Stalwarts and eminent professionals from the healthcare industry gathered for the book launch of ‘Ward 10 – Remembering Rangabashyam’, a chronicle of the life of celebrated gastroenterologist, the late Dr N Rangabashyam, at a ceremony in the city, on Thursday.
Rangabashyam, who passed away in 2013, was a pioneer in the field of surgical gastroenterology and proctology. He was the first person to establish the Dept of Surgical Gastroenterology at the Madras Medical College, and served as the honorary surgeon to former president R Venkataraman. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002.
Apollo Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy speaks on late Gastroenterologist Rangabashyam at a function held to launch a book on the latter | P JAWAHAR
Speaking at the function, chief guest Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said: “I admired NR, as he was fondly known, in every way – not just as a wonderful colleague but also a respected teacher who showed his proficiency in his field. No wonder Ward 10 (his ward at MMC) was always filled with students who wanted to learn from him!”
Dr Abraham Verghese, vice chair for theory and practice of medicine, Stanford University, USA, recounted his experience as a student under Rangabashyam, describing him as “a skilled surgeon”, but short-tempered if his colleagues failed to keep his high standards. “He leaves behind a legion of physicians whose moral compass is absolutely set,” said Verghese.
The book was launched by Chitra, Rangabashyam’s wife, who presented a copy to Reddy. ‘Dr Rangabashyathin Saritham’ – a Tamil biographical sketch by Shanthakumari Sivakadaksham, was also released.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by Express News Service / December 16th, 2016
“T. T. Vasu’s contribution to the TTK Group was significant but it hasn’t been recognised. He had a significant role to play in creation of Ponds, London Rubber Co during the time of family planning and TTK Maps, which was a German collaboration,” said S. Muthiah, historian and author of The Man Who Could Never Say ‘No’, whose subject is T. T. Vasu, last son of the famous industrialist T. T. Krishnamachari.
Mr. Muthiah said that the book is a frank appraisal of industrialist Vasu. “He started something, but he got bored soon and moved on. Despite all the problems, he slept well in the night,” he said.
Releasing the book, former Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, said T.T. Vasu was someone who took tradition seriously, but pricked the sanctimony around tradition. “He did not take himself too seriously. He did not regard himself as lofty. He regarded tradition seriously, he was conservative about belonging,” said Mr. Gandhi.
Carnatic Singer T.M. Krishna, who fondly remembered his uncle, said that Vasu was a ‘superstar uncle’ who would always hold his own no matter who he was with. “He was a magnetic person. In a way, my learning music itself was due to him. At that time, the world of Carnatic music didn’t care about young musicians. But Vasu supported young musicians with no questions asked,” he said.
He added that the book ‘expresses a whole spectrum of his personality’.
N. Sankar, chairman, Sanmar Group, recollected how his father roped in T.T. Vasu to instal a Kamaraj statue in Delhi.
“He was a true people’s person,” he said.
T.T. Vasu’s sons Arun and Arvind shared their memories about the time they spent with their father.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Citis> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / December 14th, 2016
The Madras Literary Society houses more than 55,000 books / PM Naveen
The 204-year-old Madras Literary Society in Chennai is getting a new lease of life, thanks to youthful volunteers and a social media campaign. Karthik Subramanian finds out more.
The sight takes your breath away.
As you step in, you encounter bookshelf after bookshelf rising up from the floor to the ceiling. It is as though you have stumbled upon a waterfall of books.
The Madras Literary Society library located in the centre of the south Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras.
It houses more than 55,000 books, including a huge collection of tomes that are between 150 and 300 years old.
From outside, the imposing red brick building, which was constructed in 1905, looks like something out of a British period movie.
The architectural style is typical of the Indo-Saracenic movement, favoured by the architects of British India in the late 19th Century.
A group of youngsters are stepping into help restore the library to its former glory / PM Naveen
Established by the East India Company in 1812 to train its employees in administration, languages, law, religion and “customs of the natives”, the library was initially located inside the Fort St George between 1812 and 1854 and moved to its current location in the year 1905.
One of the oldest books in its collection is Isaac Newton’s Naturalis Principia Mathematica (“The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”) published in the year 1729.
It also contains memoirs and accounts published by the British officers of the Raj, such as “The History of Buckingham Canal” which was published in 1898.
But some of these are in a dire state and require immediate restoration, a process that costs from 5,000 rupees ($74; £58) to 12,000 rupees. Without adequate funds and staffing, the old books will soon turn to dust.
Many already have.
Without adequate funds, some of the books are turning to dust / PM Naveen
But now, a group of young volunteers are stepping in to help.
“The first time I saw the shelves, I just went wow,” Rajith Nair, a 38-year-old entrepreneur and volunteer at the library told the BBC.
“I have seen libraries like this only in the movies and thought they only existed in old libraries and museums of Europe.”
That was in June last year.
Since then, many youngsters have enrolled as members in the library. They are also actively recruiting other young people through projects like open house days, an adopt-a-book campaign and an aggressive social media strategy.
Thirupura Sundari Sevvel, a 26-year-old heritage consultant, is a regular at the open house the library conducts every Saturday. She helps in the conservation of books, and also trains volunteers to catalogue the titles.
She is also responsible for creating and maintaining a Facebook communities page that actively promotes the restoration of the library’s books.
The Madras Literary Society is still a circulating library / PM Naveen
One such recently restored book is a collection of cartoon prints by legendary political satirist James Gillray, which were originally published between 1798 and 1810.
They first caught the attention of author KRA Narasiah last year.
“I was writing a series in a newspaper about Buckingham Canal and was at the library doing some research when this book caught my eye,” he says.
“It was a serendipitous find. The comics were a wonderful example of political satire. I knew it was something special and had to be revived.”
The restoration work itself was carried out by P Renganathan, who has been restoring books for more than two decades now. The book of cartoons, he recalls, was in bad shape.
“It was affected by insects, had fungus and several water strains. I had it restored by encapsulating it in specially processed archival grade polyester films.”
A collection of cartoon prints by legendary political satirist James Gillray is one of the restored books / PM Naveen
Mr Mohanraman, the 73-year-old honorary secretary of the library, says the youth interest has been a huge lease of life to the library, which he believes “is caught between two worlds”.
The library is “caught between two worlds”, its secretary says / PM Naveen
“The Madras Literary Society was established to encourage scholastic work. This is one of the birthplaces of what we refer to as the Madras School of Orientalism. We want to preserve that aspect,” he explains.
“But it is also a circulating library that is still catering to its members. Most of our members are senior citizens, who prefer to read books in the physical form. Our challenge is to find a middle path and achieve both goals.”
The library today has close to 350 members who each pay 850 rupees a year to access the rare books inside. The membership has actually doubled over the last 12 months, Mr Mohanraman says.
He says that the goal is to reach a target of 1,000 members, which will help him realise his dream of restoring it to not just a vibrant lending library, but a thriving cultural centre.
source: http://www.bbc.com / BBC / Home> BBC News> Asia> India / December 10th, 2016
