One interesting legend in Indian military history is how a most cruel, sadistic British officer inadvertently initiated a cult called Nikal Seyn. General John Nicholson's brutality should have made him a demon among native Pathans of North Western Frontier but they began revering him for the...
Food grain merchants in Tamil Nadu are worried that the union government’s ambitious project of fortifying rice with iron to avert anemia among women and children will lead to loss of business for them. They say that only big mills can afford to invest in the equipment required to provide the...
Have you heard of this curious pre-wedding custom in parts of Tamil Nadu where the bride’s male cousin has a mock argument with the groom? It was recorded as far back as 1917 by British ICS official H R Pate who compiled the Tinnevelly District Gazette for the Madras District Gazetteers. One of...
The Archaeological Survey of India has given its nod to move the estampages of Tamil stone inscriptions from its Mysore office to Chennai in its order dated Jan. 6. With this order, the row over estampages of Tamil inscriptions has come full circle ever since it started in 2006. The row erupted...
In the film, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi, the king, played by Vadivelu, is happy that his spymaster has come to see him. There is a rebellion brewing in his kingdom and the spymaster could help him beat back the rebellion. An excited Vadivelu, who hails from Madurai, welcomes Vathakodari, the...
“No matter how big or ferocious your bull is, it will be tamed in the arena unless you have someone influential sitting in the gallery who doesn’t want the bull to be tamed,” says Ravi (name changed) with a giggle on the other end of the phone. Ravi was once a bull tamer and is now working at a...
Clad in saffron dhoti and shirt, Vijay doesn’t look the part. He is not too muscular although he has long fingers and hands. “Muscle mass doesn’t matter. You should be agile and have lasting stamina to stay in the arena,” the 24-year-old graduate from Kuruvithurai in Madurai district said. You...
S S Davidson from Nagercoil was a bird watcher, wildlife activist and social activist who worked among the Kani tribe of Western Ghats. He died this June after a brief illness. He left behind some 800 pictures of birds which he loved most. The family is planning to turn the pictures into a book...
“I was around 12 or 13 when I started living in this crematorium,” says Hari, the undertaker at Thathaneri crematorium in Madurai. Hari is not just the man who receives the dead and facilitates the last rites in the neighbourhood. He is also the Good Samaritan, known for his generous heart and...
The Sri Lankan navy apprehending Tamil Nadu fishermen is nothing new in the narrow Gulf of Mannar. But the way 68 fishermen were held over three days starting Dec. 18, 2021 has made Tamil Nadu fishermen leaders in Rameswaram suspicious. For a while, the fishermen leaders from Ramanathapuram...
