Ancient and rare rock murals reflecting the pre-historic character of the district have been discovered in the Tirumayyam Fort premises, an official said today.
The existence of rock paintings which depict dances that existed in 5000 BC was known earlier, historian and District Chief Educational Officer N Arulmurugan said.
The paintings, made with red colour painting material, were found during a study of the Fort by a team of historians, including himsef, he told reporters here.
“The rock paintings at the Fort reflect the pre-historic character of the district… They are older than the murals of Sithannavasal, painted between 7th and 9th AD,” he said.
The painting on one side of the cap shaped rock near the entrance of the fort had faded. But on the otherside one can see row of paintings including one depicting man and a woman lying down in reclining posture.
Another painting is a dance programme wherein a couple are playing some musical instruments and another couple dancing holding their hands. This type of dance was mentioned in ancient Tamil literature ‘Tolkapiam’ as “Undattu” (a dance), he said adding a spectator, probably the queen or the chief of the area, had been separately drawn in a big size.
On the northern side of rock also many images had been painted. One of them showed several men following a woman in a queue.
Paintings had also been found on the roof of the cave between the Shiva and Vishnu temples in the fort. Some paintings show about the use of animals as a mode of transport and use of weapons made from rock for hunting animals.
Arulmurugan urged the archaeological department to protect the paintings.
The district was one of home of pre-historic man. A very large number of burial sites have been found. In and around Pudukkottai, there are many vestiges of the oldest habitations of man and some of the lithic records known in the south.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / by Press Trust of India / Pudukottai (TN) / November 22nd, 2013
With SpiceJet’s Madurai-Dubai flight taking off tonight, putting the customs airport in the Temple City on an expansion mode, a stall exclusively for Madurai malli (jasmine), which the city is famous for, was opened to promote the flower known for its fragrance in the international market.
N. Jegatheesan, malli exporter and president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has taken a small 4×4 square feet space at the international terminal on rent to make the queen of flowers available for arriving and departing passengers.
The neatly strung fresh jasmines, tied with banana fibre, is sold in two boxes1.5 m long strand for Rs 100, and 3 m long string for Rs 300. Given that stringing the buds is an art perfected by the flower sellers of Madurai, and is looked at with awe by tourists, a skilled jasmine ‘weaver’ has been engaged to keep tying the flowers to demonstrate the craft to tourists.
Union minister of state for commerce and industry E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, who inaugurated the stall on Friday, welcomed the move to have a stand for Madurai malli at the airport as the flower, like the Meenakshi temple, is synonymous with the city’s heritage. He urged the trade and industrialists to take steps to promote the flower in the international market.
On day one, the patronage for malli boxes was good. “We kept 50 boxes for sale as it was the opening day. But to our surprise, all were sold out even before the arrival of passengers of the inaugural Dubai flight,” Jegatheesan said. If the swanky airport sports a jasmine stall now to help passengers grab a strand or two, the book Madurai Malligai authored by educationist, Dr Uma Kannan, has already been made available to help international tourists have an insight of the city’s ubiquitous flower and its versatility.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/ Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / November 23rd, 2013
For Sakina N Olia, a BSc psychology student at Women’s Christian College, Chennai, the final-year of college is proving to be a year of “prioritisation and making the best of the time that is available”.
Sakina is part of Ayamara, which was initially conceptualised by Raghavendra Ramesh, Vineeth Ramesh and Srutanjay Narayanan, students of CEG, Anna University, Chennai. It is a student-run event management company that was started in August last year.
As a part of this 17-member group that manages various events across the city, she explains, “Our service charges are separate from the expenses incurred for that event. So we are able to manage our expenses pretty well. My payment depends on the kind of shows we do.”
They take care of events, both corporate and social. They have hosted a pan-Chennai car rally, launched a website called Paperhut, organised Secret Santa (Ayamara’s own initiative to give back to society in a unique way during Christmas), managed MYTF (a national-level theatre festival curated by Creashakthi), and organised and managed The Epic Show in association with 578 entertainments.
About the group Sakina says, “Each one of us are completely different individuals. But we work extremely well as a team. The advantage of having so many members with different talents is that we get the best product.”
Says Sakina, “I love being a part of Ayamara. I manage to find time to balance both work and studies. At times it’s hectic but equally fun and challenging. I want to pursue my master’s in human resource and in terms of Ayamara, we, the 17 of us hope to take it to larger and bigger heights!”
— kaviya@newindianexpress.com
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Edex / by Kaviya Sanjeevi – Chennai / November 18th, 2013
Enthusiastic students of Ethiraj College for Women here will join hands with Tamil director A.L. Venky to pay homage to 100 years of Indian cinema through an exhibition called Flashback, aimed to showcase and document the dynamic growth of cinema.
“As many as 250 students from the visual communication department of Ethiraj College for Women are working on the research material for this exhibition. Several popular studios as AVM and L.V Prasad have come forward to lend their archival materials for display at the exhibition,” said a statement from the visual communication department of Ethiraj College.
The exhibition, which will be inaugurated Dec 14, is slated for Dec 15-21 at the Anna University campus in the Tamil Nadu capital.
“The exhibition will display rare photographs, unusual facts, archival information, miniature of sets, cut outs and posters of Indian cinema over the century. A puppet show which relate to the history of cinema will also be performed at the exhibition,” further read the statement.
“A tent talkie, which was the original mode for exhibition of cinema, will be at the exhibition playing archival clippings and significant shots of Indian cinema. Popular sets such as the courtroom scene from Tamil classic ‘Parasakthi’ will be recreated and the viewing public can have themselves photographed on these sets,” added the statement.
A group of 100 artists will called Chennai Weekend Artists will participate and sketch, paint and display key scenes from milestone films.
source: http://www.pinkvilla.com / Pinkvilla / Home / November 19th, 2013
On the occasion of World Diabetes day, the city municipal corporation opened its herbal canteen service at the main office complex of the corporation. Specifically meant to serve healthy and nutritious meals the herbal canteen at the corporation is expected to be a great relief for hundreds of visitors and employees working at the corporation main office.
“The menu was fixed after ensuring the nutritional content of the food. Members of selected self help groups will operate the centre and our officials will monitor it,” said G Latha, commissioner, Coimbatore municipal corporation.
The herbal canteen will serve soup varieties from 11.am to 12.30 am at Rs10 per serving. Lunch time is from 12.30 to 2.30 pm during which limited meals and various variety rice would be served for Rs40 and Rs20 respectively. Evening snacks would be available from 4pm to 6pm at a rate of Rs10 per plate. Items include Navadhanya Adai, Vazhapoo Vadai and other savouries. The canteen will also serve various varieties of herbal and organic teas.
“We have supplied utensils and other facilities to the women entrusted with the canteen and they will pay us Rs750 daily. We will also fix a salary for them,” Latha added.
The corporation has spent around Rs 2.76 lakh on the herbal canteen and was reportedly planning to give it on a monthly rent of Rs5000 but now it is exploring possibility of lowering the rent. The canteen would be managed by 14 members of Sri Ganga Yamuna Womens SHG from Kurichi.
“The corporation has given us the facilities to operate the canteen. We will purchase the ingredients and other items required from the open market,” said P Pushpavalli, an SHG member.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by TNN / November 15th, 2013
Mount Cantonment CEO Prabhakaran speaking with cross-section of women identified by Loyola’s School of Human Excellence to be hired as conservancy staff at cantonment. — DC
Chennai:
The Military Cantonment Board in St.Thomas Mount has launched a unique initiative to provide employment to widows and destitute women in Chennai’s slums, identified by the School of Human Excellence of the prestigious Loyola College.
These women have been employed as conservancy staff to keep the vast cantonment area in the city clean, according to cantonment CEO Prabhakaran. He told DC that women working as housemaids for paltry salaries of 2,000-3,000 rupees a month are now being paid Rs 350 per day by the cantonment board.
“They are immensely happy. With their family incomes going up, their children are not dropping out of schools,” said the cantonment official, adding, “This is the first of its kind initiative undertaken by any cantonment, or for that matter any city corporation, in the country.”
He said the women were assigned only the job of sweeping the streets and there were no menial jobs like drainage cleaning given to them. “We treat them with dignity. We also make available free medical and education facilities for the families as we have two hospitals and two schools in the cantonment,” Prabhakaran said.
He said the programme was launched with just seven women workers drawn from different city slums on September 10 and their number went up to 22 now. Interestingly, the ‘spark’ for the initiative was lit at the birthday lunch that the CEO got for his wife Agila.
The couple chose to share lunch with the nearly 100 poor girls housed at the Fr Chirag Foundation, a vocational training centre run by Fr Henry Jerome, Dean, School of Human Excellence, Loyola College.
“That experience moved me and I decided I must do something for the poorer sections of our society. Loyola College helped me through its ‘outreach’ programme led by Prof Bernard Sami. His team was already familiar with most slums in the city and they helped us to identify deserving women,” said Prabhakaran.
Shanti, 38, is among the 22 now happily employed at the cantonment. This widow from Mangalapuram slum in Chetput lost her husband to alcoholism-most women in the group have similar stories to tell-four months back.
“I slogged as a housemaid and needed to frequently borrow at high interest from moneylenders. I was worried for my little son and daughter attending school. Now we feel reassured,” she said.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by D. Senthil Natarajan / November 14th, 2013
Stepping into the library of the Pandiyan Nedunchezhiyan Corporation Higher Secondary School in Madurai, one does not get the feeling of visiting a library situated inside a corporation school. Equipped with air conditioners, modern furniture, cushioned executive chairs, the library provides a perfect atmosphere for the children to kindle their reading habits. With only 466 books in 2009, the library now grown up leaps and bounds with more than 8,000 books in its collection. Thanks to the efforts of the librarian, K Kanagadurga, who joined in 2009 on a consolidated pay, the number of books not only increased, but it also imbibed reading habits among many students.
Philanthropists, who recently visited the library were taken aback by the maintenance were assured their contribution to the library to increase the books. A group of them had donated 1,032 books to the library. At a function organized in the library to felicitate the donors on Monday evening, V V Rajan Chellappa, mayor, Madurai Corporation took part. Speaking on the occasion, he said that people should take cue from the donors and give back to the society.
With two periods allocated for library for the 300-odd students in the school, the librarian is proud to say that 90% of the children are now fond of using the library books. Apart from the students belonging to the school, students from other schools in the surrounding areas are also benefited.
“When the book fair was held recently in Madurai, I thought of using the opportunity to equip the library with new books. I contacted some of the philanthropists. They were impressed when they visited the library and offered to contribute the books,” Kanagadurga said.
The library has books covering most of the subjects required for the students. Interesting simple scientific facts’ related books, history, biographies, autobiographies of eminent people are also available, she said.
“The most important thing is to attract the students to the library with simple books that are enjoyable to read. The books should be attractive so that children at least take and flip through them and discover the contents,” she said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / November 13th, 2013
Simrat Chadha and Nilini Sriram with korvai saris. / Photo: S.Madhuvanthi / The Hindu
Simrat Chadha brings alive the classic Kanchipuram sari, complete with near forgotten designs and colour combinations.
‘We are forward, Weave backward. Say the pitras as they sit by the loom’ – Rg Veda 130
To the rhythm of this unspoken bit of ancient poetry, countless weavers across India and across time have woven saris, upper cloths and veshtis of great beauty and elegance. In time, each region of the country came to excel in a particular set of motifs and designs in colours of Nature that blended to create unique saris with names which were bits of poetry in themselves.
The motifs of the Kanchipuram pattu sari, the pride of South India, had lyrical names such as tuthiripoo, bavanchu, kuyilkann, muthuchir, paalum pazhamum, oosivanam, vaizhapoo and simhasana. As Simrat Chadha, a South Indian pattu revivalist, puts it, “Ironically, the Kanchipuram sari itself is a misnomer. It came to be so called only because of the aggregation of saris and weavers in the city of Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram was actually a great veshti weaving centre! The “pattu” sari, or the Kanchipuram sari as it is commonly known, also owes its design soul less to Kanchipuram and more to the aggressive, spontaneous grace of Andhra’s design language and Karnataka’s staid yet graceful weaving patterns with Tamil Nadu’s structured textile philosophy. Every art form in Tamil Nadu follows strict structural formats. Even checks or lines whatever intricacy they wished to express followed structure. The exquisite Benarasi too came under Kanchipuram pattu sari’s structured patterning when the northern ‘hans’ became the ‘hamsam.’
Benaras patterns
Between 1820 and 1920, the pattu sari weaver began to absorb Benaras patterns such as ‘kinkab’ and ‘khilat’ in a Kanchipuram sari. In fact, so great was the popularity of the Benarasi saris that this writer’s mother’s nine-yard wedding sari – a nearly 100 year old heritage piece today – was a shot silk Benarasi silk spattered with woven bouquets of English flowers bunched in baskets.
A weaver at work / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
What distinguishes a true blue Kanchipuram pattu whose history, according to Hobbes and Watson, goes back to a timeless yesterday while other textile historians give it no more than 500 years?
It has a defined design structure, is heavy in weight, with a warp and weft twist called ‘murukku petta,’ tested zari and a matte finish. It can be identified by ‘seeru’ stripes and ‘kattam’ checks, three shuttle korvai which is a plain interlocked joint or a ‘muggu’ temple spine, and patterned border, mundanai end piece and so on. The borders are wide and pallus defined by elephants and parrots, among other designs.
While the korvai has all but vanished, so have many of the other features of the classic Kanchipuram sari leaving behind a rather soulless coming together of colours, uninspired borders and trendy motifs.
For that rich look: A re-created Kanchivaram sari./ by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Simrat’s passionate journey of revisiting and recreating the classic Kanchipuram was to stop “a bit of our culture and heritage from vanishing in front of our eyes. It was to entice the young person into appreciating and wearing the sari. It’s also my journey of responsibility. We are building pride of association at two ends – the customer and the weaver.”
“It all began with our collection of kodu and kattam cotton saris with korvai which was hugely popular. This convinced us to start our own pattu revival journey. I read all possible books on Kanchipuram saris and began collecting originals. All the old original Kanchipurams belong to mamis — friend’s mothers, aunts, grandmother and even great grandmothers! We then took a few of these originals and visited weavers and weaving centres in Kanchipuram, Salem and Madurai, to convince the weavers to replicate them.
Sarees of various patterns recreated with Korvai. / Photo: S. Madhuvanthi / The Hindu
The response varied. Why should they weave a korvai which was time and labour intensive or create such an intricate border? Sometimes, there would be excitement when an older weaver would identify an oosivanam or a mubaggam which he himself had woven in his younger days! There was a lot of travelling back and forth by the revivalist team, much persuasion and great creative excitement as looms were set up and the recreation process got under way.
The collection of 60 original Kanchipurams and 20 re-created ones mesmerises with ancient mellow beauty, mellifluous mingling of colours, and near-forgotten motifs. An old oosivanam in pink with stripes and a magical border sits besides its revised avatar. The same look and feel with perhaps a subtle difference? An old Vaira-oosi with red body stripes and yellow border is now re-created with yellow body and red border.
If original Korinads entice with their harmony of colours and texture so do the recreated ones in deep blue with red stripes and yellow border or in flaming orange. Part of the re-created saris is the ‘kallam puttani’, ‘kalaialangara pudavai’ and ‘moobhagam’ in a stunning intersection of purple and grey, black and grey and so on. Original black body and broad red border Kanchipurams stun with their design harmony.
Equally harmonious are black and shocking pink, off white with huge checks and ‘maanga’ borders, turquoise with yellow border, some with tiny checks, and much more…
Call 044-24997526 if you want to re-create old heritage saris.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Firday Review> Art / by Pushpa Chari / November 14th, 2013
Ten months after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a memorial for Chola King Karikalan, who built the Grand Anicut (kallanai), the 14-ft statue of the king on his elephant is ready for installation.
The bronze statue weighs between two and three tonnes. The image for the memorial was provided by the State government, and created by Chennai-based sculptor Kishore Nagappa.
In January this year, Ms. Jayalalithaa, while inaugurating a memorial for Colonel John Pennycuick, the British engineer who built the century-old Mullaperiyar Dam, said a similar memorial would be created for the ancient Tamil king near the Grand Anicut.
“The bronze statue depicts the king astride an elephant and pointing to the kallanai. The height of the elephant is 8 ft and the king sitting on it adds another 6 ft,” said Mr. Nagappa, whose father Jayaram Nagappa created the statues of Veerama Munivar and former Chief Minister Kamaraj on the Marina, and Swami Vivekananda at Vivekananda Illam. Mr. Nagappa used ‘sandwich moulding,’ a process that is normally employed to create larger-than-life statues. “First, we create a clay model and this is transferred to a plaster of Paris mould. Then, we create a sandwich model by laying wax in between the two layers of moulds. After allowing the mould to dry, we heat it to melt the wax and draw it out. This process leaves a cavity inside the mould,” he said.
Finally, the important process of pouring the molten bronze into the cavity begins. After allowing it to cool, the statue is chiselled to perfection. Mr. Nagappa said normally big statues are made in segments and welded together.
Nagappa
“While bronze images of Gods are solid pieces, statues are made with hollow insides. Handling and putting up a solid 14-ft statue will be a Himalayan task,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – November 10th, 2013
A standing ovation, thunderous applause and loud cheers welcomed him every time he walked into a packed hall. The former Indian president A P J Abdul Kalam ignited the imagination of thousands of his young fans in the UAE, urging them to read more, plant trees and sharing his mantra of world peace: making your mother happy.
A noted scientist and prolific author, the 82-year-old Kalam addressed three separate sessions at the Sharjah International Book Fair on Thursday, liberally citing ancient Indian texts, Syrian poets and Nelson Mandela. He started the morning with a keynote address at a seminar titled Birth of an Author in You, where he said “we all have authors inside” that are yet to be discovered.
An author of several inspirational books including Wings of Fire, Ignited Minds and Turning Points, Kalam revealed how he had visited a few book stalls earlier with the Ruler of Sharjah, Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, whom he hailed as a cultural scholar who knew the importance of knowledge dissemination.
Titled Great Books are Born out of Great Minds, Kalam’s talk focused on how human beings are wired for stories, as the worlds we imagine in books let us experience what we haven’t experienced in the real world.
Saying that the first step to enrich oneself was reading, Kalam administered an oath to students and parents, which they repeated after him: “Today onwards I will start a home library with at least 10 quality books, of which five will be children’s books. My son/daughter will enrich this library and my grandchildren will have a great library with 1,000 books. I consider our library as a lifelong treasure. We will spend at least one hour every day reading books.”
Kalam also urged parents to watch less television and read more instead to inspire their children who emulate them.
He firmly believed that storytelling is a central component of leadership and cited two people who inspired him: India’s own Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, who used the power of the written word to reach out to masses when there was no electronic media.
He recited a verse from the ancient Tamil classic Thirukkural, dating back more than 2,000 years: “For those who do evil, the best punishment is to do good to them”, a principle followed by both Gandhi and Mandela.
Popularly known as India’s Missile Man for playing a key role in developing India’s missile system, Kalam’s life mission now is to meet as many young people as possible, instil in them values of cultural excellence and encourage them to dream big. “I have interacted with 16 million youth in 15 years,” he said with a big smile, addressing nearly 2,000 students at the Sharjah Expo Centre.
Time and again he pointed out that the starting point of a great individual was righteousness: “Where there is righteousness, there is beauty in the character.” But above all, the key to your success is making your mother happy, urging children to repeat after him: “Today onwards, I will make my mother happy. If my mother is happy, then my home is happy, if my home is happy, then society is happy.”
Asked a question on India’s mission to Mars, Kalam said: “India’s Mars orbiter Mangalyaan hopes to reach Mars orbit by September 2014 to know more about its atmosphere. It gives a lot of hope. My dream is that maybe 50 years later Earth, Moon and Mars will become a single economic entity.”
The children couldn’t stop asking him questions and finally Kalam said: “Email me your questions on apj@abdulkalam.com and I will reply in 24 hours.”
source: http://www.thenational.ae / The National / Home> Arts & Culture> Books / by Malavika Vettah / November 09th, 2013
