Monthly Archives: July 2015

After Battling Illness for 3 Months, Melody King MSV Breathes His Last

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Actor Rajinikanth paying homage to legendary musician MS Viswanathan on July 14. | EPS
Actor Rajinikanth paying homage to legendary musician MS Viswanathan on July 14. | EPS

Chennai :

After battling a kidney illness for what insiders say was almost a year, legendary composer ‘Mellisai Mannar’ M S Viswanathan passed away at 4.20 am at a private hospital in Chennai.

The composer had been admitted to Fortis Malar Hospital in Adyar after his kidneys started failing almost 34 days ago. He had been given dialysis and doctors there had been examining his condition in the hope of finding a solution, but at 87, the frail music director was not the best candidate for surgery – let alone a transplant.

Born in Kerala in ‎the village of Elapuzhi in 1928, his penchant for musical performance pushed him to join yesteryear artist Bagavathar’s drama troupe at the age of 14.

It was at this time that he began his sojourns to Madras and had a glimpse of what Kodambakkam would eventually become.

MSV then joined the troupe of C R Subbarayan as a harmonium player.

This is where he met his compatriot Ramamoorthy and struck up a partnership that spanned over 695 films till the latter’s death.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Tamil / by Express News Service / July 14th, 2015

Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa Emerge National Squash Champs

Records, All, Sports

Two games up and again 6-2 in the fourth game, defending champion Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu seemed to have got into the groove for another tilt at the title, but the wily Ghosal came up with an outstanding fight back and pushed the match into the decisive fifth which he won comfortably for his 10th national title.

Saurav Ghosal in action during Asian Games. / © AFP
Saurav Ghosal in action during Asian Games. / © AFP

Thiruvananthapuram: 

Saurav Ghosal regained the men’s title while Joshna Chinappa took the women’s crown in the 63rd Senior National Squash Championship here on Sunday.

Two games up and again 6-2 in the fourth game, defending champion Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu seemed to have got into the groove for another tilt at the title, but the wily Ghosal came up with an outstanding fight back and pushed the match into the decisive fifth which he won comfortably for his 10th national title.

The women’s final too was well contested though the score line would not suggest that. Chinappa showed experience mattered while dousing the challenge of national junior champion Harshit Kaur Jawanda in three games.

It was Chinappa’s 14th national title as she is well on way to reach that magical number of 16, which is the number of titles that Bhuveneswari Kumari had won for a record total.

Final results:

Men: Saurav Ghosal (TN) bt Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (TN) 8-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6.

Women: Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Harshit Kaur Jawanda (Del) 11-6, 12-10, 11-5.

source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / NDTV Sports> News / by Indo-Asian News Service / Sunday – July 12th, 2015

Dolmen a major attraction of Sirumalai

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

Madurai :

The stone structure could be taken for an ordinary boulder if one does not pay close attention, but the lone dolmen inside the Sirumalai forest in Madurai district is an ancient artefact pointing to possible human habitation in the area several centuries ago. Situated some 2km above Kutladampatti Falls in an area called Thadagainachi kovil, the stone walls with a flat stone on top possibly dates back to prehistoric Iron Age, according to scholars.

The dolmen was an accidental discovery, found when officials from the district forest office were charting out nature trails inside forest areas to promote eco-tourism and provide livelihood to tribal youth. The department carved out four trails- Bison Trail, Deer Trail, Hare Trail and Snake Trail. The dolmen was found on the 18km-long Bison Trail, which descends from upper Sirumalai to Kutladampatti falls.

“It was an added feature on our Bison Trail,” said Madurai district forest officer (DFO) Nihar Ranjan.

A dolmen in the middle of the forest means that there was human settlement in the area once, according to archaeologists. Such structures were burial places in the prehistoric Iron Age. The dolmens in the region are scattered across Palani Hills. Thandikudi is a prominent site. Dolmens were also spotted in Pandrimalai near Dindigul, scholars said.

“There is every possibility for a dolmen in Sirumalai because there are many dolmens spread across the hillocks of the region,” said V Vedachalam, retired archaeologist in the city. Such archaeological structures of anthropological importance should be protected well, archaeologists feel.

The DFO said anyone who wants to pay a visit to the place should get prior permission from the department as it falls under protected area.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / July 10th, 2015

AIADMK MLA Chendur Pandian passes away

Leaders
AIADMK legislator P. Chendur Pandian. File photo
AIADMK legislator P. Chendur Pandian. File photo

Ruling AIADMK legislator and former minister P. Chendur Pandian died in Chennai on Saturday after a prolonged illness, the party said.

He was 65 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Pandian represented Kadaiyanallur Assembly constituency in Tirunelvelli district.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in her condolence message, said Pandian’s death was a great loss for the party.

She said Pandian joined the party during its initial years and was a hard worker.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / IANS / Chennai – July 11th, 2015

Krishnamurthy Perumal: From umbrella hockey to leading India

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

by Krishnakanta Chakraborty

When he ignored a national camp to join the Madras team on an exposure trip to Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong in 1967, Krishnamurthy Perumal never thought his gamble would pay off. A few months later, when he was a standby for the national camp and could not travel with the team heading for a Europe trip, he decided to skip the pre-Olympic camp, thinking he wouldn’t be selected.

“I was doing well in the domestic tournaments and also had an impressive camp in Jalandhar but I don’t know why I was not selected for the tour to Europe. But Mohinderlal Singh suddenly fell sick three days before the team’s departure to London, and I got a call from the selectors and made my international debut, in the pre-Olympics,” says Krishnamurthy , who represented India from 1967 to 1977. A student of Wesley Higher Secondary School in Royapettah, he played all sports before taking to hockey , inspired by his uncle K Raman (four years his senior). He excelled in school tournaments, broke into the Madras University team, and turned out for Madras Blues, before making the state side.

“It was more of a passion as there was no money for a hockey player those days. Yes, getting a job wasn’t that difficult but you wouldn’t become rich playing hockey all your life. But I never thought that way since it was a great honour for me to represent India at the international level,” says the 74-year-old.

Krishnamurthy says the culture in the city was in stark contrast ity was in stark contrast to what it is now and most households in Royapettah, where Wesley Higher Sec ondary School was situated, produced a player. “It was a different Madras.Every student at Wesley took part in sports and many made it to the Indian sides in various disciplines. We did not have a proper hockey stick and we used to cut a tree branch and make a stick out of it. I even practised with an umbrella handle. School tournaments were big those days and we took the competitions pretty seriously . They had a great fan following. It helped us hone our skills and prepare ourselves for sterner battles,” the former India skipper recollects.

Krishnamurthy’s exit, however, was unceremonious. He was captaining the national side and was preparing for the 1977 World Cup in Holland when he was dropped.

“It came as a shocker and even today, I don’t have any clue why I was dropped from the team before such a big event despite having a great season. I don’t want to blame anybody but I think the selectors had a grudge against me and they wanted to teach me a lesson. I would have loved to know the reason behind my omission but alas nobody even conveyed any message to me. I felt humiliated and decided to call it quits,” says Krishnamurthy, who later served the Tamil Nadu Hockey Association as an administrator.

(A weekly column on famous sportspersons whose first playing field was Chennai and its neighbourhood)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / July 11th, 2015

Teacher wins Guinness title for recalling 270-digit sequence

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion
The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. (TOI photo)
The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. (TOI photo)

Coimbatore :

For a decade, Aravind P was a tourist guide in Italy. His pursuit to learn European languages introduced him to several memory-developing techniques. That may have got him the job of a foreign language teacher in the city, but the best reward came in the form of his most proud possession now – his Guiness World Record for memorising the longest binary sequence of  270 digits.

Aravind received his certificate from the Guinness authorities last week.

The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. “I had to learn the languages as quickly as possible because it would help me guide more tourists. So, to improve my learning abilities, I had to develop my memory,” said Aravind. After returning to India, Aravind started researching about records related to memory. “I then came across this record for memorising the longest binary digit sequence. The record was then held by Jayasimha Ravirala of Hyderabad, who memorised 264 digits in one minute in March 2011,” he said.

Aravind registered with the Guinness World Records in March 2014. In October 2014, Guinness had set the criteria for Aravind’s attempt to break Jayasimha’s record. On April 3, 2015 Arvaind attempted the record and Guinness had appointed Dr D Srinivasan, psychiatrist from Kovai Medical Centre and Hospitals and R Prakasam, principal of PPG College of Technology as jury to witness it. The random binary sequence was generated by 123coimbatore.com. R Prakasam said, “Aravind was given one minute to observe the binary sequence, and was then asked to shut his eyes and recall the sequence. There was no time limit set for recalling the sequence,” he said. It is a great achievement for an Indian.”

Aravind began attempting to break the record at 10.30am in front of 270 people, and failed in four attempts. In his fifth attempt, Aravind broke the record by recalling six more digits than Jayasimha. His memory-enhancing technique is called ‘Journey Method’, where he replaces alphabets or numbers with objects.

Aravind wants to start a memory club and spread his memory-enhancing techniques to students and youth who will be appearing for board exams and competitive exams.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home. City> Coimbatore / by Adarsh Jain, TNN /July 08th, 2015

VIT Alumnus Named Rwanda’s New Education Minister

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Vellore :

An alumnus of  Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), graduating with a doctorate in management from VIT in 2010, has been appointed the Minister for Education in the Rwanda government. Dr Papias Musafiri  Malimba was awarded his Ph.D after working under Dr P Ganesan, his research supervisor, for five years at VIT.  VIT Chancellor Viswanathan expressed his happiness and congratulated Dr Malimba on assuming his new role as the Minister for Education.

Dr Papias Musafiri Malimba
Dr Papias Musafiri Malimba

Dr Malimba graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and management from the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and has a master’s degree in business administration majoring in Finance and Information Technology from the School of Business, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

With over 14 years of experience in the academic work arena, Dr Malimba was serving as the Principal of the College of Business and Economics of the University of Rwanda. Earlier, Dr Musafiri was actively involved in teaching, research and consultancy and held several senior management positions including that of director of administration and human resources, acting dean, faculty of management, vice rector academics and acting rector, in several higher learning institutions in Rwanda.

During his stint at VIT University, Dr Musafiri was actively involved in research and presented several research articles in national and international seminars and conferences. Dr. Musafiri has also published papers in several reputable journals including the International Journal of Social Economics and the Journal of Financial Services, which he co-authored with his research supervisor Dr. P. Ganesan.

Dr  Malimba replaces Professor Silas Lwakabamba as the education minister last month.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / July 10th, 2015

Inscriptions Say Small Temples in Kumari Too Had Devadasis

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

Nagercoil :

A stone tablet bearing inscriptions, which was recently found in a small Vishnu temple in Kanyakumari district, has revealed that Devadasis served even in small temples.

One of the stone tablets found at the Alagiya Manavala Perumal temple | Express
One of the stone tablets found at the Alagiya Manavala Perumal temple | Express

During renovation work at the centuries-old Alagiya Manavala Perumal temple (Vishnu temple) in Puthugramam, a small village about 5 km from Nagercoil, three stone inscriptions were found. Two of them were found in the south-side wall of the temple’s ‘Karuvarai’ (sanctum) and the third in the south side outer wall of the temple, said Chenthee Natarajan, director of the Chembavalam Research Base and member of Epigraphical Society of India from Nagercoil, who began a detailed study on the inscriptions. The first two inscriptions were complete, but the third was incomplete. The stone inscriptions were written using Tamil and Grantha script. The pattern of the script indicated that the stone tablets belonged to the 18th Century but the years mentioned in inscriptions 1 and 2 is 1362 and 1365. “The matter inscribed on the stone tablets might have first been written on palm leaf manuscripts or on copper plates (in 1362 and 1365) and later (in the 18th Century) it might have been copied onto the stone tablets,” said Chenthee Natarajan.

On the stone inscription 1, the main deity of the temple was mentioned as Udaya Marthanda Vinnagar Emperuman and the village’s name mentioned as Puthugramamaana Raaja Narayana Sathurvedhi Mangalam. The tablet recorded information about a king gifting 2 ‘Maa’ (land measurement used during that period) to the deity for the temple. Though the name of the king was not mentioned, Venad King Ravi Varma ruled during that period, so it could be assumed that he gifted the land, said Chenthee Natarajan. The king’s brother had gifted one more ‘Maa’ to the deity and this information was found on tablet 2. The inscription 3 was incomplete and it contains information about Devadasis, added Chenthee Natarajan.

Several inscriptions found earlier in the district revealed the services rendered by Devadasis in big temples like Suchinduram, Boothapandy, Kanyakumari nd Parakkai. But Devadasi’s serving even in small temples was revealed only through this inscription, said folklorist and treasurer of Chembavalam Research Base, Dr A K Perumal. Devadasis were also referred to as ‘Kudikarigal’ and ‘Devar Adiyaar’.

The stone inscription 3 found at the Puthugramam temple mentions the presence of ‘Rendam Kudi’ (second category) and ‘Munaam Kudi’ (third category) of Devadasis at this temple, added A K Perumal.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by S. Mahesh / July 08th, 2015

1st woman to undergo bypass in India enters 40th yr after surgery

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

Chennai :

On April 23, 1976, when Daisy D’Costa was wheeled into the operation theatre she didn’t know she would be the first woman in the country to undergo a bypass surgery. “No one told me. I just vaguely recall someone in surgical scrubs telling my husband, ‘She will live’,” said the octogenarian, 39 years later.

While Daisy was being prepared for the surgery, the mood in the operation theatre was equally tense as the team was about to wield the scalpel for a procedure they had done just once before. “The facilities back then were nothing like what we have now. We had no cath lab (examination room with diagnostic imaging equipment), no cardiologist or cardio-anesthetist. No one in the team had done a bypass surgery before,” said Dr K M Cherian, the doctor in the surgical scrubs who assured Daisy’s husband.

Daisy had been brought to the Railway Hospital in Perambur the previous evening with total blockage in an artery. “I had skipped going to the cinema with my husband as I was really tired. All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe normally and I felt a tightness in my chest. My son, who was at home, rushed me to the nearest hospital,” recalled Daisy. “The doctors managed to resuscitate me. In my haze, I heard someone say, ‘We need to cut her open’, and I blacked out again.”

Daisy needed a coronary artery bypass surgery. The procedure entailed restoring the blood flow to the heart muscle by diverting the blood around the blocked section by using a harvested vein from the leg. Although the first such surgery was performed in the US in the 60’s, the concept was new in India. In June 1975, Kajah Mohideen, a 42-year-old engineer from Integral Coach Factory, became the first in the country to undergo the surgery.

“The procedure on Daisy was no different from Kajah’s, but Daisy’s veins in her legs were thinner and harder to reach because of the fat. Besides that, we followed the same process. I still remember every conversation and the mood in the theatre,” says Dr Cherian, who had also operated on Kajah. “We didn’t even have a process of magnifying the blood vessels, which is mandatory now. I used my eyes to find the vessels that are 1.5 to 2mm. I was young back then,” said Dr Cherian, chuckling. The procedure took a little more than three hours.

Daisy woke up to find shutterbugs queuing to interview her. “That’s when I realised I was the first woman,” she said, smiling and showing a sepia-tinted newspaper showing a younger version of her. Although through the years she has had minor chest problems, she didn’t have to go under the scalpel again.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Ekatha Ann John, TNN / July 09th, 2015

To the place I belong…

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

 

Students at Women's Christian College. Photo: R. Ravindran / The Hindu
Students at Women’s Christian College. Photo: R. Ravindran / The Hindu

The author, an alumna of Women’s Christian College, celebrates the centenary year of the institution with a trip down memory lane.

There is a place in Chennai where I left a part of my heart and soul 14 years ago. I visit it from time to time, and always go back filled with renewed vigour. I know I’m not the only one. As I look around the Women’s Christian College (WCC) campus in Nungambakkam under the night sky on Monday, I see hundreds of women wearing happy, proud smiles. We have all come to celebrate a place where we, in some way, forever belong.

We are gathered for a chapel service at midnight to usher in WCC’s centenary year. The ‘100 voice choir’ has turned out in cream-and-gold saris for the occasion. I want to wildly cheer for my English faculty in the choir but I remember to stay solemn. My niece, who has just joined the college, is watching me, so I must be a dignified aunt and alumna.

I can barely contain my excitement as the countdown begins for midnight. I join the mad applause and cheers. The centenary choir bursts into a ‘Happy Birthday, WCC’. The lights are turned out, and we raise our candles to join in a song ‘Carry your candle, go light your world’ that resonates with the college motto ‘Lighted to Lighten’.

A hush falls as Reverend Canon James G. Callaway, general secretary of the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, New York, steps forward to deliver the centenary message. “Know who you are and whence you come from,” says Rev. Callaway, urging us to remember and strengthen our foundation as we prepare for growth and change.

The message works on so many levels. Most of us arrived at WCC’s sprawling campus as 17-year-olds with little exposure to the demands of real life. Three years of college helped us understand a little about who we are, besides showing the paths open to us.

I know that many who have passed through WCC’s gates since 1915 will agree that the values, friendships, knowledge and life skills the college offered are an integral part of who we are and choices we made. Perhaps that is why some of us keep coming back.

Admittedly, some of us also keep coming back for cakes and cookies. I suspect the annual alumnae food fair, with its noble aim of giving back to the college, is a ploy by old students to create an excuse to get together, and gorge on excellent home-baked goodies. So when I see gleeful expressions of anticipation, I know it is time for the centenary cake cutting.

My delight multiplies when I find out there’s not only the birthday cake but also chocolate muffin-style cakes waiting for us. It’s a long time since we had munchies at midnight.

Some of us take home beautiful souvenirs: there are stoles, mugs, pens, T-shirts and paper weights with the WCC theme. We also take back memories of togetherness. But we leave behind a part of our hearts where we know they will be safe.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Kannal Achuthan / July 07th, 2015