A woman passenger, who was wearing a bullet as a pendant around her neck, was briefly detained by security officials at the Anna International Airport in Chennai on Saturday.
Airport sources said Noor Bi Kaleel (52), a native of Vandavasi in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, came to board a Sharjah-bound Air Arabia flight this morning. After clearing immigration formalities, she went through security check. During frisking, it was found that she was wearing a 5.56 mm bullet, covered by threads, as the locket for a chain she was wearing around her neck.
Noor, who has been working as a domestic help in Sharjah, told the authorities that she was advised to wear the "sacred thread" by an Islamic cleric as a "remedy" for her heart ailment.
She had been wearing the pendant for the past three years, she said.
After a thorough investigation, security official seized the bullet from her and allowed her to leave for Sharjah, the sources said.
Showing posts with label Chennai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chennai. Show all posts
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Scientists discover that the idol of Goddess Amman is in fact a sculpture of Mahavira
Hundreds of villagers throng a cave temple in western Tamil Nadu every year, not knowing that the Goddess Amman idol they worship over the last two decades is in fact a sculpture of Mahavira belonging to seventh century.
The transformation of the Jain sculpture into an idol of 'Aadhali Amman,' located on the fringes of the Aliyar dam near Puliyankandi village in Coimbatore district, has been found by chance by an exploration team of students belonging to the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai.
K T Gandhirajan, an art historian who led the team, along with his compatriot K Natarajan, said that the upper portion of Mahavira sculpture, found in the 'padmasana' pose, had been converted into a Goddess by creating breasts and ornaments in cement.
The eyes were painted to make it look like that of a Hindu female deity and the sculpture was wrapped in silk sari. The temple was complete with 'trishuls' (tridents) planted behind the deity and a priest conducting pujas every day.
Gandhirajan said the team was on a mission of documenting ruined monuments and pre-historicl rock paintings when it spoa cave on the edge of the Aliyar dam in May last.
Trekking for a distance of about three km, they found a 4.5 feet Amman idol in granite beneath a huge rock. However, the presence of a stone bed, characteristic of Jain monuments, raised doubts and on close scrutiny it was found that it was of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara of Jainism, he said.
Several Jain monuments are found in Madurai, Pudukkottai, South and North Arcot districts of Tamil Nadu where Jainism prospered between 200 BC and 9th century AD.
The transformation of the Jain sculpture into an idol of 'Aadhali Amman,' located on the fringes of the Aliyar dam near Puliyankandi village in Coimbatore district, has been found by chance by an exploration team of students belonging to the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai.
K T Gandhirajan, an art historian who led the team, along with his compatriot K Natarajan, said that the upper portion of Mahavira sculpture, found in the 'padmasana' pose, had been converted into a Goddess by creating breasts and ornaments in cement.
The eyes were painted to make it look like that of a Hindu female deity and the sculpture was wrapped in silk sari. The temple was complete with 'trishuls' (tridents) planted behind the deity and a priest conducting pujas every day.
Gandhirajan said the team was on a mission of documenting ruined monuments and pre-historicl rock paintings when it spoa cave on the edge of the Aliyar dam in May last.
Trekking for a distance of about three km, they found a 4.5 feet Amman idol in granite beneath a huge rock. However, the presence of a stone bed, characteristic of Jain monuments, raised doubts and on close scrutiny it was found that it was of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara of Jainism, he said.
Several Jain monuments are found in Madurai, Pudukkottai, South and North Arcot districts of Tamil Nadu where Jainism prospered between 200 BC and 9th century AD.
Blood is thicker than water: Woman traces father after 23 years of separation
A woman living in Saudi Arabia, who was separated from her Indian family as a young girl due to poverty, is set to be reunited with her father after 23 years.
Naseema, 31, who now leads an affluent life as the wife of a business consultant, traced her speech-impaired father Mohammed Ibrahim, who works as a cleaner in a hotel, through a detective agency.
She was separated from her family in 1984 at the age of eight and could not even remember the place of her birth. Yet she was unable to overcome the haunting memories of her father, who used to roll beedis day and night to support the family and carry her to school on his shoulders, Naseema told reporters in Chennai over phone from Saudi Arabia.
"Not a day has passed without me shedding tears thinking about my father. Though he is speech-impaired, he expressed his love and affection for us through his deeds," she said.
Born the third daughter in a poor Muslim family in Kancheepuram, Naseema lost her mother during her birth and was brought up by her paternal grandmother. Unable to support the children, her granny got the eldest sister married off while employing the younger ones at two different households as maids.
"I still remember the haunted look in my father's eyes when my granny took me away from our house," Naseema said.
Naseema, 31, who now leads an affluent life as the wife of a business consultant, traced her speech-impaired father Mohammed Ibrahim, who works as a cleaner in a hotel, through a detective agency.
She was separated from her family in 1984 at the age of eight and could not even remember the place of her birth. Yet she was unable to overcome the haunting memories of her father, who used to roll beedis day and night to support the family and carry her to school on his shoulders, Naseema told reporters in Chennai over phone from Saudi Arabia.
"Not a day has passed without me shedding tears thinking about my father. Though he is speech-impaired, he expressed his love and affection for us through his deeds," she said.
Born the third daughter in a poor Muslim family in Kancheepuram, Naseema lost her mother during her birth and was brought up by her paternal grandmother. Unable to support the children, her granny got the eldest sister married off while employing the younger ones at two different households as maids.
"I still remember the haunted look in my father's eyes when my granny took me away from our house," Naseema said.
Youth leaps to death from third floor, kills school boy too
A youth, who jumped from the third floor of an apartment reportedly to commit suicide, fell on a school boy walking down the road, resulting in a double death.
Police said Jayakanthan (28), a resident of Tondiarpet in north Chennai, had gone to his relative's house recently, where he suddenly went to the third floor and leaped from there.
He fell on seven-year-old Mustaq Ali who was returning home after tuition classes, police added.
While Jayakanthan died on the spot, Mustaq succumbed to injuries at the Government General Hospital here.
Police are investigating the factors which made the youth take the extreme step.
Police said Jayakanthan (28), a resident of Tondiarpet in north Chennai, had gone to his relative's house recently, where he suddenly went to the third floor and leaped from there.
He fell on seven-year-old Mustaq Ali who was returning home after tuition classes, police added.
While Jayakanthan died on the spot, Mustaq succumbed to injuries at the Government General Hospital here.
Police are investigating the factors which made the youth take the extreme step.
Autorickshaw turns 50 in Kozhikode, 'model' drivers celebrate it with pomp and show
Having earned the reputation for charging the cheapest fare compared to several leading cities in the country, autorickshaw drivers in Kozhikode, Kerala, observed the 50th anniversary of the vehicle's introduction in the city.
An impressive function was organised by the AITUC to commemorate the occasion, where 10 veteran autorickshaw drivers were felicitated.
Known for their honesty in claiming nothing more than the 'metre-charge' irrespective of the travelled distance, autorickshaw drivers in Kozhikode are regarded as 'model' drivers.
The first autorickshaw, brought in from Chennai, hit the roads here 50 years ago and the minimum charge was then 35 'naya paise' against the petrol price of 80 paise per litre.
Although auto drivers in other cities in Kerala and elsewhere in the country reportedly charge exorbitant rates, drivers in Kozhikode continue to ask for the actual 'metre-charge'.
In a city where there are over a dozen women drivers now, the fare continues to be nominal, sticking to the minimum Rs 10 during day time and 50 per cent more between 10 pm and 6 am.
"Kozhikode is India's role model in auto service and let us all feel proud about it," state Forest Minister Binoy Viswom, who participated in the function, said.
Hundreds of autorickshaw drivers took out a procession to mark the occasion.
An impressive function was organised by the AITUC to commemorate the occasion, where 10 veteran autorickshaw drivers were felicitated.
Known for their honesty in claiming nothing more than the 'metre-charge' irrespective of the travelled distance, autorickshaw drivers in Kozhikode are regarded as 'model' drivers.
The first autorickshaw, brought in from Chennai, hit the roads here 50 years ago and the minimum charge was then 35 'naya paise' against the petrol price of 80 paise per litre.
Although auto drivers in other cities in Kerala and elsewhere in the country reportedly charge exorbitant rates, drivers in Kozhikode continue to ask for the actual 'metre-charge'.
In a city where there are over a dozen women drivers now, the fare continues to be nominal, sticking to the minimum Rs 10 during day time and 50 per cent more between 10 pm and 6 am.
"Kozhikode is India's role model in auto service and let us all feel proud about it," state Forest Minister Binoy Viswom, who participated in the function, said.
Hundreds of autorickshaw drivers took out a procession to mark the occasion.
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