Farm tourism is in

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

Farm tourism seems to be the in thing for locals and tourists coming to the city. We explore.

Who would not want to wake up to the chirping of birds and soothing morning breeze? With farm tourism becoming the in thing in the city, farmhouses around Trichy are gearing up to provide that unique experience to the tourists.
These farmhouses seems to be popping up in every nook and corner of the outskirts of the city and those who have been yearning for that rural experience are all heading to spend their weekends there.
Sriram Krishnamoorthy, who owns a farm house in the city, says that he had always wanted a place to spend quality time with family away from the city. “Trichy is blessed with fertile soil, so when I invested in a house outside the city, I also made sure to cultivate the surrounding areas. I visit the farmhouse along with my friends and family. We just go there cook, eat, talk and relax, far away from the maddening city crowd.”
Such farm experience packages are gaining popularity in the city and travel agents are cashing in on the trend. Whether it is to explore the city’s temples, go trekking or relax under the monsoon weather, Trichy’s farmhouses have everything on board, “We have a group of Swedish students who visit us every year and stay with us to understand the Indian culture better. They return home inspired after looking at our lifestyle. So I provide them with the  essence of rural India by taking them to the nearby villages in Trichy,”says Santhanam Rajagopalan, an environmentalist.
Augustus Manimaran, a construction engineer who owns one such house, which is built with environment-friendly materials says that he is having the time of his life. “I have always wanted to retire peacefully and my farm house is my dream project. I have begun taking a walk around the place with my dog, visiting the place with friends and relaxing in nature’s lap.”
Constructed beautifully and nestled in acres of  paddy fields Augustus, has also allowed it for commercial renting. “Not everyone can afford to build such houses, so renting them out for commercial purposes, has now caught the city by storm,” he says.
Jerome Francis, an engineering student says that it’s great break and transports them in to a different world altogether. “Such retreats are great for friend’s reunion, we meet up in one of my uncle’s houses, which has a pool and is surrounded by lush greenery. We spend the day there just catching up on old stories.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Life & Style> Travel / by Nuvena Rajendran, TNN / September 15th, 2012

Making the cut and how!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Editor Anthony

face-to-face From the runaway hit Kakka Kakka to the upcoming Kochadaiyaan, Editor Anthony’s filmography reads like a wish list. nikhil raghavan snips his long story short…

If his father had his way and he had succumbed to family pressure, Lewellyn Anthony Gonsalvez would have become a priest. But fate had other things in store for ‘Editor Anthony’. Growing up in Perambur, one of the three heartlands of the Anglo-Indian community in Chennai (the others being Royapuram and Pallavaram), Lewellyn was brought up on a traditional diet of Western music and English films. But, secretly he loved Tamil films and songs. “When dad was not around, I would sneak into my neighbour’s house and watch Oliyum Oliyum on DD. While studying in college, my friends and I would go to watch many Tamil films. I suppose this laid the foundation for what I would be doing later in life,” says Lewellyn.

INITIATION

A deep interest in drawing and sketching, coupled with an affinity for computers, prompted Lewellyn to do a three-month course in animation. “Sometime during this phase, I met Anna Lockwood who was freelancing with Avid at Real Image. She saw my interest in film-related technology and animation and suggested I take up editing as a career. I joined TeleTape and then moved to EditPoint, all the while getting accustomed to working on Avid. At EditPoint, I learnt everything by trial and error. I think that has given me the confidence to tackle anything without reservation.”

By now, Lewellyn had developed a large clientele of ad filmmakers who were thrilled by his editing skills and his willingness to innovate. “This is where I ran into people such as Gautham Menon and Rajeev Menon. At that time, Rajeev was making Minsara Kanavu and he suggested to AVM’s Guhan that they upgrade their editing facility by installing Avid and hire my services. That’s when I moved to AVM.” Lewellyn went on to do the trailers of Rajeev’s Minsara Kanavu and Kandukondein Kandukondein, as well as edit many of his ad films.

While at AVM, Lewellyn encountered a problem. “Many in the film industry were finding it difficult to pronounce my name. So, I adopted my middle name, Anthony, and got dubbed as ‘Editor Anthony’. Close friends shortened it further to Anto!”

HIS TECHNIQUE

Is there a particular technique he adopts? “I listen to a brief narrative of the storyline. More importantly, I watch the rushes to get an idea of how the story evolves. I then use my judgment and piece the scenes together. In many instances, you will find different versions or angles of the same scene. Directors do this to ensure that at the editing stage we are not short of options. But, once a director understands my style of editing and when he makes his next film, he will cut out unnecessary footage. There are instances when he does a rough edit of his film and I watch the whole thing as an audience would. Then, I exercise my editing skills to refine the product.”

Anthony has an impressive line-up of films to his credit, the most important ones, according to him, being Kakka Kakka, Manmadhan, New, Ghajini, Sivaji, Enthiran, Nanban, Paiyya and Madrasapatinam. “Right now, I am working onThandavam, Maatran, Neethane En Ponvasantham, I, Kochadaiyan and Suseendran’s next film.”

Having worked with a cross-section of directors, who does he think has influenced him the most? “The director who does not try to influence me at all is the best; which means, he knows I understand his style of filmmaking. For instance, when I edited the jeep song in Kakka Kakka for the audio release function, Gautham Menon said that he never expected the sequence would turn out the way it did, when he shot the scenes. This made him entrust the entire film to me for editing. I took it up as a challenge although I had not done a full-length feature film till then.”

Lewellyn literally lives in the editing suites of FrameWorks, his office at Raja Annamalaipuram, and goes home (Perambur) only during weekends. “To commute the distance daily would be stressful; besides, the time could be well-spent doing creative work in my office. Moreover, for filmmakers, deadlines are important. Staying put in my office gives me the freedom to work on several projects simultaneously with the help of my 12 assistants, most of whom are trainees; they keep changing — experienced ones go on to start their own ventures or work with others, and new ones fresh out of college come here for internship,” says Lewellyn, who at 38, is a mentor to many and a friend to every director in today’s world of feature films.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Cinema / by Nikhil Raghavan / September 15th, 2012

Online job portal in Tiruchi

Business & Economy

Madurai, SEPT. 12:

Trichy Plus, an educational consultancy has come out with a common gateway trichyvelai.com, an online job portal to facilitate jobseekers wishing to settle down in the town to identify suitable employment and for employers to recruit local talent.

According to Sivakumar, Director, Trichy Plus, while registration is free for job seekers, firms would be charged on a nominal basis depending on the screening and selection.

The Web site has separate sections devoted to job seekers and employers. The former can zero in on suitable positions through a search function that filters jobs according to industry, work experience, expected salary and job function. The latter can view profiles and select candidates before summoning prospective ones. Placement officers in colleges and various companies including banks, BPOs, retail stores, firms, manufacturing industries, schools and colleges are being contacted to generate response.

Though the portal is designed to promote job opportunities in Tiruchi, openings in neighbouring districts such as Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Thanjavur are also featured, the sources said.

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Sports> States / by Hindu’s Correspondent / Madurai, September 12th, 2012

SRM triumphs in Kongu Trophy

Sports

SRM University won the basketball title for women and volleyball cup for men in the State Level inter-collegiate tournament for the Kongu Tropohy held at Perundurai (Erode).

The men’s team has won the volleyball event for the sixth year in a row. SRM also emerged the overall championship for the third year in succession.

The results: Basketball (women): SRM bt Pavai Engineering, Namakkal 55-27; bt Kongu College, Erode 55-22: Final: bt St. Joseph’s Engineering, Chennai 50-41.

Volleyball (Men): SRM bt Gandhigram 25-12, 25-12; bt Sri Sankara 25-21, 25-17; Final: bt Panimalar 25-21, 25-22.; Badminton (women): Runner- up; Men: Third place.

Basketball: Men: Third place.; Table Tennis: Men: Third place.

Other results: Men’s basketball final: Sathyabama University bt Loyola College, Chennai 64-50, Semifinal league: Sathyabama bt Hindustan Arts, Chennai 76-56; Sathyabama bt SRM University, Chennai 68-46. Quarterfinal:Sathyabama bt GRD College, Coimbatore 72-44.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Sport / Chennai, September 12th, 2012

Young long jumper aims high

Sports

For K. Prem Kumar, 19 from Thanjavur, nothing is more important than long jumps which he practices every day.

Sleeping on a mat in a small room with five others is not a deterrent for this youth who is determined to give his very best at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“I will win a medal at the Olympics,” the Asian junior bronze medallist told this newspaper. Having lost his father at a young age, Prem Kumar has been raised by his mother Uma Rani who works in a church at Orathanadu in Thanjavur.

The young boy started jumping, literally, while studying in Class IX. “I used to take part in school competitions and during one such meet I met coach P. Nagarajan, who asked me to move to Chennai,” said Prem Kumar.

After joining Mr Pachaiyappa’s school, he began training scientifically under the able guidance of Mr Nagarajan, who enrolled him at St Joseph Sports Academy.

Prem Kumar’s first big success came at the national junior meet, where he bagged gold with a jump of 7.86 metres in 2010. Recently at the Asian indoor trial at Bengaluru, he touched his personal best of 7.92 metres. However, he fumbled at his first few international meets.

“I am a non-vegetarian. But I couldn’t stand the food available at China and Spain. They were not cooked as in India. The smell itself was not palatable,” he said.

But the young champion did not get bogged down. “I am slowly getting used to that food. I have decided not to use that as a reason anymore for my below-average performance. I will surely achieve bigger success in the next international meet,” he added.

In June Prem Kumar won a bronze at the Asian junior championships at Colombo with a jump of 7.52 metres, before that in February, his 7.62 metres jump had helped him get a bronze at the Asian senior indoor championship at China.

While the long jumper has set his eyes on the Rio Olympics, he has decided not to pursue his studies nor take up a job immediately.

“My mother earns about Rs 7,000 per month and she sends me some money. I try not to trouble her much.

My club is also helping me. At present my concentration is only on training. I will take up a job after reaching my goal of winning an Olympic medal,” he said.

sujatha.s@deccanmail.com

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Sports> Others / by S. Sujatha, DC, Chennai / September 09th, 2012

Desal plant gives life to Madurai village

Uncategorized

Madurai:

With villages that used indigenous methods of water harvesting and storing being forced to look for alternative means, Kottanathampatti in Madurai is jubilant as it has been given a desalination plant to address its drinking water needs.

Kottanathampatti, identified a model village in the district, boasts of self-sustenance but for potable water. Relief came on Saturday when a desalination plant put up at a cost of Rs 6 lakh started functioning. The plant has an automatic dispenser that supplies 18 litres of water for Rs 2. The villagers need to drop in two one-rupee coins and collect the water from the plant, that has a capacity of 5,000 litres.

“The villagers can also have a pre-paid account, wherein they should pay Rs 100 and get their fingerprints registered. These people need not pay every time they want water. Instead, they should identify themselves in the fingerprint reader and collect water. The idea of the project is to ensure potable water for all villagers,” said collector Anshul Mishra who inaugurated the plant.

This is not the first time desalination plants have come to the rescue of drinking water-starved villages in Tamil Nadu. The villagers of K Ramanathapuram in Dindigul district have established a community-funded desalination plant to turn the highly saline ground water to consumable standards.

Mishra said the district administration was gearing up to implement similar projects in other villages too.

The district administration has selected one village in all unions and was addressing the needs of the people there, he added.

Kotanathampatti was chosen as a model village by former collector U Sagayam to show the way of self sustenance and development with assistance from the local body and the district administration. The village has also begun a green cover drive aimed at improving the groundwater table. To begin with, each of the 3,000 households have planned to raise one tree.

Another key aspect of “project self sustenance” is to make the village 100 per cent literate by ensuring that there are no dropouts. K Kandappan, panchayat president, notes that though the village was endowed with adequate resources, potable water was the only major problem.

With the desalination plant, that problem has been addressed and now the village is also planning to go in for solar power production.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by M Mayilvaganan, TNN / September 09th, 2012

A new innings

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A still from Karuppampatti

Prabhu Raja Chozhan offers a sneak peek at Karuppampatti, his directorial debut, which is to hit the screens shortly

Director Prabhu Raja Chozhan takes as much pride in discussing the days he spent as an assistant to director Shankar as he does talking about his first filmKaruppampatti, which is nearing completion.

“After finishing my degree in Philosophy from the Madras Christian College, I joined the film institute for a diploma in Film Technology. When I was on the verge of completing it, I got to know that director Shankar was looking for assistants. I was selected from among 150 who turned up for the interview,” he beams with pride.

Explaining what had made him stand out, he says, “Shankar wanted us to write a script in 15 days. I finished mine in four. I went on to work with him in Anniyanand Sivaji.”

Prabhu’s Karuppampatti, portions of which have been shot in France and Italy, has an interesting plot.

“The story revolves around Kodhai Cacopardo, an NRI in France, who comes to a place called Karuppampatti in India in search of his roots. His mother is French and his father, Indian. Ajmal plays the lead along with Aparna Bajpai, who was one of the heroines in the Samuthirakani-starrer Easan. Both lead actors play dual roles,” he says.

Ajmal plays both father and son, while the mother’s role is played by an Italian actor called Alice Vergani. It took 85 days for the team to shoot the film, which included a 30-day schedule abroad.

Says Prabhu: “We shot for 20 days in France and 10 in Italy. The film features five songs, while the album has an additional one. Kannan of Tamil Padam fame has scored the music.”

Ask him whether he has shown the film to his mentor Shankar, and he says, “Not yet. I intend to screen it for him once the first copy is ready.”

What is the most important lesson he has learnt from the ace director? “The importance of hard work. While working on his films, Shankar would arrive in office before any of us did and would leave only after us,” says Prabhu.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Cinema / by K.R. Manigandan / September 08th, 2012

Grand celebration planned for A.R.Rahman

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Isai Puyal A.R.Rahman recently completed 20 years in his film music career and to commemorate this occasion, a grand celebration has been planned in Kamarajar Memorial Hall, Chennai on the 21st of October.

Leading music composers, directors, actors, playback singers and lyricists will be participating in this event which has been titled “ISAI PUYAL – The Man – The Music – The Magic”. RAINDROPSS a youth based team from Chennai is organizing for the grand celebration and Rahman’s sister A.R.Raihanah (Brand Ambassador of Raindropss) will be leading these celebrations held in appreciation of the Oscar winner.

Udhaya Raagam UK.Murali will be supporting the grand celebrations with his orchestra and the part of the proceeds from this celebrations will be donated for a noble cause. For more details about the celebrations, call 9841020120 or mail at project.raindropss@gmail.com

source: http://www.behindwoods.com / Home> More News / September 07th, 2012

50 more milch cows given away in Trichy

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Science & Technologies

Trichy:

The joint director of animal husbandry department in Trichy, E Chinnadurai, distributed 50 more free milch cows in Thiruvasi village in Lalgudi division to the beneficiaries. For the first time, all the beneficiaries and their companions stayed in the villages on the border of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for three days to purchase the right cow. Chinnadurai later claimed that the process had now become foolproof. It was the intermediary officials roped in to help in the purchase of the cattle from the neighbouring states who exploited the norms of the scheme to pocket huge commissions. Chinnadurai had instructed the purchasing team to stay at the villages until the right cow was purchased.

Chinnadurai said that the purchasing team recorded three days of milk yield before the beneficiaries themselves decided to buy them. With the 50 cows distributed in the first week of September, the total number of free cows distributed has gone up to 250, just 100 short of the target of 350 for the current fiscal. Last year, 450 cows were distributed to beneficiaries in nine villages at a cost of Rs 1.55 crore. Similarly, 4,089 goats were distributed to beneficiaries spread over 55 villages in Trichy district at a cost of Rs 5.19 crore. During this fiscal, 4,988 beneficiaries have been distributed goats spread over 81 villages – most of them falling under Srirangam constituency – at a cost of Rs 6.35 crore.

“I have clearly told them that they should keep their hands off the cow that does not yield at least a total of 10 litres of milk a day (five litres each in the morning and evening),” Chinnadura told TOI. Since a number of cows died from the lot of earlier distribution, Chinnadurai has ordered a team of officials including an assistant director of cattle breeding and fodder development, an assistant director from the animal diseases intelligence unit and a clinician to visit at least two villages where the free milch cows and goats were distributed and file an inspection report.

The stringent measures were necessary because in Srirangam, five of the 150 cows purchased from Andhra Pradesh had died in the first week of January, he said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home>  City> Madurai> Villages / TNN, September 07th, 2012

Devotees throng Shrine Basilica at Velankanni

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Uncategorized

Nagapattinam (TN), Sep 7 (PTI)

Thousands of devotees from various parts of the country today thronged Velankanni in this district to witness the illuminated Grand Car Procession at the Shrine Basilica.

Prior to the car festival, the holy flag was hoisted. After special prayers on the theme “Mary -refuge of Sinners” conducted by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio and Bishop of Thanjavur Devdoss Ambrose, seven illuminated cars in various sizes were taken in a procession.

source: http://www.ptinews.com  / Home> National / by Staff Reporter / September 08th, 2012