Monthly Archives: July 2018
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An app to tell you where the nearest library is
Will soon cover all 4,600 libraries across State; act as a ready reckoner to their services
Knowing where your nearest public library is located will soon be just a click away. A mobile app, ‘Public Library: Finding community libraries, was launched as a part of the first regional public library conference at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on Tuesday.
The app, which is being launched as a pilot project, will initially cover 25 district libraries and will soon be scaled up to include all the 4,600 public libraries in the State. MSSRF, the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators and the Indian Public Library Movement are jointly working with public libraries across the State for the app.
With public libraries across Tamil Nadu becoming active centres for events ranging from story-telling for children, classes for civil services aspirants and even providing services such as soil testing for farmers nearby, the app will help make its users aware of what is happening in the libraries near them.
“We are also working on building a database of the books that each library has so that members can browse through them on the app. We plan to make this information available in phases,” said K. Srinivasan from the MSSRF, who is one of the app developers.
Literacy programme
M.A. Deepamala, a librarian from Vedapatti village in Coimbatore, said that they had been facilitating a literacy programme in their premises as well as medical awareness camps.
Speaking at the conference, School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said that with rural students having always depended on public libraries for civil services preparations, the government had announced the setting up of 32 coaching centres in district libraries across Tamil Nadu.
M.S. Swaminathan, founder of MSSRF, said that there was the need to make a stronger effort to bridge the knowledge gap and added that it could be done effectively through public libraries. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between V.C. Rameswaramurugan, Director of School Education and Director of Public Libraries, V. Selvam, Executive Director, MSSRF, and Shubhangi Sharma, Executive Director, IPLM towards redefining the role of public libraries as knowledge centres in India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by S. Poorvaja / Chennai – July 18th, 2018
‘Cos now I’m living on green power: An ode to the green guava
It’s guava season now and here’s something new to try with this amazing fruit
At a recent wedding, there was a surprise element on our vazha yellais. A chutney made with green guava by a local caterer. An appetising green in colour, it was smooth, creamy and delicious. It had the sour flavour that one associates with chaat.
It is now a sought-after item at wedding feasts and the credit goes to Madhampatty Rangaraj for not just developing the recipe but for getting me to think about using the green guava as a veggie option.
The guava may have originated in Central America but after hundreds of years in the Indian subcontinent, it is considered local. When it comes to nutrition, the guava is to Asia what the apple is to the west. Guavas contain possibly the highest amount of Vitamin C present in fruits. They are equally rich in Vitamin A, manganese, which helps the body absorb other essecinal nutrients, and folate, which is necessary for conception and growth of the foetus.
Yet it is not a fruit that is found as often as some others at our homes. This may have something to do with the fact that it isn’t used much in cakes, pies or even salads. While I have heard of guava jellies, squashes and jams, I wonder how much of the actual fruit goes into making these condiments. Also given that these products are pink/peach in colour, they are probably made using the pink strawberry guava rather than the green, which are easier to find here.
The country variety ranges from a small one with dark green flesh to bigger ones that with a paler green exterior. I wasn’t too fond of the guava especially because of the seeds that wouldn’t break, no matter how hard they were bitten.
With guavas in season now and available everywhere here, the first dish I experimented with was, of course, the chutney. I didn’t want to ask the caterer for his secret recipe but going by the taste, I used onion, green chillies, tamarind, turmeric powder, rock salt and a few coriander leaves. In went the chopped guava, seeds and all, because discarding the latter meant losing so much flesh. Once it was all blended together, we had to strain the chutney. The smooth purée was tempered with dried red chillies, curry leaves and mustard seeds. One taste and I was supremely happy.
With the rainy weather we’re having, a warm green guava soup is next on the agenda. And a koyakkai rasam maybe?
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Shanthini Rajkumari / July 17th, 2018
Sangita Kalanidhi award for Aruna Sairam
Awards for Thanjavur R. Ramadoss, Kalyani Ganesan, K. Oman Kutty, S.R.G. Rajanna, Premeela Gurumurthy and Shanta Dhananjayan
Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam has been selected for this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy.
The executive committee of the Academy that met on Sunday, unanimously selected her for the award, said N. Murali, the president of the Academy.
“An illustrious career spanning decades, she can be credited with taking the art to a very wide audience both in India and abroad. She is also known for her collaborative exercise in music with artistes of other countries and genres,” said Mr. Murali.
She will preside over the 92nd annual conference to be held between December 15, 2018 and January 1, 2019. The award will be conferred to her on January 1, the day of Sadas.
“I am in an overwhelming situation and have no words to explain my feelings. Even though I have won other awards, Sangita Kalanidhi convinces me that I have left an imprint in my chosen field,” said Ms. Sairam, who first learnt from her mother Rajalakshmi Sethuraman, a disciple of Alathur Venkatesa Iyer, the father of Sivasubramani Iyer, the elder of the Alathur duo.
Her mother was from Sirukamani, a village near Alathur and her father Sethuraman was from Tiruvarur and she was constantly in touch with her roots through music, though her family lived in Bombay.
With a solid foundation in Alathur school of music, at 10 she became a student of T. Brinda, who used to visit Bombay to teach students.
“She would stay with us in my house and taught students for two and half months. For 15 years I learnt from her. I regularly visited Chennai with my parents during the music season and listening to the maestros was a great experience,” recalled Ms. Sairam, who also learnt from S. Ramachandran, a student of Chittoor Subramaniam Pillai, A.S. Mani, a disciple of Tiger Varadachariar, T.R. Subramanian and nagaswaram player S.R.D. Vaidhyanathan.
“Balamuralikrishna taught me the techniques of improving my voice and I learnt abhang from Mohan Pai,” said Ms. Sairam, whose concert would not be complete without rendering an abhang.
Though she lived in Mumbai, she started visiting Chennai regularly during the music season from 1990. In 2002, she shifted to Chennai permanently.
“My regular visits to Chennai between 1990 and 2000 gave an opportunity to imbibe the music of others and learn the techniques to communicate my music to the audience. Thus I could strike a chord with them,” said Ms. Sairam, who became one of the most popular musicians in a short span of time.
Other awards
Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss, a student of Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer and vocalist K. Oman Kutty, will receive the Sangita Kala Acharya award.
T.T.K. Awards will be given to veena player Kalyani Ganesan and nagaswaram player S.R.G. Rajanna.
Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy, the Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu University for Fine Arts will get the musicologist award and dancer Shanta Dhananjayan will get the Nritiya Kalanidhi award, which will be conferred on her January 3.
source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – July 15th, 2018