V. Mohan, chairman and chief diabetologist of Dr. Mohan’s Specialities Centre, has published 870 research papers in high-impact journals and textbooks — Photo: Bijoy Ghosh / The Hindu
The Fellowship of The World Academy of Sciences was recently conferred upon city-based diabetologist V. Mohan.
This is one of the most prestigious science awards and is conferred annually on top scientists in various disciplines, globally, according to a press release.
Dr. Mohan, chairman and chief diabetologist of Dr. Mohan’s Specialities Centre, has published 870 research papers in high-impact journals and textbooks and his work has received 23,813 citations till date.
He is one of the few practising medical doctors in the world to be conferred this prestigious fellowship, a press release said.
The award was presented to him at the 25th general meeting of The World Academy of Sciences held in Muscat on October 27.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / Chennai – November 02nd, 2014
Social activist Padma Venkatraman, who has associated herself with leprosy patients for the last 30 years, was awarded the Vocational Excellence Award by the Rotary Club of Adyar recently.
Speaking on the occasion, Padma said that it was a great honour to receive the award from Rotary. “I am privileged to receive the award from Rotary. I want to bring hope in the lives of those affected by leprosy. They have come a long way from being social outcasts and now they are slowly being accepted,” she said. “The leprosy afflicted are training in several vocational skills and are being given opportunity to take up various jobs, creating different products.
In fact, there is an artist colony from where their paintings are sent all over the world,” she added. Rtn T Sathish, secretary, Rotary Club of Adyar, proposed a formal vote of thanks on the occasion.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 01st, 2014
Two idols and copper plates with inscriptions were excavated during the renovation work at the Srirangam temple on Tuesday.
The 10.45 crore renovation work led to the findings near the Parthsarathy temple, where the labourers were working for the past few days. While digging a platform near the temple, the workers found the idols and plates. They immediately alerted HR and CE authorities. According to the joint commissioner of HR & CE P Jayaraman, a two- feet idol of Chandrashekarar and another idol of Lord Ganesha in a dancing position were excavated. A set of copper plates with inscriptions were also found near the spot. Jayaraman said,
“We have no idea about the type and make of the idols. We have alerted ASI authorities, who would be able provide more details on the idols.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / October 08th, 2014
Members of the G.D.Naidu family with the Stoll family of Esslingen, Germany, during a celebration of the 75th year of friendship between the two families, in Coimbatore. Photo:K.Ananthan / The Hindu
What makes the bonding between the two families significant is that it has expanded to become a relationship between two cities (Coimbatore and Esslingen) and two countries
It was September of 1939 and Europe faced the Second World War. Forty- six-year-old Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu from Coimbatore was on a business trip to Germany and was at Holzmaden, Esslingen. He had no place to stay or get vegetarian food and spent a night under the open sky.
Berta Stoll, wife of Gottlieb Stoll, saw G.D. Naidu and invited him to their home, which was nearby. Naidu stayed with the Stoll family for four or five days, cooked his own food with vegetables picked from their garden and thus began the story of a friendship, which has lasted for 75 years, between the two families.
A few years after his visit to Germany, when businesses were down in that country and there were no buyers for German products, Mr. Naidu wrote to his friends the world over, recommending Festo products from the company of the Stolls.
What makes the bonding between the two families significant is that in the last seven-and-a-half decades, it has expanded to become a relationship between two cities (Coimbatore and Esslingen) and the two countries.
About 20 members of the Stoll family are here on a five-day visit. The second, third and fourth generations of the two families — Stoll and G.D. Naidu- gathered in the city on Sunday to celebrate 75 years of their friendship.
Members of the two families recollected the visits to India and Germany, their education and early days of work at each other’s factories, exchanged gifts and cut a cake.
There is a proposal to twin Coimbatore and Esslingen and the Esslingen Coimbatore Association has been formed. Over the years, the Stolls have also contributed to institutes and hospitals here.
“The Stoll family is into water conservation and research on waste water treatment. We can work together for water conservation and waste water treatment projects here,” says Vanitha Mohan, Managing Trustee of Siruthuli.
According to Coimbatore Mayor P. Rajkumar, cooperation between Esslingen and Coimbatore will help in technology transfer and exchange of ideas. The Mayor of Esslingen is expected to visit Coimbatore next year and efforts are on to have an agreement between the two cities.
“The common interests and value systems have strengthened the friendship between the two families over the years and the friendship has made Coimbatore attractive to them, says a member of the G.D. Naidu family.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by M. Soundariya Preetha / Coimbatore – October 29th, 2014
The screening of Kreuzer Emden was an opportunity for the audience to reflect on the shared artistic traditions of India and Germany — Photo: M. Srinath / The Hindu
Despite the rain and slushy roads, film and history buffs turned up in good numbers to watch the 1932 German war film, Kreuzer Emden, directed by Louis Ralph, at Woodlands theatre in Royapettah on Sunday morning.
The film is about the various missions of SMS Emden, a German warship, which bombed Madras on September 22, 1914, and its eventual destruction at the hands of an Australian warship, HMAS Sydney.
The screening, which was organised jointly by German Consulate General, Chennai and members of the Indo-Cine Appreciation Foundation, was preceded by a welcome address by Achin Fabig, consul general, and a short talk by Professor A.R. Venkatachalapathy from the Madras Institute of Development Studies, who provided the historical context.
“The screening of the film does not aim to further understand the role played by the Emden in World War I or to even glorify it. It takes a critical approach to the attack,” said Mr. Fabig.
Drawing attention to how the film’s cinematographer Josef Wirsching went on to work in several Hindi feature films in Bombay, he said that Indians and Germans also seem to have shared artistic traditions.
Professor Venkatachalapathy began his talk by bemoaning the fact that Indians care too little for history. “We understand war as something spectacular and tend to glorify it. India has been lucky not to have experienced destruction of such scale,” he said.
Speaking about the Emden, Professor Venkatachalapathy said that it symbolised the ascendancy of Germany on the seas, which had previously been dominated by England. “Within months of attacking Madras, it managed to pass into popular culture. It is today a part of local parlance,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – October 27th, 2014
Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna will receive the award on on September 25 at The Music Academy during the Navaratri season.
Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna has been chosen for the fifth Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal and Concert.
The fifth Indira Sivasailam Endowment Concert will be held at The Music Academy in Chennai on September 25 during the Navaratri season.
The artist is selected by a panel comprising members from the Endowments Committee of The Music Academy and Ms. Mallika Srinivasan (Chairman – TAFE Limited), daughter of late A. Sivasailam (Former Chairman – Amalgamations Limited) and late Indira Sivasailam.
Every year, the Indira Sivasailam Endowment Fund recognizes an outstanding Carnatic musician based on an established set of criteria.
The Indira Sivasailam Foundation was established by Ms. Mallika Srinivasan in the memory of her mother, whose deep-rooted conviction was to uphold and promote India’s rich heritage by preserving and propagating its various art forms.
“Mr. T. M. Krishna, who describes himself quite simply as “a singer”, occupies a distinct place in the sphere of Carnatic music for the stunning individuality of his renditions. Trained by distinguished gurus, Mr. B. Seetharama Sarma and Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Mr. T. M. Krishna has a firm footing in tradition, without being owned by it. Singing with a musical veracity that goes back to centuries, he presents a musical imagination that unfolds in the present. Among one of the most widely travelled musicians, Mr. Krishna has reinforced the Carnatic musical legacy among its cognoscenti, and also introduced its magnificence to new audiences across continents,’’ says a release.
Since 2010, renowned musicians such as Ms. Sudha Ragunathan, Mr. Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Ms. Aruna Sairam and Ms. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath have been conferred this honour.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review> Music / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – August 25th, 2014
Army’s Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area (ATNK and K Area) marked the 68th Infantry Day with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the Victory War Memorial here on Monday.
Lieutenant General Jagbir Singh, General Officer Commanding of the ATNK and K Area, led the ceremony by paying homage to soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation.
October 27 is observed as the Infantry Day by the Army as it was on this day in 1947 that a company of infantry of the first battalion of the Sikh Regiment was airlifted from Delhi to Srinagar to liberate Kashmir from the invading tribals who were supported by the Pakistan army.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Ekatha Ann John , TNN / October 08th, 2014
The third unit of Mettur Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) made its mark in the history of Tamil Nadu thermal power plant on Monday. It has been running continuously for 312 days since December 12, 2013, and has produced 210 megawatt (MW) of power per day. The previous record was of 311 days by the fourth unit of the same plant.
The Tamil Nadu government has constructed a new thermal power plant at a cost of 3,550 crore producing 600 MW of power along with the existing four thermal plants which will produce 840 MW (4X210MW) of power in Mettur. The Mettur Dam’s hydroelectric units produced 1,000 MW on an average every day out of the state’s total hydro generation capacity of 3683.40 MW. Power will usually be generated during the Cauvery delta irrigation spell from June 12 to January 28. However, since 2013, the water level in the Stanley Reservoir has been high. “Three years ago, water level was very low in the dam. Due to heavy downpour in Karnataka, the dam crossed 100 ft mark in the last two years. So we have got plenty of water for power production,” a senior engineer from MTPP told TOI.
Most of the times, power production in any one of the MTPP would be stopped due to technical snag. Sometimes, the production will suffer due to low availability of coal blocks. “Battling all these issues, we have been running the third unit continuously for 312 days,” the engineer said. According to him, the 600 MW new fifth unit started generating power from march 2012 while the other four units of 210 MW each function in a phased manner. “All the four units are operated whenever there is a demand for excess power in the state. Last year our state had acute power shortage and all the four units started its functions alternately to generate 480 MW. The water level in the dam also supported us and we have realised maximum power generation in all the four units along with the 600 MW unit,” the engineer said.
Officials from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) felicitated all the employees of MTPP on Monday for running the third unit without any technical fault.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / October 21st, 2014
S Swaminathan, Director, Center for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB) of SASTRA University has been selected for the Young Career Award in Nano Science and Technology for 2015, instituted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
The Young Career Award will be presented to him in January 2015 during the Nano India Meet along with Dr P S Anil Kumar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore who is the other selected for this award. CeNTAB has been involved in the research on the development of novel three-dimensional polymeric nanofibre scaffolds for tissue engineering of skin, cardiovascular arteries and nerve regeneration using aligned and random nanofibres.
Swaminathan received his Ph D from Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, and his thesis on bone tissue engineering was nominated for the Best Dissertation Award. Swaminathan was the recipient of Materials Research Society of India Medal for 2009 and has also received the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award from the Department of Biotechnology in 2006.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / October 27th, 2014
Fencer CA Bhavani Devi, who won the silver medal in the U-23 Asian Fencing Championships, was felicitated by the Tamil Nadu Fencing Association recently.
The Washermanpet resident wants to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics
C.A. Bhavani Devi, a resident of Washermanpet, has been winning medals at the International level quite consistently.
Recently, the 20-year-old won a silver medal in the sabre category of the Asian u-23 fencing championship in Philippines. Though blessed with a fantastic touch and control in a sport that is yet to get any recognition in India, Bhavani’s major problem has been sponsorship.
She has quite a few events—World Cup (USA), Asian Championship (China) and World Championship (Hungary) coming up and the Chennai girl is desperately scouting for funding.
Bhavani now trains in Kerala, but hopes that the Tamil Nadu Government will recognise her achievements and guide her in her dream of competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Bhavani was felicitated by W.I. Davaram, president, Tamil Nadu Olympic Assocation, recently.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Special Correspondent / October 25th, 2014
