Success stories from slums

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Chennai :

For professional courses in Tamil Nadu, the number of applications increases every year, leading to greater competition for jobs and a raised benchmark for an employable graduate. Considering the scramble for jobs among those who had pursued professional courses, graduates from other streams need to go the extra mile to equip themselves.

Twenty-two-year-old Selvi, a graduate in Botany from Pulianthope, narrated her success story which landed her a job at Data Mark, a BPO.

“After my graduation, I couldn’t get a job. With three months of training in Tally and spoken English, I was made employable. As the eldest of my siblings, I can support my family now,” she said at a graduation function held in Kolathur by Aide et Action, a non-governmental organisation.

Along with Selvi, 473 graduates aged between 18 and 35 received their certificates on Sunday.

They had successfully completed their MAST – iLEAD course conducted by Aide et Action for students and dropouts from slums in the city.

Since 2005, the NGO has been training students in batches, in automobile engineering, ITES, data entry, tailoring etc..

“We have our faculty reaching out to slums and other places with below poverty line (BPL) people through ‘Community Mobilisation Hive’. They visit homes with success stories of the previous batches and find students for the new batch. After that, an employability assessment test to gauge the student’s abilities will be conducted and appropriate training will follow in the trade they are good at,” said S Martin, programme officer, and Manikandan P, a trainer.

They also said that the organisation provided holistic training, equipping students with technical and soft skills needed to excel at their work place. The students would be given comprehensive training with industrial visits that facilitate a clear understanding of the industry’s needs.

With these skills imparted, the organisation produces employable graduates who are poised to deliver and exceed the expectations of the industry and society.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 22nd, 2014

Parents’ Day at Don Bosco

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Students and faculty with the chief guest at the Don Bosco Parents’ Day celebrations | D SAMPATH KUMAR
Students and faculty with the chief guest at the Don Bosco Parents’ Day celebrations | D SAMPATH KUMAR

Chennai :

The mood was jubilant as the primary section of St Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School gathered for the Parents’ Day festivities on Friday.

The festivities were in sync with the mood of the crowd, keeping students, parents and teachers tapping their feet.

Siddharth Sonthalia, AGM-TN, The New Indian Express, an alumnus of Don Bosco, was the guest of honour at the event. He acknowleged the contribution of parents in moulding the character of pupils in the institution.

“All students have the potential of being a politician, sportsman or whatever they desire in life — the motto is simple; the three  qualities – honesty, integrity and tolerance would make each one an achiever that this institution would produce,”  said Siddharth, speaking at the event.

Siddharth recollected his days in his alma mater when he strolled  through the corridors of the institution and said that  childhood days were one of the most nostalgic moments. Those moments moulded him to what he is today.

Students from classes one to five received certificates from the chief guest for their achievements for the year, as their parents looked on with  happiness and anticipation when their kids were on the stage . The school choir with all boys dressed in Turquoise shirts and navy blue ties, kept the crowds swaying to the tune of ‘No love, no power’.

The bi-centenary birth logo of St Don Bosco was unveiled at the event by Siddharth and the administrative team of the Don Bosco School.

Father John Alexander, correspondent, St Don Bosco School, said, “It is time for a spiritual renewal of the educational system that the school is so well known for, as 2015 is the bicentenary birth anniversary of Saint Don Bosco.”

He further added that the upcoming DB Converge and Global reunion, to be held on the campus on July 26 and 27  is expected to bring together over 1,000 students who passed out of the Don Bosco school, from across the globe.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 21st, 2014

Lawyer-turned-councillor gave Arokiasamy road its name

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Coimbatore :

As houses and empty plots give way to shops and office complexes, the rich history behind the name of Arokiasamy Road seems to getting buried deeper by the day. Extending from Thadagam Road in the west till Sri Shanmugam Road, Arockiasamy Road is practically filled with landmarks either side.

It’s a favourite with young people in R S Puram because the burial ground is used as a playground by cricket and football lovers. The corporation’s Ammini Amma Girls High School, government Tamil Isai Kalloori, R S Puram Ladies Club and Purandara Dasar Hall, which is a favourite for functions, ot this street.

Historians say the road was named in the 1940s or 1950s as a minor tribute to a great man. “We have information that runs into pages about the man who played a significant role in making Coimbatore the city it is today,” said historian Perur K Jayaraman.

M Arokiasamy, born in 1857, began his career as a sub-registrar with the government. His grandfather had served as a minister in the erstwhile Thanjavur kingdom. Arokiasamy studied law and became a prominent advocate in the city and a member of the Coimbatore Bar Council. He began his career as a lawyer with British company Boison and Mills. “During his tenure as a lawyer he bought a lot of property all over the city and did a lot of social service,” says Jayaraman.

He became a municipal councillor in 1888, vice-chairman of the council between 1896 and 1899 and Coimbatore municipal chairman in 1913 and remained in the post till 1916. In 1912, he was awarded the Rao Bahadur title coronation medal by the British government. “Not many people know that a lot of prominent buildings and institutions owe their legacy to this gentleman,” says Jayaraman.

Arokiasamy was the secretary of the construction committee of Victoria Town Hall, out of which the corporation functions today. He was responsible for building the coronation memorial at Chidambaram Park. “He was the one who built the Indian Christian Students Hostel in 1925,” he says. He was also instrumental in setting up many Christian education institutions like CSI Boys High School, St Francis Convent and London Boys Mission School.

source: http://www,timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / July 21st, 2014

South India’s first test tube baby turns mother

Records, All, Science & Technologies

KamalaCF20jul2014

The 24-year-old gives birth to a baby girl at the same hospital she was born in

At 4.24 p.m. on Thursday, the first cry of a newborn brought back memories of an unforgettable day in 1990 for doctors at GG Hospital and a family from Tirunelveli.

Twenty four years after she was born at the hospital, south India’s first test tube baby — Kamala Rathinam — delivered a girl at the same hospital. “She got married on September 8, 2013 and conceived naturally. She endured heavy labour pain this morning. We tried for seven hours to ensure a normal delivery but there was difficulty in opening of the mouth of the cervix. She underwent a caesarean section. She was due a week later but we did not want to take a chance,” Kamala Selvaraj, obstetrician and gynaecologist, GG Hospital, said.

The baby weighed 2.8 kg and both mother and child are healthy, she added. An excited Dr. Selvaraj said that this case will remove any doubts in people’s minds about whether test tube babies can lead a normal life. Ms. Rathinam and her husband Rajesh Hariharan are software engineers working in Bangalore.

“I was keen on bringing her to GG Hospital for delivery. We had ante natal check-ups done in Bangalore and came to Chennai during her eighth month of pregnancy,” Mr. Rajesh says.

Kamala’s birth on August 1, 1990 marked a milestone in Assisted Reproductive Technology in south India, recall doctors. Her father Ramamurthy (70) wishes his wife was alive to see their granddaughter. “She died last year when my daughter had just conceived,” he said. He was 46 when Kamala Rathinam was born. “I knew that this procedure was new but they explained everything to me, and I was not afraid,” he said.

Kamala was named after Dr. Selvaraj and his mother Ramarathinam, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Health / by Serena Josephine. M / Chennai – July 11th, 2014

‘Milk Production in TN Up by 1.2 Lakh Litres a Day’

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

Milk production in Tamil Nadu has gone up by 1.2 lakh litres per day and 18,356 new born calves were added to the cattle population as a result of the 36,000 milch cows distributed by the initiatives of Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, Animal Husbandary Minister TKM Chinnayya said on Saturday.

Speaking at the valedictory of the 21st Annual Convention of Indian Society for Veterinary Immunology and Biotechnology at the Madras Veterinary College, he said the 6 lakh goats distributed free by the government have more than doubled their population to increase to 14.86 lakh.

According to him in the three years that the scheme has been implemented, about 1.2 lakh people who have received milch cows and over 1.5 lakh beneficiaries who have received goats are reaping the benefits of the scheme.

He also informed that Tamil Nadu accounts for 17.71 per cent of the poultry population of the country and more than 90 per cent of poultry products exported from India originates from the state.

The minister distributed several awards to the participating students and prize winning presentations at the conference which has drawn several delegates from the US and UK. Secretary to Government, Animal Husbandary, Dairying and Fisheries Department, S Vijayakumar, President of ISVIB, RK Singh, Dean of Virginia – Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, USA, Cyril Clarke and Vice -Chancellor of TANUVAS, TJ Harikrishnan, were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 20th, 2014

BDU to organize goat farming workshop

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature

Trichy :

A one-day national workshop on “Emerging Trends for Commercial Goat Farming” jointly organized by the Department of Plant Science, Bharathidasan University and Saraswathi Foundation for Rural Development and Training will be held on July 5.

Scientists from various centres of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University will be sharing their expertise on the emerging trends in commercial goat breeding and rearing. Day-to-day problems faced by farmers/entrepreneurs and pragmatic solutions to a given situation will also be discussed by the respective experts. Apart from scientists, bankers and insurance experts, successful entrepreneurs will also be sharing their expertise on various aspects of goat farming. The national workshop also encompasses a visit to an established goat farm.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / June 29th, 2014

32 alumnus to be honoured at celebrations

Education, Records, All

Trichy :

A total of 32 alumni will be presented with the ‘distinguished alumnus’ award at the celebrations on Saturday. The 32 alumni members representing big corporate houses will be presented the award for their achievement in their respective fields.

The success and contribution of the alumni are laudable. They lead some of the large business corporations, governmental departments, services, academia and others fields and most of them are expected to be present for the event as the institute has been sending out invites to every individual who passed out.

Theyjas Srivas, pursuing master’s degree in the mechanical engineering department said that the faculty members are the strength at NIT-T.

“NIT-Trichy stands like a monolithic structure among the peers because of its growth and leadership in the field of technical education. There is a month-long orientation programme for first year students immediately after their join. The objective of this orientation is to bring all students together on a common social-cultural platform and make them ready for a new learning experience,” which is unique, he says. He further added that focus on research and development is given priority and the collaboration with several universities abroad gives the students a lot of exposure.

Santhosh G, a third-year production engineering student said, “Thrust is given to the use of ICT in teaching, learning and administration. A state of the art video-conferencing facility has been established in the campus. The classrooms are also enabled for video-conferencing through NKN (National Knowledge Network) that interconnects all government institutions including IITs, NITs through high bandwidth internet.”

Meanwhile, enthusiastic students have also created a new website for the Golden Jubilee celebrations with a new logo and would be selling souvenirs bearing the logo.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / July 19th, 2014

Community sustains “biggest” rooftop RWH

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Science & Technologies

Nearly 12 years have passed, and it stands as a classic example

The successful rooftop rainwater harvesting structure has also given a scenic look to the Mariamman Teppakulam in Virudhunagar even during dry days. / Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
The successful rooftop rainwater harvesting structure has also given a scenic look to the Mariamman Teppakulam in Virudhunagar even during dry days. / Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu

Nearly 12 long years have passed, and the rainwater harvesting (RWH) system in Mariamman Teppakulam here stands as a classic example of how community involvement could bring about phenomenal changes.

Dubbed as the first project to have the biggest network of rooftop RWH structure in the State – set up in 2002– the temple tank in an arid town has descent storage of water even now when other parts of the district are reeling under water crisis.

The municipality along with Virudhunagar RWH Association and Hindu Nadar Palasarakku Mahamai began to connect the rooftops of buildings around the tank in early 2002. Water collected from the rooftops was made to drain in the tank through a network of pipelines.

“Every time, we completed a big portion of the network, we received rain within a couple of days. The raising water level in the tank encouraged more people to join us voluntarily,” said former municipal vice-chairman and Virudhunagar RWH Association joint secretary S. Balakrishnasamy.

Over 50,000 square feet of rooftops were brought under the RWH network.

Besides, the local people took up repairing a channel that supplied surplus water from the Kowshika river from where water was pumped to the tank with underground pipelines laid for more than three km. All that the then Collector K. Gopal did was facilitating the work by coordinating with all the government departments, he said.

Earlier, the tank was rendered dry for good parts of the year after fast urbanisation changed the course of rainwater that used to feed the 324 feet by 294 feet tank.

“When sewage water started mixing with the rainwater in the river, the Mahamai went a step forward and bought over four acres of land upstream to create a new water storage point,” former secretary of the Mahamai P.M.S.N.K.D. Rajavel said.

A leading channel was dug up to bring rainwater from Kowshika river into a small waterbody. An infiltration well was dug up in it from where water was pumped to the tank some five km away.

“The municipality takes care of the electricity bill for pumping water. We have erected a 40-KVA generator to keep the 25-Horse Power motor pump on as and when required,” Mr. Rajavel said.

The Mahamai has created a corpus fund of Rs.40 lakh for the RWH system. It spends around Rs.5 lakh on its maintenance and operation. Water from here and the rooftops fills up not only the tank, but also eight wells in the area.

Dedicated pipeline with a valve control has been provided allowing overflowing water from the tank to fill up the wells. “Almost the entire southern parts of the town are water- sufficient,” Mr. Rajavel said.

The pump room along Kowshika river from where water is pumped to the tank. Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu
The pump room along Kowshika river from where water is pumped to the tank. Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu

Water stored in the storage point as a result of one hour rain in three spells last year was good enough to draw a huge quantity of water which was at least two times the capacity of the tank.

Mr. Balakrishnasamy said most of the 3,000-odd borewells in the town continued to provide sufficient water for the residents. The municipality has also created smaller rooftop RWH structures in 10 places that help in rejuvenation of groundwater in different residential areas across the town.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by S. Sundar / Virudhunagar – July 18th, 2014

HIDDEN HISTORIES – A Tambrahm wedding in Washington

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

A golden wedding anniversary had passed silently by and nobody noticed. I allude to that of Rukmini and Rajagopalan, which took place, as I see from the invitation card, on April 29, 1963.

TamBrahmCF18jul2014

A golden wedding anniversary had passed silently by and nobody noticed. I allude to that of Rukmini and Rajagopalan, which took place, as I see from the invitation card, on April 29, 1963. I am assuming that the couple had a happy married life and were still around to celebrate the 50 anniversary of tying the knot.

What is all this you ask. And what is so unusual about a Tambrahm wedding that happened 51 years ago? Well, in the first place, it took place in Washington, a rather unusual location for those times. And secondly, considering that it took place in an era when media was in its infancy and the Internet was something that the army used, thousands of Tamils followed the build up to the actual event with bated breath all across the world.

Those belonging to that era would have caught my drift. Those who came in later will need explanatory notes and here they are – it was in 1963 that the well-known Tamil writer, humourist and editor of the magazine Dinamani Kadir, Sa Viswanathan (Saavi) embarked on his entirely fictitious account of a Tambrahm wedding in Washington, courtesy the wealthy Mrs. Rockefeller.

The plot in brief is like this – the well-to-do Hopes family based out of New York is extremely close to the Murthy family, whose head works for the UNESCO. From Vasantha, the Murthy daughter, Loretta, the Hopes child, hears about the wonders of India. When Vasantha gets married in Thanjavur, the Hopes come down and participate in a full-length wedding.

Back in the US, the Hopes brief Mrs Rockefeller about the wondrous Tambrahm wedding and she is keen to see one; not by herself but in the company of all her family and friends. She therefore, using the good offices of Murthy, selects a South Indian couple who are to be married in Madras, to come over the US. They are of course accompanied by their respective clans, an assortment of cooks, priests, musicians (Ariyakkudi, Lalgudi and Palghat Mani Iyer) and nagaswaram artistes, countless other service providers and above all, a battalion of Mamis who are brought in to make appalams.

What follows is a grand wedding at R Street, Washington DC. Wielding a facile pen, Saavi created a hilarious account of how a Brahmin wedding is organised, contrasting it with the wonderment of the Americans. As you read it, you also get the feeling that Saavi was laughing at us. The story when serialised, was accompanied by the sketches of veteran Gopulu, making for a big hit. Alliance Publishers later released it as a book, which is still in print.

Washingtonil Tirumanam became a successful play, staged by every sabha in the city. Making his theatrical debut in it was Poornam Viswanathan. The highlight was the audience participating in the traditional procession accompanying the bridegroom, conducted every evening around the venue.

51 years later, Washingtonil Tirumanam remains evergreen – a testimony to Saavi, and our weddings that keep getting bigger.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Sriram. V. / Chennai – July 18th, 2014

Experts converge at ophthalmology event

Science & Technologies

Until very recently, a corneal transplant was a very difficult affair, with the entire cornea of a donor being removed and implanted in the recipient.

Now, it is possible to replace only one portion of the cornea, 25 micron thick, to the recipient and thereby reduce discomfort experienced by the patient through a procedure called PDEK (Pre-Descemet’s endothelial keratoplasty), Amar Agarwal, CMD, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, said.

The procedure, which was developed in 2013, is now being taught to a number of doctors from different parts of the world. Over 1,600 doctors from various countries, including USA, Italy, Iraq and Jordan, have come here to be trained in PDEK and Glued IOL, a procedure used for cataract. The intraocular implant and refractive surgery convention was inaugurated on Saturday.

“Blindness due to cataract and corneal disease are major factors affecting quality of life and socio-economic status of patients and the economy of a nation at a micro level,” Governor K. Rosaiah, who inaugurated the convention, said.

Statistics reveal that approximately 1,20,000 people in India have corneal blindness and this number is expected to increase by 30,000 every year. By 2020, it is expected that 8.25 million people in the country will have cataract, he said.

The J. Agarwal Global Icon Gold Medal was awarded to Keiki R. Mehta. Four awards and 18 gold medals were presented to doctors for their service. Health minister C. Vijaya Baskar was also present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – July 06th, 014