Category Archives: Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Beggar, BA, Bankrolls Education of Children

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Karaikudi :

You might have spotted differently-abled people seeking alms. But have you ever come across any such person using the money so generated for charity? Meet 73-year-old R Selvaraj, who begs for a living but gainfully utilises the money by buying stationery for disadvantaged school students in the neighbourhood.

Selvaraj, a resident of Karunanidhi Nagar in Tamil Nadu, is polio-afflicted and has been a mendicant in the Karaikudi new bus stand since 2006  after he gave up his job as a cycle mechanic. “I’ve been helping disadvantaged students since 1968 after I witnessed children from poor families struggling to get educated due to financial problems. But only after 2006, when I could not get any job, I started imploring people for alms for the welfare of the students,” he said.

R Selvaraj boards a bus at the Karaikudi bus stand (left); he distributes notebooks to disadvantaged children
R Selvaraj boards a bus at the Karaikudi bus stand (left); he distributes notebooks to disadvantaged children

Selvaraj, however, added that he never appealed to anyone after telling them that he has been helping students. “I frequent buses on the Madurai, Tirupattur and other selected routes as I am unable to handle all the routes. I seek alms from each passenger. Sometimes they ignore me. Some donate as much as they can. Even if people ignore me, I never take it to heart,” he said, adding, “Though I board buses with difficultly, I do it for the children. If a student wants a bag, I try to get it and surprise him or her with it. When I do such an act, it gives me immense satisfaction.”

Through social media and by talking to people, he has got some benefactors. One such person from Chennai has been sending Rs 500 every month without fail for the last two years after learning about his service.

Selvaraj said he couldn’t recollect the number of students he had helped so far. But this year he has helped around 26 students who stayed near his home to buy notebooks, pens, pencils and other stationery.

“On an average, I get Rs 400 a day by seeking alms. Through this I get Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month and from regular benefactors I get at least Rs 2,000 per month. Overall I get Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000 per month, of which I spend Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 on children every month,” Selvaraj said. In the evenings, he offers tuitions to those he have been helping. He teaches students from classes I to X. “Though I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, I teach all subjects. Sometimes I find it difficult to answer questions. At such times, I reread the text,” he added.

One of his students, R Anand, said, “I never knew that he sought alms to help us. When I came to know about it, I was surprised.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> The Sunday Standard / by Vignesh V. / August 23rd, 2015

THUS SPAKE COOUM – Stirring expressions of patriotism

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion
Arya Bashyam being taken away by the police after he hoisted the tricolour at Fort St.George in 1932. Ilustration: Satwik Gade
Arya Bashyam being taken away by the police after he hoisted the tricolour at Fort St.George in 1932. Ilustration: Satwik Gade

From the tricolour being hoisted at Fort St.George to filmgoers at Gaiety defying imperialist high-handedness, Cooum has witnessed some defining moments of the Indian freedom struggle

All of us are in some form of shackles, self-imposed or otherwise. I was made to flow freely, but the dead weight of man-induced sewage has reduced me to a piteous crawl. If I could, I would break free of this shackle. But I am just a river, and I can’t. My own helplessness has made me an admirer of those who have shaken off their yokes. For one, I have been a witness to stirring expressions of love for the country, when it was under British yoke.

MadrasWeekCF19aug2015

Everyone loves a hero. Everyone is enthralled by people who put their lives on the line for the common good. On the 26 of January in 1932, in the whole of India, there was none more heroic than Arya Bhashyam. Even today, I develop goosebumps as I recall how Arya Bhashyam, his face afire with a deep-burning love for his country, clambered up the incredibly tall flagstaff at Fort St. George, and replaced the Union Jack with the Tricolour. When he climbed down, his eyes were aglitter with pride and a sense of accomplishment. There was no trace of fear in those eyes, when the guards pounced on Bhashyam.

It surprises me no end how we forget our heroes – most of them, I mean. I got to see T. P. Kumaran Nair, when he was lodged in the Madras Central Jail in the early 1940s. A handsome and guileless man, he was on death row. Arrested when he was returning from Singapore and tried for treason, he did not seek mercy and faced death fearlessly. He courted martyrdom and found it on July 7, 1944, and had the honour of Subhash Chandra Bose calling him Shahid-e-Hind (martyr of Hindustan). Nair worshipped Bose and he trained cadets in the Indian National Army. It’s a pity that except for a road in Nellicode, Kerala, that bears his name, T.P. Kumaran Nair remains largely forgotten.

There were many common people who made a contribution to the freedom struggle who will forever remain in the shadows. During stilly nights, the cries of people being beaten inside the Gaiety cinema come back to me.

It was 1939 and Thyaga Bhoomi, a Tamil film based on a work by writer Kalki, was being screened in defiance of ban orders from the British Indian government in Madras. The government saw in the film a subtle call to support the freedom movement. It acted on the assumption that the Congress party had a hand in it. The ban order was served when the film was in its 22 week at Gaiety. The people behind the film, which included S.S. Vasan and K. Subramanyam (who made the film) chose not be cowed down: they ran free shows of the film at the cinema. It was during one such show the police barged into the cinema and beat up the audience. Despite the pummelling, they stayed inside.

Doveton House in Women's Christian College where Tipu Sultan' sons are believed to have been held captive.
Doveton House in Women’s Christian College where Tipu Sultan’ sons are believed to have been held captive.

Then there are certain structures proximate to where I flow, which are not readily associated with the freedom struggle. But they have had a part in it. Tipu Sultan’s sons were held captive at the timeworn Doveton House in Women’s Christian College.

Then the Tipu’s weapons of war on display at the Madras Museum bring back the past powerfully for me. For visitors to the Museum, they are relic of the past. Flowing – actually, crawling by the Museum – and looking at these instruments, I could hear the distant sounds of a spirited struggle.

Sources: Venkatesh Ramakrishnan of the Chennai Cooum Group, The Hindu Archives and the Madras Musings

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Prince Frederick / August 20th, 2015

Tailors who don’t ‘stitch’ clothes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
Giving clothes a second innings: Employees of Re-Stitch Point. Photo: K. Pichumani
Giving clothes a second innings: Employees of Re-Stitch Point. Photo: K. Pichumani

For 25 years, this small establishment in Mylapore has made a business out of a need to alter clothes, reports Liffy Thomas

Finding a tailor who specialises in altering stitched clothes is a challenge. More likely than not, your regular tailor is not keen on alteration work. If he accepts such work, he is likely to sit on it for a few weeks. And then, you don’t always trust the road-side tailor with an expensive dress.

For 25 years now, this shop specialises only in alteration of clothes for men and women. Re-Stitch Point at Mylapore does not take up stitching jobs. It does not have to. It has a huge number of customers giving it re-stitching jobs.

Not many tailors are keen on taking up such work, so that makes us different from most tailors, says M. Sashikala, who owns the shop.

Five tailors and two front-office staff take care of the day-to-day activities: taking measurement of customers and altering clothes.

From patchwork on an old and torn jeans to re-sizing a salwar kameez , the shop does it all, except for altering blouses.

A good number of customers want clothes altered for sentimental reasons.

For instance, a lady customer wanted a pair of trousers worn by her brother, who passed away, altered to fit her so that she could continue to wear it.

“It was a low-waist trouser and we had to add extra material to make it her fit,” said a staff that altering was more challenging that stitching.

Amjad Khan, who has been working in the shop for the last two decades, says the most difficult task is increasing the waist. “Unlike other parts that have extra stitches, here we have to get almost matching material to increase the waist,” he says.

Re-Stitch is keen on expanding, provided it gets more employees.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Address: Shop No 15, Luz Ginza, Shanthi Vihar Complex, Luz Corner, Mylapore. / Phone: 4210 6971.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Liffy Thomas / June 28th, 2014

Kodaikanal Won’t: Rapper goes viral with toxic waste gibes at Unilever

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Sofia Ashraf’s video has had more than a million views on YouTube, drawing attention to accusations against a thermometer factory in the town of Kodaikanal that closed down 14 years ago.

Sofia Ashraf.
Sofia Ashraf.

An Indian rapper has gone viral with a music video calling on consumer products giant Unilever to clean up alleged toxic waste from a forested southern hill station. Sofia Ashraf’s video, posted online by a nongovernmental organization called Jhatkaa, or “shock” in Hindi, has had more than a million views on YouTube, drawing attention to accusations against a thermometer factory in the town of Kodaikanal that closed down 14 years ago.

Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the consumer goods company, has denied wrongdoing. It disputes claims of former workers who say their health has been damaged by exposure to mercury. The company said it shut down the factory in 2001 when environmental activists including Greenpeace “brought to Hindustan Unilever’s attention the fact that glass scrap containing mercury” had been sold to a scrap dealer about three kilometres from the factory.

“We have been rigorous in establishing the facts and several independent expert studies have concluded that there were no adverse impacts on the health of our people at Kodaikanal. We have also taken action to ensure the clean-up of soil within the factory premises,” a Hindustan Unilever spokesperson said in an email.

“There is still work to do here – which we are committed to fulfilling – as soon as we have received final consent from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to start the soil remediation.” Set to the beat of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”, and retweeted by Minaj herself, Ashraf also asks Unilever to compensate workers.

“Kodaikanal won’t step down, until you make amends now,” she raps.

source : YouTube

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> News> India / Reuters Mumbai / August 04th, 2015

First mother’s milk bank opened

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All
right move:Rohini Ramdas, Project Officer, DRDA (left), at the breast milk bank in Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Monday.— Photo: S. James
right move:Rohini Ramdas, Project Officer, DRDA (left), at the breast milk bank in Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Monday.— Photo: S. James

All OP wards in GRH to have dedicated rooms for mothers

The first mother’s milk bank in the district, an initiative of the State government, was inaugurated at Government Rajaji Hospital here on Monday as a part of the Breastfeeding Week celebrations.

“Pre-term babies, babies whose mothers are under medical care and cannot breast feed as well as orphaned babies will greatly benefit from this bank. Since there are many mothers from across Madurai district and the surrounding areas, who come here for their delivery and maternal health care, we will counsel them about donating milk and encourage them to visit the facility in the hospital,” said S. Balasankar, Professor of Paediatrics.

He further said that for newborn babies brought to the GRH from nearby districts soon after birth for health reasons and separated from their mothers, the milk available in the bank would be helpful in building up their immune system.

The breast milk after being collected and put in a deep freezer can be used for over six months.

Dean of Madurai Medical College Rewvathy Kailairajan said that breast milk went a long way in helping build the immune system of babies. “From today, all outpatient wards at the Government Rajaji Hospital will have dedicated rooms for mothers to breastfeed their babies,” she stated.

RajajiMothersMilkCF04aug2015

Ms. Rohini Ramdas, who was present at the inauguration, said that with the opening of separate rooms at bus shelters and dedicated rooms in the outpatients ward of the GRH, more workplaces and public places should step up and have assigned rooms to enable mothers breastfeed their babies.

Awareness needed

“Studies indicate that six per cent of the newborns in the State do not get mother’s milk. With the opening of this bank, I hope that more babies get access to mother’s milk. There needs to be more awareness about the availability of such facilities among people so that the babies can be given adequate care,” she also said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Staff Reporter / Madurai – August 04th, 2015

People’s President APJ Abdul Kalam Laid to Rest at Rameswaram

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders
ANI Photo
ANI Photo

Rameswaram :

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was laid to rest on Thursday here with full military honours in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders.

The People’s President’s body, draped in the Indian tricolour was brought to the burial site at Pei Karumbu in a flower-bedecked gun carriage, escorted by columns of the three armed services.

A gun salute was accorded to the former supreme commander of the armed forces and a military band played the haunting Last Post.

Modi, who arrived here on Thursday morning, paid his last respects to the country’s youth icon and most popular president by laying a wreath.

Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah, union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar and Pon Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu ministers like O.Panneerselvam, Natham R. Viswanathan and others also paid their last respects to Kalam.

Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were also present, as was Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders also paid their last respects to Kalam – also known as India’s Missile Man.

Earlier the mortal remains of Kalam were taken to the family mosque for prayers.

His family members also reached here.

“All our relatives have also arrived to attend the last rites,” A.P.J.M.K. Sheik Saleem, the former president’s brother’s grandson, told IANS.

The Tamil Nadu government declared a public holiday on Thursday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Banks, insurance companies, schools and colleges are closed throughout the state.

The government has also ordered closure of liquor shops and bars throughout the state.

Around 30,000 jewellery shops would also remain closed, while petrol bunks stopped sales for an hour between 10-11 a.m. as a mark of respect for Kalam.

Movie-theatre owners too have decided to shut down for the day while fishermen have decided not to venture into the sea.

Political parties like the DMK and the AIADMK have cancelled their functions.

Interestingly, the decision of private sector organisations to voluntarily shut shows that Kalam was truly a People’s President.

Born in Rameswaram on October 15, 1931, Kalam, as a boy, hawked newspapers to supplement his family’s income. His father owned a boat and his mother constantly struggled to keep the family sufficiently fed and clothed.

His sister pawned jewellery with a moneylender so that the studious Kalam could carry Rs.600 when he left Rameswaram to join the Madras Institute of Technology.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by  IANS / July 30th, 2015

Teacher wins Guinness title for recalling 270-digit sequence

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion
The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. (TOI photo)
The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. (TOI photo)

Coimbatore :

For a decade, Aravind P was a tourist guide in Italy. His pursuit to learn European languages introduced him to several memory-developing techniques. That may have got him the job of a foreign language teacher in the city, but the best reward came in the form of his most proud possession now – his Guiness World Record for memorising the longest binary sequence of  270 digits.

Aravind received his certificate from the Guinness authorities last week.

The 36-year-old can speak Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. “I had to learn the languages as quickly as possible because it would help me guide more tourists. So, to improve my learning abilities, I had to develop my memory,” said Aravind. After returning to India, Aravind started researching about records related to memory. “I then came across this record for memorising the longest binary digit sequence. The record was then held by Jayasimha Ravirala of Hyderabad, who memorised 264 digits in one minute in March 2011,” he said.

Aravind registered with the Guinness World Records in March 2014. In October 2014, Guinness had set the criteria for Aravind’s attempt to break Jayasimha’s record. On April 3, 2015 Arvaind attempted the record and Guinness had appointed Dr D Srinivasan, psychiatrist from Kovai Medical Centre and Hospitals and R Prakasam, principal of PPG College of Technology as jury to witness it. The random binary sequence was generated by 123coimbatore.com. R Prakasam said, “Aravind was given one minute to observe the binary sequence, and was then asked to shut his eyes and recall the sequence. There was no time limit set for recalling the sequence,” he said. It is a great achievement for an Indian.”

Aravind began attempting to break the record at 10.30am in front of 270 people, and failed in four attempts. In his fifth attempt, Aravind broke the record by recalling six more digits than Jayasimha. His memory-enhancing technique is called ‘Journey Method’, where he replaces alphabets or numbers with objects.

Aravind wants to start a memory club and spread his memory-enhancing techniques to students and youth who will be appearing for board exams and competitive exams.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home. City> Coimbatore / by Adarsh Jain, TNN /July 08th, 2015

VIT Alumnus Named Rwanda’s New Education Minister

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Vellore :

An alumnus of  Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), graduating with a doctorate in management from VIT in 2010, has been appointed the Minister for Education in the Rwanda government. Dr Papias Musafiri  Malimba was awarded his Ph.D after working under Dr P Ganesan, his research supervisor, for five years at VIT.  VIT Chancellor Viswanathan expressed his happiness and congratulated Dr Malimba on assuming his new role as the Minister for Education.

Dr Papias Musafiri Malimba
Dr Papias Musafiri Malimba

Dr Malimba graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and management from the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and has a master’s degree in business administration majoring in Finance and Information Technology from the School of Business, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

With over 14 years of experience in the academic work arena, Dr Malimba was serving as the Principal of the College of Business and Economics of the University of Rwanda. Earlier, Dr Musafiri was actively involved in teaching, research and consultancy and held several senior management positions including that of director of administration and human resources, acting dean, faculty of management, vice rector academics and acting rector, in several higher learning institutions in Rwanda.

During his stint at VIT University, Dr Musafiri was actively involved in research and presented several research articles in national and international seminars and conferences. Dr. Musafiri has also published papers in several reputable journals including the International Journal of Social Economics and the Journal of Financial Services, which he co-authored with his research supervisor Dr. P. Ganesan.

Dr  Malimba replaces Professor Silas Lwakabamba as the education minister last month.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / July 10th, 2015

1st woman to undergo bypass in India enters 40th yr after surgery

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

On April 23, 1976, when Daisy D’Costa was wheeled into the operation theatre she didn’t know she would be the first woman in the country to undergo a bypass surgery. “No one told me. I just vaguely recall someone in surgical scrubs telling my husband, ‘She will live’,” said the octogenarian, 39 years later.

While Daisy was being prepared for the surgery, the mood in the operation theatre was equally tense as the team was about to wield the scalpel for a procedure they had done just once before. “The facilities back then were nothing like what we have now. We had no cath lab (examination room with diagnostic imaging equipment), no cardiologist or cardio-anesthetist. No one in the team had done a bypass surgery before,” said Dr K M Cherian, the doctor in the surgical scrubs who assured Daisy’s husband.

Daisy had been brought to the Railway Hospital in Perambur the previous evening with total blockage in an artery. “I had skipped going to the cinema with my husband as I was really tired. All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe normally and I felt a tightness in my chest. My son, who was at home, rushed me to the nearest hospital,” recalled Daisy. “The doctors managed to resuscitate me. In my haze, I heard someone say, ‘We need to cut her open’, and I blacked out again.”

Daisy needed a coronary artery bypass surgery. The procedure entailed restoring the blood flow to the heart muscle by diverting the blood around the blocked section by using a harvested vein from the leg. Although the first such surgery was performed in the US in the 60’s, the concept was new in India. In June 1975, Kajah Mohideen, a 42-year-old engineer from Integral Coach Factory, became the first in the country to undergo the surgery.

“The procedure on Daisy was no different from Kajah’s, but Daisy’s veins in her legs were thinner and harder to reach because of the fat. Besides that, we followed the same process. I still remember every conversation and the mood in the theatre,” says Dr Cherian, who had also operated on Kajah. “We didn’t even have a process of magnifying the blood vessels, which is mandatory now. I used my eyes to find the vessels that are 1.5 to 2mm. I was young back then,” said Dr Cherian, chuckling. The procedure took a little more than three hours.

Daisy woke up to find shutterbugs queuing to interview her. “That’s when I realised I was the first woman,” she said, smiling and showing a sepia-tinted newspaper showing a younger version of her. Although through the years she has had minor chest problems, she didn’t have to go under the scalpel again.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Ekatha Ann John, TNN / July 09th, 2015

Encouraging women to become entrepreneurs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
Jute making workshop at Queens Mary's College in the city. Photo: Paul Joshua
Jute making workshop at Queens Mary’s College in the city. Photo: Paul Joshua

Dhanalaxmi teaches jute-bag making and helps student start their own businesses

Over 100 students of Queen Mary’s College learnt the nuances of jute bag-making from Dhanalaxmi, who has been encouraging woman to become entrepreneurs. The owner of IVERS Bags, Dhanalaxmi has been in this business for the past 11years. Five years ago, she started helping others start their own businesses. She has been training self-help groups and NGOs in making and marketing jute bags and jewellery.

“A few years ago, when the IT scene was bad, one couple from the IT industry approached me, asking me to train them in the art. Today, they run a successful jute business,” she said.

In the session conducted at the college, students from corporate secretaryship, sociology, zoology and B.Com departments walked away with certificates presented by Akathar Begum, principal, on successful completion of the workshop.

“These are the bags we have made. Dhanalaxmi ma’am also gave us a kit box with materials to try more designs at home,” said a student showing off a table full of sling bags, pencil pouches and tambulam bags made by her.

Dhanalaxmi is ready to conduct training for groups and individuals . “This is an eco-friendly product and helps reduce the use of plastic. People should make a switch to jute product.”

Dhanalaxmi can be contacted at 92831 35238/98405 33611.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Flavia Plaidus / Chennai – July 04th, 2015