J.P. Chandrababu with his wife. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
The biography tells the story of the actor with details hitherto unknown, including his differences with MGR, which ultimately led to his fall.
When the Tamil film world was dominated by two big heroes – Sivaji Ganesan and MG Ramachandran – a comedian commanded salary on a par with them and, on a few occasions, even received more. He had the distinction of singing in his first film Dhana Amaravathi (1947). He was a dancer and singing-actor, who introduced yodelling in playback singing. But J.P. Chandrababu’s life was a tragedy and he died a pauper in 1974, befitting the title of the film Maadi Veettu Yezhai that he directed.
‘Nagaichuvai Chakravarthi: J.P. Chandrababu’, a soon-to-be-released biography, tells the story of the actor with details hitherto unknown, including his differences with MGR, which ultimately led to his fall.
He led a royal lifestyle and bought a 20-ground plot on Greenways Road and began constructing a house. “He designed it in such a way that he could drive the car straight to the first floor. But Maadi Veettu Yezhai put paid to his hopes and he plunged neck-deep into crisis. The property was attached by the court,” says Sornarajan T. Victoria, the book’s author.
The shooting began, with MGR acting in a few scenes, but the film could not be completed. “During the intermission of the film Thattungal Thirakkapadum, it was announced that Maadi Veettu Yezhai would be released soon. But it never saw the light of the day,” says Mr. Sornarajan.
Chandrababu acted in 76 movies and his rise in the film industry was achieved through versatility. “He comprised in him the talents of the singing and dancing comedian Danny Kaye, the facial features of Jerry Louis and the body language of Bob Hope,” describes Mr Sornarajan.
Born Joseph Panimayadasan Rodriguez to freedom fighter J.P. Rodriguez in Tuticorin, it is still a mystery how he assumed the name Chandrababu, though people used to address him Babu.
His father, a friend of freedom fighter V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, was running a magazine ‘Sudhanthira Veeran’ at Mannadi in Chennai and was exiled to Sri Lanka for his campaign against British rule. Writer Jayakanthan has said it was Chandrababu who first addressed him as J.K.
There is an apocryphal story that on the night of his marriage, he allowed his wife to join her lover after she disclosed her love for another man. “There is no basis for the story. They lived together for six months and spent their honeymoon in Bangalore. But when he realised that she would be happy with her lover, he agreed for separation,” says Mr. Sornarajan.
He was known for his abundant generosity and the lines of the song Thannalam Maranthaal Perum Perinbam‘ sums up his character. It was Sivaji Ganesan who bore the cost of his funeral expenses. “Kingmaker Kamaraj, a family friend of Chandrababu, broke down even as he tried to console his father Rodriguez,” according to Mr. Sornarajan. He was laid to rest at the Quibble Island graveyard in Chennai
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – January 17th, 2015
The long wait to read rare palm leaves and paper manuscripts at the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Centre will soon be over. In a rare initiative, the state archaeology department on Tuesday launched e-publishing of manuscripts, beginning with Saptarishi Nadi, an astrology-based palm leaf manuscript in its portal, www.tnarch.gov.in
The 145-year-old treasure house was a result of laborious efforts of British linguists and historians, Col Colin Mackenzie, C P Brown, Rev T Foulkes and Prof Pickford and later conserved by the state. The priceless manuscripts give deep insight into literature, astronomy, siddha, Ayurveda, unani, veda, agama, architecture and fine arts, written in Sanskrit, South Indian and Oriental languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, Persian, Sinhalese, and Burmese and Kaifiyats (historical accounts) of various periods. The bundles of manuscripts stocked in the library have been great resource material for scholars pursing research on ancient works.
While the manuscripts are 300 to 400 years old, many are in a state of decay. “We have taken 23 lakh pages of these manuscripts for digitization and completed 10% of the work so far. In another 18 months, the entire process will come to an end benefitting global researchers,” Archeology commissioner D Karthikeyan told TOI. The library has some rare manuscripts of classical literature, Tholkappiyam, a work on Tamil grammar, with Nachinarkiniyar commentary, Nakkeerar’s Tirumurukatrupadai, the Sangam literature in praise of Lord Subramaniya and the two-century-old Kari-Naal, a smallest palm-leaf manuscript about inauspicious days. “It’s a treasure house that needs to be preserved and disseminated. Digitization is a welcome move,” said Roja Muthiah Research Library director G Sundar. The library has chipped in with expertise to digitize the leaves with clarity.
“The manuscripts are digitized 300 to 600 dpi or pixel resolution and converted to pdf or tiff format. Before the manuscripts are taken up for scanning, the old leaves are cleaned with brush followed by a rectified spirit,” Library curator S Vasanthi said. The 5% of solution of citronella oil or lemon grass oil in rectified spirit is applied and allowed to dry. This not only gives flexibility to the leaves, but also provides insecticidal and fungicidal property to the palm-leaf manuscripts.
The manuscripts are digitized 300 to 600 dpi or pixel resolution and converted to portable document format or tiff format.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Julie Mariappan, TNN / January 14th, 2014
Speakers paid tributes to film-maker K. Balachander and drama artist Koothapiran at a condolence meeting organised by the Tamil Stage Drama Producers Association in the city on Sunday.
They spoke about the duos’ passion for theatre and kindness to drama artists.
Actor Y.Gee. Mahendra said that for those who believe that drama is a fading art, it has to be reminded that the drama industry is alive and kicking because “we are following the path laid by the legends — K. Balachander and Koothapiran.”
Referring to Koothapiran’s cricket commentary in the All India Radio, he said though he knew little about the sport among the group of commentators, the commentary was good. Also Koothapiran was a good human being who never spoke ill of anybody, he added.
Mr. Mahendra said the very mention of the name Balachander reminded him of the English film title ‘A Man for All Seasons’ as he ruled the film industry with a midas touch for several decades.
Senior actor A.R. Srinivasan recalling Balachander participating in a meeting convened to pay homage to ‘Gemini’ Ganesan at the same venue some years ago, said it is not time to grieve but to follow the path shown by the two drama personalities who achieved greatness in their own rights. While Koothapiran’s dramas would teach morals for children, Balachander’s plays would be a learning lesson for drama artists and producers in all aspects, including stage decoration, sound effect and acting.
Artists Kathadi Ramamurthy, Bombay Gnanam and senior journalist H. Ramakrishnan spoke.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – January 12th, 2015
A PROFOUND ENGAGEMENT: “Perumal Murugan is a scholar with a rich sense of history.” A file photo of the novelist. / by Special Arrangement
It would be tragic if Perumal Murugan is silenced in his prime
In 1983, a 17-year-old student of Chikkaiah Naicker College, Erode, inspired by a dictionary of the Karisal (black cotton soil) region of southern Tamil Nadu, resolved to prepare a similar lexicon for the Kongu region. He collected dialect words from friends and relatives, and from oral traditions. The historical Kongu region, covering the districts of Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Salem and Karur, with its hostile agricultural environment and hardy peasants, would hold an undying fascination for this young man.
The Kongu region’s achievements in modern literature are about as low as its water table. But for R. Shanmugasundaram, the author of the classic novel, “Nagammal” (1942), few had fathomed the rich life in the Kongu region. From 1991, a stream of novels and short stories would flow from his pen. Almost single-handedly he would put the Kongu region on to the literary map of Tamil Nadu.
Modern Tamil fiction had for long been obsessed with village life in Thanjavur and Tirunelveli, and urban middle class life in Chennai. In the fiction of this young man, the hardy peasants of the Kongu region came into their own. Who can forget the Marimutthu of “Kanganam” or Muthu of “Alandapatchi”? Literarily rich ethnographic portraits of non-sedentary and lower caste life would animate his work.
A scholar with a rich sense of history, he unearthed writings on the region by earlier authors and published two volumes of their writings. The early attempt at lexicography would come to fruition 17 years later, in 2000. He would retrieve and republish a long-lost book on the history of the Kongu region (by T.A. Muthusamy Konar). In sum, his over 35 books provide a veritable cultural map of the Kongu region.
Threats and protests
It is this great literary chronicler who is now virtually banished from his beloved Kongu region. On the night of January 8, on the pointed advice of the police, Perumal Murugan fled his hometown with his family. A day later, Tiruchengode town observed a total shutdown protesting his novel, “Mathorubhagan.” This came after weeks of abusive and threatening phone calls. Earlier, on December 26, an illegal assembly of people burnt copies of his book, demanded a ban on the book and the arrest of its author and its publisher.
“Mathorubhagan” was published four years ago. The novel marks the second phase of Mr. Murugan’s fictional explorations. It poignantly tells the story of a childless peasant couple set in a time about a century ago. Ponna and Kali rejoice in their conjugal love but their pain of being childless is accentuated by the taunts of neighbours and insults on religious functions. Tiruchengode, the abode of Siva in the form of half-woman half-man, is the sacred temple to which childless couple flock to this day hoping to extend their lineage. Over 125 years ago, Chinnathayammal and Venkata Naicker of Erode circumambulated the “varadi kal” at Tiruchengode resulting in the birth of the great rationalist, Periyar.
After exhausting all means, childless couples seek what is, from a modern perspective, an exotic, even ‘immoral,’ solution. Every year, at the Vaikasi Visakam car festival, childless women indulge in consensual sex in a carnivalesque atmosphere. The lucky are able to conceive. Children born of this socially sanctioned ritual are referred to as sami kodutha pillai (god-given children). Any anthropologist would attest to similar practices existing in many pre-modern societies with no access to assisted conceptions. Classical Hindu traditions refer to this practice as niyoga or niyoga dharma — an indication of its religious sanction. It is this section of the novel that has provoked the ire of Hindu fundamentalists and caste purists. Portrayed as a slur on Hindu women, Mr. Murugan is being pilloried for denigrating the whole town. The Sangh Parivar, seeking a toehold in Tamil Nadu, sensed an opportunity. A local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary was in the forefront of the assembly that burnt the book. After the state leadership disowned responsibility, Hindu outfits are now working from behind the scenes. Over the last few weeks, thousands of the supposedly offending pages, ripped out of context, have been reprinted and distributed to devotees. One would have thought revering books rather than burning them was Hindu tradition.
Provocative posters have been plastered all over the town. Reports indicate that violent views have been expressed in unauthorised meetings. In a desperate bid to avert disturbance to everyday life, Mr. Murugan issued a pained clarification, even offering to delete all references to the town in subsequent editions. But to no avail. A complete bandh was enforced.
For four years nobody was offended. In fact, discerning readers identified themselves with Ponna and Kali. The novel has a fuzzy end and readers badgered Mr. Murugan with questions on Kali’s fate. He responded creatively — with one, no, two sequels following different trajectories — “Alavayan” and “Ardhanari.”
Evidently the advocates of burning books do not understand literature. And in a worrying scenario they have been joined by other sinister interests. Mr. Murugan is not only a novelist; he has been teaching in government colleges for two decades now. Over the years he has written scathing essays on the business of education. Namakkal specialises in two forms of poultry farming: hatcheries produce chicken and eggs while schools churn out high-scoring students. Mr. Murugan has pulled no punches in exposing the many unethical, even illegal, practices of such factory-schools. He has written in support of U. Sahayam, the crusading bureaucrat, who brought many environmental culprits to book during his term as Salem collector. The whole gamut of local vested interests has joined hands and, at least temporarily, succeeded in making him a fugitive.
Expressing solidarity
But all is not bleak. In a notoriously fractious Tamil literary, culture writers and intellectuals have joined hands in solidarity. In a context where publishers are buckling under pressure, Mr. Murugan’s publisher, Kannan Sundaram, is unconditionally backing the author and is ready to battle it out in the courts.
Perumal Murugan is at the height of his creative powers; his name was tipped for this year’s Sahitya Akademi award; “One Part Woman,” the English translation of “Mathorubhagan,” was published to rave reviews last year. Ironically, this author who shuns the limelight is now in public glare. It would be tragic if this chronicler of Kongu is silenced in his prime.
(A.R. Venkatachalapathy is a historian and Tamil writer. E-mail: chalapathy@mids.ac.in)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion> Comment / by A.R. Venkatachalapathy / January 12th, 2014
Population growth, industrialisation and increased demand for resources in rural and urban areas led to immense environmental destruction, said Shekar Dattatri, wildlife filmmaker and conservationist, on Friday.
Speaking at an event organised by the Chennai Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Mr. Dattatri said the country’s population had grown four-fold since Independence. Due to this, many forest areas had been cleared for agricultural activities, and new industries were being set up, he observed.
“While ancient India had an ethos in which religion, culture and nature were inextricably interwoven, population pressures and the material aspirations of people have considerably eroded these values,” he said.
Speaking about the Western Ghats, he said nearly 65 rivers emanated from the range. Yet, they were being systematically destroyed for short-term gains in the name of economic progress, Mr. Dattatri pointed out. “Conservation is not a luxury, but a vital necessity. While nature can get along just fine without us, we cannot survive without nature,” he said, concluding the talk.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – January 11th, 2014
After 37 years, the 1976-78 batch of Class 11 students of Suburban School in Ramnagar met in the city to spend an evening together. Now in their fifties, these men and women enjoyed catching up with each other, recollecting their school days while sharing a scrumptious meal.
Amidst some teasing and taunting, they danced to musical numbers that were popular in the 70s. To spice up the event, there was a ‘power-lifting’ competition where the men were asked to carry their wives.
While there was only prize on offer for the man carrying his wife in the air for the longest time, the jury was forced to give away three as there were three men who refused to let go of their wivesss.
‘This was the first time all of us are meeting after 37 years,” said V Natarajan, professor and head, Department of Mass Communication, Periyar University. Out of the 88 students in the class, 35 had managed to participate in the reunion. Some of them had come from as far as Simla and one even from Indonesia.
superintending engineer, Tangedco, Coimbatore metro circle, responded with, “You not only dress like a politician but you speak like one too”. tnn
There was also some mittai, pori urundai, kalkona and other eatables that used to be sold near the school, at the event, bringing back memories of the good old days.
Kuttram Kadithal, a yet to be released movie, won the Best Tamil film award at 12th Chennai International film festival, which concluded on Thursday evening. This film was premiered on the last day of the festival.
Almost 170 films were screened over eight days in various city theatres. Director P. Vasu, one of the jury members, said Kutram Kadithal was one of the best films at the festival.
“It is a film made by mostly newcomers. The film has a soul and so much depth. I am sure it will do well,” he said.
The film’s director, Bramma, said the award was possible because of the support they received from every section of society. “Even until a few days ago, we did not know anything about the world of movies. We have come a long way because the medium has become so accessible,” said Bramma.
A number of other awards were also presented at the function. Filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj, whoseJigarthanda did not make it to the competition section, won the Amitabh Bachchan Youth Icon award.
Filmmaker and actor R. Partheban won the Special Jury Award for his experimental film, Kadhai, Thiraikadhai, Vasanam Iyakkam while Halitha Shameem won Special Jury Mention award for her film,Poovarasam Peepi. She is also the first woman to win the award.
Sadhuranga Vettai, which starred Natraj in the lead, won the second best feature in Tamil film competitive section.
The film is about how superstitions are being used by fraudsters to cheat the devout of money and valuables.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – December 26th, 2014
For a change, the words cinema and overdose are in the same sentence but have nothing to do with a suicidal actor. In what may perhaps be seen as a massive haemorrhage of Tamil film releases this year, 215 films hit the screens — the first time in the history of Tamil cinema that it has breached the double century mark. And according to Film News Anandan, the veteran who aggregates Kollywood releases every year, it’s all due to, “bad sense, family pressure and politics”.
It’s also 35 per cent more than the number of films that released the previous year (164). If you’re wondering when most of these movies hit theatres and who acted in them, here’s the answer: “Everyone in these movies is a newcomer. The father of the hero is usually the producer and he’s usually a man who knows the film won’t do well. So he’ll simply release the film in two suburban theatres running two shows and pay them off,” said a member of Tamil Nadu Film Director’s Association.
A director-producer himself, he related how he had held off release of one of his star-cast films for 3 months because he wanted a solo release, but settled for the release of two smaller films. “What Aascar Ravichandran is going through with Ai is a prime example. The movie should have released on Diwali, but he wants a safe date so that it will see a good run,” he said.
If this wasn’t bad enough, 144 films were censored in 2014, but are yet to release because of lack of enough screens.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the numbers could have been a lot higher, if not for the restraint of a few – apparently 144 films were censored through 2014, but are yet to release because there just aren’t enough screens out there.
“It’s a very unhealthy trend that so many films are releasing for the sake of it. No one can make a profit,” Keyar, one of the erstwhile movers and shakers of TPFC, told Express. Profitability may be the prime goal. But it’s fast becoming a fickle mistress when even mega budget films like Kochadaiiyaan and Kaththi could not enjoy solo releases – like the days of yore. “Big films lose a little money, but small films lose a lot of money. There are two producers who released their films running just the noon show in a theatre in Alandur, just so that they can contest union elections. Who will regulate things like that?” wondered Anandan.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Daniel Thimmayya / December 30th, 2014
Do you want to clear your skin as well as keep it cool? Then this sari made of the lantana camara plant is your best bet.
City-based weaver C Sekar has made a sari out of the fibre taken from the stem of lantana camara, a flowering plant. He specialises in making garments out of natural fibre.
While lantana is an ornamental plant, native to the tropical regions of America, various studies show that it also has medicinal properties. It can provide relief from itchy skin, soothes skin inflammations and has a cooling effect.
The weaver from Anakaputhur, a city suburb, began the process by blending the lantana fibre with that of a cotton yarn.
Before this, the cotton yarn is dunked in hot water mixed with salt and later in cold water to soften the yarn. Then, the yarns of both the fibres are dipped in dye.
Sekar creates the dyes by combining various herbal ingredients. He said he makes yellow dye with a combination of extracts from lantana leaf, tamarind and neem leaf. “I can make about five colours; like purple with jamun fruit and tulsi, and red with hibiscus. A colour fixer is also added to it,” he said.
After dipping it in dye, Sekar dries it and finally weaves it into a sari. “Tamarind, neem leaf and lantana leaf have antibiotic properties,I decided to weave a sari out of lantana fibre only because it has medicinal value,” said Sekar. Priced at 3,500, Sekar says he takes about a week to weave one sari. , adding that he is expecting orders from fashion boutiques in Chennai and Delhi.
He has earlier created clothes out of 25 natural fibres like banana, pineapple, beetroot, aloe vera, jute and bamboo. “Manufacturers in fashion industry should change with the trend. With this sari, I not just want to create a trend but also add more value to the product with the use of natural ingredients,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /Home> City> Chennai / TNN / December 29th, 2014
Mr. Ranganathan’s creativity and sense of aesthetics resulted in sets that matched the breathtaking ones used by well-established theatre groups Photo: Special Arrangment
N.K. Ranganathan, the creator of the single-stage setting, has always shunned the limelight
While Major Chandrakanth, Neerkumizhi and Ethirneechal heralded the arrival of K. Balachander as a trend-setting theatre personality in a big way, the single-stage-setting of these dramas was also novel for those times.
But, N.K. Ranganathan, the creator of these settings, shunned the limelight. He was a typical backroom boy, whose lights and settings provided a peep into his artistic world. He even refused to accept any remuneration for his work from any theatre group.
“I am a professional when it comes to lighting. I created sets out of passion and love for theatre,” says the 85-year-old, even as he enthusiastically recalls how he was mesmerised by the settings of the play Jotham Valley. “The play was one of my inspirations. The moving clouds and the fireplace on the stage captivated the audience. You really felt the cold in a scene of a cold night,” says Mr. Ranganathan, a native of Mylapore and a childhood friend of V.S. Raghavan, actor and theatre personality.
Mr. Ranganathan, a theatre enthusiast who ran his own theatre group, got a break when Mr. Raghavan roped him in for the settings of Sathurangam, a Tamil remake of the English play Someone Watching. Mr. Balachander had adapted the play in Tamil.
“But RR Sabha refused the platform on the grounds that it was too modern and dialogue-oriented a play. But Krishna Gana Sabha came forward to provide the space,” he recollects, adding that the success of the play forced RR Sabha to reconsider its decision.
Talking about the challenge of the single-set stage, he said it was to beat the boredom often faced by the audience, and make them sit in a hall for two-and-a-half hours. Mr. Ranganathan’s creativity and sense of aesthetics resulted in props and sets that matched the breathtaking sets used by well-established theatre groups.
“Normally, the audience gives a standing ovation after the end of a play. But for the staging ofEthirneechal it happened when the screen was lifted. Early morning life in the multi-storyeed apartment, portrayed powerfully through lightings and settings, unfolded like magic,” he proudly says.
Mr. Ranganathan is a theatre enthusiast who ran his own theatre group. File Photo / The Hindu
Mr. Ranganathan also worked for troupes run by actor Jaishankar, Manorama and Mr. Raghavan. While the partnership with Mr. Balachander continued even after he forayed into films and met with success, Mr. Ranganathan’s dark days began when theatre lost its sheen.
“I found it difficult to make both ends meet. It was Balachander who then gave me a second lease of life. He made me the manager of his Minbimbangal Creations. If I am sitting before you and talking, it is because of him,” he acknowledges.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Society / B. Kolappan / Chennai – December 30th, 2014
