பிள்ளையார் சுழி போடும் கலைஞர்

Ardent Dravidian practitioner following the principles of தந்தை பெரியார் including athesim கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி, had been waiting for an auspicious day to launch his television channel named கலைஞர் TV on Vinayaka Chaturthi. In an interview at மக்கள் தொலைக்காட்சி (செவ்வி at தமிழ்க்கூடல் on 14-Sep-2007), சோழன் நம்பியார் just expressed his grief about தமிழ் பாதுகாவலர் naming the channel as கலைஞர் TV instead of கலைஞர் தொலைக்காட்சி. In the interview Mr. Nambiyar said Mr. Karunanathi had himself had to compromise with his children and grand children when it comes to business that they have to go by mass appeal.

Principles and ideologies do not help when it comes to family. Even when you are in public, when it is business, profit is given the paramount precedence and integrity of the person is trashed. The trailer of future programs at கலைஞர் TV shows it is another trash channel like Sun TV.

What a pity! தமிழர்களை காக்க தமிழ் பாதுகாவலர் கூட தயாராக இல்லை. Offering free TV, having a Tamil TV Channel and forming a government corporation to distribute the channel; all these at the cost of the citizens only to fill vote bank and bank account.

தமிழும் தமிழரும் என்றென்றும் தெருவில் கோவணத்துடன்தான்!

Interview with Uma Devi

It was in the rebroadcast of Tamilkkoodal at night on 11-Sep-09, I watched the interview with Uma Devi. My exposure to Tamil literary magazines has been reduced of late and hence I failed to notice this name. As usual, Gajendran was driving the interview. As being an observer, I noticed that she identifies her with dalit writing. Few key points of her point of view are as given below:

1. A writer must involve in field work for the evolution of the society. If the writing is not reaching commoners, then the bookish work is not useful to the society.
2. The media is driven by male chauvinists and is utilizing the modern female feminist writings for commercial benefits. The so called feminists who imitate male in every activity like dressing, smoking, leading a bar life are only victims of emotional writing utilizing the identity of self and using feminine language that expresses body, mind and loneliness of women which may have commercial success but do not have any value to the society.
3. What is useful to the society is to write about the majority of the people and invoke them socio-politically to raise their standard of living.
4. Buddhism is one religion that saw feminism as equality of human beings.
   

So today, I tried to find some of Uma Devi’s writing from the internet and found one at http://www.keetru.com/visai/july05/umadevi.php. But I am not sure, if this Uma Devi is the same Uma Devi I saw at Makkal Tholaikkaatchi.

The untitled poetry that starts as மலர் சரத்தின் வாட்டம் போல் has the following lines:

நா விளாசி புணர்ந்த
இரக்கமற்ற ஞமலிகள்
கோரைப் பற்களை நீட்டி
கொழுத்த என் மார்புச் சதைகளை
குதப்பிக் கொண்டு
வெளியேறிய பின்னும்
தலைக்கு மேல்
காளி
உக்கிரத்தில்
நர்த்தனம் ஆடுகிறாள்.

May be if Kutty Revathy wrote it she would have written கொழுத்த என் மார்புச் சதைகளை as கொழுத்த என் முலைகளை, but they do not make any difference. மார்புச் சதை or முலை are but words when visualized do show only one physical part of the body.

Do you find any social value? Ultimately, human beings need fame and recognition; ideologies are second to fame.
I just remembered Ellsworth Toohey from Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead

Interesting Tamil Television Channel

I am not a Tamil fanatic and I do not have any political association with any of the existing political party in the world, yet I still like the programs at Makkal Tholaikaatchi (மக்கள் தொலைக்காட்சி). When I first viewed the channel, especially the news, I thought the channel could be politically biased. Later I enjoyed every program in Makkal Tholaikaatchi.

The Tamil spoken by every program anchor is so natural and beautiful and one would hardly feel the difference from any other (un)popular Tamil TV channels. The program at 8:00am in the morning is Tamilkkoodal (தமிழ்க்கூடல்). The concept is really good with introducing quote of the day narrated by school children. They keep us learn a Tamil word a day for popularly used foreign language; the Tamil word will be informed at the closure of the program. Examples of words are, Lorry – Sumaiunthu (சுமையுந்து) or Passport – kadavuchieetu (கடவுச்சீட்டு). There will be an analysis on the root of the Tamil word which is currently in use by Tamil scholars.

Everyday they give two Tamil names for the new-born boy and girl child each. Writer Prapanjan introduces a book a day. Whether one likes the book or not, Prapanjan gives positive feedback for each of the books he introduces. There is also an introduction to a Tamil website everyday. Some days, poet reads out their poetry (most of the poem are nostalgic). The closure of the program is with a Tamilnahi (தமிழ்நகை). Mostly the narrator gives a serious thought through some funny incident; the reality is it is not fun. The narrator Ramalingam selects interesting topics for each day.

The highlight of the forty five minutes program is Chevvie (செவ்வி). I must thank Manushyaputhran for giving me the English word for Chevvie through an offline message at Yahoo IM as Interview. The knowledge and homework by the interviewer Gajendran must be appreciated. The interview is on different topic based on the field of the interviewee. They may be a writer, researcher, painter, poet, social worker or from any related to Tamil and Tamil culture. The personality (ஆளுமை) of Gajendran and the way he frames the question brings out more information out of the interviewee than what they would have informed in their works. Sometimes I feel that the interview should not come to an end; this is the success of Gajendran’s probing and stimulating interviewing pattern.

Sneha introduces every program in beautiful Tamil.