Shishya’s Jajoo is Tamil Nadu’s topper in ICSE board exam

Education, Records, All

Aakashcf31MAY2017

Chennai :

Aakash Jajoo, from Thiruvanmyur’s Shishya School stood first in Tamil Nadu in the ICSE Class X board exam, results for which were declared on Monday.

The Council for The Indian School Certificate Examination announced the Class XII (ISC) results as well. While the pass percentage in Tamil Nadu for ICSE was 99.72 per cent, for ISC it was 99.34 per cent. There were three toppers in ICSE from Tamil Nadu of which one was from Chennai and two others from Vellore. ICS had four toppers from the State, all of whom were from Chennai.

Jajoo scored 493 out of 500. He scored 94 in English, 94 in Hindi and 99 in History, Civics and Geography and 100 in Maths, 100 in Science and 100 in Computer Application. “I spent four to five hours in studies every day. I want to take up science in Class XI and XII. I have not thought of as of now what I want to pursue after XII. I received lot of support from my teachers for which I am grateful,” he said.

His mother said he was very consistent in studies. “He had a planned schedule. He’d solve sample papers every day for two hours. Besides, he would focus on sports like tennis, badminton and cricket. He also spent time on drama, debate and dancing and would also watch television,” she said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / May 30th, 2017

Krishnagiri girl with partial vision scores 96.6 per cent in CBSE exam

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
Dharshana (PTI Photo)
Dharshana (PTI Photo)

Krishnagiri :

The nation was busy celebrating toppers who scored over 99 per cent in the CBSE Class XII exams, and Dharshana’s journey to scoring 96.6 per cent got less attention than it deserved. But her story is worth telling, for she overcame a different set of challenges on her way to success.

A student of Nalanda International Public Sc­­h­o­ol in Krishnagiri, Dharshana, who has only parti­al vision, came third in the persons-with-disabilities cate­g­ory of CBSE exams, scoring 483 marks out of 500. Dharshana has no vision in her left eye and partial v­ision in the right. “She worked really hard right, but we did not ex­pect her to grab the third position,” says her father R Mohan, a businessman. “Her hard work to­ok her to this position. Dhars­h­ana wrote the exam herself, wi­th additional time of one ho­ur.”

Parents of children with disabilities should spend more time with them, says Mohan. His wife Vijayalaskhmi is a stay-at-home mother and Dharshana is the second of their two daughters. “They expect this because they do not have many friends. So parents have to step up and spend time with them, be their friends, their guide… and they definitely will achieve their goals.”

“I want to become an entrepreneur,” says Dharshana, thanking her parents, friends and teachers who were happy to hear about her achievement. “I want to study BCom. My father is a businessman and so I naturally like business,” she says.

How the students fared
Overall Pass Percentage
2016: 83.05%
2017: 82.02%

Region-wise pass percentage
95.62% Trivandrum
92.6% Chennai
88.37% Delhi

Gender-wise pass percentage
87.5% -Girls

78% – Boys

63,247 students scored above 90%
10,091 students scored above 95%

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by M. Sabari / Express News Service / May 29th, 2017

ASI begins third phase of excavation at Keezhadi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
Digging deeper: P.S. Sriraman, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, launching the third phase of the excavation work at Keezhadi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: S. James
Digging deeper: P.S. Sriraman, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, launching the third phase of the excavation work at Keezhadi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: S. James

Four trenches to be dug in an area of 400 square metres

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Saturday began the third phase of excavation at Keezhadi in Sivaganga district, roughly 12 km from here.

P.S. Sriraman, Superintending Archaeologist, Excavations Branch (Bengaluru), ASI, who is now in-charge of the Keezhadi site, told reporters here that the excavation would continue through the end of September.

“We are hoping to make more interesting findings in this phase,” he said.

Four trenches in an area of around 400 square metres would be dug initially at the coconut groves at Pallichanthai Thidal in Keezhadi, where the excavation has been on since 2015, and the area will gradually be expanded throughout the third phase depending on the findings, he said.

Saying that ₹40 lakh had been allocated by the ASI for the third phase, Mr. Sriraman stressed that there was no shortage of funds.

On-site museum

He said that shifting of artefacts, likely to be discovered at the excavation site, to ASI offices elsewhere could not be ruled out for advanced analysis and ensure preservation of the artefacts.

“However, setting up an on-site museum, similar to the ones set up at various ASI sites, is under consideration. If that happens, all the artefacts will be brought here itself,” he said.

Highlighting that carbon-dating of two samples of charcoal from the excavation site has indicated that the human settlement at the site was around 200 BC, Mr. Sriraman said more samples would be sent abroad for carbon dating.

A total of 5,800 artefacts were found in the last two phases of excavation.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Arunachalam  / Madurai – May 27th, 2017

India’s Bhavani Devi strikes gold in fencing championship at Reykjavik

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international fencing event.

Bhavani Devi defeated Great Britain’s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13 in the finals.
Bhavani Devi defeated Great Britain’s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13 in the finals.

Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi struck gold in the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik (Iceland). Bhavani Devi, who hails from Chennai, defeated Great Britain’s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13. En route to the final, she also defeated Jessica Corby 15-11 in the semifinal.

With this win, Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international fencing event. She had previously won a silver medal.

“This is my third time in this competition. I have lost in quarterfinals in previous years. Now I have won my first medal. It is also the first medal in world level competition as I have won medals in Asian and Commonwealth championships,” a delighted Bhavani told PTI from Reykjavik.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Sports Others / by Express Web Desk / May 28th, 2017

Na. Kamarasan, pioneer of free verse, is no more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Introduced to the film world by MGR, he has penned memorable songs

Na. Kamarasan, a pioneer of free verse, who penned some of the memorable songs for Tamil films since the days of MGR died at the age of 76, here on Wednesday. He was closely associated with the Vaanambadi poetry movement.

His poetry collection Karuppu Malargal, which refers to black people, created waves in the Tamil literary world.

“He was not keeping well for some time. He was a diabetic and it led to multiple organ failure,” said his wife Logamani.

He is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

Poi vaa nathi alaiye in MGR’s film Pallandu Vaazhga, accompanied by the beatings of the percussion instrument dholak, continue to remain one of the popular songs in Tamil.

Kanavugaley aaiyram kanavugaley, O maaney maaney unnai thaaaney, Paadum vaanambadi, O margazhi maasamo, Vilakku vacha nerathiley maamanVanthan, Vaanile thenilaa aaduthey paduthe and Thuppakki kaiyil eduthu are some of the film songs penned by him.

“It is the lyrical quality of his songs that set him apart from other poets. MGR, who introduced a new crop of song writers such as Panchu Arunachalam, Pulamaipithan and Muthulingam also introduced Kamarasan. His first film was Neethikku Thalai Vanangu” said poet Magudeswaran, the author of Paattuthiram.

Though his songs earned a great name in the film world, he did not seem to enjoy the field. “I used to make garlands and suddenly went to cut grass,” he remarked about his experience in the film world.

Born in Meenakshipuram in Bodi, Kamarasan worked as a Tamil teacher in Madurai Thiyagaraja College. “When he taught, the class would be full as students from other classes also used to attend,” said Mr. Magudeswaran. His greatness was explained by the fact that Kannadasan came forward to write the preface for his poetry collection Suryagandhi.

“Karuppu Malargal has a poem on the life of Paliar, a tribal community and it could be considered one of the first Dalit poems,” he said.

“When India got independence I became a slave. It was on that day I was sent to school,” he wrote once.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – May 25th, 2017