A Class II student of a city school has created a cleaner robot, a robotic hand and a walking stick for the blind. It was recently exhibited along with works by engineering and science graduates at TECH FOSS 2K16.
Saarang Sumesh (7) from Choice School showcased the work in the tech fest organized by the department of computer science and engineering at TocH Institute of Science and Technology (TIST) and Computer Society of India in association with the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the institute.
“Saarang left us surprised even with his presentation skills. He not only displayed the uses of the robot but also explained how he made it. He has made the robots using Lego Robotic Kit,” said TIST principal D Vincent H Wilson.
There were 25 projects on display from engineering and polytechnic students. There was also a hands-on workshop on Android and Arduino for the participants. Other events included a hardware project competition and an ‘App Idea’ contest.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kochi / TNN / February 15th, 2016
She hails from a family of educationists and is married to one. So, it was only natural that Shima Sendhil, who spent more than a decade in the US, came back to the country to help with the family run educational institution.
The director of Rathinam Educational Institutions tells us, “I hail from a remote village in Ernakulam, Kerala and my father was a headmaster of a school there. We moved to the US, when I was just 15 years old. After completing my studies in the University of Florida, I worked for a private concern as a programmer for five years. I moved to Coimbatore to take over the family business after the stint. When my husband heard the news about the award, he was quite excited. He asked me to consider this achievement as a motivation to take up many more programmes for the benefit of students.”
Shima has been voted as one of the #100Women Achievers of India in the category of education by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. “I wasn’t even aware of the fact that my name was nominated in the list. It was only when the Ministry asked for my profile that I believed the news was true. A lot of credit goes to my husband for being a pillar of support.”
When it comes to education, Shima ensures that she doesn’t leave any stone unturned as far as benefiting her students are concerned. “We have associated with many corporate companies to provide skill-based training to our students, through their CSR activities. The activities include training in electrical work, plumbing, IT and even costume designing. The idea is to make our students more employable.”
Shima says that her five-year-stint in the US has helped her pick many tricks of the trade and implement them back home in Coimbatore. “For instance, we have upgraded many technical aspects in the college and have also begun providing smart classes for students.” This apart, Shima has also taken steps to provide scholarships to underprivileged students. “We have also been undertaking tree plantation drives, helmet awareness campaigns and providing support to the needy in the times of crises, like the Nepal earthquake and Chennai deluge. We are now envisioning a waste-free campus in 2016 by which we intend to reuse plastics and covert food waste into gas & thus, use negligible resources from outside. This apart, we have a plethora of new activities in the pipeline, focusing on women.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / P . Sangeetha, TNN / January 17th, 2016
Children from the State who will be conferred with the National Bravery Awards 2016, at an interaction with the media in New Delhi on Monday. (From left) Beedhovan and Muhammad Shamnad (Kozhikode), Nithin Philip Mathew and Anandu Dileep (Kottayam), Aromal S.M. (Neyyattinkara), and Abhijith K.V. (Kannur). —PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
Eight children from the southern part of the country, including six from Kerala and two from Telangana, are among the 25 National Bravery award winners this year.
The winners will receive the award, a medal, a certificate and cash price from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on January 24. The award recipients will also participate in the Republic Day parade on January 26.
One of the six winners from Kerala is Aromal SM (12), who saved two children from drowning in a 14-feet deep pond. Aromal has been honoured with the Bapu Gaidhani award.
Another winner from Kerala is Nithin Philip Mathew (13), who braved fire to save his neighbour’s family after their house caught fire in a cylinder blast.
“When I saw that my neighbour’s family was stuck inside their house because of a fire, I broke open the door and entered with the help of others to save their family,” said Nithin, who wants to become an IAS officer.
Beedhovan (14), who saved a boy from electrocution, is also one of the six winners from Kerala. Other winners from the State are Anandu Dileep (14), Abhijith K.V. (15) and Muhammad Shamnad (14) who saved people drowning. The winners from Telangana are eight-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha and 14-year-old Sai Krishna Akhil Kilambi.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / New Delhi – January 19th, 2016
A 53-year-old man, who was diabetic for the past 18 years, became the first patient in south India to have an artificial pancreas after a successful procedure at Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. The first generation artificial pancreas, 640 G, was implanted earlier this month. Artificial pancreas was first tried on a four-year-old Australian boy who had type-one diabetes in January this year.
Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, who heads the centre, said that the 640 G is a network of devices that includes a device for continuous glucose monitoring and an insulin delivery system that are connected wirelessly. “In type-one diabetes and in many type-two cases, the biggest challenge is to keep the sugar level normal and avoiding hypoglycaemia or low sugar. It is a major cause for patient deaths in diabetes and a major reason for treatment failure. 640 G comes with an innovative technology where the pump will predict an impending low sugar 30 minutes in advance and automatically shutdown to prevent a low sugar episode. This system has automatic sensor to assess impending drop of blood sugar – say 60 – even when sugar level is 100. The pump will resume functioning once the sugar level is normal,” he said.
The device – which is almost the size of an iPhone – can be attached to the stomach, buttock of kids or on thighs of patients wearing dhoti. Insulin must be refilled every three days. 640G is so unique that the device need not be removed even while bathing or swimming. A tiny remote control, the contour meter helps glucose monitoring, insulin infusion and wireless communication between devices. The device is painless and ideal for kids,” said Dr Kesavadev.
“When insulin was founded in 1922, it was big remedy. But sudden change in sugar level remained a challenge. About 80-95 % of diabetes patients experience sudden change is sugar level. Either they get admitted for hypoglycaemia or for high sugar by eating sugar to control the sudden drop. This could be prevented if there is a device like 640 G,” he said.
The device is priced at Rs 5 to 6 lakh and entails a recurring monthly expense of Rs 10,000-20,000. However, the doctor said that it was cost-effective considering the cost for a pancreas transplant and related treatment.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / by Jisha Surya, TNN / September 14th, 2015
Meet Lydia Sebastian, 12-Year-Old Keralite Smarter than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkingaboutmodafinil.com/ Allan Ajifo/ Flickr
Lydia Sebastian, 12, has achieved the maximum score in the Mensa Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test, beating the IQ scores of physicists Albert Einstein and Professor Stephen Hawking.
In the mental ability test, the 12-year-old girl has scored the maximum, which is 162. With this, she has created a record as the IQ score of Einstein and Hawking were 160.
Born to 43-year-old Arun, a radiologist at Colchester General Hospital, and mother Erika Kottiath, who is an associate director at Barclays Bank, Lydia started reading books when she was just a few years old.
“She also had an early interest in reading. When she was a few years old she was reading books that were for children several years older than her. And maths is her favourite subject. She won a prize for that when she was at primary school,” her father told The Daily Mail .
Hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala and settled in Langham, Essex in the United Kingdom, Lydia’s parents are astonished with the achievement of their daughter after the result was published on Friday, 28 August.
Lydia is a student at Colchester County High School in Essex.
source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in / International Business Times / Home> News> Science / by Anu James / September 03rd, 2015
The area near Manorama Kavala, Cherthala, was once known as Mulachiparambu and was the site where Nangeli, in 1803, cut off her breasts to protests against the breast tax imposed on the lower caste women of Travancore. Photo: H. Vibhu
Nangeli gained her place in history as the woman who cut off her breasts to protest against an inhuman tax imposed in erstwhile Travancore
Many books and histories have been written about caste oppression in Kerala and the men and women who fought the injustice. Yet the story of one woman’s protest has almost faded away from the collective memory of the State.
Nangeli, who lived in Cherthala in Alappuzha over 200 years ago, gained her place in history as the woman who cut off her breasts to protest against the inhumanmulakkaram (breast tax) that was imposed in the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore.
CASTE OPPRESSION
Kings of the time ensured the subjugation of the lower castes by imposing heavy taxes on them. Their wealth was built on some of the worst taxes imposed anywhere in the world. Besides the tax on land and crops, peasants had to pay taxes for the right to wear jewellery, the right of men to grow a moustache, and even the right of women to cover their breasts.
The heavy taxes ensured that the lower castes were kept eternally in debt, while members of the upper castes flourished.
“Nangeli was a poor Ezhava woman from Cherthala. Her family could not afford to pay the taxes and was in debt to the rulers,” says D. Sugathan, advocate and former MLA from Alappuzha.
“The tax collector, then called the parvathiyar, came to her house one day and demanded that she pay the tax,” he says. The legend goes that Nangeli cut off her breasts and presented them to theparvathiyar on a plantain leaf. The tax collector fled in fear, while Nangeli bled to death at her doorstep.
Her husband Chirukandan came home to find his wife lying dead and mutilated. He is said to have jumped into her funeral pyre out of grief.
“The incident happened in 1803. It created a lot of anger and the practice of collecting breast tax was put to an end here by 1812,” says Mr. Sugathan, who mentions Nangeli’s story in his book ‘Oru Desathinte Katha, Kayarinteyum’.
While Nangeli’s sacrifice put an end to one form of caste oppression, the land where she lived came to be known as mulachiparambu – the plot where the woman of breasts lived.
“Nangeli’s story is unique also for the fact that it is the first recorded instance of a man committing sati,” says Ajay S. Sekher, a teacher of English at the Tirur centre of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit. A blog post written by Mr. Sekher, who researches issues of caste and gender, has introduced many to the story of Nangeli and mulachiparambu.
An earlier generation of political leaders grew up hearing about Nangeli’s protest and its significance in Kerala’s history. Leaders C. Kesavan and K.R. Gowri Amma have mentioned her in their autobiographies.
‘UNIQUE RESISTANCE’
“Nangeli’s story is an articulation of a unique resistance and struggle against a Brahmanic patriarchy. The tradition of such resistance by leaders such as Gowri Amma could perhaps be traced all the way back to Nangeli,” says Mr. Sekher.
The legend of Nangeli’s mutilation of her own body in protest against oppression has been handed down through generations.
Today, however, her tale is preserved only in the memories of a few old-timers and researchers. There are no memorials to her name, no books extolling her courage.
The name mulachiparambu too has been covered up, perhaps due to embarrassment. The plot, divided up between several owners, is situated near the SNDP office at Manorama Junction in Cherthala.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Nidhi Surendranath / Kochi – October 21st, 2013
A new app called Netradaan enables users to sign up for eye donation through their mobile phones. What makes the app all the more special is the contributions by a visually challenged person in its making.
Muhammed Ramees was born with partial eyesight. When Sunil Mathew, founder of Sightica Solutions spotted him during an interview to train visually challenged persons in using computers, he realized that Ramees was too good to be just trained in basics. That was the beginning. Together the duo went on to develop a series of Android apps.
“One of the unique features of the app is t the recipient request through which a request for cornea can be made. This will go into the database of the association. The app has English and Hindi versions, Ramees said. The app encourages users to donate their eyes through an easy to fill-and-submit donor form. “We have partnered with the Eye Bank Association of India. The donor receives an eye donation card from the association,” said Sunil, who also runs Society for Rehabilitation of the Visually Challenged (SRVC), an NGO in Kochi.
Another app called Kuluk created by them enables the blind to call for help by shaking or tapping their phone “A visually challenged person can call for help by shaking the phone or tapping it just once keeping the app on. The users can customize the number of shakes upto three. A shake or a tap prompts a call or message to emergency numbers saved on their phones,” said Sunil. Another app called Mapseeker helps the elderly or visually challenged to find important places using google maps. “This is just like the GPS but with more user-friendly features for the blind,” Ramees added. ”
Netradaan app has won the m-inclusion Awards at the mBillionth Awards held in New Delhi last week. The award honours outstanding mobile content and apps from South Asia.
“We should spread awareness regarding eye donation. What pushed us to develop this app was the long waiting list for corneas. About 45,000 corneas are imported from Sri Lanka alone every year,” said Sunil. All the apps can be downloaded from Google Playstore.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kochi / by Sudha Nambudiri, TNN / August 04th, 2015
Any attempt to find a connection between Kerala’s popular percussion instrument chenda and pieces of bamboo may sound bizarre. But in the hands of a set of tribal artists from Kasaragod, bamboo pieces chatter in a voice similar to that of chenda.
Named as mulam chenda (bamboo drum), the instrument is made of one-meter long bamboo pieces, end of which are tied with long ropes. The instrument with long narrow slits on the middle part of the bamboo pieces has tonal resemblance with chenda when hit with specially designed sticks.
According to Ananthan M V and his troupe of nine other percussionists hailing from ‘Mavilar’ tribal community from Kasaragod, the instrument is a symbol of their indigenous culture and music, which is now a part of their livelihood. The group was in the city as part of the ‘Thala Maholsavam’ organized by Vylopilly Samskrithi Bhavan that began on Saturday.With the support of Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development Studies (Kirtads) and other government-registered organizations the team has performed in more than 350 venues across the country.
The group often uses mulam chenda as an accompaniment to the tribal songs composed by them in Malayalam and Tulu. “As per the custom, the actual duration of the performance is one day with intervals, but when performing outside we have to do it in a stipulated time and we prepare the songs and rhythms accordingly,” Ananthan said.
Mulam chendas are classified into two, the ‘veek chenda’ or the bass drum and ‘mani chenda’ or the melody drum. The instrument was used for ritual customs to please the presiding deity of the tribe, marriage rituals and to scare off birds and animals from agricultural fields. To make mulam chendas one has to select the suitable pieces from the bamboo variety ‘aringadom mula’, which should be done on a new moon day that too according to the moopan’s (tribe leader) guidelines.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / March 16th, 2015
In a quarter of a century, Kerala has leapfrogged from being a fully literate state to a state with total primary education.
The government would declare the new status on April 18, said Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb. The status means almost 100 per cent of its eligible citizens have passed class IV examination or its equivalent.
As a next target, he said, the government plans to achieve total higher secondary education or its equivalent in the state in the next three years.
“Under the equivalency programme, age is not bar for studying,” the minister said at a meeting held at a Literacy Mission function meeting held at the District Planning Committee hall, here. Abdu Rabb said that the government would help anyone interested in joining the programme.
“Those who do not speak Malayalam can also join the equivalency programme,” he said and added that workers from the state were able to get promotions in West Asian countries because of the programme.
Special Syllabus
The education minister said the government was working a new curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities.
“It will be introduced in the next academic year,” he said. The government has cleared a proposal to set up centres for persons with intellectual disabilities in Kasargod and Parappanangadi in Malappuram district. Abdu Rabb said that the government would consider a proposal to start institutes in northern districts to impart language proficiency among English teachers.
The minister felicitated athlete T K Jyoti Prasad, who won gold at the national and state school games this academic year.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 23rd, 2015
Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan has been named the most generous person from Kerala according to the Hurun India Philanthropy list 2014.
The IT behemoth’s executive vice chairman who is ranked 8th in the list donated Rs 255 crore mainly in healthcare charities.
The list prepared by Hurun Report, a media group based out of Shanghai, states that region-wise, South Indians were the most generous, donating Rs 13,300 crore, five-times that of the amount given in charity by North Indians.
Ravi Pillai of RP Group is ranked nine in the list with a contribution of Rs 145 crore, mainly in healthcare. As many as seven persons from Kerala have found a place in the list of 49. They together donated Rs 609 crore for charity. Keralites in the list include Azad Moopen (Rs 100 cr), S D Shibulal (Rs 48 cr), P N C Menon (Rs 26 cr), M A Yusuf Ali (Rs 18 cr) and Sunny Varkey (Rs 17 cr).
“It is heartening to see that Indian businessmen are contributing more to philanthropy. This will create a more equitable society. Business is necessary for economic progress and with philanthropy business is also good for overall development of society. I feel proud to see this,” Kris Gopalakrishnan told Express.
The list has Wipro Chairman Azim Premji who gave away Rs 12,316 crore on top.
In September Hurun Report had published a Kerala Rich List topped by Emke Group Chairman M A Yusuf Ali who has a net worth of Rs 11,400 crore. RP Group’s Ravi Pillai came second with Rs 9,600 crore followed by Sunny Varkey, founder and executive chairman of Dubai-centered Gems Education with Rs 9,000 crore.
The India Philanthropy List, which highlights charity contributions made by India’s most generous measured by the value of their cash or cash equivalent donations, debuted in 2013. Donations made by a corporation in which an individual has more than 50 pc holding were recognised as being part of that individual’s personal donation. The period of calculation was from April 1, 2013, to October 31, 2014.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / December 30th, 2014
