Category Archives: Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Six chopper pilots of Indian Navy honoured in Chennai

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy for the trainee pilot standing first in order of merit in Flying, was awarded to Lieutenant Devanshu Tyagi.

Image used for representational purpose only (A warship belonging to the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy.| File / EPS)
Image used for representational purpose only (A warship belonging to the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy.| File / EPS)

All you need to know about Anukreethy Vas, India’s contestant in the Miss World 2018 pageant

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

As India hopes that Anukreethy Vas brings back the crown for the second time in a row, here is a list of all the interesting facts you should know about this beauty with a heart.

Miss India Anukreethy Vas at Chennai. (EPS | Ashwin Prasath)
Miss India Anukreethy Vas at Chennai. (EPS | Ashwin Prasath)

On 19th June 2018, Anukreethy Vas was just 19 years old, when she became the first olive skinned beauty to win the Miss India title.

As India hopes that Anukreethy Vas brings back the crown for the second time in a row after Manushi Chiillar’s win last year,  here is a list of all the interesting facts you should know about this beauty with a heart

Anukreethy grew up in Trichy, in a very conservative society. But that did not stop this Tomboyish girl from exploring life as she rode bikes and roamed around the town.

As a single parent, Anukreethy’s mother has been her constant source of support and gave her ‘all the freedom’.

In her words,  “My mother is also my father, and my superhero. If I had had a 6 pm curfew all my life then I wouldn’t have come this far especially in the fashion industry,”

Anukreethy is currently pursuing her Bachelors in French literature from Loyola, Chennai to fulfil her mother’s wish of seeing her become a translator.

A Biriyani lover at heart, Anukreethy is also a state level athlete who is good at singing and dancing.

Though she had no professional training in modeling before, Anukreethi went on to win the Miss India title and her future plan is to pursue Fine Arts and become a supermodel.

Anukreethy is also an active member of Beauty with a Purpose campaign through which she promotes right to education. She also runs an orphanage for 30 underprivileged kids and works towards uplifting the lives of transgenders. She is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Manushi Chillar who crowned her with the Miss India crown and her favorite motto is – The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. So be the best version of yourself every day.

Anukreethy’s answer to the final question which won her the Miss India Pageant reinstates the fact that she is a woman of substance. Asked whether success or failure was a good teacher, she said, “I would say failure is a better teacher because when you get continuous success in life, you will feel content at a point and your growth will stop. But when you get failures continuously, the soul will have the fire and you will keep working hard until you reach the goal.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Hindi / by Online Desk / December 08th, 2018

K.M. Cherian honoured

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

CherianCF05dec2018

Award presented to K.M. Cherian

K.M. Cherian, chairman and founder of Frontier Lifeline Hospital, was honoured with the prestigious Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Oration Award during the scientific session of the 70th Cardiological Society of India’s annual conference held in Mumbai. He received the award for his contributions in the field of paediatric surgery (first coronary artery bypass surgery, heart transplant, heart and lung transplant, introduction of transmyocardiac laser revascularisation, homograft). The award carries a citation, a gold medal and ₹1 lakh. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Cherian said: “The number of patients with heart disease is increasing in our country, but we have very few doctors for treatment. I would request our government to take more initiative to produce more doctors.” He appealed to the government to make medical care affordable. He also said the government should encourage the ‘Make in India’ initiative concept and the development of basic medical science in the country.

CSI president K. Sarat Chanda presented the award to Dr. Cherian.

Humming Box: empowering displaced women

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
To provide employment to women, the TNSCB has formed SHGs and has been conducting skill development programmes. | Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran
To provide employment to women, the TNSCB has formed SHGs and has been conducting skill development programmes. | Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran

The brand is a product of the labours of a self-help group

Until a year ago, Nancy Kalaiarasan was a housewife whose family was relocated to Perumbakkam from Thideer Nagar. Now she and 14 others have formed a jewellery-making self-help group (SHG) and are marketing their products under the brand name ‘Humming Box’.

In a bid to provide employment to women in resettlement colonies, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) has formed various SHGs and has been conducting skill development programmes. This jewellery-making SHG operates from one of the houses in the Perumbakkam tenements and the members meet twice a week to make jewellery. “After I was shifted here, I attended a 20-day jewellery-making workshop organised by the TNSCB. This empowered me to a great extent,” Ms. Nancy explained.

She then trained 14 other women in her locality. “Some of the members are housewives and some are widows. We make the jewellery with raw materials procured with the help of TNSCB. We keep track of the latest jewellery designs through magazines and the internet,” Ms. Nancy said.

Marketing needed

They have been selling their products at rock-bottom prices. “As of now we are able to earn ₹3,000 per head every month. But if we are able to set up more stalls in multiplexes, colleges or if cine artistes purchase our jewellery, we can earn well and support more women,” she added. Catherine Monisha Felix, an advocate, has been supporting the group by purchasing their products and helping them set up stalls. “They are skilled and purchasing their products will be a big encouragement and it will boost their confidence,” she said.

Though skilled, marketing their products is a major challenge. “With the brand name Humming Box we are planning to set up stalls in different parts of the city. On December 1, we are setting up one in TCS and soon we plan to go online,” said Ms. Catherine.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vivek Narayanan / Chennai – November 30th, 2018

This government school in Kurichi leads the way in empowering girls

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports

The school offers training in various disciplines like fencing, judo and taekwondo.

Coimbatore :

While the Ministry of Human Resource Development has only now started to give importance to martial arts training for girl students as part of its self-defence programme, this government higher secondary school in Kurichi has been a pioneer in the field with seven of its students getting ready to participate in a State-level meet to be held soon.

Even its first year of training, as many as 120 of its 147 students participated in the divisional meet concluded in the city; 91 of them managed to bag medals too. The school offers training in various disciplines like fencing, judo and taekwondo.

At a time when most government schools in the city and rural areas alike concentrated on conventional games like kabaddi, volleyball and football, this schools took the initiative to introduce martial arts with the help of its physical education teachers P Sivaprakasham and N Nisar. This training was then extended to the school’s girl students in the form of self-defence lessons. Teachers wanted them equipped to handle any situation they might face. After being briefed about the different forms of martial arts, many girls volunteered to be trained in fencing; they also managed to win a few medals, he recalls.

Five girls — S Swetha, D Mercy, R Ranjani, of class XI, and Rajeshwari (class X) and K Logeshwari (class IX) — have been qualified to participate in the State-level event to be held soon in Kankeyam
of Tirupur district. The girls, on their part, are happy to have overcome all odds to make a mark in the sport. Though their mothers were hesitant to allow them to be trained in martial arts, all parents are now happy that their girls have managed to achieve so much. Now, they eagerly inquire about fencing practice before asking about academics, narrates Swetha.

Headmistress N Shanthi cannot appreciate the effort more. The teacher’s job is not just to improve the students’ skills in academics; they should also identify their talents and put them on the path of development. She also remarks that such training has increased attendance among students. A year ago, only 50 per cent of students were willing to attend classes; this has increased to 95 per cent, she claims.

While the school might have its reasons to introduce martial arts to its students, the motivations for single mother M Gowri are quite simple. Raising her two girls — M Praveena and M Durgadevi — on her own, after the demise of her husband, she wanted them to be fiercely independent.

When the school announced self-defence lessons, she was more than happy to sign them up for it. True to spirit, the girls managed to bag a silver medal in karate and Praveena has a bronze in fencing to add to it. It was the mother’s aspiration that pushed them to their best, Praveena declares.

The school allows students to excel in swimming too. Four boys — T Akash, V Mahadevan, M Muthukathiravan, S Logeshwaran (all class VIII students) — were identified after teachers saw them
swimming in the Kurichi lake, located adjacent to the school.

All these boys had not had formal training before. Akash learnt to swim in the Kuruchi lake, for Mahadevan it was a check dam near Madukkarai and Muthukathiravan and Logeshwaran had the good local old wells.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Prabhakar T / Express News Service / November 29th, 2018

A philately operation

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Dr. M.K. Sudhakar (right) and his collection of stamps. Photo: G. Krishnaswamy
Dr. M.K. Sudhakar (right) and his collection of stamps. Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Iyappanthangal physician has a collection of stamps of Indians honoured abroad

But for a stamp autographed by Mother Teresa, Dr. M.K. Sudhakar has got almost all stamps issued in her honour. The doctor has got a collection of Mother Teresa stamps issued by 80 countries which include Albania, Austria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia, Cuba, France, Germany and Mongolia.

The philatelist is a general medicine practitioner residing in Iyappanthangal.

“Most of the stamps that I have collected can be themed as Indians honoured abroad. In addition to Mother Teresa’s stamps, I have stamps of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and M.S. Subbulakshmi issued by other countries. Around 150 countries have issued stamps in honour of Mahatma Gandhi. The recent addition was a stamp issued in North Korea,” says Sudhakar.

His collection of Tagore’s stamps are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Russia, Sweden and Mozambique.

He has preserved the stamps collected by his father as well.

“My father has collected stamps of Mahatma Gandhi. They have become crinkled with age. Preservation of stamps is a big challenge. I laminate them in oleophobic-coated sheets and have them filed in albums. I also preserve the pamphlets issued along with the stamps. They give key information about the personality,” says Sudhakar.

The other themes in his collection include Bharat Ratna awardees. The first day cover of Defense Research and Development Organisation autographed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and stamps on Air India are also part of his collection.

“For me, stamp collection is a stress buster. I find the act of arranging them categorically so relaxing. In the process, you learn a lot. As I chose to collect stamps issued in honour of great people, I got to know more about important events in history,” says Sudhakar.

Sudhakar is an active member of South Indian Philatelic Association for Stamps.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by L. Kanthimathi / November 16th, 2018

A Madurai-based hospital and Google are working together to stop early blindness

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Google is partnering with Madurai-based Aravind Eye Hospital on an AI-based algorithm to screen diabetic retinopathy and detect the early onset of blindness

DrRamasamyCF13nov2018

Remember those colourfully-lit weighing machines on railway platforms that would take a coin and give out a small cardboard ticket with the person’s weight and fortune? The Chief Medical Officer at Madurai’s Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH), Dr Ramasamy Kim, uses this analogy to explain how people could get a preliminary eye check-up done instead of visiting an ophthalmologist in the future.

“In one look, the machine will predict the condition of the retina and advise on the next step of action in seconds,” he says. All thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) in ophthalmology. He has been working on the technology with Google since 2013.

“The impact,” he says, “will be seen in patient care and diabetes management.” He imagines a scenario where the scope of algorithms on smartphones will not require the consumer to even go near a machine. “People can take selfies of the eye on their phone cameras and have instant access to ophthalmic care.”

The two organisations have been working on an automated tool that could detect diabetic retinopathy (DR), the second leading cause of blindness. DR is a condition where lesions develop in the retina of the eye of those living with long-standing diabetes. It puts them at risk of losing vision, if left untreated.

In April this year, USA’s Food and Drug Administration validated AI as a significant DR screening tool. “We now have to publish our research paper and await the certification before we can start implementing it in our routine work,” says Dr Kim. The licensing of the AI algorithm for use is expected by the year end, and is foreseen as a tremendous boost to eye care.

As head of the Retina department, Dr Kim gets over 600 patients daily in his out-patient department, of whom many spend time and resources in travelling to the hospital and waiting for their turn. There are many more left out, who do not come to the hospital simply because of lack of awareness. Eye doctors recommend a mandatory annual examination for all people living with diabetes and every person above 40 years. Dr Kim says in a country like ours, where the patient volume is high, AI will make the diagnosis quicker, and also rev up treatment to avoid preventable loss of vision.

“If the captured image of the eye shows negative for DR, then the person will be advised to rescreen after 12 months. And in case of a positive result, the person would be asked to see an ophthalmologist for further evaluation and immediate treatment,” explains Dr Kim.

When a person can avoid hospital visits up to the stage of detection of DR, it may appear healthcare is lending itself to the risk of machine calculations instead of relying on human knowledge and experience. But Dr Kim argues in favour of using technology effectively and efficiently in times when computers are available everywhere and to everybody but healthcare is not.

The World Health Organization estimates 71 million Indians live with diabetes and at least 20% of them suffer from DR. Of these, 20% are not even aware of their eye condition because they haven’t been in to a doctor for examination. Those who come to an ophthalmologist get their retinal images graded manually in what is today a time-consuming process taking from few hours to few days.

_____________________

Google predicts
  • Google has already débuted an algorithm to 97% accuracy that can identify a person’s age, sex, ethnicity and smoking status and predict the five-year risk of a heart attack, all on the basis of retinal imagery. The AI for DR has been found to be 87% sensitive and 90% specific for detecting more than mild diabetic retinopathy

____________________

AEH, however, has been working on a semi-automated format since 2003, tying up with diabetic clinics across Tamil Nadu. When a patient walks into the clinic, a technician takes pictures of his/her retina with a fundus camera, and along with an online questionnaire answered by the patient, emails it to trained Aravind staff who use a software to grade the image for DR. By the time patients are done with their diabetes check-up, they are also informed about the status of their eye and the necessary follow-up action.

Aravind also has an established network of 71 vision centres across rural Tamil Nadu, that are supervised by trained technicians who take snapshots with retinal cameras of the inside of the eye of every person who walks in, and sends the digital reports to Aravind’s doctors, who then call in a diagnosis and course of treatment. Now, with the Google algorithm in place, the process of collating information and grading retinal images will be standardised and faster.

Dr Kim has spent the last four years working on 10,000 retinal images, drawing every lesion, distinctive spots, bleeding in the retina due to diabetes that could occur in various permutations and combinations, to help Google develop the algorithm that would recognise the signs of the disease early. From June this year, Aravind Hospital started supplementing its DR grading process with the Google AI in 10 of its rural tele-consultation centres. “The results are accurate,” says Dr Kim, who is now working on 60,000 retinal images for matching the grading results from the machine and the human eye in order to fine-tune the algorithm. He says the algorithms pick up problems that trained people sometimes can’t and different ophthalmologists can end up giving different opinions looking at the same image of the eye.

Google has created a database of 1,28,000 images from different sight centres around the globe, including two more in India — Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai and Narayana Nethralaya in Bengaluru. Dr Kim is one of the experts evaluating the data.

____________________

Did you know?
  • One of the first examples of AI being used in science was a project called Dendral in the 1960s, which helped organic chemists identify unknown organic molecules.

____________________

“The day is not far when AI will go solo, because there are two benefits of machine learning. More people will be able to check their eyes at a much lower cost, time, and effort, and doctors will be able to treat more patients who are at risk,” says Dr Kim, allaying fears of doctors left with less work. “The AI, in fact, will throw up huge numbers and accurately spot the vision status and detect the multiple problems or vision-killing conditions. It only means I will get many more patients to treat and reduce the several rounds of redundant tests.”

Though the challenge of a machine may lie in any false negative and deprive a patient of consultation, Dr Kim says AI is superior to anything that he has seen in DR screening. “The machine is able to see something beyond the human eye,” he says, “and as a doctor, my only interest is in getting a greater number of patients at an early detected stage for successful treatment.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Technology / by Soma Basu / November 12th, 2018

Tailor stitches green cover in and around Alwarpet

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature

Vijayabhaskaran is another example to prove that not all heroes wear capes.

Vijayabhaskaran outside his tailor shop at Alwarpet | DEBADATTA MALLICK
Vijayabhaskaran outside his tailor shop at Alwarpet | DEBADATTA MALLICK

Chennai :

Vijayabhaskaran is another example to prove that not all heroes wear capes. The 67-year-old tree warden — a public official in charge of shade trees on public town lands — has planted close to 150 saplings in and around Alwarpet to try and restore the green cover the area lost after the fury of Cyclone Vardah. The numbers may not be staggering but when you take into account the limited space in a congested city like Chennai, it would indicate his conviction and determination.

While he is used to putting his hands to good use — he is a tailor when he is not planting saplings in and around Chennai — he has gone over and above his calling to replenish the greenery. Though an officer of the State forest department (appointed two decades ago), he spends money out of his pocket to protect the environment.

“Every month I set aside Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000 to buy new saplings of rare trees that we do not find in the city anymore. Whenever I spot an empty space either on a sidewalk or near a house I make a mental note to plant a sapling there the next day,” he informs TNIE. Over the last 20 years, he has planted more than 10,000 saplings in parts of South Chennai. An average of 500 trees per year may not count for much but considering the hurdles he has to jump (lack of finances and no support from the local body), his contribution can’t be measured in numbers.

He doesn’t stop there. His pet projects include planting fruit-bearing tree saplings in neighbouring villages like Palur in Kancheepuram. “Last year, I took close to 50 students from Anna University to Palur. We planted 100 saplings in four hours. The saplings I planted 10 years ago now give the villagers a variety of fruits like mango, guava and coconut,” he beams.

His best work gently sways to the tunes of winds all over the city. Through an environmental NGO, Exnora’s tree-planting division, he has planted 350 tree saplings in 13 bus terminals across the city, at two temple tanks in Mylapore, close to 1,000 saplings in multiple city colleges, parks and along numerous footpaths at Kottupuram, Teynampet, Boat Club, RA Puram and neighbouring localities.

While he has planted more than 25 varieties of trees, he takes special care to plant native species like Poovarasu, Badam, Maghizham and Vembu, which are known for their resistance to natural calamities. He has also roped in students from NSS wings of many colleges in the city to assist him in the planting process. The next time you come across a rare or exotic tree in the city, you can thank Vijayabhaskaran, the unassuming senior citizen who plants and safeguards trees for a living.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Madhumitha Viswanath / Express News Service / November 09th, 2018

Veteran villupaattu exponent dead

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
Poongani.
Poongani.

Poongani died in penury

Veteran villupaattu exponent, Poongani, 86, the country’s oldest ‘villupaattu’ performer, died at Kottaaram near here on Friday night.

Poongani, a recipient of the Om Muthumari Award, instituted by the Department of Journalism, University of Madras, was said to have performed at over a thousand events. She started practising at the age of 10 after getting inspired by ‘villupaattu twin sisters’ Lakshmi and Dhanalakshmi.

Besides taking stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, Poongani spread the devotion of Amman through her performances.

The style of swinging the veesukol around her head and striking the bow with bells to the rhythm of the song gave her a unique identity. However, she never got an award from the State government.

Though she received 100% more than the male artistes in her troupe as salary, Poongani lived in a shack in abject poverty, subsisting on the government’s monthly old age pension of ₹1,000.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu> Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Nagercoil – November 03rd, 2018

Monegar Choultry: House of hope

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

MonegarChoultryCF10oct2018

The trees in the compound are striking. They have unmistakeably been standing there for decades. The work that’s been going inside the old building, set at the far end, pre-dates them — hand-written wall announcements on the sides make it clear. We are standing in front of Monegar Choultry that has sheltered and fed people since 1782. The choultry ran the first organised charity in Madras.

Historian S Muthiah, in his article in MetroPlus dated November 19, 2001, takes us to its origins . “When Madras was stricken by one of its worst-ever famines in 1781, the city’s first formal charity was set up by the Government and St Mary’s Church,” he writes. “A Famine Relief Committee was established in 1782 and the Committee rented a house for poor feeding just beyond the north wall of George Town — in present day Royapuram that was all fields, vegetable gardens and fruit groves then.”

He writes: “The house continued as a refuge for the poor and the sick even after conditions improved in 1784. It is around that time, it appears to have got its name. Monegar Choultry, perhaps by then being locally administered by the village headman (manugakkaran).” Nivedita Louis, city historian, tells us that in 1782, a village headman established a gruel centre in his garden in Royapuram. Soon after the Mysore War (1799), the centre became a choultry for the sick and those in need. In 1807, the Government and the Nawab of Arcot made substantial donations as more people began to seek solace under its roof. A hospital was constructed within the choultry in 1799 by John Underwood, an assistant surgeon. In 1801, the hospital was combined with the ‘Native Hospital and Poor Fund’ in the choultry. During the visit of the Raja of Venkatagiri, another choultry was built next to Monegar Choultry for feeding a hundred people and giving alms to another hundred every day. The charity thus started became permanent when the Raja invested ₹1 lakh in Government Securities on June 28, 1870, for its upkeep.

The Native Hospital was taken over by the Government in 1910 and was renamed Royapuram Hospital, later Stanley, while the choultry was shifted to the premises of the nearby Raja of Venkatagiri Choultry. For a long time, Stanley hospital was referred to as the ‘Kanjithotti hospital.’

Here’s a mystery: To the left of the choultry is a gate guarded by a carved stone beam standing on two stone pillars. “This was once the choultry superintendent’s house,” says Nivedita. It will be interesting to find out what the two winged creatures supporting the beam are.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Geeta Padmanabhan / October 08th, 2018