The Hindu Articles

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Coimbatore Vizha gets off to a colourful start

The Hindu A procession of traditional art forms of Kerala marked the inauguration of Coimbatore Vizha 2013 in the city on Saturday. Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

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Tamil Nadu Coimbatore

arts, culture and entertainment

Inaugural showcases Kerala’s traditional art forms; 110 events will be held over nine days

This year’s Coimbatore Vizha began on Saturday with a liberal dose of Kerala flavour. From the display of traditional art forms in a procession to a music programme by Kerala’s popular reality show performers, the annual event took off by stressing Coimbatore’s cosmopolitan character and even going on to show that its large Keralite population is an integral part of the city.

Confederation of Indian Industry-Young Indians, whose members have their roots in various States across the country, have come together as Coimbatoreans to organise the event.

The opening procession of ‘Coimbatore Vizha 2013’ brought the culture of Kerala to the streets of Coimbatore. Over a thousand students as well as members of Coimbatore’s numerous Kerala associations walked from Park Gate to VOC Park Grounds accompanied by street performances of many Keralite art forms such as kavadiyattam and theyyam. The walk was a precursor to the inaugural function conducted at the Grounds.

Coimbatore Vizha aims to showcase the inclusive nature of Coimbatore’s culture towards immigrants from other States and since Coimbatore is home to several Keralites, the inaugural function was organised by several Malayali associations in the city, said Mithun Ramdas, Chair of ‘Coimbatore Vizha 2013’.

“Seventy-five groups such as Kerala Club, Coimbatore Malayali Samajam and Arya Vaidya Pharmacy have combined to organise the walk’s cultural display,” said Dr. T.C.P Nambiar, one of the convenors of the Coimbatore Vizha Inaugural Organisation Committee. The procession was led by panchavadyam performers drumming the chenda and blowing the kombu and kuzhal to a strong beat. “Many of the performers have come to Coimbatore from different parts of Kerala such as Thrissur, Palakkad and Chittoor just for this inaugural walk,” said Dr. Nambiar. Students from various educational institutions in the city that have a considerable strength of Keralites also took part in the procession. “Institutions such as Nehru Group of Institutions, CMS Group of Institutions, Sree Narayana Guru College and Indus College of Engineering have brought several hundred students each,” said K. Rajagopalan, Chairman of CMS Group of Institutions.

Later, the gathering at VOC Park Grounds – the inauguration venue – was treated to a feast of Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi movie songs by Idea Star singers Soniya and Vidhya Shankar. Students of four colleges presented panja vadhyam, kavadiyattam, pulikkali and other folk arts of Kerala.

Chairman of CII - Yi, Coimbatore chapter, Anush Ramasamy, said the organisation provided a platform for several associations and organisations to come together and showcase Coimbatore’s strengths and harmony. This year, 110 events would be held for nine days by 85 organisations.

Inaugurating the programmes, Coimbatore Mayor S.M. Velusamy said Coimbatore Corporation was focusing on improving the infrastructure of the city to meet the requirements that came with growth.

Ashok Bakthavathsalam, Chairman of CII- Coimbatore, said the city had its strengths in textile, engineering, educational and healthcare fields. “Coimbatore Vizha celebrates the uniqueness of the city,” he said.

Keywords: Coimbatore Vizha 2013

Ferrer advances to Australian Open quarterfinals

AP Spain's David Ferrer celebrates after defeating Japan's Kei Nishikori in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, on Sunday. Photo: AP

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sport tennis

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win on Sunday over an error-prone Kei Nishikori of Japan.

Nishikori made 65 unforced errors in the match, while Ferrer made just 24.

Ferrer is playing in his 41st consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

Keywords: Australian Open

No play on second successive day

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sport cricket

For the second successive day, there was no play in the Ranji Trophy semifinals between Mumbai and Services at the Palam ground here.

If Friday’s action was a non-starter due to the previous night’s rain and hailstorm, there was no play on Saturday after bright sunshine all day could not dry up the pitch.

It may be recalled that the covers placed on the pitch were blown away by gusty winds on Thursday night. Rain water caused much damage to the pitch before the covers were put back in place early on Friday. The outfield was fine but such was the extent of damage to the pitch that despite the ground-staff working tirelessly on a sunny day, play could not be started. The play was officially called off at 3.50 p.m.

With Mumbai at 380 for six in its first innings and just one day of the scheduled play remaining, there seems a strong possibility of the match being extended to the sixth day to determine a winner based on the first innings lead.

Quite wisely, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer and Ajit Agarkar did not come to the venue.

Other Mumbai players reached the ground around noon.

Later, Mumbai’s coach Sulakshan Kulkarni admired the efforts of the ground-staff but refused to comment on the playing facilities provided at the Palam ground.

It is quite clear that Mumbai camp is desperate to get some on-field action to avoid a situation where the ‘winner’ is decided by the spin of coin. “If we get about 180 overs (in six sessions of play), Mumbai should be able to take the first innings lead,” said Kulkarni, a former wicketkeeper of Mumbai.

Should there be no further rain, the match should see some action on Sunday.

Keywords: Ranji trophy

Jagannath Rath Yatra taken out

Special Arrangement Annual celebration: Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra of Sri Sri Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra, Puri, Orissa, organised by ISKCON Chennai

ISKCON Chennai conducted its 30th annual Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra of Sri Sri Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra, Puri, Orissa, on January 12, Saturday.

The Rath Yatra was inaugurated by Mylapore Vachaspathy Dr. M.V. Ananthapadmanabhacharyar, at Kapaleeshwar temple.

More than 1,000 devotees from all over the world took part.

The festival is as old as the temple of Lord Jagannath in Puri, and symbolises the return of Lord Krishna to Vrindavana.

The Yatra proceeded from Kapaleeshwar temple, Mylapore, and proceeded through R.K. Mutt Road, Royapettah High road, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Cathedral Road, Nungambakkam High Road , and Mc Nicholls Road and culminated at Kuchalambal Kalyana Mahal, Chetpet.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Rhinos roll over Magicians

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sport Hockey

Ranchi Rhinos charged past Mumbai Magicians 3-1 in a Hockey India League match at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium here on Friday.

Matching the electrifying atmosphere was the start of the match that was equally engrossing with the host making a series of inroads with some incisive play.

Making most of the moves down the right, where India star Sandeep Singh lookedsvulnerable owing to lack of support, the Rhinos went ahead in the ninth minute with a brilliant opportunistic goal by Vikas Chaudhary.

In the ninth minute, a defence-opening cross from the right got deflected off a defender’s stick and Vikas, who was following the ball, hit in with a reverse stick to send the 7000-odd spectators into raptures.

The best part of the Ranchi team’s good play was the well-oiled coordination between the defence and the forward line. The home side increasingly began to dominate the proceedings and struck twice in the second quarter. After a right-wing cross saw goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh palm the ball away, an alert Mandeep Singh dashed in to score with another reverse stick shot. Austin Smith, who had a good match, came up with some quick runs that split the rival defence.

One such move earned the match’s first penalty corner and he made it count with a terrific drag flick for the third goal. The half time gave the Magicians some respite from the bombardment. Change of ends brought a lot of discipline in the Mumbai’s team’s play.

The defence was tightened and there was always a defender following the other to clear the loose balls. The Rhinos also became a bit defensive giving the Mumbai players a lot more space to figure out good moves.

Though Sandeep scooped the team’s first penalty corner over, at the start of the third quarter, Magicians found the mark through Chinglensena Singh’s push, after custodian Francisco Cortes saved the first shot.

The result: Ranchi Rhinos 3 (Vikas 9, Mandeep 23, Austin Smith 29) bt Mumbai Magicians 1 (Chinglensena Singh 44).

Keywords: Hockey India League

18th January 2013

Mrs. K.Chellammal 91, W/o Late S.Krishnamurthy [Saraswati Stores] passed away on 15-01-2013 at Hyderabad.

SHRI CC RAMU Retd Manager SBI passed away on 10.1.2013 The 10th day Dhathasthu will be held on 19.1.2013 at \"KRISHNATHEERTHAM\" (Behind Ice House Police Station) Triplicane.Mourned by wife, son & family, daughters & their families.Ct 9952424746

PONNAMA VERGHESE, 91 years, passed away peacefully on 11-01-2013. Funeral service at residence, S-90 (New No.12), 17th Street, Annanagar, Chennai at 10-30 a.m. Marthoma Church, Annanagar at 11-30 a.m. then Kilpauk Cemetery on 19-01-2013. Ph: 9840723808.

Chennai through the lens

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-through-the-lens/article4319293.ece