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Volunteering effort by MCC student and his friends nears 1,500 mark
Called ‘Chennai Corona Warriors’, they have been distributing provisions to needy families
A. Daniel Riju, a student of Madras Christian College, East Tambaram, and his friends have distributed groceries to around 490 needy families since March 24.
A. Daniel Riju says, “We call ourselves as ‘Chennai Corona Warriors’.Our services are being supported by Milaap, a crowd funding platform. We provide groceries to the poor. We have packing centres at Tambaram, Tondiarpet, K. K. Nagar and T. Nagar to distribute the provisions.”
The group mainly focuses on daily-wagers and visually-challenged people.
The group also reaches out to those referred by Disability Welfare Commission. Students of Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College and Ethiraj College for Women are also part of our group.
The volunteers have catered to the fishing community at Kasimedu. Besides, they have extended help to iron-men and peanut vendors.
A. Daniel Riju can be contacted at 99529 01359.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by T.S. Atul Swaminathan / April 22nd, 2020
‘Corona’ an age-old term, finds mention in Nanjil Nadu dictionary
It denotes a disease affecting the palm
The term ‘corona’, which is now commonplace, thanks to the global pandemic, has been in vogue in Kanniyakumari for ages.
In fact, its use to denote a type of skin disease was so widespread that it found its way into the Nanjil Naatu Sollakarathi (Dictionary of Nanjil Nadu), compiled by folklorist A.K. Perumal.
“In the spoken language, it is pronounced as ‘corona’, but we write the word as ‘corna’. It is a skin disease normally affecting the fingers and palm,” said Mr. Perumal.
Achiammal, an 80-year-old woman who is familiar with the word, said it was used to curse those who tampered with weighing measurements to cheat the customers.
“We would say, kaiyile corona theenam pidikkattum (Get corona disease in your hands),” she recalled. Theenam denotes disease.
Agriculturist Shenbagasekaran said the word was common among traders, particularly among those buying and selling milk and paddy.
“If women notice the milkman trying to tamper with the weighing vessels, they would say, ‘Let your hand get corona’,” he said.
At a time when paddy was given as remuneration instead of money, the word was used to curse the employer if he tried to reduce the amount of paddy.
“In the process it also became more of an imagery. It means that you should be fair when it comes to paying remuneration to workers,” Mr. Shenbagasekaran said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – April 23rd, 2020
The spoken word’s worth
Mockingbirds, the city’s first spoken word/poetry collective, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with online events curated to create awareness on this less-explored art.
Chennai :
To have your voice heard without judgement, to give shape and sound to your thoughts, to get a place under the spotlight (even if it’s only for a couple of minutes), to string words together and perform in front of an audience — for any budding poet and spoken word artiste, to have a conducive platform is essential to grow. Five years ago, when the city lacked such a definite space, a group of friends gathered at a cafe and discussed ways through which their poetry and spoken word can find an audience.
The group, instead of waiting for serendipity, decided to create it and in April 2015, on a summery afternoon, Mockingbirds, the city’s first spoken word/poetry collective was born. In several interviews, Michelle Ann James, one of the co-founders, has often reiterated that the group is built on these lines from the award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird — ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.
They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’. Over the years, the group has diligently stuck to its vision — of providing a platform to budding performers and inspiring expression through versification. “It’s all about poetry for poetry’s sake,” says Michelle. To commemorate their fifth year anniversary, the group recently curated an Instagram live open mic session — of poetry reading in English and Tamil. “We had about 136 people join us for the live session and about 33 active participants. That’s a lot, especially for something as niche as spoken word and performance poetry,” details Michelle.
Growth and adversity
From curating poetry performances in quaint cafes and open terraces to conducting workshops and aiding literary events, the group has slowly yet firmly carved a space for itself in the city. “Back when we started out, Instagram wasn’t a popular medium, so, most events were announced through Facebook and people came to know about us through word of mouth. I vividly remember one of the initial events we had curated. It was at Spaces, Besant Nagar, and we had just one participant. A lot of people had promised to make it but didn’t turn up. We were heartbroken but we kept going,” recalls the word artist. Yet, something constructive was born out of the adversity.
The sole participant who made it to the event — Ishvar Krishnan — eventually became one of the core members of Mockingbirds. “Ishvar experiments with sound, music and words. I remember the first time I met him — he came for the performance with a bunch of papers, nervous, his hands shivering. Now, he has grown, has his own style and audience. That’s what Mockingbirds aims to do — act as a non-judgemental platform for people to explore and grow,” she says. Similarly, Aashika Suresh, another performer who skipped work to attend one of Mockingbirds’ open mic performances has now found her calling. “She is one of our core members. She is now a freelance writer and poet. Our growth as a group has been organic,” says Michelle.
Magic through words
Weaving magic with the inherent music in language and verbal expression, the group has been a force to reckon with. As performers, the group is also informed about their responsibility to give back to society and to raise consciousness. This is perhaps why, most of their events are a free ground for expression — about mental health, politics and whatnots.
As they step into a new year, Mockingbirds aims to become a resource organisation, take alternative ways of interpreting poetry — to understand ideas and concepts — into educational institutions. With the lockdown in place, several online-based events and workshops are scheduled to take place. “Our main commitment is to poetry as a craft. We are also in the process of organising longer workshops and open mics in the coming weeks. We want to receive video entries of spoken word and create an audience for the performers,” she adds. For details, visit Instagram page @mockingbirdsinmadras or send a mail to projectmockingbirds@ gmail.com
UPCOMING EVENTS
Hindi open mic poetry (Insta live) on April 25 from 8 pm to 9 pm. An introductory workshop on Poetry
Appreciation in English by Aswin Vijayan, poet and assistant professor of English, on April 26 from 7 pm to 9 pm. This is a pay-as-you-wish workshop.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne Balasubramanian / Express News Service / April 23rd, 2020
IIT Madras alumnus appointed to National Science Board in USA
Three of the institute’s alumni are currently on the Board
Sudarsan Babu, a 1988 graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras was appointed to the National Science Board in United States of America on Monday. He is the third alumnus from the IIT-M to currently occupy the Board. The members are appointed for a period of six years.
Mr. Babu completed B.Tech from PSG College of Technology and graduated with M. Tech in Metullurgical and Materials engineering at the IIT Madras in 1988.
The other two alumni are Sethuraman Panchanathan and Suresh V Garimella. Mr. Sethuraman is tipped to become the director of another prestigious institution the National Science Foundation. One of his predecessors is Subra Suresh, another alumnus of the institute, who is currently the president of Nanyang Technological University.
Mr. Sethuraman completed M.Tech in electrical engineering in 1986. Mr. Garimella graduated in 1985 in B.Tech mechanical engineering.
Institute director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “Our alumni have done us proud in India and abroad and have been a great pillar of support to their alma mater.”
“Having three alumni on the Board is a first for the institution. It speaks of the academic research culture that we had established even a long time ago and continue to foster. This is a direct validation of the institution’s ecosystem as a whole, as a research institution going back to the early eighties. All of these people we talk about today were students here in the mid-80s. The ecosystem has created these superstars and we have continued to grow from strength to strength. That is in essence why we talk about these achievements,” said Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean of International and Alumni Relations, adding that the alumni were “deeply involved in advising the institute in its activities.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by R. Sujatha / Chennai – April 21st, 2020
Coronavirus | Ex-panchayat chief from Tiruvallur designs low-cost method to produce disinfectant
R. Elango, a former scientist at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), shows how to make sodium hypochlorite using solar power.
R. Elango, a former scientist at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who later served as the president of Kuthambakkam panchayat in Tiruvallur district, has come up with a design to manufacture sodium hypochlorite using solar power in a decentralised manner.
Considering that sodium hypochlorite is the disinfectant widely used in various concentrations depending on the purpose, he says the design can be used to meet the current surge in demand for the disinfectant in the fight against COVID-19.
“Right from floor cleaners and toilet cleaners to sprays used widely now for disinfecting public places is sodium hypochlorite, which is the mother of all disinfectants. It is commonly manufactured in industries through electrolysis,” he says. Explaining the process, Mr. Elango, who is a chemical engineer by qualification, says sodium hypochlorite is made in industries by the simple process of passing electricity through titanium electrodes immersed in sodium chloride (salt) solution.
High demand for disinfectants
Mr. Elango replaced the conventional source of electricity with a 1 kilowatt capacity solar panel. With the high demand for disinfectants, he highlights that the conservation of non-renewable power would be huge.
“In a barrel fitted with the electrodes, one has to fill salt water solution in high concentration and pass the solar-generated power. In about eight hours, you can get sodium hypochlorite from a tap attached to the barrel.” For now, he has designed the unit in two different capacities of a 25-litre barrel and a 210-litre barrel. 25 litres of sodium hypochlorite can be diluted to 100 litres for disinfecting drainages, to 150 litres for floor cleaning and to 500 litres for applications like cleaning utensils, he claims.
These units can be easily set up in open at the village or town-level to meet the local demand. “It is a completely safe process. The electricity used is of very low voltage. There is absolutely no byproduct or other waste that needs to be handled,” he says.
Steep initial costs
According to him, while the 25-litre capacity unit will cost about ₹ 60,000 to set up, the 210-litre capacity will cost around four to five times more. V.P. Jayakumar, managing director of Tiaano, a chemical company, who helped Mr. Elango in assembling the electrodes in the unit, said excluding the initial cost to set up the unit, one litre of sodium hypochlorite can be produced at a cost of 0.05 paise. “This is inclusive of employing a person for ₹500 per day. The input will just be 750 g of salt in 25 l of water for one cycle.”
“Floor cleaners we buy from supermarkets cost around ₹85 for just 300 ml,” he adds. Mr. Elango says it can also become a business model for villages to generate revenue. Mageswari Ravikumar, Collector, Tiruvallur, who inspected the design, says the district would soon set up a unit on an experimental basis.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Pon Vasanth B.A / Chennai – April 21st, 2020