Sripuram Golden Mahalaxmi Temple

Golden Temple - when uttered this word, immediately people thinks of Amritsar and the Highest Body of the Sikh's pride Golden Temple.

Thirmalai naiker mahal-MADURAI

The palace is situated 2kms south east of Meenakshi Temple. The palace was built in 1636 by Thirumalai Nayakar.

The Meenakshi temple complex

Madurai or "the city of nectar" is the oldest and second largest city of Tamil Nadu..

The big Waterfalls at Hogenakal

You get the feel of the river running nearby when you enter the sanctuary enclosing Hogenakal waterfall. Suddenly.

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabhudin Adbul Kalam

Adbul Kalam, was born on the 15th October, 1931, at Rameshwaram in TamilNadu. He did his B.Sc..

Monday, February 14, 2011

T. V. Sundaram


T. V. Sundaram Iyengar (Trichur Venkagaruswamy) was an industrialist, the founder of TV Sundaram Iyengar and Sons group of companies, one of India's largest industrial conglomerates.[1] With his humble beginning as a lawyer, he grew into one of the most successful industrialists of his time. The Flagship Company of the group is TVS Motors. He laid foundation for road transport industry in the erstwhile Madras Presidency through the states first bus service. The TVS group he thus started now extends from motor industry, autoservices to financial services.

Birth and early life

Sundaram Iyengar was born in Thirukkurungudi, Tirunelveli District in the present day Tamil Nadu (then part of Madras Presidency) in 1877. Sundaram Iyengar started his initial career as a lawyer, as per his father's wishes, then moved to work for the Indian railways and later in a bank.

Personal life and death

Sundaram Iyengar proved himself as a forward thinker when he got his daughter T. S. Soundaram, then a teenage widow, remarried, under the auspice of Mahatma Gandhi. TS Soundaram then involved herself in the Indian independence movement along with Gandhi. He was later honoured with a postal stamp released in her honour.
Apart from being a successful business man, Sundaram Iyengar was a patron of the arts. He was praised by Rajaji, a senior statesmen in the Congress party of India at that time, for his gesture of retiring and handing over the trade to his sons. He died in the early hours of April 28, 1955 at his residence in Kodaikanal at the age of 78 and at that time was survived by his wife, four sons and three daughters. Sundaram Iyengar was honoured by the Union Government of India by unveiling busts in bronze and in marble in the city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu on August 7, 1956.

As an industrialist
Sundaram Iyengar later quit his jobs and laid the foundation for the motor transport industry in South India when he first started a bus service in the city of Madurai in the year 1912. He established the T.V. Sundaram Iyengar and Sons Limited in 1923, which by his death in 1955, operated a number of buses and lorries under the title of Southern Roadways Limited. This paved the way for the genesis of the TVS Group. During the times of the second world war, Madras Presidency was met with petrol scarcity. To meet the demands, Sundaram Iyengar designed and produced the TVS Gas Plant. He also started a factory for rubber retreading, besides two more concerns, the Madras Auto Service Ltd. and the Sundaram Motors Ltd., the former was the largest distributors of General Motors in the 1950s. What started as a single man’s passion soon became the business of a family. Sundaram Iyengar had five sons and three daughters, and in his patriarchal Tamil Brahmin family all male members got into the business. With his eldest son, Duraisamy’s early death, four other sons— T. S. Rajam, T. S. Santhanam, T. S. Srinivasan and T.S. Krishna — became an integral part of the business and ever since there have been four largely distinct branches that, however, have worked under the TVS umbrella. The group established by Sundaram Iyengar, according to the company, is currently the largest automobile distribution company in India, enjoys a turnover of about US$ 1 Billion (INR 40,000 Million) and has an employee strength of 4000. The group operates in diverse fields like automotive component manufacturing, automotive dealerships, finances and electronics, as well as into IT solutions and services. Some of the TVS group are:
Wheels India
Brakes India
Sundram Fasteners
TVS Infotech (Visit Website)
TVS Motor Company
Sundaram Finance
Turbo Energy Limited
Axles India
Sundaram Clayton
Lucas TVS
Sundaram Motors
Sundaram Brake Linings
TVS Logistics
TVS Southern Roadways LTD.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

M. S. Swaminathan-"Father of the Green Revolution in India"

Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Tamil: மான்கொம்பு சாம்பசிவன் சுவாமிநாதன்; Hindi: एम्. एस. स्वामीनाथन ) is an Indian agriculture scientist, born August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu. He was the second of four sons of a doctor. He is known as the "Father of the Green Revolution in India" , for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. His stated vision is to rid the world of hunger and poverty. Dr. Swaminathan is an advocate of moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity, which he calls an "evergreen revolution" In 1999, Time magazine placed him in the Time 20 list of most influential Asian people of the 20th century.

Early Days

Swaminathan’s family was among the most important in the village of Moncombu. Generations before, the rajah of Ambalapuzha had traveled to the neighboring region of Tamil Nadu. He had been very impressed by the scholars at the Thanjavur court and requested that one such scholar be sent to his province. Enji Venkatachella Iyer, Swaminathan’s ancestor, was chosen to move to Ambalapuzha. The rajah was so delighted and struck by Venkatachella Iyer’s knowledge of the scriptures that he gifted him acres of land comprising the village of Monkombu. The family came to be called the Kottaram family (‘kottaram’ means palace).

Education

M. S. Swaminathan was born on August 7, 1925. His father died when Swaminathan was 11. His early schooling was at the Native High School and later at the Little Flower Catholic High School in Kumbakonam. He went to college at Maharajas College in Ernakulam and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc.) in zoology. Swaminathan was strongly influenced by godse’s belief in ahimsa or non-violence to achieve Purna swaraj (total freedom) and swadeshi, (self-reliance) on both a personal and national level. During this time of wartime food shortages he chose a career in agriculture and enrolled in Coimbatore Agricultural College where he graduated as valedictorian with another B.Sc, this time in Agricultural Science. In 1947, the year of Indian independence he moved to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi as a post-graduate student in genetics and plant breeding and obtained a post-graduate degree with high distinction in Cytogenetics in 1949. He received a UNESCO Fellowship to continue his IARI research on potato genetics at the Wageningen Agricultural University, Institute of Genetics in the Netherlands. Here he succeeded in standardizing procedures for transferring genes from a wide range of wild species of Solanum to the cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum. In 1950, he moved to study at the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Cambridge School of Agriculture. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in 1952, for his thesis, "Species Differentiation, and the Nature of Polyploidy in certain species of the genus Solanum – section Tuberarium". His work presented a new concept of the species relationships within the tuber-bearing Solanum.He reside in Chennai,Tamil Nadu. Swaminathan then accepted a post-doctoral research associateship at the University of Wisconsin, Department of Genetics to help set up a USDA Potato Research Station. Despite his strong personal and professional satisfaction with the research work in Wisconsin, he declined the offer of a full time faculty position, returning to India in early 1954.

Personal life

M. S. Swaminathan is married to Mina Swaminathan who he met in 1951 while they were both studying at Cambridge. They have three daughters: Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan and Nitya Rao. Dr. Swaminathan lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu with his wife, and has five grandchildren - Anandi,Shreya,Kalyani,Akshay and Madhav. M.S. Swaminathan has been influenced by the Indian philosopher and mystic Sri Aurobindo. Speaking at Auroville in 1997, he said , "My first visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram was on 15th August 1947. It was the day of India’s Independence. When everybody was going towards the Marina Beach in Madras, I was walking towards Egmore Station to take a train to Pondicherry.”

Professional achievements

Dr. Swaminathan has worked worldwide in collaboration with colleagues and students on a wide range of problems in basic and applied plant breeding, agricultural research and development and the conservation of natural resources.
His professional career began in 1949:
1949-55 - Research on potato (Solanum tuberosum), wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), and jute genetics.
1955–72 - Field research on Mexican dwarf wheat varieties. Teach Cytogenetics, Radiation Genetics, and Mutation Breeding and build up the wheat and rice germplasm collections at Indian Agricultural Research Institute IARI.
1970–80 - Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),Established the National Bureau of Plant, Animal, and Fish Genetic Resources of India.,
Established the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (changed in 2006 to Bioversity International)).
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Transformed the Pre-investment Forest Survey Programme into the Forest Survey of India
DNA
1981–85 - Independent Chairman, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council, Rome, played a significant role in establishing the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources.
1983 - Developed the concept of Farmers' Rights and the text of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources (IUPGR).President of the International Congress of Genetics.
1982–88 - Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), organized the International Rice Germplasm Centre, now named International Rice Genebank.
1984-90 - President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IUCN, develop the Convention on Biological Diversity CBD.
1986-99 - Chairman of the editorial advisory board, World Resources Institute, Washington, D. C., conceived and produced the first "World Resources Report".
1988-91 - Chairman of the International Steering Committee of the Keystone International Dialogue on Plant Genetic Resources, regarding the availability, use, exchange and protection of plant germplasm.
1991-1995 - Member, Governing Board, Auroville Foundation
1988-96 - President, World Wide Fund for Nature–India WWF, Organized the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre. Organize the Community Biodiversity Conservation Programme.
1988-99 - Chairman/Trustee, Commonwealth Secretariat Expert Group, organized the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, for the sustainable and equitable management of tropical rainforests in Guyana. The President of Guyana wrote in 1994 “there would have been no Iwokrama without Swaminathan.”
1990-93 - Founder/President, International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME)
1988-98 - Chaired various committees of the Government of India to prepare draft legislations relating to biodiversity (Biodiversity Act) and breeders’ and farmers’ rights (Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act).
in 1993 Dr M. S. Swaminathan,headed an expert group to prepare a draft of a national population policy that would be discussed by the Cabinet and then by Parliament. In 1994 it submitted its report.
1994 - Chairman of the Commission on Genetic Diversity of the World Humanity Action Trust. Established a Technical Resource Centre at MSSRF for the implementation of equity provisions of CBD and FAO’s Farmers’ Rights.
1994 onwards - Chairman of the Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), development of policies for the management of the ex situ collections of International Agricultural Research Centers.
1995-1999 Chairman, Auroville Foundation
1999 - Introduced the concept of trusteeship management of Biosphere reserves. Implemented the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
2001 - Chairman of the Regional Steering Committee for the India – Bangladesh joint Project on Biodiversity Management in the Sundarbans World Heritage Site, funded by the UN Foundation and UNDP.
2002 - President of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs which work towards reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats.
2002 - 2005 - Co-chairman with Dr. Pedro Sanchezof the UN Millennium Task Force on Hunger, a comprehensive global action plan for fighting poverty, disease and environmental degradation in developing countries.
Over 68 students have done their Ph.D thesis work under his guidance.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

J. P. Chandrababu

J. P. Chandrababu (1927–1974) - Tamil film comedian-actor, singer and dancer, whose chaplin-style on-screen movements and unique singing style, with some humorous yet philosophical Tamil lyrics and a bass voice, made him popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s.
He was often likened to the styles of Jerry Lewis, the famous Hollywood comedian-actor. His slapstick style of comedy was then used by later generation actors like Prabhu Deva in Kaadhalan movie. Chandrababu's eloquence in Madras Bashai, a dialect unique to the lower socio-economic status, was incomparable for a long time until Kamal Haasan could do it, a couple of decades later. Many of Chandrababu’s songs have remained popular through the generations to this day - to the old and young alike.
Chandrababu’s Christian family originally hailed from Toothukudi Tuticorin, India - from the Tamil Paravas community -. He was born in Toothukudi, but raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where his father worked for a Tamil daily published there, during the British colonial days. His initials J.P. stands for Jacob Pitchai. The middle name 'pitchai' (meaning, beggar in Tamil, or beggarly munificence)was an endearing dimunitive as his parents prayed piously to Joeseph for a healthy baby, after his birth. He had schooling at St.Josephs College, Colombo and Aquinas University College during the Second World War period.
If there was a contest for the most misunderstood actor of all time, then Tamil cinema’s multifaceted genius JP Chandrababu will certainly be the winner, if not one of the finalists. “Not only was he misunderstood during his lifetime but even after his passing away, many have been writing about him without the correct facts, “ says his brother JP Jawahar.
For a start,J.P.Chandrababu's real name was Joseph Panimayadas Rodriguez, not Fernando or Pichai. Babu, as he was affectionately called and was born on August 4, 1927 and not the August 5 as mentioned in a few books. Babu’s father was Joseph Pichai Rodriguez and his mother Roselin.This probably accounted for a few people adding “Pichai” to his name, while the family still wonders how “Fernando” was added to Babu’s name as Fernando was the maiden name of Mrs Jawahar according to his brother JP Jawahar.
Babu was born in Tuticorin, the sixth child to his parents. His father, a freedom fighter, ran a paper called 'Sudhandhira Veeran', which, along with the family assets, was seized by the British government. His father was arrested in 1929 for participating in the salt Satyagraha and was exiled to Colombo on being released.
Babu studied in Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School, Colombo, up to his Intermediate. It is this Lankan experience that probably helped him sing the first ever “Baila” tune-based film song — 'Bambara kannaaley' for the film, 'Manamagan Thevai' (1957) under the music direction of G Ramanathan.
After the Second World War took its toll on life in Sri Lanka, Chandrababu and his family came to Chennai in 1943. They lived in Triplicane and struggled to make ends meet, as his father earned a meagre salary while employed at the Dinamani newspaper.
In these early years, Babu, with dreams of a career in cinema, wandered about and made the acquaintance of actor Sriram, BR Panthulu and through them TR Mahalingam. They were amazed at his talent in singing and mimicking famous Hollywood stars like Charles Boyer. Babu made his debut in the film 'Dhana Amaravathi' in 1947,after this came several failed attempts to meet producers and directors.One day, in a fit of depression, he consumed poison and collapsed in the Gemini Studio canteen. He had written a suicide note explaining the reason and that his body was to be handed over to BS Ramaiah, the director of his first and only film.
He was rushed to a nursing home and when the case came up for hearing, Babu told the magistrate his sad tale. The judge asked Babu to prove his acting ability. Babu rendered a Shakespearean monologue that so impressed the judge that the latter advised him to keep trying and not give up. One of the witnesses examined in this case was R Ganesh, later to become “Gemini” Ganesan. When SS Vasan came to know of this episode, he promised Babu a role and later gave it in the film 'Moondru Pillaigal' (1951).
Babu also did 'Chinnadorai' and 'Mohanasundaram' the same year. In 'Chinnadorai', produced and directed by TR Mahalingam, he sang the song 'Poda Raja Podi Nadaya' which was the first time that “yodelling” was heard on the Indian film screen. Kishore Kumar, the other famous yodeller, did so much later. There is a version that Kishore yodelled (uncredited) in a song — 'Duniya mein ameeron ko aaram nahin miltha' in the 1949 film 'Kaneez'. There is no yodelling in this song but a voice, sounding much like Kishore, does a lot of vocal gymnastics in between the singing of Rafi and SD Batish.
Babu was paid Rs 200 for his role in 'Mohanasundaram'.The family was hoping he could contribute to the rent and provisions when he walked in with a gramophone record player and a number of records. Babu loved western music and learnt the art of yodelling listening to songs of singers like Gene Autry and Hank Williams. Babu used to sit outside his home in the verandah from 10 at night and sing till the early hours of the morning, much to the amusement of his neighbours and passersby.
Chandrababu was multi-talented. He was an actor, a singer, a great dancer, a mimic, a writer, a director and a producer. The film industry had never seen such a person. When AV Meiyappan completed the film 'Sahodari', he watched it and found that it lacked something essential for it to succeed in the box-office. He called Chandrababu over and showed him the film. Babu added a comedy track for himself, wrote it and even sang the famous song 'Naan oru muttalunga', for the film, converting what would have been an average film into a hit.
As years rolled on, Babu became the star he always wanted to be. Poverty was a thing of the past. His love for western music, dancing and dressing was evident from his songs and films. The paradox is that it was Chandrababu who first spoke the slang “Madras Baashai” in movies and popularised it; he learnt this dialect from the rickshaw pullers and street vendors near his home in Triplicane and later Mir Sahib Pet.
Babu went through a broken marriage about which many a story exists. The true reason was that Sheila, his wife, told him that she loved someone else and they divorced. Over the years Babu helped her till she left the country.
A funny anecdote about J.P.Chandrababu is when a group of south Indian actors had gone to the border to entertain our jawans. They stopped at Rashtrapati Bhavan and met President S Radhakrishnan. Babu sang the song 'Pirakkum podhum azhugindrai' and Radhakrishnan appreciated it, when Babu in his child-like manner jumped on President's lap, held his chin and said “Nee rasiganda kannu” (You are a true fan)according to J.P.Chandrababu’s friend, music director MS Viswanathan, who was present on that occasion.
He passed away on March 7, 1974, impoverished but not penniless as is often reported. But yes, the man who made millions laugh was one who laughed rarely in his own life.
Chandrababu elevated himself among the second generation of popular Tamil film comedians, after N.S. Krishnan. His only rival in 1950s was K.A.Thangavelu. Whereas Chandrababu was more oriented towards physical and miming routines with singing, Thangavelu was more focused on cerebral, verbal comedy. This dichotomy was a blessing to the producers, directors and heroes. However, in a world used to sycophancy, Chandrababu turned out to be a rarity in not mincing his words. One can say that this sort of spunk and irreverance, along with Chandrababu’s habit of calling a spade a spade earned him a lot of enemies. It was this naiveté that finally sealed his fate. Though multi-talented and successful in his career, he could not emulate the same level of success in his personal life. Thus, he became addicted to alcohol after a failed marriage and died in 1974, at the relatively young age of 45.
'Sabash Meena' was one of the best Tamil comedy movies for its times and in it, Chandra babu acted with Sivaji Ganesan, in dual roles. Due to his alcoholism and non-cooperative attitude towards producers and also due to the rise of comedian Nagesh, Chandrababu dug his own grave in the 1960s. However, he embarked as a director for the movie 'Thattungal Thirakkappadum,' which was highly acclaimed for its cinematography. Chandrababu, well-known for his wits, in this movie, acted as a physically challenged person who couldn't speak. For this reason, as critiques say, the film bombed at the box-office. The film's first half is still praised for its quality and difference, thanks to Mr. Babu as a director, but the second-half is criticized as soaked into the hoods of a regular tragedy Tamil movie. That was, allegedly, Chandrababu's last directing venture.
Chandra babu then attempted to reverse his financial fortune with a movie named 'Maadi Veettu ezhai', arranging with M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) as hero. Eventually, he failed on this venture as MGR did not cooperate with him. The movie was also dropped. The reasons for MGR's non-cooperation is well explained by script writer Aroordhas, in his 2002 memoirs Naan Muham Paartha Cinema Kannadigal. Its because Chandababu became abusive towards MGR's elder sibling M.G.Chakrapani.

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