Monthly Archives: December 2018
Musicians honoured by Tamil Isai Sangam
Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman given the title Isai Perarignar
Tamil Isai Sangam honoured two musicians — Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and K. Venkatesan — at the 76th annual Tamil Isai Festival. Mridangam exponent Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman was given the title Isai Perarignar and musician K. Venkatesan the title Pann Isai Perarignar.
At an age where most people’s fingers and hands begin to shake, Mr. Sivaraman was deftly and beautifully playing the mridangam, said former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Ila Ganesan. He spoke about how important it was to pick an odhuvar like Mr. Venkatesan and greatly appreciated the Tamil Isai Sangam for honouring him. “There is a difference [in the way music is viewed] here and in the west,” he added.
Mr. Sivaraman, after accepting the award, said technology had blurred boundaries and with internet, students from across the world were able to learn music from artistes here.
President of Tamil Isai Sangam P.R. Gokulakrishnan and honorary secretary of Tamil Isai Sangam A.C. Muthiah were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – December 22nd, 2018
24
No debating this student’s terrific oratary skills
The curriculum for the World Scholar’s Cup competition is diverse and varies from pop culture to neuroscience to macroeconomics.
Chennai :
It was half-past 5 and we were at Savera hotel to meet Aadi Sai Vijaykaran, a 13-year-old from KC High, who created history by winning the Junior Debate Championship at the World Scholar’s Cup held at Yale University from November 16-21. Clad in a crisp blazer, holding his shining trophy, the class 8 student oozed confidence. This is the first time an individual from India has won the coveted title. “My wife and I noticed that Aadi had a flair for oration, even when he was very young. We picked that and worked on honing his skill,” said Aadi’s father, Vijay.
The curriculum for the World Scholar’s Cup competition is diverse and varies from pop culture to neuroscience to macroeconomics. “I took quite a bit of time to prepare for this year-long contest. But, it has been a very interesting process…from getting a deep understanding of the syllabus and topics, practising and improving my public speaking and writing skills to working on my body language, I did it all. Motivation from my mother Vanitha Venugopal and father Vijay helped to be steadfast and work all the way till the end. I also trained at A to Zee Creativity — to practice, train and refine my skills with other scholars,” shared Aadi.
The sharp-witted youngster soaks in news and has the knack of picking information from different places and processing it. He also followed the United States Presidential debates as part of the preparation process. “There are several speakers who I draw inspiration from. One of them is Barack Obama and Shashi Tharoor. I wouldn’t declare myself a fan, but I have certainly learnt a lot by watching these speakers,” he explained.
The Tournament of Champions of World Scholar’s Cup is a competition for young debaters from around the world. Of the 40,000 students who participated across the globe, only 2,000 participants qualified for the final of ‘The Tournament of Champions’ through the various rounds held across the world from January.
The theme for the cup was ‘An Entangled World: diplomacy, human relationships, the science of memory, and literature, art and music’. “The competition took place over a series of rounds, and motivated us to discover new strengths, practice new skills and to inspire a global community of future scholars and leaders,” Aadi said.
For Aadi, WSC was not just about winning but also about meeting people from countries he hasn’t visited or even knew existed.“I learnt so much about our diverse world. The experience of cultural diversity and globalism was enthralling. We interacted with professors and got a feel of what it takes to get into college,” he said.
He won ‘the Top Debater in the World’ title across 58 countries, against thousands of students aged 10 to 15. Economics has become a subject of interest for Aadi. “I am good at Math, with numbers and learning about macroeconomics has drawn me to the subject,” he said.The youngster is a trained Carnatic musician, has a black belt in Karate, plays chess and football.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne Balasubramanian / Express News Service / December 26th, 2018
22
Start-up turns plastic waste into diesel substitute
Paterson Energy looks to set up a project in Pallikaranai, tap CSR funds
Chennai-based start-up Paterson Energy is looking to set up a 5 tonne-per-day plastic waste-to-fuel project in Pallikaranai and hoping to tap corporate social responsibility funds for the project.
The company uses a technology called plastic pyrolysis and builds plants at locations where it can process plastic waste to produce liquid fuel, which is cheaper than diesel.
This can be used as an alternative to fuel generators, industrial boilers, kilns, furnaces, diesel-powered engines and other such equipment.
It claims that there will be over 20% savings on fuel bills.
Cheaper than diesel
The oil generated as a result of these processes is sold at ₹40/litre on average. The model can generate 500 litres of oil for each tonne of plastic waste. However, the yield depends on the feedstock – the more homogeneous the material, the better the yield output.
“We can also source single-use plastic, which is not normally picked up by ragpickers, for conversion into fuel. But the challenge is we need huge volumes,” Vidya Amarnath, Director, Paterson Energy, said.
“If the State government can bring in regulations on collection of such plastic waste through various collection centres, it would be of great help for us to source,” she added.
She said that the company is working with the Tamil Nadu government in setting up plastic waste-to-fuel plants at feasible locations.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Sanjay Vijayakumar / Chennai – December 22nd, 2018
20
Palani student’s artwork to feature in NASA calendar
Twelve-year-old’s drawing finds a spot in the American space agency’s Commercial Crew Calendar for 2019
A drawing by a 12-year-old from Palani has found a place in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) international Commercial Crew Calendar for 2019.
N. Thenmukilan, a Class VIII student of Shri Vidhya Mandir, Palani, drew an image of an astronaut cultivating fruits and vegetables in space to boost nutrition. He said that it took two full days to put his concept on paper. His entry was chosen from among thousands of others vying for a spot in the calendar at an international level.
Thenmukilan said that he began taking an interest in art from the age of 6. He would spend hours drawing and colouring. “Our school has a club called ‘Image Minds’, which helps us explore ideas creatively. When I first heard about the topic ‘Space Food’, my mind went several places. I finally settled for the concept of cultivating food in space as fresh vegetables never last the journey,” he said.
‘Sense of being home’
The student added that he drew tomatoes, pumpkins, bottle guards, corn, onion, pineapples and paddy to ensure that the astronauts had enough nutrition in outer space. It would give them a sense of being at home, he said.
Thenmukilan’s artwork was chosen for the month of November. He said that he used oil pastels, colour pencils and acrylic paint to produce his artwork. His parents, M. Natarajan, headmaster of a government school, and P. Chandramani, Senior Revenue Inspector, said that they were overjoyed upon hearing the news. “We were pleasantly surprised. The credit goes to his school and his teachers for honing his artistic talent,” said Mr. Natarajan.
According to NASA’s website, the Commercial Crew Calendar would be transmitted to astronauts aboard the space station.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Madurai – December 25th, 2018
18
Curtains come down on Chennai International Film Festival
Pariyerum Perumal wins award for best Tamil feature film
Pariyerum Perumal, directed by Mari Selvaraj, won the best Tamil feature film award at the 16th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF), as part of the Tamil Film Competition section.
The awards were distributed at the closing ceremony on Thursday evening, and both Mari Selvaraj and Pa.Ranjith, who had produced the film, received the honour. Director duo Gayathri-Pushkar, part of the jury, said that 12 films had been short-listed for the awards and the decision to pick the film had been unanimous. The film 96, directed by Prem Kumar was adjudged the second best Tamil film and director Vetrimaaran received a special jury award for directing Vada Chennai and producing Annanukku Jai.
The film festival, which began on December 13, saw over 150 films being screened. “We had more than 3,500 registrations this year which was a record in itself and were very pleased with the response for the film festival,” said S. Kannan, President of the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation which is organising the festival.
Speaking on the occasion, Kadambur Raju, Minister for Information and Publicity, said the State government was working with the Tamil film industry and ensuring that they work in coordination. “Further, the Tamil Nadu government will be giving away the state awards for films in January close to the Pongal festival in 2019. The ceremony was to be held in November this year but had got postponed,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – December 21st, 2018