Nearly 12 years have passed, and it stands as a classic example
The successful rooftop rainwater harvesting structure has also given a scenic look to the Mariamman Teppakulam in Virudhunagar even during dry days. / Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
Nearly 12 long years have passed, and the rainwater harvesting (RWH) system in Mariamman Teppakulam here stands as a classic example of how community involvement could bring about phenomenal changes.
Dubbed as the first project to have the biggest network of rooftop RWH structure in the State – set up in 2002– the temple tank in an arid town has descent storage of water even now when other parts of the district are reeling under water crisis.
The municipality along with Virudhunagar RWH Association and Hindu Nadar Palasarakku Mahamai began to connect the rooftops of buildings around the tank in early 2002. Water collected from the rooftops was made to drain in the tank through a network of pipelines.
“Every time, we completed a big portion of the network, we received rain within a couple of days. The raising water level in the tank encouraged more people to join us voluntarily,” said former municipal vice-chairman and Virudhunagar RWH Association joint secretary S. Balakrishnasamy.
Over 50,000 square feet of rooftops were brought under the RWH network.
Besides, the local people took up repairing a channel that supplied surplus water from the Kowshika river from where water was pumped to the tank with underground pipelines laid for more than three km. All that the then Collector K. Gopal did was facilitating the work by coordinating with all the government departments, he said.
Earlier, the tank was rendered dry for good parts of the year after fast urbanisation changed the course of rainwater that used to feed the 324 feet by 294 feet tank.
“When sewage water started mixing with the rainwater in the river, the Mahamai went a step forward and bought over four acres of land upstream to create a new water storage point,” former secretary of the Mahamai P.M.S.N.K.D. Rajavel said.
A leading channel was dug up to bring rainwater from Kowshika river into a small waterbody. An infiltration well was dug up in it from where water was pumped to the tank some five km away.
“The municipality takes care of the electricity bill for pumping water. We have erected a 40-KVA generator to keep the 25-Horse Power motor pump on as and when required,” Mr. Rajavel said.
The Mahamai has created a corpus fund of Rs.40 lakh for the RWH system. It spends around Rs.5 lakh on its maintenance and operation. Water from here and the rooftops fills up not only the tank, but also eight wells in the area.
Dedicated pipeline with a valve control has been provided allowing overflowing water from the tank to fill up the wells. “Almost the entire southern parts of the town are water- sufficient,” Mr. Rajavel said.
The pump room along Kowshika river from where water is pumped to the tank. Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu
Water stored in the storage point as a result of one hour rain in three spells last year was good enough to draw a huge quantity of water which was at least two times the capacity of the tank.
Mr. Balakrishnasamy said most of the 3,000-odd borewells in the town continued to provide sufficient water for the residents. The municipality has also created smaller rooftop RWH structures in 10 places that help in rejuvenation of groundwater in different residential areas across the town.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by S. Sundar / Virudhunagar – July 18th, 2014
A golden wedding anniversary had passed silently by and nobody noticed. I allude to that of Rukmini and Rajagopalan, which took place, as I see from the invitation card, on April 29, 1963.
A golden wedding anniversary had passed silently by and nobody noticed. I allude to that of Rukmini and Rajagopalan, which took place, as I see from the invitation card, on April 29, 1963. I am assuming that the couple had a happy married life and were still around to celebrate the 50 anniversary of tying the knot.
What is all this you ask. And what is so unusual about a Tambrahm wedding that happened 51 years ago? Well, in the first place, it took place in Washington, a rather unusual location for those times. And secondly, considering that it took place in an era when media was in its infancy and the Internet was something that the army used, thousands of Tamils followed the build up to the actual event with bated breath all across the world.
Those belonging to that era would have caught my drift. Those who came in later will need explanatory notes and here they are – it was in 1963 that the well-known Tamil writer, humourist and editor of the magazine Dinamani Kadir, Sa Viswanathan (Saavi) embarked on his entirely fictitious account of a Tambrahm wedding in Washington, courtesy the wealthy Mrs. Rockefeller.
The plot in brief is like this – the well-to-do Hopes family based out of New York is extremely close to the Murthy family, whose head works for the UNESCO. From Vasantha, the Murthy daughter, Loretta, the Hopes child, hears about the wonders of India. When Vasantha gets married in Thanjavur, the Hopes come down and participate in a full-length wedding.
Back in the US, the Hopes brief Mrs Rockefeller about the wondrous Tambrahm wedding and she is keen to see one; not by herself but in the company of all her family and friends. She therefore, using the good offices of Murthy, selects a South Indian couple who are to be married in Madras, to come over the US. They are of course accompanied by their respective clans, an assortment of cooks, priests, musicians (Ariyakkudi, Lalgudi and Palghat Mani Iyer) and nagaswaram artistes, countless other service providers and above all, a battalion of Mamis who are brought in to make appalams.
What follows is a grand wedding at R Street, Washington DC. Wielding a facile pen, Saavi created a hilarious account of how a Brahmin wedding is organised, contrasting it with the wonderment of the Americans. As you read it, you also get the feeling that Saavi was laughing at us. The story when serialised, was accompanied by the sketches of veteran Gopulu, making for a big hit. Alliance Publishers later released it as a book, which is still in print.
Washingtonil Tirumanam became a successful play, staged by every sabha in the city. Making his theatrical debut in it was Poornam Viswanathan. The highlight was the audience participating in the traditional procession accompanying the bridegroom, conducted every evening around the venue.
51 years later, Washingtonil Tirumanam remains evergreen – a testimony to Saavi, and our weddings that keep getting bigger.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Sriram. V. / Chennai – July 18th, 2014
A terracotta ring well, believed to be over 2,000 years old, was found near Cuddalore during the desilting work in a lake, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
When the workers were desilting the Kondangi Lake near Cuddalore old town on Saturday, they found a strange round-shaped object and informed the Annamalai University’s History Department.
A team, led by assistant professor J R Sivaramakrishnan of the Annamalai University,went to the spot and examined the object on Sunday.
Sivaramakrishnan said, “It is a terracotta ring well, which might be 2,200 years old. The ring well is 42 cm high with a radius of 54 cm. A 100 metres away, we found broken pieces of an urn. With all these findings, we could say there was a settlement here during the stone age.”
He added that based on the stone manufacturing style, the ring well may date back to 2nd century BC.”
Further he said that as the area from where the ring well was found was full of sea sand, the place might have been a sea-area centuries ago.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States>Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / July 14th, 2014
A view of the historical shore temple at Mamallapuram, near Chennai. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday announced that six more towns in the State would get the heritage tag File photo: K. Pichumani
Thirumuruganpoondi, Kazhugumalai, Swamimalai, Punnainallur Mariamman temple, Thirupuvanavasal and Thirubhuvanam added to the list of heritage towns in the State
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday announced Rs. 1 crore each for the infrastructure development of 10 ancient and historical towns in the State
The Chief Minister told the Assembly that the State had already declared 64 places as historical and ancient towns and released Rs. 50 lakh each towards the infrastructure development of 60 towns.
Now her government decided to increase the amount to Rs. 1 crore and accordingly Thiurparamkundram, Thiruvattar, Suchindram and Kodumudi would benefit from the announcement.
She also included six more places in the list of ancient towns. They are Thirumuruganpoondi, Kazhugumalai, Swamimalai, Punnainallur Mariamman temple, Thirupuvanavasal and Thirubhuvanam
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – July 15th, 2014
The Laidlaw Memorial School, popularly known as St George’s Homes, located in a scenic valley in Ketti near Ooty, is set to celebrate its centenary on Thursday. The centenary celebrations will be attended by ?old Georgians’ (as the alumni are called), from all over the world and the festivities will continue for three days, said Michael James, principal of the school.
On the inaugural day a statue of Rev John Breeden, the founder of the school, will be inaugurated. St George’s Homes, essentially a residential school, was founded in 1914 by Rev Breeden to provide boarding and education to the children of the Protestant Europeans and Anglo Indian communities.
As it was liberally endowed by Sir Robert Laidlaw, the school was named after him. The school was started in Kodaikanal and was moved to its present home in 1922.
The centenary celebration of the institution is being organised in association with ?Old Georgeons Association’ which boasts of many famous names including Dr Mammen Chandy, one of the leading haematologists and director of Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata and former president of World Hematology Congress and Noel French, gold medal winner in World Veteran’s hockey championship, held recently in Amsterdam. .
A coffee table book containing photos of the school, ?now and then’ and the surrounding forests and the Nilgiri hills will be brought out during the function.
A new pathway named the?Old Georgian Centenary Pathway’ will also be inaugurated on Thursday.
According to James, Thursday will mark the beginning of the year-long celebrations to mark the 100{+t}{+h} year of the institution. Beginning with only three students, the school now has a strength of 525 students, including 250 girls and is a compulsory boarding institution. Since the school was started specifically for the Anglo-Indian community, even today they are provided free education.
About 76 Anglo-Indian students are presently studying in the school.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Shanthan Thiagarajan, TNN / July 10th, 2014
Jegaveera Pandiya Subramania Kattabomma Durai / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
A 74-year-old descendant of Veerapandia Kattabomman is finding it hard to make ends meet.
He has appealed to the State government to increase the ‘tyagi’ pension as he was finding it difficult to run the family with a paltry amount of Rs. 2,000 a month. V. Veemaraja alias Jegaveera Pandiya Subramania Kattabomma Durai, who belongs to the fifth generation of the Kattabomman clan, is residing at Sathathiyar Kudiyiruppu at Panchalankurichi, the birth place of Kattabomman.
“I have been drawing pension since the age of 27. In 1872, the British government sanctioned a pension of Rs. 52 for Kattabomman’s descendants. For years, I was called ‘maharaja’ and ‘samy’ by residents of our area. Now, I seek government support to protect my family. Occasionally, programme organisers invite me to deliver talks on the deeds of Kattabomman. But the money I get from such programmes is not sufficient,” Mr. Durai told The Hindu .
A request for old age pension for his wife V. Petchiammal (58) was turned down citing Mr. Durai’s pension. Petchiammal used to earn a meagre sum for manual labour under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by J. Praveen Paul Joseph / Tuticorin – July 10th, 2014
She may be best known for her Grammy-winning song from Slumdog Millionaire, but there are more sides to the Chennai-based singer, songwriter and designer
On early mornings, there’s only one place to find Tanvi Shah: out at sea. The calm descends within the moment she paddles out into the waters. With the sky above and little else around, Tanvi surfs the sea’s swells, thinking. From lyrics for her next song-writing project, to rehearsing rhythms and tunes, planning song videos, even deciding band placement spots and her performance moves, this is Tanvi’s “me, myself and I” time. The energy in the vast expanses fuels her inventive spirit and this Grammy-awarded singer, songwriter and designer is bubbling over with creative energy.
This past Monday though, she’s as jittery as a spring wound tight. She hasn’t hit the water for three weeks, her band is scattered across town and she has a rehearsal to run for in an hour, for her big gig at Hard Rock on Thursday last. Start talking about her music though and Tanvi unwinds, relaxing in the obvious pleasure it gives her. “It’s a Latin night!” she says, “I’m going to be singing in Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian, French and I may even sneak in a Hebrew song if I can manage it.” Tanvi shot to fame in 2010 when her Spanish lyrics for ‘Jai-Ho’ won her the Grammy with A.R. Rahman and Gulzar, but her love for languages roots itself way back, in her college days, studying ceramics in the U.S.
Born into a family proficient in design, Tanvi never envisioned herself a singer — “always some environment-friendly activist kind” — but her mother says she recognised voices in music even as a child. She grew up on Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar, and discovered Osibisa at 11, but her musical world was thrown open in an American college dormitory. With an Egyptian roommate who jived to Daniela Mercury on one side and Spanish friends who danced merengue, samba, salsa and tango on the other, Tanvi delved into a truly international culture at the Havana village parties she frequented in Washington DC. She encountered the Latin American greats — Sergio Mendez, Juanas, Pablo Alboran, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan — and though it took a while to understand their complex rhythm patterns, she wasn’t one to cower at a challenge.
Back in India, a chance recording of her singing a karaoke cover, reached Rahman, and in 2004, he gave her her first break with ‘Fanaa’ in the film Yuva. From Delhi 6, to Slumdog Millionaire, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Enthiran, Biriyani and much more, Tanvi has worked the Hindi, Telugu and Tamil playback singing circuit for a decade now, most frequently with Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja. “Every time I’m at a Rahman recording, he throws me a challenge — let’s sing in Spanish today, let’s try a different style today — and I come away having learnt so much about music and language. I’ve been enormously blessed to work with directors who let me improvise, explore my own talent and draw out what they believe is my potential.”
Outside films, Tanvi has collaborated with international artistes across genres, from Snoop Dogg, on the track ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’, to Spaniard Gustavo Alarco on her song ‘Lluvia Lejana’ and producer JHawk on her singles ‘Llamalo Amor’ and ‘Meant To Be’. Three more singles, “on love, life and just taking off on a holiday’ are set for release later this year and Tanvi currently won’t divulge news on more collaborations in the pipeline. With all this genre-hopping, is there a ‘Tanvi Shah sound’ that has evolved over time? “I don’t want there to be!” she says. I have the whole gamut of music genres available to me right now; restricting myself to one would be like eating just the cherry on the cake. I want the whole cake, the cream and the cherry!”
At home in parallel worlds: Tanvi Shah / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
This positive addiction to productivity is what also pushes Tanvi to lead a parallel career as designer for her label Tansha. Her little office on Chamiers Road is bursting with scrapbooks, lampshades she’s fashioned from discarded liquor bottles, phone covers sprinkled with her doodles, an up-cycled design table mounted on a bicycle and even a cherry blossom tree made of duct-tape climbing across her wall, all of it drilled, chain-sawed and hammered into place by hand. Shoulder pains, bruises and fractures aren’t really deterrents, says Tanvi. “I probably have too much energy bursting inside me. But it’s when my head finally hits the pillow at night and I know I’ve achieved something today, that I’m most satisfied.”
It’s Thursday evening and the heavens have opened slushy chaos over Chennai. In a quiet corner of Hard Rock Cafe, Phoenix Mall, though, Tanvi Shah is a picture of peace. The tables around her are slowly filling up and midway through pre-concert photographs she casts quick glances at the lengthening line outside the entrance. Her band sets up on stage; Hard Rock breaks into its trademark YMCA dance, and the evening is set to begin.
A clash of cymbals, drum rolls like thunder and Tanvi opens into the sharp, seductive notes of ‘Ojos Asi’, Shakira’s Arabic-Spanish number that translates to “Eyes like Yours”. Dressed in a flowing, floral bustier dress, Tanvi belly dances to the beats, hair bouncing, bangles jangling and everyone else’s feet tapping. It’s a mainstream welcome into her world of Latin American music. Her hope though, is to open her listeners to artistes less celebrated than Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. “Within Latin American music alone, there’s Merengue, Flamenco, Pambiche and much else, and under Merengue itself there are seven sub-sections. There’s a whole wide world out there,” she says.
It’s a Portuguese song from Salvador Bahia up next, and Tanvi’s voice soars, all warmed up now and building from soft whispers into full-throated belting. She comes into her own in the Afro-Brazilian maracatu-dance inspired number about liberation. It’s all spunk and power in a call-and-answer sequence with her backing vocalists Roshni Sharon and Priya Krishnan, enough to get the crowd on their feet and dancing. For an audience that understands little Portuguese or Spanish, her music reaches out beyond language, and that’s how she wants it, “Music is universal, and as musicians we have the privilege to step into different cultures. Ninety per cent of the songs in the world say the same things, more or less, but it’s the difference in expression that really speaks to us.” Despite experimenting so broadly, Tanvi says she’s a stickler for perfection. Diction is her pet peeve and she goes into spiels about how the ‘s’ in Spanish is pronounced with a lisp in northern Spain and without one in Mexico, the difference in dialects and how all of this pans out while singing.
By now, the room has transformed into something out of Tanvi’s college days and she takes the crowd with her to the Caribbean islands this time. Playing off the beautiful tones from Shyam Benjamin’s keyboard, she rouses the crowd into singing the chorus of a song that tells of an old woman who can solve any problem with three drops of her magic potion. For her musicians too, Tanvi’s choice of genre is something of a welcoming relief. In a culture popularising rock and fusion, jazz and blues, it’s been a while since any of them have done a Latin American music-only night. With Jeoraj Stanly on drums, Allwyn Paul on a whole host of percussion, Napier Peter Naveen Kumar on the bass and Donan Murray on guitars, the band is in full form all night. By the time the skies outside have let up, Tanvi is well into the closing crowd-pleasers Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ and Shakira’s ‘It’s Time For Africa’. When she finally steps off the stage, she’s tired but smiles and says, “Now, I’m happy!”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Esther Elias / Chennai – July 11th, 2014
A visit to the alma mater is always special. And at the Queen Mary’s College, the Old Students Association (OSA) had more reasons to cheer as they gathered on Wednesday to discuss the various activities planned for the institution’s centenary year celebrations starting from July 14. Alumnae of the college, founded on July 14, 1914, were present as they fondly recalled their college days.
“I might have studied and worked across the world, but Queen Mary’s is always special to me. The one thing that immediately strikes me when I think of this place is the library and the tennis court where I spent most of time. It is sad that the buildings are now old and collapsing,” said Sarasa Bharathi, 80, who works as an academic advisor in a well-known private institution.
Leela Thiraviyum, 91, one of the oldest students in the group recalled her fellow students’ participation in the Quit India Movement.
“I was the president of the students’ union then. Two students from Intermediate and a research student were jailed at the time of the Quit India Movement. We also witnessed the World War II,” said the student of 1942-43 batch. “You know those days; we were not interested in fashion and style. In fact, we used to make fun of girls wearing lipstick. Admissions were strictly on merit. Today, it has changed so much that girls are so conscious about their looks,” she added with a smile.
Every student had a unique story to tell when it came to their alma mater. Mahalakshmi of the 1989 batch recalled her association with the college from the days of her great grandmother, who handed over 16 acres of land for free to set up the college in 1914. “My great grandfather Arcot Ratna Sabha Mudaliyar ran a hotel here. After he passed away, my great grandma took over but she could not take care of the hotel. She rented it out for 5 annas. Then, following request from the then governor, 16 acres of the land were handed over for free. I completed both my UG and PG courses here,” she said as she sat with other old students in a classroom singing songs.
With celebrations to kick start this month, various activities have been planned, including erecting a pillar with a contribution of `7 lakh from old students and release of a postal stamp.
The OSA had been meeting every Wednesday for the past one year to plan the activities for the centenary year. “The Education Minister will inaugurate the celebrations. We have sent a proposal to the government to construct 60 classrooms as a part of the centenary celebrations. The celebrations will culminate in December,” said R Akthar Begum, principal, Queen Mary’s College.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 10th,2014
Little did Kamatchi, a resident of Vilankudi village here, know that the tin box his family took out in a procession every year during temple festivals was a treasure trove until he decided to clean it.
Kamatchi during the cleaning process found two copper plates inside the box with inscriptions in some old script. He took the plates to the Ramalinga Vilasam palace to show it to the curator Sakthivel, who deciphered the script and informed the Archaelogical Department. “The copper plates were gifted to the family of Vanni Muthuan, a resident of Vilankudi village and the temple priest, by Ramanathapuram king Regunatha Thevar alias Thirumalai Sethupathy in 1638 and 1645. Muthuan used to preside over the poojas at the Kamatchi Amman temple,” an archaeology department source said.
The plates came in an ornate box, which was passed on from generation to generation. Later, it assumed a divine value and they began taking it out in procession during temple fests.
Elaborating on the inscriptions on the plates, Sakthivel said, “The king in the inscriptions commands each farmer in 20 counties to donate one padi (one-and-a-half kg) paddy to the temple priest once a year.”
“Farmers donating paddy as per the royal command would incur benefits equalling that of establishing 1,000 lingams in a temple or sinking 1,000 water tanks. However, those shunning the command would incur sins equalling that of killing their own mothers or a Brahmin or cow,” the curator said, adding that the inscriptions were engraved on the plates by a carpenter of Yeluvarkottai village.
A source in the archeological department told Express that Kamatchi was allowed to retain the plates, as those were family heirlooms. “The plates are precious, but the family has been preserving it for centuries,” the source said.
www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / July 10th, 2014
Further east, at the famous Srirangam temple in Trichy, a separate `sannidhi’ has been dedicated to Thirupaanalvar, one of the 63 Tamil bhakti poets who lived in the Chola court.
Thirupaanalvar, also known as Paananar, was a poet and the fourth son of Vararuchi, the legendary patriarch of the Pan thirukulam.
Moving west, about 180km from Srirangam at Karaikal in Puducherry, a temple has been dedicated to Karaikal Ammaiyar. The deity dressed in traditional Kerala white sari is believed to be the only female child of the Vararuchi-Panchami couple. Such similarities are not surprising, say scholars. “Myths and legends are a part of every society across the world and there are often cross-overs. One of the major purposes of the myths was to forge a sense of belongingness among communities,” said professor A R Venkatachalapathy of the Madras Institute of Development Studies.
Such myths likely served to strengthen trade and political links. Karur, the confluence of Amaravathi originating in Kerala and Cauvery, was the capital of the first Chera empire. “If you draw a line connecting the `sathrams’ (resting place for traders) along the Bharathapuzha and Cauvery, we can see an unbroken ancient trade route connecting the two regions. Kolamukku, on the banks of Bharathapuzha, and Poompuhar, on the banks Cauvery, were two major urban trading centres in those days,” said Keshavan Veluthatt, a historian at Delhi University and an authority on south Indian history.
There are literary references to such connections as well. According to Pattinippalai, a Sangam text, it was through Amaravathi that Adimanthi, the daughter of Karikala Chozhan, reached Palakkad and became the wife of Mezhathur Agnihothri, the eldest child of Panthirukulam. “Further exploration of Panthirukulam in Tamil Nadu may throw up more interesting details,” said Rajan Chungath, who has written many books on the subject.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Hussain Kodinhi, TNN / July 09th, 2014
