Grape farmers take the road to profit

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature

Farm fresh grapes at farm gates – farmers become entrepreneurs by taking to direct marketing

Even as farmers all over the country are struggling to market agri-produces and cursing middlemen and commission agents for paying poor price, that are not meeting even their production costs and appealing to the governments to fix better price for their produces, grape growers in Dindigul district have brought a revolutionary change in the way they are marketing their fruits, creating a model, that is best, for their counterparts in other areas to emulate.

‘Farm fresh grapes at farm gate’ is their marketing concept. They neither spend single paisa for marketing and nor run from pillar to post in search of customers. Above all, their customers are anywhere in India.

A vast stretch of four-lane National Highway-7 between Kodai Road and A Vellode is their prime market base and their main customers are not the local people. They come from all corners of India to their farm gate to buy farm fresh grapes.

Multi-colour flex boards describing high quality farm fresh grapes greet these travellers on both sides of the NH-7. Men and women, holding out bunches of fresh grapes in their hands, too signal these customers to stop their speeding vehicles. Dawn-to-dusk is the sale time.

To satisfy such valuable customers, innovative farmers lure them with unimaginably cheaper prices. Customers can get one kg of grapes for Rs.30 a kg, enjoying 33 per cent rebate on prevailing market price. (Grape price at fruits shops in towns is Rs.45 and Rs.50.)

Another major benefit is that customers buy fresh fruits plucked from the farm before their eyes. Shelf life is also high for these fruits. At the same time, farmers register a three-fold profit.

“When we sell it to commission agents, they fix different prices for every plucking. They reduce the price for fruits during second and third plucking. It is hard to get Rs.10 a kg for the best quality. If the production is high, prices will crash to Rs.7 and some times to Rs.6 a kg. With no storage facility, we cannot stock plucked fruits and are forced to sell to agents at a very low price,” says Muthu Pandi of Uthupatti in Nilakottai block. “Now, we pluck fruits on the basis of demand. Post harvest loss is very less. Freight charge is nil,” he adds.

“We sell at least 300 kg a day on weekdays and 400 to 500 kg on weekends,” say many farmers.

This silent revolution is making ripples in that area. Today, many growers have come to the street to boost their income and profit margin. Some progressive farmers even depute farm workers in direct marketing.

At last, grape farmers have become entrepreneurs taking care of marketing on their own. Grape is being cultivated on around 150 to 200 hectares in Dindigul, Nilakottai and Athoor blocks in the district.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by K. Raju / Dindigul, November 06th, 2012

Green-eyed ‘rev’elation

Sports

It was in Bengaluru exactly 12 years ago, when this light-eyed boy who was then only 11, drove his first lap in a go-kart at the Speed Zone. It was his passion for speed and to race that led Armaan Ebrahim to live life in the fast lane. We caught up with India’s young racer who was in the city on Monday at the Puma store in Indiranagar who then partied the night away at Opus.

Young and pursuing a sport that gets a lot of eyeballs, does Armaan get any female adulation, we wonder and he is quick to reply, “I’m quite a shy guy. Yes, I do get a lot of compliments on my green eyes, but that’s about it. I have a few close friends in Chennai who I party with, but the night life there wasn’t very good so far. There aren’t too many happening places. It has become better now, but I’m not there most of the time, as I spend about 10 months in a year in England honing my racing skills. I usually unwind with a close set of friends at home and sometimes we get together for screenings, but when it’s a serious race, I prefer to lock myself and watch it all alone. It helps me study some strategies.”

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Tabloid> Bengaluru / by Namita Gupta, DC, Bengaluru / November 07th, 2012

TTDC eyes Marina for maritime heritage museum

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technologies

The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) is seriously contemplating setting up a maritime heritage museum either in Mamallapuram or on the Marina by making use of decommissioned submarine, INS Vagli, which is now in Visakhapatnam.

According to official sources, the government order for erecting submarine INS Vagli on a special platform at Mamallapuram was issued on June 11. A sum of Rs.10 crore was sanctioned for shifting the vessel. The submarine, decommissioned after 36 years of service on December 9, 2010, is currently docked at the Naval base in Visakhapatnam.

Talking to The Hindu, sources said “We have received a no-objection certificate from the Defence Ministry to get the decommissioned vessel to be towed from the Visakhapatnam dockyard. As it is our maiden attempt, we will be seeking the help of experts to bring the vessel, haul it ashore and erect it on a special platform. Some modifications will have to be carried out on the vessel to enable the visitors to enter and have a look at the engineering marvel. Tenders will be floated soon for this purpose.”

“If everything goes as per plan, the proposed museum should be ready within 18 months. The proposed museum will be executed in a phased manner under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer mode. It will have facilities such as marine technology, food courts, audio-visual studio, souvenir shops and aquarium,” the sources said.

While it might not be difficult to set up the maritime heritage museum in Mamallapuram as it owns 30 acres of land abutting the beach near the Shore Temple, the TTDC has to get the State government’s help to acquire some piece of land on the Marina, the sources indicated. It may be pointed out that Visakhapatnam has the distinction of converting a decommissioned submarine (INS Kursura) into a museum a decade ago. Taking a cue from it, representatives of chambers of commerce and industry in Chennai have been urging the State government to grant them a piece of land to set the museum-ship on the Marina.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> TamilNadu / by N. Anand / Chennai, November 05th, 2012

I saw a roof garden amid the concrete jungle!

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

Lakshmi banks on her balcony for most of her kitchen needs. Photo: Special Arrangement
A few days ago, I was on my way to a fruit stall (Pazhamudir) outlet on Venkatakrishna Road, Mandaveli in Chennai. After a minor test in parallel parking on Thiruvengadam street, I got out of the car and looked up at the veritable roof garden across the road…..glossy, green, yet unripe tomatoes and brinjal, graceful snake gourd and was that cauliflower in a garden? I was aghast! Blaming the illusion on Chennai heat, I walked towards my destination. Then, on second thoughts, I traced my path with long strides determined to find out if it was indeed cauliflower in a pot, on a balcony of a small bungalow on the busy streets of Chennai!

I walked up two short flights and rang the bell. The young man who answered the bell, obviously hiding his amusement at my enquiry, called out to his mother. A simple looking middle-aged lady appeared, with a humble smile and introduced herself as Lakshmi. She informed me promptly that they were cabbages. All the same, I conveyed my incredulity at what she had achieved in a little balcony. As she showed me around, I found to my utter surprise, radish, lemon grass, papaya, slender brinjal, bajji milagai (a chilli variety) and many more plants, but all in pots. From the pergola above was suspended a frail looking pandal laden with gundu malli (jasmine), ridge gourd, and betel leaves. Economical and ecofriendly, I was told. Hidden in a corner, I found two large pans with different keerai (greens) varieties. “Supplies my family with enough greens twice a week,” she said casually.

In the course of a conversation interspersed with my oohs and aahs of admiration, Lakshmi informed me that the kitchen garden was the result of a never-give-up attitude developed over 20 years of hard work, frustration, failure and discouragement. She had experimented with different types of soil, containers and watering patterns to arrive at what was the most suitable for her balcony garden. She also procured spill-proof and rodent-proof grow bags from a rural supplier to keep her balcony spic and span. Lakshmi proudly said all the vegetables were organically grown. Vegetable wastes from hotels and fast food joints across the city were composted at a friend’s house outside the city, and this was the main medium. Organic sludge from industries and coconut fibre were recent additions to her inventory. A paste of turmeric and neem leaves keeps pests away. She refrained from adding inorganic fertilizers and growth enhancers to the soil.

A PASSION

Lakshmi gets nearly 75 per cent of her weekly requirement from her balcony and distributes the surplus to her neighbours and friends. She has found her vocation and passion. She now employs a dozen hand-picked and trained gardeners and maintains numerous family and corporately-owned gardens around the city. Now if she is not self-made, who is?

For those who want to give gardening a go, Lakshmi is more than willing to help. Get in touch with her at lakshmisriram@hotmail.com

(The writer’s email ID is suresharuna@rediffmail.com)

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Opinion> Open Page / by Aruna Suresh / November 04th, 2012

Chennai’s Velammal to the fore

Uncategorized

Chennai’s Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School bagged the lion’s share of medals in the 1st National School Chess Championship held at the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex in the capital.

Velammal made a clean sweep in the Under-17 and Under-15 team championships and topped the Under-13 and Under-9 categories.
In the individual championship also most of the medals were bagged by the Velammal students.

In all, over 600 school children participated in the 14 various individual categories ranging from U-5 to U-17.
Host city Delhi had something to cheer about in the Under-5 category where Garv Rai of Modern School, Vasant Vihar, won the gold medal.
Amongst other aspirants from the city, Nishant Malhotra of Bal Bharti School, Dwarka, took silver in the Under-17 open category, as did Manan Rai of Amity International School secured the same medal in the Under-13 section, Sarthak Mahajan (Under-15) and Aansh Gupta (Under-11).

Manpreet Singh, Harshal Shahi, Aarchi Agarwal and Abir Sinha won bronze medals in their respective categories.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Nation> North / by DC Correspondent / November 01st, 2012

Fitness priority for Jeevan

Records, All, Sports

 

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan

Having played in all the four junior Grand Slams, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan is now creating ripples on the ITF senior circuit.

After clinching the national championship this month, the Chennai lad went on to win the ITF Futures title in Mumbai last week.
This was Jeevan’s fourth Futures win in two years, the earlier ones being at Pune, Kolkata (2011) and Madurai (April, 2012) .
The 24-year-old, who returned to tennis after a long lay-off due to multiple injuries in August-September 2012, won the Mumbai final in just over an hour.
“I took advantage of my opponent’s nervousness, quickened the pace of the rallies to make him commit unforced errors,” Jeevan said.
Jeevan twisted his ankle in the Gandhinagar Futures in August before tearing a stomach muscle at a Futures event in Iran that put him out for a month in September.
Not ready to give up, a determined Jeevan now wants to improve his rankings and has set his eyes on the Pune Futures title, that is under way this week.
“I just want to stay healthy and playing more and more ITF Futures and ATP tournaments in order to improve my ranking,” the 398th ranked Jeevan said.
Grandson of veteran Tamil Nadu politician V.R. Nenduchezhiyan, Jeevan was expected to go the family way.
“I was always interested in sports. I was into athletics and like sprinting alot. There is no plan to join politics right now… Only time will tell,” said Jeevan, who has four titles in as many final appearances in Futures events.
At the recently-concluded nationals in the capital, Jeevan lived up to his top billing.
“Coming in as the top seed I knew I had a good chance. But my goal was to stay healthy and complete the tournament without my chronic muscle problem coming up,” he said.
A graduate from the University of Washington, Jeevan was an active tennis player in his college days and also ranked as high as no. 9 in the ITF junior rankings.

source: http://www.AsianAge.com / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Age Correspondent / November 01st, 2012

BPOs work harder

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, R. Ganesan, was waiting desperately for an auto to slow down near Kasturibai Nagar MRTS station.

“Unlike a lot of people who are going back home, I am going to office. There will be lot of work,” said the employee of a voice-based BPO in Velachery.

With major banks in New York opening yesterday after two days of holidays owing to Hurricane Sandy, and many businesses opening today, BPO employees in Chennai who offer tele-calling  services to them faced an avalanche of work on Wednesday, and hence remained open throughout, despite howling winds and rains due to the cyclone here.

“Most of us who cater to banks and retail stores abroad had to work two shifts today,” said Arun Gopinath, a tele-caller with a BPO in Perungudi.

There are nearly 400 BPOs in Chennai that provide services for clients in the United States, including major firms such as Sutherland, Genpact and Allsec among others. “My work  normally ends at 7 p.m., but I will have to put in one more shift from 10 p.m. to 8.30 a.m.,” said Arun.

While the bigger BPOs offered pick-up facilities, the smaller ones did not do so. Thus, employees were seen stranded at many railway and bus stations. IT employees, however, could leave by 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

While bigger companies such as Cognizant, TCS, Verizon, HCL ensured that most of the buses in their fleet were plying, the smaller companies failed to do so. The suspension of MRTS services from 3.30 p.m. greatly added to the crowd waiting for buses and autos. “We got mails from our employer stating that all buses will leave between 3.p.m. and 3. 30 p.m.. To make sure everyone leaves, the office server in local offices was kept shut down,” said P.R. Sukanya, who works in Siruseri. In many firms, evening and night shifts were also cancelled.

While offices in Olympia Tech Park, on Rajiv Gandhi Salai and GST road were shut down by 3 p.m., most employees of firms in Tidal Park left by 5 p.m. Additional facilities for recreation in many tech parks were also kept closed.

“Though I left at 3 p.m., I could reach home only by 6 p.m., considering many roads in Alwarpet, Anna Salai and Velacerry were blocked due to falling of trees,” said Deepika Madhusudhan, an employee in Mahindra World City. Bus drivers, attendants and helping staff in IT companies too had a tough time getting food, with most roadside eateries and smaller restaurants having downed shutters.

“Many travel agencies have not sent their vehicles and drivers today, so some of us who drive company vehicles have to make extra trips,” said Mohammed Karim, a driver attached to a company on ECR.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Chennai> News / November 01st, 2012

Home is where the art is

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment

Innovative:  Using trash for cash.

So you have a load of unwanted stuff cluttering up your room. Here’s something you can do with them…

To teach is a pleasure and when it’s the fun kind of teaching, it’s even more pleasurable. Three schools where handpicked by the students of the Department of Communication, Madras Christian College, Chennai, for their Public Relation campaign ‘Cut the Crap’, which was based on recycling.

Newspapers became beautiful files, bottles pen stands, cardboard became photo frames and bits of cloth transformed into surukkupais. There is no such thing as ‘waste’ and the material in our homes can be made into something extraordinary with very little investment.

An exhibition ‘Recycled Creativity’ was set up in Madras Christian College, of a home which has its interiors made out of newspapers, cardboard, tins, bottles, cloth and everything we see as ‘crap’, to show how our rooms can be re-worked with just a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of trash.

The campaign went on for five days. On three days children from Balar Kalvi Nilayam, Vepery, Clarke School for the Deaf, Mylapore and Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School, Egmore participated.

About 250 children from these schools loved what they did and the schools are also planning to teach their school mates.

 

DEVAKAR R., VIII, Balar Kalvi Nilayam, Chennai

I made a pen stand and the idea was very new to me. I never thought waste could be turned into something as good and useful as this. I felt happy and I learnt so much, I felt loved and that encouraged me a lot. My friends have asked me to teach them.

PAVITHRA J., VII, Presidency GHSS, Chennai

We have never done anything like this before; it was a lot of fun and I really liked it. I want to teach everyone what I have learnt beginning with my little sister and my friends from other schools. I learnt how to make a plaited file and will use this to put all my papers in it. If I make more, I’m going to sell it at Rs. 50/- each.

SIDDHANTHA DAMALA, VIII, The Clarke School for the Deaf

I enjoyed this very much. Found it very interesting as well. I will teach my friends and family.

As told to Divya Thiagarajan and Nirmal Joseph Sebastian

Photos (Quotes): Prashanth Gurunathan, Divya Thiagarajan and Nirmal Joseph Sebastian

 

Make a pen stand

Method

1. Tear old newspaper into rectangular shapes and keep the size according to the water bottle you have cut. You may need around 30 to 35 of these.

2. Roll the rectangular sheets of paper and stick the end as you finish it.

3. Now glue the rolls to your water bottle

4. Cut the extras on the top of your pen stand in any pattern you like.

5. Decorate with paint, sequence or you could just leave it plain.

6. Once you let it dry, your pen stand is ready!

Photos: Prashanth Gurunathan

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Kids / by Divya Thiagarajan /  October 29th, 2012

Tirukkural goes into Punjabi now

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

Chennai:

The next time Union minister P Chidambaram recites Tirukkural couplets in Parliament, elected members from Punjab need not feel left out. The Tirukkural, a Sangam period collection of more than 1,000 rhyming couplets, will soon find its place in Punjabi book shelves too.

A retired principal of the government college of Faridkot in Punjab, Dr Tarlochan Singh Bedi has translated the ancient classic into Punjabi. It will soon be released by the Chennai-based Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), an autonomous body of the Union ministry of human resources development. The centre, established in 2007 in Chennai to promote classical Tamil, is working to bring out translated versions of 41 Tamil classics, including the Tirukkural.

Bedi said there were similarities between the ideas of Guru Nanak and those in the Tirukkural. “The focal point of the Tirukkural is feelings of love for human beings, which is what Guru Nanak preached too,” he told TOI over phone. Bedi has written many articles on the cultural and linguistic similarities between Tamil and Punjabi. His son is Tamil Nadu agriculture secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, who is well known in Cuddalore for his tsunami rehabilitation work in 2004 when he was district collector.

“I heartily welcome the translation of the Tirukkural into as many languages as possible, for it is a unique contribution of the early Tamil civilization and culture. It is a universal treatise,” said former IGNOU vice-chancellor V C Kulandaisamy. The professor, who is also the former chief of the Tamil Language Promotion Board, said the Tirukkural was relevant even today, given its secular outlook.

The Tirukkural has been translated into English, Latin, German, French, Dutch, Finish, Polish, Russian, Fiji and Malay languages. CICT is on the verge of completing translations into Telugu, Kannada, Manipuri and Nepali with the help of experts from Mysore, Chennai, Madurai and Delhi. Expert committees have been set up to evaluate the quality of the translations.

Meanwhile, Tamil scholars alleged that CICT has been slow to produce major works, including definitive editions of ancient Tamil classics, which were planned years ago. “CICT should have been a powerful academic body by this time,” said former University of Madras vice-chancellor Pon Kothandaraman, better known as Portko. He said his critical edition on Tolkappiam, an ancient literary classic, which was submitted to the institute years ago, has not yet been published. CICT officials said the projects are in various stages of progress.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / by Julie Mariappan, TNN / October 29th, 2012

Misericordia University Honors Angela Asirvatham

Education, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies
                                                           Dr. Angela Asirvatham
 DALLAS, Penn., United States
  • Misericordia University recently honored Dr. Angela Asirvatham for excellence in scholarship, teaching and service to the campus and community.  Asirvatham, an associate professor of biology, was presented the Judge Max and Tillie Rosenn Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to student learning and development.
  • According to the Dallas News, the award is given annually to an outstanding faculty member elected by a vote of the students.Asirvatham joined the Misericordia faculty in 2003 as an assistant professor.
  • The Indian American holds a doctorate in physiology from the Department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University and a master of science degree in reproductive physiology from the Department of Animal Sciences, University of Wyoming.She also holds a bachelor of veterinary science, the equivalent to a doctorate of veterinary medicine, from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Chennai.
  • source: http://www.indiawest.com / Home> News> US Indian> News Dispatches / October 29th, 2012