Preserved in parchement

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

Connemara Library opens its older section, which stores rare books, to book lovers in the city once a year during World Book Day week.

Visitors glance through rare books put on display at Connemara Public Library
Visitors glance through rare books put on display at Connemara Public Library

Chennai :

It’s that time of the year when the older section of Connemara Public Library opens its door for the public — starting from World Book Day on April 23 until today. The searing heat does not stop people from dropping in and catching a glimpse of the preserved legacy, their rare book collection and the stunning architecture. Currently, the old section is used for storing rare books. It’s restricted to public but books can be accessed by scholars, researchers or students on request and can be read from the reception room.

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There’s a red carpet path connecting the newer section to the older one. Ornate teak furniture, stained glass windows, vibrant patterns on the ceiling, arches engraved with sculptures and stacks of age-old books add to its beauty. The library was formally opened in 1896 to the south of Madras Museum, culminating in the museum theatre at the head of the campus. It is said to be named after Lord Baron Connemara, then Governor of Madras Presidency.

Past glory

The Madras Museum comprises numerous old buildings within its compound, and this library is one among them. The entire complex gains entry from Pantheon Road, which takes its name from the historic pantheon or public assembly rooms. References to the assembly room occur in 1789, a time when the city wanted a theatrical entertainment. Actively used in the latter part of 18th century, the government acquired the property in 1830 and established the Collector’s Cutcherry before the central museum in 1854.

Earlier, it had a single-floor high structure with two halls and a room for orchestra. The pantheon still exists. Two large wings with an upper floor are believed to be added when it was converted into a museum with further additions between 1886 and 1890. The space is said to have contained grooves in the roof over the stage to roll cannon balls to stimulate the sound of thunder. This structure is now a part of the two-floor old museum block, rear of the Connemara library.

Ageless charm

“What we see now is with later additions which are intricate and have a lot of details in terms of the stained glass or the teak finishes or the wooden brackets in the chambers. It has gone through four different purposes and the elements were added during consecutive additions. It’s an important part of Madras and a landmark that Chennai should be proud of,” said Thirupurasundari Sevvel, who conducted the trail as part of Nam Veedu Nam Oor Nam Kadhai. No two patterns in the stained glass windows are the same. It is said that the colours from the window reflect on marble floors at dusk.

The library benefitted from the Madras Literary Society on College Road — Fort St George campus — from where the Geology books were brought here. “We’ve displayed 300 books —  from paintings to literature. Last year the library witnessed 2,000 people during public access. This year it’s open for five days. The count has crossed 1,000 in just two days.

The awareness has increased,” said a library staff. Considering its national depository, the library is entitled to get a copy of any book published by any publication in the world. The library is accessible for people with special needs. A walk around the space will not only expose you to the grandeur of the interior decor but also its treasured collection. The older section of Connemara Public Library is open until today from 10 am to 5 pm.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Vaishali Vijayakumar / Express News Service / April 27th, 2019

RGGGH develops hand sanitiser, saves ₹31 lakh a year

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Records, All, Science & Technologies

The product is now being used in all its intensive care units, fever wards and isolation wards

An indigenously prepared hand sanitiser has turned profitable for the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). The largest public sector hospital in the city is all set to save nearly ₹31 lakh every year, after its own alcohol-based hand sanitiser was introduced in many units a few months ago.

Prepared in its own backyard by the College of Pharmacy (Madras Medical College), the hand sanitiser is now being used in all intensive care units, fever wards and isolation wards, such as for H1N1 influenza cases.

“Hand sanitisers are an important aspect of a health facility, particularly to a tertiary centre like us. On one hand, we have 12,000 outpatients visiting the hospital every day and another as 3,500 inpatients. On the other hand, we have a large population of medical professionals, including undergraduates, interns, surgeons and professors. It is vital to prevent hospital-acquired cross infections, and hence, we came up with the idea of developing our own hand sanitiser,” said R. Jayanthi, dean of RGGGH and MMC.

Reduced costs

Till February, when the in-house sanitiser was rolled out, RGGGH purchased commercially available hand sanitisers. The hospital’s monthly requirement was 1,000 units of 500 ml bottles; the annual requirement being 12,000 bottles. The cost of the marketed products ranged from ₹290 to ₹433 per 500 ml.

“The cost of procuring 12,000 bottles of a marketed product, considering an average cost of ₹341 is ₹40,92,000. Our hand sanitiser costs ₹82, inclusive of packing. So, the total cost for 12,000 bottles is ₹9,84,000. We will save ₹31,08,000 per year,” she said.

While this helped in cutting down cost, the hand sanitisers also reduced the need for using water for washing hands at a time of scarcity and it could easily be taken to different wards, Dr. Jayanthi said.

Jerard Suresh, principal, College of Pharmacy, MMC, said they prepared nearly 200 litres per batch of the lemon grass-scented hand sanitiser. It was tested for dermatological safety by the institute’s Department of Dermatology and efficacy against microbes by the Department of Microbiology.

Dr. Jayanthi said once they improve the capacity to make more, the hand sanitiser would be made available in the general wards of RGGGH. “Once we are self-sustained, we have plans to provide it for other government institutions. For this, we need licence and we are at it,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Serena Josephine M / Chennai – April 27th, 2019

S Muthiah and the writing of Madras Miscellany

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

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For the last two decades, in the 973 columns he wrote for Madras Miscellany, S Muthiah charted the course of people’s lives, the unexpected twists and turns, their triumphs and tribulations. A tribute to the man who loved to put the story back into history

Those of us who had the privilege of working closely with S Muthiah, the chronicler of Madras (he did not like the term historian), knew that Thursdays were sacred. He could not be disturbed that day as that was when he wrote his Madras Miscellany column to be published 12 days hence in the Monday edition of MetroPlus. The Chief, as I always referred to him, would make an elaborate production of it. He would first go to his library on the second floor and collect whatever reference material he wanted.

Having come down to the dining table, he would switch on the ultra-powerful table lamp and write whatever he wanted to in longhand. V Srinivasan and D Pushpa, his two faithful assistants, would then type this in, after which it underwent a few iterations. Towards the afternoon, G Shankar of Pace Systems (now Mot Juste Communications) would come in, collect the pictures to be scanned and go back to office to the needful. By evening everything would be in place, including the commentary on letters and additional points received from the vast and ever-growing readership; these falling under a section titled When The Postman Knocked. The correspondence was vast and varied. Branches of families reunited, people discovered ancestors. Several British families wrote in asking for help in tracing graves, houses and other markers.

Come Monday, when the column was published, the article would be carefully cut out, pasted on a sheet of paper, neatly dated and filed. Not for him the saving of soft copies. Yes, the Chief experienced great joy in putting Madras Miscellany together, as he did with all his work. By the time the column completed a decade in 2009, he noted with pride that 514 instalments had been published. He also added that the number would have been 520 but The Hindu did not bring out its paper on six Mondays owing to some holiday or the other. By the time he passed away, Madras Miscellany had appeared a record 973 times. It was his dearest wish that he touch 1,000 but fate willed otherwise.

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To have kept the column going without a break spoke volumes about Muthiah’s work ethic and discipline. When he travelled abroad, he calculated the number of Mondays he would be away and wrote all the instalments before he left. Not for him the present practice of researching on the Internet and sending articles on the fly. Even the death of his wife did not occasion a break. The column that appeared immediately after her passing had an opening sentence addressed to her, stating that she would have wanted him to continue. And that was the truth.

If there was someone even more passionate about Madras Miscellany than he was, it was Valliammal Muthiah. And he paid her a handsome tribute in an interview — ‘Fortunately, I have a young and energetic wife… who manages the home as well as the finances. She makes sure I don’t have to worry about anything other than my work.’ Sadly, she passed away in 2013 and life became tougher for him.

There was however no stopping Miscellany. Who would have thought that the column, first suggested by Nirmala Lakshman to Muthiah when MetroPlus was born in 1999, would grow to have a life and identity of its own? He had wanted it to be called Madrasiana but Nirmala convinced him that Madras Miscellanysounded better. It was a unique tribute to a great city. It will be missed.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sriram V / April 22nd, 2019

Global conference on retinal care and ophthalmic services

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

The ninth edition of Reticon, an annual conference on retina surgery, was organised by Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals, on Sunday at ITC Grand Chola, Guindy.

Around 600 delegates were part of Reticon 2019  Ashwin Prasath
Around 600 delegates were part of Reticon 2019  Ashwin Prasath

Chennai :

The ninth edition of Reticon, an annual conference on retina surgery, was organised by Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals, on Sunday at ITC Grand Chola, Guindy.

The event was inaugurated by the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit. “New technology offers a significant improvement in treatment. Expert ophthalmic care, which is in your own hands, can mitigate the increase of retinal diseases,” said the Governor in his speech.

This year’s conference saw  the participation of 600 delegates — all retinal specialists — from both India and abroad. “The idea of Reticon is to educate all. We have brought in top faculty members from across the country for this event, and I thank the delegates for their support,” said Amar Agarwal, director, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals. The foreign guest faculty member at the event was Dr Sunir Garg, professor of Ophthalmology, Thomas Jefferson University.

Panel discussions were conducted, and surgeries that were being conducted at Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals were live streamed. Surgeries such as Macular Hole Surgery, Diabetic Retinopathy, and IOL Drop were conducted and telecast live.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / April 22nd, 2019

Arunachalam Muruganantham ranks 45th in list of World’s 50 Greatest Leaders

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion
Arunachalam Muruganantham / | Photo Credit: S_SIVA SARAVANAN
Arunachalam Muruganantham / | Photo Credit: S_SIVA SARAVANAN

Social entrepreneur from Coimbatore Arunachalam Muruganantham has joined some of the global leaders in the list of World’s 50 Greatest Leaders 2019 by Fortune Magazine. He is ranked 45th in the list released recently.

Period. End of Sentence, a documentary that reflects his work, had won an Oscar in the Best Short Documentary category this year.

Mr. Muruganantham told The Hindu that the recognition should be an inspiration to youngsters to think of social issues, address those as a business model, and become job providers. “There are a very few people as social entrepreneurs. I have created self-employment opportunities for 1.25 lakh women in the country through my machines. And these are all semi-skilled job,” he said. Only by creating more job providers can India become a developed nation.

He recollects his addresses at several leading institutions even in the United States he urged youngsters not to aspire for listings based on wealth but to create jobs.

“They (Fortune magazine) had followed my work. We installed six machinery in Sri Lanka to be operated by war widows. It had a huge reach globally. The listing is a recognition to Coimbatore and the country. My responsibility has increased, especially when I address youngsters. They should not look for profits in business but have a social connect,” he said.

Mr. Muruganantham is currently working on taking projects to Pakistan and Afghanistan and in India, his focus is on the north eastern States. “Women in these States need to be empowered. We have installed a dozen units in these States. My focus is on Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – April 21st, 2019