(This article was first published on Sept 7, 2022) As Keralites throughout the world are celebrating Onam festival, the cultural festival of Malayalees cutting across caste and religion, a public holiday has been announced in several districts of Tamil Nadu too. Political leaders of Tamil Nadu...
At the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples celebrated near Mumbai recently, the cynosure of all eyes was the parade of adivasis: The most striking feature about them was that the clothes and hats they wore and the musical instruments they played were all made up of palm leaves....
Tamil Nadu abounds in festivals marked by various food items depending on the geographical and cultural features of the regions. The Kongu region comprising Salem, Erode, Dharmapuri, Namakkal and Tirupur celebrates the advent of the Tamil month ‘Aadi’ with a dish made of burnt coconut. This...
In Tamil Nadu, the very mention of soft - or cool - drinks brings back to mind goli soda. Time was when goli soda was served to guests at home as a token of honour. Post-Independence, the industry expanded. But after the advent of the foreign soft drinks companies in the local market, the goli...
TN may boast of females contributing more to the paid economy but major challenges exist for working women. In September 2022, a 15-day residential training program for the Tamil Nadu Education Fellowship— a 2-year scheme launched by the School Education Department of Tamil Nadu (TN) to support...
Why did the Indian shipping industry, particularly steam navigation, not flourish during the British reign in the country? This question is worth deeper analysis. That is what J. B. Prasanth More, the Puducherry-born, Paris-based academic, has attempted in his latest book, Indian Steamship...
It was artist C. Kondaiah Raju (1898-1976), who, in his portraits, infused life into several Hindu gods and goddesses and made them part of several temples and households. He was one of the few famous painters such as Raja Ravi Varma. Born to Kuppusamy Raju-Alamelu Mangammal in Chennai in 1898,...
The Kerala government has planned a year-long event to commemorate the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha, which took place March 30, 1924 - November 23, 1925. The historic agitation was launched with the prominent demand to open the streets around the Lord Shiva Temple in Vaikom in the Kingdom of...
(This is the third and final article of a three-part series) Soon after the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, the Justice Party, which formed the provincial government for Madras Presidency in November 1920, faced various challenges. But the impact of many initiatives it took, which continue...
(This is the second article of a three-part series) When Macaulay’s report led to stopping of the British government's financial support for Sanskrit — and to Arabic and Persian, which anyway received far smaller share from the funds — Sanskrit supporters started a different narrative, which...
