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O Panneerselvam: How No 2 never becomes No 1 in kazhagams
The predicament of O Panneerselvam seems to be a pattern in the Dravidian parties. Nedunchezhiyan was permanently fixed at the second spot be it the party (DMK or AIADMK) or the government hierarchy and could never reach the top spot. He occupied the Chief...
Better Tamil Nadu
This village Tamil medium school run by bank employees is special
It is a Tamil medium school with a difference. Functioning in Kurichi village 7 km from Pattukottai, the school, run by the Indian Bank Employees Association Trust does not torture the students with homework, and neither does it terrorise them with rank cards. Even before it was prohibited by...
Last week he became the first doctor from his village in Tamil Nadu
At the recent Madras Medical College convocation, R Selvapandi became the first doctor from Maravaikkudi village in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. Among the Ramanathapuram Elite School students who made good is R Selvapandi. Born in a Scheduled Caste family, Selvapandi did well in...
First generation techie pulls her family out of financial misery
The perseverance and determination of this Tamil Nadu woman, a first-generation graduate, Balasundari, a native of Kovilpatti town in southern Tamil Nadu has transformed her family's fortunes overnight. The daughter of an employee of a provisions store, Balasundari broke through the barriers of...
Ramanathapuram high achiever becomes doctor
D Ilakkiya, who studied at the Elite School initiated by former Ramanathapuram collector K Nandakumar, is now a doctor after scoring 100% in three subjects in Class 12. Elite school is a special government school for high performers in Ramanathapuram. Ilakkiya’s father Dhakshinamoorthy runs a...
How cruel dog owners play a dirty trick on Blue Cross of India
Every day, the Blue Cross of India in Chennai receives calls from pet parents who want to ‘donate’ their dogs or cats to the institution, which rescues and rehabilitates orphaned, abandoned and disabled stray animals. When the volunteers deny their request, they get offended. In the dead of the...
Opinion
How the Nayan wedding event holds a mirror to our society
Tamil weddings are often chaotic family affairs but the Vignesh Shivan, Nayan wedding was a carefully orchestrated and controlled media event where the media wasn’t invited. Top stars were in attendance. From Rajinikanth through Shah Rukh Khan and Mani Ratnam, all the...
Did Tamil Rajamouli movie RRR look like a gay flick to you?
It didn’t for me! But, let’s start from the beginning, shall we? Pride month is here, and apparently the Tamil Rajamouli movie, RRR has captured the attention of the American audience! Yes, in a very “pride-like” fashion! It seems the chemistry between the two male...
Opinion: Little to celebrate in one year of DMK party rule
It has been a year since the DMK party assumed power in Tamil Nadu after a decade of being in the opposition. Ads in major newspapers and digital platforms recently projected the one year of DMK rule as one of glory. Some of the terms used in the publicity were "the...
Mathi Memes
Mathi Memes: He can’t act, he can’t dance. Yet Ajith’s Valimai is a smash hit
Actress Khushbu was referring to the reception to Ajith's film Valimai. In what seemed like a mix of admiration and envy, she tweeted in Tamil: “Only you [Ajith Kumar] draw such crowds.” On Wednesday (Feb 24) evening, at a theatre in Thoothukudi, there was a large...
Editor’s Pick
Pearl City Massacre: Lest we forget
A dhoti-clad man is lying on the road and his body is barely moving. Policemen in riotgear are shuffling around, shooing away people. Another man standing next to the body with blood streaming down his face is crying. He is pleading with the person taking the video that he should get him out of...
After Amby, Contessa to come back in Tamilnadu?
Hindustan Motors may well be considering reviving the Contessa through its Tamilnadu plant, given that the company recently trademarked the Contessa nameplate. When the global car community talks about a muscle car, minds wander around American muscle cars. The iconic Ford Mustang, the beastly...
Bringing Bengaluru Metro to Tamil Nadu a win-win for both states
In a fine gesture of inter-state cooperation, Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka government are set to work together to extend the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation line up to Hosur which is 8.8 kilometres into the political border of Tamil Nadu. A proposal sent by the Krishnagiri MP Dr A Chellakumar...
G Square, Annamalai: Reality check on plot approval
Last week in a press conference, BJP state president had alleged that the group of property developer firms, G Square, has been able to get CMDA plot approval within eight days. He also said it takes 200 days for others to get their plot approval typically. Here’s a reality check from the...
Vikram 1.0 was new, novel. Will 2.0 be a tired cliché?
Vikram was the coolest Tamil movie of the 1980s. We knew India made rockets that went into space. But the rocket in Vikram could be used to attack other countries. It could even carry a nuclear weapon. Really? India in the mid-1980s made missiles? India had nuclear weapons? Cool! The Buddha...
Politics
Contract jobs, a non-political view
Instead of new recruitment as Tamilnadu government employees, governments have been using contract workers for a long time. From life saving professions to nurses to others, contract workers are being used extensively by government and are paid...
EPS dominates but OPS has legal grip over AIADMK party
What cannot be cured, must be endured, especially in the AIADMK party. This is the moral of the story for the broken and bruised AIADMK camp, divided sharply between the Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Panneerselvam (OPS) groups. Today's...
AIADMK heads for another split; die cast for formation of AIADMK (EPS) and AIADMK (OPS)
The AIADMK is heading for yet another split as rival groups led by former chief ministers Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Paneerselvam (OPS) jockeying for power ahead of the party's general council meeting scheduled for June 23. Palaniswami...
So why does the typical communist leader live so long?
What is it about communist leaders and longevity in Tamil Nadu? They may have braved police assault, attacks from enemies, survived on meager allowances and so on. Yet that doesn’t seem to affect their general health. CPM’s N Sankaraiah has...
O Panneerselvam: How No 2 never becomes No 1 in kazhagams
The predicament of O Panneerselvam seems to be a pattern in the Dravidian parties. Nedunchezhiyan was permanently fixed at the second spot be it the party (DMK or AIADMK) or the government hierarchy and could never reach the top spot. He occupied the Chief...
Culture
Subramaniya Bharathi: Book chronicles remarkable, true stories
Subramaniya Bharathi lived a remarkable life. His life was full of interesting events and anecdotes. Many hear these stories made popular by word of mouth and ask me if the story they had heard was true. I have often tried to verify the...
In reality, pan-Indian KGF is a Tamil story in Karnataka
The KGF movies may have acquired the tag of films from Karnataka that were pan-Indian but in truth the true story of Kolar Gold Fields, KGF, is a typical Tamil story that has been repeated in Karnataka at many times. “We have taken our...
A doctor bought Maruti car with 10-rupee coins
A doctor of Dharmapuri district has bought a Maruti car at the price of Rs.5.75 lakhs. What’s new about that? Nothing, of course, except that his mode of payment was rather eccentric. The doctor belonging to Arur area paid the price in cash. He...
A prize to honour V. Venkayya, epigraphist who recorded ancient Tamil democracy
When V. Venkayya was a science teacher at a high school in Kancheepuram, he would often visit the Kailasanathar temple, built by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman (II). Attracted by the Pallava architecture, he soon extended his journey to the...
Droupadi Murmu: The Dravidian connect to Odisha tribes
Droupadi Murmu, who is from the Santhal tribe in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, is the presidential candidate of the BJP. Her candidature has facilitated Biju Janata Dal support which is crucial for the BJP to get 50% of the electoral college votes needed to...
Food
Ghost kitchen in Tamil Nadu: To stay or will go soon?
The spread of the ghost kitchen in Tamil Nadu has transformed the dining experience from eating in restaurants to enjoying cuisines delivered through food aggregators by delivery modes (i.e. outside a restaurant). This has changed eating habits...
Plant-based meat: Just a pricey lifestyle choice?
Plant-based meats refer to food products that mimic animal meat products. The eating experience and taste are equivalent to consuming meat. They appear like meat too. They may also be called “fake” meats, “meat alternatives,” or “vegan meats.” A...
Traditional rice varieties Tamil Nadu: In tune with the times
The traditional rice varieties of Tamil Nadu are seeing a renewal in interest (click here and here for more on this). This article summarizes the scientific aspects. Rice is India’s pre-eminent crop and is the staple food of the people of...
Why only trained, knowledgeable cooks should make shawarma
Shawarma is one of the most popular Middle East foods. Its vertical cooking style cooks the meat in its melting fat. Although vertical cooking of meat was introduced by the chefs of Ottoman Empire, it was Iskender Effendi, a Turkish man, who...
Organic certification: Much of the produce is uncertified
Organic produce is often marketed as non-toxic in Chennai but without any certification. Sales depends on trust created by word of mouth. Below is the second part of (read first part here) of the interview with Arogyam Organic Foods managing director S Arumugasamy...
Civic Issues
Chennai Metro to be disabled-friendly, but what about MTC?
It is a running battle between disability rights activists and government establishments to get officials to obey the law. Although it is six years since the new law on rights of the disabled was passed, the situation on the ground is far from improved, whether in...
Hawkers on a famed Chennai street: An old tug of war
A decade-long problem relating on hawking on the Chennai street resurfaced recently. The Madras High Court directed senior retired and serving IAS and police officers to appear personally for committing contempt on the issue of continued presence of hawkers on NSC...
Environment
India’s poor performance holds lessons for Chennai environment
The precipitous slide in India’s ranking on the Environmental Performance Index this year to rock bottom at 180 has triggered anger and denial by the Union government but it can provide lessons for Chennai environment protection. “Unfounded assumptions”, “surmises”...
Can Tamil Nadu coast survive deadly wet bulb temperature?
The buzz around wet bulb temperature has reached the Coromandel coast with cyclone Asani turning out to be only a brief interlude. The heat wave that has swept many parts of India in recent days, surpassing previously recorded peaks in April and May of 2010, has...
Sports
Cricketer Dinesh Karthik: A dazzling comeback
Cricketer Dinesh Karthik has made a dazzling comeback after being written-off as a serious contender in international cricket. On the verge of being a had-been, Dinesh soldiered on, playing in Madurai local cricket, and taking a shot at commentating. But then he...
Sai Kishore IPL 2022: Super king ignored by Dhoni process
R Sai Kishore, a familiar name in Tamil Nadu and Indian domestic circuit, has just lifted the IPL 2022 title with Gujarat Titans. A proper underrated player in an underrated team. In the four games he played this season, he took six wickets with a good economy rate...
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