Monthly Archives: October 2014

NGO spreads awareness on maintenance of rock sculptures

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Madurai :

Green Walk, an NGO recently conducted a nature walk aimed at creating awareness about ancient rock sculptures in the district by holding a ‘rock fest’ at the foothills of Samanar hills in Keelakuyilkudi.

According to Muthukrishnan, the organiser, people in Madurai are not aware about the existence of rock sculptures in 40 locations, for which lots need to be done.

“Today, people consider the historic caves and rock sculptures as places to enjoy their drinks and litter the vicinity. We need to first educate the people and enlighten them with importance of Tamil scripts inscribed by our forefathers. Importance of such rock sculptures must be spread as people view these great rocks as mere slabs of granite worth only for paving pavements and floors,” he said.

Till 13 years ago, people carried out quarrying work at Samanar hills which has sculptures of Thirthankaras and Mahavira. “Such rock sculptures hold water beneath them and quarry work disturbs the ecosystem and thereby people need to know the importance of the inscription of Samanar hills,” said Muthukrishnan.

Theodore Baskaran, an environmental thinker said, “Samanar hills has a rare ‘Vattezhuthu’ inscription which dates back to the third century BC. People need to understand its importance and not neglect this historical place in Madurai.”

According to the archaeological expert S Santhalingam, after the advent of Saivism in Madurai the Jains sought refuge in Samanar hills, where they created sculptures of Thirthankaras and Mahavira, for worship.

Diana Jayanth, a professor of Aachi International School in Usilampatti said, “About 50 students from schools in and around Madurai participated in the heritage walk. Parents are playing a vital role in sending their children to such walks since it is important for the students to know the various historic places and its significance.” She has penned a poem on these important ancient structures through which students can be updated and hopes it will work towards the protection of these ancient sculptures which are invaluable.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / October 07th, 2014

Model UN Helps Kids With Int’l Affairs

Education, World Opinion
Students suited up for their roles as model delegates with Masanori Nakano, Consul General of Japan | MARTIN LOUIS
Students suited up for their roles as model delegates with Masanori Nakano, Consul General of Japan | MARTIN LOUIS

Chennai :

Over 500 students from 27 schools in Chennai turned into delegates representing the members at United Nations, during a model UN organised by Sishya School in Adyar on Monday.

Dressed in their formal best, comparing notes and doling out figures on carbon footprint of the country, the students got ready to get involved in heated discussions on topics of international interest, and tried to emulate the proceedings at United Nations at SISHMUN 2014.

The two-day programme for students to be abreast with awareness on international issues of importance would involve moderated and unmoderated discussions among those representing the nations. The student delegates split into various committees such as the International Court of Justice and Security Council put forth related issues from their country’s perspective, a consensus would be arrived at and a resolution passed. The secretary general of SISHMUN, Vivek Jajoo added that emergency situations would be declared and the delegates from each council would deliberate and arrive at a solution.

The inauguration was presided over by Masanori Nakano, Consul General of Japan and P V S Giridhar, a senior advocate who addressed the student delegates. Masanori informed them about the discussions in the UN General assembly and urged the students to deliberate on international issues, especially those in Iraq and Syria. Giridhar, on the other hand, spoke about the need for disarmament. He also welcomed the initiative of conducting a model UN in schools. “When children leave school and get exposed to the real world, they need to be informed on what’s happening. This goes a long way to help them,” he said.

Student delegates are benefitted as well, feels Malavika Nambiar who has been participating for four years. “This not only keeps us informed of international affairs but lets us think from their perspective,” she concluded.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service  / October 07th, 2014

Erode witnesses first organ harvesting

Records, All, Science & Technologies

Erode :

In a first of its kind operation in Erode, a group of doctors harvested vital organs from a victim who was confirmed brain dead on Saturday. According to Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH) in Erode, the victim was admitted to the hospital on September 30.

The 57-year-old man hailed from Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district. He worked as chief electrician in Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation Limited in Alangudi, Tiruvarur district. “He was about to retire in a few months and was transferred to the marketing department. As part of his work, he came to Pallipalayam in Namakkal district on September 30,” said P Manoj, kin of the deceased. Talking to TOI, he said the victim met with an accident the same day in Pallipalayam. “An unknown vehicle knocked him down and he sustained grave head injuries,” he added.

Passersby rushed him to a private hospital in Erode for treatment. Doctors admitted him to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the next day his relatives arrived at the hospital. “Doctors said his condition was critical and soon he slipped into coma from which he never recovered and was soon declared medically dead,” said Janaki, wife of the deceased.

The private hospital, in which the victim was admitted, did not have licence to harvest organs. So they shifted the patient to KMCH on Friday. “We have thoroughly examined his body and brain conditions. According to government rules, we should confirm twice before harvesting organs from a victim’s body. So we have conducted checkups twice, one on Friday night around 10.30 pm and another one on Saturday early morning around 4. 30am,” said a spokesperson from KMCH, on condition of anonymity. “We spoke to the family members about the importance of organ donation and they immediately agreed,” he said.

A team of 10 doctors led by senior general physician Dr N V Mohan, carried out the organs harvesting operation. The team started the operation around 10 am and completed around 3 pm. “We have harvested a pair of eyes, a pair of kidneys and liver from the victim’s body. We could not use his heart due to his age,” the spokesperson said and added that all the vital organs were sent to Coimbatore and Erode based hospitals immediately.

The body was later sent to Erode government hospital for postmortem and then handed over to the relatives.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / October 05th, 2014

When the south got a taste of her music

Sports
Though it took Lata a little over two decades to make a comeback in the Tamil film industry, she always maintained a connection with the south, and is a self-confessed fan of M.S. Subbulakshmi — Photo: The Hindu Archives
Though it took Lata a little over two decades to make a comeback in the Tamil film industry, she always maintained a connection with the south, and is a self-confessed fan of M.S. Subbulakshmi — Photo: The Hindu Archives

Few remember that Lata Mangeshkar’s debut in Tamil was as early as in 1956

Last week, veteran playback singer Lata Mangeshkar celebrated her 85 birthday, and accolades poured in from everywhere.

Lata was all of 13 when she took to professional singing and it was not long before she took the Bombay film industry by storm. So much so that, according to a report in The Hindu dated August 11, 1951, it was nothing but ‘Mangesh Music’ that ruled — “on screen, on the radio, and in street corners by enthusiastic urchins”.

Though most Illayaraja fans will credit the ‘Maestro’ for bringing the magical voice to Tamil films in the 1980s, few will remember that Lata’s debut in Tamil was as early as in 1956. With the film Vana Ratham, ardent fans in this part of the country got an opportunity to listen to the legend croon a couple of songs in their native tongue. This was, in many ways, her Tamil debut.

The film, a dubbed version of the Hindi original Udan Khatola starring Dilip Kumar, Nimmi, Suryakumari, and Agha, was directed by S.U. Sunny and produced by Naushad Ali, who was also the music composer.

The film itself was remembered for its visual flamboyance and touching music. While in Hindi it was Shakeel Badayuni who penned the lyrics, in Tamil, Kambadasan, adept at writing for dubbed movies, was roped in to do the same. Set to the same tunes, songs such as En ullam vittu odaathe, Enthan Kannalan, and Ennai Kande Selvai that were sung by Lata for the actress Nimmi became huge hits.

More than the film itself, it was its music that got noticed.

Despite making a promising start in the Tamil film industry, it took the singer a little over two decades to make a comeback.

It was between 1987 and 1988 that she finally returned with two back to back renditions —Aaraaro Aaraaro and Valai Osai, both set to Ilayaraja’s tunes — in the films Anand and Sathya, respectively.

Lata was not unaware of the popular music being produced in this part of the country.

In an interview with reporter ‘Partha’ of The Hindu in 1951, she said she was a big fan of K.B Sundarambal and never missed any of M.S. Subbulakshmi’s concerts in Bombay. If she had any regrets, she said, it was her lack of training in Carnatic music. “I really want to learn it, but hardly find the time.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / Nitya Menon / Chennai – October 05th, 2014

Buy Online, Get Delivered by Post

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

Even as the Internet era has upset the fortunes of India Post, the postal department in the Tamil Nadu circle is trying to merge emerging technology with its ubiquitous presence in the nooks and corners of India to make inroads in e-commerce as well as financial segments.

The department, which is in the red now, is vying to establish a major presence in the e-commerce segment, Chief Postmaster General of Tamil Nadu circle T Murthy told Express. “We already have a tie-up with Amazon and an online supermarket in Chennai and are currently negotiating for a tie-up with Flipkart,” Murthy said.

“Currently we deliver around 50,000 parcels from the supermarket chain alone and 5,000 from Amazon,” said Murthy.

He says India Post’s plans to have a tie-up with Flipkart have reached an advanced stage. “We have heard reports that they are opening godowns here in Chennai,” he said.

Through the tie-up with e-commerce firms, their products will be delivered to every corner of the State as the department has a vast network that no one in India has, he said.

India has close to 10 million online shoppers and the numbers are growing at an estimated 8-10 per cent annually.

Electronics and apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales.

The postal department is also planning to have Internet connectivity in all its post offices located across Tamil Nadu. “This is likely by the end of the financial year,” said Murthy.

He says currently the Tamil Nadu circle is facing a loss of 30 per cent as its market has been eaten away due to the Internet revolution.

The postal department is planning to capitalise on its vast infrastructure by investing Rs 5,000 crore in core banking services and other financial services, he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by C. ShivaKumar / October 04th, 2014

Junior spikers do Coimbatore proud

Sports
The junior stars who did Coimbatore proud in the Tamil Nadu State junior inter-district volleyball championship at Tirunelveli recently.
The junior stars who did Coimbatore proud in the Tamil Nadu State junior inter-district volleyball championship at Tirunelveli recently.

The junior spikers from this part of the region put up a splendid show in the Tamil Nadu State inter-district junior volleyball championship at Tirunelveli.

The junior spikers from this part of the region put up a splendid show in the Tamil Nadu State inter-district junior volleyball championship at Tirunelveli.

The boys staved off a stiff challenge to oust a fighting Tiruchi for the title. Coach Murali was obviously pleased with the show. “It was not one or two individuals who did the job for us. It was a total team effort. There were quite a few teams which boasted of players with great height (195 cm) advantage but still our boys were able to cut them down to size, mainly due to some fine understanding.”

The girls did an equally good job but faltered in the final hurdle against Chennai. “We failed to get the blocks right. Frankly speaking, we did not have a block specialist. And, that did the damage. Also, two of our star players (Sandhya and Nandhini Priyanka) failed to get going. We rolled the bench as well but it was not our day. But, I am still pleased with the show,” said Kalpana, the team’s coach.

The Coimbatore District Volleyball Association and its office-bearers felicitated the players.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – September 26th, 2014

Asian Games sailing: Chennai girls make history

Uncategorized
Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan, left, and Varsha Gautam
Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan, left, and Varsha Gautam

Chennai girls Varsha Gautam, 16, and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan, 18, made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian women to win a sailing medal at the Asian Games.

They took the bronze in 29er women’s two-person dinghy event at Incheon. Aishwarya is a student of MOP Vaishnav College. Varsha has completed the 10 standard.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / Special Correspondent / Chennai – October 01st, 2014

When a duo punched above their weight

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
The match between Sita Bai of Tanjore and Kamala Bai of Malabar saw enthusiastic crowds but also led to controversy./ The Hindu Archives
The match between Sita Bai of Tanjore and Kamala Bai of Malabar saw enthusiastic crowds but also led to controversy./ The Hindu Archives

The 1st all-woman boxing bout lasted only 3 rounds but ignited a fiery debate

Sunday was a fine day for Indian women’s boxing at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon. Olympic bronze-medallist M. C. Mary Kom, L. Sarita Devi and Pooja Rani entered the semi-finals, assuring medals for the nation. However, it was right here, in Madras city, that the first punches in women’s boxing in the country were thrown.

It was Saturday, the 15th of March, 1931, when two Indian women stepped into the ring for a bout of professional boxing at the famous White City Carnival held in the city. Looking fierce in knee-length shorts, sleeveless jerseys and gloved fists, the women appeared every bit combat-ready. Kamala Bai of Malabar and Sita Bai of Tanjore were trained boxers, touted to be in good form. Singapore’s English daily The Straits Times reported that this was arguably a first for India.

Visibly excited, The Hindu published an article five days prior to the event urging its readers to brace themselves to witness for the first time two ‘Indian ladies’ meeting in the boxing arena — until now the most exclusive preserve of men.

Large crowds, including a number of Europeans, assembled to watch history in the making. While the first two rounds saw the boxers on the defensive, the third round saw them packing a punch, exchanging double jabs, hard rights, hooks, and uppercuts. Disappointingly, by round three, the session drew to a close with referee V.E.J Brackstone of Messrs. Parry and Company declaring it a draw.

Despite their underwhelming performance, both Kamala Bai and Sita Bai stayed in the news — even making international headlines for days to come.

‘Shocked and pained’

The fact that two Hindu women dared to ‘invade’ the boxing ring also left many Indian men and women ‘shocked and pained’. Florida’s The Evening Independent published a report on March 16, 1931 titled ‘Women Boxers arouse India’. The story stated that ‘feminine India was up in arms’ with the female boxers facing ‘social ostracism and disgrace,’ having engaged in a boxing match in Madras.

For a country that had for centuries relegated their women to rigid domesticity, ‘ladies boxing’ became particularly hard to digest.

Mahatma Gandhi for instance found this to be especially problematic. He was quoted in Pennsylvania’sReading Eagle as saying women boxing was ‘degrading, disreputable and totally unbecoming of the finer instincts of Indian womanhood.’

Today, as the country celebrates the laurels of our women boxers, it seems only appropriate to pause and acknowledge the spirit of Kamala Bai and Sita Bai. For if not for them, we as a nation may have not dared to imagine the likes Mary Kom, L Sarita Devi and Pooja Rani fighting the good fight.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – September 30th, 2014

Veteran industrialist Pollachi Mahalingam passes away

Uncategorized
N. Mahalingam, Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies. File photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
N. Mahalingam, Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies. File photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu

A staunch Gandhian, educationist and philanthropist, 91-year-old Mahalingam’s end came on the Gandhi Jayanthi Day.

Noted industrialist and three-time MLA, ‘Pollachi’ N Mahalingam died here on Thursday following cardiac arrest suffered at a function.

A staunch Gandhian, educationist and philanthropist, 91-year-old Mahalingam’s end came on the Gandhi Jayanthi Day.

Chairman of the over Rs 5,000-crore Sakthi Group of Companies and Anamallais Bus Transport Ltd (ABT Services), he was participating in a lecture when he suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to a private hospital but declared brought dead, family sources said.

He is survived by wife, three sons —— M Manickam, M Balasubramaniam and M Srinivasan —— and a daughter.

He had published Mahatma Gandhi’s works in Tamil in 20 volumes.

Born on March 21, 1923 in Pollachi in Coimbatore district in an agricultural family, Mahalingam was an alumnus of Loyola College in Chennai. He also secured a Diploma from the College of Engineering, Anna University, and was also awarded Honorary Doctorate by Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.

A recipient of several awards including the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2007, he was elected to the state assembly from Pollachi constituency in 1952, 1957 and 1962 polls on Congress ticket.

He had played a key role in development projects, including the Parambikulam-Aliyar water project.

Mahalingam was also actively involved in spiritual life.

He was a recipient of Indira Gandhi National Integration Award and had been a member of the State Planning Commission for two terms.

MDMK Chief Vaiko condoled the death of Mahalingam saying it was a huge loss to Tamil language and for Tamil Nadu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business / PTI / Chennai – October 02nd, 2014

Chennai-born professor may get Nobel prize

Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Dr Ramamoorthy Ramesh likely to win the Nobel Prize for Physics this year
Dr Ramamoorthy Ramesh likely to win the Nobel Prize for Physics this year

Chennai:

Chennai-born Dr Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, is in the list 27 recently issued by Thomson Reuters as potential scientists likely to win the Nobel Prize for Physics this year. The award will be announced on October 7.

Dr Ramesh is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and had gone to Berkeley in 1987 for Ph.D at the University of California. He joined the university faculty in 2004 in the materials science and engineering and physics departments. His work mostly focused on complex oxides.

In the Reuters list of Nobel probables, Dr Ramesh’s name figures with those of James Scott of the University of Cambridge and Yoshinori Tokura of University of Tokyo for their work in ferroelectric memory devices and multiferroic materials. Thomson Reuters has so far predicted correctly 35 Nobel winners.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / October 02nd, 2014