Tonight & Tomorrow Rain alert @ Chennai

Heavy Rain @ Chennai # Midnight 13.05.2022

Heavy Rain @ Chennai # Midnight 13.05.2022

Chennai Weather Today (1–3 days) Light rain (total 2.7mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 34°C on Fri afternoon, min 27°C on Thu afternoon). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WSW on Wed morning, light winds from the WSW by Fri afternoon). 

Heavy Fire Accident in Devraj Computers, Anna Salai, Chennai (Near Devi Theatre)

 A Heavy fire Accident inside a commercial building in Chennai’s Anna Salai on Thursday morning. The fire and rescue services saved those stranded inside the five storey building when the fire broke out. No casualties have been reported so far. The fire occurred inside an electronic hardware and accompaniment shop called Devaraj Computers Private Ltd, in GG building on Anna Salai. The huge complex also houses multiple shops. According to a Times of India report, fire and rescue services dispatched at least 10 personnel from areas like Madras High Court, Egmore, Anna Square, Teynampet, Triplicane etc.

The TOI report also says that a total of 38 persons were trapped inside the building. While eight people, including a toddler, were rescued by fire and rescue personnel using a sky lift, the 30 others were rescued by the teams by breaking open a door in the complex. As many as 25 Metrowater tankers and private water tankers were deployed to douse the fire.

Anna Salai is an arterial road in the heart of Chennai and due to its location, the fire and rescue personnel found it challenging to control the crowds who came to see the fire in the building. The GG Complex is also located very close to Shanthi Theatre. Finally, police forces were roped in to crowd control those gathered outside the complex. The police also used loudspeakers to address the gathered crowd and keep the situation under control.

The fire broke out at around 11 am and several shopkeepers reported that they heard loud cries for help from the third floor of the building where the fire broke out first. After the fire and rescue services personnel arrived, the blaze was put out within two hours. Those trapped were rescued from the building immediately, according to reports.  (Read More....)

Miss Japan won by half Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa - Miss World

Miss Japan won by half Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa - Miss World

Priyanka Yoshikawa, whose father is an Indian and mother a Japanese, faces backlash after many complained that Miss Japan has to be "pure" Japanese rather than "half".

A 22-year-old with an Indian father and a Japanese mother was crowned Miss Japan on Monday, furthering racial equality in the country.

Priyanka Yoshikawa's tearful victory comes a year after Ariana Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash for becoming the first black woman to represent Japan.

Social media lit up after Ms. Miyamoto's trailblazing triumph as critics complained that Miss Universe Japan should instead have been won by a "pure" Japanese rather than a "haafu" — the Japanese for "half", a word used to describe mixed race.

"Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn't represent Japan," Ms. Yoshikawa told AFP in an interview.

"That's what I thought too. I didn't doubt it or challenge it until this day. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and showing all mixed girls the way."

“We are Japanese”

Ms. Yoshikawa, born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, vowed to continue the fight against racial prejudice in homogenous Japan, where multiracial children make up just two per cent of those born annually.

"I think it means we have to let it in," she said when asked what it signified for her and Miyamoto to break down cultural barriers.

"We are Japanese. Yes, I'm half Indian and people are asking me about my 'purity' — yes, my dad is an Indian and I'm proud of it, I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that does not mean I'm not Japanese."

Ms. Yoshikawa, like Ms. Miyamoto, was bullied because of her skin colour after returning to Japan aged 10 following three years in Sacramento and a further year in India.

Gandhi visit

"I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer," said Ms. Yoshikawa, an avid kick-boxer whose politician great-grandfather once welcomed Mahatma Gandhi for a two-week stay at their home in Kolkata.

"We have problems, we've been struggling and it hurts. When I came back to Japan, everyone thought I was a germ," she added. "Like, if they touched me they would be touching something bad. But I'm thankful because that made me really strong."

Ms. Yoshikawa, who speaks fluent Japanese and English and towered over her rivals at 5'8", will contest for the Miss World crown in Washington this December.

"When I'm abroad, people never ask me what mix I am," said Ms. Yoshikawa, who earned her elephant trainer's licence recently.

"As Miss Japan, hopefully I can help change perceptions so that it can be the same here too. The number of people with mixed race is only going to increase, so people have to accept it."

Reaction to Ms. Yoshikawa's victory failed initially to trigger any real outrage, although predictably some were unhappy.

"What's the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics," grumbled one Twitter user, while another fumed: "It's like we're saying a pure Japanese face can't be a winner."

As the Japanese government continues to push its "Cool Japan" brand overseas to entice foreign tourists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yoshikawa promised to win over any doubters.

"There was a time as a kid when I was confused about my identity," she admitted. "But I've lived in Japan so long now I feel Japanese."

PV Sindhu - Biography & Rare Photos

PV Sindhu - Biography & Rare Photos

Happy Madras (Chennai) Day 2016 - ""377th Happy Birthday Chennai ""

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Madras Day is a festival organized to commemorate the founding of the city of Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu, India. It is celebrated on 22 August every year, 22 August 1639 being the widely agreed date for the purchase of the village of Madraspatnam or Chennapatnam by East India Company factors Andrew Cogan and Francis Day from Damerla Venkatapathy, the viceroy of theVijayanagar Empire.

The idea of a Madras Day was first suggested by Chennai-based journalist Vincent D'Souza to historian S. Muthiah during a meeting of the trustees of the Chennai Heritage foundation in 2004. Since then, Madras Day celebrations have been held every year without fail, its highlights being exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and quizzes. The Madras Day festival has registered a steady increase in popularity year after year. The 2014 and 2015 editions have lasted through August and extended into September as well, prompting demands to rename Madras Day as Madras Week or even, Madras Month.

There has been a contention that the deed of purchase was actually dated 22 July 1639 and not 22 August. The motive of the celebrations have also been criticized by academicians and state government organizations who feel that it gives undue importance to colonial heritage.

Background

The modern history of the city dates back to 1639 when Francis Day of the British East India Company bought a small strip of land on the Coromandel Coast from theVijayanagara King, Peda Venkata Raya in Chandragiri. The region was ruled by Damerla Venkatapathy, the Nayak of Vandavasi. He granted the British permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises. A year later, the British built Fort St George, which became the nucleus of the growing colonial city.

It was on 22 August 1639 that a sliver of land, where now stands Fort St George, was handed over by the local Sowbaraniya rulers to the East India Company’s Francis Day, his dubash Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogan. From this small three square miles given to the East India Company grew the city of Madras where more than four and a half million people live now. As years passed by out of the fort grew settlements and the villages around it were brought together with the old and new towns linked up and hence birth of a city.

History of Madras Day

The first recorded celebration of the founding of Madras was its tercentenary commemoration in 1939. Unlike later anniversaries, the celebrations were officially sponsored by the British government and a special tercentenary commemoration volume was issued with essays on the different aspects of Madras city authored by leading experts of the time. An exhibition of pictures, portraits, maps, records and coins was inaugurated by Diwan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan, the Vice-Chancellor of the Madras University and a short play writing competition was organized.

The 350th anniversary in 1989 was celebrated with the opening of a commemorative monument titled "Madras 350" built in the Classical Style by builder Frankpet Fernandez at the junction of the Poonamallee High Road and the New Avadi Road. Other major events included the commissioning of a book by S. Muthiah titled Madras — The Gracious City by the Murugappa Group which also organized the first Madras Quiz which has continued to the present day.

The idea to celebrate the birth of the city every year was born when journalists Shashi Nair and Vincent D'Souza met S. Muthiah at his residence for coffee. It was based on the success of another event called Mylapore Festival which D'Souza had been organising every year in January. It was decided by the trio to start celebrating Madras Day from 2004. According to them, "primary motive of celebrating `Madras Day' was to focus on the city, its past and its present." The idea initially started off with about five events in 2004 but grew gradually. The second edition in 2005 had events throughout the week. In 2008, there were a total of 60 events conducted. In 2007, a commemorative postal cover was released by Chief Postmaster-General of Tamil Nadu Circle at a function at Fort St George as a part of the Madras Day celebrations, thereby inaugurating a tradition that continued through the later editions. The 2010 celebrations lasted beyond a week and extended well into the following week as well.

The 375th Madras Day was celebrated with more than a hundred events that lasted from 10 August to 14 September 2014. However, despite expectations to the contrary, Tamil Nadu government departments did not participated in the celebrations which they felt promoted "colonial heritage". The celebrations were deemed a roaring success and the events got nationwide coverage for the first time.The Madras Song was composed to commemorate the occasion and a website launched by The Hindu titled friendsofchennai.com for residents of the city to create online petitions voicing their civic grievances. Historian and entrepreneur V. Sriram also designed a mobile app named Chennai Past Forward for users to keep in track with the heritage of the city.

The 376th Madras Day celebrations were bigger with events being held even in suburbs like Tambaram. Apart from heritage walks, the 2015 edition also included a walk of theL. V. Prasad film studios. The focus was, however, on restoration of the Coovum River and a presentation on the history and heritage of the Coovum River was held at theMadras Literary Society by author Anusha Venkatesh on 15 August. The Cycling Yogis, a Chennai cyclists' group, conducted a 72 km bicycle ride along with the Coovum River on 16 August 2015.

The 377th Madras Day celebrations were kick-started in a grand manner by THE HINDU Group through their Madras Beats 2016 song. Composed and performed by Opus G7 music band which was selected as winner through a competition floated by the The Hindu, the song ENDRUM PADHINAARU was launched on 21st August 2016 and is already viral in Social Media network.

Reaction of a Mother Just at the Moment Her Daughter Made India Proud!!!

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Sakshi Malik's mother, Sudesh was head over heels when she saw her daughter win the fight against Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, that got India's first bronze medal of Rio 2016.

Not able to control her emotions, Sudesh's reaction was indeed epic as she video started trending. She was seen kissing the TV screen and jumping with joy as Sakshi hugged her coach and was all smiles after the win. Sudesh's reaction has gone viral, as India shared the happiness of the proud mother.