This work by Prof. Bakthavathsalu is aimed at a young readership and has therefore been kept simple
After teaching history at the college level for four decades, N. Bakthavathsalu has taken to the written word to tell youngsters the stories of the land and its people.
Former Professor of History at Pachaiyappa’s College, Bakthavathsalu recently published Five Great Leaders of Tamil Nadu, a 43-page book that focusses on the lives and political achievements of C. Rajagopalachari, Periyar E.V.R., K. Kamaraj, C.N. AnnaDurai and M. Karunanidhi.
Prof. Bakthavathsalu, a resident of D Sector, Anna Nagar West Extension, said that keeping the young readership in mind the book was kept slim and its message as crisp and lucid as possible.
“I consider the four the greatest leaders of this era. It is important for students to know about the political history of the State,” said Prof. Bakthavathsalu.
He clarifies that he is not affiliated to any political party.
“Rajaji opposed Mahatma Gandhi and even stayed out of Congress for a few years. Kamaraj was responsible for an increase in the literacy rate and built many dams across the State. The book throws light on many such contributions from these leaders,” he said.
Prof. Bhathavatsalu has also authored school books published under the aegies of Tamil Nadu Textbook Society and contributed to Tamil Encyclopedia brought out by Thanjavur Tamil University.
The appendix lists out the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu from 1920 to 2018. The book is priced at ₹50.
For more details, contact Prof. Bakthavathsalu at 044-2615 0110.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Lakshmi / June 29th, 2018
It was only a few weeks ago (Miscellany, June 4) that I wrote of a building with a history, Dare Bungalow in the Pachaiyappa College campus, that was derelict and in need of restoration considering its history. Since then, I’ve heard of two other buildings, historic to me, that warrant attention too.
Curiously, the centenary of the oldest trade union in the country, the Madras Labour Union went unnoticed on April 27. Curious because not only does the Union still exist but also because it should have been an occasion —the birth of the trade union movement in India — that all other unions should have celebrated. But names like G Selvapathy Chetty, G Ramanujulu Naidu, BP Wadia and Thiru Vi Ka are forgotten for what they started. There has, however, long been a landmark memorial to this in the Selvapathy –Ramanujulu Buildingthat was inaugurated in 1931 as the headquarters of the MLU. Sadly, it is in a shambles today as found by an Indian heritage enthusiast from Germany, Dr K Subashini, who went looking for it in Perambur. How could such a historic building be allowed to have fallen into such a state? Sadder still are other such a buildings with historic backgrounds not on any Heritage List — or is that only for public structures?
Also unlikely listed is another building in such shape. Gandhi Kannadasan sends me a picture of the state the erstwhile home of Harry Crowe Buck, founder of the first Physical Education School in Asia, is in today. In fact, that institution itself should be celebrating its centenary in 2020.
Buck is to all intents and purposes the ‘Father of Sport’ in India. He was responsible for the introduction of basketball and volleyball, the encouragement of boxing and the beginning of the Indian Olympic Games, now the National Games.
Buck, of whom I’ve written before (March 13, 2017), and Sir Dorabjee Tata were the force behind the founding of the All India Olympic Association in 1924 and Buck trained the first-ever Indian athletic team to an Olympic Games, held that same year in Paris.
The YMCA school moved to its present site in Saidapet in 1928 and the ghost house of today was probably built about then as the Founder-Principal’s bungalow. In 1933 there came up Massey Hall, the College’s main building. Kannadasan tells me he is a regular walker in the grounds here (not all 65 acres of it!) and there was a time when the house was occupied by a member of the faculty. But why such occupancy stopped and the house Harry and ‘green-fingered’ Marie Buck so lovingly tended was allowed to fall into such disrepair he has no idea.
But here’s my challenge. Is there any heritage buff or heritage-interested organisation in the city willing to save the three houses, Dare Bungalow, Selvapathy–Ramanujulu Building and Harry Buck’s home, memorials to Indian Commerce, Labour, and Sport?
The chronicler of Madras that is Chennai tells stories of people, places, and events from the years gone by, and sometimes from today
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by S. Muthiah / June 25th, 2018
The ‘Sati Dana Suramu’ is, on the face of it, a simple parody. But viewed in its context, Shahuji Bhonsle, we find, was making a comment on society itself
The Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur, Shahuji Bhonsle’s capital. Photo: Alamy
In 1684, a 12-year-old Maratha boy was installed as ruler in Tamil Thanjavur, not long after the region’s older Nayaka dynasty came to an end. The event was emblematic of India in this bustling age, with Tamil Nadu alone attracting Afghan horsemen, Bundela Rajputs, Telugu warriors, and diverse other groups of adventurers. Our adolescent prince, Shahuji Bhonsle, however, came from a family that was of especial significance for the country. Ten years earlier, his half-uncle, the celebrated Shivaji, had crowned himself king of the Marathas, and theirs was a clan that would seek power over distant reaches of the subcontinent.
Shahuji too was a king worth his elaborate titles, but even as he tackled matters of state, he cultivated a reputation as a patron of the arts. Going out of his way to attract as many as 46 men of letters to his court, he conferred on them an endowed agraharam (settlement), named (with typical princely modesty) after himself.
Interestingly, Shahuji, who reigned till 1712, was also a poet—his Panchabhasha Vilasa Natakam reflects the plurality of influences around him, featuring Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Sanskrit, and even Hindi verses. He was obsessed with Shiva of the Thiruvarur temple, and many were the plays and songs composed with his blessings eulogizing this deity. Some credit him as the composer of the Thyagesa Kuravanji dance drama, centred on the adoration of the lord by a woman. The theme and story is more or less conventional here and fits into the larger tradition of Bhakti literature. What is perhaps more remarkable—and has been described by scholars as “a work of extreme, deliberately outrageous provocation”—is another play from his time: the Sati Dana Suramu (Take My Wife). While some suggest it might have been composed by one of his poets, the text itself names Shahuji its creator, adding casually that he composed it “to outlast the sun, moon, and stars”.
The Sati Dana Suramu is a hugely entertaining parody of social conventions. The setting is the Vishnu temple in Mannargudi, where a Brahmin (“Morobhatlu the Magnificent”) arrives with his disciple for a festival. What upsets this pilgrimage—and, by extension, the correct order of things—is the Brahmin’s infatuation with a woman he unexpectedly encounters. Not only is his pupil scandalized (“My teacher has gone crazy”), but the woman comes from the other end of society—she is an untouchable. When the student warns his guru to protect his reputation, the teacher retorts that greater men had succumbed to lust and survived. When the disciple reminds him that the female is a demon, the older man responds, “She’s no demon, she’s a woman.” Frustrated, when the pupil appeals that he focus on the “Vedas and Puranas and Sastras” which promise eternal bliss, the Brahmin sniffs that he has “no use for insipid, eternal bliss”.
Soon, the Brahmin approaches the woman, declaring, “Your charm has reduced me to ashes.” The lady is polite but reminds him of the rules of caste and tradition. “We eat beef, we drink liquor…. Don’t talk to me.” Morobhatlu does not care. “We drink cow’s milk,” he replies, “but you eat the whole cow. You must be more pure,” he exclaims. Clearly startled, the lady decides to lecture him on the impermanence of desire, the permanence of dharma and other pious philosophical principles, hoping this would make him go away. She also warns Morobhatlu that she is married, and that it would be best for everyone involved if he stopped “this incoherent prattle”.
But the man remains immovable. “We Brahmins have made up all the rules, and invented religion. There is no better dharma than satisfying a Brahmin’s need,” he giggles. Perhaps, he adds, she could look upon the act as simple charity. “Give me your loins,” he coyly suggests, “like offering (a Brahmin) land.”
In the end, the woman’s husband arrives, and, after an initial attempt to beat up his wife’s high-born stalker, he demands, “Haven’t you read the Sastras?” Irony, in fact, is writ across the entire composition, where the low-born out-Brahmin the Brahmin—and so is great comic effect. When the woman’s husband reminds Morobhatlu about the godly path, the Brahmin responds: “Final freedom is that state of no pain, no pleasure, no qualities, nothing—or so some idiot said. But when a ravishing young woman…is free from her clothes—that’s freedom for me.” At long last, then, the husband agrees to present his wife to the Brahmin, only for the latter to belatedly heed his pupil’s voice (“Have a little detachment; think of the subtle meaning of Vedic words”). In the course of events that follow, the husband is upset, the wife is bewildered, and finally Shiva arrives and liberates everybody from this hilarious, singular quandary.
The Sati Dana Suramu is, on the face of it, a simple parody. But viewed in its context, Shahuji, we find, was making a comment on society itself. As the scholar Sanjay Subrahmanyam notes, “the play was written…for public performance” at a major festival, which meant its irreverence was consumed by large numbers of pilgrims and locals. Not only does it combine on one stage Brahmins and untouchables, it also cleverly exalts Shiva (Shahuji’s preferred deity), who swoops in to save the day at a site associated with Vishnu. Questions are raised on ethics and morality, on lust and the role of women. But the larger point Shahuji wished to make—and make with much mirth and laughter—was that asking questions and turning some tables was not such a bad idea. As this Maratha prince in Tamil country asks us at the end of this Sanskrit-Telugu production: “You, who have seen this play, decide for yourselves and tell us: Who, among these four, is the best?”
Medium Rare is a column on society, politics and history. Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne (2015) and Rebel Sultans (2018). He tweets at @UnamPillai
source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Leisure> Medium Rare / by Manu S. Pillai / June 16th, 2018
Sithannavasal rock cave in Pudukottai district is one among the places to be documented online. | Photo Credit: M_Moorthy
‘This project will help domestic and international tourists’
The Tourism department has embarked upon a project to document all heritage, historic and popular tourist spots and monuments in the State, including Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts, so as to lure both domestic and foreign travellers through online campaign.
Collection of rare pictures, taking latest pictures and writing description are part of the project, which will be uploaded in the official website of Union Ministry of Tourism, which is projecting the tourism hotspots of the country to international tourists under the tag of “Incredible India”.
The Rockfort temple in Tiruchi, Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, Sri Akilandeswari-Jambukeswarar temple in Thiruvanaikoil, Butterfly park at Melur in Srirangam, Erumbeeswarar temple in Tiruverumbur are among the temples, monuments and places to be documented in Tiruchi district.
K. Ilangovan, Tourism Officer, Pudukottai, told The Hindu that expert photographers had been hired to take pictures of historic places and monuments. Avudaiyar temple, Viralimalai, Thirumayam Fort, Sithannavasal paintings, Brahathambal temple, cave temple in Malaiadipatti, Kundrathar temple, Muthukuda beach on East Coast Road were among the places to be documented online from Pudukottai district. They would be uploaded in the websites of Tamil Nadu Tourism and Union Ministry of Tourism with the participation of National Informatics Centre (NIC). The task would be completed within two weeks.
He said that websites and online booking had become an important tool for disseminating information of the country’s rich heritage, arts, culture and tourist places worldwide.
The project would help domestic and international tourists to know the treasures of the country.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchrapalli / by C. Jaishankar / Tiruchirapalli – June 25th, 2018
Artisans from Thanjavur, who have certification from the Geographical Indications (GI) registry of the government of India, are only eligible to sell the ‘Thanjavur Art Plate’ with the name tag, said president of the Intellectual Property Attorneys Association, P Sanjay Gandhi.
Speaking to reporters in Thanjavur, he said that 21 more artisans have been given the certificate of registration of authorised users by GI recently. “Sixty artisans from Thanjavur had already been given the certificate in January 2015,” he said adding that with 21 new artisans, the total number of artisans who have been given authorised user certificates with exclusive logo has gone up to 81.
Gandhi, who has been striving to revive the art and artisans – all belonging to a particular community and a native of Thanjavur, said that Thanjavur Art Plate got the GI tag in 2007. A new logo for the art plate has been added in the authorised user certificate this year. The artisans who got the certificate can use the logo in their product to indicate the genuineness of the art plate, he added.
Union commerce minister Suresh Prabhu has directed his officials to do the needful to set up stalls of GI products at all airports in India. This would be very helpful for the artisans to get more orders, he added.
Gandhi has also been working to get the GI tag for ‘Thanjavur Thalayatti Bommai’, Naachiyarkoil brass lamps and Swamimalai bronze icons. He is helping the artisans apply for GI certificate free of cost.
Sanjay told TOI that the art plate is made of pure silver. If the government provides the metals at a subsidised rate to these artisans, it would be helpful for them as more number of youths would come forward to take up art as their profession, he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Trichy News / TNN / June 26th, 2018
M. Savithru displaying his micro carvings on pencil tips. | Photo Credit: M_Periasamy
A 24-year-old engineering graduate from Coimbatore is attempting to get into Universal Book of Records (World Records) through micro art carved on pencil tips.
M. Savithru completed his B.Tech in Fashion Technology and is passionate about micro art since the age of 16. He has carved Tamil letters, statues of leaders like Kamaraj, Jayalalithaa, and Nethaji on the pencil tips.
Apart from pencil tips, he has done carvings in soaps, chalk piece, fruits and vegetables too. He attempted to enter the Universal Book of World Records on January 24 this year by making 100 carvings from 1.10 p.m. on January 24 to 1.10 p.m. the next day. He had created 30 micro arts on pencil tips, 50 in soaps, 10 in chalk pieces and another 10 in vegetables and fruits. His attempt was witnessed by a representative from the Universal Book of Records.
He also plans to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by creating world’s tiny chess board in the size of 1 cm x 1 cm, as the previous world record was 1.53 cm x 1.53 cm.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by R. Arivanathan / Coimbatore – June 25th, 2018
The Indian flag at the War Memorial. Photo: R. Ravindran.
The Ministry of Defence on the care that goes into ensuring the Indian flag fluttering over the War Memorial is at its best
It is only when something goes wrong that we realise how well it had been running all along, without a hitch. Recently, passers-by noticed that the massive Indian flag fluttering high over the War Memorial, on the way to the Secretariat, was slightly damaged at the edges. One of them even posted a picture of the flag on Facebook, following which the flag was promptly replaced.
Through sources from the Ministry of Defence, it was learnt that great effort is taken to protect the Indian flag. Due to windy conditions prevailing on the coast, the edges of the flag, which is supplied by a private firm, get damaged regularly.
To prevent this, the two flags are stitched together.
“The plan to have such a massive flag was to promote the feeling of oneness and patriotism among the citizens and remind them about the sacrifices made by soldiers,” said a source.
However, since the flag is flying near the beach, heavy winds damage it frequently. According to Part 2 of the Flag Code of India, a damaged or dishevelled flag should not be displayed.
“Whenever this happens we bring down the flag and replace it with a good one,” the source added.
“It is common for flags to get damaged easily due to heavy winds, especially at the edges. Whenever the flag gets damaged, it should be de-hoisted immediately and replaced with a good one. We have appointed security guards, on shift basis, to ensure that such flags are replaced on time,” said Shahnawaz Khan, CEO, Flag Foundation of India.
Shahnawaz said that an officer has been appointed to de-hoist the flag and replace it with a good one.
“This flag was changed only two days ago,” the source said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vivek Narayanan / June 22nd, 2018
On World Music Day, we search for a legendary artiste’s house and find ourselves amidst an entire family of musicians who breathe and live music
Once upon a time, there lived a man called Gaana Palani. He lived in Pulianthope and loved his community more than himself. He hoped for true upliftment of his people through music. He revered BR Ambedkar, did not believe in caste-class segregation, so he sang about equality.
Many of us may not know him, but he is a legend in North Chennai, the hub of gaana music, where he performed for 30 years. Till he passed away a year ago, he would be taken on a horse around the locality, after which he would perform and people would burst crackers to welcome him.
A search for his house in Pulianthope led us to his son, Gaana Ulagam Dharani. This young gaana singer took us through the narrow alleys of Dr Ansari Street in the area. Here Palani’s picture was pasted on the wall as a tribute.
Gaana is intrinsic to North Chennai’s music culture. Pulianthope, Vyasarpaadi, Purusaiwalkam and Kasimedu are neighbourhoods famous for this style of music. Share autos, lorries and tempos here play them almost like anthems everyday.
“Knock every door here, you will find a gaana artiste,” says the 22-year-old musician, who estimates that there are about 100 gaana artists performing in the area.
Everyone in Dharani’s family sings and plays an instrument; his cousin brothers, S Kumaravel and S Muthukumar, his uncle, K Swaminathan, trained by veteran musician, MS Viswanathan and his two-year-old nephew Mitran Kanish whose favourite pastime is twiddling with the drum sticks. They say gaana music has evolved to incorporate many instruments over the years — ranging from the simple harmonium to the advanced electronic guitar, keyboard, drums and pads.
A powerful voice
Dharani says his father used to sing through vintage microphones. He had a powerful voice, recalls Dharani, that sent waves of admiration through crowds. Once a journalist asked him if he earned any money through his music. He answered that he was singing for progress. “He would say, ‘Let my people grow first, then I will’. Father always used to tell us how you need to be political. But, that does not mean we have to enter politics. It can reflect in our music.” Palani wrote around 3,000 songs; on love, humour and caste inequality. Dharani recalls how he used to tag along with his father to many of his concerts. “He would always tell me, ‘When you sing you should feel like you are dying. You must sing with such earnestness’.”
Dharani’s friend, Sarath Kumar, an expert in sattai, a traditional gaana percussion instrument, joins us. Kumar says he learnt the tricks from his uncle. Their jam sessions did not take place in a conventional room, but in a graveyard, says the musician, who has a penchant for dark humour. “And, once practice was over, I would join my friends on the other side of the cemetery to play football or cricket. We had so much fun. I have even spent many nights there. It is home for me.” It could be because of the notoriety of North Chennai (seen as an area high in crime) or gaana’s original association with death, but the music is not seen as respectable by much of Chennai.
However, of late, initiatives such as the Casteless Collective band featuring around 19 musicians including gaana artistes and film music composers are attempting to give the form the respect it deserves, says Dharani, who is also a member of the Collective. Recently, Dharani, along with his friends from the Collective performed at The Park hotel in an intimate talk show hosted by Stray Factory.
“But, despite all this, making daily ends meet is a struggle. I still perform at death and marriage functions. I earn around ₹3,000 per function. My family relies on me,” says Kumar.
He is also a percussion magician, who can juggle around 20 instruments including the udukku, base dhol, and side drums. “There is popularity to this art form, but no money to that measure.”
A knock on the door tells us that neighbours have arrived to listen to the daily family jam, a regular ritual every afternoon. We watch the brothers beat the sattai and parai with energy, with the neighbourhood kids scooting around the place brandishing tablas and parai drums. Dharani’s mother, P Rajeshwari, takes a break from her conversation with the neighbours to watch them, amused by the children’s antics. It looks as though the family’s worries have melted away as they surrender to their gaana beats.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Parshathy J. Nath / June 20th, 2018
Pavithra Srinivasan showcases the charm of the city’s heritage structures in her miniature sketches
Those set of stairs definitely belong to a palace. Wait a minute…is that at the Madras High Court? The ornate red-pink wall looks strangely familiar; we’ve seen it somewhere…it’s the Government Museum Complex! At Madras Miniatures, an art show by columnist, author, and translator Pavithra Srinivasan, the city’s heritage structures are given a whole new perspective. They are the result of Srinivasan’s travels through the city, specifically North Chennai . “That’s where everything happened,” she says, referring to how the city grew.
The exhibition features 61 of Srinivasan’s miniatures, most of them in black, done with micron pens. The author sketched them to be incorporated in a book on historical fiction for young adults that she’s working on. “I’m planning to bring it out soon,” she says, walking us around Madras Literary Society where the exhibtion is showing.
Most of the heritage structures that Srinivasan has chosen are part of our everyday lives. The Agurchand Mansion on Anna Salai, Wallajah Mosque in Triplicane, the Central Railway Station, the Moore Market, statues of King George V and Thomas Munro… We drive past them regularly, but they take on a special quality in the framed form. Srinivasan is a lover of the city and it shows. She has also sketched scenes that are intrinsic to the Chennai landscape — a soan papdi seller on the Marina, a lady painting pots on Kodambakkam High Road, an ornate chariot used at weddings parked near Victoria Public Hall, a fisher woman grinning by baskets overflowing with dried fish. A sketch of a sample of zardozi work that Triplicane is famous for, also finds pride of place, along with newer structures such as the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital on Anna Salai, Broken Bridge, the compound wall of Stella Maris College on Cathedral Road which the students have painted in bright colours, and a view of the Chennai Harbour with its cranes and containers. Srinivasan has captioned her sketches with a little bit of information about the place.
Srinivasan was a resident of Velachery and Valasaravakkam, and now lives a quiet life in a farm in Tiruvannamali. A change, she feels, has made her love for Chennai even stronger. For, we long for what is far away.
Madras Miniatures is on till June 16, 11 am to 4 pm (except Friday) at Madras Literary Society, College Road.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Akila Kannadasan / June 13th, 2018
One of the projects taken up by the Triple O Studio
Any mention of Chennai’s architectural marvels instantly brings to mind large, red public structures built in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. But, there is more to the city’s architectural history in its residential areas.
Madras Inherited, an initiative of a group of architects and volunteers, aims to unravel these hidden architectural gems through heritage walks and document the fast disappearing residential structures in the city.
Spearheaded by Triple O Studio, an architectural firm, Madras Inherited will focus on small residential buildings across the city that have gone unnoticed unlike public heritage structures. While Chennai has some of the finest Indo-Saracenic structures, it is also a confluence of many intriguing architectural styles that the group will research and map through a series of walks.
Tahaer Zoyab, architect and co-founder of Madras Inherited, said a project to document the old houses of Mylapore came as an eye-opener to the vanishing heritage in the city. “The character of the interior lanes is fast changing and we wanted to share the stories with people before residential buildings disappear and also document the rich legacy,” he said.
The team has so far documented architectural designs of about 50 houses in Mylapore. “We have traces of Neoclassical, Gothic and Art Deco styles in structures across the city. We can still find traditional vernacular architecture in some of the Agraharam houses of Mylapore, Tiruvanmiyur and Triplicane,” he said.
Classic example
George Town, one of the older settlements in the city, presents a classic example of a confluence of different styles. Dare House in Parrys Corner, for instance, is designed in the Art Deco style in which there is an emphasis on vertical lines and the distinct design of a ‘sunburst jaali’ for ventilation, Mr. Zoyab pointed out.
Such intricate details imbibed in residential and private building architecture will be documented and shared with heritage enthusiasts in the city. Madras Inherited will focus on cultural tourism and heritage education and management through a series of interactive events like photo walks in historical areas. The initiative will be launched on June 16 with a walk through the lanes of Royapettah, where participants will get to decode the architectural history of the area. The walk that starts at 6.30 a.m. will cost adults Rs. 700 and students Rs. 450. Participants get to take home a bag of custom-made souvenirs, ranging from coasters to bookmarks.
The locality has a range of styles from Agraharam houses, traces of Gothic design and Islamic-style houses. The proceeds from these walks will be used to fund the mapping and documentation of city’s heritage structures. There are plans to expand to areas like Periamet, Vepery and George Town after September. For details on the walk, send an e-mail to mail@madrasinherited.in or contact +91-8939135048.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by K. Lakshmi / Chennai – June 15th, 2018
