A woman undergoing training in coconut plucking at Parangipettai in Cuddalore district.
Even though Cuddalore district abounds in coconut trees, the price of coconuts is high. The reason trotted out for such market behaviour is the lack of manpower to pluck coconuts or the high wages the workers demand.
It has created a situation in which even the ripe coconuts are left either to rot on the trees or fall. It has become consternation for the coconut growers to find the workforce on time to harvest, not to speak of the plight of the households having a few coconut trees in their garden.
To overcome the problem, the M.S. Swaminatan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has launched the “Friends of Coconut Tree” programme for farmers and the unemployed youth.
R. Elangovan, Project Officer of the MSSRF, told The Hindu that the six-day training programme organised under the aegis of the MSSRF Village Resource Centre at Parangipettai was intended to help the farmers and unemployed youth learn to climb trees to pluck the coconut.
To start with, 20 persons, including four women hailing from Killai, Nochikadu, Manikkollai and Parangipettai, joined the programme conducted recently. It was conducted in coordination with the Coconut Development Board that provided the device for climbing the trees free of cost.
In-house training
It was a sort of an in-house training as the trainees would stay at the Parangipettai centre throughout the training programme. Besides mastering the tree climbing techniques, they were also taught yoga and pranayam.
Mr Elangovan said the Coconut Development Board had made it mandatory that 30 per cent of the trainees ought to be women.
It was a surprise that four women had come forward to enroll their names in the programme.
One of the trainees, Kausalya, 24, told this correspondent that initially she had hesitation in joining the programme as she lacked courage in climbing tall trees.
But, the device provided by the centre made the job simple and easy. She gained confidence gradually.
However, the centre has prescribed a dress code for women — they should either wear salwar kameez or a pair of trousers to avoid risks.
Mr Elangovan said that after completion of the training programme, Parangipettai Town Panchayat Chairman Mohammad Yunus gave away certificates and the climbing device (free of cost) to the participants.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by A.V. Raghunathan / Cuddalore – December 18th, 2014
Marigold flowers that are in full bloom in fields in Dindigul district are bringing good returns to farmers this season.
These orange and yellow flowers are cultivated in Ambaturai, Uthupatti, Kamalapuram, Perumalkovilpatti, Jathikoundanpatti and Theppampatti near Chinnalapatti in Dindigul district. These flowers gain popularity during the wedding season and the Ayyappa season, as they are used in making garlands and in other decorations.
Women and farmers in the region enter the fields early in the morning to pluck these flowers, when they are in blooming stage, and transport them to the markets. A kilogram of these flowers is sold for Rs 50, which is a good price, according to the farmers. The flowers are taken to the markets in Nilakottai and Dindigul district. Senthil, a farmer from Ambaturai, said that these flowers are propagated through seeds, which are first sown in large numbers and later the tiny plants are planted in beds. The flowers gain their colour based on the quality of the soil in which they are grown.
The plants that were cultivated in September have started flowering in late November. The crop in one acre of land produces about 300 to 400 kilograms of flowers once a week, a quantity that most of the farmers consider to be very good.
Kumaresan, a farmer, said that the rains this season had resulted in big buds being produced and the flowering was also good. ‘We expect the price to go up by another Rs 50 as the pilgrimage season progresses,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / December 08th, 2014
Drums Sivamani at the launch of Rajsaan Watch Company
Chennai :
Drummer Kalaimamani A Sivamani inaugurated the renovated showroom of Raajsan Watch Company at Purasawalkam, recently. Checking out the range of wrist watches and wall clocks available at the store, Sivamani said, “I have never seen so many watches in one place before!”
Later, the popular drums player enthralled visitors at the store with a live performance. He was accompanied by models, who paraded the floor displaying the latest collection of watches.
Shradha Malvania, one of the proprietors of the building where the store is located, says that the company existed in a small 400 square feet room till 2010, after which it was shifted to the present building.
“The company then expanded to the top floor as well. Now, it is spread across a whopping 3,600 square feet including both floors,” she says. Back in 1978, the small watch store was inaugurated by the then Governor of Tamil Nadu Sri Prabhudas Patwari. Now, the showroom includes 50 brands of wrist watches and 20 brands of wall clocks ranging from indigenous budget range to exclusive Swiss makes.
Customers can also select and order models displayed on television screens provided at all the counters.
The showroom also ensures after-sales care with experienced technicians available in-house for maintenance and repairs. Raajsan Watch Company is managed by Sandip Shah and his daughter Shradha.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / December 10th, 2014
State Minister for Cooperation K Raju receiving the award from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday | express
Chennai :
Tamil Nadu Cooperative Minister K Raju on Wednesday received the National Award for the best State Channelising Agency on behalf of Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Bank for providing loans to the differently-abled. The Minister received the award at a grand function held at New Delhi.
The TNSC Bank is one of the channelising agencies of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation. Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has chosen the TNSC Bank for this award.
Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa introduced the scheme to provide interest-free loans to the differently-abled. As per the scheme, the government will bear the interest on the loans if they repay the loans in time. During the past three and half years, Rs.71 crore has been given as loans to the differently-abled.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / December 04th, 2014
While the state government frequently announces plans to promote tourism in lesser known places, it has done very little to develop Valparai and Pollachi, years after recognizing them as potential tourist spots in Coimbatore district.
The government had announced its plans to develop Valparai as a tourist hub way back in 2007 while Pollachi was declared as a lesser known tourist spot in 2011. The idea was to attract tourists from popular places like Ooty so that the ecological balance of the hill stations is maintained. The government came up with various subsidies and grants for entrepreneurs to develop the infrastructure in this region but the tourist and resort owners say, the plans remain only on paper.
K Krishnaraj, a resort owner in Pollachi, had approached the government for the said grants in 2011 but was told that the funds had been diverted for other projects. He had no choice but to apply for a commercial loan.
The government has done very little to develop basic infrastructure, say resort owners. “In 2011, Kandasamy Park area was renovated at a cost of Rs 50 lakh but is closed for the past five months,” said T Sethupathi, managing director, Coco Lagoon. Without government contribution, private owners have tried to make the best use of existing infrastructure, to promote the place, he added.
In Valparai, the situation is worse. “Even after seven years, not a single park has been constructed by the tourism department. There are no parking facilities. It is not lack of funds, but rather negligence on the part of the government to promote these locations,” said M J P Shaju, secretary of Valparai Merchant Association.
“All their grants and loans are reserved for star hotels but we don’t have that kind of space. When we applied for a grant, we were told we were not eligible,” said Pradeep Kumar, treasurer, Valaparai Cottage Owners’ Association. The taluk does not even have an information centre. “As most of the land belongs to the forest or the municipality, no developmental work is allowed,” said another private home stay owner.
Many home stays had applied for a license from the tourism department but even that has been denied to them. Out of the 250 home stays only 15 have the necessary licenses, said M J P Shaju. One home stay, Yatri Nivas, that was constructed by the department several years ago has not yet been opened to the public.
Tourism department officials said they have visited the tourist spots to inspect the basic infrastructure and facilities. “We are trying to promote tourism in every way we can. There may have been some technical issues behind refusal of funds to some applicants,” said a state tourism officer. The Yatri nivas in Valparai will be inaugurated very soon, he said citing land acquisition for the delay in getting it ready.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / December 03rd, 2014
With real estate prices and cost of construction on the rise, owning a house in cities remains a dream for the middle class. But it might soon be a thing of the past, courtesy IIT Madras and its efforts to popularize the cost-effective, rapid and eco-friendly method of construction using Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels.
After the successful construction of a two-storey building at the IIT campus in June this year using GFRG panels, experts from the civil engineering department of the institute are close to an agreement with Tata Housing Development Corporation Ltd to build a housing project at Boisar, a suburb in Mumbai, for low-income groups.
The GFRG building method essentially uses glass fibres and specially calcined gypsum plaster to make the regular panel stronger and water resistant.
According to Shinto Paul, structural design engineer for the GFRG building at IIT-M and PhD scholar at the civil engineering department, the foundation for the building is laid in the regular manner and GFRG panels are used for erecting the remaining superstructure with minimum concrete usage except at the joints and cavities of the panel. Once the foundation is constructed and the panels are erected, the main structure can be built in a few days.
However, while using GFRG panels, all floors should ideally have the same floor plan. Curved structures and domes are best avoided or concrete can be used for such areas.
“The rapid low-cost housing project is headed in the right direction and we are in talks with Tata Housing to use the technology for mass housing projects. We are also collaborating with various state governments and housing structures are already being built in Kerala using this technique.” said Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras.
A senior official with Tata Housing confirmed the development and said the pilot project discussions were under way. The pilot module of the Boisar project consists of nine buildings, each with five floors and eight apartments on each floor. After the construction of the pilot module, the project may be scaled up with more buildings. It is estimated that the total cost of construction will be limited to less than 1,200 per sqft.
“We have been getting numerous enquiries about the project after the completion of the demo building at our campus,” said A Meher Prasad, head of the department of civil engineering, IIT Madras. The 1,981sqft two-storeyed building at the IIT campus, with two one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments, was completed in just a month at a cost of 24 lakh.
“We are constructing a 54-unit housing building for Kerala government at Chottanikara at a cost of 1,000 per sqft. The idea is to bring down the cost of constructing the structure and the customer can choose the remaining accessories and fittings,” said Shinto Paul.
As of now, the GFRG panels are being manufactured at FACT-RCF Building Products Ltd (FRBL) in Kochi, a joint venture between The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mumbai. Proposals have been mooted to the Union government and more manufacturing units for GFRG panels are expected to be set up across the country to further scale down the transportation cost of the panels.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Binoy Valsan, TNN / November 24th, 2014
In a bid to strengthen bilateral ties with India and expand its programme in the south, the consulate general of republic of Korea held a traditional Korean performance here on Friday. The performance, which was carried out by a Korean music group called “Noreum Machi”, was held to commemorate the opening of consulate general of republic of Korea in Chennai. The office began functioning on February 7.
In Kook Kim, a member of the consulate general, commented that their agenda was to deepen bilateral ties with India and expand their ties with different places in India. These ties would be cultural as well as academic, he said. The group of four artists, wearing the traditional Korean dress consisting of a hat and a long ribbon, gave a dance performance called the “sangmo”, accompanied by Korean folk music. The group sang as they danced, and traditional instruments like the ‘janggu’, which looked like a drum, ‘jing’, a large metal gong and ‘teapyungso’, which is a double-reed wing instrument, were used to create the music, besides a double-barrel drum called the ‘buk’. tnn
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / November 22nd, 2014
Imagine hailing an auto-rickshaw through a smartphone app. While there are several apps that help one to book a taxi, a Chennai-based company has introduced a free mobile app that has the facility to book auto-rickshaw rides — a first of its kind in the city.
CallZila has tied up with Auto Raja and Namma Auto — two auto-rickshaw operators that have become popular among the city residents for offering rides at metre fare without having to haggle with the drivers. Apart from autos, the company has tied up with call taxi firms including Fast Track, NTL, Friends and a few others. In all, there will be about 2,000 cabs to chose from, said the company in a statement.
According to Magesh Kumar, the founder and managing director, CallZila gives an option to check out the availability of rides of multiple providers, which would ensure a ride round the clock.
The rides can be booked even when the person does not have data connectivity, he added.
The app can be downloaded from google play.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 22nd, 2014
Economic thinker and social scientist Pulapre Balakrishnan has been handed the 2014 Malcolm Adiseshaiah award for contribution to development studies. The award was instituted by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshaiah Trust, which runs the Madras Institute of Development Studies in Adyar.
An alumnus of Madras Christian College, Balakrishnan also studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Oxford and Cambridge. With a formidable academic training followed by research at prestigious institutions across the world, he is now professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Delivering the Malcolm Adiseshaiah memorial lecture on the topic ‘Macroeconomic reversal in India,’ Balakrishnan said that macroeconomics was in riotous disarray.
“Some of the triumph that had accompanied the rise of the New Classical Economics has dissipated after the global financial crisis,” he pointed out.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 22nd, 2014
Nikita S. Veejay, Proprietor of Urumi. Photo: S. James
Nikita S. Veejay has filled in the gap in the shopping experience of domestic tourists and foreign travellers in Madurai. People can now grab those perfect lightweight and inexpensive souvenirs before leaving the city.
Temple Town Madurai has several irresistible oddities that are pretty and witty, historic and enchanting, tasty and delicious, fragrant and elegant. Yet, one never – or rarely – found anything sporting the “I love Madurai” tag.
Now finally Madurai has arrived on the souvenir scene. Thanks to the INTACH local chapter that brought in youthful Nikita S.Veejay from Chennai to design and offer some simple and affordable items to tourists to take home the Madurai essence.
The Madurai souvenirs made by Urumi. / The Hindu
She unveiled the first batch of collectibles — key chains and fridge magnets – at a simple event organised by INTACH. “The major task,” says Nikita, “was to highlight the cultural aspects of the city besides the Meenakshi Temple it is so famous for.”
To keep the theme local has always been the crux of her every project. “There is a niche market for souvenirs and out-of-the-box merchandise as they invoke a sense of allegiance to the place you belong to,” says the 26-year-old founder of Urumi, a brand that boasts of a line of ethnic and eclectic products.
Though key chains and fridge magnets are very common souvenirs sold all over the world, Nikita’s products are different. While others sell these items mostly made in ceramic, Nikita does them in plastic and rubber given the better shelf life and printing quality. But more important is the theme chosen for the products and the narrative behind each of the design or the symbol, she asserts.
Knowing about why a thing has been highlighted or the story behind the symbol makes even a simple item unique, says Nikita. For Madurai, she carefully chose five themes besides the Meenakshi Temple.
The fragrant Madurai Malli unrivalled in allure and popularity, the city as Tamil Nadu’s food capital known for the ‘mess’ culture selling tasty and local dishes and Kannagi, the legendary character in Tamil epic ‘Silapathikaram’ offer a holistic view of the ancient city, she says.
She has also taken care of crafting every letter and packaging the items attractively. For instance, in the “I Love Madurai” theme, the letter ‘M’ has been designed like a temple gopuram. Nikita feels when you give these special touches to the item, it trends immediately. “You feel proud about your culture,” she adds.
Her first product launched two years ago, the “Iyer USB” – a 4GB pen drive in the shape of a Tamil Brahmin priest wearing pattai and veshti – was an instant hit. We released 200 pieces in the first batch and there was such a great demand to increase “Iyer’s memory space” that we did repeat batches with 8GB USB drives, says Nikita.
The Madurai-born, Chennai-raised MBA degree holder was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug early. “I always dreamt of having my own store of souvenirs and merchandise,” she gushes. Also extremely fond of travelling, she was taken in by the abundance of souvenirs the world over.
The kitschy, quirky, retro, funky products made her dream big enough to launch her own line –Urumi. Lot of thought went into it, says Nikita, because I wanted to put South India on India’s tourism map first with some desi creativity. Call it kitsch art or pop art, from kili josiyam and metal calendars to T-shirts, coffee mugs, quiz boxes, notepads, coasters, stickers, posters, hand bags and cushions, all having local themes with pan-India appeal have become fashion statements, according to Nikita.
It appeals to the buyers, majorly youngsters, for its Indianness or its intrinsic South-Indianness, she says. Following the coffee shop model for retailing, Nikita sells her products out of two dozen stores and kiosks in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and has also tied up with the Taj group of hotels in Coorg, Chennai and Bangalore. She also actively participates in the free markets in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
Nikita is well aware of the many players in this segment now. Bengaluru-based Chumbak was among the first to enter into the relatively unknown market space, whose owl and elephant-themed bags, purses and Tees were a big hit among the young crowd. Later brands like Masala Chai, Urumi, Arty Souk, Pink Jalebi, Happily Unmarried and Goli Soda, to name a few, flooded the market with their off-the-wall products and drawing the hep young crowd.
Realising that hobbies are becoming a big business, Nikita launches a fresh collection of items with new themes and designs twice or thrice a year. “It is exciting to be competitive,” she smiles. Nikita feels Madurai missed offering good souvenirs for long even though there is a huge market. There is abundance of civilisation here but very little conservation, she points out, adding, “all that the city needs is a doable USP.”
Dr Uma Kannan, Convener INTACH-Madurai, launched the souvenirs. Photo: S. James / The Hindu
Dr Uma Kannan, Convener INTACH-Madurai, launched the souvenirs:
“Souvenirs are an important aspect of the tourist experience. They are symbolic reminders of fond memories during vacations. They serve as mobile ambassadors of the city and have traditional and cultural value as they capture the feel of the city. They are also educative — when memories fade they serve as reminders and bring back memories.”
Mr. M. D. VEL, Executive Committee member and past Co-convener was instrumental in roping in Urumi. Photo: S. James / The Hindu
Mr. M. D. VEL, Executive Committee member and past Co-convener was instrumental in roping in Urumi:
“It is a shame that an ancient city like Madurai had no souvenirs designed, produced and sold in an organised manner whereas abroad cities less than 100 years old market themselves so well with a range of appealing souvenirs. Now, Urumi with the ‘Marvel@Madurai’ collection will enable tourists from all over to take a slice of Madurai back. This would also strengthen the pride for the city. INTACH will facilitate in keeping this small but significant initiative going.”
Pick up the ‘Marvel@Madurai’ souvenirs from:
Chola Arts shop at Hotel Fortune Pandiyan and Hotel GRT Regency; The Malli Poo shop at Madurai Airport; The Temple Book Shop at Meenakshi Amman Temple; The Gandhi Museum;
Hotel Germanus; Factory Fresh Shop on Madurai-Rameswaram Highway; Hotel J.C.Residency;
The Gateway Hotel, Pasumalai; Heritage Hotel, Hotel Sangam; Hotel Supreme; DHAN Foundation
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Soma Basu / Madurai – November 21st, 2014
