Therukoothu is alive and kicking -- at least in some places during the Tamil months of Aani and Aadi. Therukoothu themes are often the smaller stories of the Mahabharatha, the nuggets that are spicy and carry a message. Therukoothu is typically performed through the night during village...
Caraka, the extraordinary physician and the author of Caraka Samhita, an ancient treatise of Ayurveda, is believed to have lived during the time of the Kushan empire that flourished in today’s north India between 200 BC and AD100. Being one of the three foundational texts of Ayurveda (the other...
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 make her win. Odisha has a rich...
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 authenticity of these stories. Often, more than fact,...
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 Constitution seriously which is why we go everywhere and...
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 obviously didn't care for digital currency. While...
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 famous shore temples of Mamallapuram, the ancient...
Hill tribes, the original residents of the land, are distanced from mainstream society but they too yearn for development in terms of education. In a humanitarian gesture to mitigate tribal school children’s transport woes, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has taken the initiative to transport...
It was yet another day after the first national lockdown in 2021 that Carnatic musician R Suryaprakash happened to hear the call of a ‘kuyil’ (cuckoo) from the park near his home in Semmancheri in Chennai. The repeated call of the bird, however, brought memories of ‘Kuyil Pattu’, a poem written...
The Pallanguzhi game is known as ancient Tamil game that entertains and helps to sharpen one's arithmetic. But Tho. Paramasivan, a renowned Tamil folklorist, cultural researcher and professor, all rolled into one, has ferreted out hidden social and cultural messages woven into the game....
