Monthly Archives: December 2014

Badaga leader remembered on birth anniversary

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

H.B. Ari Gowder, a well-known leader of the Badaga community, the largest indigenous social group in the Blue Mountains, was remembered on his 121st birth anniversary on December 4.

Some members of the community gathered at the Nilgiris Cooperative Marketing Society (NCMS) here and garlanded a bust of the leader installed near the threshold of the Society’s multi-purpose hall. Among them were the president of the Society Kannabiran and T.M. Kullan of Tribal Solidarity. Participants pointed out that Gowder has for long been considered as the uncrowned king of the Badagas.

A widely respected philanthropist, he was instrumental in the NCMS coming into being in the 1930s to protect farmers from middlemen and unscrupulous members of the mercantile community.

Members of the Academy for Badaga Culture (ABC) Trust led by its president Manjai V. Mohan also paid floral tributes to the leader.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore/ by D. Radhakrishnan / Udhagamandalam – December 09th, 2014

Clocking a Legacy of 36 years

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Drums Sivamani at the launch of Rajsaan Watch Company
Drums Sivamani at the launch of Rajsaan Watch Company

Chennai :

Drummer Kalaimamani A Sivamani inaugurated the renovated showroom of Raajsan Watch Company at Purasawalkam, recently. Checking out the range of wrist watches and wall clocks available at the store, Sivamani said, “I have never seen so many watches in one place before!”

Later, the popular drums player enthralled visitors at the store with a live performance. He was accompanied by models, who paraded the floor  displaying the latest collection of watches.

Shradha Malvania, one of the proprietors of the building where the store is located, says that the company existed in a small 400 square feet room till 2010, after which it was shifted to the present building.

“The company then expanded to the top floor as well. Now, it is spread across a whopping 3,600 square feet including both floors,” she says.  Back in 1978, the small watch store was inaugurated by the then Governor of Tamil Nadu Sri Prabhudas Patwari. Now, the showroom includes 50 brands of wrist watches and 20 brands of wall clocks ranging from indigenous budget range to exclusive Swiss makes.

Customers can also select and order models displayed on television screens provided at all the counters.

The showroom also ensures after-sales care with experienced technicians available in-house for maintenance and repairs. Raajsan Watch Company is managed by Sandip Shah and his daughter Shradha.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / December 10th, 2014

Together, they fly Guinness flag

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
An aerial view of the national flag formed by volunteers who created a Guinness record in Chennai on Sunday / PTI
An aerial view of the national flag formed by volunteers who created a Guinness record in Chennai on Sunday / PTI

30,000 Chennaiites break record with ‘human Tricolour’

At 4 a.m. on Sunday, Chennaiites started gathering at the YMCA grounds here; a few hours later, a Guinness World Record was broken. Over 30,000 people came together to create the world’s largest human formation of a national flag, surpassing Pakistan in this feat.

Nine months ago, a sports club in Lahore made the first attempt to create a human national flag of Pakistan with 28,957 people and held the record for the largest formation till Sunday.

Seyda Subasi-Gemici, adjudicator of Guinness World Records Ltd., said, “It is a big historical day for India. I was very touched when I saw people gather around 5 a.m. and wait till noon in this heat to be a part of this event. They have truly showed their unity today.”

India is prepared to create such huge records and they can recreate this at any point in time, she added.

She recollected how she visited Chennai last year for “Parle Golu Galatta 2011,” the largest doll collection.

Isak Nazar, Governor of Rotary Club International 3230 that organised the event, said, “This achievement that people of Chennai have made is special. We organised this event to instil patriotism among the people and let future generations know about the importance of national flag.”

Planning for the event started 10 months ago.

“We mobilised people from colleges and corporate firms over a period of time. We had a set of architects who planned this,” Mr. Nazar said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – December 08th, 2014

Centurian Freedom Fighter Paints Bleak Picture of Country

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

Virudhunagar :

A freedom fighter, who turned 100 on Sunday, has  said he was not happy with the way the country has been progressing and painted a bleak future for the nation. He also rued  that even another movement like the freedom struggle has had have no impact.

The freedom fighter B Ramasamy, a resident of Ayan Reddiapatti village near Kariapatti Taluk in Virudhunagar district, had fought for independence, along with Congress leader Kamaraj.

“Even if we launch another freedom struggle, it will be difficult to set right the course,” he said.

B Ramasamy
B Ramasamy

He recalled he had taken part in several freedom movement-related activities  since the age of 15. “We fought for the freedom, but the country is not  where we expect it to be. The youngsters should imbibe only good things from society, leave out the bad, and should work to steer the country to the right path,” he said.

On Sunday, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, his family and people from his village celebrated his birthday as if it were a village festival. They arranged for folk music and dance shows. In one spot near the dais,where the programmes were on, the villagers cooked food in huge vessels.

Ramasamy was born on December 7, 1916. He worked as a teacher in a primary school. In 1939, he was booked for giving shelter to a freedom fighter, Nedunkadu Ramachandran of Kerala in the Nellai conspiracy case, against the British and was sent to  Alipuri jail. He worked also as the editor of a journal called Veerapandian. From 1966, Ramasamy was given a freedom fighter’s pension of `150.

“Ramasamy, who followed the footsteps of the father of our  nation Mahatma Gandhi, struggled for freedom of the country. He was given five acres of land by the government but he donated the land to the Bhoodan Movement. Ramasamy is a selfless person, he still doesn’t have a house he could call his own,” a villager said. There are many youngsters who have been inspired by him, they added.

Former Education Minister and Thiruchuli MLA Thangam Thennarasu attended the celebrations.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com /  The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Kaushik Kannan / December 08th, 2014

TNSC Bank Wins National Award

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
State Minister for Cooperation K Raju receiving the award from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday | express
State Minister for Cooperation K Raju receiving the award from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday | express

 Chennai :

Tamil Nadu Cooperative Minister K Raju on Wednesday received the National Award for the best State Channelising Agency on behalf of Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Bank for providing loans to the differently-abled. The Minister received the award at a grand function held at New Delhi.

The TNSC Bank is one of the channelising agencies of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation.  Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has chosen the TNSC Bank for this award.

Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa introduced the scheme to provide interest-free loans to the differently-abled.  As per the scheme, the government will bear the interest on the loans if they repay the loans in time.  During the past three and half years, Rs.71 crore has been given as loans to the differently-abled.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / December 04th, 2014

Stampex coin exhibition begins in Coimbatore

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Coimbatore :

All roads led to the Stampex coin exhibition in Kamalam Duraisamy Hall at Ramnagar here on Friday morning.

Coin collectors, auctioneers, sellers and members of the public thronged the hall to get a glimpse and bargain for coins as old as 800 years and a few rare stamps too.

Coin collectors came from many districts and cities like Kochi, Salem, Ooty, Madurai, Bangalore and even Vijayawada to see if they can strike a good bargain.

Vineeth K, from Salem, who has been collecting coins since 2009, prefers picking expensive coins from exhibitions at Kolkata and Delhi but came to just look for “good grade coins.”

“These are coins which have not been in circulation and so their metal and engraving is still in good shape,” he said as he was looking closely at Re 1 coins from the pre-Independence era.

Another medical student, Ashwin Ramkumar from Kozhikode, who has been collecting coins since he was aged three, came to look for coins and stamps based on medical themes.

“I wanted to create a portion of my collection on medical themed coins and I found them in the custody of a seller from Kottayam,” he said with a satisfied smile.

Though the focus of the exhibition was coins and old currencies, what drew the visitors’ attention were a couple of old postcards and new stamps which told a story of their own.

One of them was a postcard sent by Tin Can Mail to Tonga from Australia. “Tonga is an island on the Pacific Ocean. So people who wrote to friends and relatives in Tonga had to put their letters into tins with names, which would in turn be put into a barrel. The barrel would be dropped into the ocean by the postal ships. The Tonga residents used to collect by going into the sea in a canoe,” says Balu Vasudev, a Malayalee filmmaker and avid coin collector.

“The zeppelin mail postcards are one that used to be sent through zeppelin flights and they were stopped after 1931,” says Vasudev. The two popular stamps were part of a limited edition released by the Republic of Niger in 2011 to celebrate bilateral relations with India. It had Indian gods and goddesses—Ganesha and Saraswati– with parts made of real gold and Swarovski stones.

The exhibition also saw parents bringing their children to the exhibition hoping they will take to coin collecting in the future.

“I think it can teach them a lot of history, geography, biology and politics in a more interesting manner,” said Aravindhan K, who had brought his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter to the exhibition.

The exhibition which will go on till Saturday evening.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / November 28th, 2014

When Chennai’s own freedom fighter stood by Netaji

Amazing Feats, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders
Despite being captured by the British, Captain Lakshmi’s support and reflections on Bose’s dubious death reveals fascinating insights — Photo: The Hindu Archives / The Hindu
Despite being captured by the British, Captain Lakshmi’s support and reflections on Bose’s dubious death reveals fascinating insights — Photo: The Hindu Archives / The Hindu

The controversy of making public Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s classified files has yet again spawned speculation surrounding the freedom fighter’s last days.

This is not surprising considering the leader’s radical politics always invited polarised public opinion.

The city’s tryst with the Indian National Army’s (INA) fight for independence was best embodied by ‘Captain Laxmi’ or Dr. Laxmi Swaminathan, who hailed from then Madras. Having earned an MBBS and made Singapore her home, Dr. Swaminathan led the INA’s women-only ‘Rani of Jhansi’ regiment in 1942, under Bose’s command.

Despite being captured by the British in Burma soon after, Captain Lakshmi’s unwavering support and reflections on Bose’s dubious death, as recorded in The Hindu’s archives, reveals fascinating insights.

A rare interview given in the Burmese capital on November 15, 1945, to Douglas Lackerseen of Associated Press, unveils an intimate portrait of the trailblazer.

Dressed in a plain white sari with a green border, as Lackerseen described the 31-year-old national, she came across as being formidable, on the defensive, and often fronting an impervious silence to questions. When she was asked about her loyalties, given that she was offering medical aide to wounded civilians on the behest of the British military, she said, “Never – I shall never be pro-British. I still think of myself as a member of the INA. ”

Despite facing a precarious future with INA undergoing a trial in New Delhi for its ‘terrorist’ acts, Captain Laxmi held a dogged defence. She said, “I do not regard them (members of the INA) as war criminals. How can I? In that case even I am a criminal.”

Reiterating the dominant suspicions over Mr. Bose’s death, the leader confessed to believing there was a possibility of him being alive. “I sincerely hope he lives. Subhas Chandra Bose was never a traitor to India. What he did, he did for India,” she said.

The admiration was mutual.  The Hindu quotes Mr. S. A. Aiyer, a minister in Bose’s Azad Hind government, in a tribute offered to the leader in Madras on January 1, 1946: “Bose had a special relationship with Captain Lakshmi and wanted to appoint her as a minister in the provisional government.  I remember him once saying, ‘She is a wonderful child, God bless her’.”

With front men of INA refusing to accept their leader’s death even then, it is not surprising that decades after, the conspiracy theories continue to thrive.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – December 02nd, 2014

Doctors at Chennai hospital introduce new technique to treat carpal tunnel syndrome

Science & Technologies

Chennai  :

Doctors from the department of plastic surgery at Apollo Speciality Hospital have introduced a new endoscopic technique of carpal tunnel release for treating carpal tunnel syndrome.

This is an improvisation of the existing option of open surgery, performed under local anaesthesia, which results in a 5-6cm longitudinal scar running across the wrist on to the palmar skin (patterns that appear on the palms).

The new endoscopic technique by Dr G B Rajan ensures reduced scarring and hospital stay. The patient can return to work in eight days or even less.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a medical condition wherein people suffer from numbness, pain and discomfort on the hand accompanied by tingling, burning, numbness, weakness of hand grip or simply pain.

The symptoms are usually felt over the thumb, index and middle finger, though the pain may extend up to the shoulders.

One in every five people suffering from such symptoms can be expected to have CTS following a thorough clinical examination, imaging and electrophysiologic (nerve conduction) studies. If untreated, it may result in permanent nerve damage causing constant numbness, wasting of the muscles of the hand involved in thumb movements.

“This condition may affect both hands, though symptoms may predominate on one side. The symptoms are intermittent in early stages, usually occurring at night times. This could be due to the flexed position of the wrist joint during sleep. However, the numbness can be intense enough to wake one from sleep,” said Dr Rajan.

Non-surgical treatment includes the use of night splints, steroid injection, oral anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. However, for acute cases, surgery is the only option.

“In this new procedure, with the aid of an optically linked video monitor, without cutting open the entire palmar skin, the surgeon precisely cuts the transverse carpal ligament from underneath, using a retractable blade within the smart release device. Once done, the blade retracts and the endoscopic instrument is withdrawn,” said the doctor.

Usually, the procedure itself doesn’t last more than half an hour, though mild sedation of the patient does help in making it quicker.

The less than 1cm skin incision is closed with absorbable sutures.

“The resultant cosmetically acceptable scar is small and concealed within the wrist skin crease,” said Dr Rajan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Janani Sampath / December 05th, 2014

‘Sthala Vriksham’ to be preserved through cloning

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

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has asked the executive officers of temples and departmental inspectors to adopt cloning to preserve Sthala Vriksham or tree unique to each temple.

Describing every Sthala Vriksham as a unique germplasm, a recent communication of the department urges the officials to take the help of experts from the Agriculture Department or the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) for the task.

Among the prominent examples of Sthala Vriksham are the Kadamba at the Meenkashi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai; the Vanni at the Magudeshwara Temple at Kodumudi and the mango tree at the Ekambershwara Temple at Kancheepuram, the last two being 3,000-3,500 years old.

The communication, issued by Additional Chief Secretary R. Kannan to HR&CE Commissioner P. Dhanapal, also asks the executive officers to ensure that enough clones are kept in carefully quarantined, separate places in nandavanam or flower garden. Even in private temples, the HR&CE inspectors should take steps to preserve Sthala Vriksham. The operation should be certified by an international body for its quality.

A notice board, giving the Tamil, English, Sanskrit and botanical names of each species with details of the legend, should be put up prominently. It should also give the details of the cloning operation, such as the method used and the persons involved, the letter says, citing the case studies of cloning carried out in the past 10 years, including those of the Vanni of Kodumudi and the mango tree of Kancheepuram.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by T Ramakrishnan / Chennai – December 03rd, 2014

Tourist spots in district cry for attention

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Coimbatore :

While the state government frequently announces plans to promote tourism in lesser known places, it has done very little to develop Valparai and Pollachi, years after recognizing them as potential tourist spots in Coimbatore district.

The government had announced its plans to develop Valparai as a tourist hub way back in 2007 while Pollachi was declared as a lesser known tourist spot in 2011. The idea was to attract tourists from popular places like Ooty so that the ecological balance of the hill stations is maintained. The government came up with various subsidies and grants for entrepreneurs to develop the infrastructure in this region but the tourist and resort owners say, the plans remain only on paper.

K Krishnaraj, a resort owner in Pollachi, had approached the government for the said grants in 2011 but was told that the funds had been diverted for other projects. He had no choice but to apply for a commercial loan.

The government has done very little to develop basic infrastructure, say resort owners. “In 2011, Kandasamy Park area was renovated at a cost of Rs 50 lakh but is closed for the past five months,” said T Sethupathi, managing director, Coco Lagoon. Without government contribution, private owners have tried to make the best use of existing infrastructure, to promote the place, he added.

In Valparai, the situation is worse. “Even after seven years, not a single park has been constructed by the tourism department. There are no parking facilities. It is not lack of funds, but rather negligence on the part of the government to promote these locations,” said M J P Shaju, secretary of Valparai Merchant Association.

“All their grants and loans are reserved for star hotels but we don’t have that kind of space. When we applied for a grant, we were told we were not eligible,” said Pradeep Kumar, treasurer, Valaparai Cottage Owners’ Association. The taluk does not even have an information centre. “As most of the land belongs to the forest or the municipality, no developmental work is allowed,” said another private home stay owner.

Many home stays had applied for a license from the tourism department but even that has been denied to them. Out of the 250 home stays only 15 have the necessary licenses, said M J P Shaju. One home stay, Yatri Nivas, that was constructed by the department several years ago has not yet been opened to the public.

Tourism department officials said they have visited the tourist spots to inspect the basic infrastructure and facilities. “We are trying to promote tourism in every way we can. There may have been some technical issues behind refusal of funds to some applicants,” said a state tourism officer. The Yatri nivas in Valparai will be inaugurated very soon, he said citing land acquisition for the delay in getting it ready.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / December 03rd, 2014