The four-day Poet Bharathiar Festival saw a variety of music and theatre events being performed./ Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
Speakers recalled Subramania Bharathi’s contributions to literature and culture
The Poet Bharathiar Festival, a four-day literature, music and theatre event, organised at Bharathiar Illam in Triplicane, came to a close on Wednesday.
Many personalities associated with Tamil literature, music and theatre participated. On the final day of the programme, eminent speakers waxed eloquent on Subramania Bharathi during the presentation of the Bharathiar Award 2013.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Thanjavur Tamil University Avvai Natarajan said Bharathiar introduced innovative aspects into Tamil literary realm with his empathy for persons in need. “He paved a new way with poetry,” he said.
Thirupanandal Kasi Mutt Sundaramurthy Thambiran Swamigal pointed to the contribution of Bharathiar in shaping the thoughts of the Tamil speaking world. “His Tamil poems enriched the language and combined Indian nationalism with spirituality. The poems simplified complex political ideas and helped us internalise the significance of national integration. But there are new challenges to such ideas because of modern developments,” said Sundaramurthy Thambiran Swamigal.
Suki Sivam, who received the Bharathiar Award 2013, said Bharathiar’s ideas nurtured and developed him “like mother’s care.”
“Some ideas in the works of Bharathiar may seem to contradict each other. But such ideas actually reflect Bharathiar’s quest for knowledge, news and concern for Tamils suffering in other parts of the world,” said Mr. Sivam.
Residents too found the events informative. “The events helped me understand various dimensions of literary contribution made by Bharathiar,” said P.T. Balaji, a resident from Mylapore.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – December 12th, 2013
International Sujok Association (ISA) India, is going to conduct Sujok International Congress 2014 (SIC 2014) at Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam on January 4 and 5, 2014.
Sujok is the Korean healing practice which does not have any side effects. It helps the human beings to gain healing power by activating the pressure points in the hands and feet.
Complete Sujok course, Smile Tai Chi, Six Ki Acupuncture, Tri Origin Acupuncture, Complete Correspondence System, Sujok Ki, Time Acupuncture and many more topics are planned for the event which will have a research paper presentation also.
For registration and further details, please call 9841175385, 9094018797 or log on to www.sujokinternationalcongress.com.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / December 12th, 2013
Differently-abled welfare officer B Charles Prabhakaran inspecting the newly built facility in Vellore | express
The State government will soon establish Early Diagnostic Centres for the hearing impaired in 10 districts, to detect and treat hearing loss among children aged between 0-6 years.
The centres, which will be equipped with sophisticated equipment, can diagnose hearing loss from the first day of birth. They will be established at a cost of `1.98 crore. The centre has been designed to detect possible hearing disability during birth or acquired after birth.
The centre would be established in Vellore, Nammakal, Madurai, Tiruvallur, Kaniyakumari, Theni, Chengalpet, Dharmapuri, Erode and Virudunagar districts. Each centre would be established at a cost of `19.80 lakh.
Each centre would be equipped with instruments such as Pure Tone Audiometry, Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA), Oto Acoustic Emission (OAE)(portable screener), Sound Treated Rooms, Diagnostic Audiometre with free field Audiometry/ Peep Show Audiometer with laptop and otoscope with light.
“Such centres are not available in government sector or even in several corporate hospitals in the districts,” district differently-abled welfare officer B Charles Prabhakaran said.
“If the congenital hearing disabilities are not detected and corrected within 4 to 5 years, they will become a victim of permanent disability. It will also affect their speech, language acquisition ability and developmental growth,” he said. The most sophisticated equipment like BERA, which costs `8.20 lakh, would help to measure responses in brain waves, stimulated by sounds. The OAE equipment, which cost `4 lakh, will help to monitor the vibration of hair cells in the ears.
“We have completed the construction of sound-proof room at a cost of `4 lakh and are waiting for installation of the equipment. The centre will start functioning from March next year,” Prabhakaran said and added that the existing audiologist-cum-speech therapist would man the centre. “We will assist individuals with behind-the-ear hearing aid based on the intensity of hearing loss,” Prabhakaran further said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by J Shanmuga Sundaram – Vellore / December 12th, 2013
Mridangam maestro Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam. / Photo: S.S. Kumar / The Hindu
Natural talent and hard work has brought Tiruvaarur Bhakthavathsalam many laurels.
Somewhere in the mid 1970s, this writer used to observe at concerts a tall, handsome young man dressed in impeccable white talking to seniors with folded hands. Those were the days when Tyagaraja akhandam used to be held at different temples of the city, where he would be present and vie with other players for an opportunity to play.
Looking back, he had all the elements of a young hero. Had he joined the movies, the field of Carnatic music would have lost a wonderful artist. A self-made man, Tiruvarur Bhakthavathsalam was given the Life Time Achievement award by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai, this year, which is also the sabha’s 75th anniversary – an honour that he has earned after almost 50 years of playing the mridangam. Incidentally, there is laya even in his address – he lives in Gali ‘laya’ puram near the Music Academy.
“I never learnt mridangam formally,” he begins. Smiling at the stunning effect made on the listener, he continues: “My mother Tiruvaarur Anandavalli was trained well in classical music by Tiruvarur Sethuraman. Thus it was chaste music, from dawn to dusk and often well into midight.
“I think my gurukulavasam started when I was in my mother’s womb. She sang in concerts almost till the day before I was born. By the age of three, I started singing the songs that I had heard from my mother. My maternal uncles Rajarathinam Pillai (thavil), Tiruvarur Krishnamurthy (mridangam) and R.S. Krishnan (violin) lived with us. My sister and I were then trained by Chinna Thambia Pillai, an uncle of Tiruvaarur Namasivayam. My mind was always set on the mridangam and I started playing at home during my mother’s practice sessions when my uncle was not around. Playing for various forms of kritis, padams, javalis, Tiruppugazh was a good exercise.”
Self-appraisal
Bhakthavathsalam was named after the presiding deity of the Tirukkannamangai temple. Although he was praised by everyone for his singing, during his mother’s concert he would pose like an accomplished mridangam vidwan while seated near his uncle. His mother was not sure of Bhakthavathsalam’s success in music and hence wanted him to become a banker. So he went to college to get a B.Com degree. “But I never completed it,” he says laughing. Then on a serious note, he adds, “I am generally wary of Life Time Achievement Awards. I always go into a self-appraisal mode to find out if I am really worthy of these honours. And such recognition calls for sustained hard work.”
He came to Chennai as most of the stalwarts were here and started attending concerts in temples and sabhas. Returning home, he would hone his skills by trying out all the complicated korvais that were presented in the concerts. Whether at Tiruvarur or Chennai, he was present at all the Radha Kalyanams (bhajans) and Nama Sankirtana Utsavams and played for long hours.
He was the regular mridangam player for Vamana Bhagavatar’s harikatha even during his school days, which prepared him for the future and also the numerous Tyagaraja Swami akhandams.
“It was at the Mylapore Sri Thyagaraja Vidwath Samajam that I started getting noticed. I used to wait like the 12th man in cricket to play, just in case the mridangam vidwan for the day did not turn up. I was not disappointed. Those days, the stalwarts attended the concerts of others and that was how I got the recognition. Again at Tiruvaiyaaru, I played for many seniors and they started recommending me to others. I have played for all the doyens of Carnatic music and collaborated with many Hindustani musicians and am also happy to be associated with the present crop of youngsters. ”
Styles of the vidwans vary and so he prepared himself from the morning of the concert by trying to assimilate that technique and by playing it mentally. This is one factor he attributes to his success.
He has high regard for institutions that organise concerts and this has prompted him to institute an annual award to be presented to an organiser during the anniversary of his Laya Madhuraa School of Music (See Page 3).
“I want to educate rasikas on the concept of mridangam. My disciples are now busy in concert circuits and I treat them as my sons. After all Guru is the one who opens your eyes.”
His wife Rajam is the granddaughter of Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai and daughter of Vazhuvoor Samraj Pillai, both renowned dance gurus. He has three daughters.
Bhakthavathsalam recalls the contribution of his mridangam repairer Navaneetham, who is the grandson of Valangaiman Shanmugasundaram Pillai, to his success. “It is a great art and I admire his ability to prepare mridangams for various srutis perfectly”.
“My mridangam has elevated me to this level and I dedicate every success to the instrument. If at all there is rebirth, I want to be born as a musician again with the blessings of Samayapuram Magamaayi.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by V. Balashuramanian / Chennai – December 12th, 2013
Vocalists Vijayalakshmi and Chitra, dubbed the Mambalam sisters, always bring their presentation with placid content and radiance and the coordination between the sisters is full-throated. So, when the sisters began their vocal recital for the Chennai Cultural Academy, Nungambakkam, their strong tonal presentation indicated their effectiveness in bringing out their robust performance.
They commenced with Swaminatha Paripalayamam in Dikshitar’s Raga Nattai. Their subsequent quick exposition of Thyagaraja’s Evarani in Raga Devamirtha Varshini reminded one of ‘musiri’ days. This indicated the lineage of one of the their mentors, Suguna Varadachari.
The duo brought out the contour, colour, content and the majesticity of the kriti Muruga Muruga of Periaswami Thooran, displaying the Raga Alapana of Saveri. Marked by spontaneity and refinement, their presentation won them applause.
Their pièce de résistance was Tyagaraja’s Kaligiyunte, of the Raga Keeravani. Presented with beautiful swara exchanges between the sisters, their elaborate exercise of the niraval was appreciated by the audience. We realised that there was a divine appeal when the sisters took up Dasarpadam in the Raga Desh, revealing timeless music, evident from the appeal it had on the milieu.
On the whole, there was effective coordination between the sisters when they presented the concert in unison. Their niraval and the precise exercise had the essence of commendable musicianship.
The sisters have earlier presented special programmes on several of Dikshitar’s kritis like Shodasa Ganapathy of Tiruvarur, marriage songs, select verses of Nachiar Thirumozhi and Saraswathi Andhadi. Therefore, it is not surprising that it won the appreciation of foreign audiences when they went abroad to the US, Singapore, UAE and Australia, among other places.
The duo’s sister Hemalatha, a noted violinist, gained instant audience approval for her supportive role in the concert. The percussion effects of Kalladaikurichi (mridangam) and Rengachary, the sisters’ father on the kanjira were both marvellous.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Narayana Vishwanath – ENS / December 11th, 2013
M Selvi, who is employed as a special educator at the Government supported-NGO run Early Intervention Center (EIC) for infants with hearing impairment at the Panchayat Union Middle School at Dharapadavedu, bagged the Best Special Educator Award instituted by the government of Tamil Nadu this year. She received the award from Social Welfare Minister P Valarmathi recently.
The EIC project was launched by the State five years back across the State with the NGO WORTH Trust being the implementing agency in Vellore.
Selvi completed a one-year diploma in Teaching Young Hearing Impaired offered from the NGO Balavidhyalaya in Chennai before being appointed in the first batch of trained special educators at the school. “We train hearing impaired infants of less than 3 years of age to utter words, weave them into sentences, using appropriate hearing aids and so far we have integrated 11 children from the centre into a regular school where they are doing very well” she said.
She trains the parents, especially the mothers, to understand the new approach. “The focus is to make the infants experience the words directly without which they normally resort to sign language. Sign language may be handy to communicate with other hearing impaired but not with the general public. We emphasise lip-reading despite using hearing aids,” she said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by V NarayanaMurthi – Vellore / December 11th, 2013
Lanco Infratech Limited (LITL), one of India’s largest integrated infrastructure enterprise, has announced that its unit, Lanco Tanjore Power Company Limited (LTPCL), operating 120 MW combined cycle power plant in Tamil Nadu has bagged the coveted SWORD OF HONOUR award from British Safety Council in the category of ‘Health and Safety Management System’ for the year 2013.
The award which acknowledges the company’s excellence in the health and safety bracket was presented to LTPCL’s Chief Executive Officer Mr P. Panduranga Rao from Mr. Alex Botha, Chief Executive Officer of the British Safety Council in a grand ceremony at the Goldsmith’s Hall in London.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. P. Panduranga Rao, CEO, Lanco Tanjore said: “This is a proud moment for Lanco Group. Very few companies have received this award from the British Safety Council till now. It marks the sincere and responsible efforts that Lanco put into each of its projects to ensure the maintenance of the highest safety standards and creation of an amicable, secure work environment for its employees.”
In order to compete for the SWORD OF HONOUR award, LTPCL first had to attain FIVE STAR rating in the British Safety Council’s health and safety management audit scheme with a minimum score of 92%. LTPCL had to achieve another 80% to receive SWORD OF HONOUR, making it the first ever gas-based combined cycle power plant in India to scale the heights of achievement in the field of Health and Safety.
British Safety Council’s SWORD OF HONOUR award is designed to recognize and celebrate health, safety and welfare management excellence. The award is open to organizations around the world who have achieved the maximum five stars in the British Safety Council’s audit programme.
Philatelists don’t mind a little struggle to get hold of their target stamps. It is not often they come across rare stamps or special releases. Stamp collectors in Trichy won’t easily forget November as much to their delight 10 extraordinary new stamps or miniature sheets were released at the head post office here in one month alone. There was a scramble for the first-day covers of the commemorative stamps and souvenir sheets.
In May this year, 53 stamps were released, but 50 of them were commemorative pieces on 100 years of Indian cinema alone. Though, only 10 were released last month, each marked different events or personalities. V Jambunathan, who is in-charge of the Trichy Philatelic Bureau , told TOI that November was indeed extraordinary. It has to be so as significant events like Sachin Tendulkar’s 200{+t}{+h} test match and retirement. Besides, The Times Of India celebrated its 175th year.
The 10 new commemorative stamps that were issued were sold out soon after they were released. Unlike definitive stamps that are issued periodically depending upon demand, commemorative stamps are released only once, and normally a little more than four lakh would be issued across the country. A few of the significant events for which India Posts released commemorative stamps in November are: 50 years of Central Bureau of Investigation, 125 years of Intelligence Bueau , 150 years of Railway Workshops, 175 years of Times of India, Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test match.
At the counters a few mistook the TOI’s popular cartoon character ‘Common Man’ to be a “Standing Mahatma”. The first-day cover on the recent visit of Emperor and Empress of Japan (December 5) was popular, even though it featured only Qutub Minar and Tokyo Tower, and not the royal couple.
The stamp to commemorate 125 years of Intelligence Bureau, which was originally released on November 23, was re-released in a special function in Trichy by the deputy commissioner of police Abinav Kumar in the presence of assistant commissioner of IB Mathiyalagan and others. “Since it is an important event, we wanted to create some more awareness locally,” Kumar told TOI on Tuesday soon after the release of the stamp in Trichy.
The officials of the philately department had a hard time explaining to stamp collectors about the non-availability of a couple of limited-edition stamps that were sold out soon. Trichy head post office gets commemorative stamps to the tune of Rs 7,000. Considering, the soaring demand, authorities have now demanded raising the limit to Rs 10,000. “There are around 1,000 account holders with us who will get the stamps on the first day of release and this would amount to Rs 5,000. Thereafter, stamps for Rs 2,000 would be sold to the general public on first-come, first-served basis,” explained Jambunathan.
Since the first-day cover would fetch a fortune later, collecting it has become a must, said an avid philatelist involved in buying and selling of rare stamps.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / by Dennis Selvan, TNN / December 21st, 2013
“I am holding the novel as a mirror before my people. Let them identify themselves and their history and reflect upon it’’
Korkai, an epic novel in Tamil by Joe D’Cruz that captures the transformation in the life and society of fishermen in the Gulf of Mannar region between 1900s and 2000, has won him the Sahitya Akademi award for 2013.
“I never expected it. But I am happy because the award will turn my people’s attention towards the novel, while it will also bring about a change in the opinion of people about fishermen,” said D’ Cruz, who started observing the life of fishermen as an altar boy in his native village of Uvari in Tirunelveli district.
The novel, the author’s second, takes its title from Korkai, the ancient port of Pandiya kings in southern Tamil Nadu, which achieved prosperity through pearl fishing.
The story begins with the death of the king of the Paradavas, Don Michel D’Cruz. Paradavas are one of the ancient communities of the Tamil land and there are plenty of references to them in ancient Sangam literature. The king of the Paradavas was known as Pandiyapathy.
They converted to Catholicism in the 16th century as a token of gratitude to the Portugese, who helped them defeat attempts made by the Moors settled in Kayalpattinam to control pearl fishing. “They supplied guns and gun powder and the fishermen defended themselves with modern weapons,” said D’Cruz.
However, according to him, in course of time, everything turned upside down, as the church and the British rulers gained control of their destiny.
Recalling an incident that propelled him to write the novel, D’Cruz said he was shattered to notice the ancient palace of Pandiyapathy in Thoothukudi, once the native land of the Paradavas, in a state of ruin.
There are too many characters to be remembered in the novel that runs to over 1,000 pages. The author portrays changes in society through the eyes of Philip Dhandal, a character that bears resemblance to the author. D’Cruz, born in a fishing hamlet, struggled his way to Loyola College in Chennai to do his postgraduation and M.Phil in Economics.
Like his first novel Aazhi Sool Ulagu, Korkai also is written in the local lingo. In the process, it contributes to the vocabulary hitherto unrecorded words pertaining to the Neithal land (Sea and the land abutting it.)
“I am holding the novel as a mirror before my people. Let them identify themselves and their history and reflect upon it. I will be happy if the novel gives them an opportunity for introspection,” he said.
Asked about his critical approach towards Catholic religion, D’Cruz said Gandhi could be a Mahatma to one person but to another, he could be a leader responsible for a country’s partition.
“Why should you just see it as criticism made by the novelist alone? The novel reflects the lives and the changes witnessed by the fishermen community. The society I portray supplies adequate material to support my criticism,” said D’Cruz, who has released a compact disc titled Akkini Kunju, asking fishermen involved in freshwater and marine fishing to come together.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Authors / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – December 20th, 2013
A two-day banana festival is scheduled to be held during December 14-15 at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex here.
Second edition
This is the second edition of the event. “It is being mooted at the State-level to promote development of certain agricultural commodities specific to the State. Banana has been identified as the nodal crop for the State owing to the quantum of production and the distinctive varieties of this so-called ‘poor man’s fruit,” farm varsity Vice-Chancellor Ramasamy said.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University incidentally is the knowledge partner to this event.
The mela is being organised by the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Around 3,000 farmers are expected to attend this event, a CII spokesperson said.
The Vice-Chancellor said that there were 128 varieties of banana, but less than 50 per cent of these were alive. All of these, including value-added products from banana fruit, by-products from banana fibre, psuedostem and leaves will be showcased during the two-day mela, he said.
“The University works with farmers and develops technology. One such technology was developed in 1998 for banana and given to the farmers.
“The President of Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation A.P. Karuppaiah improvised this and went for cold storage and ripening chamber to increase the shelf-life of the fruit. The State Government approved transfer of this technology to five different locations. “The Department is now keen to develop cold storage chain along the Theni-Chennai, Madurai-Tuticorin route,” he added.
Ripening chamber
“While cold storage chain is important, we also need ripening chamber. There are about 18 such chambers at present. The Department is planning to add a dozen chambers in and around Chennai, connecting all directions. The State is envisioning at least one cold storage chain and ripening chamber in every district during this Plan period. We want to take this to every village shandy in five years,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Coimbatore – December 09th, 2013
