The Department of Posts will host a philatelic exhibition, Rocpex 2015, at the Bishop Heber Higher Secondary School at Teppakulam in the city on January 30 and 31.

The exhibition will feature special covers released by Department of Posts, commemorative stamps, miniature sheets, first day covers, post cards, rare collection of stamps and stamps of foreign countries collected by more than 50 philatelists.

Special covers

Special covers on Rajan Bungalow, Gandhi Market and Saraswathi Bala Mandir School would be released during the event. A quiz competition for school students would be held on January 30 and a painting competition January on 31, according to a press release.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Special Correspondent / Tiruchi – January 29th, 2015

Trichy / Rameswaram :

Large crowds who had come to pay homage to their ancestors on the occasion of ‘Thai Amavasai’ gathered along water bodies in the state on Tuesday. The Rameswaram beach was flooded with people, while traffic came to a standstill in the temple towns  of Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur and other places.
Nearly one lakh people from across the nation turned up at the Rameswaram beach to perform the rituals. Small groups of people could be seen all through the banks of the Cauvery River, which flows till the delta districts in the south. In Trichy, large crowds flocked to the banks of Amma Mandapam in the temple town of Srirangam. They took a dip in the Cauvery River, which is believed to be holy. According to Hindu mythology, Thai amavasai is considered an auspicious day, when devotees remember and pay respects to their forefathers. Devotees sat in the direction of the sun and offered their prayers. The rituals began early, at around 4 am, with priests and the public seated on the sides of the Amma Mandapam road.

In Srirangam, water had been released from the Mettur dam a few days ago especially for the occasion. The locality was fully packed, with little space to move around. Security was tightened along the shore since the Cauvery is flowing to its maximum and several drowning cases were reported in the past few months. Police personnel were also deployed to assist the people.

The civic body erected barricades made out of stainless steel extending along the river, to prevent devotees from going deep into the water. A well made out of stainless steel was dug to collect old clothes, to avoid pollution of the river. A concrete platform for the devotees to bath was also part of the arrangements.

However, in Rameswaram, many of the visitors announced displeasure at the arrangements. Those who had not booked their accommodation in advance were forced to spend their time in vehicles or on the roadside. Making matters worse, as much as Rs 20 was demanded at the paid toilets, visitors said. Since most hotels were full, people queued before the ‘annadhanam’ to try and get a meal.

Lack of proper traffic arrangements created traffic snarls in many places, with vehicles moving at a snail’s pace on the Pamban Bridge. Tourist buses had to be stopped about a kilometer away from the temple, and elderly people had to walk for long distances under the hot sun. Many of them complained of giddiness. S Shivakumar, a visitor, said the garbage management and drinking water facilities were also poor.

In Tiruchendur and Kanyakumari, crowds started coming in at the temples as early as 3 am, and made offerings at the beach. Thirupuvanam in Sivaganga, besides the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, too drew a large number of devotees. Special arrangements were also made for the public in Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / January 21st, 2015

Earlier, a publisher aborted project citing author’s support to BJP in Lok Sabha polls

Sahitya Akademi winner Joe D Cruz’s Tamil novel Aazhi Soozh Ulagu is at last likely to be published in English.

An earlier attempt to bring out an English version was aborted after the publisher and translator cancelled the project, because Mr. D’Cruz voiced his support to the BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

Oxford University Press (OUP) has now decided to come out with a fresh translation. “I went through over 50 pages already translated and I am happy with the version,” said the writer, a Catholic.

Publishing firm Navayana and translator V. Geetha disagreed with Mr. D Cruz’s political stand and decided against publishing the English translation that was titled Ocean Ringed World . “We cannot press for its publication when the translator is against the idea,” said Mr. D Cruz, whose second novelKorkai won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013.

Both Aazhi Soozh Ulagu and Korkai capture the life of fishermen in the Gulf of Mannar, providing deep insight into the psyche and tenacity of the community, which embraced Christianity as a token gratitude to the Portuguese, who offered protection to pearl fishing.

Former college teacher G. Geetha will be the new translator. “We zeroed in on Ms. Geetha since she has previous experience in translating literary works involving the Christian community and the life of fishermen. Moreover, we need a translator who has time to do justice to the voluminous novel,” said Mini Krishnan, editor, Translation, OUP.

Ms. Geetha, who taught English for nine years in a city college and quit the job to focus on translation, has rendered into English Hephzibah Jesudasan’s Puthan Veedu (‘Lizy’s Legacy’) written in the dialect of the Nadar community in the western part of Kanyakumari district, Vannanilavan’s Kadalpurathiley (‘ By the Seaside ’ )  portraying the life of fishermen and S. Ramakrishnan’s novel for children Kiru Kiru Vaanam .

“Translating Aazhi Soozh Ulagu is both interesting and challenging as it is a one-of-a-kind novel,” Ms Geetha said. Even though there were other novels depicting the life of the fishermen community, Aazhi Soozh Ulagu was rich in information and written in the authentic language of the people.

Ms. Krishnan said popular response to translated books was very good and OUP found demand for reprinting. “Our range is wide when it comes to translation. We have 120 titles in 15 Indian languages translated into English,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by B Kolappan / Chennai – February 23rd, 2015

Kannagi Study Circle, a students group aims to research upon the characterisation, identity and philosophy of Kannagi, right from the historic figure to the politicised one of the current times that she is.

Amidst the contemporary buzz on Vakil New Street, sits a quaint little temple that nurtures history from a millennium ago. It is said that one of the most illustrious Tamil women whom people still hold in reverence and awe, lived here 1,400 years ago.

Memories of Kannagi who epitomises chastity and justice invade the sacred air inside Chellathamman Temple, as the priest Logu Pillai pensively tells her story – brewed in love, betrayal, melancholy and revenge! “This was where Kannagi took shelter under Madiri Adigal, an old Jain nun, while her husband Kovalan went to sell the emerald anklet in the market,” narrates Logu Pillai.

The sanctum-sanctorum contains a stone idol of Kannagi, sitting with an anklet in her left hand and Madiri Adigal is immortalised in the form of smaller idol next to her. Legend holds that Goddess Meenakshi descended on earth to appease the enraged Kannagi and save the city from getting burnt to ashes. “This means, at that point of time, Kannagi was more powerful than the Gods. That was the value for truth and justice,” suggests the priest, while a bunch of 10 college students from the city listen to him in rapture.

Under the umbrella of Srishti Madurai, like-minded students have come together to form ‘Kannagi Study Circle’, through which they aim to understand the various philosophies connected to the fable and the literary work of Silapathikaram. The students see Silapathikaram as a connecting point for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. “The book talks about basic principles of all these religions and depicts a time when the three co-existed in the Tamil country. The later part of Silapathikaram, calledManimekalai, describes Buddhist ideologies in detail,” observes Gopi Shankar, a research scholar. Above all, Silapathikaram brings out the power of the common man, unlike epics that praise kings and the nobles.

“Till date, Kannagi is seen as a revolutionary, who broke the codes of the system and questioned the king directly. She didn’t plead for justice. She demanded it. She burnt down the city to avenge the wrong caused to her,” adds Gopi. “The parable of Kannagi is famous across Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and neighbouring Kerala. There are even folk traditions to the story. She is worshipped as Pattini devi in different parts of Southern India,” says Mahima. “We see Kannagi as a bridge between the three religions and the three kingdoms of Chola, Chera and Pandya. We also view her as a symbol of female power and women empowerment. Ages ago, as a single woman she brought the whole Pandya country to a grinding halt,” adds Teresa.

That Ilangovadigal, the author of Silapathikaram, is a Jain monk holds significance too. “Jainism that came from North India was widely adopted by the locals here and it evolved into a unique culture and religion. Tamil Jainism has composite values taken from Jainism and native Tamil philosophies,” says Iniyan, a member of the Study Circle. Apart from Chellathamman Temple, the students have visited the numerous Jain beds and sites around the city, including Keelakuyilkudi, Arittapatti, Keezhavalavu and Maangulam. Of all the places, Samanatham is the most important, they say.

“The villagers directed us to a sandy mound where they believe that thousands of Jain monks were massacred thousands of years ago,” recounts John Marshall, a Post-graduate student of his visit to Samanatham village, near Madurai. “Though there are literary references to this event, there’s no monument in memory of those saints.” He says that Samanatham was actually called ‘Samanar Ratham’ (The blood of jains). “Periyapuranam, a Bhakti work by Sekhizhar, narrates the incident in detail. The Tamil Jain community, which contributed so much to Tamil literature, has almost vanished over the years. But the philosophies they propagated continue to live.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by A Shrikumar / Madurai – February 19th, 2015