Collector Jayashree Muralidharan going through the books at Central Library in Tiruchi on Thursday. — PHOTO: M. MOORTHY / The Hindu
The books were handed over to Collector Jayashree Muralidharan by Managing Director of the Tiruchi District Central Cooperative Bank.
Civil service and other competitive examination books estimated at Rs. 72,000 and Rs. 67,000 were donated by the District Welfare Committee and the District Central Cooperative Bank respectively to the District Central Library here on Thursday.
The books were handed over to Collector Jayashree Muralidharan by Managing Director of the Tiruchi District Central Cooperative Bank. The event was organised for the benefit of book readers and members of the library.
The library currently has an enviable number of 1,52,665 books and 33,360 members.
An average of 750 people visit the library on a daily basis and 350 books are issued per day. Rs. 28,79,299 was spent for infrastructure and Rs. 6,84,375 for purchasing computers.
The library has received donations of Rs. 1,000 each from 273 patrons and Rs. 3,000 each from nine major patrons.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Deepika Muralidharan / Tiruchi – October 18th, 2013
INVIGORATING EXERCISE: Yoga session under way at Gandhi Memorial Museum./ Photos: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
True to the Gandhian ideology of empowering women, Gandhi Memorial Museum offers vocational training programmes
Thamilmozhi Jeyaseelan, a former software engineer, is a busy entrepreneur today. The success story of Mrs. Jeyaseelan, the mother of a four-year-old-girl, is awe-inspiring.
She had enrolled her child in a personality development course conducted by the education wing of the Gandhi Memorial Museum in April. To while away her time, she joined the self-employment course organised by the museum and underwent training in the manufacture of 15 household items such as floor cleaners, ink, ‘oma’ water, phenyl, washing and dish-wash powders. “The seven-hour training was a turning point in my life. It gave me the confidence to leave my job as a software engineer in a private hospital and start a business venture. Today, I am able to spend more time with my family and provide employment to six poor women,” Mrs. Jeyaseelan says. She is manufacturing and marketing phenyl, dish-wash powders and ‘oma’ water. “The ‘oma’ water has become an instant hit in the market. The profits are good and I am glad to provide employment and empower womenfolk,” she adds.
True to the Gandhian ideology of empowering women, the Gandhi Memorial Museum offers a slew of vocational training programmes, besides offering summer classes for school students, yoga and spoken Hindi classes throughout the year.
The museum, housed on the premises of the historic summer palace of Rani Mangammal, is one of the major tourist attractions in Madurai. As per its 2011-2012 annual report, the museum attracted more number of visitors than the National Gandhi Museum in Delhi. From the 2013 fiscal, the museum had drawn 1,94,846 visitors, of which 14,135 were foreign tourists. The museum has not restricted itself to just enthral the visitors, but has been indulging in activities that are fruitful to many. With an extensive library, a research and publication section, an Institute of Gandhian Studies and Research (IGSR) and an education section, there is no dearth of activities in the museum.
The library draws an average of 85 readers every day and has nearly 300 registered members, according to records available in the museum.
The IGSR is probably one of the few places in the country which offers courses on Gandhian Thought. “We offer free courses such as Certificate in Gandhian Thought, Diploma in Gandhian Thought, Diploma in Inter-Religious Dialogue and PG Diploma in Peace and Value Education. The courses are affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University. Students from Gandhigram Rural Institute and Madurai Kamaraj University undertake research works here,” says S. Jayaraj, research officer at the museum.
Several volumes of books on Gandhian Thought have been translated in the research and publication section, which also documents newspaper reports that resonate Gandhian ideologies such as non-violence and peace, he adds.
According to Mr. Jayaraj, while handing over Rani Mangammal Palace for the establishment of the museum, the State had envisioned a centre where research would flourish. The research centre was established in 1997 and became an approved institute of Madurai Kamaraj University in 2003 and has been disseminating Gandhian Thought and related subjects to the public, he adds.
NO AGE LIMIT
But for the summer courses, the others offered by the museum such as spoken Hindi class do not specify any age limit. “We have been conducting various certificate courses, especially for women, for the past five years. Mostly women attend the tailoring, jewellery-making and household item manufacturing courses and quite a few of them are successful in their business ventures,” says R. Natarajan, education officer of the museum. The education wing also conducts value education courses in schools and colleges to spread the Gandhian values of life.
D. Sridharan, a retired pharmaceutical executive, who is taking the two-month Spoken Hindi lessons in the museum, says spending time learning in the serene atmosphere of the museum is a bliss. “Unlike other centres, the Gandhi Museum charges a nominal fee and teaches us even the fundamentals of the origin of the word. The museum is one of the best places in Madurai and could be spruced up,” Mr. Sridharan says.
ORGANIC FOOD CANTEEN
With the assistance from the State and the Centre, renovation work is under way at the museum. According to M.P. Gurusamy, museum secretary, an organic food canteen will be inaugurated in January. “We are planning to convert the open-air auditorium into an indoor facility. A museum and a park for the children will be constructed,” he says.
The open-air auditorium is given on nominal rent for purposes other than political, communal and religious-oriented events, he says. “The resource persons, who provide training in skill development programmes, are those who are interested in Gandhian ideology. The museum does not pay them and they are volunteers. They only demand a nominal fee of less than Rs. 200 from the participants to meet the expenses of the core materials,” Mr. Gurusamy adds.
According to K.R. Nanda Rao, curator of the museum, the main gallery will soon be refurbished with good lighting.
The yoga training centre, approved by the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University Centre, has been functioning since 1998. “As of now, those who take part in training come on the advice of the doctors. Yoga should become a lifestyle habit,” says K. P. Gangadharan, yoga coordinator in the museum. People between the age group of 35 and 70 undergo yoga training and at least 100 students enrol for the certificate programmes in yoga every year, he says.
For people such as M. Soundararajan, a retired BSNL employee, who grew up in Madurai, the museum needs better care. “The museum needs more staff to clean the premises. When I was in school, I remember the area behind the palace having beautiful plants. Now, we have trees and more saplings could be planted. A new toilet should be constructed,” concludes Mr. Soundararajan who is now a student of Spoken Hindi.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – October 21st, 2013
City-based fusion music band e-Swara Project on Sunday secured its place in the finale of ‘Saarang’, the annual cultural festival of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, scheduled in the first week of January.
e-Swara Project, a progressive fusion rock group that started playing in February this year, competed against 11 other college bands in the city in the ‘Saarang Band Hunt’ competition held at Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering on Sunday. The band will now compete at a national stage in the light music finals at ‘Saarang’.
“It means a lot to us to have qualified for a national event in the first place. It will be a great platform for us to showcase our talent and also learn,” said Dinushan Shanmuganathan, the band’s percussionist. The band recently released a single ‘Vande Mataram’ which garnered over 2 lakh views on YouTube.
e-Swara Project comprises Yogeendra Hariprasad (vocals, keyboards), Anirban Sengupta (lead guitar), Dinushan (percussions), Raynol D’Souza (bass guitar), Nitesh Iyer (drums), V Noel Aiyar (keys) and Kantick Bannerjee and Aishwarya Rangarajan on vocals.
Sunday’s event was IIT Madras’ first outreach programme in an attempt to ensure more participation, said Ravi Gondalia, final year aeronautical engineering student and head of IIM Madras’ publicity team. “We have had similar band hunts in Pune and Bhopal. Now, we head to Kochi and Hyderabad. Earlier, we invited entries through video links that was adjudged by experts. But our judges complained that it was not the right way to judge light music groups,” Ravi explained.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service – Bangalore / October 21st, 2013
While Rs 30 crore has been allocated for construction of buildings in the regional offices in Madurai and Coimbatore, another Rs 30 crore would be spent on hostels in Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. (Above) A shot of the front building of the College of Engineering, Guindy, in the Anna University campus in Chennai.
Chennai :
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has allocated Rs 150 crore towards developing infrastructure in the regional offices and constituent colleges functioning under Anna University across the State.
While Rs 30 crore has been allocated for each of the regional offices in Madurai and Coimbatore to construct buildings, another Rs 30 crore would be spent for hostels in Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli, a State Government press release said.
The allocation would also cover construction of hostels in Dindugal, Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin and Nagercoil, Pattukottai and Panruti, it said.
Basic amenities in 12 university constituent colleges would be developed at a cost of Rs 10 crore, it added.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Education / by PTI / Chennai – October 19th, 2013
S. Parthasarthy (right), governing board member of MOP Vaishnav College, receives memento from Prof. K. Aludiapillai, ex-vice-chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, in Chennai on Monday. UGC vice-chairman H. Devraj (extreme right) is also seen. — DC
Chennai:
In 20 years, MOP Vaishnav College for Women has come a long way in producing women with entrepreneur skills and social commitment.
With an emphasis on academics and sports, the college has been among the top colleges of the city. On the bi-decennial celebration on Monday, the college awarded 45 of its alumni who have made a mark in various fields. They were lauded for their efforts by UGC vice-chairman H. Devraj.
The college established in 1992 with three courses now has 13 undergraduate courses and six PG courses. And in sports it has excelled with 74 international and 374 national sportswomen.
Speaking at the function, Bharathi Bhasker, a parent said, “The three years spent by my daughter in the college were the best of her life. The college taught her to work as a team has become imperative in professional life today.”
The college’s community radio programme found a special mention. K. Saraswathi, secretary general of Madras Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said, “The college has produced students who had excelled in corporates. We have heard of industry-academic-gap but MOP students’ knowledge received kudos from industrialists.”
Devraj added, “Of the 450 colleges with autonomy, TN has 150 of them. Autonomy in MOP has yielded good results. Institutions need to build brand equity and make students strong in their academic fundamentals.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / September 15th, 2013
Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam, in collaboration with Global Education and Leadership Foundation, conducted Harmony 2013, a talent quest in debate, chess and street play recently. Nine schools across South India participated in the event, with several students from PSBB, Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam, PSBB and Jindal Vidya Mandir school bagging prizes.
Harmony, a regional-level event, was launched last year to encourage students to interact and bring out their talent.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / October 15th, 2013
BSNL Chennai Telephones held their Hindi Fortnight celebrations at the BSNL Telephone Exchange at Dams Road on Monday.
Dr Srabani Panda, the head of the Department of Hindi, Stella Maris College was the chief guest at the event. Chief general manager A Balasubramanian released BSNL’s annual Hindi magazine titled Chennai Vani. He handed over the first copy to Dr Panda.
Rajbhasa Adhikari Jayasuriya Chellam presented BSNL’s annual report while Dr Panda gave away prizes to the winners of various competitions that were held in connection with the celebrations.
Staff members and their families, who participated in the competitions, attended the event.
“If we learn Hindi and English along with our mother tongue, then the world will be in our hands,” said Dr Panda while addressing the participants and the audience. Balasubramanian delivered the presidential address. As part of the celebrations, staff members who attended the event received a copy each of the Chennai Vani magazine.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / October 01st, 2013
People busy browsing periodicals and newspapers at the New Building of District Central Library at Tiruchi on Wednesday./ Photo: M.Moorthy / The Hindu
Disabled persons residing within 2-km radius of District Central Library can access facility
Differently abled persons residing within a radius of two kilometres of the District Central Library near Singarathope on the West Boulevard Road can now have books from the library delivered at their doorsteps.
The District Central Library plans to implement the novel initiative with the support of the library’s Readers’ Circle for the benefit of differently abled persons who are not able to visit the library personally.
Differently abled persons who wish to avail the service can send in their request specifying their names, full address, and telephone numbers to the District Library Officer, District Central Library Office at West Boulevard Road by surface mail or email to dcltry@tn.nic.in or SMS to 7402603631.
Once the request was received, the library staff will visit the homes of the different abled persons to formally enrol them as members of the library, District Library Officer A.P.Sivakumar told The Hindu.
Once they become members, the differently abled persons will be eligible to have books of their choice from the library delivered at their doorstep once a week. The books, to be delivered by the library staff with the support of the Readers’ Circle, have to be returned within 15 days.
Apart from an annual subscription of Rs.10, the members will be required to pay a deposit of Rs.20 for borrowing one book, Rs.40 for two books, and Rs.50 for three books.
Based on the response to the service to be launched shortly, the initiative will be extended to differently abled persons living more than two km away from the library, Mr.Sivakumar said. He also disclosed that efforts were underway to make the newly built library building more differently abled-friendly.
Amenities such as a differently abled-friendly toilet and ramp were available. Wheelchairs and other amenities are planned to be provided soon.
A separate section for differently abled with specialised infrastructure, especially for the visually and hearing impaired, is also being planned.
source: http://www. thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Special Correspondent / Tiruchi – July 17th, 2013
Adalat Ali (second left), Programme Director, Air Defence, DRDO- Hyderabad, releasing the ‘i3 Expo’ directory, which is being received by G.D. Gopal (second right), Managing Trustee, GD Naidu Charities, at the inaugural of the expo at CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, in the city on Friday. / Photo:K.Ananthan / The Hindu
i3 Expo provides a platform to innovators, venture capitalists, students, farmers, scientists, and entrepreneurs
At first sight nothing seemed different in the soft silk saree. A heap of arecanut shells and its fibre kept nearby gave an indication that the saree had a touch of innovation.
G. Nivedita of Mettupalayam and her friends worked for more than a year to produce the hand-woven, silk saree blended with arecanut fibre. With raw silk costs shooting up, this saree can be an alternative, says Ms. Nivedita. About 10 kg of arecanut was used for this purpose. The fibre was removed manually, processed, spun and woven with silk. The team gave the saree to the South India Textile Research Association and tested it for colour fastness and strength.
This was one of the displays at i3 Expo, a three-day exhibition of ideas, inventions and innovations on at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex here from Friday.
Daniel T.Davy of Thrissur displays a ‘Pit Snatcher’. / Photo:K.Ananthan / The Hindu
The organisers have given a platform through the exhibition for innovators, venture capitalists, students, farmers, scientists, and entrepreneurs to come together.
Be it a system for better traffic management, improvement in home security, value addition to an agricultural produce, tapping solar, wind or hydro energy, or making farming easier, all these have found space at the exhibition.
Many of these can make everyday life easier for consumers if the concepts are commercialised. For instance, a team from Dindigul is demonstrating how swipe card and automation can be used in public distribution outlets.
Adalat Ali, Programme Director of Air Defence of DRDO, said at the inaugural that necessity and creativity drive innovations and inventions.
According to G.D. Gopal, Managing Trustee of GD Naidu Charities, the event will showcase Coimbatore’s abilities.
L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee of PSG & Sons Charities, spoke of the efforts of founder of PSG College of Technology G.R. Damodaran for the development of the industry and education here.
A.V. Varadarajan, chairman of the expo, said innovation was the key to economic development.
R. Palanisamy, convenor of i3 Expo, said the exhibition had the encouragement of the National Innovation Council and the State councils for Science and Technology. It had 541 participants from different States and the displays were in the areas of agriculture, engineering, textiles, energy, and medicine. Nearly 102 educational institutions are participating in the expo. The best innovations will get cash awards.
The event is organised by the PSG Tech Alumni Association and presented by PSG Institutions as a concurrent event of GRD centenary year celebrations. Entry is free and the exhibition is open from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
The Hindu is the media partner for the event.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – September 28th, 2013
Daniel T Davy from Thejus Engineering College in Thrissur and R C Naveen from PSG College of Technology are hopeful that they will get the much needed support for their innovations. Both students have exhibited devices that would help rescue infants trapped in bore wells. They are among the 550 creative minds who participated in the national level I3 expo that began on Friday. Daniel has named his device ‘Pit Snatcher’ and recently demonstrated the dummy rescue operation at his college.
“Usually rescuers dig a pit near the bore well to get access to the victim, which is a time consuming process,” Daniel said. The ‘Pit Snatcher’ would rescue trapped infants by directly entering the bore well. R C Naveen, a final year student, has also featured a similar model at the expo called ‘Borebot’. Though he is yet to develop his idea into a model and demonstrate its workings, Naveen says he is confident that victims can be rescued within hours.
Another innovation featured by K Hariharasudan and S Muralidaran, first year students of PSG College of Technology attempts to aid in the rescue of earthquake victims. “Our robots can be guided through the rubbles using mobile phones to identify victims,” Hariharasudan said. The robot, controlled by a mobile phone, has sensors which can detect body heat. As many as 750 innovations by 550 students are exhibited at the expo organised by PSG Institutions in Coimbatore. Organisers say that they received more than 1300 applications from across the country but only 750 were selected. “Screening of applications was done by a team of professors, engineers and entrepreneurs to shortlist the entries,” said an organiser. Inaugurating the fair, Air Defence programme director of DRDO Adalat Ali said that the DRDO will showcase the Prahar and Aakash missiles in the upcoming Seol Air Show. The expo will end on Sunday and will be open to the public from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore> Snatchers / by S M Arun, TNN / September 28th, 2013
