Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Master of small things

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature
Ravindran has been growing bonsais, lots and lots of it, for the last four decades on his one-and-a-half acre garden in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. | EPS
Ravindran has been growing bonsais, lots and lots of it, for the last four decades on his one-and-a-half acre garden in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. | EPS

Lawyer-businessman D Ravindran could be considered an oddity. For, he has dared to breach a supposedly female bastion and emerged tops. Ravindran has been growing bonsais, lots and lots of it, for the last four decades on his one-and-a-half acre garden in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu.

It all started as it normally does, as a hobby. A lover of ‘general gardening’ as he puts it, Ravindran’s meeting with Madhavan Nair, a staff member of an agricultural college to discuss rose cultivation and grafting, awakened in him an interest in bonsai.

Back then in the seventies when the idea first took root, books provided necessary guidance. Then came the time when he got acquainted with bonsai master Peter Chan, first by attending his class and then by interacting with him during subsequent workshops. Recalls Ravindran, “Thanks to my friend Dr Prasad, a devoted bonsai enthusiast that I was able to meet Chan. Prasad was impressed with my collection, and he invited me to a workshop being conducted by Chan in Hyderabad.”

However, much before that it was a workshop with Japanese bonsai master Susumu Nakamura and Karuva Nakamura in the mid-nineties in Mumbai that gave him the much needed impetus to pursue this art form.

Ravindran took to the art doggedly and it was certainly not roses all the way. Fellow enthusiasts too thrashed his work of larger than normal size bonsais, saying that a bonsai had no right to be huge but as a rule, be small. But he was vindicated in the end when experts complimented him on his method and style.

Initially, when he went public with his collection in flower shows, many wondered what bonsais were doing there. The tables seem to have turned now. According to organisers his bonsai collection acts as a crowd puller at flowers shows and exhibitions.

So what was his first bonsai tree? “A banyan,” he replies unhesitatingly before going on to enumerate its attributes and current condition. After that, he worked with ficus, bougainvillea, jade and casuarinas, the latter two being his favourites.

Beginners, he says, should begin with ficus, a hardy and tolerant plant and for which one does not have to struggle to get the desired result—only five years! “Patience and perseverance are qualities that bonsai lovers should have in plenty,” says Ravindran who has held bonsai workshops all over Kerala and other cities in India. His zeal and devotion towards this art saw him being elected president of the Kerala Bonsai Association. Besides this, his other noteworthy achievement was in 2007 when at the All India Bonsai Convention and Exhibition held in Mysore, his Bodhi Tree was awarded the prestigious Iwasaki Award.

He also runs a bonsai nursery called Nikki Bonsai. “It is difficult to give my undivided attention to the 2,000 bonsai plants/trees that I have here. Technical and creative aspects are taken care by me, the rest I leave to my five-member team of gardeners,” he says.

Perhaps, the proudest moment for Ravindran must have been when he discovered a new species suitable for bonsai culture and of course, mentor Chan’s visit to Nagercoil. Also noteworthy is his contribution to convert and develop a barren hill at Chunkankadai, Nagercoil into a lush green forest.

But for all that, the bonsai expert treasures his work for its spiritual overtones, keeping him as it does bound to nature, besides fostering a sense of well-being.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Sunita Raghu / May 26th, 2013

The sun never sets on Yezdi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

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This iconic bike reigns supreme in Mohan Janardan’s heart. RAGHUNATH RISHIKESH reports

More than fifteen years since Yezdi shut its operations in India, you would be hard to spot one on the roads today. But for a select band of Yezdi lovers, the motorbike is very much alive, thanks to their painstaking efforts in restoring and driving one. Equity and Technical Analyst Mohan Janardan is one such. A resident of Chromepet, he can often be spotted on his yellow Yezdi Classic in the bylanes of the suburb.

“For me, no motorbike can match the thrill of a Yezdi. There are several new brands in the market today, but it is the only bike that has captured my imagination. After all, it was on a Yezdi that I learnt how to ride a bike,” says Mohan. He adds, “It’s a magnificent machine, driven only by a few enthusiasts now.”

Mohan has taken his love for Yezdi one step further: he restores old models to give them a shiny new look.“It’s very difficult to restore a Yezdi. It’s a long process and requires a lot of time,” he says. First up, one has to hunt for appropriate spare parts. Mohan says there are some dedicated spare part shops and has spent hours in Pudupet, trying to locate suitable accessories for Yezdi. “Finding the clutch, standard bore and chain assembly are the most difficult,” says Mohan. He, along with his trusted mechanic ‘Yezdi’ Selvam, leaves no stone unturned in trying to procure them. “Selvam has been a great partner. His knowledge of the bike is outstanding,” he says.

“One unique thing about the bike is that it has got a single bore with double silencer and the kicker acts as the gear shaft. No other bike has it,” says Mohan. Every time he takes his yellow Classic out on the roads, he makes heads turn. Youngsters, for instance, have a hard time identifying the model from the engine sound as he whizzes past them. For Mohan, that is ample proof of the ‘Yezdi effect’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / May 26th, 2013

Passion for preserving history

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
ARCHIVAL VALUE: S.N. Lekshmanan displaying his collection. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
ARCHIVAL VALUE: S.N. Lekshmanan displaying his collection. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu

On a narrow lane off Melaoorani Vaikkal Street in Karaikudi is a nondescript but astonishing private library that represents a treasure trove of ancient manuscripts, photos, books and other material of great archival value.

S.N. Lekshmanan is a 57-year-old bibliophile with a collection of nearly 70,000 old books, historic photos and rare manuscripts.

His huge collection comprises 200-year-old books on classical Tamil, music, medicine and art. There are also letters, pamphlets and handbills going back to the days of the Indian National Army (INA) in the early 1940s.

There are portraits of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and V.M. Letchumanan Chettiyar, Chairman of the Indian Independence League (IIL), along with his colleagues.

The photo of Netaji with three of his major generals, Chatterji, Giyani and Habib Rahman, was taken in Tokyo in 1942. The group photo of Lekshmanan Chettiyar with others, bears Netaji’s signature. “We are fighting the cause not of India alone, but of humanity as well. India freed means humanity saved,” said Netaji in his signed letter to Chettiyar.

The unassuming bibliophile displays a collection of about 250 post cards and about 50 telegrams sent by the INA troops to Mr. Chettiyar, when they were in exile in Malaya. Among the ‘INA collection’ are handbills and pamphlets announcing street plays and public meetings, details of donations given to the INA, membership cards and Netaji’s writings in the National Liberation Week and his messages.

“I got most of the INA collection from my father who served in the INA and died in Malaya in 1971,” Mr Lekshmanan told The Hindu. He collected some more material after visiting Malaya, Burma and from old paper marts in parts of Tamil Nadu, he says. A ninth standard drop-out, Lekshmanan hails from Pandukudi, near Thiruvadanai in Ramanathapuram district. He could not pursue his studies after his father’s death and took up business, only to end up as a bibliophile.

Though he developed an interest in Tamil literature after reading Appusamy stories by Bagyam Ramaswamy and ‘Tokyovil Thirumanam’ by Saavi in the local library at Pandukudi, his penchant for collecting old Tamil classics began when he visited Sri Lanka in 1982 while on a business trip. During his stay in Colombo, while his friends went to a movie, he visited an old book shop. “I asked for a book and the bookstore man gave me “Kalithogai”, a classical Tamil poetic work written by C.V. Thamodrampillai and published in 1887.

That was a turning point for Lekshmanan. He developed a passion for collecting old Tamil classics after going through the preface in which the author pointed out that Tamil was more than 15,000 years old. On his return, he settled in Coimbatore to pursue his tobacco business, but started scouting for old Tamil books.

During a visit to Sulur Sandai to procure tobacco, more than a quarter century ago, he stumbled upon ‘Sathurakarathi’, the first Tamil dictionary written by Veeramamunivar and published in 1824. This turned out to be the oldest of his collections.

Since then, there has been no looking back as his collection swelled with rare literary works such as the Ramayana and Mahabaratha, Mukkudal Pallu, depicting the struggles between shaivites and vaishanavites, and Thiruvilaiyadal on palm leaf.

Stacked in his library are Athisudi (the moral treatise in easy verse for children by poet Auvaiyar), put together by Saravanaperumal Aiyar in 1832, Tholkapiam, the earliest extant edition of Tamil literature, written by Mahalinga Aiyar and published in 1848. Lekshmanan also has a collection of more than 6500 text books, collection of English rhymes printed in London in 1810, more than 6000 century-old books, magazines and dailies. Research scholars from India and abroad visit his library, but are not allowed to borrow books. He has spent the bulk of his earnings on the collection. Indeed, it is safe to say he has devoted his life to collecting books and preserving history.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by D.J. Walter Scott / Sivaganga – May 22nd, 2013

Valparai summer fest begins May 31

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature

Coimbatore :

The annual summer festival to promote tourism at Valparai is all set to begin from May 31. This time it will be more colourful with the festival being converted into a three-day event from a two-day programme as demanded by the local residents.

Tourist potential of this hill station, located about 100 km from Coimbatore, has not been tapped fully and the government is taking sustained efforts to place Valparai on the same platform with other hill stations like Ooty, Coonoor and Kodaikanal. The Valparai residents want better infrastructure to attract more and more tourists.

“Not just infrastructure facilities, government should also consider creation of recreational features like parks, boat houses and rope cars,” J Manoj Kumar, a Valparai native and an entrepreneur in Coimbatore said.

According to him, Valparai is unique because it is one of the least explored hill stations. Far from pollution it is a prefect tourist destination. Local people had demanded that the summer festival should be held on a bigger scale on a par with Ooty Summer Fest. “Tourism development in Valparai would bring great change in the lives of the local people, their livelihood will improve to a great extent,” Manoj Kumar  said.

District collector M Karunagaran recently convened a preparatory meeting over the summer festival at Valparai and directed officials of various government departments to ensure proper arrangements. “A committee has been formed to supervise the arrangements and to make the three-day event a grand success,” he said. Flower show, dog show, food festival, exhibitions, sports competitions and cultural events will be held as part of the summer festival between May 31 and June 2.

Officials said special buses from Coimbatore and Pollachi to Valparai will be operated during the summer festival. This apart special buses will ply from Valparai to other tourist locations. Police and fire, rescue service personnel and special medical teams have been asked to be on full alert during the festive days.

The journey to Valparai through the ghat section which has more than 40 hairpin bends with tea plantations on either side provides a breathtaking experience for the travellers.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / May 19th, 2013

The Rangeela touch to wedding clothes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Gearing up for a colour co-ordinated wedding retinue, courtesy Rangeela | P RAVIKUMAR
Gearing up for a colour co-ordinated wedding retinue, courtesy Rangeela | P RAVIKUMAR

Want to wear customised designer clothes for your wedding, but don’t know where to find them? Rangeela, a designer studio at T Nagar offers ready-to-order bridal sarees and lehengas for that special occasion.

Rangeela, launched earlier this month, offers a line of sparkling designer wear in a wide variety of colours, intricately designed on smooth and silky fabrics with utmost care. “Every sari or lehenga will take at least 30 days to make, with 4 to 5 people working on it. We bring the design on paper and accordingly instruct the workers, who have come from other states. Most of the bridal attire is made from satin or velvet fabric,” explained Rajesh Jain, one of the owners of the store.

Apart from the conventional saris and lehengas, one can even opt for a lehanga that can be draped as a saree. This could cost anywhere between Rs 7,000 to Rs 70,000. Lehengas are priced from Rs 5,000 onwards while bridal sarees could range anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2 lakh.

But what makes the store unique is their one-stop shopping concept where both the bride and the groom could look for colour co-ordinated outfits for their special day. They also have matching wear for the family members of the couple.  A sherwani set that includes safa (head gear) and juti (footwear), designed with simple beads and stones, could cost Rs 0,000 while, an Indo-Western wear for the groom starts from Rs 10,000.

“Everything is ready-made here. We adjust the fittings accordingly, apart from the customized orders we take,” said Rajesh’s partner, Rajendra Kumar Kankaria. In addition to their designer wear, Rangeela offers bridal make-up and hairstyling. “These days we find more South Indians opting for designer wear for their weddings. We have a huge variety to suit their preferences,” Rajesh smiled.

(Rangeela is located at City Centre Complex, 66, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / May 16th, 2013

Karaikudi artist’s masterpiece to be sent to Kolkotta’s art lover

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
Artist S.V. Valliappan with his Tanjore painting.— Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
Artist S.V. Valliappan with his Tanjore painting.— Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu

When his room-mate introduced him to Tanjore painting a quarter century ago S.V. Valliappan would not have imagined he would come out with a masterpiece one day.

On May 11, Valliappan, a drawing master in the Kandanur Chittal Achi Memorial Higher Secondary School near Karaikudi, was the happiest man as he had completed his masterpiece, a 26-foot long 8-foot wide Tanjore painting, depicting the life of Lord Krishna.

He was busy giving final touches before the painting, made in three pieces of wooden planks, was taken for packing at the front yard of his house at Karaikudi to be transported all the way to Kolkotta.

An art-loving businessman from Kolkotta has ordered the painting to install it at the entrance of his renovated heritage house.

“I took it as a challenge, when Sanjay Sachdev running Domus Art Gallery in Kolkotta approached me through e-mail and asked whether I could do the project for him, as I have never attempted such a huge painting in my career,” says Valliappan.

Talking to The Hindu , the middle-aged Valliappan said he was excited about the size of the painting when Mr Sachdev detailed the project. He consulted his octogenarian father C.V. Sivaraman, an expert in stump powder paintings, and accepted the challenge after his father said he could do it.

Mr Sachdev, who was doing liaison for his architect friend, however, gave him the project only after Valliappan made a painting of Lord Ganesh, a breathtaking brilliant piece.

After completing the formalities, he started the painting in January and completed it in five months under the watchful eyes of his father and Sachdev. Two artists and two carpenters assisted him, he says.

“We used to start the work at 4 a.m. and go on till 8 a.m. in the morning session. In the evenings, we used to work from 6 p.m. to even beyond midnight,” Mr Valliappan says. They used teakwood planks and canvas cloth as the base. As the customer wanted it in antique style, he made the gold glitter more sober and used subtle colours. More than 1000 numbers of 22 carat gold foils and 5000 imitation stones have gone into painting, he said.

The four sides of the frames, surrounding the borders, were adorned with mirrors in squares and cotton thread covered with gold foil to provide the elegance.

“I learnt a lot after completing the project,” says Valliappan, striking humble. He was not sure he could get into the Guinness Book of World Records as the painting was not in single piece and done in three pieces to be fixed as one frame.

He took interest in Tanjore paintings after his room-mate Mayilvaganan in Chengalpattu introduced him the art, when he had gone for teacher training course in St. Xavier Higher Secondary School in 1987, he says.

After a three month course, he developed interest, he recalls.

Mr Sachdev and his architect friend took interest in the classical south Indian painting, when they visited ‘Naivedyam’, a south Indian restaurant in Delhi, where they saw a Tanjore painting.

Impressed with the art form, the architect decided that he would suggest this painting to his businessman customer and when the latter gave the nod, they searched for the artistes. After searching through the internet, they shortlisted half a dozen artistes in Bangalore and Coimbatore and zeroed in on Mr Valliappan.

“While others sounded commercial and not devoted to the subject work, Valliappan looked genuine,” Mr Sachdev, who was making his fourth visit to Karaikudi to oversee the packing, told The Hindu .”

The only condition laid was that the painting should depict the happy life of Lord Krishna and there should not be snakes or bloodshed, keeping the vaastu point of view.

Mr Sachdev promised more orders for Valliappan as Mr Sivaraman looked at his son proudly.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Miscellaneous / by D. J.  Walter Scott / Sivaganga – May 18th, 2013

AIR Tiruchi promises more as it steps into its 75 year

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Science & Technologies

To celebrate its platinum jubilee from tomorrow with series of new programmes

Starting off with just a 5 KW medium wave transmitter when it was launched 74 years ago, All India Radio, Tiruchi, which now covers 10 districts with a 100 KW high power transmitter, is poised to celebrate its platinum jubilee from May 16 with a series of new programmes targeting both urban and rural listeners.

The first broadcast conveyed a message on spreading happiness to excited listeners from the then Chief Minister of composite Madras State C.Rajagopalachari who inaugurated the country’s sixth AIR station in Tiruchi along with the first Controller of Broadcasting India Lionel Fielden, on May 16, 1939. After a year, a separate time chunk was introduced in July 1940, and in July 1969, Ilaya Bharatham (Youth Programme) was started. It was followed by the launch of Regional News Unit on November 14, 1981, for broadcasting daily news bulletin in Tamil, and Audience Research Unit on September 3, 1991.

Ilaya Bharatham, according to senior officials of AIR Tiruchi, has been serving as a platform for youth to analyse their problems and find solutions through talks and interviews.

Youngsters are given guidance and counselling regarding employment training facilities, entrepreneurship and self employment. The impact of the Farm and Home (‘Pannai Illam’) Unit, AIR Tiruchi, established during 1966 to provide purposeful and effective information to the farming community was such that ADT 27 variety paddy released during that time was popularly called ‘Radio Rice’ by the agricultural community. During the silver jubilee celebrations of ‘Pannai Illam’, 30,000 farmers took part in a function spread over two days.

AIR Tiruchi, started as one of the six pioneering stations in pre-Independent India and second station in the erstwhile Madras State after the first one at Madras, would continue to spread happiness with its range of programmes covering education, culture, literature, music, science, community, and farming, T. Periyaswamy, Deputy Director General (Engineering), AIR, Tiruchi, and M. Jothimani Elangovan, Programme Head, told mediapersons on Tuesday.

About 1,000 archived programmes including talks by leaders such as late Chief Minister Annadurai and performance of folk artistes would be packaged in a programme titled ‘Pavazha Malli’ and presented to listeners till May 15, 2014. The station would also conduct invited audience programme in each of the 10 districts covered by AIR Tiruchi on music, agriculture, health, industry and other topics, in its programme zone covering 56 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s total area encompassing Tiruchi, Perambalur Ariyalur, Karur, Salem, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Pudukottai districts. The programmes cater to all age groups, Ms. Jothimani Elangovan said.

The platinum jubilee celebrations would begin with a formal inauguration at 5.30 p.m. on May 16. The inauguration would feature Natyanjali, a dance programme by Bala Kala Vidhanam dance school students; a folk arts events, and felicitations by P. Kumar, Tiruchi MP, and other invited speakers. South Zone Additional Director General, AIR and Doordarshan, Chennai and Bangalore, G. Jayalal, would preside over the inauguration programme.

From May 16 onwards, a photo exhibition open for public would feature a collection of 350 rare photos with footnotes illustrating AIR Tiruchi’s growth path. Sets of photos will be changed periodically.

A programme titled ‘Namathu Vaanolikku Vayathu 75’ would be broadcast on the prime channel at 9.30 p.m. on May 16. It would be preceded by folk programmes and jugalbandhi of Hindustani and Carnatic music.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by  R. Krishnamoorthi / Tiruchi – May 15th, 2013

Tamil Brahmi script dating to 500 BC found near Erode

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
Workshop where ornaments were manufactured. | Express
Workshop where ornaments were manufactured. | Express

In a major find that throws evidence to Erode’s connection to Tamil Brahmi era, a research team of Pondicherry University found several pot shells containing Tamil Brahmi letters dating to 500 BC at Kodumanal near Chennimalai.

A team of students from Pondicherry University, led by Dr K Rajan and TN archaeological department assistant director Subramaniam, has been carrying out research for the past one month in the region. Recently, the team during its work in Kodumanal found several antiques, besides the pot shells.

Team members, while explaining about the Kodumanal find, said that Tamil Brahmi words like Adinthai, Madanthai, Kuviran, Sumanan, Samban, Vindaveli, Pannan, Bagan, Yadan, etc were found on the pot shells.

Detailing the Chennimalai’s connect to ancient days, the team pointed out that the area had 165 tombs and of these 17 were taken up for research.

While in one of the tombs, many precious stones were found, the team during its study in the region also stumbled upon shell bangles, roulette pottery and sword bit contained spheroidal graphite phase and forge welding of high carbon cutting edge, etc.

The present excavations were made in 8 points near Pandiyan Nagar and a burial ground. Many beads, high quality iron materials like arrow heads, spears, swords, megalithic tombs, iron and steel furnaces, several precious stones like garnet, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, quartz, etc., were found. The area also contains some objects made of tusks and other materials which could have been used for weaving cotton in those days.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States>Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Erode / May 17th, 2013

Manjolai incident retold by Nellai author

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
Writer Mari Selvaraj with his book | N Vinoth Kumar / Express
Writer Mari Selvaraj with his book | N Vinoth Kumar / Express

The infamous Manjolai incident, in which 17 persons succumbed in police brutality on July 23, 1999, has been brought out as an autobiographical short story.

The incident happened during a procession in support of the Manjolai estate labourers’ struggle for wages on the banks of Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. The story is one among the 21 short stories penned by Mari Selvaraj, which has been brought out as a collection, Thamirabharaniyil Kollappadaathavargal, by Vamsi Books.

Probably, Mari Selvaraj is the first writer from Tirunelveli to document the incident through a short story and his short story collection has gained momentum in literary circles now.

Born in Puliyankulam of Tirunelveli district, Mari Selvaraj is the fifth son to his parents, who are agricultural labourers. “The freedom that poverty offered me has given me rich experiences and I have many stories to share,” says the author.

Speaking to City Express, Selvaraj shares about  his journey as a writer to an assistant director in Kollywood. “My entire schooling was in my village. It was when I stepped into the law college, I first came to a town. But college life was not a good experience. The first question I faced was about my caste. Since I was considered as an insubordinate student, whatever I did went wrong. At one point of time, a police case was registered against me and that was when I discontinued my studies and ran away from home,” says Selvaraj.

Selvaraj came to Chennai with Rs 1400 and took up jobs in places like petrol bunks while simultaneously searching for a better job.

“My search ended when I joined as an office boy in the office of film director Ram,” he says.

Ram was making Katradhu Thamizh then, which had actor Jiiva in the lead role. “The film developed my interest in cinema. After the film, Ram had a break for three years. That’s when we came close by getting to know each other well. Ram gave me books and films, and guided me well. He also started a blog named Kaatchi for me so that I could convey my thoughts through writing. The stories of Thamirabharaniyil Kollappadaathavargal were first published in this blog. Later, I became an assistant director to Ram and it’s been seven years of my association with him.”

The stories in this collection travel in diverse platforms and are mostly about either politics or relationships.

“Party leaders see politics as business. Mine was ‘frustrated politics’ because whatever I lost in it during my early life have not been compensated till now. Tamil Nadu is in a state of ‘sexual poverty’. Having a woman’s friendship is considered a fantasy. At this juncture, understanding either sex becomes critical. I think my stories reflect that criticality.”

Inspired by writers G Nagarajan and Saadat Hasan Manto, Selvaraj wants to direct a film as well.

“Though I keep writing, my ultimate aim is to direct a film which brings reputation to whatever I learnt from Ram. I believe that will be the true respect to my mentor,” he concludes.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by  N. Vinoth Kumar / ENS – Chennai / May 08th, 2013

Hidden Histories : A portrait of the past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
Going Out, a painting by Raja Ravi Varma, depicts Allamai (Aloo) Khareghat, of a well known Bombay-based Parsi family / The Hindu
Going Out, a painting by Raja Ravi Varma, depicts Allamai (Aloo) Khareghat, of a well known Bombay-based Parsi family / The Hindu

Last week brought the heartening news that the National Art Gallery at the Egmore Museum complex is to be restored at a cost of Rs. 11 crore.

For years, heritage activists have feared that the weak dome would soon collapse.

The Empress Victoria Memorial Hall as it was originally named, had its foundation stone laid on January 26, 1906 by the Prince of Wales, later King George V. Designed by Henry Irwin, it is inspired by Akbar’s Bulund Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri, though much smaller in size. Completed in February 1909, it became home to the Victoria Technical Institute. In 1951, it became the National Art Gallery, displaying some of the country’s best paintings.

A personal favourite among these, and which I hope will be displayed at a prominent place when the building is restored, is Allamai (Aloo) Khareghat, of a well known Bombay-based Parsi family. It is a rather unusual work of the painter who was better known for his portraits of gods, goddesses, kings, queens and stunningly beautiful women. This is a portrait of a shy Parsi girl, clutching a parasol and setting out for a walk. The story behind the painting is given in Rupika Chawla’s Raja Ravi Varma, Painter of Colonial India(Mapin Publishing, 2010).

The subject is Allamai (Aloo) Khareghat, of a well known Bombay-based Parsi family. Ravi Varma and his brother Raja Varma were frequent visitors to Bombay and while there, became very close to the Khareghats. The artist, according to his sibling, greatly enjoyed conversing with Allamai, who was, “a very intelligent lady having a thorough English education.” One day, Ravi Varma was particularly fascinated by a pose that Allamai struck as she stepped out for a stroll and captured it on canvas.

In 1902, Allamai moved to Madras where her brother Meherwanjee Rustomji Khareghat worked for the PWD. She married Rustom T. Patel, a businessman of Ooty and made her home there. In 1926, the couple’s daughter Mary married Nogi P. Clubwallah, who came from a front-ranking Parsi family of Madras.

Widowed early, Mary dedicated her life to social uplift, joining the Guild of Service, becoming an honorary presidency magistrate and remaining for life a magistrate of the Juvenile Court. Her contributions to the war effort earned her the sobriquet ‘darling’ of the Army from Gen. Cariappa.

In 1952, she founded the Madras School of Social Work, which is now recognised by the government as an institution of higher education. The MSSW pioneered several things we take for granted today — meals on wheels, health centres, bakery units and schools for the deaf. Mary Clubwallah-Jadhav (she married again) was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1946, serving three terms. All this is only a part listing of her contributions and achievements.

In 1952, the Khareghats donated the Ravi Varma painting to the Government Museum. Allamai Khareghat-Patel was present in person as was her daughter. A photographer captured the old lady, standing beside her depiction in the first flush of youth.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sriram V. / Chennai – May 14th, 2013