Veteran villupaattu exponent dead

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
Poongani.
Poongani.

Poongani died in penury

Veteran villupaattu exponent, Poongani, 86, the country’s oldest ‘villupaattu’ performer, died at Kottaaram near here on Friday night.

Poongani, a recipient of the Om Muthumari Award, instituted by the Department of Journalism, University of Madras, was said to have performed at over a thousand events. She started practising at the age of 10 after getting inspired by ‘villupaattu twin sisters’ Lakshmi and Dhanalakshmi.

Besides taking stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, Poongani spread the devotion of Amman through her performances.

The style of swinging the veesukol around her head and striking the bow with bells to the rhythm of the song gave her a unique identity. However, she never got an award from the State government.

Though she received 100% more than the male artistes in her troupe as salary, Poongani lived in a shack in abject poverty, subsisting on the government’s monthly old age pension of ₹1,000.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu> Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Nagercoil – November 03rd, 2018

U.K Parliament award for Palanivelu

Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Dr. C. Palanivelu
Dr. C. Palanivelu

C. Palanivelu, Chairman of GEM Hospital in Coimbatore, was honoured with the award for “Original Contribution to the Development of Laparoscopic Surgery” at the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom recently.

Baroness Lidia Antunes – Frederico, Chairman of Health Committee of Parliament of U.K., presented the award with medals and certificates. This makes Dr. Palanivelu the first Indian to be recognised in the Parliament of United Kingdom, among the 32 eminent medical professionals from various countries.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Palanivelu observed that artificial intelligence and augmented reality would become part of robotic surgery soon. Navigational surgery was likely to emerge in clinical practice by incorporating information technology.

Dr. Palanivelu was also given special privilege to operate and teach in many countries including the U.K. without a formal post-graduate training, a press release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – November 03rd, 2018

A Tamil-language podcast that weaves through India’s past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

TamilPodcastCF02nov2018

The sailor arrives on Indian shores with his fleet of four ships. His fellow travellers have never seen anything like this before. The locals of the village are curious, some of them running to inform the king of this mysterious arrival.

The ‘hero’ of this tale, as recounted in Naveen Haldorai’s Tamil language podcast, Varalaru, is Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. And the year is 1498.

The four-episode-old podcast, which traces da Gama’s journey, is unabashedly historical. “History is not boring,” emphasises 28-year-old Haldorai. It lends itself to fast-paced narration. “It is loaded with stories, myths, facts and shocking truths that are relevant to what’s happening today. But the way it was introduced to us in school was boring.”

The podcast is not just for children, or even history buffs. It is for anyone who is up for a good story.

Varalaru starts with the host explaining why India was such a hot commodity for foreign conquistadors of the 15th century, before going on, in subsequent episodes, to explain the legacy of da Gama, one of the most well-known foreigners to embark on Indian soil.

With each episode running for less than 12 minutes, Haldorai’s crisp voice booms, supported by audio effects. Thunderous rainstorms? Waves lapping up on the shore? Check. And all this was launched with just one microphone and two volumes of history books, in a small room in his home in Vadavalli, Coimbatore. The result sounds like it was recorded in a studio.

Radio revolution

The 28-year-old is not new to the world of voice-based technology. He has worked as an RJ and a voice-over artiste for TV shows (Bigg Boss 2, notably), dabbling in freelance assignments as well. “I’ve always been interested in the audio medium,” he says.

He was in college when the radio boom happened in India, with several stations launching. Suddenly, everyone was tuning into a radio channel and he wanted to see what it was all about. With his deep voice and well-rounded Tamil, he got an offer to work as an RJ, which he did for 18 months. “The stint taught me how powerful the medium was,” says Haldorai, who also runs his mother’s company that produces millet-based noodles.

Just a few months old, the podcast only has around 550 listeners per episode, but the format is refreshingly unusual, the quality reflecting his extensive research and storytelling skills. “I plan to do a podcast on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre next,” he says. This week, his channel, Curry Podcasts, also released the first episode of a series of spooky stories for children. “All of us like a good ghost story, don’t we?”

Podcast mania

“There are so many budding podcasters in our country who are doing a good job,” he says, about the advent of the medium in India. “With media companies entering the fray, it will develop in the future.” He mentions Dan Carlin, the iconic former radio personality whose podcast, Hardcore History, has at least a million downloads per episode, ranking highly on any history loving audiophile’s list. “He releases just one podcast on American history every three or four months but they are really good. He captures the essence of a good story through his narration, so much so that he’s called America’s best history teacher,” says Haldorai.

According to him, a good podcast — as opposed to the video content that our timelines are flooded with — is like listening to an intimate conversation. “Right now, most of us are glued to our mobile phones, with our heads bent,” he says. “There will soon come a time when we hold our heads high, earphones plugged, listening to a podcast.”

Curry Podcasts is available on iTunes and Google Podcasts, among others.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Akila Kannadasan / November 02nd, 2018

It’s destination Europe for T.N. bananas

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, World Opinion
The first consignment of the grand naine variety from Theni district, produced using the ‘post harvest protocol’, will commence its sea leg of the journey from Kochi on Nov. 1.
The first consignment of the grand naine variety from Theni district, produced using the ‘post harvest protocol’, will commence its sea leg of the journey from Kochi on Nov. 1.

Thanks to a unique post-harvest handling system, a consignment will soon reach Italy

Despite India’s standing as one of the major banana-producing countries in the world, Tamil Nadu couldn’t export its produce by air given the fruit’s weight (making it uneconomical), its short shelf life and the European standards that lay emphasis on minimum human handling.

To counter this challenge, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation, has developed a unique post-harvest handling system — the cable way conveyor. The Port of Trieste, Italy, offered financial support for developing the system.

Thanks to the initiative, the first consignment of bananas grown in the State was flagged off for export to Italy on Wednesday.

“The new system reduced the post-harvest loss. From the farm to packing-house, we managed with conveyors. The 24-day journey to Europe was the next step in the sequence,” explained Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi.

The ‘cable way conveyor’ could be used in large farms for transporting both farm inputs and produce. It will help in exporting India-grown varieties like grand naine, red banana, ney poovan and nendran.

During the pioneering attempt, banana bunches with a sample size of about 400 kg were harvested at a farm in Kudalore in Theni district. They were then transported to the University of Udine, Italy, on an experimental basis. “After the positive results that we met with, we went ahead with the idea,” Mr. Bedi added.

As part of efforts to send the consignment to Europe, a ‘static inland simulation trial’ was conducted in Chennai by keeping a container fully stuffed with banana-packed pallets under climate-controlled atmosphere for three weeks. The National Research Centre for Banana, Maersk and the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation too were part of the initiative.

The first consignment of grand naine variety from Theni district, produced and packed using the ‘post harvest protocol’, is to start its sea leg of the journey from Kochi in Kerala on November 1, according to an official release.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 01st, 2018

A rare triumph for aspiring scriptwriters

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Varun Rajendran’s case a precedent of sorts for those looking to safeguard their intellectual property

A.R. Murugadoss,
A.R. Murugadoss,

In what is being considered a rare triumph for aspiring writers and film-makers, A.R. Murugadoss, who has directed actor Vijay’s Deepavali release, Sarkar, has agreed to add a 30-second card admitting to the fact that aspiring film-maker Varun Rajendran conceived the same idea several years ago.

Stating that the screenplay written by Murugadoss for Sarkar and Rajendran’s script titled ‘Sengol’ were similar, K. Bhagyaraj, president, South Indian Writer’s Association, said, “As a creator, A.R. Murugadoss said that he has worked hard on the film and felt it was unfair. But, I told him that the concept of the film was the same and Varun Rajendran had thought of the same concept 10 years ago. When I insisted that he should recognise the similarity, Murugadoss acceded to my request.”

For his part, Murugadoss released a video clarifying that film’s story, screenplay and direction will be credited to him only. “Bhagyaraj requested that we should encourage Varun Rajendran’s effort to have conceived a script with the same ‘spark’ (of a man losing his vote in the elections) even though there are no further similarities with Sarkar. In that way, I agreed to put a card in the beginning,” said A.R. Murugadoss.

This is the second time Murugadoss has faced allegations of intellectual property theft. Film-maker Gopi Nainar, who made Arram, had made serious allegations that actor Vijay’s last film with Murugadoss, Kaththi, was his story.

No safeguards

Sarkar’s case has nevertheless opened up a space in Tamil cinema about the vulnerability of budding writers/filmmakers in Tamil cinema and how they can safeguard their intellectual property. Often, young film-makers are asked to narrate scripts and stories without any safeguards for their intellectual property. Unlike in the U.S., registration of screenplay is not an easy process in India, which puts off screenwriters. However, copyright lawyer M.V. Swaroop says that while ‘registering’ the script can be done to safeguard intellectual property, it is not necessary in court of law. “An idea cannot be copyrighted. Only an expression of an idea can be copyrighted,” said Swaroop.

He further said that there was a copyright infringement only when it could be proved that a second literary piece of work could exist without the first work. Tamil Film Producer Council’s treasurer S.R. Prabhu insists that the writers’ union should spread awareness about safeguarding copyrights.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Udhav Nag / Chennai – October 31st, 2018

Ophthalmic trauma services launched

Records, All, Science & Technologies

RajanEyeCareCF31oct2018

Round-the-clock ophthalmic trauma services were launched at Rajan Eye Care Hospital on Tuesday.

Inaugurating the services, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan urged young ophthalmologists to learn skills and take it to the remotest of villages.

Golden hour

Mohan Rajan, chairman and medical director, Rajan Eye Care Hospital, said ocular trauma has become an important aspect of eye care. “It is important to bring persons who have sustained eye injuries to an ophthalmologist within an hour, the golden hour. Many of the trauma cases can be grievous,” he said. He added that ophthalmic trauma could be due to chemicals — acid and alkali — sports, road traffic accidents and physical violence or assault.

About In fact, 45% to 50% of ocular injuries in children occurred at home because of the negligence of parents, he said adding that children are more likely to sustain eye injuries than adults. Sometimes, trauma can also have a late effect on the eyes. “There could be effects after three months. This included retinal tear and detachment. Hence, close follow-up is needed,” Dr. Rajan said.

With Deepavali round the corner, he said there were many injuries caused by crackers too. He reiterated the importance of treating ophthalmic trauma as an emergency. Pamphlets on do’s and don’ts while bursting firecrackers were released on the occasion. Sujatha Mohan, executive medical director of the hospital, Babu Peram, district governor, Rotary International District 3232 and Sathyanarayanan, president, Rotary Club, T. Nagar were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – October 31st, 2018

Sports scribe Sudarsan passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports
S. Sudarsan.
S. Sudarsan.

S. Sudarsan, Senior Assistant Editor (Sports) of The Hindu, passed away here on Tuesday morning. He was 43 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Sudarsan, who joined The Hindu Sports Desk in 2001, was a meticulous sub-editor with an eye for detail. A keen sportsman, who played cricket, tennis and football regularly, Sudarsan was a driving force behind many special football and tennis features in the sports pages of The Hindu. He had covered La Liga and Bundesliga for the newspaper.

An active member of the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA), Sudarsan had led the South Zone cricket team to victory in the J.K. Bose tournament in Thiruvananthapuram last year. The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India and TNSJA condoled the demise of Sudarsan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – October 30th, 2018