Julian Santi also helps youth learn printing technology —Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
An Italian national has helped poor children study
For the past 58 years, an Italian national living in Chennai has been bringing about a change in the lives of poor children.
Julian Santi (83), a Salesian brother who was instrumental in starting Salesian Institute of Graphic Arts (SIGA) in Kilpauk, has been adopting poor children and providing for their education and other school needs including uniforms. “In the late 60s, I was moved by the emotions of parents who wanted to educate their children, yet did not have the money to do so. So I started helping them,” says Br. Santi.
His friends in Italy and the Salesian community help raise funds for this purpose. “Their children too pool in their pocket money and send it. Even the money given by parents to buy chocolates can make a difference,” he says.
This year alone, he has been taking care of the education of 200 children. His workers say his routine is inspiring.
“His day starts at 6 a.m. and he works late into the night. He still sends hand-written letters to his friends in Italy often enquiring about their welfare and sometimes, seeking assistance in helping the poor,” says K.J. Louis, secretary of the Salesian province in Chennai.
Apart from this, Br. Santi also helps school drop-outs by imparting training on printing technology at SIGA.
The brother who landed in Chennai on March 10, 1957 has made the city his second home. “The people here have treated me as one of their own,” says Br. Santi. “However, I am still unable to adapt to the spicy food here. Mostly, I stick to soups,” he adds.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vivek Narayanan / Chennai – March 14th, 2015
Eight years ago residents of tiny hamlets on Manampalli range in Valparai had to wait for days to get a mail delivered as no one came forward to work there as postman due to fear of wild animals.
That’s when R Solaikili, 36, a mother of two from Pollachi got an offer for the job. She had registered her name with the employment exchange. She readily took up the challenge and for eight years has been delivering letters to the hamlets braving rough terrain and unpredictable weather or the occasional encounters with wild animals.
Solaikili says spotting a leopard, wild elephant, bear or a bison would be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for most. But for her it is an everyday phenomenon. “On the very first day I joined duty, a wild elephant with its calf blocked my path when I was out to deliver letters. I was too scared to go further so I returned to Valparai,” she told TOI after receiving an award in Coimbatore on Wednesday instituted by ‘Namadhu Pangu’ (Our Share), the social arm of Kumaraguru College of Technology.
Solaikilli was born in a family of seven children near Pollachi. She had to discontinue studies after Class 12 due to poverty. She pursued a few computer courses and then registered her name with the employment exchange.
She married a weaver from Coimbatore but her struggles were far from over. So when she got the job offer, she didn’t think twice. “Many of my relatives were against my taking up the offer due to the dangers involved, but my family supported me,” Solaikili said. She has been living with her two children in Manampalli and her husband visits her once a month. “Initially I was too scared to travel up to 15 km per day through deserted mountain pathways to reach the hamlets. Now I am used to it,” she smiles.
Solaikili has also convinced 15 tribal people to take up insurance policy and many others to start a savings account in the post office.
T Vijayalakshmi, 50, from Tharagampatti near Karur was also honoured at the event. Vijayalakshmi is a tractor driver from 2007. “Many people are shocked when they see me driving a tractor.” Vijayalakshmi took to driving their tractor after her son was not available one day to deliver corns.
Before beginning to drive the tractor, Vijayalakshmi assisted her husband V Thangavel who ran a cycle repair shop. Her husband met with an accident and could no longer work. The future of the family turned uncertain which made her to take to the wheel.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by G. Rajeswari, TNN / March 14th, 2015
The WACA is undoubtedly the chief cricket destination in the major city of Western Australia. If you want to combine dining with cricket, Gogo’s Madras Curry House should be the destination. While the name reveals what the place specialises in, one has to be in to find out who some of the illustrious patrons have been.
From Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to Aussie legends of the last few years to Viv Richards, Wasim Akram, Alastair Cook and Kumar Sangakkara all have been here. If words of praise about the experience and autographed gear gifted by players — some of them framed and on display — are something to go by, it seems all would be happy to be back again.
Govinda Rajulu Govardhan | Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
Proprietor Govinda Rajulu Govardhan aka Gogo was born in Tiruchy and grew up at Perambur in Chennai. After abandoning a degree in engineering, he took up hotel management. On finding the administrative and hospitality front not challenging enough, he trained to become a chef. Following stints with Sheraton in different countries, he came to Perth in 1995. Since taking over this place about four years later, he has become a household in the cricket fraternity.
After running the show across cricket centres in Australia, which included supervising catering during international fixtures for over a decade, he owns three more restaurants in Perth. “Cricket memorabilia is fine, but people come here for food. The challenge is to ensure my product is good and going by what people say, it seems we’re doing a good job,” he says.
Contrary to what the name might suggest, this is no typical Indian restaurant serving traditional fare. “This is not an Udupi joint. Notice the word ‘curry’ in the name. We’re surrounded by pubs and serve wine. So the food has to go with it,” he says. Instead of sambar-rice or rava dosa, this place is known for its lamb shank and raan. Chilli paneer, egg plant dishes and mixed poriyal with coconut are what vegetarians can sample.
While Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashiwn and Umesh Yadav dropped in during the World Cup, Gogo’s memorable moment came in 2008 when Anil Kumble hosted a dinner after winning the Perth Test.
Today Gogo employs 45-50 people including Asians and Australians.
There are plans to start something in India, although things are not final. Until that happens, one has to be here to find out what attracts cricketers of different hues other than a historic ground.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cricket> News / by Atreyo Mukhopadhyay / Mar 08th, 2015
Way back in 1921, Madras was the first legislature in British India to pass the women’s suffrage resolution by a considerable majority
As the vociferous battle for women’s freedom and equality rages on in the country, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the journey, in many ways, began in Madras.
Way back in 1921, Madras was the first legislature in British India to pass the women’s suffrage resolution by a considerable majority.
This meant that for the first time, women were recognised as ‘people’ by the State, thereby given the right to vote on the same condition as men.
As the news spread, the world was captivated by the women of Madras. Congratulatory messages poured in from across the world.
In The Hindu, dated July 2, 1921, Lady Constance Lytton, the renowned British suffrage activist, wrote, ‘Please offer the women of South India my most heartfelt congratulations on their winning the vote. I am thrilled and it seems like a dream the way the experience in our own Island (Britain) has borne wonderful fruit.’
Australia’s Women’s Service Guild, France’s Action Speciale de la Femme and the British Dominion Women’s Citizen Union too extended their greetings and hoped other provinces would soon follow suit. They did.
Within months, Bombay Presidency and the United Province passed similar resolutions.
Interestingly, it was the Madras Council’s resolution that reflected the most decisive mandate in comparison to others.
Of the 90-odd members present in the Council, 40 voted for the recommendation, 10 opposed it and 40 remained neutral.
Dorothy Jinarajadasa, of the Women’s Indian Association, who attended both the debates in Madras and Bombay recorded: ‘It took only an hour and a half of debate to show that the Madras Council was preponderously in favour of granting women suffrage. On the contrary, though Bombay is noted everywhere for the advanced education and free status of womanhood, it took three days of ‘hard verbal fighting’ to wear down the opposition.’
However, the news of women gaining the right to vote was not unanimously welcomed in Madras.
N. Subrahmanya Aiyar, in his column Impressions of the Week in The Hindu, sceptically described the resolution an attempt of foreign-inspired pseudo progressives to disturb the relative function of the sexes already perishing under the unhealthy modern influence.
Jayalalithaa, in 1989, became the first woman to be elected the leader of the Opposition. In 1991, being re-elected to the Assembly, she became the first woman, and the youngest, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to serve a full term, from June 1991 to May 1996 — Photo: The Hindu Archives
Echoing similar disdain, a reader from Saidapet, in a letter to the editor, exclaimed, ‘It is not a matter of congratulations that the legislative council should have resolved to extend suffrage to Indian women. For progress, man must be both the controller in politics and civics. His sex stands for performance, conformity and therefore, for uniformity, essential for common good and justice.’
Captain (Dr.) Lakshmi Sahgal held command of the Rani Jhansi Regiment of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. She was the first Indian woman to contest the Presidential elections, in 2002, when A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was elected — Photo: The Hindu Archives / The Hindu
By taking the lead in swimming against the current, Madras laid the foundations for a tradition of progressive gender politics. Indomitable women leaders like Muthulakshmi Reddi, Lakshmi Sahgal, and Jayalalithaa are emblematic of the same.
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was the one of the first women doctors of the country, the first woman member of the Madras Legislative Council, the first woman to be elected as its deputy chairperson, the first president of the Women’s Indian Association, and the first woman to be elected alderman of the Madras (now Chennai) Corporation — Photo: The Hindu Archives
THE MAKING OF HISTORY
1917: The Women’s Indian Association (WIA), with links to the women’s suffrage movement, is formed by Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinrajadasa and Margaret Cousins
1918: The Montagu-Chelmsford commission is sent by the British government to suggest changes to the franchise in India where the WIA, led by Sarojini Naidu, petitioned for women’s right to vote
1918: The Southborough Franchise Committee tours India to gather information. After accepting women’s petitions from just two provinces, it decides Indian women do not want the right to vote
1918-21: After dogged lobbying with the Joint Select Committee, the Parliament decides to leave the issue to be settled by elected legislatures
1921: Madras is among the first States to give women the right to vote
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – March 08th, 2015
A retired government officer based in this district has bagged the latest Sahitya Akademi award for the best translated novel in Tamil. S Devadoss’ work, Ladakhilirundhu Kavizhum Nizhal is the Tamil version of an English novel, Shadow From Ladakh by Bhabani Bhattacharya. The award was announced on Monday.
Devadoss said the novel was about a love story in Ladakh during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. He said, “The Sahitya Akademi Award for the novel is a good recognition for me and I am very happy.”
S Devadoss, from Nadayaneri village, has settled in Rajapalayam taluk in Virudhunagar district after retiring as a deputy registrar, Cooperative Societies department.
He said he completed his MA Tamil from Madurai Kamaraj University which kindled his interest in reading novels written by authors from other countries.
While reading those novels he felt there was a need to translate them into Tamil, which is one of the oldest languages, so that our people would know the culture of the other countries when they read these novels.
He said, “Though I was working as a government employee I gave lots of importance to my literary work. I used to wake up early to work on translation.”
He began his literary pursuit in 1990 and has so far translated 25 novels, short stories and non-fictional works. “One of my best works is ‘Platerovum Naanum” which was translated from the novel Platero and I written by a Spanish writer Juan Ramón Jiménez who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is a very simple novel and the narration style is different. This novel will be an inspiration for new writers,” said Devadoss.
He said he also translated the works of veteran Spanish director Luis Buñuel and the works of well-known Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Kauhik Kannan / March 12th, 2015
DJ Academy of Design and British Council will jointly organise a two-day conference on “Universal Design” here on March 13 and 14 and as many as 150 participants are expected from different parts of the country and even abroad.
Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, chairman of the governing council of the academy, told presspersons here on Tuesday that town planners, product designers, architects, social workers and students will take part.
The objective is to sensitise the participants and the public to the need for inclusive design in public infrastructure and products.
A couple of speakers from the U.K. will also participate. There are countries that have norms, insisting on inclusive design in public places.
Awareness and the need for such design needs to improve here.
At the end of the two-day event, a resolution will be adopted and it will be sent to design institutes, Corporates and policy makers. DJ Academy plans to organise the event regularly.
Explaining the concept of universal design, Mr. Jayavarthanavelu said transport systems such as buses and facilities such as elevators need to be designed in such a way that it can be used as a common facility by those with disabilities and the public.
The requirements of the elderly and those with disabilities need to be addressed in the common infrastructure.
The demand for such designing is high in the country and the awareness should go up.
The event will also have sessions on the principles of universal design in products and an expo on products designed by the students of the academy.
DJ Academy has undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in design, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – March 11th, 2015
A private hospital here conducted a rare artificial skull implant surgery on a five year old girl.
According to the KMCH Hospital neurosurgeon Dr M Prabhu, Thayasri, daughter of Sakthi Prakash (27) of Kalingarayanpalayam, near Bavani, met with an accident on Nov 2, 2014 while traveling on a motorcycle with Balasubramaniam, a relative.
When a van hit the motorcycle, Thayasri suffered serious head injury with skull bone fracture. Normally, a part of the skull would be removed to avoid infection from spreading to the brain and to allow space for the injured brain to heal.
As she was a child and the fractured skull was disfigured, both she and her parents had to be handled carefully. Hence there was a compelling need to consider not only corrective surgery but also cosmetic and protective aspects, said the neurosurgeon.
The specialist decided on a special type of skull bone implant called PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone).
PEEK has several advantages. It is durable, has shape memory properties (where the material given shape under specific conditions will retain it even if were subjected to stress) and is aesthetically pleasing.
Traditional methods for reconstructing the skull anatomy involved bone grafts or other implants like metal or titanium. But the disadvantages were inaccurate fits, increased surgical time and infection risks.
Cranial implants made of PEEK (which only recently made its way into orthopaedic surgery) are stronger, lighter and bio-compatible, making it an alternative to titanium.
With precise customization and better fit these implants required less time in surgery and provided greater comfort to the patient.
Thayasri’s head was scanned to measure the contour of the broken skull accurately and the details were sent to Switzerland for fabrication of the implant.
Once the implant arrived, the girl was operated on for inserting it in place. The implant has provided the required geometry and precision to obtain appropriate skull and facial reconstruction.
She has recovered well and is back to school with a renewed life, the neurosurgeon added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / March 12th, 2015
On the occasion of International Women’s Day on Sunday, M. Sumathi was happy issuing tickets to commuters, in Coimbatore. Photo: M.Periasamy
For 28-year-old M. Sumathi, work hours start at about 12.30 p.m. every day and go on till 10 p.m. She travels on the Ukkadam to Gandhipuram bus route No. 130.
Lone woman conductor
She is the lone woman conductor in the nearly 420 Government town buses in the city.
But for a trip in the evening to Chinniyampalayam, she shuttles between Ukkadam and Gandhipuram for the rest of the day. “I have to only issue tickets and this is a job I like,” she says.
She has completed Class X and she joined the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Coimbatore Region, about three months ago.
The mother of three wanted to join the police but she could not make it. Till she joined the TNSTC, she was at home, taking care of her family.
“I was determined to wear a khaki dress and thought why not make it come true by joining as a Government bus conductor,” she said and added that her husband A. Murugesan (39), a carpenter, has been a source of encouragement and support by taking care of their two sons and a daughter.
Dignity
Sumathi enjoys her profession and the way she is treated with dignity by her counterparts and commuters.
“Colleagues, elder or younger to me, call me Akka (elder sister). I am very comfortable working with them,” she says.
Though the trip to Chinniyampalayam is hectic as the bus is crowded, she adds that even in the crowded bus there is good cooperation from the commuters.
Even the youth who travel on the footboard come into the bus when she addresses them as thambi(younger brothers), she says.
A senior TNSTC officer said that on an average there are only three or four women conductors in the district every year.
He said that a few women applied for the post of conductor, but were rejected as they did not have the minimum required height of 160 cm.
There are two more women employed as conductors in the district – at Pollachi – and that the department was open to recruit women as conductors, the officer said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by M.K. Ananth / Coimbatore – March 09th, 2015
Soundaram Ramasamy holding Singaravelan while another bull grazes. / Aparna Karthikeyan
Meet Soundaram Ramasamy, the only woman bull keeper in Kangeyam, Tamil Nadu.
A small slightly built woman, wearing a mustard silk sari and roses in her hair, walks briskly up to an enormous black bull; nearly six-feet tall with a heavy-set neck, great hump and sharp horns, grazing under the shade of the acacia tree, and grabs the nose rope. Calling him ‘kannukutti’ (calf), she rubs his face and back gently, and leads him towards us with one hand.
This is Soundaram Ramasamy, a stud bull keeper, who is something of a legend in her village Kathasamipalayam and the Kangeyam region, Tiruppur district. ‘Kaalaikaramma’ (the bull-keeping woman) as she is known, is perhaps the only woman bull keeper. Besides, very few — man or woman — keep seven stud bulls. And certainly none have such fine Kangeyam specimens.
An indigenous cattle breed, the Kangeyams are native to Tamil Nadu’s Kongu region. I was there to document them with help from Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, of the Senapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation. “Kangeyams,” he explained, “are ancient and handsome animals: both male and female have well-defined humps and curved horns. Both sexes can be put to plough; they can survive droughts, thrive on dry grasses and are very hardy.” But, the preference for high milk-yielders (Jersey and hybrids), prevalence of tractors in place of bullocks and, contentiously, the ban on jallikattu and reklashas savagely reduced their numbers. Karthikeya estimated a 90 per cent drop in 25 years. Today, there are less than 125,000 Kangeyams.
And that’s why 17 years ago, Soundaram and her husband Ramasamy began to breed Kangeyam cattle. They started with cows and, when one birthed an exceptionally good-looking bull calf, they decided to keep it. With Karuppan, that first bull, their stud farm was born. Slowly, the number of bulls grew. Now they have seven. Each bull was selected for its handsome features. Typically, the family rents a tempo, scours the countryside and cattle fairs, and pays between Rs.25,000-40,000 for a calf. The grown-up bulls fetch good prices. Soundaram was offered Rs.300,000 for Singaravelan, their biggest bull, in a cattle show. But she did not sell him.
Singaravelan is beautiful, but a bit of a brute. Ramasamy flatly refuses to approach him. “If I catch him, he’ll fuss. But Soundaram will easily get him.” And she does. She walks up to him, while he is flicking up mud with his horns, snorting, and pacifies him with words and pats. “I love the bulls like my sons,” she says, as Singaravelan stands next to her, massive but meek.
The couple’s careful grooming removes the menace from the animals. “When they get four teeth, (a way of telling the age of cattle) un-castrated bulls turn aggressive,” Ramasamy explains. “We train them to be docile. If not, nobody can handle them!” It is Soundaram who handles the bulls. Her day begins and ends with their upkeep. First, she takes the seven bulls out to graze on the Korangaadu (fields given over as pasture land, hosting 25 varieties of vegetation, a speciality of this region); later she fetches them their food and drink (water mixed with cattle feed, ground corn, cotton seeds, and broken urad dal) so that they are always in prime condition. Soundaram’s daily routine is so laborious and rigid that she can never travel anywhere. Her mother looks after the cooking and the kitchen. “I have no time!” she says. Her only other interest is roses. She points to the tall bushes outside her newly renovated house. “I love the flowers!”
When cows come to be serviced, Soundaram attends to that also personally. Almost everyday, she says, people come from a 150 km radius to mate their cows with her studs. The exercise can cost the cow’s owner up to Rs.4,000, including transport, food and stud-charges. (In contrast, artificial insemination costs only Rs.200-300). Each servicing nets Soundaram Rs.500. The cow’s owner gets to pick a bull of their choice. (Kangeyam bulls are usually white with black markings. But Soundaram keeps rare black-and-red specimens, as breeders and wealthy farmers prefer them).
While we are around, no cow turns up; a promise is made for the next day. Over tea, Soundaram shows me photos of the cattle mating. There’s a shot of her, her sari tucked into her waist, her hair pulled into a bun, her arms stretched to secure a rope around a visiting cow; in another, she’s right next to the bull, holding the rein, as it mounts a cow, a slip of a woman, besides the big, muscled bull. “My bulls need me beside them all the time.”
Her conservation efforts were recognised with the Breed Saviour Award in 2010. She was happy to receive it, and delighted when her relatives rang to congratulate her. “They were impressed that I went to Madras to get an award for raising bulls!”
Soundaram also has plans to expand the business, although the couple say they don’t keep the bulls for the money. “We do this because we’re passionate about keeping the Kangeyam breed alive.” Their income comes from the fields (Ramasamy grows drumsticks) and their two sons’ earnings. Soundaram’s second son, Veerasamy is now doing business in Chennai but is keen to start keeping cows to breed their own stud bulls.
In Soundaram’s farthest fields, we look at two more bulls. I beg her to name her favourite. She says she likes them all. I ask her to name the strongest. “All our bulls are strong. And they come running to me when I whistle.” She puts two fingers into her mouth and whistles; a piercing shattering noise. It startles me and the birds, but the bulls only look up enquiringly. She whistles again. They lower their heads and go back to grazing. She walks up to them, separate the horns locked in mock-fight, and strokes a bull. “He probably notices I’m wearing new clothes, and must be wondering where I went,” she says, pointing to her sari.
We don’t debate the point. Gently she rubs down the bull. I stand there, under a mid-day sun, watching a small woman and a big bull, content in each other’s company.
This article is part of the series ‘Vanishing Livelihoods of Rural Tamil Nadu’ and is supported under NFI National Media Award 2015.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Magazine / by Aparna Karthikeyan / March 07th, 2015
In November, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia, and it was after 28 years that an Indian prime minister visited the country. And, three months later here in Coimbatore, the Australian consul general for South India was discussing business opportunities in Australia with businessmen here.
On Thursday, the Rotary Club of Coimbatore in association with Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) organized an interaction between Sean Kelly, consul general, South India and the industrialists of the city.
Sarath Chandar, president of Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce discussed the opportunities in the manufacturing and engineering sector. He, in his speech said, “The manufacturing industry is being outsourced in Australia, and India, especially Coimbatore that has global importance in the manufacturing sector can make use of the opportunity.” Sarath said that Coimbatore is also known for its engineering products and this, too was a growing market opportunity in Australia.
G Karthikeyan, president of Rotary Club of Coimbatore said, “Business in Australia was always a dream for many. But, we never dreamt of it till recently when our prime minister Narendra Modi visited Australia.”
He added, “This gives us motivation and hope that business opportunities can be made true.”
On the occasion, Sean Kelly, the Consul General for South India from Australia was conferred with the title ‘Kovai’s Grandson’. “Kelly’s grandfather was born in Coimbatore. And, this is the connection that he has with the city.
So, we decided to confer him with this title,” said G Karthikeyan, president of Rotary Club of Coimbatore to TOI.
Kelly in his interaction discussed the opportunities from different industry backgrounds. He said, “An interaction like this will help us think of business options.” He reiterated the difficulties of Australia in the manufacturing sector and hinted that the market had potential for business.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / March 06th, 2015
