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A basketful of bread for Madurai
Madurai :
A two-day bread exhibition inaugurated in the city on Saturday as part of the World Bread Day highlighted the need to protect agricultural land to protect our livelihood and future.
The exhibition, organized by Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association, (Maditssia) and the Madurai Bakers Association, was inaugurated by Madurai district collector L Subramanian on Saturday. The organisers said the exhibition was a move to create awareness among the public on the health benefits of adding bread in the daily diet. The exhibition is being held on October 17 and 18 at the Maditssia hall.
Many catering institutions came out with expressive exhibits. A ‘save agri’ model highlighted the need to prevent the conversion of agriculture lands into housing plots. Another model stressed the need to protect wild animals. Cooking competitions for homemakers are being held on Sunday. There is a special stall selling breads and snacks.
Exhibition chairman S Anburajan spoke about the importance of the World Bread Day. Maditssia president L Murari welcomed the audience. Earlier, new members of the Madurai Bakers Association, including president M Chakkaravarthy, secretary D Balaganesh and treasurer Ramasamy, assumed charge.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Madurai / TNN / October 18th, 2015
Shanthi Ranganathan gets Avvaiyar Award
Chennai :
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa honoured Dr Shanthi Ranganathan, honorary secretary of TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation and Swami Dayananda Saraswathi Educational Society, by presenting her with Avvaiyar award of the Tamil Nadu government for 2015, on Tuesday.
The award carries Rs 1 lakh, a gold medal weighing eight grams and a citation.
Dr Shanthi Ranganathan was chosen for this award in appreciation of her services to the those addicted to alcohol and to their families for the past 33 years. She thanked the Chief Minister for the honour.
The award was instituted in 2012 to encourage women who excel in social reforms, women’s development, communal harmony, arts, science, culture, journalism and administration etc. Dr Shanthi Ranganathan has post-graduate degree in Social Service Administration and a doctorate in rehabilitation of those addicted to alcohol besides global level accreditation for rehabilitation of alcohol addicts.
In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri. In 1999, the United Nations presented her the UN Vienna Civil Society award. Ministers B Valarmathi, K C Veeramani and many senior officials were present on the occasion.
Educationist Mrs Y G Parthasarathy received the Avvaiyar Award in 2012. The next year, Dr V Shanta, chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute was honoured with this award. Dr K Mathangi Ramakrishnan, chairperson of the Child Trust Medical Research Foundation, Nungambakkam was presented with the award in 2014.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by Express News Service / October 14th, 2015
Pollachi Railway Station turns 100
The station was inaugurated on October 15, 1915, when the nearly 40-km-long Podanur to Pollachi meter gauge line was inaugurated.
The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway on Thursday celebrated the centenary year of the Pollachi Railway Station. The station was inaugurated on October 15, 1915, when the nearly 40-km-long Podanur to Pollachi meter gauge line was inaugurated.
The line was extended to Dindigul on November 19, 1928. The Pollachi to Palakkad became operational from April 1, 1932. The importance of the station increased with the extended routes. This route was extensively used by pilgrims to Palani and Rameswaram and for trade (goods transport).
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by M.K.Ananth / Coimbatore – October 16th, 2015
Clock turns back: India Post relives saga of mail runners
Chennai :
Street dogs chased them, passersby offered alms and they were almost mowed down by vehicles but history was relived as the 30 khaki-clad men holding spears criss-crossed the city on Wednesday.
They were part of the National Postal Week celebrations of India Post to recreate the legacy of the mail-runners, also called tappal or dak runners.
“A century back they speared wild animals, swam through floods, warded off burglars just to deliver a letter. We braved the sun, buses, street dogs and stares of curious onlookers to come close to recreating their travails,” said Ram Arun Castro, who organised the event along with India Post.
Ram, who is working on a period film on mail-runners, has researched extensively on these men. “They are our unsung heroes. There’s hardly any literature on them,” he said, whose exploration led him to a museum in Kumbakonam. “There was a section dedicated to mail-runners with their knives, spears and mail bags on display. There was even a postal badge with blood stains.”
Mail-runners faded with the advent of railways in the late 19th century, but continued to work in far-flung areas. They remain the only means of communication in remote Himachal regions, bordering Tibet, where they are called ‘harkara’. Their history in Madras Presidency can be traced to 1712 when Governor Edward Harrison first started a Company Postal Service to carry mail to Bengal. Each runner would cover 12-13km to exchange the postbag with another runner. Some ran nearly 20km a day. “While some carried official communication, many risked their lives just to convey a human emotion. Writing or receiving a letter wasn’t an exercise, it was an experience, something we have lost with the advent of technology,” said Mervin Alexander, postmaster general, Chennai city region.
They may not call themselves mail-runners, but some postmen in Tamil Nadu still deliver letters in hilly areas on foot. One of them, Zakir Hussain, 42, walks 8km daily from Kurangani Hills in Theni district to remote villages. “I’ve been delivering letters to these villages for 19 years. I have seen joy and tears, and I can’t explain how it feels to be part of that experience,” he told TOI.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / TNN / October 14th, 2015
Replica of 1886 Benz Motorwagen leaves Coimbatore on the longest drive
Coimbatore :
The 1886 Benz Motorwagen – the world’s first horseless carriage — was designed to drive for a maximum of 15 minutes. But, on Wednesday, the Gedee Group attempted to drive a replica of the car for 500km from Coimbatore to Chennai — the longest drive by the car in a single stretch.
Avid car collector and automobile enthusiast Manvendra Singh (Rana of Barwani, Indore) flagged off the ride from the Gedee Car Museum at 4.30pm on Wednesday. He also drove the car up to the Neelambur Toll Plaza, which is close to 30Km from the museum.
“It is an honour to be part of a historic ride like this. The car is an example of excellent engineering and to be able to recreate it with the same precision and quality is a hallmark in itself,” said Singh before beginning the ride. Singh also owns an 1886 Benz Motorwagen designed by the Gedee Group.
The car was designed by Carl Benz and was patented in 1886. Until now, the record for the longest drive in the car was held by Carl’s wife Bertha Benz. She drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back travelling 194Km along with her sons, Eugen and Richard.
“With this ride she proved the feasibility of the car as a means of travel,” said G D Gopal, chairman of G D Naidu Charities.
The Gedee Group started designing replicas of the car in 2012, and the first car was ready in 2013. Following a series of trial runs and appreciation by experts across the globe, G D Gopal decided to attempt longer distances.
On June 13 this year, the group attempted to drive the car up to Salem covering 165km in almost nine hours. “Having successfully completed this ride, we gained confidence that we will be able to ride a longer distance. So, we decided that we will drive the car up to Chennai,” G D Gopal said.
The car will travel for almost 30 hours to reach Chennai at 10.30pm on Friday. The G D Group has organised a convoy to travel along with the car to Chennai.
A total of 50l fuel (Benzene) and close to 100l (water) for coolant is being carried by the convoy.
“Six drivers will be a part of the ride, and we will change the drivers every 30km. These drivers are experienced and were a part of the ride to Salem,” said assistant general manager, operations, UMS Technologies Limited, N Ramaraj, who is also accompanying the team for the ride.
The car will be received by the commissioner of tourism and managing director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, Har Sahay Meena, and Consul General of Germany, Chennai, Achim Fabig, in Chennai on Friday.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Adarsh Jain, TNN / October 14th, 2015
Awards given
The MAC Charities Awards in the name Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, Dr. M.A.Chidambaram Chettiar and Dr. A.C.Muthiah were distributed at the Annamalai Mandram recently.
Renowned Tamil writer Silamboli Chellappan, received the Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Award. Dr. M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar Award was received by Kalaimamani Kannappar Sambanthan Thambiran (president, Purasai Duraiswamy Kannappa Thambiran Parambarai Therukkuthu Mandram) for popularising the ancient art of Therukkuthu.
Dr.A.C.Muthiah Award for excellence in first-generation entrepreneurship was given to industrialist C. Subba Reddy, chairman, Ceebros Group.
Gem Group of Companies chairman R. Veeramani distributed the awards.
The trust has also donated Rs. 1 crore to promote free and low-cost medical services at the Chennai Child Trust Hospital.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / October 13th, 2015
Manorama, who matched protagonists of her day, passes away
She had acted with actors including M.G.R. Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, Nagesh, Cho, Thengai Srinivasan and the present day actors.
Actor, comedian and singer Manorama, affectionately referred to as ‘Aachi’, whose performance matched and sometimes bettered the lead actors of her movies, died of multiple organ failure here on Saturday. She was 78 and is survived by her son and singer-actor Boopathy.
She had acted with M.G.R., Sivaji Ganesan, NTR, Jayalalithaa, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Nagesh, ‘Cho’ Ramaswamy, ‘Thengai’ Srinivasan and the present-day actors.
An artiste who matched the best in the industry
Manorama’s life in a way resembled the unforgettable Karuppayee-turned-Jil Jil Ramamani-turned Rojarani of Thillana Mohanambal. Born as Gopichanda in Mannargudi, she moved with her family to Pallathur in Chettinad to eke out a livelihood. There she assumed the name ‘Pallathur Papa’ and later Manorama.
Even while acting in plays in Pallathur, she got a chance to act in a film with late S.S. Rajendran and Devika made in Pudukottai. But it did not see the light of day. But SSR had spotted her talent and invited her to participate in the drama Manimagudam in Chennai. Thus began her film career.
Her first film was Malayitta Mangai produced by lyricist Kannadasan in 1958. Her experience in the theatre and singing talents came in handy in the film world. She rendered her first song, under the baton of G.K. Venkatesh.
But it was the parody of “Pogathey Pogathey En Kanava”, in the film Ratha Thilagam, to the music of K.V. Mahadevan produced by Kannadasan, that identified her talent as a singer.
She went on to sing under every music director even as she was leaving her mark in the film industry as a comedian. For A.R. Rahman, she sang “Madrasai Suthi Paarka Poren” for the film May Matham.
Her body language and dialogue delivery coupled with an affable nature secured her a permanent place in the Tamil film industry. Whether it was the corrupt Madras Tamil or dialects of Thanjavur or Madurai or the Kongu region, she rendered them all effortlessly. She acted in over 1,000 films and sang hundreds of songs.
Film historian Vamanan in his book Thirai Isai Alaigal has said it was Mukta Srinivasan who gave her an opportunity to render the song in Madras Tamil in the film Bommalattam. Vaa Vaathiyarey Ootandey became an instant hit and a cine magazine described her as the star of the month. “But actor ‘Cho’ Ramaswamy who was cast opposite her in the film wrote a letter to the magazine saying she was the star of the generation,” recalled Mr. Vamanan.
She was caught in a rare controversy when she campaigned against actor Rajinikanth in support of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the 1996 elections.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Cinema Plus / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – October 11th, 2015
Kancheepuram Weavers Enthrall Students as a Part of Daan Utsav
Chennai :
More than 650 students from schools across the city were teaming in the Cooptex grounds on Wednesday to witness something they’ve never had a chance to. A small wall was erected to display the range of indigenous hand-woven sarees that were made by weavers across the State. Silk and cotton Jarigai’s of all patterns, splashed with colours and textures, invaded the space.
But what grabbed all the eyes was the group of weavers who had come from Kancheepuram to give students an experience of seeing weaving done live. Cooptex jumped into the spirit of Daan Utsav for the first time by facilitating this event for students. The two-day festival called ‘Weaving the Handloom Tale’ is a mini-replica of everything you’d find at a traditional silk weaver’s home. Some of them who had turned up have been in the business for generations.
Armed with a spinning wheel, warp machine and metres of silk threads, the group of six weavers demonstrated how silk threads were processed and woven. A small table in the front had a batch of moldy-looking mini egg-sized silk cocoons. Next to it, yarns of coloured silk, warped and weft, as its called, were laid out in bright eye-catching colours of pink, white and blue for everyone to look and get a feel of.
“The students were fascinated by these cocoons. You can even hear the sound of silkworms when you shake them,” says Sukanya, a volunteer of Daan Utsav. “The weavers work almost 8-10 hours everyday. They need about eight days to make a single silk saree.”
The weavers were undoubtedly the stars of the day. They explained how the set-up worked to the endless stream of curious onlookers. All those who were assembled at the event, right from the toddlers from Euro kids, to the 8-12 year olds from Don Bosco Matriculation and even the students from Madras Institute of Fashion Technology students, who whipped out their phones to click pictures, were amazed at the skill and craft of the weaver’s.
“One child even asked me if the spinning wheel was invented by Gandhiji,” chuckles Thiruvengadam, who has been weaving silk for decades. At the behest of Cooptex, he was here to exhibit the trade for young learners.
His wife sits barely a feet few away helping him spin the yarn or parittam, where she spun almost 50 grams worth of silk onto a small cylindrical wood structure. This is fed into the spinning wheel, which later goes into the warping device. “There are two kinds of yarns for any weaving — warp and weft. One makes horizontally woven threads while the other makes vertical threads. It is the basic format in which all weaving is done,” explains Balasubramaniam, general manager of Cooptex.
The event, which was planned along the lines of ‘giving’, received a fine response from students, who got a sneak peak into the weavers trade for the first-time. To the weavers who had given their time to be here, the students presented colourful hand-made cards with wishes and thank you’s. “We are glad to tell people about how our trade works. We hope more people will be interested in buying weaver-made silk,” smiles Ganapathy, who has been weaving since he was six.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / October 08th, 2015