Meet 14-year-old Yamini Prashanth, the author of two novellas and a collection of short stories
Yamini Prashanth speaks as though she’s given countless interviews. She breezes through, with no trace of self-consciousness. The 14-year-old author has two books to her credit, and speaks to us ahead of the launch of her third, Uma, Not-so-Perfect. “I just think I’m extremely lucky,” she says, seated amidst rows of plastic chairs that will seat the audience for her event.
Being a published author at a young age is an achievement, but Yamini takes it in her stride. “I’m not ecstatic or anything. I’m neutral,” she shrugs. “I don’t think I’m really that great.” But her third book found a publisher without much effort on her mother’s part, which speaks for her work.
Yamini started writing when she was seven. She wrote sequels to books she enjoyed, such asMalory Towers and St. Clare’s. Mishti, a novella she wrote during her class five summer holidays, went on to get published by Unicorn Books. The story is set in India of the Nineties, when children spent their evenings playing outside instead of staying indoors glued to gadgets. Yamini put together a world she heard of from conversations with her mother.
Her second book, Best of Granny’s Stories, is a collection of short stories. Uma, Not-so-Perfect, which is about a girl who moves to the U.K. from India, deals with finding one’s roots in a new place, “without compromising on who we are,” explains Yamini. Her love for writing comes from her love for reading, which was instilled in her by her father. “Reading is a very big part of who I am,” she says. “Even if I don’t carry water to a place, I don’t fail to take a book with me.”
Now that she’s in Class X, writing has taken a back seat; but she does write poems when she finds inspiration. Despite finding success with writing, Yamini is sure of one thing: that she’ll not take to writing full-time. For, “I want to write for the love of it. If I’m forced to do it, it’ll be under pressure,” she says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Akila Kannadasan / Chennai – April 20th, 2016
If you have ever been on a heritage walk, you may have wondered about the wealth of information that was shared with you about the city, its history, its people and institutions. Where does all of these come from? On World Heritage Day (April 18), we spoke to four people who conduct these walks to find out.
If you have ever been on a heritage walk in the city, you may have wondered about the wealth of information that was shared with you about Chennai, its history, its people, its institutions and its organisations.
Where does all of this come from? Where do those who conduct heritage walks discover interesting nuggets of information about the city’s streets? On World Heritage Day (April 18), we spoke to four people who conduct these walks to find out more.
Who: Sudha Umashankar and Padmapriya Baskaran. Contact: sudha.ganesha@gmail.com
What: Walk down Harrington Road
How: When Sudha Umashankar moved to Harrington Road in 1977, it bore no resemblance to the well laid-out street with coffee shops, a shopping mall and eateries that it is today. “It used to be deserted in the evenings and it was notorious for house break-ins,” she says. For the walk, which was held last month, Ms. Umashankar spoke to residents of the road, went to institutions to collect information and read a lot. “Books about Chennai, publications such as booklets or magazines brought out to commemorate milestones — these are all useful. I did get information online, but corroborated it first,” she says. The trick is to put the whole thing together in a digestible way, spiced with rumours or legends that people can identify with. Her next focus is Marshalls Road — choosing a street with history, a unique facet to it or landmark institutions helps, she says.
How: “One of the advantages of researching about an institution that has been there for so many years is that every development which has happened over the last century has been recorded in the form of letters, documents and books,” says N.L. Rajah, a senior advocate of the Madras High Court (HC).
Interactions with people who had worked at the High Court over the years and authoring a book, The Madras High Court: A 150-year Journey from Crown Court to People’s Court, also yielded a lot of information about the history surrounding the High Court; the legal history of the 150-year-old institution and the architectural value, all of which is explained during the walks. “Most of my walks are attended by architecture students wanting to learn about the sprawling premises, which will turn 125 years next year. As a part of the heritage committee of the HC, we speak about the ongoing renovation work and its importance for a structure with so much heritage value,” he says.
NICA IDs: 153220034/153220035/153220036
Who: V.S. Sukumar. Contact: 9840622611
What: Gandhi Nagar Heritage Walk
How: Having lived at Gandhi Nagar for 65 years, V.S. Sukumar, honorary secretary, Gandhi Nagar Cricket and Sports Club, knows the ins and outs of this area, which is one of the earliest planned layouts of Madras, built just after independence.
“Several of us have studied in the schools here, played cricket at the cricket club and even gone to the same nursery,” he says. Land documents, publications of the government from the time of the inauguration of the colony, the book South of the Adyar River and information from organisations are all sources of information, he says.
“There are also old institutions such as Theosophical Society and Kalakshetra nearby which are resources,” he says. Senior citizens apart, residents who have moved in to live in many of Gandhi Nagar’s bungalows-converted-to-apartment-complexes are interested in these 131 acres. The walk is held in December every year, he said.
Pics:
Who: Kombai S. Anwar. Contact: anvars@gmail.com
What: Nawab of Arcot: Walajah Trail
How: Kombai S. Anwar, who has previously hosted the ‘Nawab of Arcot: Walajah Trail’ and a walk focussing on the Islamic heritage on Mount Road says that he likes to focus on heritage which had been overlooked.
“We are inundated with heritage structures and monuments in Chennai so much so that many remain unaware of their value. I had a fair idea about these structures but information from books available at the Connemera, Madras University and Mohammeden Public Libraries in Chennai about Muslim monuments as well as the general literature of that period serve as great pointers towards how many of these heritage structures came to be,” he says.
He recalls that his initial tryst with research into the city’s heritage was as part of the Madras Gazetteers Project. “Visiting the many heritage structures in the city yielded so much information,” Mr. Anwar says.
Pics: In NICA today
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Zubeda Hamid & S. Poorvaja / Chennai – April 19th, 2016
Sivasundari Bose with the original manuscript and published version of her father M.V.S. Ratnavale’s catalogue of ancient Tamil poetry. Photo: M. Moorthy
M.V.S. Ratnavale’s catalogue of classical Tamil works is a worthy tribute to the language
Though technology has made it easier to research ideas and let the mind wander down the lanes of a world where the writer is God, it has become harder to write prose or poetry that could be called a timeless classic.
At a time when nearly every word has a loaded significance due to the polarisation of discourse, lovers of classical writing can welcome a compendium titled English Catalogue of Ancient Tamil Literature (Palantamizh Ilakkiya Thoguppu).
The editor of the tome is M.V.S. Ratnavale, (1915-1994), who has meticulously recorded 687 works of Tamil poets from 1000 BC (pre- to post-Sangam period). “My father had no reason to write his book except for his love of Tamil language,” says Sivasundari Bose, who finally put together the tome as a souvenir to celebrate Mr. Ratnavale’s birth centenary on December 25, 2015.
Bringing the 600 loose typewritten sheets into a modern book format was in itself a challenging task, says Ms. Sivasundari, a Tiruchi-based author who writes in English and Tamil.
“Outsourcing the typing work to data entry operators was not a good idea, because those who know accurate Tamil typing are hard to find,” says Ms. Sivasundari.
Born in Tuticorin into a family of 11 children, Mr. Ratnavale was the seventh child of M. V. Shanmugavel Nadar, the founder-chairman of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank. “His father died young, but my grandmother made sure that all the children were educated,” recalls Ms. Sivasundari. Mr. Ratnavale studied History in Presidency College, Chennai and American College in Madurai.
“He was always interested in doing something more than just earning a living,” says Ms. Sivasundari.
It was this desire to live differently that led him to start cultivating cardamom on the wild forest slopes of the Western Ghats in his estate ‘Kaantha Paarai.’
Besides collecting books in English and Tamil, his days were consumed by a passion for numismatics, philately and photography.
He won a national-level bronze medal for his extensive collection of Indian and British Commonwealth stamps.
After a peripatetic life, and the marriages of his four children, Mr. Ratnavale chose to settle down in Kallidaikurichi, Tirunelveli district, near the foothills of his estate. “Though my father wasn’t from a literary family, he had developed a taste for Tamil literature, and was equally fluent in English. He used to buy a lot of old books which he thought had to be shared with the world. And he felt the sharing would be best done in English, to reach out to a wider audience,” says Ms. Sivasundari. “That’s when he started taking notes.”
For over 20 years, Mr. Ratnavale tracked down the works for his catalogue, and kept saving his work on loose sheets of translucent paper.
“He had time, but he also worked very hard,” says Ms. Sivasundari. “He’d be at his writing desk at 9 a.m. and work till lunch. There’d be a short break, and he’d go back to the manuscript in the evening,” she adds.
Operating in a pre-internet era in a village where there was nobody he could share his work with or seek assistance from, Mr. Ratnavale’s catalogue, which begins at Aadai Nool and ends at Yellathi, is an example of meticulous research and physical effort.
“Each entry had to be typed correctly, and corrections had to be made immediately. It is so easy to delete or correct sentences on the computer. But I didn’t realise then what he was doing. Now I see the manual and intellectual effort he had put in to compile the book,” says Ms. Sivasundari.
After he completed his manuscript, Mr. Ratnavale faced the hurdle common to most first-time authors: finding a publisher. “Up until his 80s, he used to visit me in Tiruchi and go looking for publishers, but nobody was interested,” says Ms. Sivasundari.
The catalogue has managed to unearth works of greater literary and thematic depth than the ones that have held sway over popular imagination. “We all know Silapathigaram, or Thirukkural or Kamba Ramayanam, but there are others that we haven’t even heard of which are listed in this catalogue,” says Ms. Sivasundari. “Perhaps the lack of annotated texts or ‘urai’ to explain the lingo prevalent at that time could be a reason why they are forgotten now,” she adds.
Treatises on the need for harmony in music (Isai Nunukkam by Sihandi, 6th century), geriatric medicine (Moopu Choothiram composed by Ambihaananthar, 8th century) and an exhaustive Tamil Thesaurus (Pingala Nigandu by Pingala Muniver, 8th century) are among the little-known texts that are listed out in the catalogue.
Mr. Ratnavale has also added his own notes on various works to make it more reader-friendly.
Information from palm-leaf scripts suggests that the poetry of this era was not just about divinity or royalty, but also accounts of daily life, the performing arts, and mercantile activity that saw Tamil traders sailing to ancient Ur and Rome.
Publishing the book posthumously has made his family happy, but the book deserves to be more widely read, feels Ms. Sivasundari. “Ideally it should be available in university libraries as a key reference work. Tamil is like a treasure chest to some of us. It has a history going back thousands of years, and we should hold on to it because it is a way of life,” she says.
* * *
A life less ordinary
“My father was very liberal with me,” says Ms. Sivasundari Bose, an attitude she attributes to Mr. M.V.S. Ratnavale’s own childhood spent in an extended family that included not just his 11 siblings, but also cousins and relatives. “Children growing up in big families don’t judge others harshly,” she reasons.
Her own upbringing was marked by open style of parenting, says Ms. Sivasundari. “I was taught everything that my three brothers were taught,” she says. “My father never said ‘you are a girl and you shouldn’t do this.’ So I used to cycle to school, which was considered radical in those days. And because of the wild animals on the estate, I was also taught how to use a gun.”
Her mother introduced her to lessons in music and dance. “Nothing was forced on us, but we were always told where the limits lay.”
Ms. Sivasundari is the author of Golden Stag, a trans-generational saga about a community in Tamil Nadu that was published in 2006. In addition to this, she has translated Sangam-era love poems, and also written books in Tamil on more contemporary themes.
* * *
Gems from the catalogue
Some of the rare works listed by Mr. Ratnavale:
– Koothu Nool by Cheyitriyanaar, 6th century, explains theory of dance and drama
– Manthira Nool by Putkaranaar, 6th century, on mystic theology
– Thaala Samuthiram by Bharata Choodamani, 8th century, on the importance of beat in music
– Kaasiyappa Silpam by Pattinathu Adigal highlights excellence in sculpture in 10th century
– Thiraavaaham Ennooru by Macha Muni, 14th century, about science of metallurgy and alchemy
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / Nahla Nainar / April 15th, 2016
The Bronze Gallery at Government Museum, Egmore Photo: R. Ravindran. / The Hindu
Come summer, and museums are spruced up to receive visitors ready to dip into a treasure trove of artefacts. But, museum-visiting must be made part of popular culture to create a generation familiar with its roots, writes SUBHA J RAO
It’s a searing 39 degrees and Anand Gopinathan’s T-shirt is plastered to his back. But, there’s a smile on his face as he walks from gallery to gallery at the Government Museum, Egmore, water bottle in hand. Kochi-based Anand, 45, is a compulsive museum-goer. He loves history, travels widely and makes it a point to visit the local museum, however small it may be. But, he has his favourites. “The Tower of London… I’ve visited it many, many times,” he says.
Elsewhere, reluctant children are being dragged from exhibit to exhibit by eager parents and patient teachers, as if to tick something off the bucket list. The children file past objects of exceptional beauty, little registering their historical worth.
So, how does one get children interested in museums? Or, even still, why must one visit museums? A senior Government employee, who’s served for a while in museums, puts it simply. “Museums are repositories of our history and culture. They bring alive a period that we can’t visit again. More importantly, at a time when the nuclear family has come to stay, oral retelling of history has taken a backseat. You need a museum to put facts in context for children. How else will they know where they come from?”
Another history-loving official says that museums also help put things in perspective. “We’ve learnt so little of our kings and kingdoms in history books. We call Samudragupta of the Gupta Empire the Napoleon of India. That’s terrible and a disservice, because he lived from 335-380 C.E., while Napoleon (1769-1821) came in much later. Samudragupta was the pioneer. And that’s something a museum will reveal with great clarity,” he says. Similarly, an entire generation looks up to the West for everything, little knowing the treasure trove of talent that we possess from the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Children enjoy a ride at the toy train at the Regional Rail Museum PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Part of the problem why museums have become distant spaces, says Arun Devraj, Curator, Regional Rail Museum (RRM), Chennai, is because we have so many restrictions — Don’t touch this. Don’t walk on the grass. Don’t enter this place… Arun’s done away with all of them at the RRM. Children, who usually hold a deep fascination for trains, walk on the tender grass, at least whatever remains of it after being scorched by the summer sun, walk into the bogies in the bogie park, touch and feel the seats and upholstery and come out beaming. They then take a ride in a toy train, passing a park where the attractions are erstwhile coaches, including the iconic blue-white railbus that used to chug along on the Shimoga-Talaguppa section in Karnataka, covering 82 km in a leisurely three hours and 45 minutes.
Inside the museum are models of bogies on the floor, so that children can sit around them and peer into them as much, instead of being forced to bend down to see the models. When we visited, a group of children from Ambattur had come in, sweaty and tired. But all that seemed to vanish as they gathered around the model trains, moving away from them with great reluctance.
Museums must be interactive spaces to strike a chord with visitors believes Neeti Anil Kumar, Curator, Fort Museum at Fort St. George. The museum is currently hosting Kesh Vinyasa, an interesting exhibition that showcases hair dressing down the ages. Dreadlocks, Asha Parekh-style top buns, hair parted on the side and decorated with beads… all of them seem familiar, and then Neeti reveals their origin — the Gupta period. She then points out to a Vijayanagar-era sculpture from Srimushnam, a lady with plaited, long hair decorated with flowers — the traditional poo jadai that a South Indian bride still wears. “But, this alone won’t do to bring in people. And so, to move with the times, we’ve put in two selfie booths,” she says. A majestic Samrat Asoka and a decked-up Begum Hazrat Mahal have been placed in the centre of the gallery. Place your face in the gap provided, and click away.
In the coins’ gallery, innovation rules. The museum offers an augmented-reality experience. Children and adults stand in front of a screen and hold a cardboard sheet. Suddenly, a coin zooms into view, and turns around slowly to show you its intricate beauty. This is a huge hit among kids, says the person manning this section. “Earlier, these exhibits were only under lock and key, ensconced in glass shelves. You could never see them up close and personal,” says Neeti. Likewise, at the entrance of the museum, there’s a talking cannon. In a seven-odd-minute speech, it speaks about how it came into being, where it was used, and why it went out of favour. And then, it goes on to promote peace and ahimsa. Children listen spellbound, because it is self-explanatory and in lucid language.
A touch screen features a comic at the Reserve Bank of India Financial Gallery. Photo: V. Ganesan. / The Hindu
A touch screen with games and puzzles and financial comics such as Raju and the Money Tree make the experience worthwhile at the Financial Gallery of the Reserve Bank of India. It is a space that promotes financial literacy, financial inclusion and customer protection. This place is an eye-opener for children and adults alike. The audio-visual section plays a selection of videos, including an interesting one on how mutilated and unusable rupee notes are destroyed. And, making the experience come alive, D. Vinothini, Assistant Manager, who looks after the gallery, shows us a briquette — a cylindrical brick made of shredded rupee notes! Every child leaving the museum is also given a small pouch with shredded notes.
A view of the Museum at Officers Training Academy in Chennai. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
If all these museums promote a sense of enquiry, the one at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) inspires. It is a wonderful showcase of what the OTA, founded in 1963, stands for, and has a gem of a collection of weapons used in warfare. As you file past panels listing the achievements of the Academy, your heart swells with pride, and then almost immediately, turns sombre as you go through the list of Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra awardees from the Academy. As you read the plaques detailing the bravery of every awardee, especially those awarded posthumously, your eyes mist over and you’re consumed by a fierce sense of devotion towards the country.
In a sense, that’s the purpose of the museum — it must inspire both officers in the making and those visiting, says Major Avinash Rawal, Officer-in-Charge. As he walks you around, he points out with pride the officers who’ve passed out of the OTA and proved their mettle in various theatres of war. This is, in effect, modern history. And, the museum places it in great perspective for future generations.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Subha J. Rao / Chennai – April 15th, 2016
Salem Historical Society that works for the cause of protecting historical monuments in and around the district got a 100-year-old map of the district. At a function organised by Salem Historical Society and YMCA, SALEM 225, to mark the 225th year of establishing Salem district, the map was presented by Philip K. Mulley of Kotagiri in The Nilgiris who is a writer and historian, to J. Barnabas, general secretary of the society. The map prepared by Helio-Zinco Survey Office, Madras in 1916 depicts the boundaries of the Salem district which was one of the biggest district in the country and the first district to be formed in South India in April 4, 1792.
J. Barnabas, general secretary of the Salem Historical Society displays the century-old map of Salem district.– Photo: E. Lakshmi narayanan
The district that spread over 7,530 sq m comprised Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri and was divided into three broad zones.
Mr. Mulley said that Malabar and Coimbatore were formed only after Salem district was formed.
He said that Alexander Reed was the first Collector of the district who served between 1792 and 1799.
David Cockburn, the Scottish Collector and who is known as ‘Father of Yercaud’ constructed five schools in the city during his period of service (1820-1829) at his own cost.
Robert Bruce Foote known as ‘Father of Indian Paleoarchaeology’ excavated tools used during Neolithic and Iron Age in Yercaud.
“They served for the development of the district and hence they were remembered till now,” he added.
Mr. Barnabas told The Hindu that 620 copies of the map were printed in 1916, and the century-old map available with the society was a rare collection.
He said that the map brought alive the erstwhile district and would help the youngsters know the past.
“The map would be laminated and placed in the society’s office,”Mr. Barnabas added.
During the celebration, the war medal of M. Israel, war veteran of First World Ward (1914-1919), group photo of intermediate class (1939-1941) of The Salem Municipal College and few rare pictures were on display.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by S.P. Saravanan / Salem – April 10th, 2016
Forgotten Past: “I am most satisfied about discovering the voice of the Indian soldier.” Raghavan in his New Delhi office. Photo: R.V. Moorthy / The Hindu
India was an unwilling participant in World War II, but those years provided the foundation for the Independence struggle.
Historian Srinath Raghavan in his latest book, India’s War: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1939-1945 (Allen Lane), details India’s contribution to World War II. The book explores the war’s impact on the Independence movement, how it was during this period that the Army saw its biggest expansion, and why this inquiry is important from a military history point of view.
Excerpts:
The book is called India’s war. Yet, not one Indian was consulted before Viceroy Linlithgow’s decision to enlist the Indian Army.
Even if India was an unwilling participant in the conflict, the conflict had huge implications for India. So, even if we were dragged into it kicking and screaming, those years turned out to be foundational for India in the Independence movement.
But still not India’s war. The Army was treated like bonded labourers, bundled off to fight without any say…
That’s not entirely the case. The Congress certainly opposed India’s participation because it wasn’t consulted, but others saw it as an opportunity. You had people like Ambedkar, who realised that for the Dalits, this was an opportunity for social mobility, to have their voices out. You also had Savarkar who said that this was a great opportunity for the Hindu community to get into the Army, which was dominated by the Sikhs and the Muslims.
Are you saying it was the war that gave these leaders and their ideologies their original prominence?
I think many of the ideological fault lines that we associate with 1947, in some sense, came to the fore during the war years, and that’s why we need to study them more closely. Because of what happens in the period 1935-1939 — you have the first elections under the Government of India Act, and Congress ministries are formed. It seemed as if the Congress was the most dominant force, and only Congress versus the British Raj played out. But then you had the war; the Congress was sidelined, and that cracked open the scenario for others who wanted their voices heard. So you had Jinnah coming into prominence with his demand, you had Ambedkar, you had Savarkar, and a number of others.
If you look at the books about India’s participation in World War II, especially Northeast India and the Malacca frontlines, they are titled the ‘forgotten war’ or the ‘forgotten Army’. Why is it important that they are not forgotten?
If you look at much of the way our history is taught, and the way the public imagines the 1940s, it is basically about the Congress party resigning, the Cripps Mission failing, and then you talk about post-war developments leading up to Independence. So the 1940s are remembered for this march to Independence and Partition that came as a cost of it. The war never really comes into focus. What I wanted to do was say, if you put the war in the front and at the centre and study its impact, then much of the 1940s becomes much clearer and explains why we ended up with what happened on August 15, 1947. Without the war, it is unlikely that the Muslim League would have gained prominence vis-a-vis the Congress in order to push through their demand for a separate country.
You don’t often refer to yourself in your books, but here you speak of your own regiment and how it fought. Do you think there is a bigger need to acknowledge this part of World War II as India’s war, for the Army’s sake?
To begin with, it is important from a military history point of view. This period marked the biggest expansion the Indian Army saw. For a generation of people, now forgotten, the war was foundational for their lives. They travelled abroad for the first time, served in very difficult conditions. I don’t think I would have even got into the subject but for my own military background; I may not have written it but for the fact that I served in the Rajputana Rifles regiment that features prominently in the book. When you have two and a half million Indians in uniform and many more millions recruited for war-related activity, how can we just forget that story? The Indian Army has got caught in the middle of this. If you are a ‘nationalist’, you will see the Army as an instrument of British control; a force of collaborators. But most of the Army was deeply nationalist. Others want to portray the anti-British movement as a subaltern revolution led by the peasantry, yet what was the Indian Army if not made up of the peasants and poorer classes? So, why ignore this side?
Finally, let’s remember that along with Partition, the Indian Army was partitioned as well. Companies that fought together in those wars were subsequently made to fight each other, beginning with the first Kashmir war. As a result, World War II dropped out of the picture. Because now both the Indian and Pakistani armies wanted to play up the stories of their valour against each other, to suit their independent national interests, and not some war that was a collaborative effort. One of the things I mention in the book is that there is a 25-volume official history of the war, and it had to be compiled by a combined inter-services effort from both India and Pakistan, right? But acknowledging this joint history has become very difficult, and very inconvenient, to both countries.
In his memoirs, President Pranab Mukherjee writes that he was against attending commemorations for World War II because it was an insult to the Independence movement, and particularly to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose Indian National Army fought against British forces.
I very strongly disagree with that view. Netaji and the INA’s effort were quite important, no doubt. I do bring out in the book that the INA’s importance was not really about military contribution, but political impact. It had about 25,000 soldiers, prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, who went over to form Netaji’s Army. The Indian Army was about a hundred times larger, 2.5 million Indians. So why should we only valorise 25,000 people and try to say that recognising the others is somehow a denigration of national history? That’s the lens I am trying to move beyond. Just because some people were in the Army doesn’t mean they wanted British rule. Many fought simply because it was a job; others needed access to food.
There’s an interesting point in the book when Chiang Kai-shek comes to meet the Indian leadership and asks them to support the war because the soldiers won’t be able to fight if they feel they do not have the country’s backing. Why was that significant?
One of the other forgotten parts of our history is that one of the biggest alliances was that of the Indian and Chinese armies during the war. Once the Japanese captured Burma, the land routes were cut off, much of the Indian Army’s mandate was to enable the nationalist Chinese Army to be supplied to fight. Much of the aerodrome-building across Northeast India was to supply the nationalist Chinese. Given the turn we took later, we must realise there is a pre-history too. India and China both emerged from the crucible of World War II. The idea that Asian nations which have come out of colonialism will have a shared future goes back to then. Of course, things didn’t work out that way, and we tend to forget this.
Most wars end the empire of the defeated side. Would you say that World War II was unique because it ended the empire of the winning side, the British?
I think it was clear even at the time that World War II would change the world forever… I think the key point is that the British lost the empire not just because they were weakened by the war, but because they lost the Indian Army’s support by the end of it, which was their instrument of control. That’s what the impact of the INA mutiny was, to show that the British could raise this massive Army, but that it could turn on them too. People like Churchill had even questioned the expansion of the Indian Army and said: “Someday it is going to shoot us in the back”.
You are now seen as a master of the archives through each of your books. What was the biggest challenge during your research for India’s war?
To be honest, I began this book thinking I could do most of my research in India itself. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I found that the National Archives don’t even have a clear record of the war period. They don’t even have a catalogue for the military department during the war, so a lot of the military details came from the British Library and other archives. But what I feel most satisfied about was my effort to discover the voice of the Indian soldier.
suhasini.h@thehindu.co.in
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion> Comments / by Suhasini Haidar / April 10th, 2016
Jyothi Nair Belliappa performing at the Glittecrazzy’16 fest, MGR University Express
Chennai :
In a recently concluded Music and Literary fest by MGR University, a voice with layers of poetry grabbed the attention of over 300 students in the auditorium. Jyothi Nair Belliappa, a qualified academician and Ghazal singer captivated the audience with her soothing ghazals and Sufiana qawwali.
“Ghazal is a very representative art form and I am lucky to have had a strong connection with it,” shared the singer.
As she began performing with Munna Shaokath Ali and Rajesh Dhavale (tabla), her ghazal Ulfat Ki Nahin received a thunderous applause from the audience with a ‘Vah! Vah!’ (A typical way of acknowledging/appreciating a poetry).
“I was glad that everyone understood the essence of what I sang. This is a type of music where you feel the words,” she said. Her meditative rendition of the Ghazal Aaj Jane Ki Zid na Karo and her projection of Yaar tha Dil were some of the key songs of her performance.
Jyothi began singing as a child and credits her parents for instilling this undying passion in her. “I am from Delhi and my parents were from Pakistan (before the partition). I was always stuck to the Urdu language, it has a different effect on me,” explained the recipient of a National Scholarship for post-graduate studies in English Literature.
Mushairas, poetry and music was always a part of her life and she decided to never let go of her passion. “Initially my parents were my only spectators, then my audience grew. Today, I don’t miss an opportunity to perform and I sing whenever and wherever possible,” shared the preparatory head of KM Music conservatory.
Jyothi not only has a diverse music background, but also has diverse specialisations in education. She studied Psychology, Hindustani classical music and has an MPhil and PhD in English Literature from the University of Madras. “I have been singing in Chennai since 1996. Many people ask me how I’m good at Ghazals. Well if you understand the language everything is easy isn’t it?” she smiles.
“Love, death, beauty, life, immortality and more can be conveyed through it. A painful wail of a deer can be dressed with poetic embellishments to portray the pain aesthetically,” explained Jyothi.
So, what does she think about the present music trends? “I am very open-minded and don’t mind children venturing new paths. They are very well-informed and want to try everything,” she said pointing to the recent fad of fusing different genres of music.
Idolising renowned Ghazal singers Munni Begum and Nayyara Noor, she said, “I want to keep practicing, learn more and keep getting better.” She calls herself a person having her fingers in too many pies. “I do too many things but, I am grateful that I have also been able to strike a balance.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne B / April 07th, 2016
It was a visual treat for all those who had gathered at the Kumaraguru College of Technology last weekend. Around 1,000 silambam practitioners from across the state congregated at the campus on Sunday for a synchronized performance of the traditional Dravidian warfare silambam and showcased the intricacies of the art.
The man behind the Silambam Sangamam, Shankar Vanavarayar, says that it’s time we considered the martial art as a sport and that the mass congregation of silambam practitioners was just a baby step toward the idea.” This was an effort to promote the ancient martial art, fitness and tradition among the youth. We had experts from across the state coming together for the event. However, the majority of the performers hailed from the city itself, who were trained well in the martial art form. Silambam is a martial form, where you discipline your mind through your body and this gathering was a platform to propagate the art and inspire young people to take it up.”
Interestingly, a lot of youngsters have started taking up silambam as a form of fitness activity in the city. “Earlier, silambam was performed predominantly in temple thiruvizhas in villages. But now, they have made inroads in the city as well. It’s heartening to see young girls showing interest in the form,” says trainer G Gunasekaran, who has been doing silambam for the last 50 years in Vysial Street.
“I started when I was just 15 years old. My master had trouble with his leg and I had to take over during some of the sessions. Eventually, I became the master. I teach around 500- 600 students in the city,” says the 65-year-old expert. Today, his students have become teachers themselves, who have taken many silambam enthusiasts under their wings.
Seconding him is silambam coach Mani Sathyamoorthy, who conducts classes at Lawley Road. “Out of the 50 students in my class, 25 are girls. That’s a very good sign. Some of them have been training for seven years. Though a majority of them join out of compulsion from their parents, they soon develop interest in the martial art. One needs to undergo training for two years to learn the basics of silambam. But there is always scope for coming up with new moves as you practice more. When I started teaching 8 years ago, I used to conduct free classes as there were very few participants. But now, silambam has become a popular workout form among youngsters.”
Mani adds that one can start doing silambam at the age of 4. “There is no upper age limit. In fact, some of the parents, who drop their children at the class, have also started spinning the kambu (stick). We always conduct a warmup session before silambam. Fitness and discipline improves over a period of time.” Gunasekaran too emphasizes it’s better to start young. “There is no age barrier to learn silambam. Since the body needs to be immensely flexible to spin the silambam, it’s ideal to start early so that body gets adapted to the moves. There are four basic stick rotations and seven moves. These in turn, are combined to come up with the other moves. Unlike karate, where one trainer can teach more than 100 people at a time, Silambam needs to be supervised carefully, because there is a high risk of hurting your opponent’s eye while you spin the kambu (stick). This martial art involves every muscle in the body.”
Maria Shanthi, physical director of a private school in the city, has been active in propagating the art among her students, so much so that her students have been undergoing regular training in the warfare art. “It was during a chance encounter with silambam performers at one of the school tournaments that I developed an interest in the art. Now, we have been teaching the form in the school and some of our students have excelled at the state level. We have also set aside an hour’s time every morning in school to practice the art.” Shankar Vanavarayar, on the other hand, wants to take the art to the next level in future. “We are planning to take this forward through seminars and silambam sessions; and explore the possibility of making this a national and international sport.”
Health Benefits 1. A good cardio workout; improves blood circulation and burns calories 2. Improves memory; mental strength & agility 3. Relieves stress and fatigue; improves body flexibility 4. Improves hand-muscle co-ordination & handwriting 5. Prevents practitioners from taking up smoking or drinking
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / P. Sangeetha / TNN / March 23rd, 2016
Pradeep Chakravarthy, a London School of Economics graduate, has been organising heritage tours in Tamil Nadu since 2014. | Ratheesh Sundaram
When President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP) in February in Thrissur district’s Kodungaloor, he called it the largest conservation effort in the country. The project was initiated by Kerala Department of Tourism to conserve historical monuments and museums, and to boost tourism. In Chennai, Abhimanyu Prakashrao—representing eight generations of the Buchi Babu family, the first family of Madras cricket—upheld the legacy by restoring the colonial 250-year-old Luz House, owned by Buchi Babu’s father Moddaverapu Dera Venkataswami Naidu, dubash to Parry & Co in the 19th century. In neighbouring Puducherry, the state government joined hands with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2014 to restore 21 heritage buildings in the city. From February 5-7, the former French colony also witnessed the second edition of the Pondicherry Heritage Festival.
MHP was launched in 2006 as a heritage conservation initiative. Muziris Muziris, or Muchiri Pattanam, was one of the earliest ports in India, an entry point of varied cultures to India and finds mention in the Sangam literature. P J Cherian, chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR), who led the excavation of the port, says it is time that historians studied Muziris as a Periyar Valley Civilisation. The Spice Route project is another heritage tourism initiative by the Kerala government.
Other stakeholders in the legacy pie are keeping the momentum going with heritage hotels in offbeat places such as Tranquebar aka Taramgambadi into Tamil Nadu. Heritage tours are tapping unexplored places that are teeming with history.
Heritage is slowly getting its due in south India, and leading from the front are Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the twin citadels of history, art and culture.
Sunaina Mandeen co-founded People for Pondicherry Heritage to preserve and protect the town’s architectural and cultural heritage. | G Pattabiraman
Last year, under the Ministry of Urban Development’s National Heritage Development Augmentation Yojana (Hriday), the Centre had sanctioned Rs.23 crore for Kancheepuram and Rs.22.3 crore for Velankanni for development and improvement of heritage sites over the next two years. In 2014, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had announced a subsidy of Rs.16.82 crore for 60 of the 64 heritage towns in the state.
In Puducherry, fondly called Pondy, which boasts of a unique Franco-Tamil heritage, attempts towards heritage conservation have been ongoing with some heritage homes being converted into cafés, restaurants and hotels. But it was the collapse of the 144-year-old Marie town hall building in 2014 that made the townspeople aware that all was not well with their famed heritage. “After the Marie building came down, people got together and a spontaneous movement was formed, called ‘People for Pondicherry Heritage’. A week after the collapse, a candle-lit tribute to Marie was organised,” says 63-year-old Sunaina Mandeen, co-founder of People for Pondicherry Heritage.
Ashok Panda, co-convener of INTACH, Puducherry chapter, has helped convert homes and buildings into heritage hotels. | G Pattabiraman
Conserving the heritage of this beautiful sea-side town is high on the Puducherry government’s agenda. “Two years ago, the government, which owns 30 heritage buildings, agreed to partner with INTACH to restore 21 buildings. Five or six buildings have been restored, with two to be restored this year,” says Ashok Panda, co-convener of INTACH, Puducherry chapter. With its team of 10 architects and restoration experts, INTACH has converted homes and buildings into heritage hotels such as Hotel Orient, Hotel Gratitude, Maison Perumal and La Maison Tamoule, and has restored 25 Tamil homes on Vysial Street. Hotel Orient was restored at a cost of `60 lakh and Hotel Gratitude for Rs.1 crore. For Maison Perumal and La Maison Tamoule, INTACH suggested the design.
Private players, especially those who endorse heritage preservation, are making a beeline for Puducherry, with many of them taking over ancient places and converting them into heritage hotels. Palais de Mahe on Rue de Bussy, a shining example of French colonial architecture with high ceilings and a yellow-white facade, owes its existence as a heritage hotel since 2013 to CGH Earth. In 2009, the group had restored an old Tamil house, Maison Perumal, at a cost of `2 crore. “Each of our properties has its own special charm and character. Palais de Mahe in the French quarter is very French, while Maison Perumal has a distinct Tamil character,” says Sam John, manager of Maison Perumal.
A hundred km away from the former French enclave, pioneers in the heritage architectural-restoration-for-reuse Neemrana Hotels honed in on Tharangambadi, which housed a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845. In Tamil Nadu, Neemrana’s 2004 project was the Bungalow on the Beach, an 18th-century Danish colonial house that belonged to the governor of Danish India, followed by Naik House and Gate House. On the Neemrana cards is another heritage hotel, Thamgam House.
In the neighbouring capital, a bit of Chennai’s vast architectural heritage was saved when the 17th century Luz House opened its doors to the public in 2014. “Luz House was in ruins for 40 years, except when it functioned as a L’Oreal heritage spa. I suggested to my father that we could transform Luz House to earn revenue,” says Abhimanyu Prakashrao, whose family owns the Dutch colonial bungalow. With an investment of Rs.50 lakh for restoration, the risk paid off for this MBA graduate. They have been doing well by letting it out for events and weddings. “We plan to start a small café, an eight- or 10-roomed hotel next. So far, only a third of the house is open to the public,” says Prakashrao.
Abhimanyu Prakashrao upheld the family legacy by restoring the 17th century Luz House in one of Chennai’s oldest areas, Mylapore, in 2014. | R Satish Babu
Bengaluru has its share of old bungalows, with many remodelled to create a new entity. The late 19th century colonial structure in Basavanagudi houses an antique home-furnishing boutique, Basava Ambara. When Venkataram Reddy heard in 2009 that the outhouse and a section of the mansion owned by the M Mahadevan family was available for rent, he took it. The bungalow is home to the Mahadevan family, and houses The Rogue Elephant, a café integrated into the boutique.
What separates Karnataka’s capital from the capital of the Vijayanagara kings, Hampi, is 350 km. Known for its beautiful ruins, Hampi and its surrounding areas—such as Anegundi—get many tourists. Shama Pawar, founder of the Kishkinda Trust, has been restoring the ruins of Anegundi and promoting its art and culture for the last two decades. “We have done lot of documentation about the ruins and monuments that are not covered under the government agencies. There is a mantapa with 64 pillars in the Tungabhadra river, with each showing 64 kinds of skills. The mantapa surfaces only during summer when the river water is low,” she says.
That heritage is an invaluable asset has manifested in people getting together and working towards its preservation. Sharmila Ganesan, co-convener of INTACH, Tamil Nadu, started Friends of Heritage Sites (FOHS) in 2014. “We wanted to involve the local community for they are stakeholders too, and often resort to vandalising properties,” says Ganesan. For their pilot project in 2015, they honed in on Mamallapuram to revive the ancient Pallava art and train local sculptors. “We commissioned six garden sculptures adhering to Pallava art and conducted a heritage workshop for middle-school kids,” she says. The organisation also conducts heritage tours every year.
Tamil Nadu’s heritage lies in its 36,000 temples. Chennai-based author and historian Pradeep Chakravarthy, says, “As a seven-year-old I used to visit temples and that impacted me.” Chakravarthy began organising heritage tours in 2014 on a friend’s suggestion. “We picked Tirunelveli as I knew the lay of the land. During the trip, we visited the house of an old zamindar family,” says the London School of Economics graduate. Trips to Vellore and Pudukottai have been planned for this year. “I am looking for a Tamil Jain family in Vellore to host us for an ‘ahimsa’ lunch,” he adds.
Sabita Radhakrishna revived the 1,000-year-old Kodalli Karuppur sari worn by the ranis of Thanjavur up to the 19th century. | R Satish Babu
Not just architectural heritage, the revival of textile and arts heritage has come in for scrutiny. Writer, columnist, foodie and playwright Sabita Radhakrishna, who has worked with textiles for the last 30 years, says, “I wanted to revive the Kodalli Karuppur sari, which has 1,000 years of history. It was made exclusively for the ranis of Thanjavur up to the 19th century. With government support and help of a master weaver and a painter from Kalahasti, Andhra Pradesh, we spearheaded the revival campaign last year.” In June 2015, Radhakrishna started the 60 handloom sari pact in which one wore only handloom sarees 60 times.
Sambaji Rajah Bhonsale, a royal descendant of the Maratha rulers and a Thanjavur painting expert, imparted training to 100 women in the art. | Ratheesh Sundaram
Heritage art such as the Tanjore (Thanjavur) paintings has also got a shot in the arm. Last year, along with a few other painting experts, B Sambaji Rajah Bhonsale, a royal descendant of the Maratha rulers and a Thanjavur painting expert, imparted training to 100 women on an initiative by CM Jayalalithaa. The women were paid Rs.2,000 each as stipend.
Thanjavur’s rich cultural past is also being revived by Prakriti Foundation, an organisation started by Chennai-based businessman-turned-culture czar Ranvir Shah.
Meera Krishnan of Prakriti Foundation has restored 50 panels at Devashriya Mandapam in the Thyagarajaswamy temple in Thiruvarur. | R Satish Babu
“We are looking to restore the Kalyana Mahal Chhatram at Thiruvaiyaru into a heritage centre,” says Meera Krishnan, programme coordinator for Prakriti Foundation. Its first project in 2008 was to restore 50 panels at the Devashriya Mandapam in the Thyagarajaswamy temple in Thiruvarur. Each year in March, Prakriti organises the Sacred Music Festival on the banks of the Cauvery river at Thiruvaiyaru, 12 km away from Thanjavur and the birth place of the legendary poet-saint Thyagaraja. Next on their agenda is to build a hostel for students of the music college there.
Tombs are as much part of the southern heritage as temples, and the Qutb Shahi tombs in Hyderabad representing a blend of Persian, Pashtun and Hindi architecture, are the only necropolis in the world where the members of seven generations of one royal dynasty are buried. They are also Hyderabad’s oldest heritage structures. In 2013, Agha Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) took up the task of their restoration at a cost of `100 crore over a 10-year period. Conservationist architect and project director of AKTC Ratish Nanda says, “Our ambition is long-term preservation of this 450-year-old heritage structure.”
Chennai celebrates its heritage and 377-year-old history with the Madras Day celebration since 2004. Journalist and historian Vincent D’souza, who ideated the festival, keeps it pithy when it comes to heritage conservation. “If you are proud of your heritage, you will treat it with respect, not vandalise or spit on it,” he says.
With inputs from Saumesh Thimbath,Chetana Divya Vasudev, Amit S Upadhye and Saima Afreen
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Sunita Raghu / April 02nd, 2016
The women weave about two baskets a day; everything from cutting to colouring is done by hand.
Chennai :
What do a handwoven palm-leaf basket and issues of deep-seated negligence and heritage have in common? In this case, it is the small hamlet of Pulicat, where these baskets are made. The baskets are woven by local women and marketed in the city by organisations like AARDE Foundation, an NGO working towards the conservation of natural and built heritage in Pulicat.
What’s interesting is the two-fold purpose of these colourful handicrafts: besides being an important form of livelihood for the town, AARDE founder Xavier Benedict’s goal is to draw attention to the issues facing Pulicat through these handicrafts.
“Pulicat is a unique place and has three kinds of heritage — cultural, manmade and the natural heritage. Though all are important, cultural heritage, including crafts, is the only factor that can easily be made attractive to visitors and marketed to improve the economy, ” explains Xavier. “Most of them rely on fishing and boat-making. Boating for tourists used to be an additional source but it was banned after a boat capsized. Alcoholism is also a problem. So women are the crucial link to improving livelihood.”
The journey began with post-tsunami relief work at Pulicat. Performing arts like kattaikoothu and textiles like kalamkari, muslin and palm-leaf weaving were a part of the vanishing cultural heritage. Besides, this is the built heritage. “There are lakhs of monuments that are not protected by the Archeological Survey of India. When we went to Pulicat, we saw the numerous abandoned structures that are dilapidated. So we began working on documenting and raising awareness,” says Benedict.
Sadly, even as such attempts were going on, one of the structures, Our Lady of Glory Church, built in 1515 AD by the Portugese, was demolished in 2009 to be replaced by a new church. A few years later, another beautiful temple, the Adi Narayanana Perumal Temple was also demolished to make way for a new temple. “The temple had a unique construction style that was uncommon in South India. Today, it is gone,” he says. “The protection is often arbitrary — some structures are protected under the ASI but some are being destroyed. We are asking for the entire town to be made into a heritage site.”
Natural heritage is equally important, with the Pulicat Lake being the second largest brackish water lake in India, supporting lakhs of migratory birds and also crucial for draining of excess water during rains.
The lake is under threat from pollution and development, and activists like Benedict are trying to petition to protect it under an inter-governmental treaty for wetlands called Ramsar. Since such concepts of conservation are not easy to convey, he believes that tapping a craft like palm-leaf weaving, can help especially when you add colours and make new designs, and market the product.
Around 85 women between ages 25 to 60 years are employed by AARDE, and work every day at a workshop in the town. “Initially, some of the women, most of them Muslims, were hesitant to come out. But now, many come. Last week, we even had our first set of products woven by a man,” says Sophie, Benedict’s wife, who handles the marketing.
The women are paid a monthly wage, and all proceeds go to the women except overheads like transport and raw material. Usually, the women make one or two baskets a day depending on the complexity. Everything is done by hand, from cutting to colouring. “One woman is now 70 and says she will not reveal her special technique even to her daughter until she retires. The women have also taken to technology, and send me pictures from their children’s phones every night through WhatsApp,” she smiles.
Baskets, boxes and trays
Palm-leaf weaving is a part of cultural heritage in Pulicat. It is marketed by AARDE and the profits go directly to the women. The range includes baskets, boxes, pouches and trays. Bulk orders for functions are also taken. For details, visit www.aarde.in
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Archita Suryanarayanan / April 02nd, 2016
