Around TownCHENNAISATURDAY

21 OCTOBER 2017 3

NT BureauChennai, Oct 21:

A resident of Pattalam in the city, Tanuj, has a passion for helping people. This youth, who works with a private bank in the city, organises annadhanam at a bus stand near Choolai post office regularly. He does this with the help of his friends.Speaking to News Today, Tanuj

says, ‘I have been arranging annad-hanam from the age of eight. I was encouraged by my parents.’Asked about how he was able to

understand the importance of charity at a tender age, Tanuj says, ‘When I was studying at a private school near Vepery, the institution used to collect donations in cash or kind from stu-dents and organise annadhanam for underprivileged people and students. This inspired me to go it alone.’He reveals that his parents would

not allow him to contribute anything in cash but only in kind.‘On my eighth birthday, I told my

parents that I would like to offer an-

nadhanam. My mother prepared the meal for 10-15 people and gave it to the workers at a construction site

near our house. I personally served the food.’ From that year on, this tradition has not changed.‘When I finished my Plus-Two, I

started doing it every month with the help of my friends, who would col-lect donations and made individual contributions.’Says Tanuj, ‘The best part is that we

would not be bothered about the cost

involved. We would get help from somewhere. We serve food depend-ing on what we get. If the collection was not big, we would give two idlis. If it was a bit more, we would give three idlis. Chutney and sambar would be made by our families.’Tanuj feels that he has been bless-

ed with good friends. ‘They set aside a portion of their income for this annadhanam. Hence, we are able to provide three idlis and one vadai daily for 15 people. On special occa-sions like Deepavali, we add a sweet to the menu. On our birthdays, we offer meals with one sweet.’Tanuj adds, ‘We start the annad-

hanam at 7.30 am. That is the time when labourers go for work. We pack the food with side dishes and distribute it so that they can have it at a convenient time.’He says that there has been good

response and everybody takes pride in doing it.T a n u j c a n b e r e a c h e d a t

8438423654.

NT BureauChennai, Oct 21:

The forces of pseudo-nationalism, parading as patriots, are trying to destroy secularism, communal har-mony and unity, cautioned Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali. Referring to the Taj Mahal con-

troversy, he said, India’s history has been a confluence of many streams. Aryans, Dravid-ians, Mongols, Kushans, Parsees, Arabs, Persians, Turks and numerous others have enriched its many-hued civilisation, he said in a statement recently. Taj Mahal is India’s rich

heritage and great historic monument in the eyes of the entire world. It is one of the wonders of the world today, he said.He called upon politicians to desist

from breaking the nation by their divisive communalism and creating hatred between people belonging to different communities, who are living in peace.He said, instead, they should pay

their attention to the development

and progress of the country that is lacking in many respects.The Prince of Arcot pointed out

that the Mughals ruled India for centuries together, from Emperor Babur to Emperor Aurangzeb. At no time, during their rule did they ever think of converting India into an Islamic or Muslim country. As a matter of fact, peace, com-

munal harmony, respect for other religions and coexistence of people existed during their rule. They developed the na-tion in many aspects in a peaceful manner. They also bui l t many great monuments, which are all the pride of India’s rich

history and famous world tourist attraction today, he pointed out.He appealed to all fellow citizens

to safeguard peace, amity, toler-ance and secularism and to defend democratic values, the Constitution and the rule of law, at all times, and never come under the infl uence of vested interestsbent upon dividing the country.

Prince of Arcot appeals for peaceful co-existence

A MAN OF WORDS� Chennai-based Scrabble player to represent India at world championship� Country’s second best talent hopes to be at the top of the table

NAOMI NChennai, Oct 21:

Strange words keep tumbling out of his mouth: gogo, goog, dipt, dript, jararaca... Even as you are taken aback, he assures you that these are meaningful words that he uses in the game of Scrabble for which he has won national honour.Ranganatha Chakravarthy (45)

is a professional Scrabble player, teacher and a lover of words. He is India’s second best who will be rep-resenting the country at World Eng-lish Scrabble Players’ Association (WESPAC) Championship - 2017 at Kenya on 8 November. After he saw countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore walk away with championships and titles in Scrabble com-petitions, he couldn’t keep quiet.Showing news-

paper articles of foreign inter-

national winners, he says the coun-tries work hard to earn the laurels. Sample this: in Nigeria, Scrabble is considered a sport where the com-petitors attend camps before going for an international game.On a drizzly Deepavali evening,

News Today caught up with the professional player for a chat.He says, ‘I began Madras Scrabble

Foundation (MSF) which conducts tournaments for lovers of the game and I am also taking the game to schools.’ As for himself, he prepares for six hours a day. ‘In four hours,

I learn 4,000 words and also do physical exercise. I loved words

from the age of 13 and I landed on the most outlandish ones.

Scrabble helped me use rather exotic words while

playing the game.’Calling it an intel-

l e c t u a l g a m e , Ranganatha, a

resident of Ad-yar, says the

word game requires certain skill sets, ‘Anagramming, vocabulary, utilising resources, decision-making, logic, spelling, sharp memory and so on.’‘It is also a mind game where you

need tricks and other moves to de-ceive the opponent,’ he smiles.Though Ranganatha got his fi rst

Scrabble kit when he was in school, he began playing it competitively in 1998, ‘Back then, there were no tournaments. But when I started appearing for competitions, I knew I was naturally gifted. I quit my profes-sion as a lawyer and ventured full time into the game.’ This intellectual sport is not being taken seriously by the country, laments Ranganatha.Even for his upcoming champion-

ship, the expenses are being borne by ChuChu TV that has agreed to sponsor him. ‘I won the international tournament 2003 in Sri Lanka and 2004 in Mumbai and represented the country in international tourna-ments 2001 in Las Vegas and 2007 in Mumbai,’ he recalled.He is committed to producing two

things: more seats for the country in the Kenya-championship and pro-duce a champion for India - which he believes is easy. ‘I have introduced the game to 20 schools in the city

and am teaching the game in three schools currently; but, from experi-ence, it is not a cake walk to get the schools to open up to the game,’ he says, and adds that only those who know the game will be interested. ‘The rooting takes place in school. This is an educational game which helps a child widen his/her horizons. I wish schools understand this.’ W i t h fewer Scrab-

ble game

lovers in the city, Ranga-natha has two other friends he stuck a chord with at tour-naments whom he meets on w e e k e n d s to polish his com-petitive edge.

What is

Scrabble?It is a word game

where a players earn points by constructing words

with letter tiles and placing them on a grid.

Getting more seatsIn the international competition, there are 120 competitors. India, currently,

has three seats for three participants. For this year’s competition, if one of the players moves up to the top half, India will get an additional seat next year.

IN SCHOOLSBala Vidya Mandir Senior Second-

ary School and Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School in Adyar, GRT Mahalakshmi Vidyalaya in Ashok Nagar have taken up the game.

Feeding service� City youngster and his friends supply food to hungry every month

‘We start annadhanam at

7.30 am. That is the time when labourers

go for work. We pack the food with

side dishes and distribute it so that they can have it at a

convenient time’

NT BureauChennai, Oct 21:

With the induction of state-of-the-art aircraft, equipment and weapon system, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is witnessing major changes in operational philosophy and the IAF today is on the path of transforming itself into a strategic force of great calibre, said Air Commodore VV Menon, Command Technical Train-ing Offi cer, Headquarters Training Command, IAF.Participating at a Combined Pass-

ing-out Parade at Air Force Station Tambaram on Friday, he said Air Warriors must strive for professional excellence. He urged them to make sustained efforts towards continu-ous enhancement of their technical knowledge and skills by keeping themselves abreast with the latest changes. He also advised the trainees to

maintain exemplary conduct at all times, abide with the ethos of the service, a press release said. A total of 605 Air Warriors were

inducted into the Indian Air Force on Friday. They underwent thor-ough rigorous and intensive training at the two premier institutes of the base, namely, Mechanical Training Institute and Workshop Training Institute, before passing out. Apart from this, one defence personnel from Mauritius also completed the training successfully.The parade culminated with an

impressive display of continuity drill,

physical training display, blind folded and unarmed combat, cycle display, motorcycle display and fi re fi ghting, aeromodelling and microlight dis-play, pilot rescue drill and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) demon-stration by the passing out Air War-

riors. The parade was followed by presentation of awards and trophies to the meritorious trainees. The ‘Best All-Rounder Trophy’ was

awarded to LAC Abhishek Janga of Mechanical Training Institute and LAC Harish Gajotia of Workshop Training Institute. The passing out trainees were administered Oath/Affi rmation on the occasion.Earlier, Menon was received by Air

Commodore S Shrinivas Vishisht Seva Medal, Air Offi cer Command-ing, Air Force Station Tambaram, Group Captain A Arunachaleswaran, Commanding Officer, Mechanical Training Institute and Group Captain CA Somiah, Commanding Offi cer, Workshop Training Institute.

‘IAF transforming itself into a strategic force’

� 605 Air Warriors pass out from Tambaram

Air Commodore VV Menon, Command Technical Training Offi cer, Headquarters Training Command, reviewing the passing out parade of Air Warriors held at Air Force Station Tambaram, Chennai on Friday.

NT BureauChennai, Oct 21:

To encourage budding photogra-phers, Radisson Blu Resort Tem-ple Bay conducted a photography competition and the winners were honoured at a function held here on Friday.‘The beautiful town of Mamal-

lapuram and our resort are a photog-rapher’s paradise. With our contest, the participants showcased their skills in shooting a range of subjects like food, property, landscape, and historic destinations. We’re really pleased that we have been able to offer a platform to amateur photog-raphers to explore and increase their strengths,’ said Radisson Blu Resort

Temple Bay Resort general manager Elango Rajendran.The participants were tasked to

take photos of the resort, the food served and the town of Mamal-lapuram and Prashant Paku won the contest. Maheshwaran emerged as runner-up and Sara-vanan Krishnamurthy as second runner-up.‘It’s my first experience taking

photos inside a resort. I’m a candid camera person, but I won an archi-tectural photo contest which is a big motivation for trying new things,’ said Prashant Paku.The contestants were judged by ex-

perts in the fi eld of photography, art direction and destination marketing.

They click, win prizes

� Radisson Blu Resort conducts photography contest

Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay Resort general manager Elango Rajendran handing over the fi rst prize to Prashant Paku in Chennai on Friday. Paku’s family members and offi cials are present.

Verification for physical trainers

11 Nov: TNPSCNT Bureau

Chennai, Oct 21:Tamilnadu Public Service Com-

mission (TNPSC) has put up the list of 54 candidates who have been provisionally admitted to certifi cate verifi cation for the post of Hostel Superintendent-cum-Physical Training Offi cer in Tamil-nadu Employment and Training Subordinate Service. According to an offi cial press release, a total of 1,779 candidates had appeared for the written exams held on 20 May this year. Of them 54 have been elected for certifi cate verifi ca-tion at the Commission’s offi ce on 11 November. The list are avail-able at www.tnpsc.gov.in.

Smart cards for students

NT BureauChennai, Oct 21:

School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan on Friday an-nounced that smart card distribu-tion in schools would begin from the fi rst week in December this year. About 1.25 core students in the State would become benefi ci-aries of the smart card scheme. He also said that the government would start smart classes in 3,000 schools and 412 coaching centres from this December.

‘Air Warriors must strive for professional excellence and should maintain exemplary conduct at all times, abide with the ethos

of the service’

Tanuj

Ranganatha Chakravarthy