Monthly Archives: September 2012

Young long jumper aims high

Sports

For K. Prem Kumar, 19 from Thanjavur, nothing is more important than long jumps which he practices every day.

Sleeping on a mat in a small room with five others is not a deterrent for this youth who is determined to give his very best at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“I will win a medal at the Olympics,” the Asian junior bronze medallist told this newspaper. Having lost his father at a young age, Prem Kumar has been raised by his mother Uma Rani who works in a church at Orathanadu in Thanjavur.

The young boy started jumping, literally, while studying in Class IX. “I used to take part in school competitions and during one such meet I met coach P. Nagarajan, who asked me to move to Chennai,” said Prem Kumar.

After joining Mr Pachaiyappa’s school, he began training scientifically under the able guidance of Mr Nagarajan, who enrolled him at St Joseph Sports Academy.

Prem Kumar’s first big success came at the national junior meet, where he bagged gold with a jump of 7.86 metres in 2010. Recently at the Asian indoor trial at Bengaluru, he touched his personal best of 7.92 metres. However, he fumbled at his first few international meets.

“I am a non-vegetarian. But I couldn’t stand the food available at China and Spain. They were not cooked as in India. The smell itself was not palatable,” he said.

But the young champion did not get bogged down. “I am slowly getting used to that food. I have decided not to use that as a reason anymore for my below-average performance. I will surely achieve bigger success in the next international meet,” he added.

In June Prem Kumar won a bronze at the Asian junior championships at Colombo with a jump of 7.52 metres, before that in February, his 7.62 metres jump had helped him get a bronze at the Asian senior indoor championship at China.

While the long jumper has set his eyes on the Rio Olympics, he has decided not to pursue his studies nor take up a job immediately.

“My mother earns about Rs 7,000 per month and she sends me some money. I try not to trouble her much.

My club is also helping me. At present my concentration is only on training. I will take up a job after reaching my goal of winning an Olympic medal,” he said.

sujatha.s@deccanmail.com

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Sports> Others / by S. Sujatha, DC, Chennai / September 09th, 2012

Desal plant gives life to Madurai village

Uncategorized

Madurai:

With villages that used indigenous methods of water harvesting and storing being forced to look for alternative means, Kottanathampatti in Madurai is jubilant as it has been given a desalination plant to address its drinking water needs.

Kottanathampatti, identified a model village in the district, boasts of self-sustenance but for potable water. Relief came on Saturday when a desalination plant put up at a cost of Rs 6 lakh started functioning. The plant has an automatic dispenser that supplies 18 litres of water for Rs 2. The villagers need to drop in two one-rupee coins and collect the water from the plant, that has a capacity of 5,000 litres.

“The villagers can also have a pre-paid account, wherein they should pay Rs 100 and get their fingerprints registered. These people need not pay every time they want water. Instead, they should identify themselves in the fingerprint reader and collect water. The idea of the project is to ensure potable water for all villagers,” said collector Anshul Mishra who inaugurated the plant.

This is not the first time desalination plants have come to the rescue of drinking water-starved villages in Tamil Nadu. The villagers of K Ramanathapuram in Dindigul district have established a community-funded desalination plant to turn the highly saline ground water to consumable standards.

Mishra said the district administration was gearing up to implement similar projects in other villages too.

The district administration has selected one village in all unions and was addressing the needs of the people there, he added.

Kotanathampatti was chosen as a model village by former collector U Sagayam to show the way of self sustenance and development with assistance from the local body and the district administration. The village has also begun a green cover drive aimed at improving the groundwater table. To begin with, each of the 3,000 households have planned to raise one tree.

Another key aspect of “project self sustenance” is to make the village 100 per cent literate by ensuring that there are no dropouts. K Kandappan, panchayat president, notes that though the village was endowed with adequate resources, potable water was the only major problem.

With the desalination plant, that problem has been addressed and now the village is also planning to go in for solar power production.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by M Mayilvaganan, TNN / September 09th, 2012

A new innings

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A still from Karuppampatti

Prabhu Raja Chozhan offers a sneak peek at Karuppampatti, his directorial debut, which is to hit the screens shortly

Director Prabhu Raja Chozhan takes as much pride in discussing the days he spent as an assistant to director Shankar as he does talking about his first filmKaruppampatti, which is nearing completion.

“After finishing my degree in Philosophy from the Madras Christian College, I joined the film institute for a diploma in Film Technology. When I was on the verge of completing it, I got to know that director Shankar was looking for assistants. I was selected from among 150 who turned up for the interview,” he beams with pride.

Explaining what had made him stand out, he says, “Shankar wanted us to write a script in 15 days. I finished mine in four. I went on to work with him in Anniyanand Sivaji.”

Prabhu’s Karuppampatti, portions of which have been shot in France and Italy, has an interesting plot.

“The story revolves around Kodhai Cacopardo, an NRI in France, who comes to a place called Karuppampatti in India in search of his roots. His mother is French and his father, Indian. Ajmal plays the lead along with Aparna Bajpai, who was one of the heroines in the Samuthirakani-starrer Easan. Both lead actors play dual roles,” he says.

Ajmal plays both father and son, while the mother’s role is played by an Italian actor called Alice Vergani. It took 85 days for the team to shoot the film, which included a 30-day schedule abroad.

Says Prabhu: “We shot for 20 days in France and 10 in Italy. The film features five songs, while the album has an additional one. Kannan of Tamil Padam fame has scored the music.”

Ask him whether he has shown the film to his mentor Shankar, and he says, “Not yet. I intend to screen it for him once the first copy is ready.”

What is the most important lesson he has learnt from the ace director? “The importance of hard work. While working on his films, Shankar would arrive in office before any of us did and would leave only after us,” says Prabhu.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Cinema / by K.R. Manigandan / September 08th, 2012

Grand celebration planned for A.R.Rahman

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Isai Puyal A.R.Rahman recently completed 20 years in his film music career and to commemorate this occasion, a grand celebration has been planned in Kamarajar Memorial Hall, Chennai on the 21st of October.

Leading music composers, directors, actors, playback singers and lyricists will be participating in this event which has been titled “ISAI PUYAL – The Man – The Music – The Magic”. RAINDROPSS a youth based team from Chennai is organizing for the grand celebration and Rahman’s sister A.R.Raihanah (Brand Ambassador of Raindropss) will be leading these celebrations held in appreciation of the Oscar winner.

Udhaya Raagam UK.Murali will be supporting the grand celebrations with his orchestra and the part of the proceeds from this celebrations will be donated for a noble cause. For more details about the celebrations, call 9841020120 or mail at project.raindropss@gmail.com

source: http://www.behindwoods.com / Home> More News / September 07th, 2012

50 more milch cows given away in Trichy

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Science & Technologies

Trichy:

The joint director of animal husbandry department in Trichy, E Chinnadurai, distributed 50 more free milch cows in Thiruvasi village in Lalgudi division to the beneficiaries. For the first time, all the beneficiaries and their companions stayed in the villages on the border of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for three days to purchase the right cow. Chinnadurai later claimed that the process had now become foolproof. It was the intermediary officials roped in to help in the purchase of the cattle from the neighbouring states who exploited the norms of the scheme to pocket huge commissions. Chinnadurai had instructed the purchasing team to stay at the villages until the right cow was purchased.

Chinnadurai said that the purchasing team recorded three days of milk yield before the beneficiaries themselves decided to buy them. With the 50 cows distributed in the first week of September, the total number of free cows distributed has gone up to 250, just 100 short of the target of 350 for the current fiscal. Last year, 450 cows were distributed to beneficiaries in nine villages at a cost of Rs 1.55 crore. Similarly, 4,089 goats were distributed to beneficiaries spread over 55 villages in Trichy district at a cost of Rs 5.19 crore. During this fiscal, 4,988 beneficiaries have been distributed goats spread over 81 villages – most of them falling under Srirangam constituency – at a cost of Rs 6.35 crore.

“I have clearly told them that they should keep their hands off the cow that does not yield at least a total of 10 litres of milk a day (five litres each in the morning and evening),” Chinnadura told TOI. Since a number of cows died from the lot of earlier distribution, Chinnadurai has ordered a team of officials including an assistant director of cattle breeding and fodder development, an assistant director from the animal diseases intelligence unit and a clinician to visit at least two villages where the free milch cows and goats were distributed and file an inspection report.

The stringent measures were necessary because in Srirangam, five of the 150 cows purchased from Andhra Pradesh had died in the first week of January, he said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home>  City> Madurai> Villages / TNN, September 07th, 2012

Devotees throng Shrine Basilica at Velankanni

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Uncategorized

Nagapattinam (TN), Sep 7 (PTI)

Thousands of devotees from various parts of the country today thronged Velankanni in this district to witness the illuminated Grand Car Procession at the Shrine Basilica.

Prior to the car festival, the holy flag was hoisted. After special prayers on the theme “Mary -refuge of Sinners” conducted by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio and Bishop of Thanjavur Devdoss Ambrose, seven illuminated cars in various sizes were taken in a procession.

source: http://www.ptinews.com  / Home> National / by Staff Reporter / September 08th, 2012

Mongrel Jack from Madurai could be nominated the cutest Indian dog

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nature

Chennai:

Believe it or not, a mongrel from Madurai could well be crowned the cutest Indian dog. Jack, an Indian breed dog (aka mongrel) who was rescued and raised by a student in the temple city, is one of the ten finalists of PETA’s Cutest Indian Dog Alive Contest. Open only to rescued dogs, the criteria for selection was as simple as a photograph and a heart-warming story. Says Chani Singh, Campaign Co-ordinator, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), “We’ve been through hundreds of entries, both from street rescues and animal shelters.”

As it turns out, Jack from Madurai caught the attention of the PETA judges. With his floppy brown ears, Jack is the only nominee from Tamil Nadu and has no idea that his competition comes from as far as Lucknow, Ludhiana and Pune. His owner R Amirtham, an MSc Computer Science student, recalls how he found the now-famous dog, “Jack was a tiny puppy when I found him howling in the heat on a particularly hot summer day, near my house’s compound wall.”

His eyes wouldn’t open and he was too weak to stand, so he just howled for a long time. Amirtham already had a 5-year-old pomeranian at home, but his heart went out to the pup. “I gave him some milk and even found him a home with a neighbour,” Amirtham continues. But Jack and the pom Nemo were inseparable by then and staying apart was not an option. Now, who can argue wth incessant barks? So Jack was brought back, and has found happiness with an older woman (Nemo is now six), and couldn’t be any happier with his new family.

Jack may have no idea that he is in a contest, but hopefully his face will help change the trend of the ‘pedigree-only’ mentality that is the case with a large section of pet owners today. Chani elaborates, “We believe that it’s time to champion the Indian dog, so the contest makes the point that the kindest thing that a prospective dog guardian can do is rescue a dog from the streets or an animal shelter.”

So if you want ‘Madurai’ Jack to win, log on to PETA India’s website and vote. Famous or not – one thing’s for sure – Jack’s tail will be wagging vigorously.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Home> South> Chennai / The New Indian Express, Indian Express / IBN Chennai, September 07th, 2012