Category Archives: Records, All

Look who drives the stars!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Auto attraction:  Stand for Vikram

Chennai’s star auto stands — where hero worship meets social service, writes Aparna Karthikeyan

“This is Chennai’s first auto stand dedicated to actor Suriya,” Murthy tells me enthusiastically. “Annan (as they endearingly refer to him) lives nearby. When he goes past, he can see the cut-out we’ve kept for him.” I’m standing across Arcot Street, in T. Nagar, next to Ettam Vallal Suriya Auto Nirutham. The afternoon sun is fierce, but it hardly dampens spirits at the city’s only Suriya auto stand. “We opened the stand just six months ago. On his birthday — July 23 — we put up a big banner here,” Murthy points over my head, “and we distributed food to 150 people, as well as notebooks and geometry boxes to 50 school children.”

“Sixteen of us went to the General Hospital on July 23,” continues P. Thangaraj. “We’re 11 members in this stand. Along with our friends, we donated blood. That pot over there,” he shows me a mud pot with a glass on top of it. “We drink water from it daily, by the roadside. It’s mineral water, madam; we all take turns to fill the pot. But someone stole our stainless steel tumbler,” he laughs. I ask if their families too are Suriya fans. Murthy looks shocked that I could imagine otherwise. “Of course, they’re Annan’s fans,” he says. “We all have photographs taken with him; we met him on his birthday. The photo is at home; you came here suddenly, otherwise, we would’ve shown it to you,” Thangaraj tells me.

Celebration through service

I go with an appointment to Ilayathalapathi Vijay Auto Stand in Kasturba Nagar, Adyar. Sitting in Kesavan’s auto, I listen to him and Thiruvanmiyur K.V. Dhamu tell me about being Vijay fans. “Vijay used to live nearby, now he’s moved to Neelangarai, but this stand has been around for 15 years,” Dhamu tells me. As ardent Vijay fans, they celebrate his birthday with fanfare. “This year, we distributed gold finger rings to 22 children in the Government Hospital, Adyar. See for yourself,” he says, showing me an album full of pictures. “This one is when we conducted a blood donation camp,” he points out a picture. “Around 107 people gave blood. The camp was organised by the Rasigar Mandrams of Velachery and the surrounding areas. Look at this picture — we cut a cake in a school, distributed notebooks and gave biriyani to the children. We’re very fond of Vijay sir, and pray for him on June 22, his birthday.” A Vijay movie release is also a big occasion, marked by cut-outs and banners, and the members also go to the cinema together for the first day, first show.

When I ask what motivates them to take up social service, they say they draw inspiration from the star himself. “He does a lot of service, but he advises us to look after ourselves and our families first. We do this in our spare time only,” Dhamu explains.

First day, first show

At the Chiyaan Vikram Auto Stand in 17th Cross Street, Besant Nagar, I find three autos, but no drivers. I wait by the beautifully painted stand — there’s Vikram on a bike, Vikram looking cool, Vikram looking smart, and Vikram looking innocent (Deiva Thirumagal). I spot D. Sathyanathan walking towards an auto, and ask if he’s from the stand. “Yes, for the last ten years, this has been ‘Vikram sir’ stand,” he says. “We’re ten members, all his ardent fans. Actor Vikram used to live nearby; he’s even driven my auto back then,” he says with a shy smile. On the star’s birthday, they meet him with shawls and garlands; there’s usually a big event at a kalyanamandapam when tailoring machines, iron-boxes and tricycles (for people with disabilities) are distributed. “We all participate and help in the function. When a new movie is released, we pool our finances to meet the cost of banners and cut-outs, and, of course, catch the first day, first show.” Sathyanathan tells me that his daughter is also very fond of Vikram. “You know, he attended my wedding,” he adds with quiet pride. Among Vikram’s movies, Sathyanathan loves Sethu and Pithamagan, besides Anniyanand Saami. “We’ve already watched Thaandavam, and plan to take our families later.” At the Suriya stand, expectations run similarly high for the release ofMaattran. “Nobody has done that kind of double role; the movie is going to do very well,” Murthy assures me. The entire team don’t just watch the first day, first show; they go back to the cinemas several times (“only Sathyam/ Sangam theatres, madam”) to watch their idol on screen. “We want him to visit our stand during Ayudha Pooja; we’re going to invite him,” Murthy and Thangaraj tell me. After all, it’s thanks to Suriya that the stand is so popular, and many auto drivers now want to join them. “We have a policy of never demanding unfair rates from our customers. We work well as a team and split the cost of putting up banners. We do it because we like it; and because we’re huge fans of Suriya,” says Thangaraj. Dhamu echoes his sentiments.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Society / by Aparna Karthikeyan / Chennai, October 03rd, 2012

AR Rahman: Two decades and counting

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

ARR was felicitated for completing 20 years in the industry.

The Mumbai rains refused to dampen the spirits of spirited attendees at the 6th Annual Global Indian Music Awards (GiMA) held at Yash Raj Studios on Monday night.

The ceremony, hosted by Saif Ali Khan and Parineeti Chopra, featured stellar performances by celebrated musicians and Bollywood stars.

There was a special act dedicated to the musical maestro A.R. Rahman for completing 20 years in the industry.

The Mozart of Madras was was felicitated by none other than veteran Yash Chopra. Renowned singers like Alka Yagnik, Hariharan, Udit Narayan, Naresh Iyer, Mohit Chauhan, Chitra, Sonu Niigaam came together to honour the music legend with a heartwarming performance to some of his popular chartbuster hits like Dil Hai Chota Sa, Tu Hi Re, Chanda Re Chande Re, Mitwa, Mehndi Hai Rachne Wali, Ru Ba Ru, Saathiya, Sadda Haq and Jai Ho.

On the special tribute given to him, A.R. Rahman says, “I had a hint about the tribute but I did not realize that it will create such huge nostalgia. I have learnt a lot from all these singers who have touched my heart today. I still remember the day of my first concert in 1996 when most of the singers who sang today came to watch me. I really thank GiMA for this. I am truly touched.”

The fragrance of success

Music maestro A.R. Rahman’s other half loves perfumes, we hear. And sources close to her reveal that her collection can rival some of the most ardent perfume collectors in the world.

It seems she’s so well acquainted with scents and fragrances that she can easily tell a person what he or she is wearing.

But the lady who is spiritual and has a strict no-alcohol policy, shops only for oil based perfumes which contain no alcohol.

The friend who was fortunate enough to receive the fragrances revealed that Saira is generous and loves having people experience the power of perfumes.

“She believes in the healing qualities of a good perfumed oil. The ones she buys are very soothing and long lasting too.”

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Showbiz> Others / by Nandita Ravi, DC, Chennai / October 02nd, 2012

Axe falls on Tamil Thaatha’s house

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

ERASING HISTORY: Demolition work in progress at U.V. Swaminatha Iyer’s house at Triplicane in Chennai on Saturday. / Photo R. Ravindran / The Hindu

It was here that Rabindranath Tagore called on Swaminatha Iyer in 1926

Thyagaraja Vilas, the house of the grand old man of Tamil literature (Tamil Thaatha), U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, and one of the city’s landmarks, will soon disappear.

The descendants of Iyer have reportedly sold the property at Thiruvatteeswaranpet and the buyer is demolishing the house. The inner walls have been brought down. Nameboards bearing the titles ‘Thyagaraja Vilas’ and ‘U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer Illam’ have been removed.

The man overseeing the demolition said that he worked for the buyer.

“It is really sad because it is from this house he edited and published many ancient literary works such as Silapathikaram, Patthupaatu and Ettuthogai after collecting palmleaf manuscripts from every nook and corner of the country. Even a university cannot match his efforts,” says writer Indira Parthasarathy.

When Rabindranath Tagore visited Chennai in 1926, he called on Iyer at this house and even penned a poem in praise of Iyer’s contribution.

Iyer came to this house as a tenant in 1904 following his appointment as a Tamil teacher of the Presidency College in 1903. The monthly rent was Rs. 20. Subsequently, he bought the house and named it after Thyagaraja Chettiayar, who was instrumental in getting him the post of Tamil teacher of the Kumbakonam Arts College in the wake of his retirement in 1880.

Parthasarathy, an alumnus of the Kumbakonam College, says the demolition will not only remove the memories of Iyer but also those of Thyagaraja Chettiyar, an eminent scholar, after whom the house was named.

“Chettiyar’s contribution to Tamil is explained by the fact that the principal of the Kumbakonam College, an English man, had his image engraved on one of the pillars of the college,” says Prof. Parthasarathy.

Iyer had explained why he named the house after Chettiyar. “It is a gesture to express my gratitude; even atonement, as I had failed to acknowledge Chettiyar’s name in my edition of the ‘Seevaka Chinthamani,’ one of the five great epics in Tamil,” he stated in his biography of Thyagaraja Chettiyar.

Ki. Va. Jagannathan, one of the students of Iyer, had recalled in his book ‘Yenathu Aasiriyarpiran’ that the owner of the house happily sold the house to Iyer though he had taken advance from another person.

Swaminatha Iyer worked in Presidency College till 1919. Later, he was the principal of the Meenakshi Tamil College from 1924 to 1927. He left the house only in 1942 along with many Chennai residents, fearing aerial bombardment during the Second World War.

As the former ‘asthana vidwan’ of the Thiruvavaduthurai Mutt, he was allowed to stay in a house of the Mutt at Thirukazhukundram. He died there on April 28, 1942 following a brief illness.

“The government should intervene and secure the house of Swaminatha Iyer as it did in the case of the house where Subramania Bharati resided. Iyer, Bharathi and Pudumaipithan form the Trinity of the Tamil language and cultural awakening. We cannot afford to ignore the fact,” says Prof. Parthasarathy.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> States> TamilNadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai, September 16th, 2012

Board queen keen to conquer the world

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports

M. Mahalakshmi.

It is an unlikely setting in which to find a chess champion. An asbestos-sheeted single-room house in a slum at Erukkancheri with the family struggling to make ends meet.

However, the tough conditions have made M. Mahalakshmi, who is the world under-12 girls’ chess bronze medallist, more determined to win the forthcoming world under-14 girls’ chess championship.

“I want to become the world champion. It is my goal in life. My immediate goal is to win gold at the world youth championship that begins in Solvenia on November 7,” the teenage girl from Chennai told Deccan Chronicle.

The Class 9 student of Velammal Matriculation School has so far won two bronze medals (under-8 and under-12) at world level tournaments.

At the Asian level, she has bagged gold in the under-10 category in 2008, silver in the under-14 meet in 2010 and a bronze in the same under-14 event in 2011.

The fourth daughter of an electrician, Mahalakshmi picked up chess from her third sister M. Jagadambal.

Put under the tutelage of prominent coach M.J. Ismail, she quickly rose to prominence at the national level when she bagged the under-7 title in 2005.

However, her family troubles have ensured that she has to fight greater odds to keep ruling the chess board. Mahalakshmi now trains under R.B. Ramesh and misses out on the individual attention.

“Earlier we used to arrange for individual training for her. At that time, I was running a PVC pipe company and was living in a decent flat.

Now we are struggling to make ends meet and so have stopped professional coaching for her,” said her dejected father P. Mukunthakumar, adding that she missed participating in a open tournament at Orissa recently because of lack of funds.

The little champ is, however, not worried about coaching or losing valuable tournament practice. “I train for at least eight hours a day at home.

My school is very considerate and sponsors me when I travel abroad,” said Mahalakshmi. To motivate this young chess champion call 98400-33294.

source:  http:/www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Chennai / by S. Sujatha / DC, Chennai / September 17th, 2012

Grand celebration planned for A.R.Rahman

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Isai Puyal A.R.Rahman recently completed 20 years in his film music career and to commemorate this occasion, a grand celebration has been planned in Kamarajar Memorial Hall, Chennai on the 21st of October.

Leading music composers, directors, actors, playback singers and lyricists will be participating in this event which has been titled “ISAI PUYAL – The Man – The Music – The Magic”. RAINDROPSS a youth based team from Chennai is organizing for the grand celebration and Rahman’s sister A.R.Raihanah (Brand Ambassador of Raindropss) will be leading these celebrations held in appreciation of the Oscar winner.

Udhaya Raagam UK.Murali will be supporting the grand celebrations with his orchestra and the part of the proceeds from this celebrations will be donated for a noble cause. For more details about the celebrations, call 9841020120 or mail at project.raindropss@gmail.com

source: http://www.behindwoods.com / Home> More News / September 07th, 2012

From IIT-M, nano-scale device to detect big explosives

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, (IIT-M) have developed a novel device that can visually detect even a single molecule of TNT used in the making of powerful explosives. Apart from national security, this ultra-sensitive and highly selective detection method will have applications in early identification of diseases and in radiation prevention, the IIT researchers claim.

IIT-M creates nano-scale device to detect explosions

Chemistry professor Thalappil Pradeep and his students Ammu Mathew and P.R. Sajanlal reporated the principle behind this device in the online issue of the leading chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie on Aug 22.

They are now building the device that may be put to practical use soon. The science behind this explosive detector is rather involved and difficult to explain. In simple terms, the detector works somewhat like an alert traffic cop who spots a violator by simply looking at the traffic signal. In other words, if the suspected sample being tested is clean, the detector gives off a red glow on being irradiated with light of a particular wavelength. But if the sample contains the explosive TNT (trinitrotoluene), the signal changes to with a fluorescence microscope has been demonstrated by the IIT team to take place in the presence of even just one molecule of TNT — a lower limit that has not been achieved by any detector so far.

Pradeep heads IIT’s nanoscience centre and naturally the TNT sensor that his team has developed uses a combination of gold and silver nano-particles, which are particles of extremely small dimensions.

The entire detector system is just four millionths of a metre in size and its distinct star shape is of particular advantage because it is easy to unmistakably identify the colour change under the microscope, says Pradeep. According to the scientists, their novel approach “can be considered a single-particle, single-molecule detection technique which is probably the ultimate in ultra-trace sensitivity“.

The researchers have demonstrated that they can also detect extremely low levels of mercury – an environmental contaminant — using the same sensor strategy. They say the concept could also be used for the detection of very low concentration of other substances by incorporating appropriate molecules called “ligands’ on their sensor thereby opening up applications in catalysis, bio-imaging and other areas.

IANS

source: http://www.tech2.in.com / Home> News> Science & Technology / August 28th, 2012

Perambalur school sets record for largest salt flag

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Students of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan matriculation higher secondary school create the largest Tricolour made of salt in Perambalur as part of Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday. — DC

What better way to usher in Independence Day as we, the Indians, take a step into the 66th year of freedom by entering record books.

The 19-year-old Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Perambalur on Tuesday set a record of sorts by creating the largest national flag.

The national flag measuring 45X30 metres was made using 20,500 kilograms of salt. Around 2,000 kg saffron colour powder, 2,000 kg green colour powder was also used to decorate the flag. About 500 kg of navy blue colour powder was used for the Ashoka Chakra.

The feat was accomplished in a matter of four-and-a-half hours. The event started by 7 am at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan engineering college.

“The event happened in a magnificent way and exemplified that we Indians have yet not forgotten the salt march undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi and all the pains endured during the freedom struggle,” A Srinivasan, founder and correspondent, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Educational Institutions, said.

The record was adjudicated by Ms Catherine Boussard from London, UK and ambassador of Elite World Records, and Mr Simon Gerard, adjudicator of Asian Records Academy, Singapore. We have also applied to the Indian Records Academy, Mr Srinivasan said. Collector Dr Darez Ahamed of Perambalur district was the chief guest

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Others / DC, Perambalur, August 15th, 2012

Tuticorin engineer weaves silk from banana plants

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Madurai:

Soon, one may be able to wear their favourite silk saris, dhoties and shirts that are spun not of a silkworm thread, but from the banana plant, which can be easily separated using the banana yarn separator.

Invented by a Tuticorin-based mechanical engineer, K Murugan, the banana yarn separator machine was granted the patent in July 2012 after a six-year long wait. According to him, the large quantity of banana fibres that went waste in his hometown of Tuticorin prompted him to try to find a solution to use this product. The machine took shape after failing 40 times and in 2006, it bagged the LRamp award of excellence given by the IIT-Madras.

“The banana plant is one where almost every part has a use. The fibres from the plant are used to tie garlands and string flowers, the leaves are used for eating, the fruits and flowers are consumed and even the inner most part of the stem is edible and has rich medicinal properties. But, I have seen the plants being cut after the fruit is harvested and allowed to rot. This disturbed me, because it was not the best way to dispose it,” he said.

He said the stem of the banana plant has 15 layers, with the outermost used for tying garlands. According to him, the other 14 layers can be used for silk production. The fibre equals the silkworm silk, in lustre and tension strength.

Dr Dev Pura, head, department of textile technology, IIT-Delhi and others who inspected his product certified it as an excellent invention and commended him for his efforts during their recent visit to Tuticorin. Once he gets the go ahead from the department of biotechnology, New Delhi, Murugan says he can start his production.

His machine can process 60 lakh banana plants per year and he says that two saris can be spun using the banana silk fibres from a single tree. It would be very eco-friendly and is adaptable to natural dyes.

The Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology has certified his silk as one of good quality with a tenacity of 37 gm/text.

The new technology is one way of making good use of the banana plants grown in over 12,000 hectares in Tuticorin district, which is the largest banana cultivating district in India. It would also bring good returns to farmers. Murugan has made shawls, including one that was presented to former chief minister M Karunanidhi, a few years ago and a shirt.

This would be a material that would even get the nod of animal activists like PETA, because unlike the other silk, this does not involve the killing of a life for the silk extraction, he adds.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / July 28th, 2012

The life of Pi

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies

It’s one of the most mysterious numbers in mathematics, and clearly one of the most loved. Well, how else did the little pi manage to wrangle two celebratory days a year – Global Pi Day, March 14, to represent pi’s decimal value of 3.14 and coincidentally Albert Einstein’s birthday; and Pi Approximation Day, July 22, to represent its fractional avatar 22/7.

Even as you read this, T-shirts, mugs and other memorabilia are being sold in various parts of the world to celebrate the world of pi ( ). In mathematics, pi denotes the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter and was first given its 22/7 formulation by Archimedes.

In India, there may not be memorabilia but the day is being marked with lectures and seminars on the mystery of pi as well as its Indian connection. “As this is also the Year of Mathematics in India, being Srinivasa Ramanujam’s 125th birth anniversary, mathematicians have been giving a series of lectures over the weekends in different parts of Chennai,” says R Sivaraman, of the Pie Mathematics Association, who will be speaking on Ramanujam’s life and contributions next week.

“Ramanujam provided great insight into the computation of pi through his power series formulae,” says Sivaraman. “Thanks to his formulae, for the first time, the pi value could be accurately calculated up to 17.5 million digits. No one had managed that before,” says Sivaraman. Now, of course, thanks to Ramanujam’s formulae, computers can calculate the pi decimal value up to 1.24 trillion digits. “Pi is central to every mathematician’s research. You just cannot steer clear of it,” says  Professor Rajeeva L Karandikar,  director, Chennai Mathematical Institute.

“You need pi for everything, right from digging a well to sending satellites into space,” says Sivaraman, who adds he believes that the more you know of pi, the more secrets of nature you can unlock. Incidentally, ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhatta and Bhramagupta also cut into pi. Astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta of the sixth century AD calculated its value up to four places, while Bhramagupta in the eighth century AD, used 3 as a “practical” value of pi, and the square root of 10 as an “accurate” value of pi.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai, TNN / July 22nd, 2012

A President who set precedents

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Anecdotal recollections of those who worked alongside R. Venkataraman in public life and government

R. Venkataraman, the nation’s eighth president (1987-1992), loved to present himself a “copybook president.” But, he faced such situations that none of his predecessors did. During the second half of his presidency, the country underwent a phase of political instability and RV, as he was popularly known, had to swear in three Prime Ministers in barely 18 months.

After Chandra Shekher quit as Prime Minister in March 1991 a few days after his Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had presented the interim budget, RV, as president, took the initiative of having budgetary and financial provisions passed by Parliament, avoiding an unpleasant situation of having to promulgate an ordinance to cover expenditure. Unusually, the President wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray and the Prime Minister, advising them how this could be done. That was not the only occasion that he departed from the conventional approach that Presidents would have adopted under similar circumstances. His gesture of getting down the dais to give away the Dadasaheb Phalke award to the ailing Raj Kapoor at the 35th National Film Festival in May 1988 was another unconventional act. His assumption of office as President was only the culmination of his long innings in public life, spanning over 45 years. RV, who was a senior Minister in the Kamaraj Cabinet during 1950s and 1960s, is still the best-remembered Industries Minister of Tamil Nadu.

This book R. Venkataraman: A Centenary Tribute is essentially a compilation of anecdotal recollections of a host of persons including those who worked alongside him in public life and government. It carries 38 essays of those who have recalled his services to the nation in one field or the other. Besides, messages from 10 others explain the greatness of RV. His contributions — as Industries Minister who played a vital role in the industrialisation of Tamil Nadu; as Union Finance Minister who helped avert an economic crisis in the early 1980s by tackling deftly the problem of deteriorating balance of payments; as Defence Minister in 1982-1984 who guided the programme of producing modern indigenous fighter aircraft and as President who had created the right precedents in times of political instability — have all been vividly captured.

There are other aspects — “lighter” — of the personality of RV which have been brought out well in this publication. Geoffrey Howe, the longest serving Minister in Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet (1979-1990) and who was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1979-1983), has described RV’s mastery of English as one special feature of Venkataraman’s performance in meetings of committees of the International Monetary Fund and Commonwealth. According to Lord Howe, RV’s mastery of the language enabled him time and again to formulate “the only possible form of words which could deliver an agreeable conclusion.”

What is more lively is an account of Kapila Vatsyayan, veteran art historian, of the gracious and spontaneous acceptance by RV of her, what she called, “absolutely crazy idea” of utilising an air force plane for transporting precious bronze statues from Tamil Nadu for an exhibition during the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in New Delhi in March 1983. Two other articles — one by K.V. Ramanathan and another by T.S. Sankaran — stand out. The authors, both former civil servants, have not discussed much about their association with RV but about the subjects, which were dear to the former President. Ramanathan has passionately written about S. Satyamurti, who was Kamaraj’s political mentor, and Sankaran on the relevance of the trade union movement.

Dates and events

Notwithstanding several impressive features, the book suffers from factual inaccuracies. In an otherwise scholarly piece, Fali S. Nariman, distinguished jurist, writing about the sensational Presidential election in 1969, has stated that V.V. Giri got elected after the split in the Congress party. In fact, it was the other way round. At the time of the election, there was only one Congress. To refer to the Congress (I) in the context of the 1969 election was not appropriate. The Congress (I) was born nine years later — January 1978 — and Indira Gandhi was its chief. That was why the prefix — I.

P. Murari, another former civil servant and who was Secretary to the President during 1989-1992, has recounted his suggestion to RV on the dissolution of Tamil Nadu Assembly in January 1991 and written that in the context of the Supreme Court judgment in the Bommai case, it might be imprudent to accept the Union Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the Assembly. But, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment only in March 1994, three years after the dissolution of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Writing about the outcome of the Assembly elections to Maharashtra in 1978, Inder Malhotra, seasoned journalist, has commented that the Congress (I) and the Congress (O) were intensely hostile to each other. By 1978, the Congress (O) was no longer in existence. It along with parties including Bharatiya Lok Dal and Jan Sangh formed the Janata Party in 1977. The other faction comprised senior Congress leaders including K. Brahmananda Reddy, Swaran Singh and Y. B. Chavan. In all likelihood, Malhotra had this faction in mind. In her message, Shiela Dikshit, who has been Delhi Chief Minister since 1998, mentions that “Probably, he [RV] was the only politician from the southern state of Madras/Tamil Nadu who never lost any election.” This is off the mark as RV lost [by a margin of about 22,600 votes to a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate] in the 1967 elections in Thanjavur parliamentary constituency, a fact recorded by another contributor, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

What one can make out from these instances of factual inaccuracies is that the contributors, in general, have made their recollections, mostly out of their memory. The editorial team of the book must have ensured that in a publication marking the centenary of one of the celebrated Presidents of India, all the important details are carried right. After all, RV was known for meticulousness when it came to recollection of history.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Books / by T. RamaKrishnan / July 16th, 2012