Monthly Archives: March 2015

Showcasing the State’s artistic traditions

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
A total of 181 paintings are on display at the Museum Theratre —Photo: R. Ravindran
A total of 181 paintings are on display at the Museum Theratre —Photo: R. Ravindran

The art and culture department of the State government on Thursday opened a five-day exhibition in an effort to showcase the talent of painters of various districts of Tamil Nadu.

As many as 181 paintings, both traditional and modern, are on display at the exhibition at the Museum Theatre. “We received over 580 entries, and a team of experts, including the regional director of the Lalit Kala Akademi and principal of the Government College of Fine Arts selected the winners,” said a senior official of the department.

The entries to the traditional and modern categories were divided into two based on the age — above or below 30 — of the artists and 20 from each category were given cash awards.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – March 20th, 2015

Green corridor helps airlift heart within golden hour

Amazing Feats, Science & Technologies

Trichy :

Traffic on arterial roads in the city came to a halt on Wednesday morning to give way to a heart harvested from a 40-year-old brain dead woman to reach the Trichy international airport from a private hospital near Chathiram bus stand within the golden hour.

The city police created a green corridor on the entire route to ensure quick transit of the organ. The organ was transported from the hospital to the airport within a span of 10 minutes.

The organs harvested from P Lourdhu Mary, 40, who was declared brain dead on Tuesday following a road accident here on March 2, gave a new lease of life to patients in Trichy and Chennai.

Doctors at the Frontline Hospital here performed surgery and harvested the heart, pair of eyes and kidneys from Mary early on Wednesday morning.

While the kidneys were transplanted to a patient admitted in Frontline Hospital and a patient at a private hospital here, the pair of eyes was sent to a private eye hospital in the city.

However, the heart was required for a patient in Frontier Lifeline Hospital in Chennai as per waiting list of the Tamil Nadu Organ Sharing Registry.

“The heart should be transplanted within four hours of harvesting. Frontier Lifeline Hospital made arrangements to take the heart by a flight. But we had to bring the organ to the airport through the congested traffic in the city on time. So, we sought the help of the police who made traffic diversion en route to the airport,” said Dr S Radhakrishnan, general surgeon at Frontline Hospital.

On receiving the request, city police commissioner Sanjay Mathur ordered to create a green corridor from the hospital near Chathiram bus stand to the airport via Karur Bypass Road, Shastri Road, Uzhavar Santhai, Bharathidasan Salai, Head Post Office and TVS Tollgate.

“Traffic signals en route to the airport from the hospital were closed until the ambulance with the organ reached the airport within 10 minutes,” said S Venkataraman, assistant commissioner of police, intelligence section, Trichy.

Many lauded P Narian Prabhakaran, son of Mary for his timely decision to donate the organs of his mother.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / March 05th, 2015

Anna University’s FM Show Wins First Prize

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Coimbatore :

A programme created by the Anna University’s campus community radio, Anna FM, has won the first prize in a national competition conducted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Anna FM’s ‘Magalir Neram’ won the first prize in the Community Engagement category. The second prize in this category was for ‘Vuluthundu Vaalvom’ by Vayalaga Vanili of Kottampatti, Madurai.

The prizes were announced by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley at the Fifth National Community Radio Sammelan in Delhi on Monday.

The award includes Rs 50,000 cash, a medallion and a certificate.

Anna FM, the first campus-based community radio in the country, started its operations in February 2004. It transmits radio programmes in a 15-km radius from the Anna University campus.

Anna FM is getting this award for the second straight year. “Last year we won the award for a programme on transgenders. This year we won it for a programme explaining the problems of on sex workers and expectations from the government,” said S Gowri, Director, Educational Multimedia Centre, Anna University.

A short film by the Educational Multimedia Research Centre has been shortlisted for screening at the Kolkatta film festival to be held from March 23, she added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service  / March 20th, 2015

In Chennai, a decade in design

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Lata Madhu at her store PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN / The Hindu
Lata Madhu at her store PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN / The Hindu

Co-founder of Collage Lata Madhu talks about what makes her boutique tick and the city’s growing style sensibilities

“Retail my stuff out of Chennai?” exclaimed designer Nupur Kanoi, petrified, when she was approached to put up her collection in this city. This was in 2012. Three years later, her edgy designs, including dhoti skirts and jumpsuits, are on the most popular list at the Collage store, which turns a decade old this year.

Lata Madhu knew it would work… and it did. “Chennai is one of the most experimental markets in the country,” says Lata, who started Collage along with sister Priya Vasudevan, in 2004. “I was looking for something to do. I started with displaying a collection of designer clothes and accessories at Apparao Galleries. It was a 1,400-square-foot space… basically three small rooms upstairs in the gallery. But the response I received was overwhelming,” she says. That prompted her to start her own space. “I wanted something that had a ‘wow’ factor. So, we got a good architect and designed this store that was 3,900 sq.ft. We started with designers such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Raghavendra Rathore, Meera and Muzaffar Ali….”

For Lata, it’s always important that she believes in the designer and the work Collage is showcasing; it doesn’t matter how big the name is. “You can’t base your business on luck. Our store is not just about the names. It’s about curation, and what’s kept where at what time,” she adds.

At a time when multi-designer outlets were at a nascent stage, and Chennai hadn’t entirely woken up to the concept, did she feel Collage may not work? “Every time someone has introduced a new element in the city, it has worked. We are more into classic stuff. If you know your market and your clientele well, you can do well,” she says.

The proof of that lies in the fact that designers who started their careers showcasing at Collage have done well and keep coming back to the city with their collections. Manish Gupta, Rimzim Dadu, Nikasha Tawadey and labels like Pashma by Shilu Kumar are a few examples. “Manish started retailing out of here eight years back and his clothes were between Rs. 16,000 and Rs. 35,000. Now, it’s in the range of Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 and people still buy them,” says the 45-year-old, and adds, “There are also designers who have outgrown us. We don’t want something very predictable.”

Tarun Tahiliani, Priyadarshini Rao and Manish Arora are the other best-sellers. The store, now 4,100 sq.ft., stocks the works of over 35 designers.

Shortly after Chennai, Collage was launched in Bangalore and Kochi, in 2006 and 2012, respectively. The Bangalore operations are overseen by Priya who, unlike her sister, is quite a fan of western wear. “Even though I stock western wear, I am not as excited about it as when I see a lehenga. How much craft can you show in western wear? It has to have a fabulous fit,” says Lata.

A big believer in Indian fabrics, Lata’s future plans include starting a store in New York – one that will have something Indian. That apart, Lata says her plan is to keep working till the end. “I don’t have a background in fashion. I didn’t even know how to stitch a button. But this is my passion. And passion is when you know what you are putting up on the racks is what you love.”

As for the challenges in starting from scratch and setting up a store of this stature, Lata laughs, “I can write a book on that.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Priyadarshini Paitandy / March 20th, 2015

World Sparrow Day: Will sparrows ever return to this temple named after them?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

sparrowsCF21mar2015

Madurai :

In the 1960s, late freedom fighter Govindasamy Naidu had a dream where a sparrow appeared and told him to build a temple for Goddess Kali near the North Masi Street in Madurai (Tamil Nadu).

In fact, an idol of the goddess and three tridents (her weapons) had been there for more than a century. However, there was no temple for the deity.

The area, which is a concrete jungle now, was home to house sparrows then. Naidu believed that the goddess had sent one of the sparrows to tell him to build a temple for her.

And it had not taken much time before the Sittukuruvi Kaliamman Temple was built in the area (‘Sittukuruvi’ in Tamil means sparrow)

And sparrows continued to live in the vicinity of the temple.

Renowned author of folklore A Sivasubramanian has said many local deities found an association with the fauna of the region.

“Sparrows found a mention in the Sangam literature, dating back to 300 BC, where they are mentioned as ‘Manai Urai Kuruvi’ (bird that lives in the house),” he said.

“Sittukuruvi Kali is one such example where even smaller birds living in the vicinity found an association with the deity. The surrounding areas were known for trading grain, and sparrows found it an ideal place to live,” he added.

People believe that Sittukuruvi Kali is a powerful goddess. “She is a very powerful goddess and is known to cure lumps or pimples. If people pray to her for cure, she will cure them. And they will offer her salt in accordance with the custom,” said 80-year-old T Kothaiamma.

For Kothaiamma, Sittukuruvi Kali has been her solace and strength after she lost her husband when she he was 25.

The temple remains intact, so also is people’s faith in the temple. But the sparrows are missing.

“Sparrows used to fly around the goddess. They flocked the area during festivals. But I can’t see them now. They all have gone,” bewailed Kothaiamma.

The Sittukuruvi Kaliamman Temple in Madurai (TOI photo by Iniyan Lenin)

Pujas are performed at the temple daily, and people say the goddess hear their prayers always.

But will the sparrows ever return to the temple named after them?

March 20 is observed as the Word Sparrow Day.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Environment> Flora & Fauna / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / March 19th, 2015

Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan to head Royal Society in UK

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been confirmed as president elect of Britain’s prestigious Royal Society. Ramakrishnan, who will be the first Indian-origin scientist to hold the post, was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, and studied biology in the US.

The result of a ballot held by the fellowship was confirmed at a meeting of the Society’s Council this week and Ramakrishnan, or Venki as he is popularly known, will take up the post on December 1, 2015, PTI reported.

“I feel very touched that the Royal Society has chosen me for this job, especially because I only came to Britain 16 years ago from the US,” said the 63-year-old structural biologist who shared the 2009 chemistry Nobel Prize for discovering the precise structure of ribosomes ? the molecular machines that manufacture proteins inside all living cells.

“I think in some ways the Royal Society, ever since its inception, has reflected the best traditions of openness in Britain. I think of Britain as a particularly open and tolerant society,” he told BBC.

He is currently deputy director of the British Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2003 and was knighted by Britain’s Queen in 2012.

The Royal Society dates back to 1660 and its president is a key advocate for science in the UK and the world.

Previous presidents of the Royal Society have included Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy, and Ernest Rutherford.

Ramakrishnan?will succeed geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, also a Nobel laureate.

“Appointing the first Indian-born president of the Royal Society sends a strong message about the importance of the contribution of immigrants to British science,” said Blakemore, a Royal Society Fellow from the School of Advanced Study, University of London.

The research for which Ramakrishnan shared the Nobel was commenced in the US, where he has spent much of his working life before moving to Cambridge in 1999. He shared the prize with Thomas Steitz, of Yale University, and Ada Yonath, of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Jerusalem.

The award recognised the team working out, between 2000 and 2002, the exact structure of a key part of the ribosome, the tiny molecular machine ? found in the cells of our body ? that turns the genetic code of living beings into the proteins from which they are made.

“I knew the ribosome was going to be the focus of Nobel prizes. It stands at the crossroads of biology, between the gene and what comes out of the gene. But I had convinced myself I was not going to be a winner,” he said of his award.

In winning the prize, Venki became the 13th member of staff of Cambridge’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology to win a Nobel; previous winners include Crick and Watson, discoverers of the structure of DNA.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / Indiatoday.in / Home> World / New Delhi – March 20th, 2015

An intimate portrait of the city’s many facets

About Chennai(Madras) / TamilNadu, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

 

(From left) author Tulsi Badrinath, N. Ram and S. Muthiah at the book release function. Photo: R. Ravindran
(From left) author Tulsi Badrinath, N. Ram and S. Muthiah at the book release function. Photo: R. Ravindran

‘Madras, Chennai and the Self: Conversations with the City’, a book that explores the metropolis through the personal stories of an eclectic cluster of 12 individuals, was launched on Wednesday.

The author Tulsi Badrinath paints a portrait of a city that is both rooted in tradition and dynamically modern. Launching the book, N. Ram, chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd., said, “There is a certain familiarity when one reads the book, but there are also many surprises that the author brings out through her writing.”

Historian S. Muthiah, who received the first copy of the book, said, “This book is by far the best among all the writing on Madras. It is a literary work on how the author sees the city of Chennai through the conversations she has with many people who call this place home.”

Some of the personalities featured are Dalit writer and activist P. Sivakami, the Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, actor Vikram and priest and karate enthusiast K. Seshadri to name a few. By bringing together disparate narratives of people and the spaces they inhabit, Ms. Badrinath attempts to capture the flavour of a city that is both intimate and contemporary.

The book launch concluded with a panel discussion with chronicler Sriram V. and scholar A.R. Venkatachalapathy interacting with the author.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – March 19th, 2015

Museum to Come up on MMC Campus

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

Chennai :

After a brief lull, efforts to convert the Institute of Anatomy building at Madras Medical College into a full-pledged museum have gained pace. A seven-member “core committee” headed by college Dr R Vimala, has been formed recently to work out the design and suggest the kind of exhibits.

The decision to have a fullfledged museum was taken after the anatomy department was shifted to the new campus on the erstwhile Central prison premises in 2013.

Dr R Vimala  said the museum would have exhibits of evolution of medicine at MMC, rare photographs, British-era certificates and documents, history of doyens of the alumni and historical events of the college. Also old equipment, medical devices would occupy a place. “We are looking forward to contribution of rare pictures of relevance to this Institution. Soon we will create a new email id, enabling people to share,” she added.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Dr Sudha Seshayyan, Director, MMC Institute of Anatomy, said the heritage structure, popularly known as ‘Red Fort’, would not be disturbed.  Only renovation to rectify the damages would be done. “We also seek help from government curator for maintaining the museum. Now, there are more than 1,000 specimens of which a few are century-old precious possessions. So funds for renovation works are invited. Once ready, it will be open for doctors, medical students and the public,” she added.

Meanwhile, MMC alumni, starting from 1961 batch, have donated Rs 2 lakh till Saturday, giving hope that funds will pour in.

Dr Sudha further said names of people donating above Rs 5 lakh would be inscribed on a plaque. It is estimated that the work for the conversion into museum would take another two years.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / March 17th, 2015

Vidya Sagar celebrates 30th anniversary

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Chennai :

After schools repeatedly denied admissions to her son because he had cerebral palsy, Poonam Natarajan decided to work with what she had. She got trained as a special educator to teach her son and from the garage of her house on Arcot Road in T Nagar, in 1985 Natarajan began with three students and two staff. That was the beginning of Vidya Sagar that completed 30 years on Sunday.

The city’s pioneering organization that works with children and young adults with disabilities later moved to Kotturpuram in 1996 and now have close to 4,000 students across the country. As the school grew, Natarajan lost her son when he was 22. Did she foresee that Vidya Sagar would nurture people with disabilities for three decades? “Yes, it was a step by step process and I did know it would be an organization that continues to do great work,” says Natarajan who left the oganisation in early 2000s to become the chair of a statutory body constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. “I am the founder but I came like a parent visiting to celebrate.”

An alumni association and a website that exclusively tells stories of their alumni was launched on the 30th anniversary Sunday to celebrate their past students. “The website isn’t a profile but it documents every student’s challenges, how they met the challenges, their milestones and memories with Vidya Sagar,” says deputy director, Dipti Bhatia.

“Many parents also are empowered over the course of time and start their own initiatives or community activities”

The website features 69 alumni students and will feature more over the year. “We are celebrating our students who come in with various disabilities from mild to profound,” Bhatia says. The organisation’s alumni had together launched the association saying it was for them to network and help each other. This was followed by a carnival for their students. Vidya Sagar provides education for children with neurological disabilities, and work in rehabilitation, advocacy and training.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / March 16th, 2015

Accounting company releases documentary

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

Venture is part of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the service provider

Vitae International, an accounting service provider that has its Corporate office here, has released a documentary titled “The Power of Love and Commitment-The Jethro Daniel Story”, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

The documentary is an effort to create awareness on cerebral palsy.

Daniel Victor, Managing Director of Vitae, told presspersons here on Wednesday the company has started and supports about 10 organisations that work in the areas of environment, care for senior citizens and infrastructure development in and around Coimbatore. The documentary will be available on social media and television channels shortly. It is a story of Jethro Daniel, son of Mr. Victor, who is affected with cerebral palsy and microcephaly.

Mr. Victor said that the company spent about Rs. 40 lakh towards CSR projects in 2013-2014.

It services 17 accounting firms in several countries, including Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. and its annual turnover is Rs. 15 crore. It has plans to expand to more countries taking its client base to 25 or 30 soon.

Documentary creates awareness on cerebral palsy

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / Coimbatore – March 19th, 2015