Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are all about accessibility, and this group of youngsters is taking it closer to learners. Cloud Vidyashram, an initiative by data analytics firm Report Bee and the non-profit AMM Foundation, has taken to translating the popular Khan Academy videos to Tamil.
“The idea is to help poor children study the same stuff that Bill Gates’ children study,” said Anant Mani, co-founder of Report Bee. Language was an initial barrier that had to be overcome. When Cloud Vidyashram wrote to Khan Academy about it they were more than happy to let them do the translation. “We experimented with radio artistes and translation professionals for the videos, but finally teachers were the ones who could pull it off,’ said Anant. The videos are 95% in Tamil and include English mathematical terms. Over three months, Cloud Vidyashram has translated 42 Khan Academy videos into conversational Tamil, the kind one hears in classroom across the state. The videos will explain basic concepts of the real number system, data handling and algebra. The project is being piloted in a Chennai Corporation school in Maduvankarai and a government aided school, Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar Secondary School, in Ambattur.
“Khan Academy is a hit among children worldwide, and has helped children who found maths terrifying to start liking it. A lot of schools across the globe have started using them in classrooms. So we thought it was ideal for our classrooms as well,” said Bharath. Indian classrooms face the ignominy of a high pupil-teacher ratio, and teacher training is nothing to write home about.
Sharanya said Class 11 students were chosen for the pilot as they were a little more relaxed after completing a board exam, and needed a refresher in the basic concepts that they will need to brush up for higher maths. A baseline study of how many Class 11 students could read a bar diagram, pie chart and other basic applications of the three concepts, taught from Class 6 onwards, showed that only around half the students had passable knowledge of it. At the end of three months an endline study will be conducted to see if there has been any impact, and if the effect has percolated to other subjects.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by M Ramya, TNN / July 05th, 2014
A drone, a float, more than a hundred voices joined in song at the stroke of midnight will kick-off the year-long centenary celebrations of Women’s Christian College, the first private women’s college in the city. At the stroke of midnight on July 6, which marks the moment WCC will enter its centenary year, staff, students and alumni of WCC will gather at the campus to sing songs of praise by candle light and take a pledge to commemorate the historic moment.
“We want to celebrate stepping into the 100th year,” says WCC principal Dr Ridling Margeret Waller, who adds that the college has plans for celebrations all through the year.
One of the first events planned for the day – and Waller and her planning committee are keeping their fingers crossed on this one – is a little celebratory cake-cutting with Anna Jacob, who at 100 years, is the oldest living alumnus of the college. “Anna Jacob will celebrate her 100th birthday this July, as her alma mater steps into its 100th year, and that is a cause for celebration. So we want to make it one of the first events,” says Waller.
Events planned for July 6 and 7 include a 100-voice choir of students and alumni, women ranging in age from 19 to 90, celebrating the college and its commitment to the empowerment of women. “The college was set up by women who belonged to Christian missionary societies in Canada, the US and the UK. They left everything they knew to come to an unknown land and liberate women from the shackles of poverty and to empower them with higher education. The motto of the college is ‘Lighted to Lighten’, and as part of that vision started by these missionaries, last year, WCC has adopted a village near Red Hills, where literacy programmes are conducted on a regular basis,” says Waller. “WCC was built on a vision and we need to grow it.”
After the midnight thanksgiving, students will take out a parade on College Road. “We have two floats – the first will feature the seven teachers who were here when the College began, and the second will feature the first batch of 41 students, complete with period costumes,” says Waller. The float will be designed in the facade of Doveton House, one of the oldest and most treasured buildings on the 19-acre campus. The college had moved to the campus in 1916, after functioning for a year in a rented building named Hyde Park. Among the live ‘statues’ of students on the float will be Rukmini Lakshmipathy, a history student here, who went on to join the Indian National Congress and later became the first woman to serve as a minister in the Madras Presidency. Among the teacher statues will be WCC’s founder-principal Dr Miss Eleanor McDougall, who headed the institution till 1935.
Leading the parade will be 30 women bikers from the college, while a hired drone will capture the proceedings from the sky, to be later telecast for alumni who missed the event.
As part of the celebrations, a centenary flag will be hoisted for two days, after which it will be lowered and sent on a journey around the world to cities where WCC alumni reside.
As for Anna Jacob, who lives in Vellore, she has already arrived in Chennai well in time for the celebrations. “Whenever I think of my college, I think of the chapel and the beautiful evening services we used to have there,” says Jacob. Jacob, who belongs to the batch of 1946, completed her intermediate course and missionary training course in WCC, was present at the college alumni homecoming in January this year, which was a curtain-raiser to the centenary celebrations. “It is good to see that some of the buildings that were there when I was – the Clock Tower and Science Block for instance – are still intact.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai , TNN / July 05th, 2014
He was not only effective behind the stumps but also had the knack of spotting and nurturing talent.
Bharath Reddy, who donned the gloves for India in 4 Tests and 3 ODIs and was a mainstay in the TN line-up for long, was instrumental in young L Sivaramakrishnan making his Ranji debut in the quarterfinals against Delhi at Chepauk in 1981-82. “Siva was just 16 when he made his (Ranji) debut. I had a lot of faith in his abilities, and had asked our skipper S Venkatraghavan to give Siva a chance, and it was granted,” recalls the man with 95 first-class appearances for TN. He took 171 catches and effected 50 stumpings playing for TN.
Reddy first came to notice with an unbeaten 101 against Midlands School during the Indian Schools team tour of England in 1973. “Studying at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School was a big plus since they backed me to the hilt. I was allowed to concentrate fully on my game.
I developed a liking for keeping since it provided the best view of the proceedings in a match. One could see how a batsman was planning to take on a bowler, the changes he was making to his stance,” says the Pachaiyappa’s College alumnus.
Having had the fortune of keeping wickets to the likes of Venkatraghavan and Bishen Singh Bedi, Reddy considers Prasanna the toughest to read. “While Venkat, V V Kumar, Bedi and B S Chandrasekhar were all great, Prasanna stood out for the ability to fox a batsman with his loop.”
He has no regrets in life but the 59-year-old believes he could have played more matches for India. “Players of our era were happy with whatever we achieved. Maybe, we lacked the drive that cricketers of the subsequent generations had.”
After retirement, Reddy has been involved in spotting and nurturing talent at Chemplast. “You may be blessed with talent, but if you don’t have the platform to showcase it, what’s the use? When I was Tamil Nadu captain, I ensured players who had the spark made it to the team. W V Raman was a classic case. He had the talent and temperament, and I ensured he made his Ranji debut for the state.
Chemplast has given chances to the likes of L Balaji, Murali Vijay and many others over the years. My chairman has been very supportive and has backed my choices all the time. There have been many who have asked him (our chairman) how he has put up with me for so long,” says Reddy .
(A column on famous sports personalities whose first playing field was Chennai)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Prasad Ramasubramanian, TNN / July 05th, 2014
From left to right: M M Murugappan, Vice Chairman, Murugappa Group, Chennai, with T Sathish Kumar, MD, Milky Mist Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd, Chittode, Erode district, and K. Srinivasan , Managing Director of Emerald Jewel Industry India Ltd., Coimbatore. Photo: Special Arrangement
Coimbatore :
K Srinivasan, Managing Director of Emerald Jewel Industry India Ltd, Coimbatore, has been awarded the ‘EO- Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ by the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO), Coimbatore.
T Sathish Kumar, Managing Director, Milky Mist Dairy Foods Private Ltd, Chittode in Erode District, was chosen for the ‘Emerging Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ award.
The awards, given to young entrepreneurs from the western region of Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Tirupur, the Nilgiris, Erode, Namakkal and Salem districts, was presented by M M Murugappan, Vice Chairman of Murugappa Group, Chennai, at a function held here on Friday.
The organisation said that the award was given in recognition of entrepreneurs for their contribution in stimulating economic growth, in employment generation and for fulfilling their social responsibilities etc. Deloitte had collaborated with EO Coimbatore in this regard.
Karthikeyan Palanisamy, President, Coimbatore chapter, said that EO is a network of business owners in over 40 countries that facilitated small and large business owners to network and help each other to grow.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by R. Yegya Narayanan / Coimbatore – June 30th, 2014
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday asked parents to have a small library at home to encourage their children to read books.
“Every home should have a small library with a minimum of 10 books to inculcate the reading habit in children,” Kalam said at a function to mark the sesquicentennial (150 years) of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School here.
Citing the importance of education, he said parents should take sincere steps to increase the collection of books every now and then. “And they should make their wards refer to the books at least an hour a day,” he added.
Paying a tribute to his science teacher Siva Subramaniam Iyer, Kalam said he was inspired by him to become a rocket scientist. “When we were in Class 5, he took us to Rameswaram beach to show students the birds’ flying pattern. He also had a model aircraft to show us the similarity. This eventually inspired me to become a rocket scientist,” he added
Hailing the significance of the Bishop Cotton Schools, the former president said: “One hundred and fifty years is a long time for a school. In astronomy, it’s equal to the number of time taken by the Earth to orbit around the Sun. But most importantly in its every orbit, a star is born.”
Earlier in the day, Bishop Cottons Girls’ School, founded in 1865, celebrated a Holy Communion service on St Peter’s Day at its Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton auditorium. Archbishop of Dublin Dr Michael Geoffrey Jackson, Bishop Cotton Boys’ School principal John K Zachariah and Bishop Cotton Girls’ School principal Princess Franklyn presided over the service. The day was named after the school’s patron saint and inspiring role model.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> /City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / TNN / June 30th, 2014
Panagal Road – the arterial road connecting Goripalayam with Sivaganga Road is named after Panagal Raja, eminent politician of the state from erstwhile Justice Party who was chief minister of Madras Presidency from 1921 to 1926. The road got its name during British rule.
Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar (1866 – 1928) known as Panagal Raja was a noted politician in British India instrumental in starting Justice Party and raising the issue of caste based reservations. He was also the man behind educational reforms and municipal development of then Madras. As tribute to his reforms, there is a park in T Nagar, Chennai and the road in Madurai was also apparently named after him, says residents.
Colonial rulers who were living inside old Madurai city till Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 started shifting their establishments and residences in Northern Bank. Though Rajaji Hospital was established by theBritish way back in 1842, it was taken over by Madurai municipality in 1872 and the hospital came under state administration by 1918. Sir Arthur Hope, Governor of Madras inaugurated the full-fledged facility as seen today, in 1940 as per the stone tablet found in GRH.
Former Madurai East MLA, N Nanmaran said that Panagal Road could have been named after popular Justice Party leader since the Dravidian movement and parties evolved from it had its roots from that party. Government Rajaji Hospital earlier known as Erskine Hospital was very significant landmark since it was one of the biggest government hospitals for entire southern districts even today, he said. However N Pandurangan (74) an elderly Congress party man residing in the area says that the road was christened after Panagal Raja even during British days. Madurai city ended with South Bank and entire northern part was villages. The present day Panagal Road and Shenoy Nagar were Mathichiyam village, he recalled.
“In those days entire area was mostly wilderness and few houses situated here and there. But Panagal Road was still an important road with Rajaji Hospital and Collector office established in colonial rule”, he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / June 29th, 2014
Heritage lovers have reason to cheer as the world-famous and renovated Amaravati gallery and four other galleries of the Chennai Government Museum have been thrown open to the public. Renovation work went on for about 10 years at a cost of Rs.62.5 lakh at the Amaravati gallery, which has a number of precious sculptures, belonging to the period between the 2 Century B.C. and the 2 Century A.D.
Several sculptures, embedded on the walls of the gallery, were removed and have now been kept for display on the lines of the British Museum, a senior official said.
In the last few years, the renovation of the Ayaka pillar, an important symbol of the Buddhist stupa of the Andhra region, was taken up and was completed only recently. The gallery remained closed during renovation.
On Friday, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa inaugurated, via video-conferencing, the gallery along with the galleries for the Hindu pantheon of gods; Jain sculptures; anthropology and copper plates. Apart from declaring open a gallery on textiles and dyes, she commissioned a 3-D auditorium at the Children’s Museum. A facility for the virtual tour of the museum and a museum bus for the benefit of school students was also commissioned. These facilities have been set up at a cost of about Rs. 3 crore.
Another important landmark of the city – Gandhi Mandapam in Guindy – got a makeover, for which the government had set apart Rs. 12 crore.
Spread over 18.42 acres, the Mandapam complex has, among others, memorials for leaders of yesteryear — Rajaji K. Kamaraj, M. Bakthavatsalam and Rettaimalai Srinivasan.
The renovation work included the laying of footpaths and roads besides gardening, all of which cost Rs. 7.2 crore. Old copies of photographs kept at several memorials on the Mandapam complex were also replaced with the fresh ones.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for the sports fishing-cum-eco park in and around the Chetpet lake as part of the eco-restoration of the lake. Estimated to cost Rs. 42 crore, the project is expected to be completed by March, said an official in the Fisheries Department.
Facilities for boating will be offered. A multi-level car parking facility will also be provided.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by T. Ramkrishnan / Chennai – June 29th, 2014
Doctors at Chennai GH prevent limb loss in patients through needle hole procedure
Chennai :
Anbazhagan, a chain smoker and diabetic, was admitted to Government General Hospital in Chennai recently with severe gangrene on his left toes.
Even after three of his toes were removed at a private hospital, tests at GH showed that he had a major block on his left leg which was interrupting blood flow.
Instead of performing a major surgery which would have required cutting his thigh open, doctors performed an endovascular procedure which requires only a needle-sized puncture and removed the block.
Along with Anbazhagan, 11 other patients benefited from a similar procedure at the hospital which is painless and leaves no scar.
Endovascular therapy is an offshoot of the developments that have happened in the field of cardiology. “Occlusive diseases of the arteries in any part of the body can be subjected to either balloon angioplasty or stenting as the situation demands. Compared to conventional open surgeries, this procedure is very minimally invasive and there is no need for extended hospital stay,” said Dr M Rajkumar, director, Institute of Vascular Surgery.
He pointed out that through this procedure, apart from preventing limb loss, lives of critically ill patients can also be saved.
Though the procedure costs several lakhs rupees in private hospitals, the patients were treated for free under the chief minister’s health insurance scheme.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Janani Sampath, TNN / July 01st, 2014
Considered the Father of Geriatrics in India, he provides holistic medical and psychological cures for the elderly. Interestingly, his foray into medicine was not a long-cherished dream.
Graduated: 1964, Tanjore Medical College
First Call
Medicine was never a childhood ambition for me. I had perfect scores in my PUC and naturally got an admission into a good college. It became an ambition since then.
Looking Back
I have never once felt bored about working around the elderly. They need extra support and care, medically and psychologically. I want my patients to be cured as early as possible.
Turning Point
It’s a wonderful feeling to know that I have given back to my society. Once when I visited my village, the people recognised me as one of their own who is doing well in medicine. Since I was the first doctor in my family, the recognition and love I received will be cherished forever.
Obstetrician and Gynecologist Dr Kamala Selvaraj
Ever since she commissioned the first test tube baby in 1990, Kamala Selvaraj has been in the limelight for her contribution to gynaecology.
Graduated: 1969, Kasturba Medical College
First Call
When I finished school, my father asked me if I wanted to get married or study further. I chose to study and become a doctor and since then, there was no looking back.
Looking Back
I have earned enough to can sit back and enjoy life, if I choose to. But when I look at the pain writ on every patient’s face, it is heart wrenching.I feel they need me and with all my experience, I can treat them like no one else.
Turning Point
Something that keeps striking me is that I have never faltered in my profession, nor have I advertised myself. The fact that the junior gynaecologists idolise me and consider me their role model is a testimony to my work.
Admin Acolyte Dr V Kanagasab
The ever-present Dean of the Madras Medical College till he retired recently and the Director of Medical Education for a brief period, he has spent his life teaching and practising in government hospitals across Tamil Nadu. He is one of the people who contributed to putting MMC on the map during his tenure here.
Batch: 1980/ MMC and Stanley
Origin Story
It was a two way thing. I wanted to be a doctor and my parents were quite happy with my decision. My father tried to become a doctor in his day, but he wasn’t able to get in and settled for the agriculture department — so I still have the tag of being a first-generation doctor in my family.
Service Trip
Every single day, it was a lesson to go to whichever college I was at and not only serve people, but also spread knowledge to students. It is a great boon to be able to serve people who are oppressed, poor and often without education. That is a lesson that I had been trying to impart to my students in the 31 years of service that I’ve put in – to teach and serve people who require it. I gave up a lot of monetary benefits when I quit private practice and entered hospital administration, but I have no regrets today.
High Point
It was in 2010, when the MCI and the Government of India delayed the permits for the Dharmapuri Medical College, that we prepared a case and went to fight it out in Supreme Court. It was tough and we had doubts, but we had already admitted 100 students and their futures depended on it. Winning that case and laying those students fears’ to rest, is something that stays with me.
Eye Enigma Dr Amar Agarwal
Chairman and chief surgeon at Dr Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals. He has been responsible for taking the group global and providing affordable and high quality eye care for people of all economic strata. His life is an eye-opener.
Graduated: 1983, Madras Medical College
First Call
I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor. When I was nine, my parents, who were eye surgeons themselves, would make me practice how to do sutures on the leaves of an onion, because it was very close to a human eye. I loved it then and knew that this is what I wanted to do.
Looking Back
At any point of time, I am in my scrubs and I’m always thinking of ophthalmology. I have never wanted to do anything else. You see, when you live and breathe and love what you do, it is not work. That way I can proudly say that I’ve never ‘worked’ a day in my life!
Turning Point
One thing that stands firmly implanted in my mind is the day my parents died. Three hours after I grieved, I took their eyes and transplanted them myself into a poor patient who had been blind for ages. When he opened his eyes and looked at the world with my dad’s eyes, I looked at his wife’s face — the happiness I saw there, will stay with me as a reminder of why I do this every single day
Diabetologist Dr Vijay Viswanathan
Dr Vijay,carrying on the family lineage, is a diabetologist at the M V Hospital, Royapuram. Becoming a doctor was an ambition instilled into him since the age of 11.
Graduated: 1982, Stanley Medical College
First Call
My father was a doctor – a diabetologist. I was inspired by him and since I was a student of class six, I wanted to follow his footsteps
Looking Back
I’ve been a doctor for 24 years, and I have been living my dream ever since I graduated. I am completely content with whatever I do and never have I stopped to think of options.
Turning Point
Patients from far flung areas such as Arunachal Pradesh come here to get treated for diabetes. It is a huge responsibility on me and my hospital. To know that I have to do my best to treat them is something that I cherish and this makes me feel content. The knowledge that patients can bank on me, and that I can do justice to it, makes me feel I am doing the right thing.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Chennai / by Daniel Thimmayya & Aparna Deiskan / July 02nd, 2014
Memorial tablets and gravestones, which mark the end of a life actually go way back to its early days. Except, back then only the valiant and deserving were immortalized in stone – usually with a spot of art to mark them apart. These prototype memorials were called hero stones and they were typically reserved for heroes or those who served their community. A 2-day national seminar held last week in Hosur, titled The Days of Heroes, uncovered new facts about these stones and pointed to their prevalence in the south.
Sugavana Murugan, a hero stone expert and convener of the seminar pointed out that Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts are known as the land of hero stones. “Multi-lingual people lived here in harmony and
their hero stones bear inscriptions in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. These stones range from the 5th to 18th century AD. “Inscriptions on hero stones usually describe the political, social and cultural history of the region. These stones commemorate people for their valour in a cattle raid, for the retrieval of captured cattle, fighting and killing wild animals, death in battle, sati or heroic death for a public cause,” he says, adding that fertility and ritual stones have also been identified there.
This was the first time since 1974 that a national seminar on hero stones was conducted in south India. Organised by the Krishnagiri District Historical Research Centre, the conference drew together scholars from 15 universities across the country, who presented papers on various aspects of hero stones. One of these was also from Pakistan, describing hero stones in the Sindh region.
Professor V Selvakumar of Tamil University, Thanjavur presented his paper titled ‘Hero stone worship and its significance in Tamil Nadu’. Although hero stones have been discovered in many parts of Tamil Nadu, particularly near its borders with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, no detailed study has been conducted on the subject so far. According to Selvakumar these stones are referred to in Tamil as planted stones or natukal and in Kannada as virakkal (stone of valour).
“The concept of hero stone or hero worship evolved from the megalithic burial tradition,” he said, “The worship of heroes could have begun in the Iron Age when megalithic monuments were erected for the dead.
While we do find different types of burial sites in the Iron Age, some of them, especially menhirs (standing stone), appear to have been erected for heroes. They used different surface markers to convey the status of the dead and they were probably erected only for certain individuals, as we do not find them in large numbers, like burial urns.”
From Pakistan came a paper by Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro on ‘Memorial Stones of Sindh, Pakistan’. “This practice was widespread in the early medieval period in Sindh,” he said. Like Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri, many of the hero stones in Sindh were erected in memory of heroes who died at the hands of cattle-lifters, Kalhoro said. “In other districts of Sindh are memorial towers erected in the memory of cattle retrievers. They are found in the hilly regions of Karachi, Thatta, Jamshoro and Dadu districts, which relied heavily on cattle.”
V Ramabrahmam, assistant professor at Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, said the practice of erecting hero stones in India was recorded in Vedic texts. “The erection of a monument in memory of the dead and the practice of forming a mound with an attached post is described in the Satapatha Brahmana (9th- 8th century BC),” he said, “During the days of King Asoka (3rd century BC) hero stones were erected on wooden, and subsequently, stone posts. The origin of memorial stones of the later periods originates from here.”
What’s the difference between a memorial stone and hero stone? “Memorial stones contain funeral remains, whereas hero stones are only plaques commemorating a death, without any funeral remains. Incidentally, sculptures on hero stones not only convey the art of the times, but also a social and cultural commentary on the region in that time,” he explained.
More than 2,500 hero stones have so far been excavated from the state. Devarakonda Reddy, president of the Karnataka Itihasa Academy, said this may have something to do with the frequent fights between local kings and chieftains. It’s where the area’s history is set indelibly in stone. An imminent book titled ‘The Days of Heroes’ will incorporate the research papers presented at the seminar.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by M. T. Saju, TNN / June 30th, 2014
