Category Archives: Education

‘Special op’ tracks down long lost classmates for Loyola reunion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
From (L) Justices R Sudhakar, C T Selvam, M M Sundaresh, T S Sivagnanam and V Bharathidasan at Loyola Alumni Meet, in the city on Sunday | Romani Agarwal
From (L) Justices R Sudhakar, C T Selvam, M M Sundaresh, T S Sivagnanam and V Bharathidasan at Loyola Alumni Meet, in the city on Sunday | Romani Agarwal

Chennai  :

Not enough 60-year-olds are on Facebook. This is probably why the folks behind the reunion of the Economics batch of 1976, Loyola College had to request a ‘special op’ be carried out to track down their classmates.

Members of the alumni committee, who have diligently tracked down every one of their 76 classmates, did so over a span of two years. Gerald Arputhasamy, one of the alumni and co-ordinator of the event over the weekend, recalled, “We have called offices, wives, postmen, even rang up the United Nations once to reach a classmate of our who works with the World Trade Organisation!”

Sadly what they found was that 40 years after college graduation, nine classmates were deceased and several others – spread all across from Sowcarpet to Singapore – were unreachable.

That’s when Gerald requested classmate and friend, retired Commissioner of Police T Rajendran to help out. And as you can imagine, returning home from work to find out that cops had come knocking, alarmed more than one senior gent in the process. “We had quite a few people scared, before they called back and I got to say: It’s me machan,” remembers Rajendran with a laugh. In this day and age, the concept of ‘unreachable’ is rather alien for most, but this team did not have it that easy.

Like M Ganesan from Tirupattur who was tracked by his classmates all the way down to his new address and the postmaster in the main office. With a little convincing, this enabled them to collect the number of the specific postman who frequented Ganesan’s street. He was requested to give a missed call when near his house. However, Ganesan’s elderly father was not as pliable, refusing to share his son’s number with the postman.

So when Ganesan did eventually return home that week, he was shocked to learn that a police visit to his house had become the talk of the neighbourhood. Although now he’s got one heck of a story to tell his grandchildren before they head off to college!

The Loyola College Economics Batch of ’76 reunion will take place on October 8. The alumni who have tracked down a good number of their faculty as well plan to kick-off the day by recreating morning attendance with their original roll numbers.

Legal luminaries honoured at meet
Loyola College on Sunday honoured several legal luminaries, including Supreme Court Judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar, with its alumni award as part of its annual ‘Alumni Day’ celebrations. Besides Justice Chelameswar, a BSc Physics student of the college who passed out in 1972, the college also awarded its other alumni, Justices T S Sivagnanam, C T Selvam, V Bharathidasan, M M Sundresh (all from Madras High Court) and Justice R Sudhakar of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court. Senior advocates Krishna Srinivasan, PS Raman, Vijay Narayan and Joseph Kodianthara were also honoured on the occasion. Delivering his address as the chief guest, Justice Chelameswar said the role of education is to refine the value systems of students.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / October 03rd, 2016

Village in Salem wins National Literacy Award

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

The Vatta Muthampatti village panchayat in the district has won the prestigious National Literacy Award for the successful implementation of the adult literacy (Karkum Bharatham) programme-2016.

Vatta Muthampatti is the only village panchayat in Tamil Nadu to win this prestigious national award.

Of the total population of 3,929, a total of 3,159 women in the age group of 14-35 years were found to be illiterates a few years ago. All the illiterates have now become literates thanks to the implementation of the Central Government sponsored ‘Karkum Bharatham’ (Saakshar Bharat), an adult literacy programme exclusively for women.

Raja alias Killivalavan, president of the Vatta Muthampatti panchayat, received the coveted ‘Saakshar Bharat National Literacy Award” from Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, in the presence of Prakash Javedekar, Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, at a function held in connection with the Adult Literacy Day in New Delhi recently.

The ‘Karkum Bharatham’ programme implemented by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development was introduced in Salem district in October 2010 with the objective of covering more than 3.51 lakh illiterate women in the age group of 14-35 years.

Salem is one of the nine districts in Tamil Nadu where this programme is under implementation.

The illiterate women of Vatta Muthampatti panchayat were identified through special campaigns and imparted training in basic literacy at the Karkum Bharatham literacy centres. Specially trained Plus-Two completed youths were selected as resource persons.

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), New Delhi, and the National Literacy Mission (NLM) conducted the examinations twice a year in March and October since this programme was introduced in the district, on behalf of the HRD Department, to assess the basic literacy talent admitted to the literacy centres. After the examinations, it declared that all the 3,159 women of the district have completed the literacy programme and emerged successful in the examinations. It declared Vatta Muthampatti as a totally literate village panchayat.

All the 3,159 women have been declared as ‘certified learners’ now, according to D. Thangavelu, district coordinator of the Karkum Bharatham programme.

Successful candidates were given certificates by the NIOS.

Second time

The Salem district has achieved the rare distinction of receiving the national level ‘Saakshar Bharat National Literacy Award’ for the second year in succession.

The tribal Palamalai village panchayat in Kolathur block received the award last year, followed by the Vatta Muthampatti panchayat this year.

During both the years, Salem is the only district to receive this award this year, even though the ‘Karkum Bharatham’ programme is under implementation in nine districts in the State for the past five years.

This is a rare distinction, said Dr. Thangavelu, district coordinator of Karkum Bharatham.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Syed Muthahar Saqaf / Salem – September 27th, 2016

23 and counting, earning degrees is this Erode lawyer’s favourite pastime

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All

kesavancf26sept2016

Erode :

He holds a record that is not easy to beat. A lawyer based in Erode,  K K M Kesavan has to his credit, a PhD in Legal Aid, 14 master’s degrees and eight PG diplomas to his credit. And he is 75!

Now, he is in the second year of a correspondence master’s programme, even as 2017 will mark the golden jubilee of his legal career. Among his degrees are MA in English, Political Science, History, Sociology, Economics, Public Administration, MCom, MSc in Education Management and MBA, besides his degree in lawfrom the universities of Periyar, Annamalai, Bharathiar and Alagappa.

His success in life was achieved against the odds as his family was neither well off nor highly educated. Born to a small farmer in Arathil village in Kannur district of Kerala (then in the Madras Presidency), his mother died when he was just a year old.

In 1959, Kesavan came to Erode and joined his uncle Sankar, who owned a small hotel. He got a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Delhi University through correspondence and then studied BL in Bangalore University.

Kesavan joined as a junior advocate under V S Venkatrama Ayyar, who later became a High Court judge. He then worked under A P Chinnasamy. Later, he started his own practice.

“As my seniors mostly handled civil cases, I have attended over 2,500 civil cases so far and won nearly 80 per cent of them,” he recalls.

Of the 45 juniors who have worked with him, seven became magistrates and munsifs. There are now four juniors working with him.

Kesavan’s quest for learning started at a young age and continued even after he started working as a lawyer, as per the advice of an uncle, Vasudevan, a school teacher in Erode.

Practising actively in Erode, Kesavan has held the president’s post of advocate associations several times and is now the joint secretary of the AIADMK lawyers wing.

His son K S Jeyaganesan is a Central government pleader in the Chennai High Court. His daughter, also based in Chennai, is a Bhartanatyam exponent. She had served as a college lecturer for a while.

Proper use of time is the secret to his achievement. “All of us get the same 24 hours a day. How we utilise it, is important in coming up in life,” says Kesavan.

His wife, Savithri, should also get some credit for it. As she took all responsibility for the family, he was able to focus completely on his work and studies. The author of many articles on law, Kesavan’s only pastime is reading.

On the judiciary front, Kesavan suggests a National Judicial Academy to select judges for high courts. It should also conduct tests for the judges before elevating them to the Supreme Court.

This method, along the lines of IAS selection, would end the present controversy over the collegium system, which is not transparent.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / by Express News Service / September 26th, 2016

Videos show doctors how to operate gastro ailments

Education, Science & Technologies

Chennai:

About two-third of the symptoms leading to gastrointestinal diseases occur in the food pipe and the stomach in the form of heartburn and ulcer. But reading textbooks and following practices pioneered in the West alone cannot help doctors in treating them.

More than 30 videos that demonstrated surgical procedures in managing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract including that of the stomach and food pipe as well as those involving the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile duct (hepato-pancreatic biliary) were screened. Experts, who had done the procedures and had mastered the techniques involved in successful management of the diseases later gave tips to more than 200 post-graduates and practising surgeons.

The videos were screened to give an update of the latest techniques involved in some standard as well as complex procedures to treat diseases like hernia and chronic inflammation of the pancreas. It was screened as part of the Global Gastro Update organised by Institute of Gastro Intestinal and Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Sciences of Global Health City.

“The videos focusses on the most important steps critical to the success of the procedures,” said Dr S M Chandramohan, director, department of gastrointestinal surgery, Global Health City.

State health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, who earlier inaugurated the event, said while surgeons updating their scientific knowledge will ultimately benefit the public, he urged the experts to work together to make them accessible and affordable.

Assistant professor from Madras Medical College Dr Raj Kumar Rathnaswamy, who attended the sessions, said such an event can help them correct the mistakes that happen in planned surgeries.

 “Besides live and lecture demonstrations, viewing such videos and interacting with experts involved in such surgeries can help us learn the recent advancements in the procedures and refine our techniques,” the doctor said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / TNN / July 31st, 2016

HIDDEN HISTORIES – From Besant to Vasantha

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion
The road in question is in Adyar, shortly after the bridge / Photo: Special Arrangement
The road in question is in Adyar, shortly after the bridge / Photo: Special Arrangement

That is an intriguing name. The road in question is in Adyar, shortly after the bridge. It had me scurrying home to consult Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy’s book A Tale of Two Schools, which documents the history of the Sankara Schools run by the Indian Education Trust. Much of the details in this article are from that work.

Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott founded the Theosophical Society (TS) in 1875 in New York. They acquired the 27-acre estate of the thickly wooded Huddlestone Gardens on the banks of the Adyar River in 1882 and established the world headquarters of the Society there in 1883. Annie Besant, who became its President in 1907, was instrumental in the Society becoming a huge 266-acre estate by 1910.

The TS needed a press for printing its tracts, and in 1907, Annie Besant purchased the necessary machinery and established it just outside the estate, on a narrow road adjoining the Society’s world headquarters entrance. By then, the Theosophists had ‘sanskritised’ Besant into Vasantha, and the printing facility became the Vasantha Press, the road taking its name from it. An interesting aside is that the Besant School begun by the TS had its prayer dedicated to Annie Besant. The song composed by the legendary Papanasam Sivan is in raga Vasantha and begins with the words Devi Vasanthe!

The foundation stone for the Vasantha Press was laid in 1908, and it became functional a short while later. In 1914, Mrs Besant acquired the Madras Standard, a daily, and renamed it New India. The paper, which electrified the freedom movement with its demand for Home Rule, was initially brought out from the Vasantha Press.

Running into frequent trouble with the authorities, it moved its offices in 1916 to the New India Building on Second Line Beach, from where it was published till its demise, which was probably in 1926. New India Building is now home to another of Besant’s creations, the Young Men’s Indian Association (YMIA). It is temporarily housed there, even as it takes ages to make up its venerable mind over what is to be done with its original home — Gokhale Hall, on Armenian Street.

After Annie Besant’s death in 1933, the TS acquired and ran Vasantha Press for long. An expanded facility was built in Besant Gardens in the TS premises in 1971 and the Press moved there. The Sankara School, set up in R.K. Nagar, Raja Annamalaipuram, at the instance of the Kanchi Paramacharya and spearheaded by P.R. Pattabhiraman, was then looking for property that it could acquire and expand in. The Indian Education Society (now Trust) that manages the school purchased the erstwhile Vasantha Press property in 1973. The school moved in the same year and continues to function from there. The old press building has made way for state-of-the-art classrooms, but the spirit of Besant, who believed in preparing the younger generation for meeting the challenges of the future, lives on.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Sriram V / Chennai – July 29th, 2016

Zoology Department of Stella Maris celebrates 60th anniversary

Education, Nature, Science & Technologies
Students of Zoology Department conducting a bird count./ Photo: Anusha Sundar / The Hindu
Students of Zoology Department conducting a bird count./ Photo: Anusha Sundar / The Hindu

Workshops, nature walks, intercollegiate competitions and guest lectures are part of the year-long celebrations. L. KANTHIMATHI reports

As part of its diamond jubilee celebrations, the Department of Zoology at Stella Maris College will invite its former faculty and students from across India and abroad to deliver lectures through video-conferencing. This programme would however continue beyond the diamond jubilee year.

Rita Jayraj, assistant professor and Head of the Department of Zoology, says, “The main objective of this initiative is to be up-to-date with the trends in the field. Two of our former staff members, who are from Australia and the United States, have agreed to be part of this programme.”

The celebrations would include a series of events that would be conducted through the year. There would be workshops on molecular biology, nature walks, involving spotting of butterflies and insects, intercollegiate competitions, guest lectures, release of a book on butterflies and also the release of a souvenir, which consists of a collection of photos and a brief description of birds, insects and spiders.

According to Kalpana Jayaraman, assistant professor, “Our students are never short of enthusiasm when it comes to trying out new things, which encourages us to organise a range of interesting programmes.”

The Department was founded in 1956 under the leadership of late Dr. Eileen Riordan.

In an email communication, Meera Paul, the second Head of the Department, says, “Over the years, the Department has witnessed a steady growth, continually adding new subjects that are allied to zoology. Another achievement of the Department lies in the area of animal welfare. With the support of the World Society for Protection of Animals, the Department has introduced papers on animal welfare. The Department also celebrates Compassion Week and has spearheaded several animal adoption drives in association with the Blue Cross of India. Our students have been involved in the activities of the Sea Turtle Conservation Network and the Crocodile Bank. They have also taken part in the Black Buck census conducted at the Guindy Park. Also, the Department has undertaken soil studies as part of the restoration project at Adyar Poonga.”

In 2005, the Department began to use computer simulations as an alternative to wet labs in the same year.

Another important milestone of the department was achieved in 2013 when the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, accorded Star status to the zoology department. According to the college authorities, SMC is one of the two colleges in Tamil Nadu which received the status in the first phase.

“On an average, close to 1,000 frogs and other fauna are dissected for academic purposes. To put an end to this practice, we adopted computer simulations,” says Rita Jayaraj. At the inauguration of the celebrations, the college principal, Sr. Jasintha Quadras, welcomed the chief guest, Additional Director General of Police Srilakshmi Prasad, who is an alumnae of the Department.

In her address, she said, “The Department has stood the test of time due to the teachers’ dedication and the keen interest they have been taking in spotting talent in students.”

She also advised the students to lead a life ruled by moral values.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / L Kanthimathi / Chennai – July 16th, 2016

IIT Madras marks second edition of its AlumNite event

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Chennai :

IIT Madras celebrated its second AlumNite, a variant of the traditional alumni day, on Saturday.

Dr Jayant Baliga Distinguised University Professor and Director, Power Semiconductor Research Center, North Carolina State University, was conferred Distinguished Alumnus Award 2016 on the occasion.

The other recipient of the Alumnus awards were Dr. S. Christopher Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Director General, DRDO and Dr. Aravind Srinivasan Professor, Department of Computer Science and Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland.

Speaking on the occasion, president of IIT Madras Alumni  Association (IITMAA) Ravi Venkatraman, who passed out in 1971 said, “The Alumni Association besides trying to bring together entrepreneurs, was involved in social work. We refurbished schools affected in floods and collected Rs 15 Lakh within a week. We are also engaged with projects in villages and identified two villages in Kanchipuram. An alumni card is on the anvil,” he said.

Thiru Srinivasan from 1989 batch said, “This year industry has taken a bigger role. Employment to the graduating students has increased. We are starting to reach out to the governing bodies like Anna University and NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). We want to touch 100 colleges and would like to get more alumni.”

Abhishek Sharma who graduated this year said last year the fund raised from graduating students was Rs 15 Lakh and this year it Rs 35 Lakh.

V Balaraman who is the former Managing Director of Ponds and under whose name an alumni chair was established in April was officially launched on AlumNite.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 24th, 2016

MCC alumni gear up for a grand reunion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

Chennai :

From Singapore to Saidapet, alumni of Madras Christian College are gearing up for a reunion of a lifetime. Celebrating 179 years of the institution, students from across generations will come together for the second Global Alumni Reunion on August 6-7.

At 125 years old, the MCC Alumni Association, which is organising the event, is the oldest in the country. Members of the association have been putting the word out for more than three months. “Many alumni have booked tickets from across the world to fly in for this special event,” says C Selvaraj, secretary of the association, and as some students would remember, former head of the Department of Economics.

Besides posting the details on social media where the excitement is abuzz, and sending out e-invites for the reunion, the alumni group has sent out about 1,000 postal letters — so as not to miss out on the elderly who don’t have an e-mail address. With close to 2,000 people expected, on similar lines of the first Global Alumni Reunion held three years ago, even a rather formal principal R W Alexander Jesudasan is unable to keep the nostalgia out of his voice.

“It’s really moving to see our past students (although they may be old now) go back to the rooms where they once stayed on campus… with a sort of child-like excitement,” he recalls. “It’s really a sight to behold.”

With a reputation for showcasing some of the best musicians and bands over the years as well, MCC has planned two performances — one, a trip down memory lane put together by the alumni and the other, by present students for the alumni. Veteran musician Timmy Madhukar, who is coordinating the show, gives us a preview. “We’ve got all the favourite tunes that were blasted in the halls back in the day — Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, a little bit of John Denver…”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express Features / July 18th, 2016

Honour for city biologist

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

The Royal Society of Biology, London, has elected S. Vincent, Dean of research, Loyola College, as a fellow of Royal Society of Biology, a press release said. By its resolution, the society elected Mr. Vincent on July 1 for his outstanding contribution to biological sciences, the release said. Mr. Vincent came up with a biophysical method for quickly finding the levels of metal accumulation and toxicity based on electrical conductivity of proteins.

His contribution will help solve crisis in water management and vector-borne disease management. — Staff Reporter

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – July 24th, 2016

Book throws light on little-known facets of Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
The cover of a new book on Pillai.
The cover of a new book on Pillai.

The author of Tamil prayer Neeradum Kadaludutha was a philosopher, historian and epigraphist

He is known as the author of the Tamil prayer Neeradum Kadaludutha , which is part of his verse drama ‘Manonmaniam’. But few people know that P. Sundaram Pillai was a philosophy professor at the Maharaja’s college in Trivandram for over 15 years and the work was dedicated to Robert Harvey, Professor and Head of the Department of the College.

Sundaram Pillai, who died at the age of 42 in 1897, was also a historian, an epigraphist and a government official who held the post of Commissiones of separate revenue.

“He dedicated his work to Dr. Harvey as it was he who had recommended the appointment of Sundaram Pillai in his place after he decided to leave for England. He had even named his house as Harverypuram,” said A.K. Perumal, whose new book Manonmaniam Sundaranarin Innorupakkam (‘The other side Manonmaniam Sundaram’, NCBH), throws light on the multi-faceted personality of the author of the Tamil prayer.

‘Manonmaniam’ has its roots in Lord Litten’s ‘The Secret Way’, which was part of the collection of ‘The Lost Tales of Miletus’.

It was made into a film by Modern Theatres in 1942. The prayer song was set to music by late M.S. Viswanathan, but M. Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister, deleted a few lines.

Sundaram Pillai’s family was from Kalakadu in Tirunelveli district and moved to Alapuzha in the 18th century.

“He had studied Tamil in school. It is not clear how he had learnt Tamil literature in Kerala even though he was in touch with great Tamil scholars of his time, including U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer and C.V. Damodaram Pillai,” said Mr. Perumal.

When he was the principal of the MDT Hindu School he learnt Saiva Siddantha from Kodakanallur Sundara Swamigal and held a long discussion with Swami Vivekananda during his visit to Kerala.

As the Commissiones of separate revenue, the temple management was under his control and it came in handy for his research on epigraphs.

“As a historian he established with substantial evidence that Saivaite saint Thirugnana Sambandar belonged to 7th century and his English essay on the subject was published in the journal of the Madras Christian College. He also wrote an early sovereign of Travancore, an in-depth study of Travancore history,” said Mr Perumal, who has collected the essays.

Lost letters

“Unfortunately, we are not able to get many of his letters and photographs. Since he was a Congressman, police seized many documents from his residence, including his correspondence with Swami Vivekananda. They are lost permanently,” said Mr. Perumal.

‘He was in touch with great Tamil scholars of his time, including U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer’

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – July 24th, 2016