Category Archives: Records, All

‘Nadalahari’ features instrumentalists celebrating Chennai for UNESCO honour

November 26, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

About 50 instrumentalists shared the stage for this marathon programme | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

All the musical instruments came together to celebrate Chennai

‘Nadalahari’ was a grand musical celebration of instruments at the Narada Gana Sabha. They were celebrating the UNESCO’s inclusion of Chennai in the Creative Cities Network. It was organised by Avasarala Kanyakumari, known for such grand shows with violins.

Dedicated to the cause of instrumental music, Kanyakumari, in her welcome address, did mention the lack of opportunities for instrumentalists to perform solo and also the rasikas’ preference to vocal. Indeed, her grievance is genuine; listeners are not fully tuned to instrumental music unless they find something exotic in it.

Guests of Honour K.N. Ramaswamy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Haricharan Das of Musee Musicals were in full appreciation of Kanyakumari’s endeavours with zeal in promoting instrumental music among the audience.

In this marathon programme, about 50 instrumentalists participated and performed in succession; so one can almost get to listen to all the popular instrumental artistes from Kadri Gopalnath’s saxophone to some very young learners performing veena, violin or mandolin.

Opened with saxophone

The programme started with Kadri playing the Bhairavi swarajati ‘Amba Kamakshi.’ Chitraveena Ravikiran and his students took over to present ‘Brochevarevarura’ (Khamas).

It was time for the flute and R. Thyagarajan with his disciples played ‘Ramakathasudha’ (Madhymavati). R.S. Jayalakshmi’s group (veena) presented ‘Jagadeeswari’ in Mohanam. Multifacedted Palghat Sriram in the company of young artistes played ‘Telisirama.’

Raju and Nagamani’s party impressed with ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Suddha Saveri) followed by the majestic nagaswaram with a group presenting ‘Akhilandeswari’ (Dwijawanti). Notable inclusions were the solo presentation of raag Sindhubhairav by Pt. Janardhan Mitta on the sitar and raag Maru Behag by Balesh on the shehnai. The penultimate offering, Nadatanumanism (Siddha Ranajni) was by Kanyakumari with all the violinists and her students.

In the grand finale, all the artists joined to thank the audience with ‘Entaro Mahanubhavulu’ (Sri). A host of percussion artists supported the instrumentalists in different combinations.

What I have said may look like a report. But it was a celebration and celebrations are meant for sharing and enjoyment. The emcee Krishna Babu constantly talked about the enthusiasm of the artistes, who had gathered breaking all barriers — age, name and fame, etc. The aim was to participate and showcase their speciality. Nuggets on Chennai and its musical history were provided as interludes by Rasikapriya, during the change of artists. The glitches in the sound system — unavoidable perhaps, given the range of instruments and their frequencies — was overshadowed by the spirit of the artistes, who were in excellent form.

The final piece reminded me of AIR’s ‘Vadya Vrinda’ — several artistes playing kritis in perfect unison. Perhaps Kanyakumari can think on those lines — live joint ventures with different instrumentalists, where each enjoys his space.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by G. Swaminathan / November 23rd, 2017

Two Chennai HMs get national award

November 26, 2017Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, Alladmin

Chennai :

The headmaster from a State Board school and another from a government-aided school were selected for the national award for best teachers for 2016 instituted by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry.

G J Manohar, headmaster and correspondent of Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, and A Edith Deva Thayanithi, headmistress of CSI Middle School, Saidapet, would receive their awards on September 5.

An alumni of the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, Manohar started as a teacher at the school in 1988. According to him, the award was given for the overall development of the school, quality of infrastructure and the academics. From after-school coaching classes, an open option especially for students who are first-generation learners who do not have proper facilities to remedial classes for lower classes, the school has been taking various initatives, he added.

“The uniqueness of this school is we have a mixture of students from different economic classes,” he said with pride. Devotion, determination and dedication to work are the motto that can make a student dynamic, believes Edith Deva Thayanithi, one of the two national award-winners from the city.

She started her career in teaching in 1987 in CSI Middle School in Tiruttani near Arakonam. After working in CSI schools in Perambur, she was made headmistress of the middle school in Saidapet.

“In my school, 90 per cent of the children are from scavenging background. I gave scholarship and minority scholarship out of my own interest. I approached the Collector’s office to give the students the scholarship,” she said.

During Chennai floods in 2015, she had opened the school for all flood victims. “Before I came to the Saidapet school, there was no proper building. I took iniative to construct the new building spending `32 lakh and also conducted science exhibition in the school,” said the winner of 2012 State award.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> State> Tamil Nadu / by Ashmita Gupta / Express News Service / September 02nd, 2017

Mytrah Energy erects tallest Met mast in Asia-Pacific

November 26, 2017Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinionadmin

Massive wind turbine set up in Tuticorin

Hyderabad :

Renewable energy producer Mytrah Energy has erected and commissioned the tallest Met mast in the Asia-Pacific region.

With a height of 160 metres, the mast is located at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district.

With this, Mytrah Energy broke its own record of installing a 150-metre mast in October. Since then, Mytrah has installed 150-metre masts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

“Power output depends on the size and height of turbines. Larger wind turbines lead to cost-effective power generation. Mytrah’s commissioning of this Met mast reflects its focus on developing technological tools for revolutionising the renewable energy sector in the country,” said Vikram Kailas, Vice-Chairman & MD, Mytrah Energy (India).

The Met mast has five wind speed monitoring levels (160m, 140m, 120m, 90m, 50m), three wind direction monitoring levels (138m, 118m and 88m), two temperature monitoring levels (160m and 10m) and one pressure sensor level (10m).

It is a combination of 400mm x400mm and 300mmx300mm square lattice structure with L angle tube that has all the sensors placed according to the IEC 61400-12-1 standard for accurate measurement of wind speed and direction.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – November 23rd, 2017

Trisha becomes UNICEF celebrity advocate

November 21, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

She will voice rights of children, address major issues such as anaemia, early marriage and child abuse

Actor Trisha Krishnan is all set to don a new role, but in real life this time. She is the first actor from South India to be bestowed with the UNICEF celebrity advocate status.

She will voice the rights of young people, especially girls. The actor will support the efforts to address problems faced by children in Tamil Nadu and Kerala such as anaemia, early marriage, labour and child abuse.

Speaking at the event here on Monday, Ms. Trisha said that she was honoured to get the recognition.

“I commit myself to creating more awareness on health, education, nutrition and protection of children, especially the adolescents and young people in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. I would support the efforts of the government to make Tamil Nadu malnutrition-free and open defecation-free,” said the actor.

Interacting with over 50 children at the function, she said education for girls was a magic bullet that would eliminate social evils.

On child marriage

“If all girls attended school, we can eliminate child marriage and child labour. In the long run, [providing] education to girls will also contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality and malnutrition,” she added. Making the announcement at a special function to mark the World Children’s Day, Job Zachariah, Chief of UNICEF office—Tamil Nadu and Kerala said Trisha was an icon for younger generation.

“She has the power to amplify the children’s issues and address violation of child rights in the family, community and in public spaces. She will also promote education and health of adolescents and the value of girl child in family and society.”

Ms. Trisha has acted in 64 films, including 38 in Tamil, 23 in Telugu and one each in Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam.

The programme was attended by M.P. Nirmala, Chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Sugata Roy, UNICEF communication specialist and representatives from child rights organisations and academic institutions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities>Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 21st, 2017

Chennai firm helps Axelsen rise to the top of badminton world

November 19, 2017Business & Economy, Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Viktor Axelsen with My Game Stat founders Sunil Kumar (extreme left), Senthil Kumaran (2nd from right) and Ashok B

Chennai :

Viktor Axelsen is Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth’s enemy No.1.

The World No. 1 is a step ahead of Srikanth in the rankings and there’s a Chennai firm that has played a major role in the Danish star’s rise to the top.

Since early 2017, Axelsen has been working in close collaboration with My Game Stat (MGS), which offers performance analytics in badminton. Comprising former player Ashok B, Sunil Kumar, Senthil Kumaran and Sajith. The company was set up in August 2016 with the intention of devising a performance analytics tool which the players can access for a wide range of data about their game.

Axelsen, who became the world champion earlier this year, even sported the MGS logo on his T-shirt for three Super Series tournaments earlier in the year. The player’s association with the company started just before the Indian Open earlier this year.

“I was very curious to know whether the top badminton players were using any analytics. This entire topic is very new. When you discuss this, everyone is immediately interested. When I got in touch with Viktor using my contacts, I found out he was still using his diary to make notes after every match and tournament. He probably plays 70 to 80 matches in a year and he can’t note down every detail. Once we started talking, he was immediately interested and said he had never been exposed to this kind of data,” Ashok told TOI .

Firm eyes tie-up with Sindhu & Co

Axelsen, too, acknowledged the difference that MGS has made to his game. “It is very useful and definitely helping me to prepare for my matches,” he was quoted by the MGS website.

According to the analytics experts, Axelsen himself was unaware about a potential weakness to lefthanded players. “There was this particular pattern where we noticed that he was susceptible to lefthanders. He was shocked with what he saw and understood the kind of contribution we could make to his game,” Ashok said. It was no surprise that Axelsen went on to beat Chinese legend Lin Dan, a left-hander, in the World C’ship final.

While the passion that the four shared for badminton brought them together, Senthil’s work experience as a consultant to a company which is the prime vendor for the National Football League in the US, combined with his eye for detail for the sport, was invaluable. Indian badminton is on a high with the rise of PV Sindhu, Srikanth and a host of other players, but the quartet hasn’t yet tied up with Gopichand & Co. The founders, though, insist it’s a matter of time.

“As an Indian company, we obviously want to associate with Indian players. That is the next objective. We did not want to contact the Indian players until and unless we had a time-tested, proven module.

We cannot afford to fail in India. We have already been in touch with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and we expect things to be in place by January,” Sunil added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by Vivek Krishnan / TNN / November 19th, 2017

Gourmet delight may find fame as State fish of T.N.

November 16, 2017Business & Economy, Records, Alladmin

Tasting success: The pricey delicacy is known for its nutritional and medicinal value

Fisheries university pushes for official recognition of Ayirai

Ayirai meen (loach) has so far been known as a pricey delicacy worthy of the gourmet’s palate. Soon, the fish may well get official recognition as the State fish of Tamil Nadu.

“We are discussing the formalities with the Director of Fisheries and other higher officials. Kerala has already declared Karimeen as the State fish and murrel has gained that status in Telangana,” Dr. S. Felix, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (TNFU), told The Hindu on Wednesday.

He added that the Centre has asked every State to identify its own official fish species.

TNFU has succeeded in raising the fish through pond culture, and sees potential in the technique. “The fish has huge commercial value and our Finance Secretary K. Shanmugam is keen on developing techniques for cultivation of the fish. We are planning to set up two research centres, one in Madhavaram in Chennai and another in Parakkai in Kanniyakumari district, once we get funds from the government. We have already started functioning in Madhavaram,” said Dr. Felix. Priced between ₹1,200 and ₹1,500 per kg in the market, Ayirai(Lepidocephalichthys thermalis) is available in lakes, ponds and rivers. The fish was first raised successfully in a pond by Pughalendhi, a fish-farmer from Vaduvur in Thanjavur district. The university provided him technical support.

“Two years ago, he approached me for guidance on raising fish through pond culture. I asked him to try his hand at Ayirai and it proved to be a great success. He raised Ayirai as an inter-crop with other carp fish species. There is a huge demand for the fish and we have to concentrate on further research to meet market requirements,” said Dr. K. Karl Marx, Dean, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Institute of Post Graduate Studies (IPGS), TNFU, OMR Campus. Scientists of Central Institute of Fresh Water Aquaculture (CIFA) have visited Vaduvur to witness the harvest. “After the harvest, the fish weighing approximately 3 grams each will be conditioned before taken to the market. In this conditioning process, the fish’s gut is cleansed naturally, making it fit for cooking,” said Dr. Marx.

“The fish has nutritional and medicinal value since it is consumed as a whole. Ayirai consumers get more calcium as the bones are not discarded,” Dr. Marx said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – November 16th, 2017

National shooting championships: Coimbatore shooters bang on target

November 13, 2017Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

The Coimbatore city shooters, of late, are making their presence felt on the national and international circuit. The 60th National shooting championships held in Pune last December is a case in point. If 21-year-old N Gaayathri won gold in the women’s 3-position rifle event after beating a field comprising seasoned shooters such as Anjali Bhagwat and Tejaswini Sawant, her city mate and pistol shooter P Shri Nivetha pocketed an individual bronze and team silver in the competition.

Both Gaayathri and Nivetha have made the senior national side on the back of consistent performances on the junior circuit. “Being part of international competitions as members of the Indian junior team provided us a strong footing before making the senior side,” Nivetha told TOI. She won a junior gold in the 10M Air Pistol category of the Asian Airgun championships held in New Delhi in 2015. Gaayathri, on the other hand, made a mark at the junior World Cup in Suhl (Germany) last year – winning a bronze in the 50M rifle prone event.

The two made the final in their respective events at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Shooting championships in Gold Coast, Australia. While Gaayathri narrowly missed a medal by 0.7 points – finishing fourth – in the women’s rifle 3-Position event, Nivetha ended fifth in the 10m Air Pistol event. “The competition was of the highest order. In such events, it all boils down to how you handle the pressure during crunch situations,” said Nivetha.

Gaayathri and Nivetha aren’t the only set of shooters to be making waves from the city. “Shooters such as Srinithi Abirami, Namritha Saravana and many others are doing well from Coimbatore. What is heartening to see is that each one of them has managed to find the balance between their studies and shooting. Srinithi is a qualified engineer while Gaayathri and Nivetha have both done their graduation,” said Marudhachalam, vice-president of Coimbatore Rifle Club.

Marudhachalam also felt that these shooters’ families have supported them to the hilt. “The parents of these shooters understand the rigors of the sport and do everything they possibly can to support them,” Marudhachalam said.

According to Srinithi, the Coimbatore Rifle club – in existence since 1953 – provides the right environment for shooters. “They conduct regular camps that attract a lot of shooting enthusiasts. I was part of one of the camps back in 2009 and it didn’t take long for me to get hooked to the sport,” said Srinithi, who won silver in the Asian championships at Kuwait in 2015.

The club, in the midst of getting upgraded to international standards, has already installed electronic targets – a move that has got thumbs up from the shooters. “The club is doing its best to encourage the sport. The installation of electronic targets was certainly helpful for the shooters,” said Nivetha. The renovated club is likely to reopen in the next few weeks.

From November 15, the likes of Gaayathri, Nivetha and Srinithi will join others in the trials in New Delhi for the upcoming Commonwealth Games next year. Gaayathri has already begun to fine-tune for the same, and the fact that she has chosen to stay away from media commitments for the time being underlines her single-minded focus.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports / by Prasad RS / TNN / November 10th, 2017

University of the Year award for NIT-Tiruchi

November 12, 2017Education, Records, Alladmin

Recognition:Mini Shaji Thomas, Director, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, receiving the award from Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, AICTE, in New Delhi.HANDOUT_E_MAIL

Achieves hat trick by winning third year in a row at FICCI Educations awards

National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi (NIT-T) has bagged University of the Year award at FICCI Higher Education Summit held in New Delhi on Thursday.

Mini Shaji Thomas, Director, NIT-T, received the award presented by Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, All India Council of Technical Education, in the presence of M. M Sharma, Professor Emeritus, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. A NIT-T press release said that it had achieved a hat trick at the FICCI Educations awards. In 2015, the institute was recognised for excellence in social responsibility category. In 2016, it won two awards for excellence in employability and visionary idea.

According to the release, FICCI adopts an elaborate two-stage screening process in selecting top institutes for the awards. Consulting firm Ernst & Young is the knowledge partner for FICCI. The first stage consists of online application which leads to short-listing based on merits of the institute, followed by a final jury evaluation which is based on face-to-face presentation before a high-powered jury chaired by R.A. Mashelkar, an eminent scientist.

The institute scored high on many of the yardsticks set for the University of Year award, having undertaken a major academic transformation a couple of years back and figuring almost on top of the list in terms of research publications.

NITT was ranked 11th amongst all technical institutions, including the older IITs and 1st amongst all NITs in the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s National Institutional Ranking Framework during 2017.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Tiruchi – November 11th, 2017

Chennai is now part of UNESCO’s ‘creative cities network’

November 10, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

The world body recognises the city’s rich musical tradition.

It’s a feature Chennai has always flaunted with pride. And now, it has got international recognition. The city has been included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, congratulating the city: “Chennai’s contribution to our rich culture is precious. This is a proud moment for India.”

A total of 64 cities from 44 countries have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, the organisation’s website said.

“They join a network at the frontline of UNESCO’s efforts to foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development,” it stated.

Gastronomy, music, crafts and folk art, media arts, design, film and literature are the seven fields of creativity highlighted by the network, which now has a total of 180 cities in 72 countries.

Jaipur and Varanasi are the other Indian cities that feature on the list.

Chief Minister thanks PM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in a statement, said “the people of Chennai love their music and it is a part of their culture and tradition”. He thanked Mr. Modi for “congratulating the people of Chennai for this unique distinction.”

Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri said, “This truly is a moment to remember each and every artiste of the varied forms who have laid the bricks to build this musical empire. A haven for the classical music, popular music, music for dance and theatre and folk, we revel in the arts.”

Ghatam vidwan ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram said the city and its sabhas had played a very important role in bringing together Carnatic musicians from all over the country and abroad. “In the beginning, there were very few sabhas, but now, there are many. And even the very small ones help in propagating Carnatic music. The December music season is something very unique to this city and even for persons from other countries; it is a matter of pride to perform during it,” he said.

Tamil Development Minister Ma Foi K. Pandiarajan said, “Chennai, as a cultural capital of India, is built on its music and dance culture. We are delighted that UNESCO has recognised it.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 09th, 2017

Export award for Coimbatore firm

November 9, 2017Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinionadmin

Coimbatore :

Engineering Export Promotion Council has recognised Coimbatore-based KU Sodalamuthu and Co for the regional export award for 2015-16.

The company manufactures paper conversion machinery for production of paper cones, tubes, edge protectors and pulp moulded products.

It claims to be a market leader in India, apart from exporting to more than 60 countries, said its Managing Director K S Balamurugan.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News / The Hindu Bureau / Coimbatore – November 06th, 2017

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