The Nilgiris Collector P.Sankar giving away a prize at the 13th Rose Show in Udhagamandalam on Sunday. / Photo: D. Radhakrishnan / The Hindu
The curtain came down on the 13th Ooty Rose Show at the Government Rose Garden (GRG) here on Sunday.
Participating as the Chief Guest in the valedictory function, the Nilgiris Collector, P. Sankar, said all forms of vegetation emerging from forests had long been considered as the mother of agriculture.
The annual Summer Festival of which the Rose Show was a part was being celebrated in honour of the forests and hills.
He pointed out that the Himalayas alone boasted 30 varieties of forests.
Adverting to roses, their origin, benefits and the role they played in conveying different kinds of messages and feelings, Mr. Sankar said that they had enormous medicinal value.
The GRG has the potential to be promoted as a place for eco therapy and a research facility.
Starting with just ten varieties in 1995 it now has about 27,000 plants representing 4000 varieties.
The Joint Director of Horticulture, R. Kathiravan, welcomed the gathering.
The Deputy Director of Horticulture, N. Mani, proposed a vote of thanks.
The Rolling Cup for the Outstanding Rose Garden (above 500 bushes) went to M.A. Khan of Golkonda House, Ooty.
The Sterling Biotech Company, Sandynullah, walked away with the trophy for the best collection of roses in pots.
A special prize for the best bloom in show also went to Sterling Biotech Company. The Saint Josephs Boys Higher Secondary School, Coonoor, bagged the rolling cup for outstanding rose arrangements.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Coimbatore / by D. Radhakrishnan / Udhagamandalam – May 12th, 2014
Forest department hatchery at Besant Nagar beach that preserves turtle eggs under safe temperatures (Photo: DC)
Chennai:
In a rare and massive exercise, the Chennai wildlife team, which collected close to 10,000 Olive Ridley turtle eggs along the Marina coast, has successfully released 8,834 hatchlings in a phased manner. On the eve of World Turtle Day the foresters reviewed the hatching rate and the mortality rate of the young ones that were released into the sea between Neelangarai and Marina beach.
“After 25 years, more than 10,000 turtle eggs have been collected by the Chennai wildlife staff along the Marina coastline and close to 90 per cent of eggs have hatched and we are hopeful that these endangered species will visit the Chennai coast as adults,” said Velachery ranger S David Raj.
“The forest department had envisaged a special conservation programme since last year to protect the Olive Ridleys that nest in Chennai. The city is one of the largest nesting grounds for the marine turtles, after the Odisha coast, and we have also intensified programmes for fishermen, advising them to use turtle excluder nets”, said Geethanjali, wildlife warden, Chennai.
“In Chennai, to mark World Turtle Day, the city-based Sea Turtle Protection Force will release a rescued female Ridley turtle, Pallavi. The turtle had injured her left front flipper when it got entangled in a fishing net,” said marine conservationist Supraja Dhairni of the Tree Foundation.
Meanwhile, similar drives were conducted in other coastal districts, including Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam districts. “The turtle plays a key role in the marine environment and groups were formed in the coastal villages of Kanyakumari to collect eggs. The team spotted nests and about 950 eggs were collected and hatchlings released near the Rajakamangalam coastal village,” said S. S. Davidson, a naturalist and conservationist.
In Nagapittanam over 4,400 Olive Ridley turtles, have been let out into the sea over the past three months from a government run hatchery at Kodiakarai in the district, forest ranger Gopinathan said. Kodiakarai and Vedaranyam are areas that attract a large number of Ridleys each year during the December-March nesting season.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Special Correspondent / May 23rd, 2014
A gathering of around 50 people were present to listen to an engaging talk aptly titled ‘A Colour of Tragedy and Opportunity’ by Mark Balmforth / by Special Arrangement / Th e Hindu
Mark Balmforth’s engaging talk on the root diggers and dyers of Jaffna time-travelled through history
Inside the towering and majestic Leela Palace hotel emerges the forgotten tale of a lost people; the ‘chay’ root diggers and dyers of Jaffna. A gathering of around 50 people were present to listen to an engaging talk aptly titled ‘A Colour of Tragedy and Opportunity’ by Mark Balmforth, a doctoral student from Columbia University. As a part of his thesis on the social changes of Tamils in Jaffna, Balmforth has embarked on a journey to unearth the ‘chay’ root or chayaver(Srilankan Tamil), and the hands that dug them. He has spent eight months in Madurai learning Tamil, and travelled to Jaffna in search of their story.
This root (Oldenlandia umbellata) still grows commonly across the coastal areas of Andhra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, however the prime variant is found in the northern Tamil regions of Sri Lanka. The root itself is a long, wiry branch that stretches deep beneath the earth, and to procure a mere handful takes a laborious few hours. Once sun-dried, powdered, and chemically consolidated through a series of boiling, it yields a scarlet dye that can be toned to red, orange, and purple. It was once used for fabric, clothing design, baskets, and other daily products. It was also used medicinally as a haemostatic. Unlike indigo and its historical trajectory which is widely known and documented, thechayaver has been neglected to a point of oblivion.
Balmforth delves into the social history of the community who worked with this root as bonded labourers during the colonial era first during Dutch rule, and later British. They belonged to the lowest strata of the caste system and were collectively referred to as ‘Verkuthi’ — literally root diggers. However other than existing as a low-caste community, it is unclear as to what their rightful origins were as far as Balmforth has hitherto discovered. “I need to get arm-deep into evidence before I can grasp the subject fully, just like with the actual root,” he remarks.
For colonial trade and revenue purposes these people through generations were forced into the occupation but with the commencement of synthetic dye production from 1850 onwards, both the indentured labour and the art of dyeing with the chayaver came to an end. A community once depended upon to provide the colour of passion, power, and blood seems to simply vanish in terms of occupational and artistic existence. Scarce documentation available locally pertaining to their occupational history and conversion of many root diggers to Christianity makes it an arduous task to trace their genealogy.
On a trip to Jaffna, Balmforth encountered an 81-year-old siddharvaidyar whose ancestor had been a root digger, and narrates his memories and the knowledge that was orally passed down to him. He emphasises in particular that root dyeing was not simply an occupation, but craftsmanship — a forgotten one. “This man has a mental map of plants and their uses all across the Tamil landscape of Ceylon, which is a beautiful thing,” Balmforth says in awe.
The academic explains his fascination for the layers in symbolism of the red yielded by the root, connoting not only to slavery, but also the art that came from it.
This event was hosted at the Leela Galleria in association with Apparao Galleries.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Radhika Dontala / Chennai – May 11th, 2014
The booming cotton business attracted the Telugu community to the city in 1970s. Andhra Pradesh also being cotton producing state then and the growth of Coimbatore nearby as an industrial belt, the textile city was naturally a place for many Telugus to come and set up their business.
Down the years, many Telugus who came to work in banks and IT sectors also made the city as their second home.
ASN Murthy, a chartered accountant from Andhra Pradesh, came to the city in 1970s to prepare for his CA exams and completed the course successfully. He then entered into cotton business and being quite successful settled in the city.
Murthy, who is also the secretary of the Coimbatore Telugu Samithi, said several people like him from the neighbouring state have made the city their second home.
“Coimbatore is a peaceful and enterprising place where anyone who is willing to work hard can prosper. This has brought many from our region to this city,” he said.
Though the Telugu community is known as a prosperous community, Murthy said they were a heterogeneous community. “Apart from businessmen, there are professionals like doctors and chartered accountants to labourers from our state who have come and made this their home,” he said.
Organisations like Telugu Samithi organise events and celebrate festivals like Ugadi and Samkranthi to keep their culture alive. Folk dances and traditional programmes are held on a regular basis. Traditional art forms including folk dramas and kuchippudi are also conducted.
“We still include mango pickles and other traditional Telugu dishes in our regular diet. We have integrated into the city at the same time maintain our culture,” said Murthy.
“There is a large number of Telugu speaking people who had settled down here many decades back. They speak Telugu though they may not be able to read or write Telugu,” said Rajesh Govindarajulu, a history enthusiast.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Arun P. Mathew, TNN / May 12th, 2014
Heritage walks on the Madras High Court campus will be held on the second Sunday of every month — Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
On a carpet of withered leaves, under the shadow of a century-old building, a group of architecture and history lovers listened with rapt attention the stories the walls of Madras High Court had to tell, on Sunday.
“Just next to the lighthouse (constructed in 1838) where we stand, there used to be two temples. Water from the temple tanks were brought by priests and witnesses deposed had to touch the water and take oath,” said M.L. Rajah, advocate and member of the Madras High Court Heritage Committee, to participants of the High Court heritage walk. Later, the temples were shifted out of the complex, he said.
As the group strolled from one building to another, interesting anecdotes and stories behind the architecture unfolded.
“The buildings of the High Court, including the law college and the lighthouse, are exuberant examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture that display an amalgamation of Islamic, Moorish, European and Hindu styles, among others,” said Sujatha Shankar, architect and convenor of INTACH (Chennai chapter).
They also show how public buildings have been used to convey political messages; and what better way to communicate them than through architecture, she said.
After a glimpse of the architectural marvel of these buildings, Mr. Rajah led the crowd to the next stop: the statute of Sir V. Bhashyam Iyengar, the first Indian acting advocate-general.
“He had a morbid desire to die while arguing a case; and incidentally, during a court proceeding, when he felt uneasy, he walked up to the statute of Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer, and passed away,” he said.
The group then walked through the Madras High Court museum, the Madras Bar Association and ended the tour at the magnificent court halls.
Ann Neuman, a 45-year-old writer from New York who arrived in Chennai a week ago, seemed visibly excited after the walk.
“My friends specifically asked me to not miss this walk. It is wonderful to hear the history of the court systems here and what it has done to the city,” she said.
The heritage walk initiated by the Madras High Court Heritage Committee will be held on the second Sunday of every month. For details, contact: 9841013617.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar / Chennai – May 12th, 2014
I was delighted to receive an invitation the other day asking me to join them in celebrating ‘Genesis Day’ on May 17, for it indicated that there was at least one group in this city that recognised its beginnings even if they were 220 years ago. The invitation came from the Alumni Association of the College of Engineering, Guindy, and it asked me to join its members in marking “the starting of CEG on 17 May 1794”.
College of Engineering, Guindy. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
In their enthusiasm, the alumni were not quite correct; that date marked the birth of the Survey School in Fort St George. That technical institution, the oldest Western-style one outside Europe, was what grew into the College of Engineering. I wonder whether the College itself remembered the occasion and marked it — or, lost as it is midst the numbers that constitute Anna University today, did it leave it to the Alumni?
This August 22 will mark the 375 year of the founding of Madras and I look forward to that birthday being celebrated fittingly. But apart from celebrations, it would be fitting to remember that modern India developed in three stages from that day in 1639: the Age of Trade till 1757, the Age of Expansion till 1858, and then the Age of the Raj till 1947 when a New India was born. It was during the second stage, after the victory at Plassey, that the British, in fact the English East India Company, began thinking of ways and means of consolidating their position in India. The first steps to such consolidation included raising an Indian army, providing forts and fortifications for that army, and discovering, in the exploratory sense, the territories it was to move into and develop and protect. A fundamental need for all that was surveying and military engineering.
A definition of an engineer dating to this period stated, “An able expert man who, by perfect knowledge of mathematics, delineates upon paper, or marks upon the ground, all sorts of forts and other proper works for offence or defence. He should understand the art of fortification, so as to be able not only to discover the defects of a place, but to find a remedy proper for them, as also how to make an attack upon, as well as to defend the place. Engineers are extremely necessary for these purposes.” Such a definition, understandable in the context of the times, meant ‘engineers’, technical personnel, if you will, with skills in surveying, civil construction, and basic mechanical work.
It was to train such personnel that Fort St George decided to set up the Survey School at the urging of Michael Topping, the Chief Marine Surveyor. The Government Survey School opened for its first intake on May 17, 1794. The first eight boys were personally selected by Topping, mainly from the Male Orphan Asylum, on the basis of their knowledge of Arithmetic and writing in English. The School, headed by Topping as an extra assignment, was intended to produce apprentices capable of undertaking surveys, construct and repair tanks, and ensure a continuous supply of water for irrigation.
It was this School that became the Civil Engineering School in 1858 and, the next year, the College of Civil Engineering. It became the College of Engineering in 1862 and added Guindy to its name when it moved there in 1920. Its contribution to India, leave alone the Madras Presidency, over the years has been significant. That its genesis has been celebrated is something to warm any heritage-lover’s heart.
Saravana Bhavan in the NYT
By the time these lines appear, India is likely to have a new Prime Minister. But even he is unlikely to get the spread the New York Times magazine gave the Saravana Bhavan chain and its owner, P. Rajagopal, on May 7. What I received was a story in 13 A4-size sheets with the heading ‘Masala Dosa to die for’! The reference to death might have been complimentary; it might also have been a pointer to a third of the story which details the murder Rajagopal was charged with in 2002 and whose final verdict is yet to be given. Meanwhile, Rajagopal continues to expand his South Indian fast food empire.
At last count, according to Rollo Romig who has written this magazine-length profile, there were 33 Saravana Bhavan restaurants in India and 47 in a dozen other countries, from Sunnyvale in California to Hong Kong by way of Paris. And all of them serve a standard, high quality fare using the freshest of ingredients, a formula established by the founder.
Rajagopal arrived in Madras as a teenager from the deep South in 1968. He’d had little education, had during his journey cleaned tables in a hole-in-the-wall ‘restaurant’, and learnt to make tea the way those frequenting roadside tea stalls liked to drink it. But an eatery was not what he started that year — it was a small neighbourhood grocery to which he added a couple more in the area in due course. When the groceries proved losers, he began to look at food as an option — after a visitor to one of his groceries complained there was no place in K K Nagar to get good food at modest prices. And so was born Rajagopal’s first restaurant in 1981 in K K Nagar. It was a losing proposition to start with, but as word spread about the quality of its food, the cost, the hygiene and service, it began to be a winner, leading to the opening of other branches in the city.
Today, Rajagopal’s elder son Shiva Kumaar looks after the overseas operations and has been opening one Saravana Bhavan in each of several cities worldwide where there is a large expat Indian population. By ensuring that the food tastes just like what is served in its Madras outlets, he has been cashing in on homesickness, ‘the tastes of home’. He is candid about it; his restaurants are for the Indians and those who know South Indian food; if other foodies and the locals come in, that’s a bonus.
In Madras, Rajagopal’s younger son, Saravanan, manages the Indian business. And this wanted-to-be-an-engineer has brought the scientific element into management. Saravana Bhavan must be one of the few home-grown Indian food chains, if not the only one, that has a laboratory that’s busy every day. The lab tests food daily from all the Madras branches to ensure the same quality is being maintained. It also tests how labour-saving can be done. And what new flavours of ice creams can be created.
But what seems to have struck Romig as the chain’s greatest asset was its workers — 8000 in Madras alone — almost all village boys trained the ‘Annachi’ Rajagopal way, to his exacting standards and willing to accept his discipline, but “personally” loyal to him. In return, their perks in the U.S. are “fantastic enough even for Silicon Valley,” says Romig, who goes onto quote a Madras employee who half in jest said, “The only thing you can do with your salary is put it in the bank and save it. They take care of everything else.”
When the postman knocked…
– Meetings in Madras on May 1, 1923 may have demanded that May 1 be declared a holiday (Miscellany, May 5), but it took the Government 27 more years to make that a reality, writes reader Ramineni Bhaskarendra Rao. It happened only after the Republic was born. There had before been another appeal that International Workers’ Day be declared a holiday by the Government of India, recalls reader Rao. That was in April 1936 and the call was made by Prof. N.G.Ranga of Pachaiappa’s College and P Ramamurthi of Triplicane. They also demanded that all workers in prison for trade union activities be released on May 1. That date became a day of significance, Reader Rao narrates, because on May l, 1886 the United States committed itself to an 8-hour working day which had been agitated for there from the first years of the 19 Century. When many factories refused to implement the eight-hour working day, there was a mass protest in Chicago on May 4 that resulted in violence. Several workers were killed by the police, and an Englishman and six Germans, immigrants all, were arrested. Four of those tried, all Germans, were sentenced to death, the other three to life imprisonment. When the dust settled, the eight-hour day became the norm and May 1 was declared International Workers’ Day.
l9th Century American poster demanding an 8-hour working day
– Reader Thomas Tharu regrets that Prof. R.A. Kraus, who played a significant role in setting up IIT-Madras, has all but been forgotten and wonders whether anyone has detailed information about him. He also wonders what happened to the history of IIT-M written by IITian Ajit Narayanan for the golden jubilee in 2009 and whether that might have any information on Prof. Kraus. I’m surprised that reader Tharu makes no reference to the intriguingly titled pictorial history, Campaschimes, by Kumaran Sathasivam and Prof. Ajit Kumar Kolar — he was responsible for the excellent but little-known IIT-M museum — brought out in 2011, with a promise of a second more detailed volume in due course. Surely he would have received a copy given that he is mentioned in the acknowledgements made in the book. Be that as it may, Campaschimes does tell a bit of the story starting with a July 16, 1956 Indo-German agreement which had, tucked away in it, the following: “The two Heads of Government agreed that in co-operation between the two countries a technical teaching institution is to be set up in India for which the Federal Government will make available teaching staff and equipment (and) will endow scholarships (for) Indian students to attend German technical Institutions.” Once land was allotted to it in 1958 by the Madras Government, work on setting up the Institute began in earnest. A planning committee chaired by Dr A L Mudaliar was charged with formulating the education programme, but there’s no more said about all this in Campaschimes except that L.S.Chandrakant, Deputy Educational Advisor, Government of India, was appointed Special Planning Advisor, IIT-M, in 1959 and his German counterpart, Prof Robert Kraus, was designated Special Commissioner representing Germany. The lack of more information on the founding of the Institute is what reader Tharu regrets. He particularly feels Kraus deserves better, given his record. Kraus had spent most of his teaching life in China where he set up a technical university in Shanghai. When this was destroyed by the Japanese, he was in Germany and immediately began planning on resurrecting it inland, but World War II intervened. After the War, he set up Kharagpur’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 1953 and remained its first head till the German Government gave him the task of helping set up IIT-M. He remained a popular figure on the Madras campus till he left in 1964.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by S. Muthiah / Chennai – May 18th, 2014
Raja Elangovan has devoted himself to keeping his father’s Tamil literary society alive. / Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam / The Hindu
Rasavellar Shenbaga Tamil Arangu has been meticulous in promoting Tamil and global literary works
Among the many organisations beavering away at bringing literary appreciation to the common man in Tiruchi, few could be more diligent or remarkable than Srirangam-based Rasavellar Shenbaga Tamil Arangu.
The completely voluntary club has been hosting literary events since January 18, 1992, and judging its May schedule, the Arangu will continue to keep its date with lovers of Tamil fine arts.
“I have nothing to say about myself. I am known more by my father’s work,” says Raja Ilangovan, the son of the Arangu’s founder, the late K. Rasavelu Senbagavalli.
“My father was interested in the arts, literature, philosophy and politics from a very young age,” says Ilangovan looking at the portrait of his parents that hangs in the drawing hall of the family’s ancestral home where the Arangu holds its meetings every Saturday.
The Arangu was originally named after Ilangovan’s mother Shenbagavalli. The new name was adopted after the Rasavelu’s death last year.
Coming from a privileged family of municipal contractors in Srirangam, K. Rasavelu, born in 1936, made his name as a lawyer while nurturing his interest in the arts and politics.
“My father wrote and staged five plays soon after graduating from college – Ilango Thuravu, Nanbar Kanda Kanavu, Iru Vizhigal, Orey Neethi and Veerapandiya Kattabomman – and also played the lead roles in them,” says Ilangovan.
He staged these plays through his Tholkappiya Kalai Kuzhu troupe.
Lover of the arts
Around 40 years ago, he had founded a small Tamil Arangu which had hosted speakers like Kee Paa Ja, Nedunchezhian, Keeran and others.
The Shenbaga Tamil Arangu was a revival of sorts for the lawyer-cum-literature lover’s burning desire to make literary appreciation more accessible to the masses. “We have been holding these events totally on our own initiative,” says Ilangovan, who works as a Tamil teacher at a private school in Sirugambur. “Each Saturday meeting attracts around 30-45 people from various walks of life, and costs around a thousand rupees to host. A bigger event such as an annual anniversary function, costs up to Rs. 25,000 and we have to hire a separate venue. We have never asked for financial help, and even though we cannot afford to pay speakers, all of them oblige us with an appearance whenever we request them.”
As to the founder’s muse, Ilangovan says, “my father was deeply in love with my mother, even though she was an unlettered woman and came from a very different background to his. She passed away at the age of 46 due to cancer, so the five of us (four sons and a daughter) were brought up by our extended family.”
Rasavelu’s affection for his wife was so great that he wrote over 50,000 poems on her, 18 collections of which have been published so far. The poems came after Shenbagam’s death in 1989, even though Rasavelu had declared himself to be a ‘hater of poetry’ at first, says Ilangovan. Quite fittingly, the title of one his anthologies is Aval Kavignan Akkinaal Ennai (She Made a Poet out of Me).
Traditions revived
In 1969, after losing the municipal elections as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate, K. Rasavelu was appointed as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Sri Ranganatha Swami temple. “My father was an atheist, but he was mindful of the spiritual and literary importance of the temple,” says Ilangovan.
“He reopened the temple’s library to the public and also started a series of lectures on Kamba Ramayanam, at the same mandapam where Kamban premiered the epic,” adds Ilangovan.
He was also against overt nationalism, and kept the Arangu open to literature from other Indian languages while allowing scholars to explore canons of Western writing by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw.
By the age of 60, K. Rasavelu had lost his sight as a side-effect of the strong medication prescribed for a skin disorder.
“I was his eyes outside the home,” recalls Ilangovan, “and he’d be waiting for me to return from school everyday in this very hall, so that he could teach me how to organise the Arangu’s events.”
A wide platform
The Arangu is a forum for all points of view and also maintains a library and youth wing.
K. Rasavelu’s speeches were well-structured extempore renditions on a variety of topics.
“He often used to say that ‘maybe I lost my sight because God was afraid I’d read up everything in the world. And perhaps if I had still got sight, you may not have developed such an interest in literature,’” says an emotional Ilangovan.
The Arangu was closed for just one month after the founder’s death last year. “Many people thought we’d shut down permanently, but we have managed to keep the association alive,” says Ilangovan.
“Appa was so well-organised that he had already finalised our list of Tamil Maamani awardees for the next five years.”
Also on the cards is the 71st birth anniversary event (the Arangu’s 1173rd meeting) for Shenbagavalli on May 31, where Ilangovan’s daughter Shenbaga Devi (named after her grandmother) will debut as a public speaker.
What made K.Rasavelu’s last speech, on June 29, 2013, even more poignant was that it was meant to be the first of a series on his own life.
“We had never got the time or opportunity to put down his story in writing, so he thought it would be better preserved in the form of speeches. But even this had to be given up after his sudden demise,” says Ilangovan.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nahla Nainar / Tiruchirapalli – May 09th, 2014
Drums Sivamani with 1000 drummers record at YMCA ground, Saidapet. / Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu
Percussionists from the city made an attempt to set a Guinness record
The sun couldn’t scorch the spirit of a thousand drummers from having a crack at the Guinness World Records. Organised by the Stage Light Music Artist Union (SLMAU) to gain recognition and raise funds for its members, they were attempting to break the record, which was previously held by 798 drummers from the U.K., who played for six minutes and 30 seconds.
Led by ‘Drums’ Sivamani, the well-known percussionist, who started his career as a stage artiste, the group of over a 1,000 drummers was supposed to play for a little more than 10 minutes.
It was a logistical nightmare: how do you instruct a crowd (that also comprised kids as young as three) of over a 1,000 to set up their drum-kits? Thanks to the hardworking volunteers, it was possible.
On the day of the performance, the star-percussionist was walked into the venue accompanied by Tamil folk artistes performing the traditional Karagattam.
After taking the stage, Sivamani said that he would like to teach the group the first lesson he received from his master. “This is my gift to you,” he said and performed the two-stroke ‘Daddy-Mommy’ routine and its many variations.
As the sun was going down, the countdown began. After a minute’s silence for the blast victims, Sivamani began swishing his sticks. Unexpectedly, the group missed Sivamani’s beats right from the first 20 seconds. It took a while before the sounds got synchronised. Soon after, a volunteer announced that the group had successfully broken the old record.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – May 05th, 2014
Acquainting oneself with the rich legacy of the city they live in, unraveling the hidden facets and discussing interesting details as they take a guided tour of the city- heritage walks are keeping the history enthusiasts in the city on their toes. Testimony to that are the recent Old Coimbatore Heritage Walk and the Perur Payanam, as a part of the annual celebrations of the city that had students and history enthusiasts in full attendance.
Entrepreneur Shankar Vanavarayar, one of the organizers of the heritage walk, had told us, “Coimbatore is laced with both ancient and modern architecture. One of the ideal steps to preserve the heritage and let the generation next know about it is by imparting knowledge on the subject and documenting all the buildings in the city.”
Historian CR Elangovan, who is quite kicked about these heritage walks, enthuses that they are an ideal way to impart lessons on the legacy of a place. “This is, in fact, the best way to educate the current and future generations about the legacy of a city. Teachers do talk about the history in a classroom setting, but there is nothing like going to the venue and seeing it yourself. Live tour leaves a lasting impact. Coimbatore doesn’t have a very rich history to boast about and most of the heritage buildings here are only 200 years old. These walks help people take a trip down memory lane.”
RJ Krishna, though seconds Elangovan that heritage walks do their bit, he maintains that there are other modes of passing on the knowledge. “Heritage walks do help unravel great facts, but it shouldn’t be restricted to history students and closed groups. For instance, when the Semmozhi Maanadu happened in Coimbatore, almost every wall in the city on the road that led to the Maanadu venue had writings about the richness of Tamil language. This was an easy way to reach out to the masses in Coimbatore and the purpose of the event was served well. Something on those lines with writings or illustrations that depict the history of Coimbatore on the walls before and during the heritage walks and weeks would be another way to reach everyone. This way, we can reach out to a larger group.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by P Sangeetha, TNN / May 05th, 2014
Dignitaries at the release of Ambedkar Oliyil Enathu Theerpugal | Martin Louis
Releasing a book written by former Madras High Court judge K Chandru, N Ram of Kasturi & Sons Limited said that Chandru was one of the judges who stood up for the welfare and rights of the marginalised sections of society. Speaking here recently after releasing Ambedkar Oliyil Enathu Theerpugal, by Chandru, Ram highlighted how Chandru continued his fight for the rights of Dalits and other marginalised people even after being sworn in as a judge.
“As an advocate, he worked for the welfare of the marginalised and weaker sections. Many had doubts whether he could continue the good work after becoming a judge. But he believed that, within the limits of the law, he could work for the welfare of the marginalised,” Ram said.
In the introduction to the book, Chandru recalls that an incident in 1968 in Venmani village of Thanjavur district, where 44 Dalits were burnt to death, made him write this book.
VCK leaders Thol Thirumavalavan and Ravi Kumar, columnist Gnani and professor Pa Kalyani participated in the event.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / May 12th, 2014
