Category Archives: Records, All

‘Time to strengthen ties with Denmark’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Sankar is Honorary Consul General

It is time to reshape the role of the honorary consulates of Denmark in India and to build the business-to-business relationship between the two countries, Danish Ambassador to India, Peter Taksoe-Jensen said.

He was speaking at a reception marking the appointment of Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman, Sanmar Group, as the Honorary Consul General of the Royal Danish Consulate in Chennai.

Mr. Sankar will be in charge of operations for South India.

Mr. Taksoe-Jensen presented a citation from the Queen of Denmark to Mr. Sankar on the occasion.

The Danish Ambassador said with the relationship between India and Denmark improving now after nearly seven years, it was time to “board the train” to the market of 1.3 billion people.

Archiving records

The Danish Embassy and the Danish National Archives department hope to digitise almost 70 metres of Danish archival records that are in Tamil Nadu.

The embassy is hoping to get funding from private enterprises in Denmark for the venture.

Efforts would also be made to maintain the Governor’s House in Tranquebar by raising funds, the Ambassador said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – July 05th, 2018

Madurai herbal healer’s cataract cure gets NIF lift

Amazing Feats, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year
MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year

In what could give Indian indigenous medicine a boost, a herbal concoction used by a 60-year-old woman to treat early stage cataract of people in in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district may soon make its way to market shelves.

This traditional wisdom used by herbal healer Muthulakshmi for decades may be commercialised after Ahmedabad headquartered National Innovation Foundation (NIF) which supports such grassroots innovations has signed an MoU with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year to develop and commercialise the product.

The herbal medicine which was used to treat early stage cataract patients is currently up for clinical trials and is expected to hit the markets in 6 months.

“We scouted this product with the help of Honey Bee Network, our collective a few years ago. In the past we have validated traditional knowledge and practices of people that are unavailable in classical codified texts with the help of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). We got excellent results with the herb that treats patients with early state cataract after preliminary tests were conducted on this herbal medicine tested with PERD (Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development) Ahmedabad.

Later we signed a co-development agreement (MoU) with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year for testing and developing the herbal medicine. Dabur also has the first right of refusal and can pay market cost for the technology,” said Vipin Kumar, director & chief innovation Officer(CIO) of NIF-India, an autonomous body of DST, Govt of India.

Kicking off the momentum for indigenous traditional medicine made from a flower and administered by Muthulakshmi to treat cataract patients in her region, may be available commercially in an affordable format after it is developed as a viable herbal product.

“We have signed a broad-based MoU and are working with NIF to develop herbal-based products to treat humans through the non-codified herb. The flower is indigenous and grows widely in the country. However, knowledge of this traditional medicine may be lost if it is not passed on to the people. The formula needs to be checked for efficacy on cells and duplicated and made affordable to poor. Through preliminary data we are trying to see if the extract has the potential to cure and will be conducting a clinical trial on 200 subjects.

We are currently in the process of finalising a chemical centre. The money generated through the IPR or patent of this herbal medicine and its royalty will go to the inventor Muthulakshmi and not to us or the NIF. The product can be commercialised within 3 to 6 months once clinical trials are over. Once the product formulation is complete we would obviously not like to refuse it and bring it at affordable rates as our CSR and try to make it low cost for people,” said Dr Manu Jaggi, chief scientific officer, Dabur Research Foundation.

source: http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com / Ahmedabad Mirror / Home> Ahmedabad> Others / June 29th, 2018

Coimbatore homemakeris Master Chef of T.N.

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All
D. Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries, giving away the first prize to R. Padmapriya at Taramani. | Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran
D. Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries, giving away the first prize to R. Padmapriya at Taramani. | Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran

Padmapriya bagged first prize in The Hindu Group’s ‘Our State-Our Taste’ competition

Padmapriya Radhakrishnan’s Karuveppilai chicken curry, garlic ghee rice and wheat rava kesari won her the first prize in The Hindu Group’s ‘Our State-Our Taste’ competition on Saturday. A very excited Ms. Radhakrishnan, who hails from Coimbatore, said she wanted to try more traditional foods.

“This is a big achievement for me. I want to try out more foods using traditional ingredients. I never eat junk food and I ensure that I give healthy dishes to my son and husband,” said the homemaker who was given the title of ‘Master Chef of Tamil Nadu’ by Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar.

Vaideki Rammohan, 39, of Rajapalayam, who made ‘varagu arisi saadham’, ‘keerai masiyal’ and ‘paasi parupu payasam’ came in second and the third place went to S. Bagamperiyal, 72, of Thoothukudi, who made ‘iral gravy’, ‘vanjara meen kuzhambu’ and ‘paal payasam’.

Speaking at the finals of the contest that was conducted in 10 districts in the State, Mr. Jayakumar said that food played a major role in shaping the personality of a person. He stressed the need to maintain health and consume healthy foods, especially millets. “Regular exercise and a balanced diet keeps the body fit,” he said, while congratulating The Hindu group for conducting the contest.

Chef Damu, the knowledge partner for the contest, said that among the 10 cities where the contest was held, contestants from Thanjavur, Madurai and Puducherry really did well. “We got to see dishes like ‘Kayiru gola’ (minced meat wound and cooked), ‘takadi’ (rice balls in minced meat gravy) and ‘ukkarai’ being made by participants. These are dishes that have medicinal values but many have forgotten,” he said. Mr. Damu suggested that The Hindu bring out a book of such recipes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – June 30th, 2018

City bizman remakes original Constitution, exquisite artwork and all

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All
Vijay Anand has invested the past two years in sourcing the best possible images for each page
Vijay Anand has invested the past two years in sourcing the best possible images for each page

Chennai :

The first edition of the Constitution  of India is a rare piece of art. Professionals from Shantiniketan decorated with exquisite designs the sides of each page of that handwritten publication of what is the world’s longest Constitution. Survey of India offices photolithographed the original on handmade paper but few copies now exist.
But they are making a return. Two years ago, Vijay Anand, an entrepreneur and a member of Chennai Tricolour Initiative, embarked on a journey to recreate the first edition.

“The original is enclosed in a helium-filled case in the Parliament library,” Anand said. “Some copies were handed down from generation to generation and have been lost over the years.”

His search took him to a family in Hosur whose ancestor was part of the constituent assembly in 1950. “They were kind of enough to share the copy they had,” he said. “The book survived through such a long time, albeit with some wear and tear.”

Several years of research told him that sourcing one of the first copies would be nearly impossible. “One of the original copies was auctioned by Sotheby’s for 35 lakh in 2012,” Anand said. “This book is valuable not just because it enshrines the foundations of the republic, but also because of the work that has gone into creating it.”

India’s Constitution has won recognition as one of the rare books of the world and found a place in the Library of Congress in the United States, said historian and Constitution enthusiast Vikram Raghavan. The tome, with all its artwork, commands a tremendous sense of awe and nostalgia for lawyers and students, he added.

Anand has invested the past two years in sourcing the best possible images for each page. A family from Ahmedabad sent him scanned images of a copy that they have. He then had each page hand drawn to recreate the original art. The work has not been easy. Every inch of the illustration and design is manually traced, digitally blown up and coloured. Each page took close to a week to recreate.

“The original is not accessible and it’s as good as gone,” Anand said. “We need one that we can preserve for at least another 100 years.”

He plans to make two versions – one will be a hardcover, the other a leather-bound edition for collectors. The 234-page volume will be published on specialty paper by Chennai Tricolor Initiative Trust. The copies will be available by September, Anand said. Besides limited copies that will be given to those contribute to the Chennai Tricolour Initiative Trust, Anand intends to give copies to schools at a nominal price so they can preserve them in their libraries.

“We want to spur healthy debate in government schools. The idea is to initiate a conversation on the foundation of today’s India, how the government functions. Healthy debates are not just about finding fault but being aware of both sides of the coin,” he said.

Download a remastered version of the preamble at http://bit.ly/2HnNKmN.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Chennai News / TNN / July 02nd, 2018

Anna Nagar resident pens book on leaders

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders, Records, All
N. Bakthavathsalu | Photo Credit: spl
N. Bakthavathsalu | Photo Credit: spl

This work by Prof. Bakthavathsalu is aimed at a young readership and has therefore been kept simple

After teaching history at the college level for four decades, N. Bakthavathsalu has taken to the written word to tell youngsters the stories of the land and its people.

Former Professor of History at Pachaiyappa’s College, Bakthavathsalu recently published Five Great Leaders of Tamil Nadu, a 43-page book that focusses on the lives and political achievements of C. Rajagopalachari, Periyar E.V.R., K. Kamaraj, C.N. AnnaDurai and M. Karunanidhi.

Prof. Bakthavathsalu, a resident of D Sector, Anna Nagar West Extension, said that keeping the young readership in mind the book was kept slim and its message as crisp and lucid as possible.

“I consider the four the greatest leaders of this era. It is important for students to know about the political history of the State,” said Prof. Bakthavathsalu.

He clarifies that he is not affiliated to any political party.

“Rajaji opposed Mahatma Gandhi and even stayed out of Congress for a few years. Kamaraj was responsible for an increase in the literacy rate and built many dams across the State. The book throws light on many such contributions from these leaders,” he said.

Prof. Bhathavatsalu has also authored school books published under the aegies of Tamil Nadu Textbook Society and contributed to Tamil Encyclopedia brought out by Thanjavur Tamil University.

The appendix lists out the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu from 1920 to 2018. The book is priced at ₹50.

For more details, contact Prof. Bakthavathsalu at 044-2615 0110.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Lakshmi / June 29th, 2018

Award for doctor

Education, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

V. Mohan, chairman of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and president of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation received the Dr. Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

According to a press release, Jane Reusch, president of ADA presented the award to Dr. Mohan during the 78th scientific sessions of ADA at Orlando, Florida on June 25.

The award was in memory of Dr. Harold Rikfin, an internationally recognised clinician, researcher and educator in diabetes.

Dr. Mohan is the first Indian doctor to receive the award. The award is presented annually to an individual whose efforts have increased the awareness of the burden of diabetes worldwide to improve the care and lives of those with diabetes. “The award is in recognition of the pioneering studies done in India such as the Indian Council of Medical Research India Diabetes Study, work on monogenic forms of diabetes and discovery of high fibre white rice,” Dr. Mohan said.

Dr. Mohan has published over 1,150 papers in peer reviewed journals and textbooks. He has trained doctors, diabetes educators, nurses and paramedical staff in India and from abroad, the release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – June 30th, 2018

Chennai’s buildings with histories

About Chennai(Madras) / TamilNadu, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Heritage01CF30jun2018

It was only a few weeks ago (Miscellany, June 4) that I wrote of a building with a history, Dare Bungalow in the Pachaiyappa College campus, that was derelict and in need of restoration considering its history. Since then, I’ve heard of two other buildings, historic to me, that warrant attention too.

Curiously, the centenary of the oldest trade union in the country, the Madras Labour Union went unnoticed on April 27. Curious because not only does the Union still exist but also because it should have been an occasion —the birth of the trade union movement in India — that all other unions should have celebrated. But names like G Selvapathy Chetty, G Ramanujulu Naidu, BP Wadia and Thiru Vi Ka are forgotten for what they started. There has, however, long been a landmark memorial to this in the Selvapathy –Ramanujulu Buildingthat was inaugurated in 1931 as the headquarters of the MLU. Sadly, it is in a shambles today as found by an Indian heritage enthusiast from Germany, Dr K Subashini, who went looking for it in Perambur. How could such a historic building be allowed to have fallen into such a state? Sadder still are other such a buildings with historic backgrounds not on any Heritage List — or is that only for public structures?

Heritage02CF30jun2018

Also unlikely listed is another building in such shape. Gandhi Kannadasan sends me a picture of the state the erstwhile home of Harry Crowe Buck, founder of the first Physical Education School in Asia, is in today. In fact, that institution itself should be celebrating its centenary in 2020.

Buck is to all intents and purposes the ‘Father of Sport’ in India. He was responsible for the introduction of basketball and volleyball, the encouragement of boxing and the beginning of the Indian Olympic Games, now the National Games.

Buck, of whom I’ve written before (March 13, 2017), and Sir Dorabjee Tata were the force behind the founding of the All India Olympic Association in 1924 and Buck trained the first-ever Indian athletic team to an Olympic Games, held that same year in Paris.

Heritage03CF30jun2018

The YMCA school moved to its present site in Saidapet in 1928 and the ghost house of today was probably built about then as the Founder-Principal’s bungalow. In 1933 there came up Massey Hall, the College’s main building. Kannadasan tells me he is a regular walker in the grounds here (not all 65 acres of it!) and there was a time when the house was occupied by a member of the faculty. But why such occupancy stopped and the house Harry and ‘green-fingered’ Marie Buck so lovingly tended was allowed to fall into such disrepair he has no idea.

But here’s my challenge. Is there any heritage buff or heritage-interested organisation in the city willing to save the three houses, Dare Bungalow, Selvapathy–Ramanujulu Building and Harry Buck’s home, memorials to Indian Commerce, Labour, and Sport?

The chronicler of Madras that is Chennai tells stories of people, places, and events from the years gone by, and sometimes from today

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by S. Muthiah / June 25th, 2018

Yale comes calling for these Chennai students

Education, Records, All, World Opinion

YaleCF29jun2018

Chennai’s bright students win first place in Kuala Lumpur to make it to the final round of World Scholar’s Cup at Yale

Twenty-four Chennai students, all between 10 and 18 years af age, made their way to Kuala Lumpur this month, to engage in a clash of minds with students from across 40 countries at the global round of World Scholar’s Cup, 2018. The teams — trained by city-based A to Zee Creativity — have been making their mark at the competition for years now, but this time, they also managed to make Scholar’s Cup history.

“This is the first time that an Indian team has topped the global round,” says the children’s coach and A to Zee Creativity founder, Shaan Katari Libby. She informs us that one of her under-14 teams (called Jerries) — comprising Adam Libby, Sibhi Aravindan and Tejas Narayan — won the overall championship, in addition to being the top team in South Asia and getting the 1st place at the Scholar’s challenge.

The other competitors from Chennai were Aadi Sai, Advik Unni, Arun Viji, Ann Susan George, Tia Thadani, Zai Libby, Manasa Krishnan, Vikram Barretto (Sishya) and Vikram Noronha, to name a few. Each of them ranked within the top three among South Asian scholars at Kuala Lumpur, making their way through multiple rounds comprising debate, collaborative writing, written quiz and buzzer quiz.

A total of eight teams-of-three competed at the Kuala Lumpur round, and have made it to the final round to be held in Yale later this year. While this recent round saw 4,000 students battle it out, the Yale round is set to be much to be much tougher.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Education / by Meghna Majumdar / June 29th, 2018

How to get a rooftop solar power connection for your Chennai home

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

Getting a grid-connected solar rooftop

Source: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Wikimedia Commons

“I have been urging everyone to switch to solar for the last decade. It is the best decision I have made. If people just understood how simple it is, they would be willing to try it. It has to do more with the mindset” says Chennai citizen D Suresh, who has been bestowed the moniker Solar Suresh for his efforts to take solar energy to the general public in the city and the state.

A study by Greenpeace India and GERMI titled Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Chennai’s Solar Potential  estimates that Chennai has an untapped rooftop solar power generation potential of 1.38 GW, with the largest segment being residential rooftops that constitute 46% of the potential at 586 MW.

The push towards renewable energy has seen central and state subsidies for those who opt for solar power, with capital incentives and credits as part of their electricity bill payments. The effort on the part of the government has so far focused on getting households to set up grid-connected solar rooftop plants that are linked to the existing system.

How does a solar rooftop system work?

A grid-connected solar rooftop system set-up along with a bi-directional meter can be used to monitor the energy generated and consumed by solar-powered households. If surplus power is generated, the energy is fed into the grid and the household receives an annual credit in the electricity bill based on net meter readings.

The grid-connected system eliminates the use of batteries, thereby bringing down capital cost and space required for setting up a solar power plant.

So, if you want to join in too, and not only do your bit for renewable energy, but also bring about some savings in your energy bill, here are some more basics that you might want to know.

Cost and savings implications

Under the Chief Minister’s Domestic Rooftop Solar Incentive Scheme, individual houses or flats with grid-connected rooftop solar panel installation in Chennai are eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs 20,000 for a 1 KWp (kilowattpeak) plant to be used solely for residential purposes. This is in addition to the 30% central subsidy offered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on the benchmark cost or project cost, whichever is less.

For residential flats, a capacity of 5 kW, 10 kW and multiples thereof can be applied for common usage as group application.

The average cost of a 1KWp plant is close to Rs 70,000, with subsidies bringing down the cost to close to Rs. 45,000.

A 1KWp plant produces 4-5 units of electricity per day. Households can decide on the capacity of the plant required to power their needs based on their existing consumption. The feed-in credit on the consumer’s electricity bill from excess power generation can be availed for a year, as per the rates fixed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).

Prerequisites of installation

  • A 1kw panel requires a rooftop space of 12 sq.m or 100 sq. feet for installation.
  • An existing TANGEDCO service connection under the LA-A1 (domestic use) tariff

Applications are available online and at the office of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA).

The last date for applications is June 30. A list of empanelled vendors is also available on the website.

Benefits of going solar

  • A substantial reduction in electricity bills over a period of time
  • It is a renewable source of energy that can be harnessed on a daily basis
  • Protection against tariff increase as the life of a solar panel is 25 years
  • Savings made on solar is tax-free
  • It is an environment-friendly alternative to conventional electricity, reducing the reliance on coal and fossil fuels
  • Encourages self-sufficiency and reduces wastage as excess power is transferred to the grid

source: http://www.chennai.citizenmatters.in / Citizen Matters / Home> City Guide / by Aruna Natarajan / June 29th, 2018

Chennai students develop ‘lightest’ satellite, to be launched by NASA

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
small but mighty
small but mighty

Chennai :

Four city students have developed what could be the world’s lightest satellite which will be launched from a NASA facility in the US by August.

The first-year engineering students from Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science near Chennai built the 4cm ‘cube’ satellite ‘Jaihind-1S’ with a 3D printed outer casing from polylactic acid (PLA) nylon material, making it lighter than a medium sized egg, at just 33.39 grams.

KJ Harikrishnan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad, students of Hindustan Institute of Technology, have developed a 4cm cube satellite that weighs 33.39grams.
KJ Harikrishnan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad, students of Hindustan Institute of Technology, have developed a 4cm cube satellite that weighs 33.39grams.

The satellite has been designed and fabricated for the ‘Cubes in Space’ competition conducted by Colorado Space Grant consortium, NASA and idoodle-learning. It will be flown on a scientific balloon up to an altitude of 70km.

The previous lightweight satellite developed by Rifath Sharook, also from Tamil Nadu , and launched in the same competition in 2017 had weighed 64 grams.

“We designed the satellite to conduct three experiments – measure 20 weather parameters, test the nylon material in microgravity and track the trajectory while it is being flown. What makes the satellite unique is that all three experiments will be conducted at the same time,” said K J Harikrishan, one of the team members. “It cost us ?15,000, so it is also the cheapest satellite,” he added.

Harikrishan worked with his three teammates P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad for two weeks to assemble the satellite and feed in the program.
As the balloon flies to an altitude of about 70km, the sensor modules in the satellite will begin measuring parameters like temperature, humidity, pressure and UV ray intensity as well as the movement and the trajectory of the balloon. The sensors will send the data to an onboard SD card through a microcontroller . Once the balloon reaches the desired altitude, the satellite will disengage from the balloon and fall. It will then be collected for data retrieval while the durability of the nylon material will also be assessed.
“The satellite has sensor modules that are programmed to measure and record four different parameters per second. So, we will get a large amount of data as the balloon flies to an altitude of 70km for almost a day,” the student said.
Professor G Dinesh Kumar, who was the faculty advisor, said the team improved the efficiency of the satellite by reducing its weight and opting for sensor modules that can measure more than one parameter at a time.
“We tested the satellite up to a height of 40 feet. We will be sending it to the US later this week,” the professor said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Chennai News / TNN / June 28th, 2018