Monthly Archives: August 2014

MADRAS 375 – Living and loving Chennai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion
Over the last decade or so, as the city has grown as a business and corporate hub, people from other countries have begun to set up base here — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
Over the last decade or so, as the city has grown as a business and corporate hub, people from other countries have begun to set up base here — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu

A number of people from Belgium, Spain, France, Russia, Germany, Japan, South Korea and several other countries call the city ‘home’

In 2004, when Lydie Vranken Abdulla, a native of Belgium, first came to Chennai, there were only about five buildings from Sholinganallur to Kelambakkam.

In the 10 years since, the city has grown along with her restaurant on ECR.

Mrs. Abdulla is part of a small community of Belgians who call Chennai home. As do a number of people from Spain, France, Russia, Germany, UK, USA, Japan, South Korea and several other countries.

“There is this perceived idea about Chennai — that it is a closed city. But for newcomers who have no existing network here, Chennai is both generous and easy to live in. If you interact with people here on a mutually respectful basis, they are more than interested in what you have to say,” says Bart De Groof, consul general, Consulate General of Belgium in Chennai.

The city has a long history of association with other countries — cultural organisations such as Alliance Francaise of Madras have been here since 1953, while the Goethe Institut was set up in 1960.

British Council too has been here for several decades, while the American Library opened here in 1947.

Over the last decade or so, as the city has grown as a business and corporate hub, people from other countries have begun to set up base here — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
Over the last decade or so, as the city has grown as a business and corporate hub, people from other countries have begun to set up base here — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu

Over the last decade or so, however, as the city has grown as a business and corporate hub, people from several other countries too, have begun arriving — with some staying here for brief periods and others deciding to settle.

And it’s not just big businesses sending in their representatives — several foreigners have their own enterprises here too. Earlier this year, for instance, Serbian Bogdan set up a restaurant in T. Nagar, with chefs Jovan and Goran.

InterNations — an international community for people living and working abroad — in Chennai, has close to 3,000 members, from dozens of countries.

South Korean Sang-woo Alex Kim has spent almost four years in the city. Though he hates the mosquitoes and the weather, he is a fan of Indian food.

His colleague, Andrew Jung Min Pak, says that despite skin infections, water problems and food issues, he likes the city. “In Chennai, you can see the 1950s, the 60s, the 70s, and all the way up, until the present,” he says.

For American Cailin O’Connor, a teaching artist, it is the people here who have led her to love the city. She says something that is echoed by almost every expatriate — the people here are warm and welcoming, much more so than those in other cities.

And while for German Melanie B., the city may not be ideal, she says, “It always surprises me.”

While expatriates from each country have their own little communities and keep in touch, there’s also a lot of inter-mingling.

The food in Chennai calls out to some, while for others, it’s the history. But for almost all, the charm lies in what Mrs. Abdulla calls a variety of opposites — a combination of the traditional and the modern.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / Madras 375 / by Zubeda Hamid / Chennai – August 21st, 2014

REMEMBERING GEORGE TOWN – The building that breathes

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
The edifice that houses K. Natesa Iyer & Co., an 82-year-old jaggery godown in George Town, is living its last days. Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
The edifice that houses K. Natesa Iyer & Co., an 82-year-old jaggery godown in George Town, is living its last days. Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu

The edifice that houses K. Natesa Iyer & Co., an 82-year-old jaggery godown in George Town, is living its last days

The building swallows us in one soundless gulp. The cluck-cluck of tricycles, the yackety-yak of customers and vegetable-sellers at the market, the “vazhi, vazhi” — “Give way, give way” — of sweat-drenched load men heaving jute sacks on their backs outside disappear the instant we travel down its throat. Inside, a man squats on a thinnai by a short wooden table, leaning on a pillar and writing down the order from a customer.

Temperature drops. Crumbling limestone pillars rise like pale white hillocks from the corners; wooden beams of the Madras terrace run horizontally on the ceiling. Surely, we haven’t travelled back in time? That’s the thing with K. Natesa Iyer & Co. on Anna Pillai Street — it has an otherworldly aura that borders on the mysterious.

The jaggery mundi (godown) is over 80 years old. “This property belongs to the Kannika Parameswari Temple,” says P. Suresh, looking up from his account books. “My grandfather took it for rent in 1933.” Natesa ran a wholesale jaggery and tamarind business that Suresh took over. “I get my stock from Tumkur in Karnataka,” he explains, adding that he has customers from all over Chennai, extending to Kanchipuram.

The godown opens out into a pillared courtyard — one with windows at strategic locations to let the maximum amount of sunlight in. Small chambers branch out from the main courtyard; the ceiling is high, rendering the whole place cool. Says Suresh, “Everything here is made of limestone. Construction methods back then were completely different from those of today. They resulted in sturdy buildings that withstood time.”

What did the building function as? Was it a dance-floor? A rehearsal room for temple dancers, perhaps? “I think it was a wedding hall,” says Suresh. “But I’m not sure. The size, the side rooms and such indicate that it could have hosted weddings,” he adds. “You can ask the temple authorities. But the old-timers are long gone; there is no one to tell you what exactly it was. We can only assume what the godown was, almost a hundred years ago.”

But two months from now, it will be razed to the ground.

Suresh says he has been allocated a shop at the Koyambedu wholesale food and grains market and that he is preparing to leave. “I hope to do good business there. Once I shift, the temple authorities are planning to demolish the building,” he says.

From the outside, K. Natesa Iyer & Co. looks desolate — new buildings have come up around it, elbowing it from every direction. It looks out of place in the bustling market place, peepal leaves sprout from its cracks and crevices. The men and women the building housed, their stories that the pillars heard…we will never get to know them.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Akila Kannadasa / Chennai – August 19th, 2014

Pulicat fisherwomen fatten crabs for profit

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

When Bujiyamma bought a crab from the Chintadripet market, it weighed only 400g. After a month, its weight doubled to 800g. Mud crab-fattening is catching on among the fisherfolk in Pazhaverkadu (Pulicat), a historical seashore town in Tiruvallur district, 62km from Chennai.

At least 11 self-help groups, with a dozen women members each, have been working on this project. Bujiyamma has been on the job for more than two years.

“The crab-fattening period is 35 days. We feed the crabs with small fish that we catch from the sea and sell them after they gain weight,” said Bujiyamma.

This 60-year-old fisher woman in Kulathumedu has seen crabs gain weight up to 2kg during fattening. “I have successfully nurtured some crabs that weighed up to 2kg. If we take care of them well, they will gain weight rapidly.

By fattening them, we can sell them for a good price,” she said. The women sell the fattened crabs at ‘1,200 per kg. Even though a mud crab is supposed to gain weight during the fattening period, some don’t for unknown reasons. “It’s not necessary that all crabs would put on weight during the fattening period.

We need to repeat the process for the crabs that don’t gain weight in the first attempt.

It’s a costly affair,” said S Sasikala, another crab-breeder.

A project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialised agency of the United Nations to eradicate poverty in rural areas of the developing countries, crab-fattening has helped many fisherwomen earn a fairly good income. “If we are to eradicate hunger and poverty, we need to empower rural people to take care of their own development. Mud crab-fattening is one of the micro enterprise activities of our project. I am happy that it is going well in Pazhaverkadu,” said Kanayo F Nwanze, president of the IFAD after visiting the unit in Kulathumedu recently.

Although crab-fattening is attracting more fisherwomen in Pulicat, many feel that the initiative will help more women if extended to other coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.

“It’s an easy way for women to earn some money without investing much. The government should look into the positive side of the project. It will help if implemented in other coastal districts,” said Rani Pugazhendi, panchayat president of Kottaikuppam in Pazhaverkadu.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by  M T Saju , TNN / August 16th, 2014

32 alumnus to be honoured at celebrations

Education, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologies

Trichy :

A total of 32 alumni will be presented with the ‘distinguished alumnus’ award at the celebrations on Saturday. The 32 alumni members representing big corporate houses will be presented the award for their achievement in their respective fields.

The success and contribution of the alumni are laudable. They lead some of the large business corporations, governmental departments, services, academia and others fields and most of them are expected to be present for the event as the institute has been sending out invites to every individual who passed out.

Theyjas Srivas, pursuing master’s degree in the mechanical engineering department said that the faculty members are the strength at NIT-T.

“NIT-Trichy stands like a monolithic structure among the peers because of its growth and leadership in the field of technical education. There is a month-long orientation programme for first year students immediately after their join. The objective of this orientation is to bring all students together on a common social-cultural platform and make them ready for a new learning experience,” which is unique, he says. He further added that focus on research and development is given priority and the collaboration with several universities abroad gives the students a lot of exposure.

Santhosh G, a third-year production engineering student said, “Thrust is given to the use of ICT in teaching, learning and administration. A state of the art video-conferencing facility has been established in the campus. The classrooms are also enabled for video-conferencing through NKN (National Knowledge Network) that interconnects all government institutions including IITs, NITs through high bandwidth internet.”

Meanwhile, enthusiastic students have also created a new website for the Golden Jubilee celebrations with a new logo and would be selling souvenirs bearing the logo.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy  /  TNN / July 19th,  2014

The street with a ‘fragrant’ past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Coimbatore :

Branching off from both sides of D B Road is a little known street called Sambandhan Road. You have West Sambandhan Road which leads to Thadagam Road and East Sambandhan Road which leads to Mettupalayam Road. The road is believed to have been named as a tribute to former municipal chairman M Sambandhan in the 1930s when the legendary Rathna Sabapathy Mudaliar drew the layout of R S Puram.

However, like almost all roads in R S Puram the road has seen a lot of changes in the demography of its residents over the past few decades and only a handful of original inhabitants can still be found. So, it is not surprising that not many people know who Sambandan was or why the road was named after him. M Sambandhan was born in 1869 and passed his Class 10 in 1885. Then he moved to erstwhile Madras for further studies. The MCC graduate got his degree in 1891 and got a degree in law from Presidency College in 1894.

Being the son of former tahsildar and Tamil literature expert Muthukrishna Mudaliyar, he moved back to the city in 1894 and took up a job as a secretary of a sugar manufacturing company. In 1901, he began his legal career. However, in 1906 he decided to enter public life. “He became a municipal councillor in 1906 and went on to become a municipal chairman in 1916,” say INTACH members and historians Perur K Jayaraman and Rajesh Govindarajulu.

The man is believed to have greatly contributed to the city infrastructure creation in the early 20th century. “He was awarded a certificate of merit and a silver medal as a councillor,” says Govindarajulu. He then grew in society by becoming the director of Janopakara Needhi, becoming committee members of the Cosmopolitan Clubs of Coimbatore and Chennai, becoming a part of the Madras legislative council, Theasophical Society, becoming a Free Mason and being a part of the Madras Mahajana Sabha, known to be instrumental in forming a congress chapter in the state, says Govindarajulu.

The street, which now has cars parked on both sides and is dotted with apartment complexes and a range of commercial establishments like a bakery, coffee shop, an art gallery, clinics, Aavin outlet and eateries, has managed to retain a bit of its past. There still exist a few two-storey independent houses, painted in peach, blue and pink with terraces and flat window sills. The street’s oldest resident 78-year-old S S Seshadri gave a glimpse of the street’s past.

“I was born in this house on this street in 1936. My parents had moved here in 1933,” he recalls. “Then it was just a gravel and mud road. We just had horse carriages. It became a tar road in 1952. “The Chandrika soap manufacturing unit was based in East Sambandhan Road,” says Jayaraman.

“The whole road used to be filled with fragrance when they processed their solution,” he adds. The road also used to have a few well-known residents like surgeon T S Sivanandham and former movie actor T S Baliah. Seshadri says the road for decades used to have only independent limestone houses with tiled roofs. “It changed about 40 years back when people began to use cement to renovate them. Many sold off their property and left the area. Now it has become more of a commercial street with more shops and apartments than houses,” he says. He gets nostalgic as he talks about those “good old days” when he used to spin tops on this very street. He knows those days will not come back again.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / August 17th, 2014

Northern suburb houses a 1,500-year-old temple

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
The impressive mandapam of Sri Thyagaraja Swami Vadivudaiamman temple at Tiruvottiyur. (Photo: DC)
The impressive mandapam of Sri Thyagaraja Swami Vadivudaiamman temple at Tiruvottiyur. (Photo: DC)

Chennai:

 Tiruvottiyur, a busy northern suburb has its due share of pristine beaches, but it is steeped in the city’s religion, accommodating a 1,500-year-old temple although it became part of Madras city (now Chennai) much later.

The Sri Thyagaraja Swamy Vadivudai Amman temple at Tiruvottiyur with its impressive seven-storeyed raja gopuram – a masterpiece in south Indian temple architecture-  is about 1,500 years old.

The presiding deity is Thyagaraja Swamy and the sthalapuranam claims that this is the first temple in the world to this deity. It is also known as Tiruvotreeswaran, after whom the town came to be known. Goddess Vadivudai Amman, who is among the three Shakthis in and around the city , represents Jnana Sakthi (power of knowledge) and special prayers are offered to the Devi, offering a red saree and jackfruit for neivaedhiyam.

There are 27 lingams in a row, one for each of the 27 stars, and in the inner prakaaram are situated the sannadhis of the 63 Saivaite saints. This temple has attracted numerous saints and poets like Appar, Sundarar, Gnana Sambandhar, Vallalar, Valmiki, Kambar, Adi Shankara. The Kamba Ramayanam was composed here before it was recited at Srirangam, Tiruchy.
There is also the samdhi of saint Pattinathar in Tiruvottiyur.
Tiruvottiyur is a developing northern residential suburb with a population of 2,49,446 and has a heavy concentration of industries. It has good road and rail connectivity, fishing hamlets besides a good number of educational institutions, restaurants and malls.
Other attractions here include the Srinivasa Perumal temple, Ramakrishna Nagar beach, Shanmuganar park, Sri Muthu Krishna Swami Madam, Varadharaja Perumal temple, Kattu Ponaimman temple. This state Assembly constituency is one of the biggest areas in the Chennai-North Lok Sabha constituency.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar  / August 17th, 2014

375 years and going strong

About Chennai(Madras) / TamilNadu, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
The first phase of metro rail is nearing completion. (Photo: DC)
The first phase of metro rail is nearing completion. (Photo: DC)

Chennai: 

In the age of runaway electronics, the smartphone is just 20 years old. Compare that to a city that is turning 375 this week and you have some idea of the enormity of the differences we are talking about. And yet, much like the world of gizmos, the city has grown phenomenally in those 20 years, making a great deal of progress in a short span when compared to the eon that went before it.

The tale of two cities, Madras and Chennai could not have been more disparate than it is now with the modern city an amorphous mass of buildings, people and incessant traffic highlighted by the unique Indian habit of vehicles honking their way throughout their journey. While old timers would yearn with nostalgia for old Madras with its leafy avenues and distinct lack of traffic lights, the modern Chennaiiite knows he is on to a good thing in an expanding city.

At no time could the city have boasted of such a wide spread of leisure activities as now. Adventure sport not as much on the water as it should be in a harbour city has opened up avenues that never existed in times when the good old transistor radio was the sole link to the world even as youngsters sat on the Marina ground’s sea side wall to look on at the cricket, without quite knowing who was actually playing.

The fabulous spread of eating joints – from the most economical at the old messes of some of the city’s most ancient localities like Mylapore and Triplicane to the most expensive at the luxury caravanserais as the city hosts more and more hotels with multiple stars claimed by some grand but opaque system is a veritable gourmet’s haven as well as a gourmand’s delight. Of course, the tippler also has a wider choice now thanks to an incipient liberal policy.

In a city that toyed with Prohibition for a long time in the name of great socialistic values that were always well beaten by bootleggers and illicit liquor brewers, the scene has transformed beyond belief with a snooty new pub on Chamiers Road even declining to let in customers just for one drink on a Saturday evening unless they had a booking. In the old days, the speakeasys had a welcoming policy that did the customer and the seller proud.

It is a fervent hope that in the next 25 years to the city’s 400th anniversary Chennai would do two things that would make it more liveable clean up the stinking waterways along the lines of the Singapore model and plant millions of trees to give shade as well as invite more rain and absorb the carbon footprint.  As the saying goes, change is the only constant and Madras-Chennai has been a living emobodiment of that principle; only it needs to be even more so as one the more sensible metros of India that has always melded the best of old values with the comforts of modernity.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / R. Mohan / August 17th, 2014

Hands that had seen only the dead comes alive

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Madurai :

When G Mariammal, 60, hoisted the Tricolour on Friday, it was one of the most unforgettable moments in her life. Tears rolled down the eyes of Mariammal, the only woman undertaker in the district after hoisting the flag at the Sellur night shelter, even as she was surrounded by a group of people.

Thanks to the efforts of social workers and members of Padikattugal, a youth volunteer forum, Mariammal was bestowed with the honour of hoisting the Tricolour. “I have never participated in a flag-hoisting ceremony before and I used to watch it from a distance when I was a child. I never imagined that I will touch the Tricolour with my hands and hoist it,” said Mariammal, an undertaker at the Pasumalai crematorium.

The occasion also fulfilled a distant dream of 52 destitutes of the corporation night shelter at Sellur as they were provided with sweets and gifts. Two of the staff, Sundara Vadivu and Shanmugam, were honoured by the volunteers for serving the poor with dedication. The youth forum members mobilized funds through social networking sites and bought rice bags, sweets, clothes and two plastic water drums for night shelter.

Children homes, orphanages and old age homes were provided rice and provisions during the event.

Moved by the gesture of youngsters, one of the inmates, G Murugesan announced his wish to donate his organs after his death.

V P Sundara Subramanian, a city-based social worker said they did not expect this from the elderly man. “We will get him the necessary forms and help him out with the documentation work,” he said. M Kishore, who led Padikattugal volunteers said they wanted to celebrate Independence Day with the less privileged people. “We mobilized money and resources through social networking sites and our volunteers contributed generously. With success of this programme, we are planning a massive Diwali celebration for members of children and old age homes,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / S. Lenin, TNN / August 16th, 2014

67-year-old gets heart-double lung transplant

Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
C.V Hanif (right) is the oldest recipient of such a procedure. Dr. Paul Ramesh and Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals are in the picture
C.V Hanif (right) is the oldest recipient of such a procedure. Dr. Paul Ramesh and Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals are in the picture

At one point, 67-year-old C.V Hanif was mostly confined to his home, entirely dependent on an oxygen cylinder and unable to completely take care of himself without help.

Today, however, nearly five months after a heart and double lung transplant, the patient from Kerala is on the road to recovery and back on his feet with no special oxygen support.

Mr. Hanif is the oldest recipient of such a procedure in the country, claimed doctors at Apollo Hospitals, where the surgery was performed in March this year.

“The patient came to us with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a condition in which an inflammation leads to the formation of scar tissue in the alveoli capillary membrane, in the gas-exchanging region of the lungs. This leads to very little exchange of gases and, therefore, lowered levels of oxygen the blood. At the end point, when there is end-stage lung and heart failure, there is no option but a transplant,” said Paul Ramesh, senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the hospital.

Though Mr. Hanif was on the transplant list, he was admitted late one March evening with extreme breathlessness and low blood pressure.

“The procedure for someone as old as him is risky. But Mr. Hanif made it clear that he didn’t mind going ahead if there was a chance his quality of life would improve,” Dr. Ramesh said.

Thanks to a matching donor being available in 12 hours and the organs being transported quickly, the heart and double lung transplant was performed successfully by a team that included Dr. Ramesh, T. Sunder and Madhan Kumar, the last two being senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeons at the hospital.

Despite an infection contracted a few weeks later, Mr. Hanif made a complete recovery, Dr. Ramesh said. “This is a technically demanding and very complex. In Chennai, there have only been four performed so far,” he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / Staff Reporter / Chennai – August 10th, 2014

These two non-agenarians recall their struggle for country’s freedom

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Coimbatore :

On the first floor of a narrow corner plot building, 91-year-old R Ponnamal sifts through the several Independence Day invites she has received. Believed to be the only surviving woman freedom fighter in the city, she’s just a shadow of her former self, suffering from age-related infirmities. Despite her small frame, limited hearing and vision, her mind is still sharp. She carefully notices the timings mentioned on each invite as she plans her day.

“My first stop is usually the corporation school at the end of the street where I hoist the flag. Then I make my way to the collector’s office for flag hoisting, even if I’m not invited,” says Ponnammal. She spends the rest of the day making all her Lion’s Club and Rotary Club visits.

Her feeble voice steps up a notch when you start talking about the freedom struggle and the events that unfolded in 1942. “That was the year I participated in the Quit India Movement marches. We began our protest in front of Pankaja Mills in Ramanathapuram, when they arrested and lodged us at the Coimbatore Central Prison. We were remanded to custody for three months,” she said. Those prison days were pure torture, she said. They were housed with convicted murderers and treated just like them.

Ponnammal refused to take things lying down and led a protest within the prison. The women refused to touch food or water for a whole day, till the jail superintendent heard their grievances. “After we argued that we were fighting for our rights and were not murderers, they started treating us better,” she says. They were kept very busy in prison, having to cook for 50 prisoners and do other physical work.

One of the most memorable moments was when Independence was announced. “We first heard it on the radio. We ran outside to find out if this was really true. When at midnight, other freedom fighters began distributing sweets, we were reassured,” she said.

Residing just one kilometer away is 94-year-old A Natarajan, another freedom fighter. He sits on the porch with a radio to his ear as TOI met him. His daughter confesses that he cannot hear a thing but just enjoys holding on to the radio.

It takes a little bit of prodding to get him to talk. “I decided to join the struggle as freedom is our right. The most difficult part of our fight for freedom was surviving the jail stays. We were made to eat and urinate in the same vessel,” said Natarajan. Though he still gets excited and emotional every time he sees a flag being hoisted, he is too weak to step out, says his daughter.

Around 93 freedom fighters or their spouses receive old age pension of Rs1,000 from the Coimbatore collectorate every month. Most of them also receive pensions from the central government ranging from Rs 9,500 to Rs 19,500.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / August 15th, 2014