures zero side effects on the health of the patient. We are expecting this new drug to be available in the markets by mid 2015,” Dr B Arvind Shah, managing director and chief executive officer, Arvind Remedies.
“Coronary heart disease is also a common type of heart disease and is killing more than 385,000 people annually. We are happy to share that, we have been successful in developing a new drug, which will help in treatment of coronary heart disease,” Dr Shah added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Business> India Business / by Aparna Ramalingam, TNN / May 31st, 2014
Drawing Artists – It is business as usual at the mini hotel in the Cholamandal Artists’ Village in Injambakkam. / Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu
Tucked away in a corner of the Cholamandal artist village is a canteen that has been serving scrumptious food to artists and the public for more than two decades.
Sixty-five-year-old Augustin Raj had come here in 1990 from Puducherry and started selling tea and snacks in the locality. Little did he know that he would befriend some of country’s well-known artists. “At any given time, one can find artists coming here for tea and snacks. During shows, they order for food in advance,” he says.
Here, one can find dishes like puri, barota, chapatti, pongal and varieties of rice. Fish items are however the most popular, says Aughustin.
Though the canteen has been around for a while, it was only eight years ago that it was thrown open for the public.
“Now, people can make their purchases from outside. Our prices are easy on the pocket and have people from all sects coming and enjoying food here,” he says.
All the food is cooked here and the canteen is run by the family. “We start our day early in the morning and keep the food fresh. We follow authentic recipes and that is the reason we have earned some regular customers,” he says.
The best time to come here is the weekends, after a nice drive along the East Coast Road.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – May 31st, 2014
