Category Archives: Records, All

Gandhigram University scientists save tree from extinction

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All

Madurai :

If researchers at Gandhigram university are successful in their endeavour, the rudraksha tree, which is endemic to the Western Ghats, can soon be saved from extinction.

Researchers from the university have germinated seeds of the species ‘Elaeocarpus blascoi Weibel’ under laboratory conditions and the saplings reared by them are slowly taking root in their natural habitat of the shola forests in the Western Ghats.

According to Dr Raju Ramasubbu, professor in the department of biology at the Gandhigram Rural Institute, there are 250 species of the rudraksha tree in the world, of which 25 are found in India. Eleven of the 25 are confined to the Western Ghats, and 10 can be seen only in the Palani Hills, Dindigul district. Fruits from the subspecies ‘Elaeocarpus sphaericus’ are used as beads to make rosaries, necklaces and bracelets.

Dr Ramasubbu and his student Felix Irudhayaraj were alarmed at the fact that only a single ‘Elaeocarpus blascoi’ tree was found in the Palani hills when they undertook a study on the trees, which are on the red list of the International Union for Consevation of Nature (IUCN). The study on ‘E. blascoi’ was conducted from July 2012 to May 2014, and was published in the October 26 issue of the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’.

On reason for the tree facing extinction is that nuts take very long to germinate due to their hard cover. A mature tree takes 15 years to start flowering and grows to a height of 20 meters. This large evergreen tree was found in the Bear Shola in the Palani Hills in 1970. But another report published in 1999 said it had become extinct. Later, a lone tree was spotted in 2000.

After confirming that the species was staring at extinction, they went to the mother tree and collected seeds. Many seeds were found viable but had not germinated. Some were too old or affected by fungus, and there were no saplings near the mother tree.

The researchers took the seeds to their laboratory and were successful in germinating 80% of them. They planted four saplings that were two- and-a-half months old in an isolated spot in its natural habitat and are happy with the way they are growing. “We visit the spot twice a month and check their growth,” Dr Ramasubbu said.

The researchers collected tissue from the shoots of the mother tree and are culturing them. If successful, they plan to plant more trees in their natural habitat as it aids seed germination, which would help remove the species from the IUCN ‘red list’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / November 12th, 2014

Death centenary of a Dravidian leader

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies, Uncategorized

 

Pandit Iyothee Thass / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Pandit Iyothee Thass / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
He had his roots in The Nilgiris: Nilgiri Documentation Centre

The Kotagiri based Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC) has pointed out that 2014 marks the death centenary of a pioneering Dravidian leader who had his roots in the Nilgiris.

Stating that not many are aware of this, NDC Director Dharmalingam Venugopal has in a statement issued here on Wednesday pointed out that Pandit Iyothee Thass (1845-1914), who was born in Coimbatore, was brought up in the English household of George Harrington in Ooty. His father worked for the Harringtons. Thass was originally named Kathavarayan.

Tamil scholarThass became a well known Siddha practitioner and Tamil scholar with expertise in the traditional knowledge on astrology and palm-leaf manuscript reading. In 1870, Thass founded Adhvaidhananda Sabha in Ooty. In 1891, he established an organisation called the Dravida Mahajana Sabha, and organised the first conference at Ooty. In that conference, 10 resolutions were passed including the one on enacting a criminal law to punish those who humiliated untouchables, creating separate schools and providing scholarships for matriculation education for untouchable children; providing employment for educated untouchables, and representation for untouchables in District Boards and Municipal Boards.

In 1898, Thass visited Sri Lanka and converted himself to Buddhism under the influence of Colonel Olcott of Theosophical Society and founded ‘The Sakya Buddhist Society’ at Royapettah, Madras. In 1907, Thass launched his journal ‘Oru Paisa Tamilan’ as an organ of this organisation.

After a year the name was changed to ‘Tamilan’. It was edited, published and owned by Thass. The average circulation of the weekly was 500. The ‘Tamilan’ is considered the most renowned journal in Dalit print history because of its rich content and ideology.

In 1881, when the colonial Government planned to carry out the second census, Thass gave a memorandum to the Government requesting that the people of depressed classes in Tamil speaking land should be considered as Adi-Tamilar and not as Hindus.

Thass died in 1914. The institute for Siddha Research in Chennai is named after him.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Udhagamandalam – November 13th, 2014

CIBA’s experiment on mullet proves a success

Business & Economy, Nature, Records, All

MulletANDHRA13nov2014

The cultivation period of the fish, which is considered an alternative variety to shrimp, was brought down from one year to barely seven months

The Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai, in collaboration with Nagayalanka-based progressive farmer has scripted a success story by bringing down the cultivation period of Gold Mullet (Liza Parsia) and Grey Mullet (Mugil Cephalus) fish with the help of ‘formulated feed’.

The feed was developed by the CIBA and tested for the first time in Nagayalanka in Andhra Pradesh in the country. The cultivation period of the fish, which is considered an alternative variety to shrimp, was brought down from one year to barely seven months, drawing the attention of the worried shrimp farmers.

On Wednesday, CIBA Principal Scientists K. Ambasankar and J. Syama Dayal came with up their findings following harvesting of the mullet species on an acre of pond here.

The seed grown in the pond was collected from estuary and brackish water canals.

“Findings of our research on cultivation of the spices indicate disease free and high rate of survival of the seed, apart from very low input cost,” Mr. Syama Dayal told The Hindu. However, the CIBA scientists experimented on these two species in their quest to come out with alternative to the shrimp, which was driving the farmer into irreparable loss in recent years.

Experiment

“The experiment on Liza Parsia and Mugil Cephalus in abandoned ponds where earlier shrimp was cultivated is a way for those failed to reap profits in shrimp cultivation. Farmers have already begun slowly inquiring about details such as input cost,” said Mr. Ambasankar.

Beyond expectations

According to Raghu Sekhar who cultivated the fish in his pond, growth of the mullet species was beyond expectations, wooing other farmers to try their luck. “No disease is found during the seven-month cultivation period, withstanding changes in the weather and the soil of the pond,” added Mr. Sekhar.

Given the market value for value added to the Mullet Roe (egg) of the species, European countries and Japan are importing it in a large scale.

On the other hand, the CIBA was engaged in developing seed of the mullet species by the end 2016, according to scientists.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Nagayalanka – November 13th, 2014

Chennai historian sets off on trail of Tanjore Marathas

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

Chennai :

In October 1677, Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji paid a visit incognito to the Kalikambal temple in George Town, supposedly while contemplating an attack on the British forces. He came, he saw, he prayed, though he never did conquer.

“He finally decided against fighting,” said historian and archaeologist Dr S Suresh, Tamil Nadu State convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), who will give a talk on the Art and Architecture of the Tanjore Marathas for the Chennai chapter of the organisation on Wednesday, at Amethyst, a cafe and shop in Royapettah.

A few years before Shivaji’s visit, his half-brother Venkaji had made travelled to Tanjore to sort out a succession issue among the Nayak rulers. “Venkaji pitted one against the other and took charge of the kingdom, establishing the Tanjore Maratha dynasty in the south in 1676,” said Suresh, who completed his second PhD on the Marathas.

Several Maratha families also came to the south and settled in Tanjore, Vellore and Chennai. “Over the years, they developed their own culture and language, which is very different from the Mumbai Marathis,” he said. “Today’s Tanjore Marathis speak a dialect, which is completely different from Marathi.”

Suresh will also be releasing a book on the history of the Tanjore Marathas, a clan that had been ignored in most Indian history books. “They contributed to the art, architecture and culture of south India in a number of ways, but most of that is forgotten,” he said.

“They never destroyed an enemy’s building, but preserved and expanded them, always using the same material used in the existing structure,” said Suresh, citing the example of the Tanjore Big Temple in which the Marathas added a sub-shrine dedicated to Lord Nataraja.

“The Marathas ordinarily used brick to build their temples. But here they used stone for the sub-shrine because that was what was used in the rest of the temple. No one can tell the sub-shrine was added later.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai , TNN /  September 24th, 2014

Historian brings Dutch history in Chennai to life

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

Chennai :

The sombre surrounds of the Tamil Nadu Archives are at home with history, their halls accustomed to quiet scholarship. But on Tuesday afternoon, history leaped off the pages as Dr Bauke van der Pol, Dutch cultural anthropologist, introduced a full house to his recent book, The Dutch East India Company in India. His scholarship studies the trade links between the Netherlands and India, beginning with the 16th century and petering out in the 19th.

It was the archives’ first public address after four years, the institution being a vital resource for Dr Pol’s research. In fact it was the Dutch embassy that helped the state archives preserve and digitize its Dutch papers, which can be accessed on the website of the National Archives of Netherlands, albeit in Dutch.

Back in Egmore, Dr Pol’s presentation opened with a monogram of The United Dutch East India Company, whose acronym in Dutch (VOC) is said to be the oldest trademark of a multinational. Evidence of the trademark can be found across India, in the still-standing monuments of former Dutch settlements like Kochi, Chinsurah, Nagapattinam and Sadras. “India has a longer relationship with the Dutch than America does,” Dr Pol said.

The first Dutchman arrived in India in 1568, but trade ties were first established in 1604, when on November 11, Admiral Setven van der Hagen landed in Malabar to sign a defence and trade treaty with the Zamorin of Kozhikode. The Dutch East India Company had been established two years before this in 1602.

Although Madras was not a Dutch settlement, its neighbouring Pulicat was a stronghold; the best surviving evidence of this is the Dutch cemetery. “People presumed pirates were buried there because of the skull and skeleton carvings,” says Dr Pol, who had to enlighten people about the features of 18th century cemetery design.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Joeanna Rebello Fernandes, TNN / November 12th, 2014

Chennai’s graves to figure in WW I commemoration events

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Chennai :

The government of India is planning a four-year-long celebration of the centenary of World War 1 (1914-1918) and Chennai, with its three Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites, will definitely feature in the commemorative events, says CWGC India office manager Naresh Kalra.

“This is the first of the four-year celebrations, which will go on till 2018. The CWGC sites in New Delhi, Pune, and Chennai are on the map for the celebrations although dates and events have not yet been finalised. This is a defence and diplomatic exercise and is coordinated by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India,” said Kalra, adding that the celebrations, whether at the CWGC sites or elsewhere, are coordinated by the Ministry of Defence.

In Chennai, the three CWGC cemeteries are at Nandambakkam (the largest), set up in 1952, the second within St Mary’s Church cemetery (one acre with 123 graves) and the third at St Patrick’s Church cemetery (5 graves).

“There are no graves in any of the three CWGC sites here for the Indian soldiers who died in the first or second world wars. We only have the graves of the British who served in the Indian army. We have a World War 1 memorial wall listing the names of 1,039 British soldiers and 25 graves. The rest of the graves are for soldiers of World War II,” said N Rajarajan, who has been in charge of the CWGC graves in Chennai for 23 years.

He added that the only war memorial in the city that honours soldiers who fought the world wars and other wars was at Island grounds. “It is maintained by the government of India and not CWGC,” said Rajarajan.

While the Government of India is getting its events in order, Rajarajan says plans are afoot to finally get a proper drainage system at the Nandambakkam cemetery. “Up until 2002, we used to hold the Remembrance Day ceremony (usually the second week of November) here at Nandambakkam but had to change the venue to St Mary’s Church because of the flooding. Hopefully, the new drainage system will help,” he said.

On Sunday, November 9, about a hundred diplomats, army personnel and residents of the city gathered at St Mary’s Church to commemorate Remembrance Day, in honour of those who fell in the two world wars. “We had the customary prayer, wreath-laying and bugle service,” said Rajarajan.

More than one million Indian soldiers served overseas, in different theatres, during World War 1.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai, TNN / November 11th, 2014

Thematic prehistoric park to come up in Poondi soon

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
Student sculptors are making life-sized fibre structures of extinct animals using clay and fibre — Photo: Special Arrangement
Student sculptors are making life-sized fibre structures of extinct animals using clay and fibre — Photo: Special Arrangement

A group of student-sculptors and staff of Government Fine Arts College, Kumbakonam, are busy giving final touches to life-sized fibre structures of extinct animals, including mammoths, bison, wild cat and nilgai, that roamed Chennai city and its outskirts, about one lakh years ago.

They are working towards setting up a thematic prehistoric park on a protected site in Poondi, next month.

“Making such life-size objects is a challenge. As students, it’s great learning for us,” said J. Gunasekar, a first-year student in the department of sculpture.

Except a four-legged dinosaur, which will be 12 feet tall, the rest of the models of extinct animals will be around six feet in height.

An interesting feature of the park will be a realistic scene of a group of five prehistoric men trying to hunt down a bison with flakes and other stone tools, which can be seen even now.

“Like extinct animals, the hunting sequence is also based on findings and evidence of prehistoric man found in the region by archaeologists over the years. Most of the raw materials, like fibre, have been sourced from Coimbatore and Puducherry,” said B.R. Ravi, senior lecturer at the college’s department of paintings. Funded by the Department of Arts and Culture, the park will be set up at a cost of Rs. 15 lakh. Initially, the models will be made of clay and later with fibre to give definite shape and durability.

“On an average, it takes at least five days to complete a clay model, and up to a fortnight to do fibre models. The project will be completed next month,” said N. Manohar, principal of the college.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by P. Madhavan / Chennai – November 09th, 2014

Former IAS officer V. Sundaram passes away

Business & Economy, Leaders, Records, All

V. Sundaram, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who became prominent after his controversial stand on the coal import issue in the early 1990s, died at his residence in Chennai in the early hours of Friday after a brief illness.

He was 72. He is survived by three daughters.

A native of Tiruchi, Mr. Sundaram was a post-graduate in economics from the Delhi University. He briefly worked in the University before joining the IAS in 1965 at the age of 23 years.

He served as Collector of the undivided Tirunelveli in the mid-1970s and subsequently, became the first Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust.

source: http: thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 07th, 2014

Injury to Revival, the Joshna Way

Records, All, Sports
Squash stars Dipika Pallikal (centre) and Joshna Chinappa (left) being felicitated by the federation in Chennai on Friday | P JAWAHAR
Squash stars Dipika Pallikal (centre) and Joshna Chinappa (left) being felicitated by the federation in Chennai on Friday | P JAWAHAR

Chennai :

Injuries are not always career stalling, though it’s an aberration than rule. While many eventually concede to the overwhelming reality that their career would never be revived, some just pick themselves and return recalibrated.

There wouldn’t be a better example in Indian sport than Sachin Tendulkar, who in his career that spanned a remarkable quarter century defied intermittent spells of career-threatening injuries. Joshna Chinappa is no Tendulkar, whichever sporting yardstick you measure them with, but like the master she has turned a career-threatening injury into a springboard to rediscovering herself.

It was in mid 2012 that she sprained her ankle midway through a match. She was stretchered off, and the doctors confirmed her worst nightmare that she wouldn’t be able to play the game she had given her heart, body and soul. An anterior cruciate ligament seemed to have laid her path out of the game.

The World No 21 returned to India heartbroken. “A lot of doctors, even in the US, told me that I won’t be able to play squash again. I couldn’t even think of it. All my dreams, aspiration and hopes seemed over. I didn’t know quite what to do and I used to cry a lot every day. It was the toughest phase of my life,” she said.

But misery, sometimes, has the strange power to embolden you, and Joshna decided to fire-fight the cruel destiny. “I was 26 and I knew it was now or never. If I don’t recover now, I may never play squash again. I didn’t want to regret later in life. So I decided to give one last shot. The knee was operated and the rehabilitation began,” she recounted.

Suddenly, life, despite the screeching pain on her ankle, turned more pleasant. And a chance meeting with former national champion Ritwik Bhattacharya turned her life around. “I was doing my rehab in Mumbai when I bumped into Ritwik and his wife. I told them about my situation. They infused the belief that I could come back stronger. To convince me, they had to counsel, cajole and event taunt me.”

Gradually, life limped back to normalcy. “It took me almost 10 months to get back on to the court. But I didn’t hurry my return. It was like starting the career all over again and gradually my movements became more fluent. The confidence was back. But in the first six months, I kept losing. But I was just happy to be back on the court,” she reflected.

In hindsight, the injury proved career-defining. “Now I feel it’s the best thing to have happened to me. Maybe, it gave me a much-needed break. It made me value my life and career all the more,” she said.

Maybe, it’s this newfound positivity that has revitalised her game. Subsequently, she went on to script history with Dipika Pallikal in the Commonwealth Games, besides the team silver in Asian Games and achieving her career-high ranking of 19 in April.

Joshna’s story can motivate injury-plagued athletes, but it comes with a statutory warning: only for those strong in mind.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by Sandeep G. / November 01st, 2014

‘Friends, we are looking for you’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
One for the album: A group photo of one section of the 1965 SSLC batch. / by Special Arrangement
One for the album: A group photo of one section of the 1965 SSLC batch. / by Special Arrangement

Students of the 1965 batch of P.S. High School are scouring the city for their old buddies.

The 1965 SSLC batch of P.S. High School, Mylapore, has understood the spirit of reunions, which is about honouring old ties. A small group of these old students are leaving no stone unturned in finding out the whereabouts of the rest of their friends from the batch.

This group, which is on the job, has the contact details of only 40. Not a happy number, considering the batch had eight sections with 250 students. As the reunion is scheduled for January, 2015, they don’t have much time left to trace the rest of them.

“Target setting is the order of the day and each of us has to locate four to five classmates,” says M.S. Sundararajan, former chairman and managing director of Indian Bank, who is the president of the old students committee.

Some of the batch mates at a recent get-together. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Some of the batch mates at a recent get-together. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

The goal is to locate 100 to 150 classmates before the reunion, planned to be coducted on the school founder’s day. Currently, the majority of the 40 identified batchmates are from ‘B’ section and the committee is looking for at least two people from the other sections who can help with the contacts of the others.

Sundararajan, a resident of Ambujammal Street at Alwarpet, says he is excited at the idea of the entire batch meeting after 50 years. He vividly remembers Sivaraman Street, where a few of his classmates used to come from. He plans to revisit the area in search of his friends.

K. Muralidharan, who created the pages on social networking sites to connect with the old friends, has little hope of locating people through Facebook or Twitter. “It looks like not many of my batchmates are tech-savvy. I have therefore decided to go to various streets,” he says.

Recently, he went to Luz Street and tried to get details of a few from a stationery store. “Some even shy away from attending the reunion for various reasons,” he said.

Not many of the teachers who taught the batch are alive, so the reunion will be a success only if a good number of old students turn up.

A souvenir has been planned for the occasion. To get in touch with the group, call Muralidharan at 98840 27239 or email jhamuna@gmail.com