Vaidyanatha Iyer Road in Shenoy Nagar is named after a great son of Madurai – A Vaidyanatha Iyer (1890 – 1955). Other city landmarks that are named after Iyer are Mela Vaidyanathapuram near Thathaneri and Keezha Vaidyanathapuram near Mahaboobpalayam. His statue, which is installed near the Meenakshi Temple, recalls his leadership in securing the entry of dalits to the popular temple on July 8, 1939. This act earned the wrath of the orthodox Brahmins who excommunicated him from his community. Known popularly as Madurai Iyer, he worked tirelessly for the upliftment of dalits.
Though belonging to Thanjavur, the Iyer family moved to Madurai during his childhood. Iyer studied at the Sethupathi School in Madurai, and later in Madura College. After graduating in Law he started his own practice and soon rose to become one of the reputed lawyers of his time.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Iyer participated in the Indian Freedom Movement and took up the cause of dalits. Mu Chidambara Bharathy (54), provincial Congress committee member and state convener of the OBC wing of Congress in Madurai, said Iyer and his wife Akilandammal worked in the slums on weekends. Over a period, they turned out to be the foremost champions of dalits in the city. Iyer organized the historical temple entry movement which is commemorated ever year here.
“As he led the dalits into Meenakshi temple, orthodox Brahmins locked the temple for three days. They installed “Balameenakshi’ (Infant Meenkshi) on Tamil Sangam Road and filed a court case against the temple entry. C Rajagopalachari, the premier of Madras Presidency, intervened and passed a special ordinance turning temple entries legal. “Rajaji’s special ordinance could be termed as an achievement of Iyer because the government led by him collapsed shortly and the temple entry bill would have not come up later,” Bharathy mentioned.
“When Iyer passed away in 1955, dalits thronged the funeral in large numbers and mourned his death more than others,” he remembered.
As MLA representing Melur from 1946 to 1951 he was popular, especially among dalits in the constituency. The Harijan Sevalaya in Shenoy Nagar came up during the joint efforts of Iyer, noted Gandhian N M R Subburaman, woman Congress leader Thayammal and the TVS Group. N Pandurangan, a 77-year-old Congress functionary residing in Shenoy Nagar, said the free hostel for dalit students benefitted many. Former Tamil Nadu Minister P Kakkan and former Melur MP Maruthiah were its inmates.
“When Shenoy Nagar was created in 1951, the streets there were named after Iyer and Kakkan. TVS Group used to operate buses on the wide streets there,” Pandurangan recalled. “Iyer was a simple man and stood for the cause of dalits till his last breath,” he noted.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / J. Arockiaraj -TNN / April 13th, 2014
Marking the completion of 160 years of the Indian Railways, the Madurai railway division has organised a photo exhibition with a set of 28 posters narrating the history, heritage and salient features. The exhibition, which began on Sunday will go up to April 2 and is arranged at the concourse area of the eastern entry.
Addressing reporters, divisional railway manager, A K Rastogi who inaugurated the exhibition said the photo exhibition showcases the evolution and growth of the Indian Railways from 1853. The exhibition is divided into topics such as interesting information on Indian Railways; evolution and heritage; cultural significance and the resources displaying its indigenous production units which keep the railways self-sufficient among others.
The segment of interesting facts contains information like 11,000 trains plying across the country on any given day carrying 2.20 crore people. With 63,940 km track route, it is the fourth largest in the world connecting people across the country as well as the backbone of the economic growth.
The heritage and evolution part shows the picture of the first train that chugged between Bombay and Thane – the 34 km stretch – in 1853 and its earlier versions of coaches hauled by bullocks. The consecutive pictures show how the railways transformed from steam engines to electric locomotives at present.
The pictures under the title Railways connecting cultures, show that how the tracks traverse across the cultures in the country with a special mention of Vivek Express, the longest train connecting Kanyakumari with Dibrugarh in Assam. The train covering 4,200 km connects Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam in its 82-hour journey.
The heritage section also includes luxury trains such as Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot and the Deccan Odyssey. The last segment of the exhibition displays the assets of railways like Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi (DLW), Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala and Rail Wheel Factory (RWF), Bangalore.
One of the pictures shows the international collaborations of Indian Railways at Tanzania, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Mozambique and the export of locomotives to countries like Vietnam, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Sri .
The exhibition is open from 8.30am to 6pm and entry for the visitors is free.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / March 31st, 2014
S. Kasim and S. Babu, Nadhaswaram vidwans and grandsons of the legendary nadhaswaram exponent Sheikh Chinna Moulana, feel there is no place for ego in music. / Photo: M. Moorthy / The Hindu
Kasim and Babu are the inheritors of nadhaswaram exponent Sheik Chinna Moulana’s musical legacy in more ways than one. Nahla Nainar listens to their story
Grandsons or disciples? “Before we are grandsons of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sheik Chinna Moulana, we are his disciples,” asserts Subhan Kasim. Speaking about his maternal grandfather and acclaimed nadhaswaram exponent is clearly a matter of great pride for Kasim, who with his younger brother Babu, was handpicked by the maestro to continue the family’s musical legacy.
Kasim and Babu meet visitors at ‘Alaphana’, the 1950s-era house in Srirangam that was formerly Sheik Chinna Moulana’s residence and is now Kasim’s home. A hot breeze stirs up the dry leaves outside, but the mood inside is one of quiet reflection. It will be 15 years this week since Sheik Chinna Moulana died at the age of 74.
“From 1982, after I graduated from college, until Thatha’s last concert in 1999 in Chennai’s Music Academy, where he was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi title, I was performing with him,” recalls Kasim. “Thatha never had a retirement phase, he just kept working, or teaching.”
The Dr. Chinnamoulana Memorial Trust set up by Kasim and Babu will be hosting its 15th Shradhanjali (commemorative gathering) at Tiruchi this week.
Music in the veins
Originally from Karavadi in Andhra Pradesh, the family has over three centuries of experience in playing the nadhaswaram. “Thatha belonged to the Chilakaluripet school of music,” says Kasim, naming the town in Guntur district. “Among his gurus were his own father, Sheik Kasim Sahib, and later, Sheik Adam Sahib.”
Despite emerging as a noted performer in the Andhra style of Carnatic music, Sheik Chinna Moulana decided to explore the Thanjavur ‘bhani’ (school) which allows for greater variations in presenting ragas. “From an early age, Thatha was influenced by the recordings of T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai (1898-1956). He migrated to Tamil Nadu to get trained in the Thanjavur style of playing by the Rajam-Duraikannu brothers of Nachiarkovil for four to five years,” says Kasim.
Sheik Chinna Moulana’s career took off in the early 1960s, and Kasim believes it was the exposure to the Thanjavur ‘bhani’ that helped immensely. The maestro decided to make the pilgrimage town of Srirangam his home. Kasim, who accompanied his grandfather to Tamil Nadu early on, studied at the Srirangam Boys High School, and went on to graduate in Physics, at St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, while getting his music education at home.
Babu joined the in-house gurukul in his teenage years, and was educated up to Standard 8 in Andhra Pradesh. “We started our training with smaller versions of the nadhaswaram,” says Babu in halting Tamil, “Then, as we became older and and our hands grew accustomed to reaching all the fingering holes, we were given the regular-size instruments.”
The nadhaswaram, together with the ‘thavil’ drum, are often referred to as ‘mangala vadyam’ or auspicious instruments, showing their importance to sacred music in southern India.
The nadhaswaram’s use as a solely temple-based instrument for daily prayers and processions was slowly introduced to a more public and secular platform by royal families and later, the landed gentry.
“Nadhaswaram is an integral part of our society,” says Kasim. “Few occasions – weddings, housewarming ceremonies or prayers – are complete without its music.”
The days of concerts that would start late and go on past midnight are well and truly gone, says Kasim. “Artists today have learned to compress what was being done in four hours, to two-and-a-half. Most of the concerts these days are held from 7 to 9.30 p.m., which is a good duration. It allows more women to attend as well,” he says.
Concert exposure is as important to the artist as getting practical instruction, says Kasim. “I learned a lot about presentation and public relations while performing with Thatha,” he says. “These days, with overseas assignments, the artists must be prepared to interact with people of other nationalities too.”
Above all barriers
Kasim and Babu maintain an extensive audio-visual archive of their grandfather’s music concerts at home. Some video samples, such as Sheik Chinna Moulana and shehnai virtuoso Ustad Bismillah Khan exchanging ideas on fingering techniques on the two instruments, are shown to students of the Saradha Nadaswara Sangeetha Ashram, a school established by Sheik Chinna Moulana and today run by his family in Srirangam.
A typical day for the brothers starts off with breathing exercises (pranayama), and is followed by practice sessions on the nadhaswaram. Afternoons are reserved for vocal music lessons for the students, followed by instrument training in the evenings. “We spend the rest of the day in updating ourselves,” says Kasim. “Unlike before, there are hundreds of compositions being brought out these days, so as active performing artists, we must be familiar with what is going on in the arena.”
As to whether there’s any sibling rivalry during concerts, Kasim replies: “I support my brother when he takes the lead, and he supports me when I take the lead. There is no place for ego in music.”
The success of Muslim artists like Sheik Chinna Moulana and Bismillah Khan in a sometimes exclusively Hindu cultural sphere is a great example of India’s syncretism. Both the brothers, presently the special nadhaswaram artists of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, feel that music is above matters of faith.
“Thatha often used to say ‘music is my religion; perfection is my aim.’ In northern India, most of the doyens of classical music are Muslims. You have the Kirana gharana, Bade Ghulam Ali, Roshanara Begum and so on. Those who speak of religion cannot ignore the contribution of the Mughal dynasty to the field; ragas like Malkauns, Amir Kalyani and Darbari Kanada all have an Islamic origin. Only those who are ignorant about music object to Muslims in the field,” smiles Kasim.
What is more pertinent is institutional support for classical music in India, he says. “The temple’s day begins and ends with nadhaswaram music. But increasingly, even big temples are doing without these musicians. The government should step in by paying exponents a decent salary and encouraging their employment,” says Kasim. “The backing of sabhas is crucial as well, because it helps in the musicians’ professional growth.”
Tribute to the maestro
The Dr. Chinnamoulana Memorial Trust, set up in 1999 by his grandsons Subhan Kasim and Subhan Babu, will be hosting its 15th ‘Shradhanjali’ (commemorative gathering) at Hotel Sangam on April 13 and 14.
At the event, the trust will be presenting nadhaswaram instruments to six deserving students this year, and for the first time, ‘thavil’ drums to three pupils, as part of the corporate social responsibility initiative of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). In addition to this, a purse and citation each will be presented to senior artists Pandhanallur P.K. Ramalingam Pillai (nadhaswaram) and Needamangalam C. T. Kannappa Pillai (thavil).
Concert performances include a vocal recital by T.K. Krishna on April 13, and a nadhaswaram rendering by M. Sivadivel the next day. The event is being organised in co-operation with Rasika Ranjana Sabha, Tiruchi.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nahla Nainar / Tiruchirapalli – April 11th, 2014
In his heyday, Mr. Evers also remembers being the master of ceremonies at a function in Thiruvayaru, considered the birthplace of Carnatic music./ Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam / The Hindu
George Evers has been the anchor at hundreds of Anglo-Indian weddings and social events since the 1960s. He tells Nahla Nainar how he became an accidental emcee
No Anglo-Indian wedding or social gathering in Tiruchi has been complete without George Evers as the master of ceremonies. Despite emceeing nearly 900 weddings however, Mr. Evers is hesitant to call it a profession.
“Emceeing came accidentally into my life,” says Mr. Evers, 77, as his dog Molly and wife Doreen give him company at their home in Karumandapam. The then-Southern Railways clerk was asked to take over as master of ceremonies from a colleague who had emigrated to England in 1962, and since then, has been “stuck into it,” till as recently as 2014’s New Year party.
“Even now, when I say I’ve gone too old, people want me to host their functions. I have emceed functions of several generations of families, mainly as a friendly gesture. I can’t call it a profession as such, because I didn’t really earn money from it. After I stopped working in 1995, people began to think that ‘Uncle has retired, maybe he requires some money,’ and they’d pay me something. But all along, I’ve never quoted any rate for my work,” says Mr. Evers.
In his heyday, Mr. Evers also remembers being the master of ceremonies at a function in Thiruvayaru, considered the birthplace of Carnatic music. “My main advantage was that I could sing with the orchestra. Whenever the band boys would run out of songs, for the Railway Institute’s ballroom dances for instance, I’d take the microphone and belt out a few numbers to keep the patrons happy,” he says.
Busy calendar
Working in the Railways let him keep up his alternative job as his rail-pass helped out in the commuting. “Sometimes, I used to be sent conveyance, but mostly I’d just hop on and off the trains – I’ve been to functions in Madurai, Erode, Villipuram, Nagapattinam and so many other places. I made a lot of friends during these occasions. I really enjoyed what I did, and of course, it was because my wife was very co-operative. Doreen sacrificed a lot to just let me do this.”
Such was his popularity that Mr. Evers was persuaded to return as an emcee after a stroke in 2004 paralysed the left side of his body for over a year. “I don’t think I’ll be up to it this year, because my eyesight has weakened,” he rues.
Nostalgia
Mr. Evers grows nostalgic when he speaks of his childhood, as the ninth born of a family of five boys and five girls. “My father Isaac Martin Evers was a railway guard. He had no knowledge of his parents, but my Dad did tell me he studied in Adyar (Chennai) at St. Patrick’s convent school. My mother’s father was Irish,” says Mr. Evers.
The young George Evers started kindergarten at the Madurai Railway School, and then, when his father retired in 1944, the clan shifted to Mannarpuram, Tiruchi. “Since 1944, I had my schooling in Campion (Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School) and finished Matriculation in 1954,” he says. “I joined the Railways in 1957 as a commercial clerk, with my first posting at Dhanushkodi.”
Mr. Evers shifted back to Tiruchi after marriage to Doreen, his neighbour in Mannarpuram, in 1962 and has stayed on here since then.
The memories that the couple share of Tiruchi hearken back to a time when there were few automobiles on the roads. “Most of the children used to walk to school, Campion for the boys and St. Joseph’s convent for the girls,” says Mr. Evers. “Some boys used to even walk all the way from Golden Rock (Ponmalai) if they had missed the 8.30 a.m. Students’ Special train. It was good, kept us healthy. Besides, there were no buses or cars crowding the roads then. Motorbikes were still rare, and owning a bicycle was a luxury,” he adds.
“My parents put us boys in boarding at Campion because they felt it would make us independent and disciplined,” says Mr. Evers.
At home, the lifestyle had an Indian flavour with a Western finish. “We’d have dosai and chutney for breakfast, but bread, butter and jam was always there on the table,” recalls Mr. Evers.
“Our Western culture and our fluency in English helped Anglo-Indians secure jobs in the Railways, Customs and Telephone departments,” says Mr. Evers. “But as the years go by, I feel our community has become more Indian. After all, if you are going to live in Tamil Nadu, you’ve got be a Tamilian, you can’t live like a Britisher.”
As in the case of many Anglo-Indian families, inter-racial marriages have become common. “Even within my own family, my daughters-in-law are Tamilian,” says Mr. Evers. “We don’t have the custom of arranging marriages in our community. In my case, my mother and father had nothing to do with our marriage. I had seen Doreen and fallen in love with her and we had to get permission from her parents to get married. Our parents just set the date,” says Mr. Evers with a twinkle in his eye.
The days ahead
The abolition of job quotas for the Anglo-Indians in the 1960s led to an exodus that continues today. “In Tiruchi, I think around 3000-4000 families have stayed on, though many people left for United Kingdom and Australia in the 1970s and ’80s,” says Mr. Evers, who is a member of both the Campion Old Boys Association, Melbourne and All India Anglo Indian Association.
“We never used to get huge salaries like today,” says Mr. Evers, adding that he was earning Rs. 2500 when he retired. “But we were able to keep the wolf from the door, because the commodities were not so costly then.”
The Evers have six children (five sons of whom the eldest passed away in 2001 and a daughter), and six grandchildren. So would Mr. Evers be doing the honours as emcee at his grandchildren’s weddings?
“If God spares us,” laughs Mrs. Doreen as her husband smiles at the suggestion.
Dancing the nights away
Mr. George Evers on how dance has defined Anglo-Indian social life in Tiruchi
“The Railway Institute the Head Post Office was converted by Europeans into a dance hall. They used to have regular dances there, with live band on stage.
“To know how to dance became part of the culture. And if you didn’t know how to dance, there was no point in going to the Railway Institute, because you’d just have to sit down.
“There used to be many styles of dancing – slow fox trot, fox trot, waltz, rock and roll – all that used to be called ballroom dancing.
“People don’t patronise Western dance now like they used to, even during the festive season. Another main reason is that the children have to go back to school on January 2, which makes it tough for parents who want to dance away the night on New Year’s Day. They can’t stay up late and then rush to get the children ready for school the next day.
“This New Year’s ball was very disappointing. In 1967, there used to be no less than 800 people in the hall, and there would be at least 300-400 couples on the floor, dancing. But on the first of this year, there were only four-five couples on the floor.
“In those days they’d dance till six in the morning, and even when I’d tell them to go home, they’ll plead ‘one more song’, ‘one more song’. So I came up with a solution: I’d tell the band boys to play the national anthem!
“Everybody would stand to attention, and couldn’t ask for more. That became my signature closing tradition.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Nahla Nainar / Tiruchirapalli – April 05th, 2014
The white marble temple with its Gopurams and yellowish-range flag on Rangai Gowder Street is a centre of activity on a Sunday morning. Rajasthanis in the city who predominantly belong to the Jain community have come in large numbers to meet a seer.
This temple is one of the many places of prayer and congregation for the 120-year-old Rajasthani community in Coimbatore. The first set of Rajasthanis to set foot in the city and later make it home were the TV Brothers who opened TV & Brothers agencies that dealt with a range of products manufactured by TATA. The second family to move in was the Ottaji Group, who again opened up agencies for various products and were involved in their distribution across the city.
With the dawn of the 20th century, more Rajasthanis had learnt about the spinning mills, in what was then known as a town in Madras state. “They would procure large scale cotton wool from Gujarat and sell it to the spinning mills here,” says Madanlal P Bafna, former president of the Sree Rajasthan Swetamber Murti Pujak Sangh. “They would also buy back the cloth manufactured and sell it to different markets through wholesale trade,” he says.
The first set of Rajasthanis set up shop across streets like Rangai Gowder Street, Oppanackara Street, Big Bazaar Street, Raja Street and Vysial Street. “They were primarily wholesalers,” says Bafna. Today the community is 12,000 member strong, but the five streets around the Koniamman Temple continue to be the wholesale hub in the town housing shops more than 40 years old.
However, as the families grew larger and needed more space they chose to move to neighbouring places like R S Puram, Sai Baba Colony and Race Course. “We ensure we are close to our places of worship,” says Jitendra Chowhan, the captain of the Suparshwnath Jain Seva Mandal, the community’s form of a youth wing in the city, as he touches Bafna’s feet to get his blessings.
Being a deeply spiritual community it is in places of worship and during festivals, such as Paryushan, that the entire community gets together.
Despite being 2,300 km South of their home state, Rajasthan, for more than 10 decades, Rajasthanis say they are not insecure about slowly losing their culture. “Unlike other communities, our beliefs and practices have been strongly installed in our children,” says Bafna. “Most of us still live in a joint family, love marriages continue to be extremely rare and our children are taught to speak Rajasthani from childhood,” he says.
Most of the community have been in the city for four generations but make it a point to visit Rajasthan at least once a year. “We either go during a long school holiday or for a marriage. We don’t have much family but we all own houses which are locked up most of the time,” says Rajshree Bordia, another member of the community.
The community which now forms a vital part of the city’s economy has diversified into various forms of business such as jewellery, finance, real estate, sweets, textiles, garments and even electronics. “Today, we don’t need to travel outside Coimbatore to buy anything for our weddings that are held here,” says Sajan Ranka, another resident. “Right from clothes, to puja accessories, food, mehendi, traditional decorations to gifts we get it here,” he says. “To us, stepping into the wholesale hub itself is like stepping into a micro-mini Rajasthan,” he says.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / March 31st, 2014
Workers deployed to clean an 85feet-deep well on the boundary of Kurichi Tank were in for a total surprise when they spotted a Panchaloha idol among the debris and silt that was being removed from the spot. The workers were deployed to clean and remove debris from the well before a pipeline was laid to supply well water to Kurichi residents to tide over summer scarcity. They were in for a bigger surprise when not only an idol but also a motorcycle was recovered from the debris.
The workers had noticed a portion of a two wheeler handle jutting out of the silt yesterday but did not realise that a whole motorcycle could be lying inside the well.
“Initially, nobody realised that it was a goddess idol as we thought it was some discarded metal piece but then when my workers realised it was an idol we were taken aback,” said R Manickam, private contractor in charge of cleaning the well.
The idol is a Panchaloha idol of a feminine deity. Both the idol and the vehicle were retrieved from the well and handed over to revenue and police department officials. Police and revenue department officials were notified as the well is situated on land under the ownership of Public Works Department (PWD).
“We were informed and have taken custody of the idol which will be now examined by experts from the archaeological department for more details to confirm its age and value,” said K Karpagam, district revenue officer, Coimbatore.
According to South Zone chairman of corporation, M Perumalsamy, the Panchaloha idol could be an antique as it had an inscription saying ‘Pu Subbannan Chettiyar Kainkaryam’ on its base. The archaeological experts are expected to examine the idol on Tuesday.
“It is quite heavy and weighs around 15 to 20 kg. It looked really old. The well is about 85ft deep and we have six feet of slush in it ,” said Perumalsamy.
The well, more than 20 years old, was earlier used to supply water to residents of Kurichi before it came under Coimbatore corporation limits. The proposal to use it to supply water was recently taken up to tide over the water crisis in summer. The green motorcycle has a number plate attached to it with registration number ‘TN37AH170’. The rear wheel of the vehicle is missing. It could have been dumped inside the well as it was lying open and was covered with iron grills about three months ago. The motorcycle is presently in the custody of Podanur police here in the city.
“A man had committed suicide about three months ago in the well and that is why it was decided to cover it,” Perumalsamy added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Binoy Valsan, TNN / April 01st, 2014
Rotaract Club of CEG and the city’s well-known singers came together for a musical evening with a cause
Members of the Rotaract Club of the College of Engineering, Guindy and well-known singers came together for Sangarsh, a music concert to raise money for the treatment of those with Haemophilia, a genetic disorder.
At the Music Academy, Shaktisree Gopalan, Al Rufian, Tippu, Pop Shalini and Mukesh took turns to entertain the audience. Supported by Lakshman Shruti, compositions of A. R. Rahman dominated the concert. Those with haemophilia also spoke during the event.
Shaktisree began the evening with ‘Adiyae Adiyae’ instead of her hit ‘Nenjukulley’ (Kadal). Al Rufian, who, after singing a couple of stanzas of his song from G.V. Prakash’s latest album, Naan Sigappu Manidhan, delivered the energetic ‘Humma Humma’ from Mani Ratnam’s Bombay.
Shaktisree returned to deliver a few Hindi and Tamil party songs. Elfe Choir, comprising students of KM Conservatory, presented Rahman’s many celebrated songs in their own unique way, often changing the tempo.
Talking about the event, Muhil, chairman of Rotaract Club of CEG, said, “Since 2003, Sangarsh has been involved in supporting various causes. This time around, we decided to support the Haemophilia Society of Chennai.”
The audience were given a sense of how difficult it is live with haemophilia by a young boy. RJ Balaji, who was invited as one of the guests, recalled his experiences as a presenter of Sangarsh and spoke about his journey as a professional radio jockey.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – March 23rd, 2014
Many students complain that they can’t give time for hobbies due to studies. Students like M Sarvajit Krishna are exceptions, though. The 15-year-old from TVS Nagar here finds time to pursue studies as well his passion, playing mridangam, seriously. The budding percussionist is already a known name in the mridangam circuit in Madurai. Simultaneously, he nurtures the dream of becoming a doctor.
Krishna’s music loving family is confident that he would be become a renowned mridangam percussionist. He started playing mridangam, an essential accompaniment in Carnatic music performances, at the age of five. Two years later, he commenced professional training to play the percussion instrument. His keen interest in music from childhood helped him to devote time to practice and play mridangam at classical music concerts.
“Listening to classical and devotional music from the childhood drove me to pursue mridangam seriously. With the help of my master K Thiagarajan I have already received several awards like ‘Isai Karuvula Vaithiya Mani’ and ‘Laya Ratna’ from various music associations. I attend classical music concerts in Madurai, Chennai and other parts of the state,” said Krishna.
I will be attending a concert in the United States after my examination, he added.
Krishna knows his priorities well. “Although studies are my first priority, mridangam has always been my passion,” he said. His mother R Lakhshmiprabha, who is herself a vocalist, hopes he can pursue twin careers. “He is good at studies too. He is aspiring to become a doctor while simultaneously continuing his musical skills. He has won awards and prizes in studies too,” said.
Parents noticed Krishna’s talents in his childhood when he used to utilise any object to raise sound with his fingers. At just five years he started exhibiting his skills in mritangam. Soon, his parents took efforts to nurture the interest. His father K Mohan, a chartered accountant and mother, would accompany him wherever he performs, said K S Ramakrishnan, his grandfather.
“I want to play mridangam for all reputed classical singers, especially Nithyasree Mahadevan and Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Though, I want to keep on developing my skills, the scope is very less in Madurai. Only a few listen to classical music here. I wish I were in Chennai where opportunity is abundance,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / V. Devanathan, TNN / March 24th, 2014
The daughter of a brick kiln worker, theatre-actress Janagi is now a star in a French movie
Real to reel Janagi (in a still from the movie) used memories of her village for Son Épouse
If someone had told Janagi five years ago that she would be starring in a French mainstream feature film, alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg (of Nymphomaniac and Antichrist fame) and French heartthrob Yvan Attal, she would have laughed in your face. But the 30-year-old Tamil actress did just that withSon Épouse (His Wife), directed by Michel Spinosa, which released early March.
The film revolves around Gracie (Janagi) who is possessed by the spirit of her friend Catherine (Gainsbourg) who dies in ‘unresolved’ circumstances. Catherine’s husband Joseph (Attal) travels to Tamil Nadu to meet Gracie and the plot unfolds thereafter. Far from being just a ‘native’ side-character, Janagi plays a prominent role and even speaks French in the film. “Learning French was the most difficult,” says Janagi, adding, “But then Michel sir, the film team and two months of French classes helped a great deal. So I could manage my dialogues during shooting.”
The film poster
Born in Devasahayam Mount village, outside Nagercoil, she grew up surrounded by the Western Ghats and tall-spired churches. The youngest of four, she completed high school, but her parents did not have the means to send her to college. The choice before her was either to find a job or join her sister, Prema, at Murasu Kalai Kuzhu, a street theatre group run by the local Christian diocese.
Inspired by Badal Sircar’s Third Theatre, where the lines between the actor and the audience is blurred and those watching the play are encouraged to be active participants in the production itself, Kalai Kuzhu uses songs to spread awareness about societal issues, such as the importance of education, anti-caste messages and Dalit rights. A Christian Left ideology permeates all their works. “I really would not be where I am without the help of the Kalai Kuzhu,” Janagi says. “We used to perform Paraiyattam, Oyilattam and various other folk forms across villages in our areas. In the years I spent there, I must have seen the entire State twice over since we travelled a lot with our productions.”
In 2008, along with four other theatre-artists from the State, Janagi was invited to attend a month-long workshop on Naveena Nadagam or modern theatre conducted by the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi. The following year, she enrolled in NSD for a diploma programme in dramatics. Janagi spent the next three years in the Capital, learning theatre skills, theory and a bit of Hindi.
In her final semester, Spinosa and crew called her for an audition. As Spinosa says, “Despite my familiarity with Tamil cinema, I had not heard of Janagi till my assistant director Revathi told me about her.” He adds, “During the audition, we realised she had all the qualities that an actress needs to have: instinct, authenticity and creativity. She had an immediate and intimate comprehension of the character she was about to play, in her appearance and her background. She was the closest to the character I had imagined. Working with her was amazing and as you will see, she did a fantastic job in the film.”
Janagi on her part was initially sceptical about the audition. “Revathi akka asked me to come attend the two-day audition held in Chennai. There Michel sir asked me to improvise and I read out scripts in Tamil and then English.” She adds, “I really didn’t think I would get through and when I was informed that I was selected , I was very happy but also really surprised.”
Janagi took to the role in Son Épouse with unexpected ease. She says, “In my village there used to be apunniyasthalam (holy place) where they brought people, who were losing their minds or were possessed, to be cured. I have seen them since I was a child. When the role was explained to me, I could understand it well since I had seen so many people in a similar situation myself.” She adds, “They used to be tied to the trees outside the church and while growing up, we children used to tease them a lot, which I feel bad about now. But we used to see them all the time in our village, and they were always completely lost in their own world. Their families came to feed them and the church Father used to say prayers to exorcise the spirits that they believed were haunting them.”
With a French movie behind her, Janagi is looking for other options. Malini 22 Palayamkottai, a thriller, where she plays a rowdy in a jail, released in both Tamil and Telugu earlier this year. Apart from this, she features regularly on a Tamil news channel, Puthiya Thalaimurai’s programmeRouthiram Pazhagu where she performs Therukoothu (traditional street drama). She is also set to travel with her erstwhile theatre group to villages near Kanyakumari, where she’ll be one of the trainers at a month-long theatre workshop.
With a promising career ahead of her, what has been her proudest moment so far? “It was when my father and mother came to Delhi to see me perform while at NSD. They didn’t really think highly of my choices till then. But when they saw me in front of all those people at the theatre festival, they found new respect for me,” says Janagi.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Features / by Sibi Arasu / April 04th, 2014
Yes, we care: One of the oldest colonies in Velachery, Dhandeeswarar Nagar Welfare Association organises various camps to help residents bond. / Photo: G. Krishnaswamy / The Hindu
The locality was hardly attractive to new residents, with many regretting having moved in there. Some decided to move from regret to positive action, says Liffy Thomas
Velachery, once a quiet locality with swatches of farm land, owes much of its development to a few neighbourhood groups. One such is the Dhandeeswarar Nagar Welfare Association, registered in 1976.
In its early days, the Association had 200 members and nearly 60 of them would attend its meetings regularly. These meetings were aimed at getting basic amenities for the area. “We never had to compel people to come, as there were many issues,” says C. Govindaraju, secretary of the Association.
The development of the locality, first from a village panchayat into a town panchayat and now into a corporation zone was however not easy.
On weekends, members in groups of three or four would knock at government agencies entrusted with provision of amenities like street lights, sewerage, water supply and roads.
A.S. Jagadeeshan, who moved to the locality in 1979 from Sowcarpet, says for almost 10 years he repented having moved to Velachery.
“There were only two bus routes 51E and 45A that came to this part of the city. We had to go to Saidapet to get more buses, a journey that would drain you by the end of the day,” he says.
For long, most of the 11 main roads, 12 cross streets and 13 avenues in the colony did not have street lights.
“The streets would become eerily empty and dark after 7 p.m. and the Association requested members to keep the outdoor lights switched on to help those getting home late in the night. For those who could not pay the extra electricity bill, we even offered to reimburse that small portion,” says K. Dorai Raj, president of the Association.
Monsoon was the bane of Velachery until five years ago. Not any more with storm water drain network laid in most areas. One of the major victories was getting a public library for the neighbourhood. The space around the library is still a bone of contention with residents waiting to see it converted into a park.
For many years, the Association took the lead in organising an interaction with newly-elected leaders where residents’ grievances were heard. “I would shoot off letters to various departments to tell the plight,” says Dorai Raj, who retired from the Department of Technical Education. And all these efforts have helped. Today, Dhandeeswarar Nagar is an upscale locality with many amenities matching up to those in areas such as Anna Nagar and Besant Nagar.
The Association has its own building at Third Main Road where members meet regularly. Its challenge now is getting people to participate in new initiatives such as keeping streets clean, taking measures to see four-wheelers are not parked on pavements and helping prevent thefts such as chain snatching.
The Aadhar camp held at the Association premises was one such attempt to show that the Association cares for them.
An open house on Sundays is next on the cards, where residents can discuss various issues. The Association has also made appeals to apartment complexes to affiliate with the Association.
(At Downtown Cares, resident welfare associations can discuss their neighbourhoods. These associations may write to us at downtownfeedback@thehindu.co.in or call us at 28576631, seeking a meeting)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / by Liffy Thomas / Chennai – March 29th, 2014
