A well-known city-based film production company, Wide Angle Creations, which has produced Papanaasam with Kamal Haasan in the lead, played an important part in the making of Dheepan , which won the Palm D’ Or at the Cannes film festival.
This would mean that Kalieaswari Srinivasan, who plays the lead, is not the only connection the film has with the city. The film, which was shot for not more than 7-8 days in parts of Mandappam (near Rameswaram), and Ooty among other places in Tamil Nadu, in the month of December and January, has actually made use of a number of local technicians and several hundred junior artistes.
Suresh Balaje, one of the partners of Wide Angle Creations, said the Palm D’ Or came as a pleasant surprise./ Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
Suresh Balaje, one of the partners in the company that specialises in ‘line production’ in India, said that he did not really expect to win the big prize. “There was a lot of interest in the film because of Jacques Audiard, whose earlier films have been received well by the press. But, honestly, nobody was expecting to win, although everybody was proud that the film was selected in the competition section,” he said.
While the crew only shot for a few days, it wasn’t a small-sized production, says George Pius, Mr. Balaje’s partner. He says that except for the camerawoman, Jacques Audiard, costumer and the art director, the support crew were all locals.
Many of the actors and technical support staff of the film directed by Jacques Audiard were from India —Photo: Special Arrangement
“We erected a big set in Mandapam of a refugee-camp. We worked with hundreds of junior actors on the sets. Even the technical crew had very few people from France. They came with a small crew and the rest of the technicians were locals,” he explained.
George Pius, who worked on the film, said that this recognition for Dheepan would likely open many doors, which were earlier not available for production companies from the South. “Previously, only companies from Mumbai were working with foreign productions. After this award, I hope companies like ours also get a look-in,” he said.
Though Dheepan is a French production, it is said that at least 75 per cent of the film is in Tamil. Asked if he thought if the film would clear the censors, Mr. Balaje said, “ I do not think there is anything wrong with the film. It should release without a hassle,” he said.
The awards for Dheepan are likely to flow as the film will also be in pole position to win the Best Foreign film at the Oscars next year.
City-based Wide Angle Creations played a key role in the making of Dheepan
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – May 27th, 2015
The Danish Fort, also called ‘Dansborg Fort’ at Tranquebar, built in 1620 AD. / Photo: T. Singaravelou / The Hindu
The National Archives of Denmark records that a fisherman from Karaikal was responsible for the modern history of Tranquebar.
On a glorious day in April 1620 AD., a Danish jaght (a three-masted, lightly armed merchant vessel of the 17 century), Øresund, was freebooting around Karaikal on the south-east coast of India, when a fleet of six galleys sent by Andre Botelho da Costa, the Portuguese governor of Jaffna, attacked it. Its captain, Roeland Crappe, and twelve of his crew escaped thanks to the aid of a fisherman.
A list of salaries found in the Danish National Archives reveals a stunning secret: “Cuti’s mother, a woman whose husband (was he also Cuti’s father?), saved the life of General Crappe when he lost his ship, Øresund, outside Carical” was paid one pardou every month for 25 years in gratitude for saving Crappe’s life. The jaght was totally wrecked, and the rest of the crew captured and murdered by the Portuguese. Two of the heads were displayed on stakes to warn the enemies. Earlier the jaght had captured several small Portuguese junks laden with rice and areca nuts on the east coast and auctioning goods with the permission of the king of Kandy.
Roeland Crappe managed to reach the court of Raghunatha Nayak at Tanjore, whom he had known earlier. Crappe must have expressed the wishes of his employer, Christian IV of Denmark, to set up trade relations in south-east Asia to Raghunatha Nayak. A letter by Raghunatha Nayak on a gold-foil asserts: “We order the creation of a port named Tharangampadi here and allow the export of pepper to that country (Denmark) as it is rare there.” A fisherman from Karaikal was thus responsible for the modern history of Tranquebar! Raghunatha Nayak signed the official treaty in Portuguese on November 19, 1620. Ove Gedde, a barely 23-year-old Admiral appointed by Christian IV, as the leader of a Danish fleet concluded the formal treaty on behalf of the Danes.
The National Archives in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a treasure house of records, dealing with the history of Tanjore and Tranquebar of 17 to 19 centuries. The Royal Library and the National Museum in Copenhagen house more than 350 palm-leaf collections from India from old almanacs to the diaries of local catechists to Arunachala Kavirayar’s Rama Natakam. As is often said, history is usually written by the conquerors and thus becomes one-sided. When available, history needs to be studied from both sides — and here the records in Denmark come as a great help.
Most historians assume that Raghunatha Nayak ruled between 1600 and 1634. Vriddhagirisan, an authority on the Nayaks of Tanjore, writes: “Considering the duration of all the individual reigns of the Tanjore Nayaks, it becomes evident that Raghunatha, the most illustrious ruler of this family had but a relatively short reign and his death will have to be placed about AD 1634.” On the question of who succeeded Raghunatha Nayak, Indian historians disagree. On the successor to the throne, Vriddhagirisan assumes that it was Vijayaraghava Nayak. He writes: “Vijayaraghava’s accession must have taken place in the year 1633 and that it was celebrated sometime before the death of Raghunatha.” There are many claims and counter-claims. Vriddhagirisan mentions two sons of Raghunatha, namely Achyuta and Ramabhadra, and Vijayaraghava would appear to the eldest son according to the genealogy given in the Raghunathabhudayam of Vijayaraghava Nayak. At the same time, Vriddhagirisan also cites a Jesuit letter: “Two brothers of the (Vijayaraghava) Nayaka, whom he had shut up in prison, after pulling out their eyes to remove all possibility of succeeding him… Ramabhadra could not have been on the direct line of succession… it is not quite known for certain, that Achyuta Vijayaraghava was also called Achyuta Ramabhadra.”
Tranquebar (Tharangampadi) celebrated its 395th year of its Danish connections in April this year.
The Danish records are certain. Ove Gedde left three diaries after his strenuous voyage. He noted down everything. These diaries were then transcribed by Johann Heinrich Schlegel and are available as Google books. On November 4, 1620, Gedde notes, “I paid a visit to the eldest son of the Nayak and the throne follower, who requested me to visit him often.” On November 7: “the same day, the Nayak requested me to visit his middle son, who had complained that I had not paid him a visit.” It is obvious that Raghunatha Nayak had at least three sons. Citing a letter from Roeland Crappe written on September 17, 1628 from Masulipatnam (the original letter is in the Archives), Schlegel writes: “Ragnato Naiche died early on 25 November 1626 and cremated the same day with 119 of his wives. His eldest son Rambadra succeeded him to the throne, and came with 100 men to the fortification of Dansburg (in Tranquebar) (Johann Heinrich Schlegel, Samlung zur Dänischen Geschichte, Münzkenntniss, Oekonomie und Sprache, Erster band, Viertes Stück, pp. 162-163).”
Hidden in the National Archives in Copenhagen for almost 400 years, there is an innocuous letter from Christian IV written from his castle at Frederiksborg on April 11, 1631. The letter affirms the affection of the King to the Nayak of Tanjore, and expresses his wish for a continuation of the relationship between the two countries. The letter itself is not significant — the Addressee is: “The mighty, royal Prince Ramabadro Naico, King of Tanjore, our specially good friend!” Evidently, after the death of Raghunatha Nayak in 1626, Ramabhadra Nayak succeeded his father until he was gruesomely relieved of his post by his younger brother, Achutha Vijaya Raghava Nayak in 1634 AD.
P.S. Ramanujam is Professor Emeritus in the Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, Denmark. psramanujam@gmail.com
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Magazine / by P.S. Ramanujam / May 02nd, 2015
She has lived the immigrant dream — a journey from a one-room house in Alwarpet and a childhood learning classical dance to becoming a criminal court judge in New York City. The first Indian-origin woman at that.
Chennai-born Raja Rajeswari now hopes to ensure that the multi-ethnic population, the foundation of New York City, is treated fairly, while she also balances her other passion in life — dance.
Having migrated to the US aged 16, Rajeswari, now 43, worked at the Richmond County DA’s Office her entire career before being sworn in as a judge by NYC mayor Bill de Blasio on April 27. Her childhood experiences growing up in Chennai, her career as a prosecutor, her early observations of gender inequality, influences from her mother who was a dancer — Rajeswari believes all these paved the way for her successful career.
“I had a wonderful childhood. We were a low income household, and I was an only child. We did not have a lot of money but our lives were filled with dance and music,” she says, speaking to Express in an e-mail interview. Reminiscing about her mother who was a dance instructor, and her father who was an office clerk, she calls him a ‘gentle soul who resembled Mahatma Gandhi in looks and philosophy’.
Having lost her mother in an accident when she was 18, and her father to cancer in 2013, it was Rajeswari’s promise to her dad during their last conversation that prompted her to become a judge. “My mother bequeathed me her love of dance and the belief that the world can become a better place if there is even one person who cared enough,” she says.
And dance it was, that first brought her to New York.
Rajeswari had started dancing at fundraising events as a toddler, teaching dance at the age of 10, and receiving a government research scholarship at the age of 14. After doing her advanced studies in Kalakshetra for Bharatanatyam and also learning Kuchipudi, she travelled with her mother Padma Ramanathan dance troupe to several countries. In 1988, it was on the last leg of a dance tour she came to the city where she would live her life.
“At 16, I had traversed the planet and realised how the treatment of women made an impact on me. I decided to stay in New York and pursue my education in a country where women got equal opportunities,” she says.
Living The American Dream & How
Her cultural background and multilingualism, is what she believes, greatly helped her career as she dealt with various ethnic backgrounds in domestic violence and sexual abuse cases.
“My personal experience of growing up in a third world country provided me with insight into understanding the social stigma of accusing one’s husband or boyfriend in certain cultures,” she says.
Through her appointment, she hopes to follow in the footsteps of those who brought ethnic diversity to the bench, besides standing by her firm belief that the rights of the defendant are sacrosanct and can never be trespassed.
“I cringe every time I read about another defendant who has been exonerated after spending decades in prison for a crime he did not commit,” she says.
The speed and equal access to justice administered in the US, she says, is something to take note of; though not perfect, it is still much more efficient than the legal system in India.
Speaking about cases like the Delhi gang-rape, she says that unless we deal with ingrained social prejudices and discrimination against women, we will never be able to achieve our potential.
“Unless there is a gruesome death, no one pays attention to the victimisation of women. The woman or children rarely report these crimes because they know they are never going to be taken seriously and would be blamed and shunned by the society.”
Being an immigrant in a bustling city like New York, Rajeswari has worked her way up through several trials and is a firm believer in the American criminal justice system, which she considers the best in the world since it affords every person, regardless of sex, race, colour, sexual orientation and social standing, an opportunity to seek justice.
“As an immigrant you have incredible opportunities in this country but you have to be able and willing to work really hard and constantly prove yourself,” she says.
If a female immigrant from a city in South India can make history by becoming the first South Asian female judge in New York City, Rajeswari believes, there is hope for every female who aspires to higher office in India and abroad.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Archita Suranarayanan / ENS / May 02nd, 2015
The Coimbatore-based Slivertex Engineers has tied up with Teijin, a Japanese company, to manufacture products made of Teijin polyester fibre.
P. Muthiah, managing director of Slivertex, told presspersons here on Friday that the company had invested Rs. 15 crore at its plants in Coimbatore and Madurai and planned to invest Rs. 10 crore each in Pune and New Delhi to set up new facilities this year.
Agreement
It entered into an agreement with Teijin a year ago for raw material and technology. The raw material (high performance polyester fibre) was sourced from Japan and polyester cushion materials were made in Madurai. These were then made into mattresses here.
The Pune plant would be to make acoustic material with the same raw material and the New Delhi plant to make products for the automobile sector.
The company produced about 200 mattresses a day now and this would be scaled up to 400 in three months. The mattresses were sold under the brand Fibbo.
In the case of acoustic and automobile products, the company was a tier-two supplier to larger companies.
Kenichiro Yabuki, managing director of Teijin India, added that the 98-year-old company was present in India since 2007 in automobile applications, protective apparels, photo voltaic modules for the solar energy sector and electrical and electronic product segment.
It supplied the products to the Indian market from its manufacturing facilities in other countries.
It needed to see increase in volume of sale to invest here.
While the Teijin fibre was supplied to India (Slivertex) to make products for the domestic market, these could also be used to supply to countries in West Asia and Africa, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – May 02nd, 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
I recently had a chance meet ing with Durailingam who told me the story of his father, Subedar Subramanian of the Madras Sappers regiment. Subramanian lost his life trying to protect others during mine clearing operations in Italy in World War II. Subedar Subramanian was awarded the then instituted George Cross; the first Indian to get the bravery award for noncombatants.
India was drawn into the Second World War without its ond World War without its consent and in spite of stout protests from the national leaders. Madras SapParis pers’ 4th division was put into operation in the Italian campaign landing in Taranto in December 1943. Two companies of the Madras Sappers joined action 100 miles south of Rome where they were mainly engaged in clearing the mines. In all, about 50,000 Indian troops fought in Italy. Half of them were injured and one in ten lost their lives.
The Madras Sappers were sent there after the allies invaded on September 3, 1943 the Italian mainland, with the invasion coinciding with the armistice made with the Italians who then joined the allies’ side. The objective of the attack was to draw the German troops from France, where an offensive was planned. The allies were facing the Gustav line (German winter defensive position) which extended from the river Garigliono in the west to Sangro in the east. Very soon the allies had occupied the ridge overlooking the river.
The Sangro River Cremation Memorial near Torino di Sangro is one of the memorials erected in Italy to officers and men of the Indian forces whose remains were cremated in accordance with their faith. In that memorial Subedar Subramanian’s name is inscribed.
The details recorded in the Sangro river memorial reads, “Subramanian, son of Kannayiram and Thangammal holding the rank of Subedar, with official Number 14069 from the unit Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sapper and Miners and husband of Shanbgammal of Keelvodivakkam, Chengalpet, India.”
The details show that while Sub Subramanian was operating the mine detector, with Lance Naik Sigamani behind him marking his path with a white tape, there was a small explosion. The subedar realized immediately that the Lance Naik had stepped on an anti-personal mine and within the next four seconds the canister would be thrown into the air and explode causing great damage. Without the slightest hesitation and knowing that this would be fatal, Subramanian hurled himself over the mine knocking the Lance Naik aside. The force of the explosion was neutralized by the Subedar’s body which caused his death. With this action he saved the lives of his comrades, especially Lt Young, who was next to him.
In a rare gesture of gratitude, touching tributes were paid to 5,782 Indian soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for Italy against the fascist forces, on Oct 5, 2007 in Rome. The Memorial Gates in London have been constructed in the Constitution Hill, to pay tribute to the brave men of WW II. Sub Subramanian’s name is included in the memorial list.
Durailingam who did well for himself in his business wanted to perpetuate his father’s memory by giving the ancestral home in his village Keelottivakkam in Kanchipuram district to the Army to run an Ex Servicemen Health Service (ECHS) polyclinic. Durailingam has erected a statue (bust) of his father at the site with a cenotaph. Unfortunately, stating no reasons, the Army has withdrawn from this place after using the same for seven years in 2013. Durailingam says he has no idea why the Army withdrew. He says since he is getting older his only wish is to donate this land of over 700 sq yards to the Army so that the polyclinic can be set up.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / April 15th, 2015
Amidst the many camera flashes, clicking noises and constant whispers from on-lookers, city-based language teacher, P Aravind, was trying his best to recall the 270 binary numbers being flashed before him from a computer. He finally managed to recall all the 270 digits shown to him in the fifth attempt in a bid to enter the Guinness Book of World Records at the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust on Friday morning.
Aravind, 36, who teaches Italian, Spanish and French and has a passion for languages, had been dabbling in memory techniques for more than 15 years to help make learning of languages easier. “Every time I learnt a new language there was always a long list of words, verbs, vowels, nouns, phrases and sentences to learn,” said Aravind. “I initially found it tough and monotonous. I noticed that my students began losing interest when the going got tough,” he said.
That was when Aravind began researching memory techniques which he used to test his memory power from time to time.
I began training a year ago with just 40 numbers, and slowly kept increasing it by 20 every two months,” he said. “The earlier record was set in 2011 by a Mr Jayasimha with 264 digits. I decided to use the memory palace technique developed by Greek Poet Simonedes in 2500 BC which involves imagining a palace where you place numbers in various corners, place the rest in any way, leave the palace and continue your journey. When you return and start looking at the palace you start finding the numbers as you walk through it,” he said. He practiced at least three hours a day.
He managed to memorize 270 numbers in a minute and repeat it within eight minutes, practicing in front of many locations. “I did it in a crowded bus stop, Brookefields Mall and at the location on Thursday evening to get used to distractions,” he said.
While he looked nervous during the first attempt on Thursday evening, he looked more confident during the second attempt and was close to reaching the target before failing at the 240th digit. After a five minute break, he began all over again and succeeded in his fifth attempt.
Aravind dedicated the achievement to all his students. “I want this to be an example to all students who think they can’t memorize anything. They just need to zero in on the right technique,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / April 04th, 2015
How the city-based spice brand well-known across the world has now reintroduced its products in the country.
In 1920, while India was still ruled by George V and Madras was still a Presidency, Punjab Mittulaul Lalah started a spice business from a small shed in Triplicane. His sisters used to help blend and pack the various masalas, including a curry powder that would make a mark for itself in kitchens all over the world.
Today, the company, known as Lalah’s, operates out of a swanky glass and wood panelled office on TTK Road. Their state-of-the-art factory is in Tiruppur district, with a capacity of 15,000 metric tonnes per annum. The machines might do the roasting, grinding and packaging, but the blending is still done by hand. And that, says Laavanya Manradiar, vice-president of marketing, head of new product development and great-great granddaughter of Mittulaul, is what gives their spice blends a human touch. The fourth generation to be part of the management, she is passionate not only about the history of the company, but also about its future.
“My maternal grandfather, Dowlathram Seth, took over the thriving business after his father. He was a dynamic personality and travelled the world over, taking the brand to 25 countries at a time when ships were the fastest mode of transport. However, he passed away early, when only my mother Jayshree was married, and so my father stepped in and took over the business,” she says. Jayshree and her husband Rajkumar Manradiar, who was from an agricultural family in Erode, worked together to consolidate the overseas business and expanded operations to the 37 countries they supply to now.
After running a software company with her husband Ishwar for a few years, Laavanya joined her parents in the family-owned business in 2012 (she has an elder sister who has settled in Coimbatore and teaches the visually-challenged). She says, “With meticulous planning, my parents put a lot of systems in place. My father believes in quality, service and commitment; he calls them the three pillars on which we function. My mother has a keen business sense, and she personally does the sourcing of our raw materials, which is the most important part of bringing out a quality product.” And 38-year-old Laavanya seems to have inherited that business acumen, as she did her MBA in finance at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. “Since U.K. is a great market for us, I could actually understand Lalah’s as a brand while I was there. In that sense, I was initiated into the working of the company quite early,” she says.
Blending it right Laavanya Manradiar Photo: R. Ravindran
“My focus is on innovation,” Laavanya reiterates, seated in her office with an assortment of Lalah’s products lined up on the shelf behind her. “The most important thing was knowing our competition. We stopped retailing in India in the early 90s, but when we looked into the current market, we felt that the time was right to step in again. In India, only 30 per cent of the spice suppliers are from an organised sector. So on November 30, 2012, we decided that we would bring home not only the products we are best known for, but also a whole new range.”
And so they went back to the drawing board, to rediscover their own product, the original Madras curry powder, which she felt was a “champion” the way people spoke about it. “Even a champion needs to reinvent himself or herself. The market is already filled with region-specific brands catering to distinct palates. We wanted to make our curry powder so versatile that it could be used in any cuisine, from north Indian to south Indian to continental,” says Laavanya.
She was quite astonished that so many people could recall the brand, and more so, when they began singing “Lalah masala, ahaa, Lalah masala”. “We have been asked to bring back the jingle! It showed a lot of goodwill, and to capitalise on it, we took three years of ideating and production before we launched our new line,” she says. With 50 different spice blends and innovative packaging — each 100 gm packet has four sachets of 25 gm each — the revamped range began to retail in stores about a month ago. “Each of the sachets makes enough to serve four people. As it is individually packaged, it retains freshness. In spite of the fact that we don’t use MSG, preservatives or added colours, our products have a shelf life equal to that of other brands in the market.” But she refuses to call the products organic as she cannot vouch for the way the raw materials are grown.
Each packet comes with a recipe, most of which have been written by Laavanya. “We spent a lot of time on recipe development; our chef and I took a month to perfect a sambar recipe. But I also learnt a lot. For instance, we spent weeks trying to get a thick Alleppey fish curry the way restaurants serve it. After some research, I found that, in its authentic form, it was a watery gravy made by fishermen when they were out on their boats,” she says, adding that the recipes have garnered a lot of positive feedback, especially from people who are just learning to cook.
Blending it right Laavanya Manradiar with her daughters Photo: R. Ravindran
At home, Laavanya slips into an easy routine with her two daughters, Shriya (9) and Shakti (5). They read together, and spend more time talking than they do watching TV in the family room which is dominated by a photo wall. She does whip up meals at times, but says that her husband is the better cook of the two of them.
A former National-level tennis player, Laavanya encourages her kids to play sport; the elder one is an ace swimmer already, taking part in State-level meets and setting new records. The little one is quick to inform us that she knows how to bake a vanilla sponge cake, make volcano lava with vinegar and hot water and will one day be a doctor while her sister will be a scientist. Based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, she also likes to think that the family factory produces chocolate and not spice mixes. But she also confides, “I like the masalas that amma makes. Punjabi paneer makhni is my favourite.”
The family is excited about their upcoming vacation to the U.S., but Laavanya has her mind more on business and less on Disneyland. “There is so much scope for our brand there, and I will be focussing on expanding our operations. But I am looking forward to going to Wimbledon later this year,” she smiles.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Susanna Myrtle-Lazarus / April 02nd, 2015
Seventeen students from VIT University calling themselves ‘Team Vimaanas’ has been awarded the first position in the Asia-Pacific Region, in the Micro Class of airplanes category at SAE Aero Design international competition held at Lakeland, Florida, USA, competing with 25 other teams from prestigious universities across the world.
Teams from IIT Kanpur, NIT Jamshedpur, Manipal Institute of Technology, McGill University, University of Western Ontario, Polytechnic Institute of NYU and other European and American universities competed in the international competition. VIT chancellor G. Viswanathan while complimenting the VIT team for their achievement, said VIT University encourages students to take part in technical events as they provide a platform for them to broaden their horizons while gaining rich and practical experience.
SAE Aero Design competition is conducted by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)International.
“The contest was to design a micro-class category light aircraft that could hold a cylinder of a six-inch diameter and we began to work on this since September last year,” said Rushat Gupta Chadha, the VIT team captain who is in his fourth year Mechanical Engineering.
Weighing just 330gms the micro plane is capable of lifting a weight almost three times its weight with both wingspans measuring 36 inches and also measuring 36 inches from the tip of its nose to its tail. Although the team from VIT University was adjudged the sixth best team overall, they stood first in the Asia-Pacific Region. With several categories on which the micro planes were judged, the team was awarded the second prize for Highest Payload Lifted, fourth prize for the Highest Payload Fraction, and the sixth prize for Design.
“We got three returns on our investment of hard work. First, we learnt to apply technical knowledge and test them practically. Second, this competition acted as a booster to our morale and confidence. Finally, it is an achievement that probably no other Indian student team has achieved so far,” Chadha said. The team now plans to compete in the Advanced Class category in the same competition.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / April 02nd, 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
