Kerala farmers oppose leaving ‘problem’ elephants in wild
While two tuskers, both fond of rice, have been giving sleepless nights to residents living on the edge of the forests in the border regions of Kerala, a precedent set by the Tamil Nadu forest department which had captured and released an elephant Arisi Raja (King of...
Kondaiah Raju: The painter who brought the gods home
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...
Rudhran: Old wine in old bottle, both poor quality
It takes the right mixture of entertaining features such as interesting narrative, peppy song-and-dance numbers etc for a commercial film to be a blockbuster. But what we are, of late, being passed off with are those made with old and rusty ideas. The latest film...
Chennai autos pricing themselves out of higher earnings?
Autos in Chennai may be renouncing optimal earnings by failing to adopt a dynamic pricing system that combines a fair rate of return and a willingness to operate. This is reflected in different developments. For one, there was an attack on bike taxi operators at...
‘Vaikom Poraattam’: On Periyar’s role, Gandhi’s strictures
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...
Justice Party defied pressure to Sanskritise medical edu
(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...
Pure Tamil drive broke Sanskrit’s grip on medicine
(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...
Veteran scribe writes book on journos of freedom struggle
Former Chief Correspondent of Tamil daily Dinamani V N Swami at age 92 has written a 720-page book in Tamil titled ‘Viduthalai Poril Pathirikkaiyaalargal’ (Journalists in Independence Struggle). The book talks about 130 journalists’ contributions to the freedom...
How English beat Sanskrit in medical education
(This is the first article of a three-part series) Power itself is never so transparent that its analysis becomes superfluous. The ultimate mark of power may be its invisibility, the ultimate challenge, the exposition of its roots. Michel-Rolph Trouillot. In his...
A stronger focus on Chennai in Tamil Nadu budget
Chennai is seen by many across the country as a safe, modern, accessible and globally-connected metropolitan city, although the younger working population might view it as too straight-laced and falling behind Bengaluru in winning cosmopolitan credentials. Finance...
Viduthalai a gripping watch even for non-political folks
Viduthalai part 1 directed by Vetrimaran speaks about the common people’s political understanding. The question of whether it is worth understanding by everyone spurs us on to the theatres where the film is being screened. The storyline of Viduthalai goes as follows:...
Remade in Tamil, hit film Mufti turns cliché as Pathu Thala
There’s no guarantee that a film remade from another language will achieve the same success rate as the original. Mufti, the Kannada film might have gone down well with its target audience despite its inherent flaws, owing to its ensemble cast that’s appealing to the...
Sengalam’s echoes of TN politics makes it a good watch
Converting reports from newspapers, unofficially shared information and gossip into fiction is something that the audience seems receptive to. At the same time, our society does not allow a thorough and faithful reconstruction of biographies of some famous people....
A small solar-powered mill changes tribal lives in the hills
A solar-powered millet milling machine has brought rays of sunshine to the lives of the people living in a tribal-dominated village, who are happy that the machine has mitigated their difficulties in food preparation. Kathirimalai located in the Anthiyur area of Erode...
Lack of innovative technology could scuttle TN’s aims of enhanced ethanol production
India aims to reduce imports of fossil fuels by achieving 20% ethanol blending with gasoline from April 2023. A nationwide rollout is planned from 2025-26. At present, India’s ethanol production capacity is 426 crore litres from sugarcane-based distilleries and 258...
A grand Chola museum may bring tourism infra to Thanjai
As a seat of ancient Tamil glory with a thousand-year heritage, the composite district of Thanjavur should have received the highest attention from latter-day governments, but except for the Brihadeeswara Temple complex, a UNESCO heritage site of international...
Other states’ tribal folk forced into ‘bonded labour’ in TN
There has been a rising trend of tribal people from other states being brought into Tamil Nadu and forced to labour for long hours and low wages in work such as sugarcane harvesting. The Tamil Nadu government has been urged to act against bonded labour and provide...
Why does PMK see red in NLC expansion plan?
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is up in arms against the land acquisition move for the Neyveli Lignite Corporation's (NLC) third mine expansion project. The party has been insisting that land owners who part with their lands for the project, be given a guarantee of...
