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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Reexploring verses of Gita
In commemoration of Guru Aradhana Day and the 75th anniversary of Chinmaya Mission, the Chennai chapter of the organisation presented a distinctive musical and visual interpretation of 'Versification of the Bhagavad Gita in Tamil'. Held at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre in Chetpet, this Sunday evening was a blend of sacred ritual, artistic innovation, and spiritual homage to Swami Chinmayananda's legacy. The programme opened with a traditional puja and the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas, setting a reverent tone. Among the audience were devotees, artists, dignitaries, and members of the Chinmaya Vidyalaya community — including faculty, students, and parents — all gathered to witness the felicitation of the team behind the initiative. Politician Ram Mahadev was also present at the event. Spearheaded by Swami Mitrananda, the Tamil versification was released a week earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The project was undertaken by a team of seven to eight Tamil language teachers from various branches of Chinmaya Vidyalaya. 'Even I used to chant all the verses earlier during pujas and whenever Swami would recite them,' said Gayathri, one of the Tamil teachers who was part of the team. 'But I didn't fully grasp the meaning or retain them. This Tamil versification brought us closer to the essence of the Gita. That connection is what kept us going even after more than a year, without stepping back. You can feel the Muthamizh in this rendition — where Iyal (verse), Isai (music), and Nadagam (visuals) come together in harmony.'
The Hindu
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi soaks in spiritual experience on his visit to Gangaikonda Cholapuram
The spirit of bakthi hung in the air and Prime Minister Narendra Modi soaked in the spiritual experience during his more than two-hour visit to the Brihadisvara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram on Sunday. Sporting a traditional Tamil attire of white dhoti (veshti) and half-sleeve shirt with an angavastram (upper cloth), Mr. Modi offered prayers at the Shiva temple built by Rajendra Chola I, which is famous for its imposing architecture and exquisite sculptures. He was received with poorna kumbam honours. He performed aarathi to the presiding deity. Devotional renderings by maestro Ilaiyaraaja and a group of Odhuvars were held. The Odhuvars rendered the Thevaram hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, Thodudaiya Seviyan, Pithaa Piraisoodi Perumaney, and Muthaitharu Pathith Thirunagai from the Thirupugazh in praise of Lord Murugan. This was followed by the performance of the troupe led by Mr. Ilaiyaraaja. Singer Madhu Balakrishnan rendered the Om Sivahom. The maestro with his mesmerising voice rendered the Namah Shivaya Vaazhga Naadhanthaal Vaazhga and Poovar Senni Mannan of Saint Manickavasagar. The performances drew standing ovations from the Prime Minister. Moved by the spiritual atmosphere, Mr. Modi acknowledged it while speaking at the valedictory of the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival at the temple complex. Greeting the audience with 'Vanakkam Cholamandalam' (salutations to the Chola region), Mr. Modi appreciated the performances of Mr. Ilaiyaraaja and the Odhuvars. He handed over a pot of Ganga water from Kasi to the Sivachariars at the temple. The celebration of Ganga in the land of the Cauvery is also a legacy of the Chola Empire, he observed, and expressed happiness that he had once again brought Ganga water to Tamil Nadu. He viewed a thematic photo exhibition on 'Saiva Siddhanta and Chola Temple Arts', put up by the Union Ministry of Culture. Impressed by the achievements of the Cholas, he urged the people to visit the exhibition without fail. Mr. Modi released a Tamil musical album on Bhagavad Gita brought out by Chinmaya Mission and a publication on Thevaram brought out by Sahitya Akademi. He also held a roadshow on the way to the temple.
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Business Standard
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Op Sindoor proved no safe haven for terrorists, enemies of India: PM Modi
Names of Raja Raja Chola, Rajendra Chola synonymous with India's identity and pride, says PM Modi in TN Aman Sahu New Delhi Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Operation Sindoor proved there is no safe haven for terrorists and others targeting India, during his address at the Aadi Thiruvathirai Festival at the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. 'The world saw how India responds if its sovereignty is attacked; it has created new self-confidence across the country,' the PM added. Modi was attending Rajendra Chola's birth anniversary celebrations in the ancient capital of the imperial Cholas, built by emperor Rajendra Chola I. The PM praised the Chola dynasty and announced the installation of grand statues of the monarchs Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola in Tamil Nadu. "I was seeing, whenever the name of Nagendran was mentioned, there used to be excitement. In a way, it is the land of faith for Rajaraja. There is an amazing atmosphere. I am an MP from Kashi. Whenever I hear 'Om Namaha Shivaya', I get goosebumps,' he said. 'Chola kings had expanded political and business relations to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Southeast Asia. It is also a coincidence that I returned from the Maldives yesterday and became part of this event here. Our scriptures say that the followers of Shiva, by engrossing themselves in devotion, also become 'avinashi'. The Chola dynasty has also become immortal,' Modi added. As this year marks 1,000 years since Chola emperor Rajendra Chola I marched triumphantly to the Gangetic plains, both the central government and the state government of Tamil Nadu are commemorating this millenary moment in different ways—one focusing on spiritual and philosophical heritage, and the other on restoration and public history. PM Modi said: 'The Culture Minister has put up a great exhibition. It is knowledgeable and motivational. We are filled with pride to know how humanity was given direction around 1,000 years back. Thousands are visiting. With the efforts of Chinmaya Mission, I got the opportunity to launch Tamil Gita. I want to thank everyone.' The PM also visited the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple to pay tribute to the legacy of the Chola dynasty before attending the festival. The king had built Gangaikonda Cholapuram along with the Brihadisvara Temple. Talking about his visit to the temple, he said, 'The amazing energy of Shiv Darshan, the music of Ilaiyaraaja, the chanting of mantras—it has stirred the soul. The pious month of Saawan, the start of construction of the Brihadeswara Shiv Temple—at this time, I feel fortunate to worship here. At the historic temple, I prayed for the welfare of 140 crore Indians and the progress of India.'
Hindustan Times
26-07-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Beating clots while you sit: Meet the SitWalker
PUNE Atul Kherde's (L) life took a serendipitous turn in 2018 when he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, Dr Shilpa Gosavi, during a trek in the Himalayas. (HT) Atul Kherde's life took a serendipitous turn in 2018 when he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, Dr Shilpa Gosavi, during a trek in the Himalayas. A seasoned anatomist, Dr Gosavi shared a troubling pattern she had observed over two decades of dissecting cadavers. 'The veins in the legs are increasingly problematic. We're seeing more blood pooling, which leads to clots—and in many cases, that's what causes death. One in every four diabetics in India risks developing foot ulcers that could lead to amputation. Every day in India, we witness 450 foot amputations,' Dr Shilpa said. What could have been a casual exchange between old friends sparked deeper curiosity in Atul. Dr Gosavi explained that the main culprit behind such clots, arteriosclerosis in the leg veins, was a sedentary lifestyle. 'People sit all day—at work, at home—and barely move, especially the ankle, which plays a vital role in pushing blood back up to the heart,' she noted. Atul, a computer engineer from Pune, had always been drawn to machines and gadgets. 'Even before graduating, I was fixing factory machines in Bhosari—soldering, lathe work, you name it,' he recalls. What Shilpa told him on that trek lingered in his mind. She explained the role of the body's 'secret' blood pumps—the calf muscles, particularly the soleus and gastrocnemius. 'Every time the ankle moves, these muscles contract, squeezing deep veins and pushing blood toward the heart. Without that motion, blood pools in the legs. Swelling follows, then varicose veins, and eventually ulcers—especially dangerous for diabetics, as these wounds heal slowly.' The issue, Atul realised, wasn't a lack of awareness—most people knew the risks, but a lack of time and movement. People don't get up. The insight hit him: if the ankle could move while a person remained seated, especially without bending the knee, the body's natural blood pump could still be activated. By the end of the trek, Atul had already sketched a prototype: A device that would stimulate the soleus muscle without requiring the user to walk. Soon after, he filed a patent for what he called the SitWalker. Now to make the SitWalker Excited about the potential of their new invention, Atul and Shilpa each invested ₹50,000 with a simple pact: 'If we fail, we'll consider it part of the journey.' Once again, serendipity played its part. 'During my student days, I had met VL Latkar from the Chinmaya Mission in PCMC,' Atul recalls. 'When I told him about SitWalker, he generously offered me access to his computers and even agreed to manufacture the first 20 prototypes. 'After that, we'll talk business,' he said.' Latkar happened to run a successful medical products manufacturing company. Between his factory's shifts, Atul used their computers to create CAD drawings of the SitWalker. Remarkably, within three months of his initial sketch, he had the first prototype in hand. But, as with most proof-of-concept products, it was far from perfect. 'I had imagined something sleek and practical,' says Atul. 'But the prototype was bulky; there was no way someone could comfortably use it under an office desk.' Several more prototypes followed, but none matched his vision. Frustration set in. 'I remember sitting under the famous tree at Bhau Institute (COEP), feeling completely dejected,' he says. 'And then after two hours of solitude, I thought I wanted a gadget that people can use very easily. It is ultimately a footrest and hence should look like a footrest,' he thought. And so the idea of housing all mechanics inside a plain, elegant box emerged.' After 47 design iterations, SitWalker finally arrived at the compact, user-friendly form it has today. Money spinners Early on, the duo bootstrapped with ₹50,000/- each. With the sweet intervention of Lady Luck, his two friends Vijay Pandita and Yogesh Thokal invested in his company and boosted the initial corpus to ₹15 lakh. One even transferred ₹10 lakh upfront, saying, 'I trust you'll do what's right.' Meanwhile, Atul enrolled for the TiE Pune Mentorship program. At that program, one of the mentors, Shashank Deshpande, saw his SitWalker and bought it right away for his mother. Providence was slowly working. 'I met Anand Deshpande of Persistent Ltd, who is another mentor at TiE, and he got interested in my project. He told me that if I get another investor, then he will invest in my company because he could not keep tabs on my work and was willing to invest with another investor who would watch our work.' Within two years and two funding rounds, Atul had raised ₹1.87 crore. This capital fuelled product development, sustained the team through the harsh COVID phase, supported early marketing, but more importantly, helped place around 300 SitWalkers that are still in active use. Challenges When Atul was making his initial 350 SitWalkers, he knew clearly that investing in a manufacturing unit would be too difficult and not help him in his goal of building this gadget that could help people saddled with a sedentary lifestyle. So he decided that he would outsource the manufacturing of different parts to different vendors and assemble the product himself. But that was easier said than done. Says Atul, 'The problem all start-up founders have to tackle is how to procure goods in small quantities. You cannot place large orders, nor do you have the funds. You are starting out, and based on the performance, your order size will increase. But vendors look at scale, not potential of the product.' So Atul had to work his way to finding vendors who would agree to deliver small quantities. In the early days, Anand Deshpande had introduced Atul to Narendra Kale, who got him to be part of the Bhau incubator at COEP. 'We used the table there to assemble our gadgets.' However, he had by then hired a team of 10 people who worked to design the product, packaging, and literature. Things were moving up, and Atul realised he needed more money to scale up. 'In 2022, I applied for a ₹50 lakh grant from the DST (Department of Science & Technology). With that, I could scale up my business, spend some more on marketing, hire more staff, and manufacture more SitWalkers.' However, sadly, that did not come through. 'That was a horrible time for me. We were low on funds, and even my co-founder, Shilpa, felt we should shut down the business. But I stood firm. In my mind, I decided that SitWalker would not shut down simply because of this.' Staying afloat Atul put in his own funds of ₹15 lakhs to keep the ball rolling. 'I was in a bad shape financially. At that time, I saw an ad on LinkedIn where there was an event on diabetes, and Anand Deshpande was doing a segment where he was presenting five start-ups that were ready with their products. I told Anand that I had a ready-to-sell product, and he included my SitWalker and himself presented it to the doctors attending the event.' As luck would have it, an Indian doctor based in Germany got interested in the SitWalker. 'He was more cued in to the start-up game and asked me what my problems were. I told him that I needed funds and an outreach that doctors like him could provide.' Today, SitWalker is sold D2C (direct-to-consumer), largely through word-of-mouth, as there is no paid advertising since the setback. Over 70 units were sold in 2023–24, with rising demand and zero price resistance, even as unit prices increased from ₹14,000 to ₹22,000. The conversion rate from Facebook ads once touched 10% — far above the industry average. What comes next With lean operations now breaking even at just 3–4 units a month, Atul plans to scale mindfully. He's hired two staff for sales and outreach, and is preparing for a re-entry via social media marketing. He's also eyeing institutional sales — hospitals, corporations, and government agencies. Is VC funding on the cards? 'Eventually, yes — but not until we have our numbers. I want the right investor, someone who understands preventive health-tech.' The future The journey from the foothills of the Himalayas to now has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. But Atul has managed to survive up to now. The recent fund infusion has helped him. 'I have hired two people, and I plan to use Facebook ads that in the past have had good results. The conversion rate is generally said to be 1 to 2% but we would get a conversion of 8-10% with our FB Ads. Till then, Atul will find ways to grow slowly but surely. After all he has been through, he is not likely to give up. Maybe Lady Luck and surely his persistence will work some magic.
The Hindu
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Events to mark Yoga Day on Saturday
A slew of events has been planned in Madurai marking the International Yoga Day to be observed on Saturday. Around 10,000 students of the Velammal Group of Institutions will be performing yoga in the presence of Governor R.N. Ravi, who is the special guest at the event to be held at Usain Bolt ground of Velammal IB Global School at 8 a.m.. Later, he will be interacting with the students. The event has been organised with the main aim of promoting physical fitness, mental health and wellness among the students and the public, and to create awareness about yoga. The programme is also being held to showcase India's traditional education system and culture. A yoga event has also been organised by the Chinmaya Mission, Madurai. Similar events will be held at Madurai District Court, Madurai Railway Junction premises, race course and other places.
