Tamil enthusiast and founder-chairman of Adyar Students Xerox Centre N Arunachalam passed away on Monday evening at the age of 76.
Arunachalam, native of Thirukannapuram village in Nagapattinam district, started his career as a revenue official. Inspired by social activist Periyar’s ideologies, he later quit his job and led anti-Hindi and anti-Brahmin agitations in Nagapattinam along with other prominent leaders.
N Arunachalam (1940-2016)
He shot to fame in 1986 after establishing the Students Xerox Centre at Adyar, at a time when photocopies were available only for the elite. Now the centre has more than 35 branches in the city and is a popular resource centre among student fraternity.
Indeed, Arunachalam and his crew were the first to coin the term ‘Nagalagam’, the Tamil equivalent for ‘Photocopy’.
“He was a pioneer in leading the struggle for introducing Tamil as a medium of instruction in State-run schools during 1998. He had organised a state-wide campaign through his Tamil Scholars Forum and sat on a hunger strike along with 102 Tamil scholars attracting the Centre’s attention”, said Tamil scholar Iraiyelilan.
Though the DMK government assured to implement this, the Government Order was quashed by the Madras High Court and the case was still pending in the Supreme Court.
He was popular among the literary circle for his magazine ‘Nandan’ which wrote extensively on Tamil language, music, atheism and nationalism in layman’s terms.
The family invested profits from the photocopy centres into the forum to conduct State-wide Tamil essay and elocution competitions for school students, recalled M Saravana Kumar who won an award in the early 1990s.
His final rites will take place at his native village on May 25. His body has been kept for public viewing at his residence at Kottivakkam till Tuesday 2 pm. He is survived by wife Santha, son Sowrirajan and daughters Thirumeni and Neelamegam. PMK leader S Ramadoss had condoled his death.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Ram M Sundaram / by Express News Service / May 24th, 2016
FROM THE LOST WORLD:The moving dinosaur is the cynosure of all eyes in the renovated government museum in Pudukottai.— PHOTO: A. MURALITHARAN
The moving dinosaur has been a huge attraction for visitors
The Government Museum here has been attracting a large number of visitors, children, history-lovers, and research scholars thanks to the facelift given to it by the State government.
New galleries, including a metal ware gallery and auditorium, are important facilities provided at this century-old museum, which is the second largest in the State, after the Chennai museum.
The ancient flooring has been replaced with tiled flooring all around the museum.
Exhibits of invertebrates, water birds, different types of fishes, butterflies, arthropods, and reptiles have been carefully displayed.
The main building has been renovated and converted into a modern gallery with diorama display cases, say museum authorities.
The metal ware gallery has a collection of south Indian toys, ancient bronze idols, ornamental plates, and trays and copper embossed plates . About 500 metallic exhibits of the ancient era brought from the Chennai museum are display at the metal ware gallery.
Meetings and training programmes can be organised at the auditorium.
With 200-seat capacity, the auditorium, on the rear side, will host various events, including inscription-related training for archaeology students.
The State government had sanctioned Rs. 80 lakh for the work. Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, huge portraits of the Thondaiman rulers, and musical instruments used in the bygone era are the other prized items in the museum.
Post-renovation, the museum has been attracting a large number of visitors.
The moving dinosaur is yet another attraction for the visitors cutting across age-groups. With its tail wagging and a wide grin, the dinosaur has been a big hit with the visitors.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Pudukottai – May 23rd, 2016
At the age of 84, T A Angappan twists and spins the silambam (bamboo stick) with the flair and agility of a five-year-old child. Angappan was trained in Silambattam, a local martial artform, at the nascent age of seven by his father at Tiruchengode in Namakkal district.
Angappan not only learnt the martial art, but also took an oath to promote the ancient artform and trained youngsters to take it up professionally.
Today, Anagappan, at 84, still continues to teach Silambattam and has thousands of students across the state. He visits Coimbatore once in two months to train his students and also holds a free summer camp at R S Puram during the summer vacation where hundreds of students take part and learn the martial art for 15 days.
“I want more girls than boys to learn this art,” he says. In 1964, he demonstrated the artform at the Mariamman Kovil temple festivities. In a bid to pursue parents to send their daughters to train in the martial art, he dressed one of his male students as a girl in one of the performance.
“Even after my persuasion, none of the families were willing to send their daughters. So I made a boy dress like a girl and perform. After watching that, I got one student from Salem who was acting in films and theatre. It’s only after she stepped up, did other girls also start joining the classes,” said Angappan.
Angappan was born to a weaver and said his father taught him the martial art daily after he got back from work. “From 9pm till midnight, me and my father would practice Silambattam. But there was no compromise with my education and I finished my SSLC and then got a job in a co-operative society,” Angappan said. It’s only after a friend recommended him to become a physical education teacher at a school, is when Angappan decided to teach Silambattam professionally.
“None of the schools then wanted Silambattam to be taught in schools, even government schools were not interested. I had to insist, a chief education officer of Tiruchengode to let me demonstrate the martial art. I trained a batch of children for an hour and after the demonstration, the officer agreed to allow Silambattam to be taught in government schools,” he said.
Angappan said the main reason for the martial art not being taken up as a professional sport is because of lack of qualified teachers.
“There should be at least one well-known teacher for the art to grow internationally. Though Silambattam associations have been set up in Malaysia, it is still only a state-level sport there,” said Angappan.
He was part of an Indian delegation to Russia in September 1987, where 11 of his students demonstrated their Silambattam skills. “The tour opened the gates for the martial artform to be recognised internationally and be given more consideration in India,” he said.
Angappan, who has been a true ambassador of Silambattam, said the art needs to grow among people in its true form. “I have hundreds of students who promote others to take to the sport. I do not wish for it to be commercialized and lose its essence. Many think the of it is as just a tool for fighting, but Silambattam is an art and helps one grow as a person, just like Kung-fu, Kalari or Karate,” he said.
Many cinema stuntmen have been trained by Angappan in the art. “They taught me sword fights and I taught Silambattam in return,” he says
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gauthami, TNN / May 23rd, 2016
G. Valli, Vice-Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, being conferred the Best Scientist Award at a symposium held in Bharathidasan University
The Publication Division of Bharathidasan University and the Indian Academic Researchers Association organised a symposium on emerging trends in innovation in academic research in Tiruchi on Saturday. N. Murugeswari, symposium Director and Publication Officer (in-charge), Bharathidasan University, welcomed the gathering. G. Valli, Vice-Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, was conferred best scientist award by M.B.M. Ismail, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Management and Commerce, South Eastern University, Sri Lanka.
Ms. Valli said that the decade, from 2010 to 2020, had been observed as a Decade for Innovation by the National Innovation Council. Technology had played a major role in the research system and it could be oriented through the untiring and pursuing attitude of the researcher.
Babu Rajendran, Director(in-charge), Council of College and Curriculum Development, Bharathidasan University, presided. J. Manjula, Principal, Periyar EVR College, spoke.
“READ NEWSPAPERS”
Mylswamy Annadurai, Scientist and Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, emphasised the importance of students reading newspapers, which helps them to know the world and understand what they know. He was delivering the Graduation Day address at Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology, Pudukottai. Three hundred students received their degrees.
“LEARN INDUSTRIAL PRACTICES”
Students should learn industrial practices during their study as companies expect candidates recruited by them to fit directly into their work environment without much training, said G. Parthiban, president, Rane TRW Steering Systems Private Limited, speaking at the annual day of Rane Polytechnic College. He urged students to work hard and develop clarity in thinking. R. Venkatanarayanan, president, Rane Corporate Service, said that through continuous learning students can enhance their knowledge and skill. M. Saravanan, Principal, presented the annual report.
TOPPERS HONOURED
Student toppers were honoured at the ‘Achievers Day’ of MASTeR Group of Institutions. Faculty members who had helped achieve good academic results were also honoured. M.A. Maluk Mohamed, Director, presided. K. Sridhar, Principal, M.A.M. College of Engineering and Technology, William, Dean, Haridoss, VP, and B. Annette, Director, M.A.M School of Business, were present.
Contributed by C. Jaisankar and G. Prasad
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / May 23rd, 2016
For the common man, Arni, a small town in neighbouring Tiruvannamalai district, is best known for its world-renowned silk sarees — Arni pattu, as the saris are called. But there is more to the town.
A talk by noted architect Mohan Hariharan on the history and architecture of Arni, organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Chennai Chapter, at Amethyst in Royapettah on Friday, threw more light on its rich past.
“The origin of the word Arni can be traced to Tamil literature where ‘Aaru’ means river and ‘Ani’ refers to ornament,” said Mr. Hariharan, who is from the town. He said that initially, the Pallavas ruled the Arni town followed by Rashtrakutas in 968 A.D. The Chola period including the reigns of Kulathunga Chola-II (1070 A.D – 1122 A.D) and Rajathi Raja Chola-II (1166 A.D – 1178 A.D) witnessed more developments in administration including formation of feudatories. Inscriptions also reveal several grants and donations made by Cholas to temples in the form of villages.
In 1640 A.D., the jagaridari system, a form of land tenancy established during Mughals, was introduced in Arni by the Maratha king, Shahaji Raje Bhosale (father of famous Maratha King Chhatrapathi Shivaji). “The first jagir was introduced during that time and existed till 1948 when the erstwhile jagir became part of the country after Independence,” he said.
The highlights of the town include two palaces built in early 19th century. The first palace, a two-storey building known as Diwan Khane, was originally meant as a guest house for women and children of the royal family.
Spread over 35 acres, the palace had circular brick pillars, Indian motifs, arches, gothic columns and Madras terrace built with the lime and mortar method.
Peacock pattern glass panels on the doors, door handles and engravings with flora and fauna — characteristic of the Mughal style of architecture — were also introduced.
The palace had fish-typed door stoppers and floors that were made of lime but resembled tiled flooring. The last two features were unique to the architecture followed by Arni rulers of those times. At present, the palace is in ruins.
The second palace, known as Poosi Malai Kuppam, was built as a guest house for the rulers.
The single-storey structure had several interesting features including a separate loft for pigeons, four chimneys (despite the town experiencing generally hot climate) of the main palace in typical British style.
Most of the structure now remains intact but needs immediate conservation. In fact, Mr. Hariharan said, the forest palace was the earliest structure in the region to use steel rafters instead of traditional wooden rafters for its roof. Such steel rafters added strength to the structure.
Two palaces built in the 19th century are the highlight of the town and need conservation.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by D. Madhavan / Chennai – May 23rd, 2016
The stories are simple but the protagonists are extraordinary. They are children battling various disabilities like cerebral palsy, colour blindness and autism. Their tales of courage, grit and determination are recorded in `Evolving Angels -A collection of nine stories with a disability theme’ by V S Anjana, a former student of Vidya Sagar who has cerebral palsy.
Each tale in the book revolves around the experiences of Anjana and the people she came across in her life. “I graduated in BA Communicative English from a city college. But I found it difficult to find a job. That was when my mentor Shashank suggested the idea of coming out with a book that will connect to children with disabilities and also spark off an entrepreneurial journey for me,” said the 30-year-old.
“The nine tales are told in a playful manner to boost the confidence of children. The stories also have a moral – to create a more inclusive society,” said Anjana, who wrote the book using speech text software. “I was rejected many times when I tried to find a job. I hope the stories will serve as an eye-opener for those who do not give opportunities to people with disabilities,” she said.
In the book, a chapter titled `Football’ talks about how a group of children master sign language to help out a peer who is hearing and speech impaired and loves to play football.
‘Puzzle’ is a story about a teacher who finds fun activities for a disabled child so that he doesn’t feel left out.
‘Evolving Angels’ is available as an ebook and costs Rs 200. Due to financial constraints, a print edition has been put off on hold for the time being, said Anjana.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Shilpa Vasudevan / May 19th, 2016
Former IRPS officer G. Marimuthu has launched his third book Great Speeches of Great Men that saved Humanity (Manuda Amaidhikku Vazhivagutha Perarigyarin Peruraigal). The book is a translation of famous speeches delivered by well-known personalities.
“The book is aimed at instilling values in students and I have chosen speeches that have changed the destiny of the world,” says 63-year-old Marimuthu, who worked on the translation for close to a year.
A total of 41 speeches of international leaders and heads of nations, from the 1600s, find a place in the book.
The book begins with Michelle Obama’s speech and ends with that of Barrack Obama, as an appreciation of their oratorical skills. Queen Elizabeth’s statesmanship and Pope John Paul’s approach to religion are some of the messages the author has conveyed.
Seven women speakers are also celebrated in the book. Gandhi’s ‘The Great Trial’ speech and Kevin Rudd’s apology to ‘aborigines’ in Australia are the other highlights.
The author has previously written two books – Silappathigarathil Sirappana Vazhviyal Sinthanaigaland Arivupasikku Arumaiyana Sinthanaigal. With an educational background in history and law, Marimuttu’s aim to become a professor and educate the younger generation was unfulfilled. To fulfil this dream and to channelise his love for literature, he started writing.
“I am inspired by the speeches of Thamizharuvi Maniyan, Suki Sivam and Sudha Seshayyan,” says the resident of Arumbakkam, who plans to recite these speeches in government colleges and at training programmes.
The book is priced at Rs.169. “Proceeds from sales will be utilised to help students from poor and rural communities,” he says. For further details, call 9444628276.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / by Roshni Raman / Chennai – May 14th, 2016
Indian-American teacher Revathi Balakrishnan was recently honoured by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House for her work in the education.
Indian-American teacher Revathi Balakrishnan, who was recently honoured by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House for her work in the education space, said she was open to visiting India to conduct workshops or have dialogues with teachers here.
“I can teach them how to motivate students to learn, how to teach with rigor and relevance and how to build resilience,” Ms. Balakrishnan toldThe Hindu .
Native of Chennai
The Chennai-born teacher was named 2016 ‘Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year’ and will now represent Texas in the ‘National Teacher of the Year’ competition – a programme that identifies exceptional teachers in the U.S.
Ms. Balakrishnan, who works at Patsy Sommer Elementary School in Texas, did her B.A in economics from Ethiraj College in Chennai. She then did her M.A in economics from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
“My teaching degree is from Texas State University. I came to the U.S. in the eighties and was a systems analyst for 12 years with Liberty Mutual before becoming an educator. Teaching allows me to be creative in my ways of presenting curriculum to students,” she said. She has been teaching for 10 years now.
Her role is to teach math and English to students who are identified as Gifted and Talented (GT). That is, the top 5 per cent of students in the school.
“GT students have the ability to learn fast and they think in a different way, but too often, they are not understood. This leads to boredom, behaviour issues and under-achievement. In my classroom, they are challenged at their academic and creative level through project-based learning and Socratic questioning,” Ms. Balakrishnan explained.
Quality of teaching
On the education system in India and why it is so tough to get quality teachers here, she said, “I have never taught in India, so I don’t know much about it. Quality teachers just don’t appear magically, whether it is India or the U.S. In order to ‘grow’ successful students, we must ‘grow’ successful teachers. Higher teacher salaries also attract the best of the best to the profession. There has to be a fundamental shift in the way we view teacher support,” she emphasised.
Meeting
On her meeting the U.S. President, Ms. Balakrishnan said, it was a lifetime opportunity to visit the White House and meet the President.
“The ceremony was supposed to take place in the South Lawn. However, as it had rained, it was moved inside. So, I got to see the fantastic portraits of all the Presidents and the lavish decorations. Imagine all the historical conversations that have taken place in the Red Room and the Green Room,” she said.
‘GT students have the ability to learn fast and they think in a different way, but too often, they are not understood’
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sangeetha Kandavel / Chennai – May 18th, 2016
Pranesh (centre, in black) with his team Photo: R. Ravindran
Meet 28-year-old Pranesh Padmanabhan, who heads a photography company that covers a wedding a day without owning a single camera. SRINIVASA RAMANUJAM finds out how
Pranesh Padmanabhan describes the four years he spent studying electrical and computer engineering in four simple words: a waste of time. “In Chennai, if you’re doing anything other than engineering or medicine, you’re considered a terrorist,” he laughs.Looking back, he could have selected the study-engineering-get-fat-paycheque route. But that didn’t excite him.
What did set his heart racing, however, was taking pictures — or rather, “visualising photographs”, as he’d later realise. That was in 2010, when candid wedding photography was still nascent and a fad among the elite.
Pranesh, who already held two management degrees then (one from Chennai Business School and an online certificate course from Harvard), was, simply put, in the right place at the right time… with the right idea.
Today, Pranesh Photography – or Studio 31, as it was rechristened – is run like a corporate and boasts an office environment that might give top IT companies a run for their money.
They have 27 full-time employees and 40 freelancers, plus a Happiness Manager, an accountant and a full-fledged technology team.
These numbers are essential. After all, the team works on one wedding per day, sometimes even two. On one particularly busy muhurtam last year, they covered 27 weddings on a single day.
The big revelation comes here: they don’t own a single camera.
“I don’t understand why one needs to invest when you can just hire cameras, as per requirement,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I’ve a regular deal with a vendor who gives me great equipment on short notice. He takes care of all the equipment, insurance, the works, while we concentrate on the pictures and post-production.”
That’s an aspect he takes very seriously, and so calls it his USP. “Anyone can take photographs these days. And by that, I mean, good candidphotographs. But it’s still an unorganised market. The challenge is to deliver a smooth start-to-finish process; right from the time an enquiry call comes to the final delivery of the album.”
Facebook and other social media have helped his company grow from strength to strength. He typically targets the IT crowd, who hail from middle and upper middle-class families who would like to see “rich photo shoots” done at their weddings as well. “For us, every wedding is special. We target the aspiring middle-class crowd that would like to see a colourful spread of their special day.”
That doesn’t mean just photos of the gushing bride, her happily-in-tears parents and the coy groom. It also includes the traditional posed photos — something that everyone has, especially the elders in the family. Of course, those were shot by shutterbugs growing up at a time when Pentax, Kodak and Konica were household names.
Thanks to package deals made by the company (about one lakh for a wedding, all inclusive), the young, jeans-clad candid photographer no longer poses a threat to the traditional photographer. “I can proudly say that we have changed the lives of about 50 of them. They have bank accounts now. They’re no longer treated with disdain.”
Success and money came Pranesh’s way, but there were still challenges. 27 prospective life partners rejected his marriage proposals – or rather, their families – pointing out that he was just a photographer. 18 banks rejected his application for a loan, because they weren’t convinced that a photographer could earn so much money.
But he’s forgotten all that and moved on. Now happily married (to a journalist), the 28-year-old prefers the cool confines of his Kodambakkam office space to the hustle and bustle at a wedding hall. He’s looking at increasing revenues – their turnover was Rs. 3 crores last year, and he hopes to achieve Rs. 15 crores by 2018, by expanding to Coimbatore, Madurai, Erode and metros like Bangalore and Hyderabad.
What about the need to keep his passion for photography intact? “I’m planning to set up another company called Hues, through which I will directly get into honeymoon photography. It will involve travelling to places like Bali, New Zealand, shooting the newlyweds for a couple of days on location. There’s a huge demand for that now.”
However, he still does not plan to buy a camera, though he can afford it now. “I came into the photography industry without one and I wish to stay that way.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Srinivasa Ramanujam / May 14th, 2016
S Satish Kumar from the city emerged as a topper in the union public services examination, the results of which came out on Tuesday. He secured the 651th rank.
A graduate in electronics and instrumentation engineering from the Government College of Technology, Satish Kumar is a native of Perur. After his graduation, he worked with Wipro Technologies for eight years in destinations abroad like the United Kingdom, Brazil and Canada. “I was impressed with the kind of governance abroad, and wanted to do something similar in our country. So, I thought I will take up civil services,” said Satish Kumar.
He then cleared Group 1 in Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC), and served as the deputy collector in Madurai district for one-and-a-half years. “In 2014, I took the UPSC exam and got selected in the IRS category. I am undergoing training in Hyderabad,” said Satish.
Last year, the sixth rank holder in UPSC was from Coimbatore. Charusree T had secured the 749th rank and had got into IFS. In her second attempt, she bagged the sixth rank.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / May 11th, 2016
