‘Nadalahari’ features instrumentalists celebrating Chennai for UNESCO honour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
About 50 instrumentalists shared the stage for this marathon programme | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
About 50 instrumentalists shared the stage for this marathon programme | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

All the musical instruments came together to celebrate Chennai

‘Nadalahari’ was a grand musical celebration of instruments at the Narada Gana Sabha. They were celebrating the UNESCO’s inclusion of Chennai in the Creative Cities Network. It was organised by Avasarala Kanyakumari, known for such grand shows with violins.

Dedicated to the cause of instrumental music, Kanyakumari, in her welcome address, did mention the lack of opportunities for instrumentalists to perform solo and also the rasikas’ preference to vocal. Indeed, her grievance is genuine; listeners are not fully tuned to instrumental music unless they find something exotic in it.

Guests of Honour K.N. Ramaswamy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Haricharan Das of Musee Musicals were in full appreciation of Kanyakumari’s endeavours with zeal in promoting instrumental music among the audience.

In this marathon programme, about 50 instrumentalists participated and performed in succession; so one can almost get to listen to all the popular instrumental artistes from Kadri Gopalnath’s saxophone to some very young learners performing veena, violin or mandolin.

Opened with saxophone

The programme started with Kadri playing the Bhairavi swarajati ‘Amba Kamakshi.’ Chitraveena Ravikiran and his students took over to present ‘Brochevarevarura’ (Khamas).

It was time for the flute and R. Thyagarajan with his disciples played ‘Ramakathasudha’ (Madhymavati). R.S. Jayalakshmi’s group (veena) presented ‘Jagadeeswari’ in Mohanam. Multifacedted Palghat Sriram in the company of young artistes played ‘Telisirama.’

Raju and Nagamani’s party impressed with ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Suddha Saveri) followed by the majestic nagaswaram with a group presenting ‘Akhilandeswari’ (Dwijawanti). Notable inclusions were the solo presentation of raag Sindhubhairav by Pt. Janardhan Mitta on the sitar and raag Maru Behag by Balesh on the shehnai. The penultimate offering, Nadatanumanism (Siddha Ranajni) was by Kanyakumari with all the violinists and her students.

In the grand finale, all the artists joined to thank the audience with ‘Entaro Mahanubhavulu’ (Sri). A host of percussion artists supported the instrumentalists in different combinations.

What I have said may look like a report. But it was a celebration and celebrations are meant for sharing and enjoyment. The emcee Krishna Babu constantly talked about the enthusiasm of the artistes, who had gathered breaking all barriers — age, name and fame, etc. The aim was to participate and showcase their speciality. Nuggets on Chennai and its musical history were provided as interludes by Rasikapriya, during the change of artists. The glitches in the sound system — unavoidable perhaps, given the range of instruments and their frequencies — was overshadowed by the spirit of the artistes, who were in excellent form.

The final piece reminded me of AIR’s ‘Vadya Vrinda’ — several artistes playing kritis in perfect unison. Perhaps Kanyakumari can think on those lines — live joint ventures with different instrumentalists, where each enjoys his space.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by G. Swaminathan / November 23rd, 2017

Two Chennai HMs get national award

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

Chennai :

The headmaster from a State Board school and another from a government-aided school were selected for the national award for best teachers for 2016 instituted by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry.

G J Manohar, headmaster and correspondent of Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, and A Edith Deva Thayanithi, headmistress of CSI Middle School, Saidapet, would receive their awards on September 5.

An alumni of the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, Manohar started as a teacher at the school in 1988. According to him, the award was given for the overall development of the school, quality of infrastructure and the academics. From after-school coaching classes, an open option especially for students who are first-generation learners who do not have proper facilities to remedial classes for lower classes, the school has been taking various initatives, he added.

“The uniqueness of this school is we have a mixture of students from different economic classes,” he said with pride. Devotion, determination and dedication to work are the motto that can make a student dynamic, believes Edith Deva Thayanithi, one of the two national award-winners from the city.

She started her career in teaching in 1987 in CSI Middle School in Tiruttani near Arakonam. After working in CSI schools in Perambur, she was made headmistress of the middle school in Saidapet.

“In my school, 90 per cent of the children are from scavenging background. I gave scholarship and minority scholarship out of my own interest. I approached the Collector’s office to give the students the scholarship,” she said.

During Chennai floods in 2015, she had opened the school for all flood victims. “Before I came to the Saidapet school, there was no proper building. I took iniative to construct the new building spending `32 lakh and also conducted science exhibition in the school,” said the winner of 2012 State award.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> State> Tamil Nadu / by Ashmita Gupta / Express News Service / September 02nd, 2017

Mytrah Energy erects tallest Met mast in Asia-Pacific

Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Massive wind turbine set up in Tuticorin
Hyderabad :  

Renewable energy producer Mytrah Energy has erected and commissioned the tallest Met mast in the Asia-Pacific region.

With a height of 160 metres, the mast is located at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district.

With this, Mytrah Energy broke its own record of installing a 150-metre mast in October. Since then, Mytrah has installed 150-metre masts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

“Power output depends on the size and height of turbines. Larger wind turbines lead to cost-effective power generation. Mytrah’s commissioning of this Met mast reflects its focus on developing technological tools for revolutionising the renewable energy sector in the country,” said Vikram Kailas, Vice-Chairman & MD, Mytrah Energy (India).

The Met mast has five wind speed monitoring levels (160m, 140m, 120m, 90m, 50m), three wind direction monitoring levels (138m, 118m and 88m), two temperature monitoring levels (160m and 10m) and one pressure sensor level (10m).

It is a combination of 400mm x400mm and 300mmx300mm square lattice structure with L angle tube that has all the sensors placed according to the IEC 61400-12-1 standard for accurate measurement of wind speed and direction.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – November 23rd, 2017

Rayala Corporation: An impressive balance sheet

Business & Economy, Leaders
At the book launch. Photo: M. Moorthy
At the book launch. Photo: M. Moorthy

The Rayala Story tells the tale of one of the oldest business families in the city and the man behind it all

In the pre-Independence era, when most industries were British run and there were few opportunities for Indians, there was one man from Madras who decided to break away from his previous employers and set up his own automobile service business. Soon, his company grew from strength to strength and he went on to add more portfolios to his already impressive repertoire. After his untimely demise in 1956, it was his son, and later his grandson, who took forward his vision and built the Rayala Corporation into the Rs. 600 crore empire that it is now.

The incredible story of M. Rajagopala Naidu, a man with humble beginnings who founded one of the most successful industries in Chennai, is documented in the book The Rayala Story. Penned by Sriram V., the book, which tells the tale of one of the oldest business families in the city, was launched in a ceremony that was filled with nostalgia with several of the city’s elite in attendance. The book was released by L. Lakshman, chairman of the Rane Group, and the first copy of the book was handed to Karumuttu Kannan, chairman and MD of Thiagarajar Mills, both long standing associates of the Rayala group.

The memoir, which was the brainchild of Ranjit Pratap, Rajagopala Naidu’s grandson, chronicles the latter’s journey from being the foreman at Addison Co to the patriarch of a respected business house, and the company’s evolution over the years. “I’ve wanted to have this book published for many years now and I am glad that it has finally happened. My grandfather passed away when I was three, but I’ve heard so much about him from his associates. He was a man with great foresight and was a compassionate philanthropist. It is only right that his story be told,” said Ranjit.

The book, incidentally, was released on the 92nd birthday of M.R. Pratap, who decided to consolidate the company after his father’s death and turned his focus on the company’s typewriter business. Author Sriram V. said, “He has such vivid memories of his father and the company’s journey over the years. We would meet him for an hour for research for this book and he would surprise us each time with his impeccable notes and recollection of all that we had discussed in the previous meetings. I’d say we had a hard time keeping pace with him.”

Shyamala Badsha, Rajagopala’s daughter, threw light on the kind of man her father was outside of work. Known for his punctuality and business acumen, he also encouraged the women of the family to strive for the best. “He would insist that we study well, got our exercise, ate our greens and kept our rooms tidy. He taught us the importance of hard work. He was the sort of man who would be the picture of sartorial elegance at the office and at home be equally comfortable spending time with his grandchildren in his dhoti,” she said. The Rayala Story chronicles the story of not just M. Rajagopala Naidu, but also the people behind the corporation and its ties with other Chennai-based business entities.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> MetroPlus / by Ranjani Rajendra / July 21st, 2015

Back to basics

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

AndreaCF24nov2017

Andrea Jeremiah’s original music takes centrestage in today’s live concert

The right to education is a cause that singer and actor Andrea Jeremiah is quite passionate about. “I strongly believe it is the single greatest weapon to fight poverty, ignorance and corruption. The primary purpose of education is to create awareness and a skill set. If you don’t have a skill, you can’t make a living,” she says.

So it’s no surprise that she’s lending her voice to support a fundraiser for a Skill Development Centre to be built by Y’s Men International. She will be live in concert today at Phoenix MarketCity. “I’m going to be performing only in English, taking a chance and doing more of my own music. The singer/songwriter side of me has been kept under wraps for too long,” says the singer, who grew up listening to country music. “When I was doing musical theatre and mainstream pop, my idols were Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Then in my late teens, I discovered Ella Fitzgerald and fell in love with jazz. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of eclectic EDM; so I basically listen to everything,” she says, when asked about her musical influences.

While she recently composed, wrote and sang an original number for her latest film, Taramani, she says, “Moving to music is not an option for me at the moment, simply because the independent music scene in India hasn’t fully evolved yet.” That being said, she has been spending a lot of time in the recording studio. “I have songs in various stages of development. I need to focus on releasing these.”

As for balancing cinema and music, Jeremiah says, “Cinema is a common platform for artists to create something together, from the art director to the actor. Being an actor is a different experience from being a singer, but they are both gratifying.”

Opening the show for Jeremiah is Sharanya Gopinath, who’s known for her songs in Uttama Villain, Valiyavan and Maragadha Naanayam. She will be performing with the Drop Squad Band, singing a mix of English, Hindi and Tamil numbers. “The set list includes upbeat songs from the 70s, like Gloria Gaynor, Diana Ross et al. There’s going to be something for everyone,” she says.

Andrea Jeremiah Live In Concert will take place at Phoenix MarketCity, today at 7 pm. Tickets at ₹2,000, ₹1,000 and ₹500 available on bookmyshow.com. 66513007

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Susanna Myrtle Lazarus / September 22nd, 2017

The fun way of learning science goes places

Education, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Trend-setters: Infinite Engineers is working on an educational project involving both adults and young children.
Trend-setters: Infinite Engineers is working on an educational project involving both adults and young children.

Chennai-based enterprise spreads mission to Singapore

Their realisation during college that there was more to learning than marks brought this team of seven youngsters to start ‘Infinite Engineers’ to impart science concepts through hands-on experience. Now, this Chennai-based social enterprise is making headway in education institutions in Singapore too.

Started in 2014 during their final year in college, the ‘Infinite Engineers’ conducted workshops for schools to make science learning an enjoyable experience in Chennai. To equip teachers with simple tools to impart science lessons, they designed ‘Dexter Box,’ a kit with prototype science experiments aligned with the school curriculum of classes VI to IX.

S. Harish, co-founder of Infinite Engineers, said, “Children get to learn about concepts from their lessons. For instance, we provide an experiment module to help students conduct nutrient test, learn about sprinkler and drip irrigation and human anatomy through simple activities. We have reached about 10,000 children in 300 government schools and 20 private schools so far in five districts.” Each ‘Dexter Box’ has 12 types of experiments, games and activity based on the syllabus. “The challenge is to design the experiments to demonstrate within the class hours. We are now focussing on designing Dexter Boxes for primary school children,” he said.

At an interactive session organised by Singapore International Foundation at St. Luke’s Eldercare, Singapore, Sruthi Sadanand, one of the team members pursuing masters degree in the country, said she had identified the potential for their enterprise there and reached out to schools. “There is a robust environment for social enterprise to flourish in Singapore. If we prove we can add value to society, the start-ups could get financial aid too,” she said. “We have joined hands with Air Amber, another social enterprise in Singapore, for an inter-generation project wherein children and aged persons are involved in trying out experiments together. We are also launching a study on how the tools help the elderly and children with autism,” she said. The enterprise plans to launch online stores soon.

(This correspondent was in Singapore at the invitation of Singapore International Foundation, which encourages social entrepreneurs)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Lakshmi / Chennai – November 22nd, 2017

Trisha becomes UNICEF celebrity advocate

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

She will voice rights of children, address major issues such as anaemia, early marriage and child abuse

Trisha Krishnan. | Photo Credit: PTI
Trisha Krishnan. | Photo Credit: PTI

Actor Trisha Krishnan is all set to don a new role, but in real life this time. She is the first actor from South India to be bestowed with the UNICEF celebrity advocate status.

She will voice the rights of young people, especially girls. The actor will support the efforts to address problems faced by children in Tamil Nadu and Kerala such as anaemia, early marriage, labour and child abuse.

Speaking at the event here on Monday, Ms. Trisha said that she was honoured to get the recognition.

“I commit myself to creating more awareness on health, education, nutrition and protection of children, especially the adolescents and young people in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. I would support the efforts of the government to make Tamil Nadu malnutrition-free and open defecation-free,” said the actor.

Interacting with over 50 children at the function, she said education for girls was a magic bullet that would eliminate social evils.

On child marriage

“If all girls attended school, we can eliminate child marriage and child labour. In the long run, [providing] education to girls will also contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality and malnutrition,” she added. Making the announcement at a special function to mark the World Children’s Day, Job Zachariah, Chief of UNICEF office—Tamil Nadu and Kerala said Trisha was an icon for younger generation.

“She has the power to amplify the children’s issues and address violation of child rights in the family, community and in public spaces. She will also promote education and health of adolescents and the value of girl child in family and society.”

Ms. Trisha has acted in 64 films, including 38 in Tamil, 23 in Telugu and one each in Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam.

The programme was attended by M.P. Nirmala, Chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Sugata Roy, UNICEF communication specialist and representatives from child rights organisations and academic institutions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities>Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 21st, 2017

Tributes paid to renowned neurologist

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Science & Technologies

Former Governor of West Bengal Gopalakrishna Gandhi paid rich tributes to the late neurologist Krishnamoorthy Srinivas at the Buddhi Immersion 2017, a workshop on the Brain, Mind and Integrative Medicine, held in the city on Friday. Mr. Gandhi said Dr. Srinivas had a microchip of a memory with a giga byte voltage containing everything in tight configuration and it could be unravelled at the slightest touch. Dr. Srinivas had the knack to describe an event, relate an episode or explain a phenomenon with sparkling clarity.

Mr. Gandhi said, “If you had to mention a name but were struggling, he (Dr. Srinivas) would complete the name, the background, ancestry, the signs of the zodiac, the traits of personality, the foils and foibles and it was only his highest professional rectitude which kept him from further going into the person’s medical history.”

Mr. Gandhi recalled a pertinent conversation with Dr. Srinivas about old age and the reasons for forgetfulness wherein he said the main reason for one to forget was not that they had forgotten but they did not choose to remember, which meant they did not register with due care what was being said to them.

Book released

“Dr. Srinivas said that if only they had registered it with due attention, they would not have experienced what seems to be the case of forgetfulness. So if you are interested in something, you are not likely to forget,” Mr. Gandhi recalled. He released the book ‘Autism: The Buddhi Book’ written by Ennapadam K. Krishnamoorthy and Subbulakshmy Natarajan on the occasion.

B.N. Gangadhar, director of NIMHANS, delivering the Dr. Krishnamoorthy Srinivas Lecture 2017, talked on the subject ‘Yoga for Integrative Mental Health: Neurobiological Evidence’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – November 18th, 2017

Chennai firm helps Axelsen rise to the top of badminton world

Business & Economy, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Viktor Axelsen with My Game Stat founders Sunil Kumar (extreme left), Senthil Kumaran (2nd from right) and Ashok B
Viktor Axelsen with My Game Stat founders Sunil Kumar (extreme left), Senthil Kumaran (2nd from right) and Ashok B

Chennai :

Viktor Axelsen is Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth’s enemy No.1.

The World No. 1 is a step ahead of Srikanth in the rankings and there’s a Chennai firm that has played a major role in the Danish star’s rise to the top.

Since early 2017, Axelsen has been working in close collaboration with My Game Stat (MGS), which offers performance analytics in badminton. Comprising former player Ashok B, Sunil Kumar, Senthil Kumaran and Sajith. The company was set up in August 2016 with the intention of devising a performance analytics tool which the players can access for a wide range of data about their game.

Axelsen, who became the world champion earlier this year, even sported the MGS logo on his T-shirt for three Super Series tournaments earlier in the year. The player’s association with the company started just before the Indian Open earlier this year.

“I was very curious to know whether the top badminton players were using any analytics. This entire topic is very new. When you discuss this, everyone is immediately interested. When I got in touch with Viktor using my contacts, I found out he was still using his diary to make notes after every match and tournament. He probably plays 70 to 80 matches in a year and he can’t note down every detail. Once we started talking, he was immediately interested and said he had never been exposed to this kind of data,” Ashok told TOI .

Firm eyes tie-up with Sindhu & Co

Axelsen, too, acknowledged the difference that MGS has made to his game. “It is very useful and definitely helping me to prepare for my matches,” he was quoted by the MGS website.

According to the analytics experts, Axelsen himself was unaware about a potential weakness to lefthanded players. “There was this particular pattern where we noticed that he was susceptible to lefthanders. He was shocked with what he saw and understood the kind of contribution we could make to his game,” Ashok said. It was no surprise that Axelsen went on to beat Chinese legend Lin Dan, a left-hander, in the World C’ship final.

While the passion that the four shared for badminton brought them together, Senthil’s work experience as a consultant to a company which is the prime vendor for the National Football League in the US, combined with his eye for detail for the sport, was invaluable. Indian badminton is on a high with the rise of PV Sindhu, Srikanth and a host of other players, but the quartet hasn’t yet tied up with Gopichand & Co. The founders, though, insist it’s a matter of time.

“As an Indian company, we obviously want to associate with Indian players. That is the next objective. We did not want to contact the Indian players until and unless we had a time-tested, proven module.

We cannot afford to fail in India. We have already been in touch with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and we expect things to be in place by January,” Sunil added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by Vivek Krishnan / TNN / November 19th, 2017