Students and fitness enthusiasts turn up for International Yoga Day at Big Temple
More than 500 persons participated in the mass yoga event organised by the Archaeological Survey of India in association with the 34(TN) Independent Company NCC at Sri Brihadeeswarar temple, Thanjavur on June 21.
The yoga session in the early morning hours attracting the participation of NCC cadets and elderly temple-goers underscored the relevance of yoga as a timeless practice for harmony of body, mind and spirit, according to an official release.
The Tiruchi Division of Southern Railway observed the day with mass yoga training sessions for officers and staff across various locations of the division.
Yoga sessions were held for staff at multiple locations across the division, including Vriddhachalam, Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Thanjavur, and Mayiladuthurai.
Over 150 students accompanied by their yoga trainers participated in an event organised by Mera Yuva Bharat, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in association with the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority at the District Sports Stadium, Tiruvarur.
Synchronised session
Over 200 staff and students of the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) in Neelakudi, Tiruvarur district, participated in the 'Yoga Sangam', a synchronised mass exercise session held across the country.
The event was based on the Common Yoga Protocol developed by the Union Ministry of AYUSH, in consultation with leading yoga experts.
The session was led by CUTN Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan and senior officials.
Students from CUTN Kendriya Vidyalaya and Oxford School, Tiruvarur, participated in the programme conducted by the university's Department of Physical Education and Sports.
At the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Puducherry (NITPY), Karan Gautham, students activity and sports assistant and yoga instructor, led a session on yogic postures, Pranayama, and meditation techniques for staff and students.
Krishnakumar, yoga instructor from the Ariyalur Yoga Centre, conducted a practical yoga training session at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Perambalur. Chancellor A. Srinivasan spoke.
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Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Lord Jagannath's Ratna Bhandar safe, repair work almost complete: Puri's titular king
Puri, The 'Ratna Bhandar' of Lord Jagannath Temple is safe, and the repair work of the chamber is almost complete, Puri's titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, said on Thursday. Lord Jagannath's Ratna Bhandar safe, repair work almost complete: Puri's titular king The Gajapati Maharaja inspected the Ratna Bhandar repair work being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, the custodian of the 12th-century shrine, for 11 months. Besides him, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee and technical team members of the ASI entered the Ratna Bhandar and supervised both the outer and inner chambers of the treasury, which were in a dilapidated state. Deb said the structural revamp and aesthetics of the Ratna Bhandar reflect Odisha's timeless temple architecture. Around 600 stone slabs were replaced with new ones, replicating traditional design while reinforcing safety, the titular king told reporters outside the 65-metre tall imposing temple. 'Whatever little work is left is expected to be completed by Niladri Bije on July 8,' he said. Deb said that after completion of the repair work, the SJTA, with permission of the state government, would undertake an inventory of valuables. The Ratna Bhandar was reopened on Sunday after 46 years for an inventory of valuables and the repair of its structure, officials said. The ASI began working inside the Ratna Bhandar in July 2024, when it was reopened after 46 years to prepare an inventory of valuables and repair its structure. Sources said that a total of 14 beams have been repaired. More than 80 skilled craftsmen are engaged in the repair work of the Ratna Bhandar. Padhee said that interior repairs are nearly complete, with final touches to the outer treasury expected within the next two days. The outer and inner parts of Ratna Bhandar are being preserved by applying chemical coatings, he said while replying to a question. He said there have been additions like new stainless-steel and Burma Teak wood security gates. The gate will have silver cladding later on, he said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Print
a day ago
- The Print
Journey of excavator Amarnath Ramakrishna who led Keezhadi dig & has seen 12 transfers in 21 yrs
K. Amarnath Ramakrishna submitted the report on the first two phases of the Keezhadi excavation in 2023. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rejected his report and asked him to revise the dates of his findings, but he stood by his conclusions and wrote to the ASI that no corrections were necessary. Chennai: When archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna began excavating a coconut farm in Keezhadi—a quiet Tamil Nadu village—in 2014, little did he realise that his discovery of an urban civilisation dating back to at least the 8th century BCE wouldn't just challenge history but also his career with five transfers in eight years. Indologist R. Balakrishnan, a retired IAS and chairman of the International Institute of Tamil Studies, said the findings of the Keezhadi excavations were revolutionary because they complemented Sangam literature. 'Ramakrishna's findings bolstered the narrative of an independent, sophisticated Tamil civilisation, distinct from the Vedic-centric history. There were no religious symbols found at the excavation site, proving what was told in Sangam literature,' Balakrishnan told ThePrint. Amarnath Ramakrishna's transfer in 2023 wasn't his first or last. His groundbreaking work has often been accompanied by controversy, with his career at the ASI marked by 12 transfers in 21 years. He began in 2004 as an assistant archaeologist at Kondapur Museum in Andhra Pradesh. The roots of the latest controversy go back to 2013-14, when Ramakrishna began surveying 293 potential sites in and around Madurai for excavation. Among them, Keezhadi, a 100-acre coconut grove in Palichanthai Thidal in Sivagangai district, stood out—and excavations began there in 2014. In the first two phases between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the team unearthed over 7,500 artefacts, including brick structures, drainage systems, wells, pottery, beads and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. But in 2017, as Keezhadi's significance was becoming undeniable, Ramakrishna was abruptly transferred to the Guwahati Circle in Assam while he was waiting for funds to begin the third phase of excavations at Keezhadi. Soon after Ramakrishna's transfer in 2017, the ASI appointed P.S. Sriraman as Superintending Archaeologist for the third phase of the excavation. In October 2017, on completing the third phase, Sriraman said that Keezhadi excavations had not yielded any significant discoveries—sparking controversy as his opinion sharply contradicted Ramakrishna's earlier findings. Again in 2019, Amarnath Ramakrishna was transferred to Goa as superintending archaeologist. He was back in Tamil Nadu as superintending archaeologist of the Chennai circle in 2021, when he wrote the Keezhadi report. In the 982-page report, submitted by Ramakrishna in January 2023, he classified Keezhadi into three periods: Pre-Early Historic (8th century BCE to 5th century BCE), Mature Early Historic (5th century BCE to 1st century BCE), and Post-Early Historic (1st century BCE to 3rd century CE). He submitted the report in January 2023 and was transferred to Delhi as Director (Archaeology) after that. One and a half years later, in September 2024, Amarnath Ramakrishna was moved again, this time as Director (Antiquity) of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) at the ASI headquarters in Delhi. Within three months, Ramakrishna was shifted again to the role of director of excavation and exploration at the ASI headquarters. Another three months later, he was brought back to his previous post at the ASI headquarters in Delhi. On 17 June, Amarnath Ramakrishna was transferred yet again to the role of director of NMMA at Noida, marking his third transfer in nine months and twelfth transfer overall. This was described as a 'punishment posting' for allegedly refusing to change the dates in his Keezhadi report. 'The post he was transferred to was almost defunct for years. If this is not a punishment post, what else is?' said one of Ramakrishna's colleagues. But an ASI spokesperson told ThePrint that all his moves were routine administrative transfers and had nothing to do with Keezhadi. Archaeologists who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna at Keezhadi felt that more details might have been unearthed had he been allowed to lead the third phase of excavations. 'In the first two phases, excavation was done at the habitation site. But to substantiate and to get more clarity on whatever was found in the habitation site, excavations need to be done in a burial site close to it. Ramakrishna had sought permission to excavate a burial site close to it, and that's when the transfer order came,' a source at the ASI told ThePrint. Also Read: Sun TV Network, Maran brothers & an old feud. How Dayanidhi-Kalanithi clash was waiting to spill over Eye for detail Archaeologists, who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna at Keezhadi, recalled that he was a man with an eye for detail who looked for concrete scientific evidence before arriving at a conclusion. 'When we began the Keezhadi excavation, we seriously did not have any expectations, except that it was one of the largest human habitation sites that we were digging in Tamil Nadu. He was very keen on noting down everything that he saw at the site and everything that we excavated from day one,' said archaeologist Vasanth, who worked with Amarnath Ramakrishna during the Keezhadi excavation. Vasanth also told ThePrint that Ramakrishna was an exceptional officer who did not give preferences to anyone based on seniority. 'He listens to everybody's ideas irrespective of their age and experience.' A Madras University archaeology student, now working with the archaeology department, said he was lucky to do an internship at Keezhadi with Amarnath Ramakrishna. 'Because most of my seniors and even my colleagues who did internships were not even taken anywhere close to the excavation trenches. Despite being at the excavation site, they largely got only theoretical experience,' said the achaeologist, who did his internship with Ramakrishna between 2015 and 2017. 'But Ramakrishna sir took us into the trenches and explained how each quadrant is dug and how they pick the samples and what each one of them means,' he added. Son of a Tamil Scholar, in search of ancient traces Amarnath Ramakrishna, who belongs to Tamil Nadu's Palani in Dindigul district, is the son of an academic couple, R. Krishnamoorthy and G.S. Dinamani. Krishnamoorthy retired as professor of zoology at Presidency College in Chennai and the late Dinamani worked as a professor of Tamil at Arulmigu Palaniandavar Women's College. 'Beginning from elementary education to an in Ancient History and Archaeology, he was a product of Tamil Nadu's education system,' recalls a college mate and archaeologist with the state government. Amarnath Ramakrishna's friends and classmates credited their professor, K.V. Raman, for inspiring him to take archaeology seriously. 'He has always said that K.V. Raman sir was his inspiration. It was KV sir who asked Ramakrishna to pursue a two-year PG Diploma in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology run by the Archaeological Survey of India,' the collegemate told ThePrint. He also questioned how the methods and procedures taught at ASI's institute could be wrong. 'He did not learn archaeology anywhere else. How can a person who studied at the ASI's institute give a report without substantial evidence stipulated by the ASI?' (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: 5 Tamil Nadu cops arrested for custodial death of temple guard accused of theft. Brother alleges torture
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Musa Bagh: ASI move kindles ruins to restoration hope
Lucknow: Better fortunes are unfolding for Musa Bagh, the Nawabi monument known as Monsieur's Garden along Gomti's enigmatic curvature, with the Archaeological Survey of India gearing up to take it into its custody. This move will not only help in preserving a piece of the city's history but will also pave the way for the monument's restoration and fortification. The monument, built by the Nawabs, is now in a dilapidated condition, holding a rich history. Located 5 kilometres away from the hub of Chowk, Hardoi highway, the kothi stands in ruins at the moment. However, the exquisite architectural features provide a blurry picture of the monument's golden past. Superintendent, ASI, Lucknow, Aftab Hussain, said, "Formally, ASI is taking the monument under its control, and it is likely to get its protection till December. Till then, we have cleaned the monument by removing extra vegetation and removing the webs which were defacing it. After taking it into protection, the monument will be restored and opened for the public to visit." "Many historians tell different stories about the monument. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo It is believed that the gardens of the kothi were laid by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, while the building was constructed by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan and completed in 1803-04. Meanwhile, the naming of Musa Bagh remains unclear, possibly corrupted from Monsieur Bagh. The premises had its share of decorative elements, including the ubiquitous fish motif at the entrance," said PC Sarkar who authored a book on the history of Lucknow. "Many historians believe that the building of Musa Bagh was designed by Claude Martin in a mixed structure. The Nawabs built the kothi of Musa Bagh for leisure and recreational activities. The kothi was built under the supervision of the Nawab's close confidant, Azam-ud-Daulah, and the kothi of Musa Bagh was used by the Nawabs and British dignitaries for leisure and to enjoy the fights between animals," said historian Ravi Bhatt. "The kothi was dominated by a large hall from which other rooms could be accessed. At each corner was a small circular chamber containing winding stairs. The building had three stories on one side of the river and two on the other side. The sunken courtyard ensured that the area remained cool during summers, while the front portion of the building, exposed to the sun, would make an impressive winter residence," said Sarkar, "In May 1857, the soldiers refused to bite the cartridges made from cow and pig fat, from where the first war of Independence started in Lucknow, and Begum Hazrat Mahal took refuge in the Musa Bagh," said Bhatt. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
