With chapathis to be served in all the Amma Unavagams, more than 1,600 women employees have begunworking in the canteens to roll out chapathis.
More than two lakh chapathis were prepared by them on Friday. Nearly eight more women will be working in each canteen.
Later, machines which were purchased for the purpose would be used, according to an official of Chennai Corporation.
A plate of two chapathis and dal is priced at Rs. 3.
Tree planting scheme
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday launched a scheme for planting 66 lakh banyan saplings. This is to mark Ms. Jayalalithaa’s 66 birthday, which falls on February 24.
The Chief Minister planted a sapling on the premises of the office of Director General of Police here. In each of the districts, as many as 2.06 lakh saplings would be planted by the Forests Department. Totally, the scheme would cost Rs. 49.18 crore, according to an official release.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – February 22nd, 2014
A PhD student from Bodi in Theni district has become the first woman from Tamil Nadu to bag the prestigious Bharat Siksha Ratan award.
U Umadevi (26) daughter of Dr Umakanthan, a veterinary surgeon is a research scholar at the Krishnammal College in Coimbatore. She has six patents in her pocket for drug designs including four for potentiators. She was instrumental in establishing a new branch in science called potentiology.
According to her, the wonder chemicals known as ‘potentiators’ discovered by her with the help of her father can enhance the performance of almost anything from vehicle fuel, cement, rubber and also reduce emission to a large extent.
“When mixed with petrol or diesel it enhances the performance of the latest engines known as multipoint fuel ingestion engines by 12% and that of older engines more. Emission is also reduced by 60 to 90%, reducing the exhaust and also the NOS and hydrocarbons and this has been proven at laboratory level,” she said.
When mixed with cement, it increases the strength of the concrete compression by 36% hence reducing the use of cement by an equal amount. Similarly, the tensile strength of rubber is enhanced by 42% so the durability of rubber goes up so much. When mixed with chicken feed, the broilers harvested in six weeks show just two per cent fat in their body while that of the normal broilers show 20 per cent. When sprayed on cigarettes and then inhaled, the nicotine levels in the cigarettes are reduced by nearly 90%, she said.
She was awarded the Bharat Siksha Ratan award given by the Global Society for Health and Education at a glittering function in New Delhi recently. She received the award from former Tamil Nadu governor Bhishma Narain Singh in the presence of Dr G V G Krishnamurthy (former election commissioner of India), Sardar Joginder Singh (former CBI director). Umadevi says she is proud to be the recipient of this prestigious award and that serving the nation is her vision in life.
Her father adds that they have six different types of potentiators for which they have patents for four. “We have approached major rubber manufacturers and cement industries with this chemical and explained its benefits, but they are not so happy with it. Some of them openly told us that we were finding means to reduce their business and not develop it. This is a really low-cost chemical which would be affordable and economical,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / February 18th, 2014
The battle for the title of ‘oldest family in the world’ may not be over soon. Just when 13 Manja siblings from Shimoga had staked their claim in the Guinness Book of Records for the spot, another family originally from Thanjavur wants to correct that. While the Shimoga family’s collective age is 880 plus years, the new contenders – a family of 11 siblings – say their ages total a whopping 899 plus years, adding up the months and days too.
On Monday, K V Rajagopal, an 87-year-old retired railway executive currently living in Bangalore, responded to a report in TOI dated February 16 on the Manja family, and claimed that his family beat them in the age battle.
Their family hailed from Thanjavur but later migrated to Nagpur, said Rajagopal, elaborating, “We are a family of 12 siblings of whom 11 are alive. The eldest is 92 years old and youngest, 73. Both live in the US. The collective age of the Manja family adds up to 880 plus and it struck me that we 11 siblings are older by 19 years.”
Rajagopal, the third son of G V Rajagopal and Ranganayaki who are now deceased, says all his siblings were born before Independence. “We have witnessed the freedom struggle as our father was a freedom fighter. All my five aunts studied on scholarships abroad during those days itself,” says Rajagopal.
Theirs is a cosmopolitan family, pipes in his daughter Priyamvada Srinivasan. “Gujaratis, Marathis, Jews, Americans, a German and Punjabi are all in it. I am happy to be a part of this rich old family,” she says.
Currently the family has 43 members. But they have never met at one place together. “We all have flown the nest. We had an ancestral house in Nagpur, where no one lives now. Even our childhood photographs are not with us. As six of my siblings live in the US, one each in the UK and Geneva and other two in Nagpur, we hardly get to meet together at one place, but we are in touch with each other,” says Rajagopal.
“But we are not in any race. I am yet to decide on giving a representation to the Guinness authorities,” he adds. The current holders of the record are London-based Brudennel family with a collective age of 855 years.
NEWEST AND OLDEST?
Rajalakshmi Raghavan (92) lives in the US
V Srinivas (89) lives in Nagpur
K V Rajagopal (87) lives in Bangalore
V Kannan (84) lives in the UK
Kalyani Raghavan (82) lives in Geneva
Dr Maithili Schmidt (80) lives in the US
Sulochana Glazer (79) lives in the US
Rangachari Raghavan (77) lives in Nagpur
Dr Renuka Sethi (76) lives in the US
Badra Raghavan (75) lives in the US
Susheila Bhagat (73) lives in the US
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / by Sunitha Rao, R – TNN / February 18th, 2014
People of Thillaiyadi village in the district have urged the Tamil Nadu government to observe the death centenary of Thillaiyadi Valliammai, a close aide of Mahatma Gandhi during his satyagraha struggle in South Africa .
When Gandhiji started his satyagraha against racial discrimination in South Africa , Valliammai, a 15-year old daughter of an immigrant worker from Thillaiyadi, joined him in the agitation.
She was imprisoned for three months during which she suffered from viral fever. She died on her 16th birthday – Feb 22, 1914.
The Thillaiyadi village panchayat has sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister urging the government to observe the death centenary, falling on coming Feb 22, in a fitting manner.
Soon after his return from South Africa, in 1915, Gandhiji visited the ancestral home of Valliammai in Thillaiyadi.
Years later, Gandhiji had once remarked that it was Valliammai’s sacrifice that increased his resolve to fight for India’s independence.
In 1971, the then DMK Government headed by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi built a spectacular memorial for Valliammai at Thillaiyadi where a statue of the girl, manuscripts of Gandhiji and several rare photographs have been kept.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> News / by Press Trust of India / Nagapattinam (TN) – February 15th, 2014
Mohammed Aquil (left) with his father Mohammed Abdul Latheef at Camera Crafts. / Photos: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
Spanning nine decades, Camera Crafts in the city has been a witness to the evolution of the photo industry
An auto screeches to a halt. A man gets down and walks in carrying a camera. Many customers have already settled into the backless seats at the store, and more filter in with cameras. Mohammed Aquil is busy shuffling in and out of his workshop at the back. Such scenes have remained unchanged at Camera Crafts in Triplicane for many years now. But what hasn’t changed is how the store has continuously adapted itself to the evolution of the photo industry.
Mohammed Abdul Sattar set up a camera repair shop in Triplicane in 1925 since there was nothing of that sort anywhere in the vicinity. “We were among the first in the Presidency,” says Aquil, as he wipes lenses carefully and places them aside. “My grandfather was good with carpentry and so, we started manufacturing wooden field cameras soon,” says Aquil, beside whom is a model of an old wooden camera with adaptable zoom lens.
For studios
Aquil says that his grandfather had told him how most of Camera Crafts’ customers back then were studios or wealthy locals who wanted their cameras repaired. Another aspect that Aquil remembers is Sattar narrating how military personnel visited the store during World War II. “Apparently, we were the only shop here then, so my grandfather would tend to all their cameras as well.”
When Sattar passed away in 1969, Aquil’s father Mohammed Abdul Latheef took over the business — just after the era of wooden cameras and at the beginning of the mechanical era. In keeping with the store’s tradition, he manufactured enlargers, studio lights and single-bulb flashes.
“Before the era of digital prints, one would need an enlarger to zoom images, and so my dad was making those. At one point, my father manufactured about 40,000 single-bulb flashes for studios such as Choksi Brothers spread across the country,” he says. And when electrical flashes became the norm, Aquil’s father decided to create sockets in older cameras to fit flashes. “He made those pre-War cameras compatible with flash,” he says.
In 1988, Aquil himself joined the shop, after completing a degree in electrical engineering. “We had a factory right here, which we demolished in the late 1980s. We moved the shop to a small one-room setup in the street opposite and functioned out of there for some time. Now, we have stopped manufacturing machines or cameras, and stick to just servicing. A lot of studios, professional and wildlife photographers continue to come here since we have been around for long.” He does sell cameras but not too many. “I mostly sell professional models.”
Cameras of yore: At Camera Crafts / The Hindu
However, he does have a large collection of cameras. “So many cupboardfuls,” he laughs. “Maybe 500 or even more.” Among the old cameras in his collection are the wooden field cameras his grandfather made — Leica and Rolleiflex. “A lot of them are pre-War cameras. I’m trying to restore as many as possible,” he adds. “Recently, I sold six cameras to a tourist who was looking for antiques. I just opened the cupboard and asked her to pick whatever she wanted.”
Camera Crafts has no visiting card. “Whatever customer base I have built is purely through word-of-mouth,” he smiles. “You can see for yourself.” Sure enough, more customers walk up to the counter with cameras.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Anusha Parthasarathy / Chennai – February 06th, 2014
Railways played an important role much early in Madurai, though its significance for the city has diminished now. Pointing to its former pre-eminence, one important locality in the city is known as Karimedu. It was around here that the coal yard of the Madurai junction railway station existed when steam engines chugged along the tracks. The busy Mothilal Main Road, formerly Karimedu Main Road, and the eight-decade-old central fish market are parts of Karimedu locality.
Till the late 1960s, a vast area of Karimedu was used to store coal and dump spent coal. Several agents were involved in processing both types of coal. The former steam locomotive yard near Karimedu is presently the train maintenance yard.
While coal was used as fuel for the locomotives, spent coal was used as fertilisers and there was always demand for latter too, said G Gurusamy, a 66-year-old retired locomotive supervisor who worked in Madurai.
Recalling the days of steam engines and the significance of Karimedu coal yard, Gurusamy said: “Steam engines were real monsters and driving one required lot of skill and a sound physique. Most steam locomotive pilots were Anglo-Indians and Muslims because of their physical strength.”
Many elderly residents in Karimedu recalled that it was the outskirts of the city under the British. Old-timers here have something to tell about coal. “As children we used to collect spent coal and hand it over it to vendors,” an old man said.
Though collectively known as Karimedu, no street in the area bears this name except the fish market and the police station named after the locality. “The area from fish market to Bharathiar Road in Melaponnagarm was known as Karimedu. The Mothilal Main Road was once known as Karimedu Main Road,” said G Kalimuthu, a resident. V Stalin, another resident, said street names were changed post independence and almost all of them were named after national leaders. “One reason for this could be that these areas provided shelter and protection to Congress and Communist leaders who were wanted by the British authorities,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / February 09th, 2014
Chennaiites may spot an empty train going up and down the city, over the next nine months, after which they will be able to hop on to Chennai Metro and travel from Koyambedu to Alandur. / Photo: K. Pichumani / The Hindu
In coming months, several trial runs will be conducted on elevated stretch
At a quarter to twelve on Saturday afternoon, the train operator switches to ‘isolator mode’ and presses the ‘start’ button.
With a slight jolt, the Chennai Metro Rail train takes off from CMBT Metro Rail station. Since it is only a trial run, the train crawls at 10 kmph on the elevated corridor and reaches Ashok Nagar in half an hour.
While the train doors open automatically, they shut only after the driver looks at the CCTV cameras and hits the close button.
The pre-recorded announcements inform passengers of the route and destination details; this, apart from the electronic route map in both English and Tamil on either side of each car.
Should there be an emergency, there is an internal manual alarm or passengers can speak directly to the train operator through the intercom; there is also a helpline displayed inside the train which will enable passengers to contact Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
The trains that took shape in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, will last at least 30 years and are equipped with regenerative braking that has the capacity to recover 30-35 per cent of the energy during braking.
So far, of the nine trains manufactured in Brazil, five have arrived in Chennai and will be put through the trial run after two months, says an official of CMRL.
The first of the remaining 33 trains manufactured at the Sri City plant will arrive in the city later this month, says L. Narasim Prasad, director (systems and operations), CMRL.
“Each train will have a special class in which a third of the seats will be common and the other two-thirds will be exclusively for women. At first, we plan to use nine trains for operations,” he says. Chennaiites may spot an empty train going up and down the city, over the next nine months, after which they will be able to hop on to Chennai Metro and travel from Koyambedu to Alandur.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar / Chennai – February 16th, 2014
Vaigai Express on the newly electrified track at Madurai Railway Station on Wednesday / Photo: S. James / The Hindu
When loco pilot J. Basheer Ahmed pressed a button that sounded the horn of an electric locomotive on Wednesday morning, it marked not only the departure of Vaigai Express from Madurai railway junction, but also announced the arrival of electrified tracks in the Madurai-Dindigul section.
After the Commissioner of Railway Safety cleared the Dindigul-Virudhunagar electrified tracks recently, Madurai railway division officials on Wednesday began the operation of AC locos in Vaigai Express, Pandian Express and one pair of Madurai-Dindigul passenger train.
After a simple puja on the tracks of platform number two at the junction, the Chennai-bound Vaigai Express was hauled by an electric locomotive for the first time from Madurai.
The Vaigai Express chugged out of the Madurai railway station on Wednesday, marking the arrival of electrified tracks in the Madurai-Dindigul railway section. / File photo / The Hindu
Hitherto, the trains from Chennai were being pulled with electric locomotives either up to Tiruchi or Dindigul.
“The electric locomotive emanates no smoke and produces lower level of noise,” a railway official said after the inaugural function of the electrified tracks.
A senior railway official said besides being pollution-free, the AC locos helped the crew members negotiate looplines easily.
Better visibility
For the crew members, the design of the AC locos would provide better visibility of the tracks.
The electric engines had higher haulage capacity and can also attain high speed quickly. The running time of Pandian and Vaigai express trains would be reduced by around 20 minutes as changing of diesel and AC locomotives was not required in Tiruchi or Dindigul.
Earlier, the in-coming Pandian Express was also hauled with an electric engine up to Madurai junction. Very soon, a total of eight express and passenger trains would use electric locomotives between Chennai and Madurai, another railway official said.
Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer G. Sugind and Divisional Operations Manager (General) A. Rajakumar, and Madurai Station Manager C. Solomon Sevathiah were among those present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by S Sundar / Madurai – February 12th, 2014
Students of P S Senior Secondary School in Mylapore won the third edition of the Times Science Quiz held in Chennai on Wednesday. After two years of missing the trophy, S Abhinav and V Thejas qualified, maintained a lead and won this year.
“We have a special interest in science quizzes and that is why we have been at this event every year,” said Thejas, a Class 11 student of P S School.
More than 1,200 participants from 70 schools across Chennai competed in the written preliminary round. Six teams made it to the final round of the quiz held at Chinmaya Heritage Centre in Chetpet.
“It was a wonderful experience to be part of the quiz. This time, it was pretty challenging but we managed to maintain the lead throughout because of our preparations,” said Thejas.
Quiz master Akshya Ananth held the audience rapt with his ready wit. Pranav Krishnan and R Amrodh of PSBB School in Nungambakkam were the first runners-up.
The event was held by The Times of India in association with Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group. Sriram Rajagopal, vice president, HR at Cognizant, Annamalai Regupathy, managing director of Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group; Meenakshi Annamalai, director of Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group; P Venkatesh, co-founder and director product, Maveric Systems; and Ninan Thariyan, vice-president, The Times Group, participated in the event.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai> Schools / TNN / January 30th, 2014
Historian and environment enthusiast Perur K. Jayaraman. / Photo:K.Ananthan / The Hindu
An archaeological dig at his grandfather’s farm set off an insatiable thirst in K. Jayaraman for the past
Perur K. Jayaraman was a school boy when his interest in history was piqued. He remembers the excitement: “While digging a pit to plant a coconut tree, we found a flat slab inside. It had a side wall and a centre compartment that contained Mudumakkal Thaazhis ( burial urns). We also found agal vilakkus, jaadis, knives, small gold coins and a sunnaambu container. People called it pandia kuzhi, a derivative of pandaya (old) kuzhi”. This discovery led to the Archeological Survey of India conducting an excavation.
Kovai Kizhar C.M. Ramachandra Chettiar, Coimbatore’s first historian, recorded the findings in his book Kongunaatu Varalaaru . But he did not mention the name of the owner of the farm (Jayaraman’s grandfather). When the school boy asked him why, Kovai Kizhar gave him a sukku mittaai and told him that history cannot be written that way as the farm may belong to someone else later. “I realised the truth of his statement much later, but this conversation was the starting point of my interest in history.”
Today, at 64, Jayaraman is still fascinated by the topic. “History is always about kings and their battles. What about our soil and its people?” he asks. “It’s time historians popularised soil, people, nature, hills and rivers. We have to leave the knowledge behind for the future generation.”
Armed with books such as The Ancient Geography of the Kongu Country and Coimbatore Maavattathu Kalvettugal, Jayaraman set out to unearth history. “It was a fascinating learning experience. Along with Dr. R. Poongundran of State Archaeology Department, we discovered hidden treasures at Perur, Vellalore, Kodumanal, Noyyal basin, Muttam, Narasipuram, and cave paintings at Kumittipathi. Vellalore in Coimbatore thrived as a trade hub. We discovered the 1,000-year-old Muthuvaazhiamman temple near Alandurai. The deity sculpted on the lines of Madurai Meenakshi takes your breath away. Did you know that there is a Thooku Mara Thottam near Udumalpet, which used to be for execution? People were also thrown off a hill top near Anaimalai as punishment,” he narrates.
He says Coimbatore’s multi-cultural, multi-lingual influences dates back to the reign of the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, the Naickers, Mysore Maharajas, Muslim rulers and the British.
The discovery of the Rajakesari Peruvazhi near Kovaipudur was memorable, he says. “It’s a trade route that connects the Bay of Bengal with the Arabian Sea via Vellalore. It was the cow herd boys in the locality who first spotted it. A kalvettu (inscription in stone) there carries a thanks-giving poem where the traders thank the Raja for giving them nizhal (shade or protection). Those days, a nizhal padai followed the travellers to protect them and their goods from burglars. I took a group of school students to the Peruvazhi site and they performed a play at the spot and brought alive history and the stories I told them.”
Jayaraman speaks of the cave painting of Kumittipathi with amazement. “The paintings of people on elephants, chariots, deer and peacocks, and other geometric shapes are over 3000 years old but are as good as new even today!”
His introduction to Tamil literature also started from his farm located behind the Perur Tamil College. Pulamai Piththan, Kuppuraasu, Puviarasu and Rasiannan engaged in debates and discussions of Tamil literature as they bathed in his farm. Hooked by their conversations Jayaraman devoured books on Tamil literature.
Perur K Jayaraman. / Photo:K.Ananthan / The Hindu
Sharing information
Jayaraman’s knowledge of the environment, heritage and Tamil literature, has made him a valuable resource person. NGOs, research scholars, and students flock to him for information. He has contributed to many books too such as C.R. Elangovan’s Coimbatore Oru Varalaaru and Cbe Cyclopedia.
Jayaraman fondly recalls famous people who have hitched a ride on his moped! “Once Medha Patkar and I rode till the reserve forest in Anaikatty,” he remembers. He also took Sunderlal Bahugana around the forests of the Western Ghats. “The first question Bahuguna asked the forest officers was — ‘How many more tress have you spared?’ and they didn’t have an answer.” Jayaram was also close to organic farming scientist Nammalvar who passed away recently.
Destroying Nature for development was unsustainable, says Jayaram. “Car irukkum aana sor irukkadhu. We had over 40,000 lakes in Tamil Nadu. Now, almost 50 per cent of the lakes have been encroached upon in the name of development. Local bodies, farmers and stakeholders should take up the cause of maintenance of lakes.”
He is an apex body member of Siruthuli, and works closely with INTACH, RAAC, KARAM (Kovai Aid for Rehabilitation and Motivation, set up during the Tsunami), and is the joint secretary of Nannari Kazhagam that visits educational institutions and speaks to students on culture, values, environment, history and nature.
Every single stone speaks volumes on history, says Jayaraman and quotes a line from a Perur templekalvettu .
“‘Devisirai anai adaithu, kolur anaikku sedham varadha padikku,” (while constructing a dam, it is the people living downstream who should be first taken care of). If we follow that thought today, we have a ready solution for the Cauvery water dispute,” he smiles.
Noyyal is a small but significant river. It starts off its 167-km journey from Kooduthurai near Alandurai and joins the Cauvery near Karur. Jayaraman records the details in books such as Noyyal Nijangal, Noyyal Thayum Siruthuli Seyum and INTACH’s Kongunaadu Patrika. Jayaram describes Coimbatore as a beautiful woman adorned with a garland of Navaratnams represented by the lakes at Narasimhapathy, Krishnampathy, Selvampathy, Puttuvikki, Selvachintamani kulam, Puliakulam (now a town), Vaalankulam, Kurichikulam…
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by K. Jeshi / Coimbatore – January 30th, 2014
