Category Archives: Records, All

THUS SPAKE COOUM – Stirring expressions of patriotism

August 20, 2015Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Arya Bashyam being taken away by the police after he hoisted the tricolour at Fort St.George in 1932. Ilustration: Satwik Gade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shots from the past – memories in black and white

August 19, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, Alladmin

A less ornamented Kapaleeswarar Temple, a Hema Malini when she wasn’t a star or when wedding photography meant a visit to the studio after the ceremony . The people be hind the images of Madras are still holding fort but are changing with the times to capture pictures of a new era. On August 19, World Photography Day , we go back to an era when photography was manual, dark rooms secret repositories of knowledge and printed photographs only preserves of memories.

Photo Emporium, which still stands tall in Chennai, was established in 1927 by A Thirunavukarasu. “Those were the days of expertise and innovation. In 1959, my father was making a video on Satya Sai Baba in Putaparthi. As there were frequent power cuts, he shot the video using the light of four to five cars,” says A K Rajkumar.

A lot of what the present Photo Emporium is now is due to the business acumen of A T Kathiresan, Rajkumar’s father. It was under him that the studio set up offices in Mumbai and Kolkata and it became one of the first importers of cameras from Japan, Ger many and Italy, cut films, single-use flashbulbs and photo mounts. The studio has been associated with illustrious families like those of the Murugappa Group, Apollo Hospitals and the Chettiars for three generations, documenting the developing city through its connections with industries like Binny , Weston Crompton and Parry & Co.

Long-standing relationships have also helped Sathyam Studios in Mylapore survive 83 years. V V Giri, musicians G N B, singer T V Rathinam and Cho Ramaswamy were regulars. Despite the small space, which houses the photo studio, it has a roomful of old cameras, glass negatives and numerous black and white pictures from a time when getting a photograph taken was a big occasion. “Even for weddings, people used to take only a couple of pictures. The newlyweds and the family would all come to the studio for a photograph,” says C S Balachandra Raju, the octogenarian owner.

His father C Satyanarayana Raju, the founder of the studio, was a self-taught man like most early photographers in the city . This passion runs through generations, as Balachandra’s three sons have also taken after their father.Hence though the daguerreotype camera was much before his time, B Anand, the youngest son, knows how to use it. “We have kept all the old cameras for their heritage value. But in this age of quick and easy photography , few people appreciate this art form,” says Anand.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Arpita Bose, TNN / August 19th, 2015

THUS SPAKE COOUM – The scene of great battles

August 19, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, Alladmin

‘Valourous Chola Prince Rajaditya was killed right in front of my eyes by a poisioned arrow’

A great city grew on my banks, but did you know that they have been sites of the clash of civilisations?

The location was close to what you now know as the spot where the dam was constructed across me at Keshavaram, where Kosasthalayar splits to do her own thing. It was near the location of this modern dam that I witnessed a bloody war of much importance, many moons ago.

In 949 AD, the combined armies of the Cholas and Cheras were led by the Chola crown prince Rajaditya, son of King Parantaka-I. The army met a fierce enemy in King Krishna III of the Rashtrakuta kingdom at Thakkolam (now technically placed in Vellore, but quite close to Kancheepuram), to whose aid came the forces of Ganga dynasty.

On a fateful afternoon, Rajaditya, the valorous Chola prince, was killed right in front of my eyes by a poisoned arrow, altering forever the history of the Tamil kingdom. Owing to the death of the prince, the crown later moved to his younger brother Arinjaya Chola and thus paved the way for the ascension of his descendants Raja Raja-I and Rajendra-I, two of the greatest Chola emperors, at a later point.

Imagine this: If not for the Thakkolam battle on my banks, you may not see the iconic Brihadeeshwarar temple today in Thanjavur since Raja Raja Chola would not have become a king.

A few kilometres down Thakkolam, the Polilore battlefield (Pullalur), again near my waters, was where the British forces faced tremendous losses in the Carnatic wars.

In 1780, Tipu Sultan faced off with British East India Company commander Colonel William Baille, inflicting deeps wounds to the British ego. As I watched the guns and canons blaze on either side, Baille was captured along with many of his troops and taken to Srirengapattna in Mysore.

But a year later in 1781, they returned to the same spot for another encounter.

The British side, now reinforced with better fire power, defeated Hyder Ali under the leadership of Eyre Coote. I remember that the Polilore field had witnessed another ancient but less decisive war as well, when Chalukyas led by Pulakesin II and Pallava King Mahendraverma-I took on each other. The former won.

Source: Venkatesh Ramakrishnan, Chennai Cooum group

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by SruthiSagar Yamunan / August 17th, 2015

Unsung heroes of India freedom struggle find place at Race Course

August 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, Alladmin

Coimbatore :

The regular walkers at the Race Course were in for a small surprise on Friday morning as portraits of several unsung heroes of the freedom movement were displayed on the path. Everyone knows about Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters as our history lessons in school were complete without them. But names like Akkamma Cherian, Usha Mehta, Hemu Kalani, Durga Bhabi, Leela Roy and Bhima Bai Holkar hardly appear in any text book nor are many children taught about their sacrifice for the motherland.

“With each portrait that I pass, the only feeling I have is that I have done nothing for my country so far. These people gave up everything to ensure that we live in a free country but we should ask ourselves what have we done to better our country,” said Saroja, a home-maker from Salem. D Yuvarajan, 12, pointed out to a portrait depicting the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and told his mother all that he learnt in school. “I am not familiar with many of these leaders and so I am asking my mother to explain their contributions to me while I am sharing what I know with her,” he said.

A government arts college student was moved by the story of Hemu Kalani, who was hanged at the young age of 19, and said that he would definitely go back and read more about these unsung heroes. “I am very interested to read more about their life and their struggle. I am interested in learning more about each of them,” said S M Arun Boopathy studying BSc Maths.

For some it was a day to play quiz and find out who knew better history. “We both have seen nearly 30 portraits so far and we are testing each other as to who knows more about them. But the sad part is we did not even recognise half of them,” said R Ashish, who was with his friend Samuel.

The portraits are on display outside All Soul’s church at Race Course till 6pm on August 15.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / August 15th, 2015

Chennai’s first TV channel, and much revered too

August 14, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Musician Vikku Vinayakaram performs at the 40th year celebration of Doordarshan. Photo: B. JothiRamalingam / The Hindu

As it completes 40 eventful years in chennai, Doordarshan vows to continue as family-oriented infotainment channel.

On the occasion of Doordarshan Chennai’s 40th anniversary, several celebrities and dignitaries flocked to the Narada Gana Sabha on Wednesday to celebrate the channel that defined television for them.

They also offered suggestions on the route it should take in the future.

Actor and director Bhagyaraj recalled how Doordarshan launched many a film career. “It is from DD that the world of cinema got several musicians and actors. Music director Deva and actor Vadivukarasi were involved in DD programmes before entering films,” said Mr. Bhagyaraj, who has directed Kadhaiyin Kadhai for DD-Podhigai.

“Programmes on my grandfather and violinist Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai have been telecast,” actor Thyagu said.

“We are enjoying the limelight because of DD. My drama, Ayya Amma Ammama, has been telecast eight times since 1982,” said Mr. Ramamurthy, who has done nearly 48 plays for Doordarshan.

Danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam, who performed at the launch of DD in 1975, was back on Wednesday to give a Bharatanatyam performance. “I am glad to be associated with DD for many decades. I remember giving a solo performance on Krishnayya Tubhyam Namaha and Silapadigaram then,” said Ms. Subrahmanyam, who has been performing for DD every year.

“I have performed in many Bharatanatyam shows and even produced programmes like Konjum Salangai,” said veteran actor Vennira Aadai Nirmala.

“I watch DD-Podhigai regularly because of the importance it gives to classical music and Bharatanatyam,” she added.

Governor K. Rosaiah said that with programmes on health, education, career counselling, film and agriculture, Doordarshan catered to diverse viewers.

He lauded DD-Podhigai for creating awareness of government schemes and staying a family channel despite stiff competition from private satellite channels.

Adopting the latest technology in production and ensuring more advertisements would take DD-Podhigai ahead of other channels, he said.

Earlier, A. Suryaprakash, chairman of Prasar Bharati, elaborated on the need for a public service broadcaster in these days of mushrooming private satellite channels.

Recalling the popular programmes, including sports quiz, he said, “We will continue to offer quality infotainment and unbiased news and raise awareness on government schemes.”

Nadoja Mahesh Joshi, additional director general (south zone), Doordarshan, and N. Thyagarajan, additional director general (engineering, south zone), also spoke on technological changes that DD has undergone.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Lakshmi / Chennai – August 13th, 2015

Impressive performance by Mylapore student

August 12, 2015Education, Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

Sangeetha with headmistress Ruby Puthotta (left), her parents and teachers. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu

Designing a robotic racing car, she stood out in the ‘Building Bridges’ programme at the University of Rhodes Island

Sangeetha does not drive a racing car, but she just might help you drive one. This class IX student of Siva Swami Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School recently designed a robotic racing car at the University of Rhodes Island, Kingston, United States. She is one of 20 students who took part in ‘Building Bridges’, a four-week cross-cultural and academic programme that introduces students to engineering and robotics.

Of the eight students selected from India, Sangeetha is the only one from the state representing a government-aided school. Robotics classes were the best part of the programme, she says, which allowed every team to design a car. Each of the participants was teamed with participants from the United States and Pakistan.

“For two days, our car did not move. Once we learnt coding and the technicalities involved in sensor technology, we stayed late into the night to finish designing the car,” she says.

Sangeetha plans to pursue a career in mechanical engineering and also design an autorickshaw for her father, an autorickshaw driver.

Although much of the expense for the trip was borne by the organisers, her parents spent around Rs. 7,000 towards the preparations she had to make for joining the programme. “She had to do a lot of reading, so we got her an Internet connection and some clothes for the journey. We borrowed money but that’s fine as she has made us proud,” say her parents S. Rajakumari and L. Subramani.

Sangeetha, a national level Silambam player, also stunned everyone with her Silambam performance at the meet.

The Mylapore school got an opportunity to send a student to the programme after it partnered for the ‘STEM Education’ programme, for which five schools from the city were selected.

“The entire class VIII was made to take a test to check one’s interest in science and technology. Twenty were short-listed and trained for almost a year in spoken English, leadership skills and science and maths,” says V. Prema, teacher in-charge of the project. Verizon Technologies and Institute of International Education sponsored the student.

Sangeetha is grateful to the secretary of the school Leela Narendran, headmistress Ruby Puthotta and other teachers who encouraged her.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Liffy Thomas / Chennai – August 08th, 2015

Documentary gives insight on blind chess players of India

August 10, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, Uncategorizedadmin

Chennai :

Sixty-four squares. That’s all it takes to create a level playing field between the blind and the sighted, said Charudatta Jadhav, founder of the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), on Saturday, at the premiere of the film, Algorithm, at PVR Skywalk in Chennai.

The film, directed by Ian Mcdonald, is a 100-minute black and white documentary that follows the lives of three young chess players between 2009 and 2011.

The film attempts to show that for the game of chess, you don’t need sight, just foresight; you don’t need eyes as long as you have vision. This was also underlined through a blind blitz game between five-time world champion and grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand and Jadhav. Anand and Jadhav tussled in a 10-minute game (of course Anand won), with the world champ facing away from the board and visualizing his moves. “For a moment there, I thought I had forgotten one of my moves, but luckily I hadn’t,” said Anand.

Krishna, who is featured in the film, took to chess at age nine because he wanted to play a game he could excel at. “I couldn’t and didn’t want to play outside with my friends because I couldn’t see the balls or bats they played with properly,” said Krishna, now a student at Loyola College. “Then my mother taught me to play chess and when I realized I could compete with people who could see, I decided to work hard to excel at it,” said Krishna, who has beaten many sighted champs over the years.

“Chess is about calculating and predicting moves,” said Jadhav, ” it is immaterial if you can see.” Unlike Krishna, who has been visually impaired since birth, Jadhav, now 47, went blind at 13. “It happened in a matter of days. I was a topper, sitting in school one day, when I began to see grey dots everywhere. My vision got fuzzy, and before I knew it I had lost my eyesight because of a retinal detachment,” he said.

“It was a depressing five years between 1980 and 1985, but chess changed my life… chess showed me that even the blind can be as independent as the sighted,” said Jadhav, who pursued software engineering because vision did not really matter in that field. Jadhav, now, head, innovation strategy, at TCS in Mumbai, decided to start the AICFB in 1998. “The blind do not want sympathy or pity. We want to be treated as equals,” said Jadhav,.

And that’s what McDonald has done in the way he portrays the champs – cheeky Darpan Inani from Baroda, the highest ranked totally blind player in India; gentle and eccentric Anant Kumar Nayak from Bhubaneswar; and the determined Krishna, who is fighting to conquer championships as well as his impairment. The documentary, though made in 2012, will release in theatres on August 21.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai, TNN / August 10th, 2015

Chennai doctors use new technique to implant dentures in teenager

August 7, 2015Amazing Feats, Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

Doctors at Rajan Dental Institute performed a new technique where they grafted bones from the patient's cheekbone. — Doctors at Rajan Dental Institute performed a new technique where they grafted bones from the patient’s cheekbone.

Chennai :

More than the difficulty she faced while eating and speaking, it was the curious stares of people that upset 17-year-old Manju (name changed). The teenager, who was suffering from a genetic disorder, lost all her teeth by the age of 14, and found it difficult to step into college this year with dentures.

Conventionally doctors would graft the hip bone and give permanent implants in a procedure that spans over a year. But doctors at Rajan Dental Institute here performed a new technique where they grafted bones from her cheekbone and gave her implants – all within a week.

At the age of four, the patient was diagnosed with Papillon Lefevre Syndrome, a rare, genetic autosomal disorder that affects 1 in a million people. “It leads to progressive bone loss around teeth, and subsequent teeth loss. It is often treated by the usage of removable dentures from a very young age,” said Oral and Maxillo Facial surgeon Dr R Gunaseelan.

Two months ago, the doctor and his team performed a procedure called Zygoma Implant technique, in which the cheekbone’s support is used to implant.

“On the fourth day after Zygoma Implant surgery, Manju was given permanent artificial teeth that closely resemble her natural teeth. She is now able to talk without the fear of her dentures falling off and is more confident as an individual,” said the doctor.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Janani Sampath, TNN / August 07th, 2015

First mother’s milk bank opened

August 4, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, Alladmin

right move:Rohini Ramdas, Project Officer, DRDA (left), at the breast milk bank in Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Monday.— Photo: S. James

All OP wards in GRH to have dedicated rooms for mothers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Awareness needed

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

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

Joshna Chinappa Wins Melbourne Meet for 10th Professional Squash Title

August 3, 2015Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Melbourne :

Joshna Chinappa today upstaged second seed Line Hansen in straight games to win the USD 15,000 Victorian Open squash competition for her 10th WSA title.

Third seed Joshna beat the Dane 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 in the final of the WSA event. It was only last week that Joshanalost to Line in Kooyong.

The Indian’s last triumph had come in the Richmond Open in April last year.

Known for mixing strokes and accuracy in the placements, the Joshna held the upper-hand right through, though she admitted, it was a “hard game” particularly after Line fought and brought the score to nine-all in the third game.

Coming as it did soon after her recent success in the National Championship, she was happy with her current form.

With the Australian Open to start in a few days and the venue being the same, the Joshna is looking forward to more success.

“I am so happy it will be at the same centre,” she said.

The title in the men’s section went to Australian Ryan Cuskelly who beat Greg Lobban of Scotland 12-10, 13-11, 11-9.

Meanwhile, India went down 0-2 to top ranked and title-favourite Egypt in the quarterfinals of the girls’ event of the WSF-world junior squash championship in Eindhoven.

Debutant Nikita Joshi, who played first, tried her best but Salma Hany Ibrahim was far superior. The Egyptian won 11-5 11-6 11-2 to give Egypt the lead.

Adya Advani was pitted against the top player Habiba Mohamed and it proved a tough task for the Indian. Habiba won easily 11-3 11-5 11-3 to give Egypt the win and a place in the semi-final.

India now will play for the 5th to 8th place matches

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by PTI / August 02nd, 2015

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