A team of persons found a stone inscription established during Pandya King Sundarapandian at Sampalanayakkanpatti village near Palani on Thursday
An archeology team found the historical stone at sambalanayakanpatti near palani on Thursday – Express Photo
Based on the information, Narayanamurthy, an archeologist, and Thatchinamurthy, Director to MK university evening college and professors Kannimuthu, Rajavarman and Manivannan, visited Sampalanayakkanpatti village.
They found a stone inscription belongs to 1256 AD and it is believed, it was established by Sithra Mezhi Periya Nattar traders group. The stone inscription has possessed a trisul, plough and a musical instrument on top of the stone which indicated the traders group.
An archeology team found the historical stone at sambalanayakanpatti near palani on Thursday – Express Photo
The 18 traders group of 18 country (places) ( 18 kooda Vanigar Kuzhu) erected Desa Vinayagar temple after donating Oru Panam (one rupee) from each group, at Vaigavur Nadu (country) located near Periya Odai Kulam.
They mentioned, the money should be utilized to perform poojas and other things at the temple. It should be performed till the Moon and Sun are here. The Sithra Mezhi Nattar traders group was familiar between 11 AD and 13 AD.
It had possessed the rights to conduct local panchayat and to erect stone inscription equal to King. However, the Lord Pillair temple is not here at present.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / June 25th, 2015
Nonagenarian Tamil scholar K Meenakshi Sundaram of Coimbatore has been selected for the Bhasha Samman award given by Sahitya Akademi this year.
Meenakshi Sundaram, who is an author of numerous books including The Contributions of European Scholars to Tamil, was born in the village Vellakinar near Thudiyalur on July 11, 1925. He took his BA (Mathematics) from the Government Arts College, Coimbatore in 1948 and his MA (Tamil) and MLitt from Annamalai University. He did his Phd from the University of Madras.
Having worked as a lecturer in Tamil in Annamalai University, Meenakshi Sundaram taught in various government arts colleges in Tamil Nadu. However, he was the first Tamil professor to become the Director of Collegiate Education.
“Professor K Meenakshi Sundaram is the second Tamil scholar to bag the Bhasha Samman. Previously, the award was given to Prof. S V Subramaniam of Kerala University, who was my teacher,” said K Nachimuthu, convenor, Sahitya Akademi, Tamil Nadu and professor of Tamil in Central University of Tamil Nadu.
Poet Sirpi Balasubramaniam, a two time Sahitya Akademi award winner from Coimbatore, who was a student of Meenakshi Sundaram in Annamalai University, said, “The Bhasha Samman is given by Sahitya Akademi for two scholars of different languages in India every year. Nevertheless, the award comes rarely for Tamil scholars.”
Nonagenarian T C Ramasamy, who translated Raja Rao’s famous novel The Serpent and the Rope in Tamil and penned books on Meenakshi Sundaram as Kattror Nokkil Munmadhiriyana Oru Mamanithar and Perasiyar Ka Mee Aaraychi Thadangal, says: “Meenakshi Sundaram is a great research scholar in Tamil. And I am glad that Bhasha Samman award is given to him.”
Meenakshi Sundaram is an author of famous books like A Study of the Poetical works of Subramanya Bharathi, Pannmayil Orumai, Silambil Thunai Paathirangal, Manonmaniam Sundaranar Puratchithiran and son.
The Sahitya Akademi has also selected Chella Ganapathy,a Coimbatore-based writer of Children’s literature for Sahitya Purashkar award for his book Theduthal Vettai and Veerapandian for his Tamil novel Parukkai.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Meenakshi Sundaram / June 25th, 2015
Carnatic musician Sanjay Subrahmanyan, who has been chosen for this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi, is an artist who has succeeded in bringing Vivaadhi ragas like Kanakaangi , Rathnaangi and Vanaspathi into the mainstream, on par with popular ragas.
“He brought back the glory of Tamil compositions by Mazhavai Chidambara Bharathi, Subramania Bharathi, Kavikunjara Bharathi and Mayavaram Vishwanatha Sastri. He has an enormous repertoire and has brought to life several unknown compositions. He has brought back the glory of Tamil compositions including from the Thevaram, Thiruvachagam and Nalayiradivyaprabandam,” says V. Sriram, historian and a long-time friend of Sanjay’s.
Mridangam exponent and Hindustani vocalist T. V. Gopalakrishnan, who was conferred the Music Academy’s Sangita Kalanidhi in January, 2015, says, “Personally, it is a great pleasure to see this very focused and committed musician getting the greatest award at the right time. I am also very happy that I am going to be the person to propose him at the inauguration of the conference,” he said.
Connoisseur Cleveland Sundaram likens Sanjay to Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. “Both had tough voices to tame, which they mastered ,” he says.
Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan said that Sanjay is an epitome of dedication, hard work and sincerity.
“His adherence to classicism stands out as a perfect example to young artistes. His thirst to learn and keep expanding his repertoire amazes me,” she says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Deepa H. Ramakrishnan / Chennai – June 24th, 2015
The significance of Om mantra, bungee jumping and Chennai rains may have nothing in common. But now, there is one connecting link to the three unrelated topics, courtesy Dr J S Rajkumar’s book latest tome— Scalpel Scribbles. The surgeon from Lifeline Hospitals, who has authored various educational books, has now come up with his own collection of poems and short stories that focus on his ruminations and memories of real incidents. These include the 2004 Kumbakonam fire accident that claimed the lives of children, and a few other incidents.
Dr JS Rajkumar at the book launch of Scalpel Scribbles | P Ravikumar
“Moments from my life that were worth documenting, form this book. It all started when the Tsunami had struck the city and since then, I have been jotting down notes — some as poems and some as prose — on tissues, bits of papers I could find, during plane journeys or whenever I found time. There are close to 50 poems and short stories in the book. They more or less trace my mind’s map during these years. The stories and poems here are just half of those I had documented. The remaining would perhaps be released as another book,” said Dr Rajkumar at the launch of his book on Tuesday.
Poetry, which the author said are a dance of words, is his preferred way of expressing thoughts. Having read poet John Keats, who was also a medical doctor, further inspired him to use the form to express his thoughts. However, that did not go down well with a few publishers. “They had turned down the book, because they didn’t want poems. I had almost given up, when Covenant Media agreed to take up the offer,” he added.
While his memories were documented since 2004, it was not until 2011 that Rajkumar decided to make a collection of his memories. Following the flow, he however, did not decide what should be narrated in what format, until he began writing.
“I didn’t plan them, things just fell in place,” he said.
Rajkumar added that this book might open more avenues for him to write, apart from the text books.
“I will perhaps start writing my second book tonight, and it will be about the human side of my experiences with a few patients,” he said excitedly.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Aparna Desiken /June 25th, 2015
A group of archaeologists from Palani have discovered five dolmenoid cists, probably belonging to the megalithic period, in a tribal village in Dindigul district.
According to V Narayanamoorthy, an archaeologist, who stumbled upon these ancient structures at Kummalamarthupatti in the Western Ghats on Saturday, only two of the five dolmens found in the area were intact. Just the remains of the other three can be seen.
One of them is four feet high while the other one is six-and-a-half feet high. The capstone of the taller dolmen has a diameter of about 10m. The stones were found in a site about 582m above sea level, inside a thick forest. Tribal people who come to the spot seem to use it as a resting spot.
Narayanamoorthy said the capstone might weigh around two tonnes. It has an 8-cm diameter circle in the middle, which was drawn in red ink. The centre of the circle is marked with a red point.
He said dolmens pertaining to the Sangam period discovered in this region were usually found facing north. “But these dolmens were placed haphazardly, which prove that they belong to the pre-sangam era and are about 3,000 years old,” he said. Pottery chips found at the site had nailmark cuttings, which also pertains to that period.
T L Subash Chandira Bose, an archeo-symbolist, said the sign on the dolmen signified that the person buried under it had lived a full life and attained the ‘mukthi’ state according to Hindu beliefs. “Just a single circle with one middle dot is very significant. Explaining its importance will be a lecture on its own,” he said.
“This larger circle with a dot at the centre signifies what we call ‘parathuvam,’ that is, attaining eternity without rebirth. To my knowledge, this is the first time that this sign has been found in this part of Tamil Nadu. Usually, there would be two or more circles under the capstones,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / June 27th, 2015
WHAT’S COOKING? Couples and cookery enthusiasts get busy at the workshop.
Foodology organises culinary workshops for brides and grooms- to-be
“Ayyo, why are you stuffing chopped coriander into the cutter? You use that to carve out vegetables into different shapes.” laughs one of the participants as she directs her husband during the Bridal Cooking workshop held over the weekend.
Fresh vegetables, spoons and ladles, a variety of spices, colourful aprons and a smiling chef waits for the participants as they get ready to cook the ‘healthy’ menu for the day — watermelon and barley salad, Caesar salad, burgers with rajma patties and sweet potato fries. It takes them two hours, a few mishaps and some cheering to get their dishes ready, before sitting down to taste and enjoy it for themselves.
“I am trying something like this this for the first time. I never knew we can actually make rajma patties for a burger” says Kala Pillai who’s been married for nine months now. “Yes, we do a lot of fun things together but cooking is a first” adds her husband, Natraj Pillai.
The chef for the workshop, Neelima Sriram glides in with her batch of dishes as we speak. She’s been busy plating them meticulously, not a leaf out of place. “You eat through your eyes. The moment you see beautiful food, you want to try it” she smiles. Ask her about the advantage of such a workshop and she says “Getting to know your fiancé or your partner closely is very important. And I think cooking is a great way to connect. You discover each other’s likes and dislikes and learn to communicate effectively.”
There are also a few college students in the cooking group but they are quick to ward off the ‘are you getting married?” questions shot at them. “We are just here to have some fun. I enjoy cooking and thus joined the workshop to pass the time during vacations” says Sruthi Ganesh, a fourth year architecture student.
Organised by recreational culinary studio, Foodology, the workshop will be held over five long weekends with menus covering various cuisines, including Punjabi, Mexican, Italian, healthy diet and indulgence. “The statistics say that out of five dishes, people definitely go back home and try to make three. So when we decide on the menus, we try to come out with different and unique items” says Neelima.
The concept of a ‘Bridal Cooking workshop’ has certainly piqued a lot of interest in the city. Shree Periakaruppan, founder of Foodology, believes that instead of going out to restaurants on dates, couples should try cooking together. “You get so much more time to bond. Besides, when you use the term ‘Bridal package’ it usually means a visit to the parlour. However, I wanted to change that concept. A cooking workshop is a lot more fun and lets you a learn a life skill.” she adds.
(The workshop will be on for one more weekend at the Foodology centre, 3 A, Second Main Road, Kasturba Nagar, Adyar. For details, log on to www.foodology.in)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Priyanka Parthasarthy / June 22nd, 2015
Suraksha Bhatla and Sharan Sundar. Inset shows their model for the ‘shanty scraper’. — PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
Winning a competition for their vertical living design is a boost for architects Suraksha Bhatla and Sharan Sundar.
High rises are the future. Growing population, limited land area and talented architects will ensure that. This is probably why the eVolo Skyscraper competition to acknowledge outstanding ideas for vertical living is conducted in New York every year. “The brief encourages designers to come up with digital submissions of new urban vertical living proposals using advances in technology, new architectural methods and sustainable ideas,” explains Chennai-based Suraksha Bhatla, who, along with Sharan Sundar, won the second place in the competition. Out of the 500 entries from around the world, 100 are shortlisted to be published every year.
“We thought of how slums aren’t visible in the city’s skyline,” says Suraksha. Their proposal was for a ‘shanty scraper’, to address the problem of growing slums in the county. They believe that one of the reasons their proposal won is because the jury wanted to bring the issue of slums to the forefront to drive discussion.
“Usually with slums, the Government response is to relocate the dwellers. This doesn’t work because most of them end-up sub-letting their houses to move back to the slums, which is closer to their job,” says Suraksha, a sustainability consultant and freelance architect.
“Currently, vertical living is only for people who are from a high-income bracket, so we explored something different,” explains Sharan, who works as an architect for Zaha Hadid in London. The winning Polish entry proposed the idea for a utopian skyscraper in the middle of New York City, interwoven with nature, as a means to relieve one from city life. A Malaysian team proposed an idea for a limestone scraper, China, a tower of refuge and Russia presented Cybertopia.
The duo studied together in Anna University’s School of Architecture and Planning, and graduated from the Architectural Association in London. “We wanted to create something that’s aesthetically appealing and yet made of recyclable material,” says Sharan, while Suraksha adds that the materials used — post construction debris like pipes and reinforcement bars, timber and thatch — give the structure a post apocalyptic feel.
Although theirs is only a conceptual design, they say that it is feasible to execute.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Raveena Joseph / June 22nd, 2015
A biography of Dr Sanjaya Rajaram, who developed 58% of all wheat varieties that exist now, was released in Chennai on Sunday.
The book, “Mr Golden Grain, the Life and Work of the Maharaja of Wheat,” traces the humble beginning of Rajaram and his success.
The book highlights Rajaram’s sheer grit and determination that took him from a humble wheat researcher to a global leader in research arena.
The book, written by agriculture communications specialist G Venkataramani, was released at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. M S Swaminathan, founder of MSSRF, released the book and applauded it for being one of the best biographies on scientists.
“Dr Rajaram has shown single-minded devotion and desire not only for knowledge but to work towards public good, bringing him awards cutting across national boundaries,” he said.
“The book not only delves on not only on the humanistic aspects of the person but also on the scientific strength of Dr Rajaram,” he added.
Rajaram — who is the recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize for his scientific research that lead to an increase in wheat production by more than the 200 million tonne — expressed his concern over the growing population and the need to strengthen a holistic approach to agriculture especially related to soils and seeds.
“Wheat is a great programme on paper. However, the quality of seeds is a great concern where different varieties are being mixed and sold. Although it is distributed by the public sector, if farmers don’t get good seed, they won’t get good crops. We can look at public-private or public – NGO supported models for better seeds,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Karthikeyan Hemalatha, TNN / June 21st, 2015
Padmanabhan serves excess food from weddings and parties to poor students in Coimbatore. Photo: M. Periasamy
Padmanaban Gopalan is on a crusade to stop the colossal amounts of food people throw away every day
A determined young face stares back at me from the Pollination Project website and that is how I first learnt of Padmanaban Gopalan.
Earlier, a whatsapp forward had caught my attention with the words “no food waste” and a link. Young Padmanaban, I learnt, has been nominated as a visionary for 2015 by “Pollination Project”, California. The project gives seed grants to those who make a difference in their community.
On the 29th July 2015, Padmanaban Gopalan will be awarded the 1000th grant in appreciation for his work in providing food to those in need of it.
His name was proposed by Poornima Bhavesh, who has herself won the grant, when she was witness to his social service.
Padmanaban Gopalan’s motto is “Be the change that I want to see in the world”. In his 2nd year at college, he co-founded the green club at GCT.
After graduation, in 2014, he along with a few friends set up S.P.I.C.E (Society Promoting Innovation Creativity & Entrepreneurship).
Their objective was to encourage children to think out-of-the-box for a greener world. Padmanaban interacted with many schools in and around Coimbatore and it was then that he saw how much food children wasted. Tiffins were emptied into dustbins, food was flung at each other playfully or just left around carelessly.
He found out that each day 12 to 18 kgs of food were thrown into the garbage truck along with other school waste which made it almost impossible to segregate. He figured that one school with 1200 children had an average waste of 3875 kgs of ‘edible’ food in one year.
On World Food Day, Padmanaban decided to put his food management plan into action and registered the domain nofoodwaste.in.
His first awareness campaign was conducted at Carmel Garden School. The message was to try and make the school a ‘zero food waste campus’. He did a survey and conducted an audit.
Many other schools invited him to conduct similar audits.
Padmanaban soon noticed results. He knew for sure now that student-involved movement was definitely the way forward. Next, Padmanaban began to look at leftovers at hotels. He packed the uneaten food and gave it to the homeless. Then he turned his attention to the colossal waste at weddings.
In November 2014, he conducted an Awareness Marathon. He shared his mobile number and people were encouraged to call him in the event of excess leftovers. His first call to pick up food was at a reception at a private home. He carried three shopping bags full of food and distributed them to slum dwellers near the Government Hospital. As calls became more frequent, he and his friends Dinesh and Sudhakaran packed up food from kalayana mandapams.
When the numbers increased from 50 packets to 400, they had to figure out a different way of doing things. Volunteers were dwindling, packing leftovers was tiresome and they were unable to find enough homeless people to give 400 packets of food. They approached orphanages and ashrams, and finally, Fr. Xavier, at St. Joseph’s ITI Ashram, happily accepted the food procured by such hard work and dedication.
The team decided to borrow utensils from people in that area for easy distribution of food. This is the practice they follow today.
Padmanaban neighbours and many others generously lend him their vessels. They now supply frequently to 15 ashrams or orphanages. They carry out all this work on a two wheeler.
In order to streamline the work they are doing, Padmanaban has all the statistics on his computer and makes daily logs. Mid afternoon is usually when he gets calls about the availability of food. Anandhi bakery at SIDCO provides him with food regularly. Caterers from Perur, Mr. Hariharan and Mr. Suresh also help and put him in touch with many functions and happenings in the city. “Helping hands” at Kovaipudur also encourage his work. Padmanaban was invited to attend a leadership summit where he put down his vision on paper.
He thanks people such as Shobhana Kumar and Shankar Vanavarayar for encouraging him to read motivational pieces that helped him see his chosen path with clarity. Opportunities began to present themselves.
He met people who were eager to help with filming a documentary and formulating a web design. These were just what he needed to cement his vision.
Padmanaban Gopalan’s vision for 2015 is an India with zero food wastage. He wants to set up ‘Last minute shops’, where people who have excess food in their homes can sell it.
Padmanaban’s advice to reduce food waste could not be more simple:
There is only so much one can eat, so buy just what you require.
Look around your locality and share excess food with those who need it.
If you think you cannot use up food that is approaching its expiry date in time, give it to someone who will.
If you are eating out and there are leftovers, pack it up and give it to someone who is hungry.
Get children involved
Select five no-food waste ambassadors in each school
Get them to check the dustbin and send him a daily report
Suggest ways to bring down wastage. (Bring just what you can eat. If you have more share it with others. Keep dry food and wet food separately. Take leftovers back home.)
Get the kids to pledge: “In our school we have wasted 3500 kgs of food this year. I alone am responsible for 15 kgs. I promise to reduce, reuse and recycle.”
* PSG primary and nursery school set up three daily dumps to throw daily food waste. This was turned into compost by adding dry leaves and letting it decompose naturally.
* ABC Matric School at Avarampalayam uses grow bags into which they discard their food waste. They sprinkle it with compost accelerator to let it become manure.
“No food waste” needs volunteers. You can volunteer at 9629334185
No Food waste helpline is 90877 90877
Follow Padmanaban on http://www.facebook.com/agpadmanaban
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Shanthini Rajkumar / June 21st, 2015
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday inaugurated a memorial of freedom fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman in Kayathar in Tuticorin district.
The memorial that costs 1.2 crore was opened through video conferencing from Secretariat, an official release said. In 2013, Jayalalithaa announced that the state government would build a memorial for the patriot who was hanged by the British.
She also inaugurated a memorial of freedom fighter Sankaralingam in Virudhunagar district.
Sangaralingam died while staging a hunger strike to rename Madras Presidency into Tamil Nadu. The memorial cost 1.2 crore
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / June 20th, 2015
