TVS Motors group have covered 2,108 villages helping the local body and community to fight COVID19.
TVS Motors have provided PPEs to health workers, police and villagers
Chennai :
TVS Motors group have covered 2,108 villages helping the local body and community to fight COVID19. According to a statement, they have provided disinfectant sprayers, masks, gloves, to health workers, police and community members in the villages. Some of the places covered are Hosur, Thirukkurungudi, Arni, Padaiveedu, Javadhu Hills and Kothagiri among others.
The company also conducted public awareness programs, social distancing awareness programs and have distributed 6.5 lakh face masks.
The company has also been involved in COVID19 relief works in Pune and have helped several migrant families affected.
Currently, TVS is working with the Kancheepuram District Collectorate in providing dry ration kits and further they plan to cover 3500 villages totally.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / April 07th, 2020
Chennai-based CavinKare has come out with sanitiser sachets priced at ₹1 (2 ml).
“It is our responsibility to make the essential product accessible and affordable with utmost quality,” said company CMD C.K. Ranganathan.
He said, “The concept of launching the sanitiser in a sachet as well and making them available in a typical FMCG kirana outlet is an ideal step to ensure safety of the masses at this crucial time.” The company has introduced these sanitisers under its personal care brands.
According to a statement, the company’s decision of providing sanitiser from ₹1 is well within the government’s current stipulated pricing norm which has been duly followed across all other SKUs such as 10 ml, 50 ml, 90 ml, 400 ml, 800 ml and 5l pack . While the 5l pack is already introduced in market nationwide, the other SKUs will be launched soon.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – March 30th, 2020
Other top players who will play these games are India No.2 Vidit S Gujrathi, P Harikrishna and Baskaran Adhiban (all Grandmasters)
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand. DC File photo
Chennai :
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand and five other leading Indian players will compete in an online chess exhibition on April 11 to raise funds for country’s fight against Covid19.
The Indians will take on players from across the world on the portal chess.com.
Apart from Anand, India No.2 Vidit S Gujrathi, P Harikrishna, Baskaran Adhiban (all Grandmasters) and the country’s top two women players — Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika will compete on 20-board event.
The event will be streamed live on chess.com/tv, where all donations made will be sent to the PM’s CARES Fund.
Anand, who is stuck in Germany owing to the travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, tweeted: “Please support the Indian Chess Community’s support towards Covid 19 relief.”
To participate in the event, players must have a Chess.com blitz or FIDE standard rating of under 2000 and will be required to make a donation during the registration process.
A guaranteed game against Anand requires a minimum donation of $150. However, a $25 registration fetches the chance to play any two of the six Indian stars (one of whom may be Anand).
Just five spots are left to play against Anand.
Besides, the three biggest donors will get to play against Anand on additional boards during the live stream on chess.com/tv.
“It is a privilege that we can play our sport from home and collect funds for a good cause,” Harika told PTI.
On his part, the Chennai-based Adhiban said, “I am excited about the event. I am happy to support a good cause.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Sports> In other news / by PTI / April 04th, 2020
Meet good samaritans in Chennai who are working to ensure that people don’t go hungry during the lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus.
Image for representation: PTI
HIGHLIGHTS
Chennai eatery distributes free food packets
NGO volunteers provide dry rations, health kits
‘We have to help each other out’: Eatery owner
It’s tough to find better words than Trilok Babu’s to capture spirit of good samaritans working to ease the pain of life under lockdown: “We have to help each other out.”
This owner of a Chennai eatery, Dosa Corner, is having free packets of food — rice, sambhar, rasam, buttermilk and pickle — made for anyone who needs it.
“No questions asked,” he said.
Trilok Babu underscored the importance of such charity in a situation that he said was unprecedented for him.
“In my 40 years, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
– Trilok Babu to India Today TV
All of India is under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a new kind (Sars-CoV-2) that was first detected in China and causes a potentially fatal respiratory illness, Covid-19.
In Tamil Nadu, over 300 people have, or have had, the virus, according to an India Today tracker . One person has died.
Many of the infections were traced to a religious congregation held at a markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, now linked to a large cluster of coronavirus cases.
DRY RATIONS AND SANITISING KITS
Sneha Mohandoss, the founder of the NGO Food Bank, is also working to make sure people don’t go hungry during the lockdown and has teamed up with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Since the corporation is asking the public to provide dry rations instead of cooked food, the Food Bank, too, is asking its volunteers — a small number, since prohibitory orders are in place — to donate accordingly.
“We are a small group of volunteers working together, as it isn’t advisable for a huge group to be out on the streets,” said Sneha Mohandoss, one of several women who took over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account on Women’s Day this year.
For the poor and destitute, who have been affected more by the lockdown than the rest of us, Amma Unavagams are a godsent gift.
Workers resting between work at an Amma Unavagam in Cuddalore | Express
Cuddalore :
For the poor and destitute, who have been affected more by the lockdown than the rest of us, Amma Unavagams are a godsent gift. With most cheap eateries shut, these government-run canteens ensure people don’t go hungry. And behind this successful enterprise are a bunch of low-paid temp staff, who are as underprivileged as the people they serve.
When the lockdown was announced, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami promised that Amma Unavagams would continue to work through the period, serving three meals a day across the State.
Rajathi (name changed) shows up to work at 4 am, and so do her friends. By 7 am, they get the breakfast ready. By the time dinner is done and they wind up for the day, it’s 9 pm.
Walking into the outlet where Rajathi works, we found that the food prepared for lunch had gotten over. There were still people waiting to eat, and the workers had to cook a fresh batch. “This outlet serves 80 persons on average. Now, we are serving about 130,” says Rajathi.
“Even then we cannot meet the demand.” As per statistics quoted by official sources, on March 31, 377 people ate breakfast, 370 had lunch and 105 had dinner at the outlet inside the Cuddalore GH. On April 1, the numbers steeply increased to 411, 412, and 200 respectively.
The entire operations here are managed by just 7 women. “It is satisfying to serve the poor and government staff in times like these, but the administration should also consider our hardships,” says a staff member. “Since 2014, our contract payment has been standard – a paltry Rs 7,500.”
The workers are seeking extra payment for the lockdown period.
Commenting on this, Cuddalore Municipality Commissioner Ramamurthy said, “I suggested them to bring in more workers so that they can share their work load or work in shifts. But, they seem unwilling to do that. They instead sought salary revision. Since this is a State government scheme, we are only following the guidelines.”
Meanwhile, Cuddalore Collector V Anbuselvan told The New Indian Express that he would take up the concerns of workers for salary revision and regularisation of jobs with the government.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Nirupama Sampath / Express News Service / April 03rd, 2020
Dr. Panchanathan, who completed his bachelors degree in University of Madras, is currently the Chief Research and Innovation Officer at the Arizona State University
U.S. President Donald Trump has picked Indian-American computer scientist Sethuraman Panchanathan to lead the prestigious National Science Foundation.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a U.S. government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan brings to this position a wealth of experience in research, innovation, academic administration, and policy as exemplified by his long and distinguished career,” Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said on Thursday.
Dr. Panchanathan, 58, would succeed France Cordova when her six-year term as the NSF Director ends in 2020. NSF Director is a Senate-confirmed position.
Dr. Panchanathan is currently the Executive Vice President and the Chief Research and Innovation Officer at the Arizona State University (ASU). He is also the Founding Director of the Centre for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing at the ASU.
Appointed to the National Science Board (NSB) in 2014, Dr. Panchanathan served as the Chair of the Committee on Strategy for the NSB. He also served as a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“Dr. Panchanathan brings numerous achievements and well-earned recognition including from his role as a member of the National Science Board,” Mr. Droegemeier said. “As the Trump administration continues its undeterred focus on ensuring American global leadership in science and technology, Dr. Panchanathan’s commitment, creativity and deep insights will be instrumental in leading the National Science Foundation on its continued path of exploration and discovery,” he said.
Dr. Panchanathan is also the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He was the Chair of the Council on Research of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and Co-Chair of the Extreme Innovation Taskforce of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils.
He was appointed as Senior Advisor for Science and Technology by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey in 2018.
In a statement, Dr. Panchanathan said he was “humbled and honoured” to be chosen as the NSF Director.
Dr. Panchanathan earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Madras in 1981 and in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 1984.
He then earned his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in 1986 and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Canada-based University of Ottawa in 1989.
“Dr. Panchanathan’s expertise and dedication will ensure that the NSF continues to be a driving force for US discovery, innovation, and technological growth. He will be a key partner in advancing research and development in the technologies that will benefit all Americans, from artificial intelligence to quantum information science and high performance computing,” said Michael Kratsios, Chief Technology Officer of the United States.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> International / by PTI / Washington , December 20th, 2019
Padman may have become a household name owing to his single-minded crusade to make sanitary napkins accessible to women across all range of the socio-economic spectrum.
READ NGO and women self-help group members at the pad-making unit in Erode | special arrangement
Erode :
Padman may have become a household name owing to his single-minded crusade to make sanitary napkins accessible to women across all range of the socio-economic spectrum. However, in his own state are many villages, where neither padman nor a sanitary napkin is known. This is an anomaly Rights Education and Development Center (READ) NGO has undertaken to set right.
In collaboration with women self-help groups (SHGs), READ set up 10 pad-making units at 10 villages at Sathyamangalam and Gobichettipalayam, TN Palayam blocks of Erode. Now, these women have access to pads at Rs 3 per piece and Rs 30 per packet of 10 pads. The added benefit is jobs for 100 women.
READ NGO Director Karuppusamy told Express, “Even today many women use cloths in tribal hamlets and villages in Erode. When we enquired about the reason, they pointed out two factors — affordability and lack of awareness on the importance of using sanitary pads. So we decided to pool funds and develop a social enterprise model to manufacture sanitary napkins at a subsidised cost.” A few of them were inaugurated earlier this week, he added.
The NGO identified major places that require immediate intervention and did a pilot study to set up a pad manufacturing unit. To make it more effective, the NGO collaborated with the local women self-help groups (SHGs) and directed them to take over the social enterprise. There are ten members in each SHGs and the work is equally divided among them — one group takes care of production and another does marketing. The units are registered under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises under the brand name ‘Feel Free’.
One member of an SHG at Polavakaliyampalam in Gobichettipayalam, Nirmala, said, “Our motive is to make women in our region aware of sanitary pads. We go to every house, schools and colleges and talk about its significance. We do not just sell the pads but also teach them everything from using them, the time period for which one pad can be used to the disposing methods.”
On an average one unit produces up to 200 pads a day. The units are set up on a 10*12 sq ft area and it cost Rs 4,20,000 to set up one unit. The machines were sourced from Uttarkhand.
“Since it is an automatic machine, work is easy and quick. We need to place the cotton tissue sheets in the machine, which converts them into a series of pads. The organic winged napkins are made of cloth, wood-pulp cotton. All the pads are sterilized using ultraviolet radiation before packaging,” she added.
True to the idea The house is both sustainable and local
Madurai architects Vignesh Sekar and Shamini Lakshmanan are winning global attention for a climate responsive Chettiar House they built in Thiruppathur near Madurai
One national award, five nominations (including four international) and nine articles in appreciation in journals of repute over the last 10 months have put architects Vignesh Sekar and Shamini Lakshmanan in the spotlight; a feat they never imagined to win at 25.
In fact, both were set to go overseas for higher studies after completing a challenging project in Thiruppathur, 64 kilometres East of Madurai, last November. “The client wanted a house with contemporary aesthetics while combining the cultural essence, traditional architecture and context of his native Chettinad region,” says Vignesh. “We debated and researched a lot, developed a timeline and came up with several innovative low cost ideas. It turned out to be much above everybody’s expectations,” says Shamini.
Until then, they mostly worked on public spaces in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. However, their first major project was in Madurai in 2016 when immediately after graduating from Thiagarajar College of Arts, they were commissioned by the Madurai Corporation Commissioner to transform the abandoned Bharathiyar Park.
___________________________
Project highlights
The house was built in the middle of a grove of 200 plus coconut trees. Only three were felled as they were damaged but were used for concrete shuttering.
A lotus pond at the entrance has a crocodile sculpture made with stones collected from the site. Big boulders from the surroundings have been used as steps to climb on to the front verandah. Stones of different shapes and sizes have been moulded into a statue that works as a railing to the steps.
The main door to the house is seamless matching the facade of the wall. It is made with finest form of marble, egg whites and white cement. The interior walls have leaf imprints of the trees in the vicinity
Instead of a big puja room, a smaller one has been built with a big lounge that can accommodate more peopleand one side wall has a vertical garden to purify the air
The terracotta jaalis that dapple the light and thermally insulate have been fool proofed for security. Iron rods have been inserted in each brick and the bricks have been further twisted and shaped for aesthetics
The design of the house is complemented by rustic finishes like the exposed concrete on the ceilings, a combination of wood and Athangudi tiles on the floors
__________________________
“Encouraged by the positive feedback we received, we submitted it to the Arch Daily, a social forum and an online magazine from New York,” says Vignesh, “but it was rejected.” But there was an upside to it. Impressed by their design , the owner of a hotel in Thiruppathur approached them to design his dream house over 5,000 sq.ft. inside a coconut grove. “He told us not to mimic the Chettinad architecture but retain the spirit of a Chettiar house, in terms of lay-out and play of natural light and air,” says Shamini
Combining aesthetics with contemporaneity, the architects consciously chose to be sustainable and vernacular. “We started from the scratch in July 2017 and handed over the project in November 2018. After Arch Daily wrote about the house in January this year, the recognition from various associations, platforms.i
Combining aesthetics with contemporaneity, the architects consciously chose to be sustainable and vernacular. “We started from the scratch in July 2017 and handed over the project in November 2018. After Arch Daily wrote about the house in January this year, the recognition from various associations, platforms and publications has been overwhelming,” says Vignesh.
So much so that the duo have not only postponed their idea of studying overseas but also opened an office in Madurai two months ago for their company STOMP (Studio for Modernism & Practical Aesthetics).
“Till now, we were mostly travelling and working from home but now international agencies ask for our official address while approaching us for articles and awards,” notes Shamini.The duo has won the Young Designers Award 2019 given by India Architects & Builders (IAB).
So what is special about the building they created? “We incorporated an earthy palette of native materials either sourced from the site or from within 50 kilometres and juxtaposed them with traditional aspects of Chettinad region like its colours, fabric and (Athangudi)tiles. We employed local labour and artisans for every aspect of the work,” notes Vignesh. “We stuck to the client’s brief howsoever difficult it appeared,” adds Shamini.
For instance, the owner chose a large front yard to the typical open courtyard and wanted the three layers of a typical Chettinad house to remain — the public frontage in the front called the thinnai; the semi public area in the centre (like the puja and living room and the dining area) and the private bedrooms at the farthest end. The terracotta facade of the building and the skylights on the first floor ceiling allow natural play of light and ventilation and minimise use of electricity. The house runs on solar power and there are only four fans installed. Customised clay pots in the skylight made from the soil at the site reduce the temperature by five degrees.
“There was a purpose in the enhanced spatial, functional and permeable structure we planned and executed for a lifetime living experience”, says Vignesh, “and we are glad that it is garnering attention,” says Vignesh. “We faced our challenges gracefully and the awards are fuelling our passion now,” adds Shamini.
A WINNING DUO
They are among the top three contenders and the only ones from South India for the FOAID (Festival of Architecture & Interior Designing) -2019, a genex competition for young designers. From 250 submissions, they were among the six shortlisted in the first round. The finalist will be announced on November 29.
Their design was among the 20 selected projects from around the world and only one from India featured in the 45th issue of Australian publication, Habitus Living in September-November 2019. They also made it to the top five in one of the categories that describes the designers as champion paying attention to materiality.
It has been shortlisted for the prestigious Women In Architecture Awards – the only Indian project on the list that includes some of the world’s most important practitioners.
From 500 entries it was one among four Indian teams to have been shortlisted among top 100 for the Merit List 2019 announced by Cycle by Matter.
Out of 550 projects from 54 countries, it has been shortlisted for Continental Architectural Awards 2019 in Spain
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style / by Soma Basu / November 01st, 2019
Every morning D Arul Raj wakes up with one goal — to rescue at least one homeless person and put a roof over his/her head.
D Arul Raj founded the trust in 2017 and has rescued more than 320 homeless people till date Debadatta Mallick
Chennai :
Every morning D Arul Raj wakes up with one goal — to rescue at least one homeless person and put a roof over his/her head. He drives his autorickshaw, picking up savaaris for four hours each in the morning and evening, and the rest of the day he goes around the city to look out for homeless people who need help. Arul founded the Karunai Ullangal Trust two years ago to help abandoned people. So far, he has rescued more than 320 people.
On Tuesday, when we were waiting to talk to Arul, he gets a call telling there is someone in Perambur who needs his help. The 34-year-old autorickshaw driver doesn’t think twice before getting into his vehicle, asking us to hop on and zooming past the city.
How it all began
“I have a wife and two children. Till 2015, I had no intentions of doing social service. During the floods that year, my wife received an emergency call from one of her friends at Saidapet. He told her that they were starving and were unable to get out of the locality due to stagnation. I brought food to their place only to realise there were hundreds who needed help,” he says.
Using a push cart, Arul ferried people out of the area. That’s when he first felt the need to help a fellow human being. “It was the amount of trust they had on me that shook me. I then joined a Facebook page and a WhatsApp group called Makkal Ku Udhavalam, created especially to help people during floods. Requests for help kept pouring in and I did what I could,” he says.
Arul was then working in the collection department of a private bank. He would go from house to house to collect bank dues. However, when the office management realised he was busy with social service for most part of the day, they fired him in 2016. Arul was jobless for six months. “We worked for six months after the floods on cleaning and providing relief materials. After six months, when the admin of Makkal Ku Udhavalam decided to delete the page, I decided to manage it and changed the name to Karunai Ullangal. Simultaneously, that was when I lost my job,” he says.
Goal oriented
From helping cancer patients to poor children getting scholarships, Arul did everything he could. One day, towards the end of 2016, a woman on the roadside in Saidapet asked him if he could help her join a shelter home.
“I did not even know what a shelter home was until then. Earlier too, during floods, a woman had asked me the same, but I could not help her. But this request made me take the step to rescue the homeless and this changed my life forever,” says Arul. In January 2017, he received a call saying an injured homeless man was lying by the roadside and that he might die if they don’t help him soon. “This time, I took help from different NGOs and enrolled him in a private shelter home at Porur at 1.30 am. When that sense of satisfaction kicked in, I decided this is what Karunai Ullangal Trust will do from then on — rescue homeless and enrol them in a home.”
Daily routine
For each rescue, the fuel costs alone comes up to Rs 500. When Arul did not have a job, his friends and volunteers stepped up. “Each month, we were doing about ten rescues and I did not want to depend on them forever. So, I bought an autorickshaw in 2017. A dear friend of mine gave me `90,000 and the rest of the amount, I am paying through installments every month,” says Arul.
From then till now, Arul’s daily schedule has been the same. Ride the autorickshaw from 6 am to 10 am, carry out rescues from 10 am to 6 pm and again ride the autorickshaw from 6 pm to 10 pm before he heads home to spend time with his family. Of the people they have rescued, 120 have been reunited with their family, while others are in different shelter homes across the city. Now, Arul funds most of the rescues himself.
Alarming stories
While carrying out the rescues, Arul says he found some incidents alarming. “One day in 2018, I saw a distressed man on the roadside in Tambaram with a shabby long beard, torn clothes and his face covered in a thick layer of dirt. Talking to him, I found out that he was a film director who took to the roads after his wife divorced him and kids did not support him,” says Arul.
It is often common issues that lead to situations like this, he says. “Next time you find a distressed person, talk to them. Most of them have homes, but they don’t go because there are no loving people inside that house,” says Arul, as he swipes through the pictures of rescued people on his phone.Learning first-aid Pointing to a huge first aid box attached to his seat, Arul says that he is also trained in first-aid. Often, when they head out for a rescue, the notice that the victim’s legs and hands are infested by maggots due to living in unhygienic conditions and with diabetes. The 34-year-old learned first-aid, so he could clean their wounds before taking them to shelter homes.
As he shares his story, we reach the place of rescue. Outside Perambur loco station, we see an old man lying in his own feces, and his feet were half eaten by worms and maggots. Arul gets down and quickly takes the mask, gloves and other necessary equipment out of the first-aid box and runs to the man. He talks softly to him, consoles him as he cleans the wounds. Within an hour, he convinces him to go to a home, and four hours later, he was admitted. Arul looks at us and says, “This is the best part of my day.”
‘App’solutely helpful
Arul also introduced the Karunai Ullangal Trust mobile application on Google PlayStore in September. The app lets public upload pictures of the abandoned people and assigns volunteers for the rescue.
It also has a database of all the rescued people so that you can help them find their family if you know someone. If you want to report/help a homeless person on the roadside, contact 9841776685
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by K.V. Navya / Express News Service / October 31st, 2019
An endless list of artistes — music, stage and cinema — adored him
It was January 31, 1948. “Mahatma Gandhi Amar Rahe” — the chorus of multitudes was heard all over India. Suddenly there was stillness in the air and pin drop silence. “Hari tum haro jan ki peer…” wafted in the melodious voice of M.S. Subbulakshmi. Millions heard the song with tears in their eyes. Gandhiji wanted this song to be sung by MS for his birthday in 1947 at his prayer meeting. MS was indisposed. Rajaji arranged for a recording and sent it to the Mahatma.
Mahatma Gandhi’s Tamil Nadu connection is well known. The young lady from South Africa, Valliammal, had joined his satyagraha movement and continued to follow him for decades. Gandhiji had leant Tamil and signed in Tamil. It was his visit to Madurai that led to a transformation of his dress code and it was Rajaji, who was the conscience-keeper of Mahatma Gandhi.
The freedom movement caught the attention of the Tamil theatre and music world. One of the early pioneers of the Tamil stage, Viswanatha Dass, had met Mahatma Gandhi in 1911 and got converted to Gandhian values, which he wove into his stage plays. The famous song, ‘Khadhar kodi kappal thondruthe…’ reverberated all over Tamil Nadu. He took to khadi and Lord Muruga was dressed in khadi on the stage. Police were ready to arrest him. He was arrested 29 times and bailed out by VOC and Muthuramalinga Thevar.
Gandhiji was in Coimbatore. The Madurai Devi Bala Vinoda Sangeetha Sabha of Nawab Rajamanickam was staging ‘Nandanar’. Gandhiji was invited for the show. He watched the entire show and complimented the Nawab for the bold social theme. He lauded the role of each member of the troupe. A charkha was presented to them. The Nawab considered it a blessing.
S.G. Kittappa and K.B. Sundarambal were big crowd pullers. S.Satyamurthy was instrumental in introducing the couple to the freedom movement. It was at Gandhiji’s persuasion that KBS chose to come back to the stage after the demise of Kittappa. She was always dressed in white khadi. She had recorded songs on Motilal Nehru, Kasturba, Bhagat Singh and Gandhi’s visit to the Round Table Conference. ‘Engal Gandhi London sendrar, aazhntha yochanaigal seithaar’ was a famous song.
When Gandhi was travelling from Karur to Erode, the car broke down at Kodumudi. Sathyamurthy took the Mahatma to Sundarambal’s house. Her joy knew no bounds. She arranged a feast and served the Mahatma on a golden plate. Gandhiji took the plate as a donation to the freedom movement and auctioned the same.
Semmangudi joined the freedom fighters in the salt march to Vedaranyam singing Bharati’s fiery poem, ‘Endru thaniyum intha sudhanthira dhaagam…’ Ariyakudi rendered ‘Raattiname Gandhi kai banam…’ embellishing each phrase with swara swirls in hurricane speed.
D.K.Pattammal was an ardent Gandhian. Her ‘Shanthi nilava vendum…’ carried the message of peace and brotherhood.
An Avatar
Gandhiji’s assassination shook the Tamil art and music world. Madurai Mani Iyer, the khadi-clad super star, took the help of Chitti Sundar Rajan to sing an elegy depicting Gandhiji as an avatar of Krishna, who had come down to destroy evil and resurrect dharma. The Pallavi with elaborate swara prasthara was set to Shanmukhapriya ragam and the various ideals were integrated in the charanam. M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar sang ‘Gandhiyai pol oru santha swaroopanai kanbadhum elidhama…’ in his golden voice. MKT compared Gandhiji to the Buddha and Jesus.
The most soulful music of the era came from Kalki and M.S.Subbulakshmi. ‘Maanilathai vaazhavaikka vantha Mahatma’ was movingly rendered by M.S.
‘Manithar kulam uyindhidavae vantha Mahatma,
Deenargalin thanthaiyana Gandhi Mahatma,
Theeyavarkkum nanmai ennum deiva Mahatma…’
The song goes on to question whether the Devas and the Devis received the Mahatma with flowers as he ascended Heaven. Was he welcomed by Prahlada with tears shed on the Mahatma’s feet?
Did Gnanamuni Dadhichi bless the Mahatma? Was there a smile on the face of the Buddha as Gandhiji entered Heaven? Did Kasturba receive him with folded hands?
The next song of Kalki was even more poignant:
‘Ithanai naal aana pinnum ezhai nenjae yen thuyaram? Ethanai naal azhuthalum, Uthamar than varuvaaro?’ Will all your grieving bring back the Mahatma? You can find him in true love and grace, in the sorrows of the afflicted, in the innocent smiles of the children, in the chantings of the pious, in the bunch of flowers, in the hearts of those who give comfort to the down trodden and the slogging of the workers and peasants.
Kavimani Desika Vinayakam Pillai, Namakkal Kavignar and Suddhananda Bharathi added spark to the freedom movement with their electrifying poems — ‘Kathi indri, Ratham indri varugudhu por.’
The Tamil film world took to Gandhi with gay abandon. Nam Iruvar showed Kamala dancing to the tune
Mahaan… Gandhi Mahaan…
kai rattaiyae aayutham,
khadar adaiyae sobitham…
Gandhi Mangalam
Subramanya Bharati wrote that visionary stanza in 1920 — ‘Vazhga Nee Emman…’ — rendered with feeling by Madurai Mani Iyer. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar concluded his concerts with a Mangalam saluting the Father of the Nation:
‘Mohandasanukku Jaya Mangalam
Mahatma Gandhikku Subha Mangalam’
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture> Gandhi Jayanti / by T.C. A. Ramanujam / September 26th, 2019
Received a Bright Smile as soon as I gave her the meal box 
