Cuddalore eateries in Tamil Nadu make snail meat a hot delicacy

By Harish Murali | Express News Service | Published: 16th April 2018 02:46 AM |


Image for representational purpose only.

CUDDALORE: With snail meat catching up with restaurants in the coastal villages in the state and demand from domestic and export markets rising, fishermen in Cuddalore have seen their pockets becoming fatter. As a blessing in disguise, snails are conspicuous by their absence in other parts of the state.  

Snail meat is processed and their shells are used by paint companies as they are rich in calcium. N Somanathan from Cuddalore Old Town was seen busy in counting the day’s catch in the wee hours of Sunday -- the last day of the breeding season. The export market is ticking so also the new-found love for snail meat by restaurants and liquor shops in Pondicherry.

Catching snails is a time-consuming affair and requires physical stamina to hold on for long hours in the deep sea. Due to this, many do not take it up as a vocation.

Besides, large nets are needed which call for special skills, said V Ramanathan, while segregating the catch based on their size and the texture, which have a say in their prices.

Speaking to Express, E Daniel, who heads a six-member crew, said that his day’s catch includes those snails which are sold in the outside market with the prices hovering around `50 per kilogram. It is reported that snail meat is rich in protein and has many health benefits. Due to this, there are many takers for it.

Three varieties of snails are found in the area. They are: vellai muli, nellikkai and jollikkira muli. Those meant for the export market is cleaned by boiling to take out the calcium-rich shells, which go to the paint industry. Snails are found in Karaikal, Puducherry, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore.

Hospital wrongly removes man’s spleen, penalised in Tamil Nadu

By Express News Service | Published: 16th April 2018 02:50 AM |

 

Image for representational purpose only.

MADURAI, CHENNAI: The district consumer disputes redressal forum ordered a private hospital doctor to pay a compensation of Rs 2.25 lakh to a patient who was admitted for treatment of jaundice but whose spleen was removed.

According to the petitioner’s council, the patient, M Beemarajan, who is a tailor by profession and a resident of Y Othakadai, had body pain and excessive tiredness. He approached a private hospital run by S Karthick in Y Othakadai, where he was diagnosed to be suffering from jaundice. The doctor reportedly advised Beemarajan to get admitted to a hospital at Narayanapuram, where he was asked to undergo surgery.

The surgery was performed on May 22, 2008, and Beemarajan was discharged later in the month, said the council. However, the patient apparently did not recover fully from the illness.
Later, Beemarajan was admitted to another hospital in Madurai, in February 2009, and was given ultrasonography treatment. Since this also did not help him get better, Beemarajan went to another private hospital and then to the Government Rajaji Hospital with his medical records. It was then Beemarajan came to know that his spleen had been removed through surgery, the council said.

Reportedly, despite repeated requests for a discharge summary for the treatment given at the two private hospitals, he did not receive any.

Pronouncing the judgement, the forum ordered the doctor to pay Rs 75,000 towards medical expenses, `1 lakh with 6 per cent interest for loss of spleen, and Rs 50,000 for the mental agony and strain caused to the patient.

United India Insurance fined for denying full claim amount

A Chennai consumer forum has fined the United India Insurance for having denied a health insurance policyholder the full amount, though he produced bills for the claim.
The complainant, K Nirmal Chand Sethiya, made a claim for a sum of `1.87 lakh to the insurance company, of which the company settled only `1.43 lakh and disallowed the part claim amount of `44,158 allegedly without any reason.

“The opposite party has not stated any reason in the written version how it has disallowed a sum of Rs 44,158 in the claim amount,” said the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Chennai (North).

The United India Insurance, on its part, said the dispute was only with regard to quantum of the disallowed amount and said that Sethiya ought to have referred his grievance to the arbitration. However, the forum rubbished this claim.

The company has been directed to pay a sum of Rs 25,000 towards compensation for mental agony, besides a sum of Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses.

Tambaram stations in Chennai gets top grade, set for more facilities soon
By B Anbuselvan | Express News Service | Published: 16th April 2018 03:15 AM |

CHENNAI: Six suburban stations in Chennai — Tambaram, Tiruvallur, Avadi, Perambur, Mambalam, and Chengalpattu — and two stations in the neighbouring Vellore district, Arakkonam and Katpadi, are all set to witness a faster revamp of passenger amenities as Railways has given them a higher grade.
The Railway Ministry decided in December last year to recategorise the stations based on account of revenue, footfalls and other strategic importance, aiming to improve passenger services and amenities at stations. The stations are segregated into three groups: non-suburban (NS), suburban (S) and halt (H). The groups are put in grades: Non-suburban grade (NSG) 1-6, suburban grade (SG) 1-3 and halt grade 1-3, respectively.

According to official sources, Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore and Tambaram have topped the revised station list with non-suburban grade (NSG)-1, while Tiruvallur, Avadi, Mambalam, Chengalpattu, Arakkonam and Katpadi have been brought under NSG-2 category. Perambur and Sulurpetta stations have been graded as NSG-3 and NSG-5, respectively.

The revised category will make these stations eligible for better passenger amenities and services such as waiting halls, platform shelters, lifts, escalators, digital chart display, Illumination and train/coach indication boards on platforms. Besides these stations will be given preferences for providing other amenities, including additional foot overbridges, separate path for trolley and wheelchair movement and higher level platforms.

So far, stations have been categorised as A1, A, B, C, D E and F, based on annual revenue generated through passengers. Similarly, all non-suburban stations were categorised as B, D, E and F depending on revenue generation, while all suburban stations in Chennai ranked under ‘C’ category, which made them ineligible for additional passenger services.

“Tambaram station, the third terminal in Chennai city, which has been under A category so far, will now be ranked in the top station category on a par with Chennai Central and Egmore and the new grading will lead to faster development. The revised categorisation will ensure that suburban stations with higher footfalls will develop faster with better passenger services,” said a senior railway official.

In addition, Mambalam, Avadi and Tiruvallur suburban stations and non-suburban A grade stations of Arakkonam and Katpadi will also get additional funds for station improvements. Major stations such as Tiruchy, Salem, Tirunelveli, Erode, Tirupur, Nagercoil, Thanjavur, Dindigul, Thoothukudi, Rameswaram, Jolarpettai and Villupuram that were categorised under A, have now been recategorised under NSG-3.

Similarly, other A grade stations such as Kumbakonam, Kanniyakumari, Virudhunagar, Kovilpatti and Mayiladuthurai have been recategorised under NSG-4. But the flip side is that the new system is expected to put a blockade at many erstwhile grade A stations as they will have lesser priority for fund allocation.

‘SRIDEVIJI TOLD ME, I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU. IT SEEMS PROPHETIC NOW’

Lasyapriya.Sundaram@timesgroup.com 16.04.2018

AR Rahman is a man of few words. That’s because he lets his music do all the talking. After winning the National Award in the the Best Music Direction and the Best Background Score categories for Kaatru Veliyidai and Mom respectively, the music maestro, in a conversation, spoke about why winning the National Award is still special though he has seduced music lovers across the world with his compositions. Excerpts...

AR Rahman

‘IN SOME FILMS, BACKGROUND MUSIC IS LIKE WALLPAPER, AND IN OTHERS, IT IS A CHARACTER’

This is your first National Film Award in the Best Background Score category and the fifth for Best Music Direction. What are your first thoughts on winning not one, but two awards?

I am really happy. I want to thank Mani Ratnamji (director of Kaatru Veliyidai) and the team of Mom — Srideviji, Boney Kapoorji (producer) and Ravi Udyawar (director).

You have scored the background music for Mom. How do you go about composing it, vis-a-vis creating the soundtrack of a film? Give us an insight into your process...

A film like Mom needed to be driven by music. Ravi and I had collaborated on a commercial long time ago and that too, had won a lot of awards. He knew exactly what he wanted for Mom, but left it to me for my interpretation. I got the idea to compose a song like Muafi Mushkil after I saw the film. In some films, background music is like wallpaper, and in others, it is a character. It needs to say things, which the film is not saying or wants to say. I have worked with Boneyji and we wanted to collaborate again. In fact, Srideviji flew down from Mumbai to Chennai and told me that I have to do Mom’s BGM. She also said, ‘I want to work with you’. It seems prophetic now. The BGM of Mom is also my wife’s favourite. When I was in Hollywood last month, she asked my agent there to listen to it. I was surprised, because she is not somebody who says or does anything like this. She screamed with joy when she heard that I had won the award for Mom.

Having won innumerable awards and accolades over the years, does the National Award still hold a special place in your heart?

The National Award is definitely special because it is awarded by our Government. The jury is credible and they select films, which have been sidelined by other awards. In a way, it feels good that the National Awards jury has recognised the hard work that went into Mom. It requires more exposure for the vision it comes with.

You have won the National Award for Best Music Direction for Roja (1992), Minsara Kanavu (1997), Lagaan (2001) and Kannathil Muthamittal (2002). What are your memories of composing for Kaatru Veliyidai, for which you have won your fifth National Award?

Whenever I work with Maniji, I feel grateful to him for introducing me to cinema. But, it also means that I am shouldering a huge responsibility. I give it a lot of energy. Maniji is open to unconventional ideas and has an open mind. Not everyone is like that. People want tried and tested things, but he encourages something unique. He also has an amazing sensibility as far as music for movies is concerned. He is a reservoir of ideas. You can throw any wild one at him and he will make it organic and usable. He is a great teammate and mentor for me. In his next, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, he has yet again surprised us, and we have just finished composing the fifth song for the film.

Your fans and bloggers feel that Kaatru Veliyidai is the quintessential ARR OST. It boasts of varied genres like A capella, Rap, Folk, Tango and also ambient melody. Do you agree?

I don’t see it like that (laughs). It’s not intended in that manner, but if it happens, that’s good. The film required that kind of a soundscape. The story revolved around an Indian Air Force officer and I have not done such a film before. I have seen a bit of that life when I was perhaps 12 or 13; I would visit the army quarters and play music, as I was part of a show called Wonder Balloon on Doordarshan. So, it was nice to revisit my childhood. They are special people, because they fight for our country.

This film marked your 15th collaboration with Mani Ratnam. Do you reserve your best for him?

That would be belittling everybody else. I did Rockstar (2011) with Imtiaz Ali. I have had big hits with directors Shankar and Rajiv Menon as well. Each director gets something new out of me. It depends on what tunes of mine they accept. Having said that, there is no sense of insecurity when I work with Maniji. He doesn’t judge or gauge a person based on his success or failure. Others might not want to associate with you if three of your films flop, but he is not like that. He judges people on the basis of the importance they give to the art. That’s what I have learnt from him.

So, what’s next?

I have been working on the soundtrack of 99 Songs for almost four-five years. The final cut is almost ready and it will have close to 14-15 tracks. We have collaborated with international artistes as well for the soundtrack. There is also Le Musk. Both these films are making good progress.

You also have Shankar’s 2.0, starring Rajinikanth in your kitty. What can your fans look forward to in that film as far as your score is concerned?

BGM plays a huge role in that film; every reel is packed with music. It will be a one-of-a-kind experience. We are trying to do some unique and new things with regard to the 3D visuals being combined with sound.

AR RAHMAN

This cafe serves ‘death’ to customers 

Times of India 16.04.2018

Dying for a cup of coffee? You will feel right at home at Bangkok’s new “death awareness” cafe, a macabre, Buddhist spin on the themed-cafe craze where customers are urged to confront their own mortality — and live better lives as a result.

With drinks called “death” and “painful” on the menu and a skeleton splayed out on a couch in the corner, the meetyour-maker theme is alive and well at this open-air lunch spot in the Thai capital.

But the centrepiece of the “Kid Mai (Think New) Death Cafe” experience is a decorated white coffin where customers are encouraged to lay down for a few minutes to contemplate their final moments — and secure a discount on a drink.

“I feel like I am in a funeral,” 28-year-old Duanghatai Boonmoh said with a laugh as she sipped a chocolate “death smoothie” on a recent Saturday afternoon. She and other curious customers took turns climbing into the wooden box as friends sealed the lid.

“The first thing that came to my mind was, what if no one opens it?” Duanghatai said after emerging from the coffin. The cafe’s owner says his restaurant is more than just a gimmick or dark take on the cute and cuddly coffee shops common in the Thai capital, which boasts everything from cat, husky and meerkat cafes to unicorn and mermaid-themed eateries.

“When one is aware of their own death, they will do good. This is what our Lord Buddha teaches,” he explained. The casket experience is also a way to nudge the country’s technology-addicted youth to step back and reassess their personal lives.

The cafe has also spread out to a public walkway, which is now posted with signs asking questions like: “What is the purpose of your life?” AFP 


CONFRONTING MORTALITY

Train travels 2km, leaves 5 wagons behind 

Times of India 16.04.2018

Balasore: Exactly a week after 22 coaches of an express train rolled on for about 13km without an engine in Odisha’s Titlagarh, a similar lapse on Saturday evening in Balasore district belied the railways’ claim of better preparedness.

Around 6.30pm on Saturday, agoods train kept moving ahead for two kilometres — between Bahanaga and Panapana stations — despite five wagons getting detached from it. The South Eastern Railway zone has ordered a probe.

Railway sources said the 60-wagon, limestone-laden train was moving towards Tata from Dhamra port station in Bhadrak district when the coaches got detached. The train, however, moved on for two kilometres without either the driver or the guard noticing the separation. In fact, the disconnected wagons themselves continued to run for about half a kilometre. The train was travelling at a speed of around 50kmph.

After noticing the problem, the driver stopped the train at Khantapada station. TNN

A shocked and angry nation unites against Kathua, Unnao horror

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 16.04.2018

Protests against the brutal gangrape-cum-murder of an eight-year-old girl in J&K’s Kathua and the rape of a 16-year-old by a BJP legislator in UP’s Unnao erupted across the country on Sunday. Scores of people hit the streets, condemning the government’s response in both the cases and demanding justice for the hapless girls and their families.

In Mumbai, a large number of people turned up at Carter Road in Bandra to protest against both the cases. Protesters carried placards and shouted slogans seeking justice for the rape victims and harsh punishment for accused persons. “The crowd that gathered here today is scared and worried. People are disappointed with corruption within the police and degrading law and order situation,” said Abha Singh, lawyer and activist.

In Gujarat, the horrors of Kathua and Unnao shook people’s conscience as hundreds thronged the streets on Sunday. Residents of Dhabgarvad locality in Ahmedabad held a protest march at which children displayed placards, expressing outrage over the Kathua incident. A group of young girls sought justice for the Unnao rape survivor as well.

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which is led by Hardik Patel, has joined the protests. Its members held a candlelight march inAhmedabad. Similar protests were also held in Vadodara, Surat and Junagadh.

Similarly, in the national Capital, hundreds of people gathered at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, under the banner “Not In My Name”.

In Chandigarh too, citybased volunteer groups, Bekhauf Azaadi and Not In My Name, along with a group of over 12 senior lawyers, organised a protest.

In Unnao’s home state UP, women gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Chowki Chauraha in Bareilly, carrying placards. They demanded capital punishment for those guilty.

Similar protests were witnessed in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam as well.

17-yr-old gang-raped in Patna, two arrested

Patna: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in Patna on Saturday. The incident took place near a railway line close to the GPO Golumber area in the heart of the city.

Following an alert by a vendor and a loud cry by the survivor, two persons were arrested, City SP (Central) D Amarkesh told TOI on Sunday. “Two more accused are on the run,” he said.

“The survivor, from Nalanda district, told police that she had come to Patna by train on Saturday night to meet one of the accused, with whom she had been in touch since last couple of days,” the SP said. TNN

Girl, 4, sexually assaulted in Odisha

Balasore: A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in Nilagiri area of Odisha’s Balasore district. A resident of Hatasahi on Saturday lodged a complaint alleging that his daughter was sexually assaulted by his neighbour on April 13, police said. The girl was playing outside the house when the neighbour offered her chocolates and called her to his house where she was assaulted, police said. PTI


SEEKING JUSTICE: People hold placards as they participate in a protest against the Kathua and Unnao rapes, in Mumbai on Sunday

BCI asks bar bodies to call off strike

The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday asked the Jammu and Kathua bar associations to call off their strike and decided to send a five-member team headed by a former high court Chief Justice to probe the alleged incident of misconduct on part of the lawyers there in connection with the Kathua rape-murder case. BCI chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra said if any lawyer is found guilty, the council will go to the extent of cancelling the legal practice licence. The decision came after its general body meeting which was convened on Sunday. PTI