ACHIEVEMENT -- 2 ::

STUDENTS EXCEL IN ENGLISH DEBATE 

(My article in today's The New Indian Express)

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ACHIEVEMENT  - 1 ::

ST JUDE’S VOLLEYBALL TEAMS TO GO FOR INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

P S SUNDAR 

The boys and girls volleyball teams of St Jude’s Public School and Junior College, Kotagiri, have done proud to the school, Nilgiris district and Tamil Nadu state by getting selected to represent the country in the international championship to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December.

"In the national youth championship 2016 held in Bengaluru, known as ‘The Big 7 Events and Entertainments’, where 32 schools from country’s different parts vied, our teams annexed the title and qualified to contest for international championship”, St Jude’s Chairman P P Dhanarajan toldme after honouring the players and coaches Ramesh and Vanaja Sekar. 

“Our girls defeated the reigning champion, Carmel Convent, Bengaluru, and our boys defeated VET School Bengaluru and got selected to go to Kuala Lumpur”,  St Jude’s Principal D Saro said.

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LANDMARK -- 1:

MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE ALUMNAE TO MEET AT OOTY

P S SUNDAR

The Nilgiris chapter of Madras Christian College Alumni Association (MCC-AA) will meet at Ooty on Saturday to enlist greater participation of Alumnae at the 125^th anniversary of the college Alumni Association.

“We have many Alumnae in Nilgiris and this meet will help us draft our strategy to contribute to the success of global re-union scheduled to be held in Chennai in August”, co-ordinator Ravichandran Broos told me. 

“Alumnae can contact me on phone 94435 24078, Devaraj (Kotagiri) 94864 50200, Desingh Rajan (Ooty) 94430 45593 and Sam Mathew (Gudalur) 94430 61309 for details of the meet”, he said.

The  MCC-AA was founded in 1891 and is hailed to be one of the oldest such bodies in the country. 

The illustrious Alumnae of this college include Dr S Radhakrishnan (India’s former President),

Indra Nooyi (CEO, PepsiCo)

and Raja Ramanna (nuclear scientist).

The Alumnae are widespread across the globe and hence the 125^th anniversary lays accent on the global re-union.

This re-union will reiterate the college’s watchword “EweR” where E refers to Excellence and R for Relevance and ‘We’ the student and faculty – which means, the student and faculty will work for Excellence and Relevance in every sphere.

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BILLIARDS & SNOOKER -- 6:

WORLD BILLIARDS CHAMPION MOTIVATES NILGIRI PLAYERS

P S SUNDAR 

Billiards and snooker lovers in The Nilgiris had a pleasant surprise with the visit of World under 21 Champion S Shrikrishna from Chennai.  He played many friendly frames with the lovers of these cue games from Nilgiris as also summer tourists. 

Mariam Agnish, India’s No: 2 and Tamil Nadu state title holder, added colour to the events with her games.

“Shrikrishna (16) is present title holder in World Billiards championship conducted by International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) at Russia.  He is the first Indian player to hold this title.  Likewise, Mariam Agnish (15) is the first player from the Nilgiris to participate in an official international tourney when she was selected to play for IBSF under-18 snooker championship.  We, therefore, organised friendly plays to encourage youngsters from Nilgiris and summer visitors.   The interaction with them has motivated even seniors to take the game seriously”, R Muralidharan, Member of Executive Committee of Nilgiris Billiards and Snooker Association, told me.

Shrikrishna’s father and coach N Suryanarayanan gave many useful tips to excel in international cue games.   “These have helped Srikrishna emerge as the first Indian to have won all six titles – sub-junior, junior and senior in both Billiards and Snooker”, he said.

“My target for 2016 is to win World Snooker Championships in Under 18 and Under 21 as also Billiards Championship in under 21”, Shrikrishna added.  

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EXAMS -- 4:

NILGIRIS POSTS 91.29% PASS IN PLUS TWO

P S SUNDAR 

In Plus Two exams whose results were announced on Tuesday, of the 7,942 students who wrote in Nilgiris district, 7,250 have passed posting 91.29 per cent pass.  This was higher than last year’s 86 per cent pass result.

Thirteen schools have secured centum pass results against six last year.

Centum marks have been secured by 44 students in Accountancy, 40 in Commerce, five each in Business Management and Mathematics, two each in Chemistry and Computer Science and one in Botany.

S Deepthi of Bethlehem HS School, Ooty, bagged the First Rank in Nilgiris district scoring 1188 marks out of 1200.   Daughter of Selvaraj, driver in Government Transport corporation and Gracy, homemaker, Deepthi wants to become a Chartered Accountant.

Guru Mukilan of St Thomas HS School Gudlaur came second scoring 1176 marks and S Sruthi of Shanthi Vijay Girls’ HS School Ooty came third scoring 1174 marks.

Nilgiris Collector Dr P Sankar honoured in Ooty in the presence of Chief Educational Officer Ganesamoorthy  the rank holders who had studied taking Tamil as a language.

STANES STUDENTS TOP IN COONOOR

Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Coonoor, has done well in the Plus Two exams.

Two students – Norah Judith and Kavishree – have topped the Coonoor segment scoring 1,172 marks out of 1,200.    Both studied in the Science stream and hence have the second highest total marks among the Science stream students in Nilgiris district.  Overall, the school has bagged the fourth highest marks in the district.

Norah’s father Jairaj works for Repco Bank and her mother Stella Rosaline is teacher at Timbre Tops School.   She wants to become a computer science engineer.

Kavishree’s mother Rajalakshmi is a home maker.   She wants to pursue Agriculture Science degree and then become an IAS officer. 

“298 of the 302 of our students have passed.  As many as 10 of them have topped in the State in different subjects scoring centum – Mathematics 3, Chemistry 2, Computer Science 2, Accounts 2 and Commerce 1”, Stanes Principal Glenn Croning told me.

“As many as 31 students scored over 1,100 marks and 93 over 1,000 marks”, he added.

CRESCENT STUDENTS BAG RANKS IN ‘OTHER THAN TAMIL’ CATEGORY

Two girls of Crescent Castle Matric Higher Secondary School, Ooty, have secured the first and third ranks respectively in Nilgiris district among students who studied with a language other than Tamil.

“Our student K S Madhumitha has secured 1185 marks out of 1200, She had taken French instead of Tamil.  She has scored centum in Commerce”, Crescent Correspondent Umar Farouk told me.

“Our student S Janani has come third in Nilgiris district among those with a language other than Tamil.  She has scored 1166 marks.  She studied French", he said. 




"In our school, Reny Agnes who studied Tamil has come second scoring 1171 marks which includes centum in Biology and Mathematics.  The school has posted cent per cent pass”, Farouk added.

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HAPPENING -- 17:

WHEN UKG CHILDREN DONNED GRADUATION GARB!

BY P S SUNDAR

It was an enthusiastic sight amidst parents and grandparents of children at Crescent Play and Primary School Ooty as they witnessed their wards being honoured for ‘graduating’ in UKG.

The 154 children donned the convocation garb, including the wise-man’s cap, as done in a University convocation when D Arumugam, Principal, Crescent Castle Matriculation Higher Secondary School, presented them the ‘graduation scroll’.

“This is the 15^th year we have been conducting graduation ceremony for children who pass out of our campus completing their UKG.  As their primary education ends now, they all will move to other schools of our group for pursuing ICSI or state Board curriculum”, Crescent Correspondent Umar Farouk told me.

“This ceremony motivates parents to offer the highest and best possible education to their wards.  It has been instrumental in all our students studying well as they go to higher classes and passing in Tenth and Plus Two public exams with many of them scoring ranks”, he added.

AWARD -- 8:

US HONOUR FOR NILGIRIS SCIENTIST 

OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY IN VETHA UNIVERSITY IN USA

BY P S SUNDAR

Dr Shanmugamurthy Lakshmanan, a scientist hailing from a tea growing family in a small hamlet Jagathala near Coonoor, has done his village, the Nilgiris district and India proud by bagging the coveted ‘Star of the Universe’ honour.

This honour was conferred on him at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, by the Society for Universal Oneness, an intellectuals’ organisation of scientists, researchers, engineers and doctors, working to use technology to create eco-friendly and peaceful world.

The citation said that the award was to hail Dr Shanmugamurthy’s initiatives to bridge the gap between ancient and modern science.

“My endeavour is to make available for the benefit of mankind the best of Eastern and Western sciences through the Vetha Centre for Trans-disciplinary Studies.    This is a unique educational facility offering comprehensive curriculum based on fundamental axioms found in Ayurveda, Siddha, Yoga and similar scientific traditions of the East which will be used with modern western scientific approaches”, he told me.

“This award hails my initiatives to establish a Vetha University in the USA with global partnership to facilitate students from all over the world study courses.  For the Indians, this is a great honour as most of their traditional sciences will now be learnt by foreigners”, said Dr Shanmugamurthy Lakshman, who holds Ph.D. in Applied Physics.

He said that this will open new doors for children to study life-oriented courses covering healthcare, lifestyle management, architecture, agriculture, and the arts, to name a few.  He said that they can contact the Vetha University for admissions.

“Ours is a traditional tea growing family.  We are also into vegetable cultivation.   I had the dream of making Shanmugham a popular personality in the USA so as to help ventilation of India’s supreme ethos.  He has now done that and this recognition is a credit to the entire tea growing families in the Nilgiris”, his father J B Lakshmanan told me.  But, Lakshmanan was also in Government service .. retired Deputy Collector...

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HAPPENING -- 16:

ANOTHER RECOGNITION FOR MARIAM

BY P S SUNDAR

Tamil Nadu Government has honoured J Mariam Agnish (14), Coonoor-based billiards and snooker state and national champion with financial assistance through Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) for her participation at the World Snooker Championship in Russia.

“I have received ` 30,000 and thank the Government and SDAT for the recognition given to my performance.    This was to partly fund my participation at World Under 18 Snooker Championship conducted by International Billiards and Snooker Federation in Russia”, Mariam told me.

“I was the first sportsperson from the Nilgiris to represent India in an official international snooker tournament.   The present recognition from the Government is a definite encouragement for me to scale newer heights in international cue game”, said Mariam who is the current Tamil Nadu state championship title holder in Billiards sub junior and No: 2 in Billiards Sub-Junior National championship.

“For furthering my performance at international level, I need a world quality Billiards Table and global-standard coaching.  Hailing from a poor family background, I am unable to afford these.  I have appealed to Chief Minister to extend possible help to me for these”, added Mariam, ninth-standard student of St Joseph’s Girls’ Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Coonoor.

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HAPPENING -- 15:

SUKITH SELECTED TO PLAY FOR TN AT FOOTBALL NATIONALS

BY P S SUNDAR

V Sukith, Ninth standard student of Crescent Castle Matric Higher Secondary School has done his school and Nilgiris district proud by getting selected to be part of Tamil Nadu State team at National Football championship to be held in New Delhi.

“This follows his consistent performance so far.  Of the 13 students selected from different districts, he is the only one from Nilgiris.  He will play for Tamil Nadu state at 37^th Sub-Junior National Football Championship to be conducted by All India Football Federation in New Delhi from April 10 to 23”, Crescent school Correspondent Umar Farouk told me. 

“He left on March 28 for Nagapattinam to participate in the special coaching camp on completion of which, the team will leave for New Delhi.   Tamil Nadu Football Association is conducting the camp”, he said.

The fellow-students, teachers and members of Nilgiris District Football Association joined Farouk in complimenting Sukith.

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HAPPENING -- 14:

KUMBLE ELECTRIFIES NILGIRIS

BY P S SUNDAR

The 958 students of Crescent Castle Public School where the Nilgiris outfit of the Bangalore-based sports coaching organisation TENVIC (standing for ‘To Ensure Victory’) functions, received motivation form none other than former captain of Indian cricket team Anil Kumble.

“Besides motivating all our students to take sports seriously, he bowled and batted on the field throwing many useful tips to our cricket players.  This was part of our practice to invite sports icons to interact with our students for a better contribution to national sports from Nilgiris”, school correspondent Umar Farouk told me. 

Kumble honoured TENVIC-trained Mithun Raja who fetched laurels to Crescent school scoring over a century in the on-going inter-school cricket tourney conducted by Nilgiris District Cricket Association.  

He also installed the office-bearers of the student council for the next academic year. 

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HOCKEY -- 4 :: 

FORMER HOCKEY PLAYER AYYAPPAN MOTIVATES STUDENTS

BY P S SUNDAR

The budding hockey players of Gurukulam Matriculation School in Agalar village of Nilgiris benefited from a closer interaction with the former Indian National Hockey Player Lenn Ayyappan who visited the school. 

"Besides helping players with useful tips, he motivated more students to take up hockey as profession”, school Correspondent N Arjjunan told me.

Sharing his experience of playing for India in 2010 Asian Games and the many coaching thereafter, Ayyappan demonstrated on the best ways of wielding hockey stick for various functions like defence, penalty stroke, passing the ball and spinning.

“He witnessed our girls on play and appreciated their stick movement.   He has assured to visit again for direct field coaching.  This will be highly useful to our boys’ and girls’ teams as we are into hockey just for a year now.  We are keen on imparting professional training”, school Principal B Sureshkumar said.

“Ayyappan has honoured the school with a T-shirt bearing his autograph and message ‘Love Hockey’.  He has also motivated our students by signing on T-shirts for them”, Hockey coach Siva Sankar added.

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AWARD-- 7 ::

TEACHER’S CASH AWARD TO ENCOURAGE MERITORIOUS STUDENTS

BY P S SUNDAR

While Plus Two exams begin on Friday, students of Political Science in the 150-year-old St Antony’s Higher Secondary School here are encouraged to perform well due to cash award coming from their Master.

“I began teaching Political Science for Plus Two students last year and I announced a cash award of ` 10,000 to every student who scores 180 marks out of 200 in this subject in public exam.  In the first year after this announcement (2014-15), two students scored these high marks.  Our Headmaster Bro Arul wanted my cash award to be given to them at a public function so that it would incentivise other students”, teacher G Rajendran told me.

Accordingly, IAS officer C Paulrasu, Executive Director of Tea Board, gave ` 10,000 each to the two students, Mohammed Hasan and Praveen Kumar, in the presence of District Educational Officer Natarasan and Headmaster Bro Arul to the applause of a large gathering of students, teachers and parents.

“I save a specific amount from my salary for this purpose.  All the 44 students who wrote Political Science last year passed.  This year, 54 students are taking up this exam.  As my cash award is annual, we see an interest among current year students to score high marks”, Rajendran said.

“I studied hard to get ` 10,000 as I hail from a poor family – my father Iqbal sells flowers and my mother Sabina Bhanu is housewife.   This sum is helpful for my higher education as I am studying for BCom (CA) in Coimbatore.  I scored 186 marks, all-time highest in the school since Plus Two started 36 years ago”, said Mohammed Hasan.

Mohammed Hasan is being honoured with cash award by Paulrasu with Bro Arul (left) and Rajendran (right) looking on.

“I scored 183 marks working hard for this cash reward.  This is useful for my BSc (Psychology) course I am doing in Coimbatore as my father Badran is a tea chest coolie worker (porter) and mother Kavitha is as domestic maid”, said Praveen Kumar.

Praveen Kumar is being honoured with cash award by Paulrasu with Bro Arul (left) and Rajendran (right) looking on.

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BILLIARDS & SNOOKER -- 5:

MARIAM AGNISH EMERGES NATIONAL NO:2 IN BILLIARDS

BY P S SUNDAR

Mariam Agnish (14), class IX student of St Joseph’s Girls’ Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Coonoor, has added another feather to her cue games cap. 

She has returned from Indore with the claim as India’s No: 2 in Billiards Sub-Junior National championship. 

Sports Minister of Madhya Pradesh Yashoda Rajan had honoured her with ‘Manisha National Billiards and Snooker Championship 2016 runner up’ title.

“Mariam Agnish is presently Tamil Nadu state championship title holder in Billiards sub junior.  Four girls from the state participated in her category of National Billiards but she was the only one who could claim a title vying with contestants from all over India”, Mariam’s father AJS Kumar who is also her coach, told me.

She has also received Fourth Place in the same Nationals at Indore in Snooker Sub Junior Girls championship. 

“Last year, I contested at World Under 18 Snooker Championship conducted by International Billiards and Snooker Federation in Russia.  Consequently, I emerged as the first cue sportsperson from Nilgiris to participate in an official international tourney.  This has encouraged me to fine-tune my cue skills”, Mariam added.

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FOR THE RECORD -- 4::

A SCHOOL CALENDAR THAT EDUCATES ALL

BY P S SUNDAR

If one goes to a school even as a parent or a refugee for protection against floods, one should return wiser because school is a temple of learning. 

In that context, the 127 year-old prestigious institution of Nilgiris,  St Joseph’s Boy’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Coonoor, has done a yeomen service of educating community through its colourful calendar for 2016 on the theme, “The Nilgiris – The Blue Mountains”. 

Printed on glazed sheets, each of 28 inches long and 19 inches wide, the calendar carries visual treat of 12 most loved picnic spots of Nilgiris with brief description for each.   These attractive visuals are on Avalanche, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Sim’s Park, Coonoor, Govt Botanical Garden, Ooty, Doddabetta, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Pykhara Lake, Kodanad Viewpoint, Ooty Lake, Lamb’s Rock, Coonoor, Dolphin’s Nose, Coonoor and Ooty Race Course.

There are references to other tourist attractions including Adams Fountain, Toda Tribal Huts, Kallar Bridge, Coonoor Railway station, Coonoor Bazaar, Emerald Lake, St Stephen’s Church and Nilgiri Tahr.

The initiative led by Principal Bro Ramesh Amalanathan gets value addition with Thirukkural in Tamil and English being juxtaposed in each date for all 365 days.

Librarian Andrew Joseph has enriched the calendar with snippets tracing the growth and contribution to overall education by the school since its birth in 1888.  An interesting snippet is remembering Gen K S Thimmayya, former Chief of Army Staff, as an alumnus, having studied in this school from 1912-17.

Among the recent illustrious visitors to the school are Governor Rosaiah and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

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