The tenth consecutive year of the annual vintage car rally was held in style as about seventy vintage and classic cars trundled at Ooty’s main square on Saturday. The participants along with the audience thronged to gaze the old beauties. The rally organized by the Nilgiri Vintage and Classic Cars Association is being held in the hill resort.
The city sported an imperial look with 70 cars and 20 two-wheelers of the vintage era majestically toured across the town to YWCA Anandhagiri ground near Ooty main bus stand.
The number of cars witnessed this year at the show rose from 50 last year. Exclusives of the show included 1931 Baby Austin, 1946 make Wolsley, Austin, Dodge, Cowley, an American Ford Jeep, ‘Low Bonnet’ which was a part of the World War II, and MG TB make of 1939.
While Low Bonnet appeared in Vijai’s ‘Kuruvi’, MG TB, owned by AVM production, appeared in Rajini’s ‘Shivaji’. Out of seventy, over thirty-five vintage participants drove from Chennai, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Namakkal and Erode and the rest from Bangalore and Cochin.
1946 make Wolsley which was on display once belonged to the Mysore Maharaja. His collection also includes a 1954 Plymouth and a 1954 Austin both once owned by J R D Tata of which Plymouth was the car Tata used for his personal use.
R Rajnikanth, president of the Nilgiri Vintage Car Association, who has an alluring collection of 9 cars, including a van, Dodge Kingsway and Austin said, “Maintaining vintage cars is not expensive. It can run around 50 to 60km per month,” adding that only the tyres are to be imported as other parts of the car are in good condition.
Among the members in the Nilgiris Vintage and Classic Car Association, he has the highest number of cars.
Conversing further about his passion, he added, “Vintage cars can run for about 100 years. The oldest I have is ‘Baby Austin’ which is 79 years old. It can run comfortably for another 25 years.”
Apart from individual collectors, the Defence Service Staff College (DSSC), Wellington too owns high end vintage luxury cars such as Plymouth Savoy (1957) and a Mercedes Benz 200 (1967) which served many dignitaries including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and former President Abdul Kalam during their visit to the summer retreat and still continues to serve the top officials of the DSSC.
The vintage car association awards its winners. The show is partially sponsored by TaxiTaxi, a rental car concern.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / May 27th, 2015
The intention was to get chatty about cheese. But the conversation veered off to reveal how Kodaikanal’s best known family for producing cheese is famous for a lot more
You will never get it wrong while visiting the Manis in Kodaikanal. A visit to their home is invariably greeted with the ‘eat cheese’ welcome! The plate loaded with rusk and toasts topped with the ‘Kodai Cheese’, the brand they are reputed for, lay in front of me temptingly through the interview. And honestly, the ‘cheese content’ of the assignment remained restricted only to eating. For, when you are sitting with the two ladies of the family – Lalitha Mani and Janani Harisanker, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo – you can only hear and see how they share their homes, lives and hearts with animals, patients and people in general.
The business of cheese is of course managed by Lalitha’s husband G.S.Mani and her son Harisanker. And both are mostly away at their newly established factory in Batlagundu (see box). But it is this dynamic pair of saas-bahu making news more often in Kodaikanal. They are either chasing tourists who make the Kodi roads dirty or rescuing stray animals from the streets or ensuring good medical care of patients in the hospital started by them.
Lalitha Mani and Janai Harisanker. / Special Arrangement
And when they are not doing social service, they are either landscaping their gardens or playing golf. Lailtha and Janani connect so well that you fall in love with them when they say, you can drop the ‘in-law’ bit from our relationship. “We are like mother and daughter,” they echo, asserting on the beautiful relationship.
Janai Harisanker with Pebbles. Photo: Special Arrangement
When Chennai-bred Janani wedded into the Mani family seven years ago, she was not sure whether her in-laws would be happy with her role as a silent volunteer for the Blue Cross, the 55-year-old animal welfare organisation based out of Chennai. She was even more upset when her mother told her that her adopted stray dog Pebbles, was missing her and refusing to eat. With much trepidation she checked with her mom-in-law if she could bring Pebbles over to Kodaikanal for a few days.
“Pebbles is your dowry we will happily accept,” Lalitha told her newly-wedded daughter-in-law. That one line not only changed the relationship between the two women forever but it also made Pebbles a permanent resident of Kodaikanal.
“Amma has an amazing way of dealing with people and is extremely supportive where she sees something good,” says Janani fondly about her mother-in-law. Lalitha returns it with, “And Janani is very friendly and caring”. But these are not just complimentary words for each other. They go much beyond in action.
Just a few days ago, says Lalitha, while returning from work we saw people in the car ahead of us throwing chips wrappers out of the window. “We stopped and picked up the empty packets, overtook the car, handed over the packets back to them with the request that they should properly dispose them off,” narrates Lalitha. “And we both are pretty well known in the town for doing this,” laughs Janani.
Though they are often referred to as the “dynamites of Kodi”, Lalitha worries about when people will ever learn to be responsible by themselves. The duo distributes garbage bins and bags to various agencies in the hill town and also places them at strategic locations in the heavily crowded tourist hotspot. But look at Kodi, rues Lalitha, how dirty it has become. She came post-marriage in the Seventies and finds it difficult to digest how the idyllic town with flowing streams has been reduced to such a trash spot.
For her own peace, she along with her husband does the landscaping of her properties and much to her delight has found her daughter-in-law sharing the same interest. Janani being the quintessential nature lover and environmentalist is a student of urban architecture and of late has been doing projects in Coimbatore and Kodaikanal, particularly the villa properties. “I never encourage any exotic species of flora or fauna but only promote and integrate the locally known birds, animals and trees for perfect harmony with the territory and environment,” she says.
Both of them are now trying to work out a waste management proposal for Kodi in collaboration with Wasteless from Auroville. While Lalitha feels there is not much hope, Janani says, there is still a chance to save the township.
But it is her animal rescuing mission that sets Janani on a hyperactive schedule. In the last five years she has rescued 45 stray dogs and cats, all of whom have found a place either in her or Lalitha’s home, or in friend’s homes. She has attended 20-odd emergency calls and treated injured dogs, horses and cows. She practices reverse psychology with pony owners and makes them take care of their animals better.
Animal welfare works with care and compassion, not threat,” she underlines.
Both the women have also been instrumental in reviving one of the oldest units of SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals) in Kodaikanal. It was established in 1929 by the Americans and continued to work with the help of senior citizens of Kodi. But the association went defunct in 2002 following diversion of Government funds to the Dindigul unit of SPCA. So now it has been renamed Kodaikanal Protection and Care for Animals and Janani is in the forefront rescuing stray pups and kittens.
In the middle of all this when does she find time for golf? With my father-in-law laying the first organic golf course in Kodi, I could not stay away from it for long being a sportsperson, smiles Janani, already on a winning spree in various city tournaments.
Both her’s and Lalitha’s minds are cluttered with ideas to better the environment of their much loved town. “Recycling is the buzzword for everything now,” they say.
The Kodai Cheese
For four decades the “Kodai Cheese” brand has been popular for its special range and nutritious value. “We believe in creating our own brand and identity with value-added quality,” says Harisanker who now controls the business with his father G.S.Mani, who took over Kodi’s famous Cheese Factory from his father in 1977.
Harisanker./ Photo: Special Arrangement
The family has a word of mouth reputation to uphold and prides in producing boutique innovative cheese with techniques adopted from around the world.
What started from a rural village as a family-owned dairy with six suppliers in 1972 has grown in magnitude manufacturing 150 metric tonnes of cheese every year. In the beginning horse-drawn wagon collected 50 litres of milk per day, today 4,000 litres of milk goes into the making of Cheddar, Mozarella, Ricotta, the Blue cheese and the latest handmade Cambrie. The entire line is made with fresh antibiotic-free milk, experience and from authentic recipes in eco-friendly way, according to Harisanker. The whey created in the cheese making process is used for making organic compost for the entire vegetation, fodder, flowers, fruit and other trees grown on their property.
The KHMS Hospital
The Kodaikanal Health and Medical Services is a Trust formed by G.S.Mani with six other trustees to cater to the health and medical needs of the residents and visitors to Kodaikanal. The trust runs the 16-bed hospital established in 2009 and is equipped with a pathology lab for basic investigation facilities and essential facilities like the ICU, Operation Theatre, Ultrasound, X-ray machine, pharmacy and an ambulance. “The idea is to stabilise the patient here in case of an emergency before they can travel to a big hospital in Madurai or Dindigul,” says Lalitha Mani, who holds charge of administrative responsibilities. The hospital caters to 25,000 patients in a year and the treatment is highly subsidised.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Soma Basu / Madurai – May 07th, 2015
Ten-year-old city girl, Sai Kunthavi, won the silver medal at the USA Open & Junior International Cup that was held in Las Vegas from April 2 to April 5 by the USA National Karate-do Federation. Sai Kunthavi has represented the country in five other international Karate events and three other national events.
At the age of seven when Kunthavi started learning Karate just for self-defence, her master recognized her talent and asked her if she would participate in an event that was just three months away. “When she took part and won the top spot we thought we should encourage her further and she underwent professional training. She has won three GOLD medals representing the state and six at the district level since then,” said Senthil Kumar, her father who runs a logistics company.
Her masters Sensei Shanmugam and Muthuraj enrolled her for quite a few national and international events and she has always won medals in all events. “They are very sincere and dedicated which helped me pick up the art quickly,” said Kunthavi.
“Earlier I was very scared and used to cry over trivial matters. Karate has made me stronger and instilled a sense of discipline in me,” she said. Her dream is to win the GOLD at the World Karate Federation event.
“Everytime I go for these international tournaments, I learn a lot. Winners have better speed and stamina which I will work on to win the GOLD,” she said. Academically quite bright, Kunthavi wants to be a space scientist when she grows up. “I am fascinated with science and I do not miss school for anything apart from some tournaments.”
“Even though on some days we want her to miss school thinking she must be too tired, we end her dropping her to school as she gets very upset,” said S Radha, her mother.
Apart from Karate, Kunthavi has also represented the district in horse riding, swimming and aero modeling. She also learns magic, drawing and Bharatnatyam. “I love sports and I want to learn shooting and archery as well,” she said. “My role models are my Karate masters and IPS officer C Sylendra Babu.
Every time she achieves something, she asks her father for a gift. If she wins GOLD at the WKF tournament, she has requested her father to take her to the Shaolin temple in China. “I want to go to that temple and taste the water there as it is the land of Karate,” she said.
A clearly multi-talented girl, her parents said that they were proud of her and always supported her interests. “We never differentiate between her and our son and try to provide as many opportunities as possible for her to shine in life,” said Senthil Kumar.
source://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / April 12th, 2015
Here’s a question for the nerds… what do Roger Federer, Jesse Owens, Arsene Wenger, Donald Bradman and India’s Viswanathan Anand have in common?
Well, apart from all of them being connected to some sport, they all have minor planets named after them. The former World Chess Champion joined this unique club when a minor planet (4538), located roughly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, was named after him.
The newly-named minor planet, (4538 Vishyanand), was discovered by Kenzo Suzuki of Toyota, Japan, on October 10, 1988.
A staff members of Minor Planet Center, Michael Rudenko, was invited to name the object as it remained unnamed for more than 10 years. “The idea of naming a minor planet for Anand was entirely my own,” Rudenko told Express exclusively. “After careful consideration I selected him because in addition to being a great chess player he is also a gentlemen and astronomy enthusiast,” Rudenko said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Swaroop Swaminathan / April 03rd, 2015
A five-member team, including a woman, that has been paddling their fibre kayaks for six days on the scenic Gulf of Mannar Sea completed their expedition here on Sunday, doing so with the satisfaction that they have been able to educate at least some coastal communities on the need to keep beaches free of pollution and littering.
Jehan Driver, Arjun Motha, Rizwan Gani, John Suganth and Charmine Pereira from Quest Expeditions and Aqua Outback had set off from Kuntakal near Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district on Tuesday, flagged off by Ramanathapuram district collector, K Nandakumar. They were received here by Coastal Security Group (Marine Police). The team paddled for 49km a day and camped in some beach at night. “We stopped at coastal villages and talked with local people. We told them how important it was to keep their coastal environment clean and protect their resources for sustained living,” said Rizwan Gani. Jehan Driver, who led the team, explained that the objective of the expedition was to create awareness about the vast natural reserves Tamil Nadu has to offer and the sustainable practices that will keep it pristine. The expedition also aimed to promote Kayaking as a sport and let people know the importance of preserving the natural environment of the marine biosphere to encourage other sportsmen and sportswomen to practice and enjoy their non-motorised sports.
“Gulf of Mannar is a marine eco-system in the country that has remained clean till now and it should be protected. We could share this message among the people we met in the coast during our paddling. We collected more information on the beaches, besides watching pristine islets to check if there are any poaching activities. We could see that marine life is still flourishing in the region and we should protect them together,” Driver said. The team also expressed their concern about untreated sewage mixing in Gulf of Mannar waters. Based on their findings, they will prepare a report which they will submit to concerned government agencies, they said. Government agencies like Indian Coast Guard and Coastal Security Group and additional director general of police, C Sylendra Babu were of great help, they said. Having succeeded in their first venture, they plan to turn this into an annual event to keep the tradition alive.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / March 30th, 2015
National Engineering College, Kovilpatti celebrated its 31st sports day on Thursday. Nikhil Chittarasu, Commonwealth games silver medallist and high jumper, from the Southern Railway was the chief guest and declared the sports meet open. K.R.Arunachalam, Member, Managing Committee of the college presided over the meet.
Mr. Chittarasu said students should take part in sports activities along with academics. Further, he emphasised the importance of physical exercise to lead a healthy life. He also appealed to the students to work hard to achieve their desired goals.
Raghu, Director of Physical Education, presented the annual sports report and said the college team participated in events of football, volleyball, best physique, hockey, handball (women) and ball badminton (women) tournaments in Tamil Nadu Inter Engineering Sports and Games (TIES) held at Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai from January 29 to February 12 this year. S.Shanmugavel, Principal and students attended.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Tuticorin – March 29th, 2015
On the eve of the International Women’s day, the women’s football team of the Tiruvalluvar University has brought laurels to its alma mater by winning the All India inter-university football championship for the third time in succession. A jubilant vice chancellor Dr P Gunasekaran said the team has given more visibility to the university through its consistent achievement.
Members of the team were felicitated at the university on Friday and awarded a cash prize of `5,000 each and a track suit.
Team captain V Vinitha, a student of first year MA at St Joseph College in Cuddalore, affiliated to the Tiruvalluvar University, said 16 teams from all the four zones from India had participated in the tournament, hosted by the Hindu Banaras University in Mirshabad between February 26 and March 3.
Team coach Mariappan a former National football player, said three girls — Indumathi, Sumithra and Vinitha — have been selected to play for the Indian football team.
Director of Physical Education Dr Amaldas recalled that the team won the championship for the first time in 2012-13, which helped the university achieve the much-awaited 12 B Status.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by Express News Service / March 07th, 2015
Sam Paul at Jonah’s goes to Japan. Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu
From educational institutions and restaurants to gyms and styling salons, Sam Paul has ventured into a slew of businesses. The city businessman tells why he’s always looking for new frontiers to conquer.
There are two men, employed by Sam Paul, who look after newspaper clippings.
Every morning, Sam wakes up at 7, fits in an hour of exercise and then, sits down to scan the local papers. Since 2004, from the first mention of the launch of Casa Piccola in Chennai, he’s collected about 500 news clippings of himself. He often makes it to the papers for something or the other; news about the latest Toni & Guy store launch, party pictures, involvement in charity activities and social, news about his acting venture in the upcoming movie Patra… even the smallest mention, he clips, files, indexes and laminates. “We need some cheap thrills, no?” laughs Sam.
The reason he values these clippings and takes such care in making sure they are preserved is because, he says, he treasures the recognition and appreciation that comes his way. “This is achievement! I am well-heeled — I own a house, I drive a Porsche. I have good people working for me. What else do I need?”
Sam, who has been the reason for the arrival of many big brands in the city, schooled here. He holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Engineering and followed it up with a doctorate from College of Engineering, Guindy. He started working with his father, helping manage educational institutions owned by the family, had many grand business ideas which his father disagreed to and eventually, was asked to leave home for being too rebellious.
Relentless, Sam worked to prove himself, sleeping on the floor of his friend’s place in the meantime. Using the money he earned, and then some, he opened Casa Piccola in 2004, which was all the rage those days. “I just wanted to show my father that I was capable of earning my own money. But from there to where I am right now, it’s all God’s grace. Nothing else.”
Over a decade later, he has chiselled an identity for himself as a restaurateur in Chennai. He manages Crimson Chakra, Haagen-Dazs and Jonah’s Bistro. His latest, Jonah’s goes to Japan, in collaboration with Momoyama, introduces an Asian twist to the existing European menu designed by ‘MADChef’ Kaushik. “Right now, I’m tripping on Japanese,” grins Sam.
At the launch of the restaurant, Sam bustles about, greeting old friends and making new ones. He’s a people’s person; no doubt about it. He says he has the knack to identify the right ones too. “My greatest asset is that my staff have remained with me… it’s important to have the right people,” says Sam, adding that the same men who worked at Casa Piccola are cooking up a storm in Jonah’s kitchen too.
As the dishes stream out, Sam talks about the peasant origins of the beef goulash, fusses over the amount of fish in the seafood broth and insists that the chicken parmigiana would pair better with mashed potato, as opposed to spaghetti. “I’ve been doing this since 2004, you start to know a little by now,” chuckles the foodie.
This, however, is not all that he knows. In 2010, sometime in between opening new restaurants, managing educational institutions and being responsible for the mushrooming of Toni & Guy outlets in the city, he got bored of all that he was doing and bounded off to study law at the Government Law College. “I was 32 years old at that time, and I sat with these boys who were 18-19 years old and studied for three years. In fact, I got debarred for six months for not having enough attendance,” laughs Sam. He now practises law at the High Court and works with N. Chandrasekaran, Special Public Prosecutor for CBI cases.
That hardly confines him from juggling other things though: Sam just acted in a film and is producing another. He’s looking to do some celebrity DJing born out of a love for music and the request of a few friends. Keeping in line with body building titles that Sam won when he was in University, he launched a new project last month — Slam, the fitness studio. He is further looking to expand the Jonah’s brand and working to bring Doner Kebab to India, because, he says, “I am very particular about my kebabs.”
“That’s the greatest thing in life: to be able to do what you want. If I want to do something, I just have to think of the way to do it professionally… it’s all about God’s grace and having the right people by your side.” smiles the 37-year-old.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Raveena Joseph / March 03rd, 2015
Not all players who have played cricket in the country can claim to have experienced the diverse ethos of two prominent centres of the game in the south -Madras and Hyderabad. V Ramnarayan belongs to this rare breed. Brought up in Madras, Ramnarayan’s professional commitments took him to Hyderabad. He went on to represent Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy.
Hailing from a family with its share of cricketers, it didn’t take long for Ramnarayan to be smitten by the g ame. He grew up admiring of fspinner Jim Laker and R a m n a r ay a n too chose to take up the craft the illus trious Englishman excelled in. “By the time I was 16, I found a liking for it (offspin) and continued to pursue it,” says the 67-year-old.He recalls an incident where Venkatraman, physical director of Vivekananda College, overlooked him for the college team. “Later, when I did well against Vivekananda College while representing Presidency College, Venkatraman apologized for his error. It was a moment I will cherish.”
After honing his skills on the Madras league cricket circuit, Ramnarayan’s professional career took him to Andhra Pradesh where he joined SBI (State Bank of India) as a probationary officer in December 1970. He began playing cricket at the league level in Hyderabad and it didn’t take long for him to make a mark there. The prestigious Ranji Trophy soon beckoned, and Ramnarayan made his debut in 1975 against Kerala at Trivandrum.
“Playing zonal games in Hyderabad and that too alongside the likes of Abbas Ali Baig, Abid Ali, M A K Pataudi and M L Jaisimha prepared me to play at the Ranji level,” says Ramnarayan, whose figures in his debut match were an impressive 6-33.
Among the numer ous incidents of his career, the legendary offie recounts the one featuring Tiger Patau di with rel ish. “A day before Hydera bad’s Ranji game against Ma dras at Chepauk in 1975, one of the fans asked some uncomfortable questions to Tiger at our team hotel (Admiralty Hotel at Mandaveli). Tiger soon told skipper Jaisimha that he would open,” says Ramnarayan, who played 25 first class games for Hyderabad.
“The next morning,” he says, “Jaisimha had to persuade Tiger to bat at No 3.”
What followed was a vintage knock with Tiger notching up his highest Ranji score of 198. That also turned out to be his last innings at the MA Chirambaram stadium in Chepauk, remembers Ramnarayan.
“What was special about Tiger was his ability to take on challenges and come up trumps,” adds Ramnarayan.He may not have gone on to play at the highest level for the country, but Ramnarayan’s skills were considered good enough for him to make it to the list of probables for the national team’s tour of Australia in 1977-78.”I count on my blessings. To have played the game with some of the illustrious names in the Indian cricket is something that will alw ay s s t ay with me,” says the man, whose book Third Man: Recollections from a life in cricket was released recently.
After calling time on his career, Ramnarayan made a smooth transition into a career in writing. He went on to become an author of repute, and now edits Sruti, a well-known monthly magazine on the performing arts.But Ramnarayan has not cut himself from his beloved sport. He continues to be involved in the game by writing on it for various publications.
(A weekly column on famous sportspersons whose first playing field was Chennai and its neighbourhood)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Prasad S, TNN / February 14th, 2015
There’s frenzied drumming, the roar of cheering supporters and an air of excitement. You spot joy on the face of 14-year-old M. Dhanushpriya, a child with multiple disabilities. She participated in the ball-throw contest that had participants rated on the distance covered by a ball thrown by them. “Even though movement is a challenge for her, she had been practising this with her cousin,” her mother says. You see the same happiness in a beaming Pughazh, a 25-year-old with Down’s Syndrome, who participated in several contests from balloon-bursting to assisted-walking, but never won any. He nevertheless gets to stand on the winning podium — in appreciation of his enthusiasm.
Wheel chair races, assisted-walking races, pop-the-balloon contests, hitting a ball by listening to the jangle of beads within it, ball-gathering contests….with proud parents, enthusiastic teachers and upbeat friends and relatives cheering the participants. The city recently played host to Vegam 2015, a modified track-and-field meet that gave hundreds of challenged children the adrenalin rush of competitive sports. Vegam saw over 1100 physically and intellectually challenged children participate in 140 modified track and field contests conducted on a single day, which earned it a nomination for the Limca Book of Records for holding the maximum number of events in a single day for the differently-abled.
For the past two months, children like Dhanushpriya have been looking forward to this day. These kids hardly ever get to play, leave alone compete in an athletic meet. Unfortunately, in India, Paralympics is not as high profile as it is in other countries, and the fun of everyday sports is denied to challenged children. “Vegam would like to change this scenario,” says N. Satish Kumar, founder of Chennai Social Service, the NGO that conducted Vegam 2015.
“We checked with special schools, researched on events conducted at Paralympics and formatted track and field events to give people with disabilities a chance to compete,” says R. Venkat of Chennai Social Service.
Vegam could not have been a success without the efforts of the 300-plus volunteers who managed the show. Besides CSS’s regular volunteers, it included students of SRM Easwari, Aalim Muhammed Salegh and MOP Vaishnav colleges, professionals from organisations like the Cognizant Technology Solutions and Thomson Reuters, members of the Inner Wheel Club of Nolambur, NSS volunteers from Rotaract Club, and even kids like 15-year-old Ashwath and 13-year-old Nithyashri who have been volunteering in conducting Vegam for the past five years. Meanwhile, mural artist Senthil Kumar chipped in with 25 huge, inspiring paintings of athletes running on prosthetic limbs, wheelchair athletes and other sporting images. From being just an indoor carrom competition in 2007, Vegam has grown bigger and better every year. It has now become a calendar event in the city, and lately, some special schools have started helping their students train for it. This year, the meet’s Championship trophy was won by Clarke school for Deaf, Mylapore while the Little Flower Convent School for Deaf and Blind, Nungambakkam came second and the Arvind Foundation, KK Nagar came third. Incidentally, Vegam gave away trophies not just for the winners, but also for those who participated, and even a trophy for the best cheering team. At Vegam, everyone was a winner.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Hema Vijay / February 20th, 2015
