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Message for the Day…” I Love Each one of You and Protect You always…”

August 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Sathya Sai Baba

I have come to reform you; I won’t leave you until I do that. Even if you get away before I do that, don’t think you can escape Me; I will hold on to you. I am not worried if you leave Me, for I am not anxious that there should be a huge gathering! Who gave hand-written invitation to everyone present here? People come, on their own, in thousands – you attach yourselves to Me! I am unattached. I am attached only to the task. But be assured of one thing. Whether you come to Me or not, you are all in Me. I have the love of a thousand mothers. I love each one of you and protect you always. Whenever I appear to be angry, remember, it is only love in another form. I do not have even an iota of anger in Me. I express My disappointment when you do not shape up as I expect.

This is how Kerala celebrates Onam….A Festival Celebrated by All People Irrespective of Caste, Creed and Relegion….

August 24, 2015August 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Image: School girls wearing traditional costume share a laugh backstage as they wait to perform during festivities marking the start of the annual harvest festival of “Onam” in the southern Indian city of Chennai
Photographs: Babu/Reuters

You may be surprised to learn that worshipping the Mahabali, making apookalam and having the Onasadhya are just a miniscule part of the elaborate festival. Find out how people from different parts of Kerala celebrate the ten-day festival.

With elaborate feasting and a host of colourful activities and celebrations planned across the state, Onam is undoubtedly the biggest festival of Kerala.

While most Keralites celebrate it as a harvest festival, a famous and popular legend is also that of the erstwhile King Mahabali visiting the people of Kerala on Onam.

When King Mahabali was defeated and sent to paathaal (netherland) by Vamana, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, he’d appealed that he should be allowed to visit his subjects once every year.

It is believed that on Tiruvonam, the tenth day of Onam, Mahabali comes visiting the homes of his praja (people) to find out if they are happy and content.

What makes Onam so unique is the fact that it is the only festival celebrated by people irrespective of caste, creed or religion. That explains why it is considered the national festival of the state.

The ten-day long festival starts on Attam in the Chingam month of the Malayalam calendar.

It continues for the next eight days — Chithram, Chodhi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradam — and culminates on Thiruvonam, the tenth day.

Some also celebrate Onam on Avittam, the eleventh day.

During Onam, across Kerala, a host of celebrations and activities are organised — some as part of the ritual, some for entertainment.

Since some of the customs and activities are dying a natural death due to ignorance or lack of time, we spoke to some people who were born and brought up in Kerala to tell us how Onam has been celebrated in different provinces over the years.

Image: Young girls pose next to a Pookalam designed by them
Photographs: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

Pookalam

An important attraction of Onam is the Pookalam— a carpet of multi-coloured flowers arranged in a decorative pattern.

Throughout the ten days of the festival, young girls and boys would wake up early and get ready to make the Pookalam on the courtyard to welcome King Mahabali and other guests who’d visit them.

Each day features a new pattern.

Ramanunni Nair who belongs to Palakkad district of Kerala remembers his childhood days of making the Pookalam and tells us how fun it used to be:

“When we were young, throughout the ten days of Onam, we used to wake up as early as 3 and 4 am. The girls would get ready, broom the courtyard and spread a layer of wet cow dung on the ground. Meanwhile, the boys would collect flowers of different colours and varieties and bring it home to the girls. Some of us would steal from the neighbouring garden just to ensure that we were on top of the game. It was fun climbing fences and trees to get as many flowers as possible.”

Nair tells us that in the olden days, the flowers were arranged on a wet patch of cow dung which ensured that the arrangement remained intact when the dung dried.

Meanwhile, Keralites who live in the cities and cannot afford to make a Pookalam every day make a small arrangement of flowers outside their apartment or their building.

Today Pookalam competitions are organised across the nation and in some countries abroad as well. The participation is huge and the designs are elaborate and innovative.

Image: A symbolic statue of Mahabali is placed on a banana leaf
Photographs: Divya Nair/Rediff.com

Mahabali Varavelpu

As mentioned earlier, Onam also celebrates the welcoming of King Mahabali (Mahabali Varavelpu) who is said to ascend from paathal to Kerala during these ten days to visit his people and enquire about their well being.

Besides the pookalam, every household also erect a small symbolic idol of Mahabali or Maveli outside the house and offer rice and naivedyam to it.

The idol, also known as Maathevar is made of sand or clay and is painted in kaavi (brick colour).

Some of them also paint eyes and moustache on the statue to make it look attractive.

On the last day of Onam, the idol is immersed in the sea or nearby river and pray to Mahabali to visit their families the following year for Onam.

While worshipping the idol and offering prayers, most of them recite this particular poem:

Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam,
manusharellarum onnupole
amodhathode vasikkum kalam
apathangarkkumottillathanum

It says that: When Maveli ruled our land, everyone was treated equally; they were joyful, merry and free from trouble.

Image: Women from Kerala performing the Kaikottikali
Photographs: Syam Subramanian/Wikimedia Commons

Kaikottikali

Kaikottikali or Thiruvadhirakalli is a traditional dance form performed by women on Onam.

It is usually performed in the afternoon after lunch or in the evening after the traditional lamp is lit.

To perform the dance, women wear the traditional cream coloured cotton saree with zari borders and decorate their hair with mogra flowers.

A kutthu villaku (traditional lamp) is lit in the centre of the courtyard and women form a circle around it and perform the dance facing inwards.

They clap and move around the circle singing onam songs praising the harvest and welcome the good times.

Shashikala Pillai, a 42-year teacher from Shoranur, Kerala who now lives in Mumbai shares some fond memories of kaikottikali with us.

“Each Onam, we would eagerly await the Thiruvathirakalli which was performed in our ancestral home after sunset. Everyone in the family would gather and all the women, including my mother used to perform. Women in the neighbourhood would also join in the dance. Those who did not perform, contributed by singing onapaatu (onam songs) and encouraged the others. As children, we’d eat chips and banana while watching them perform,” she says.

Image: Artists perform Pulikali on the streets
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons

Pulikali

Pulikali meaning ‘tiger dance’ is where a group of dancers dressed as tigers would dance to the tune of the drums and entertain the audience.

Neetu Panicker, an MBA graduate who recently shifted to Bangalore after her marriage remembers watching the Pulikali for the first time in Trissur:

“Pulikali is very famous in Trissur. The dancers wear masks of tiger and leopard and paint themselves in animal prints. When I saw them for the first time, I was very scared. One of them almost pounced on me as if he was attacking a prey. I screamed and closed my eyes. But over time, I got used to it. I would stand by the road outside my house with my father and brother and watch them perform stunts on the streets.”

Image: Kummati artists participate in a procession in Thrissur, Kerala
Photographs: Aruna/Wikimedia Commons

Kummattikali

Very few people from Kerala remember the Kummati, complained a 55-year-old Sashidharan Nair when I asked him about Onam celebrations in Malappuram, a village in Kerala.

Delving the details, Nair tells me that during Onam, Kummattis are specially trained artists dressed in plaited grass that cover their bodies; they also wear fancy masks and garlands.

“Kummatis travel in groups and perform the Kummatikali — a form of dance where they hop and jump in a synchronised pattern to entertain children. Some times they are dressed like characters from Hindu mythology and they enact scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata or share lessons in peace and happiness. They visit our homes and perform the dance in the courtyard. In return we’d gift them clothes or fruits,” he explained.

Nair says the festival of Onam celebrates different ways of sharing happiness.

Image: Vallamkali in Ponnani, Malappuram district of Kerala
Photographs: Riyaz Ahmed/Wikimedia Commons

Vallam Kali

Vallam Kali (vallam means boat), or the sname boat races need no introductions.

In Alapuzha, Cochin and Kottayam districts, men old and young form teams to race against each other in canoes.

The leader of the team gives instructions while the rest of them sit inside the canoe and row it as fast as they can.

They also sing songs and shout slogans to cheer each other.

Kunjikrishnan Pillai who used to regularly visit the boat race in Ashtamudi, Kollam shares one of the famous and most popular vallamkali songs with us:

Kuttanadan punchayile
kochupenne kuyilali
kottu venam, Kuzhal vanam
Kurava venam

It means: When the crops are ripe in Kuttanadu village, a young girl’s voice resembles a songbird; let’s bring on the sound of drums and chorus and join the celebrations.

“Most of these songs become war cries and every year, you will see a new set of songs and slogans. The enthusiasm is very addictive; sometimes there are petty fights while cheering for their respective teams, but eventually they get sorted as people get back to the festive spirit.”

Onathallu

Also known as Kayyamkali in some parts of Kerala, Onathallu (thallu meaning fight/push in Malayalam) is a form of martial arts.

Men wearing cream and red bordered dhotis form teams of two and indulge in a form of wrestling using only the hands for attack and defense.

When the kings ruled Kerala, Onathallu was presented before an audience just to prove how mighty and skilled their war soldiers are.

Today, it is treated as a competition of strength for entertainment purposes only.

Image: Onapottan
Photographs: Nidish K Viswanathan/Wikimedia Commons

Onapottan

In certain parts of Kerala is considered auspicious to spot an Onapottan, Onattar or Oneshwaran onThiruvonam.

Some people believe that the Onapottan is a messenger of the Mahabali

The Onapottan (translated as ‘a crazy character’ in Malayalam) is dressed rather outrageously (as you can seen in the picture above) and roams about the streets of the village sharing folklore.

His face is painted in various colours and he wears a tiered colourful kireedam (crown) on his head.

“Onapottan carries a mani (bell) in one hand and an umbrella made of palm leaves just like Mahabali on the other. When we spot him, we bow to him and give him rice, fruits or something to eat, which he collects in a cloth bag he usually carries. If he throws some of the rice back at you, it is considered that you’re blessed with prosperity. If Onattar is happy, we feel that Mahabali has blessed us,” Nair adds.

Image: Kazhcha Kola
Photographs: Vinayaraj/Wikimedia Commons

Kazhcha Kola

Since the festival celebrates a good harvest, some people display a Kazhcha Kola (a bunch of ripe banana) in front of their house.

This, people say makes Mahabali happy and he blesses them in return.

And finally we have Onasadhya, or the traditional onam feast that includes rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables that is served on a banana leaf with its tapering end placed to the left.

You are supposed to sit on the floor with your legs crossed as the elderly women or men of the house serve the items of the sadhya in a particular order of significance starting with salt,papadam, banana, sharkara upperi (a sweet made from yam), banana chips and different types of pickles. The rice and curries are served at the end.

Sometimes a typical Onasadhya comprises as many as 20 different preparations — a sign of luxury, prosperity and happiness — so much so that it features significantly in Malayalam proverbs such as Onnam unnan bhagyam venam (You have to be lucky to enjoy an onam feast) and Kanam vittum onam unnanam (You have to have the onam feast even if it means having to sell your property/riches).

Source….www.rediff.com

Natarajan

Chess Prodigy Aryan Chopra Becomes an IM at 13…….

August 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Aryan Chopra, a 13-year-old chess prodigy from Delhi has become India’s second youngest International Master after the Latvian Open where he secured the sixth position. Here are 8 amazing things you should know about him.

Aryan Chopra, a 13-year-old chess prodigy is making headlines by becoming India’s second youngest International Master (IM).

The first youngest International Master from India was Parimarjan Negi who got this title at the age of 13 years and 4 months in July 2006. The IM title can be achieved once a player gets an Elo rating (a rating system to calculate the relative skill levels of players) between 2200 and 2500. Along with the rating, he/she should also fulfil some norms which are basically performance benchmarks observed during the competitions. Usually three norms need to be fulfilled to get the title of IM.

Apart from these rating and other benchmarks, a player can be awarded the title for a few specific performances as well. For example, the runner up at the World Junior Championship will be awarded the IM title.

Aryan Chopra, the 56 seed player stood at the sixth position with 6.5 points in nine games in the ‘A’ section of the Latvian Open. 191 players from 40 countries had participated in the contest. Aryan currently has an Elo rating of 2402 and he is all set to add 28 Elo points to this now.

Here’s more about this young chess player –

. Hailing from Delhi, Aryan is just 13 years and 10 months old and is a student of DPS R. K. Puram. –

Aryan (left) with his father

Photo: chessbase.com

2. Aryan has added about 250 Elo points to his tally through consistent performance in the last 24 months.

3. His spectacular performances include a draw against former Olympiad team gold winner Vladimir Akopian of Armenia in January 2014, and a win over Indian GM Sahaj Grover in June at Golden Sand, Bulgaria.

4. Aryan got his first International Master Norm at the Sants Open at the age of 11 where 650 players from 42 countries had participated.

Photo: Delhichess.com

5. Though very young, Aryan has been planning his career very smartly and has only played classical time control in Fide rating events, largely abroad.

The time control contests have a set time to finish the game. Current rules as per FIDE allow 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. This way, Aryan can play successive tournaments that suit his strength. This option is not easily available in India.

6. Aryan plays two tournaments and then takes a break of three to four months. Since he has mostly played abroad, not many people in India are aware of this young player.

7. His mother works with Doordarshan while his father is a CA and an astrologer.

8. The young genius holds 10th World Rank in the U-14 Active category.

Source….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Meet ‘Traffic Ramaswamy’ …80 Years Old…Still Standing Tall and Fighting against Wrong….

August 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

One would think this 80-year-old would have hung up his boots a long time ago. Why then is he, instead of reading a newspaper on the porch and playing with his grandchildren, busy keeping the local government, policemen and officials on their toes? Meet K.R. ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, a social activist who fears none.

“I want to see Chennai as one of the most livable and lovely cities in the country,” says 80-year-old Ramaswamy, with high hopes and a quavering voice. This man, who started his career as a mill worker, is one of the most popular names in Chennai today.

Born on April 1, 1934, Ramaswamy is no less than a hero who continues to fight for what is right in spite of many challenges.

From asking to remove the prefix ‘Amma’ from Jayalalitha’s name to filing over 50 PILs (Public Interest Litigations), Ramaswamy has always stood by what he believes in. He even walked out of his father’s house when he demanded dowry from the bride’s family.

Who is he?

A home guard by profession, his life as an activist started when he unofficially began directing traffic on Chennai’s busy Parry Corner. In appreciation of his dedication and efforts, the police gave him an identity card which earned him the name Traffic Ramaswamy.

“It was difficult. Many family members went against me for my ‘foolish’ acts of public service. But some friends provided me food and shelter,” he remembers.

Ramaswamy’s activism grew, along with his understanding of the public system, when he worked as PA to a minister in Rajaji’s cabinet.

What has he done?

He was imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 by the Madras High Court in October 2014 for filing a vague PIL stating “party functionaries who swear allegiance to a criminal cannot form the government.”

He had also filed a PIL to prevent Jayalalitha’s picture from appearing on bus stands and buses.

He was responsible for bringing the ban on the use of motorised fish carts in Chennai in 2002. The fish carts, also known as Thattu Vandi, are motorised carts with a flat wooden plate at the back which causes a lot of damage and injuries if it accidentally hits people. Furious with his actions, the fish sellers attacked him and damaged his property.

Ramaswamy was also abandoned by his own family when he started receiving death threats. But today, even the fishermen acknowledge his efforts and accept that the ban was important.

“What is wrong should be addressed without fearing anything. That is what I have always done.”

– Ramaswamy

Another major change that he brought to the city was by going against unauthorised constructions. He managed to get a multi-storey building which was encroaching on the street at T. Nagar demolished. He also got a one-way road where a lot of lives had been lost due to accidents, converted into two-way

The 80 year old man is still standing tall and fighting against wrong.

Most of his actions are backed by the PILs that he files.

Cathedral Road in Chennai is one of the best kept roads in the city as it has the houses of two of Tamil Nadu’s biggest political leaders on each side of the road. The entire stretch of the road used to be covered with party posters and banners. Ramaswamy filed a PIL to remove the posters and won the case too. Too scared to go against the powerful figures, the police and other officials were reluctant to remove these posters. So Ramaswamy went ahead and removed them himself.

Having spoken loudly against corruption, he has been attacked several times and today has court protection and lives alone due to several death threats given to his dear ones.

He also launched a political party, Makkal Pathukappu Kazhagam in January 2014, which is open to anyone to join. “I want to invite people to get associated with it and feel free to raise their voice against what is wrong. The party already has thousands of people engaged with it,” he says.

What keeps him going?

Having spoken loudly against corruption, he has been attacked several times and today has court protection and lives alone due to several death threats given to his dear ones.

“It is the love for my city and a dream to see it progress that keeps me going. I believe there will be a day when the entire nation will be corruption-free. But only if we all come together to fight for it.”

– Ramaswamy.

He believes that the real power lies with the people and they should use it. “I want citizens to be bold. They should not fear anything and come out in the open,” he says.

From a mill worker to a social activist, Traffic Ramaswamy’s life has been full of ups and down. But he has always stood by his decisions and raised his voice against what is wrong. Even in his twilight years, he shows strong will power and immense dedication towards a better city and, above all, a better India.

Contact Ramaswamy on his Facebook page.

Source….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Chennai’s Colonial Era LandMarks….

August 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Chennai's colonial-era landmarks

Photo: Nathan G./Mint

The port city has drawn traders from far and wide to set up shop. Here are six pre-Independence establishments that are still thriving

On 22 August 1639, three square miles of land on the Coromandel Coast, where Fort St. George is located today, was handed over to the British East India Company by the local Nayaka rulers. It was from that shard of earth—flanked by ocean and dusted with blond sand—that Madras originated.

Now called Chennai, the city celebrated its 376th birthday on Saturday. Here are the profiles of some of the city’s most iconic institutions.

Victoria Technical Institute

Photo: SaiSen/Mint

The sepulchral atmosphere at the Victoria Technical Institute (VTI) is deepened by a marble statue of the puritanical monarch in full court dress—crown, cloak and sceptre—glaring beadily at you. The pretty young lady on the phone, however, doesn’t seem to be bothered. She has lined up a selection of baby dresses and is discussing the specifics with someone at the other end of the line, possibly a friend or relative who has recently had a baby girl. “I’m sure it will fit her,” she says, “She is still very small.”

This is perhaps one of the few places where you get frocks of this sort in the city: light-as-air smocked cotton in pastel shades with little flowers embroidered all over it. Other remnants of a time gone by can be found here: lace-edged doilies, plump tea cosies, wicker baskets, household linen with cut-work embroidery, multicoloured knitted napkin holders.

Most of the embroidery is done by women’s self-help groups in South India,” says C. Israel, CEO-IC (chief operating officer, in charge) of VTI. “We support them by giving them this platform to showcase their work.”

VTI, which was established as a public charitable trust in 1887 to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria, was registered as a society in 1889.

“A few citizens of the Madras Presidency came together to start an organization to help the craftspeople of this country,” says Israel. “They wanted to preserve Indian handicrafts this way.”

VTI’s importance and reach grew as the society’s councillors began persuading craftspeople to route their products through the institute. Scholarships were offered to artisans and more art colleges were established in the Madras Presidency. In 1909, VTI got its first permanent exhibition centre: the Victoria Public Hall on Pantheon Road, Egmore.

When World War II erupted in Europe, British troops chose to occupy the Victoria Public Hall and the institute was moved to a rented store on Mount Road. In 1956, a new flagship showroom was opened in the same area.

The institute, which is spread across three floors and employs around 42 people, has craftspeople from all across the country supplying goods. Finely moulded statues of various Hindu gods in bronze, stone and rosewood can be found on the ground floor and in the adjoining gallery; the brightly coloured enamel work of Rajasthan and equally brilliant wares of Channapatna are balanced by the more subdued Bidriware and Dhokra art, while exquisitely carved and painted wooden furniture takes up an entire floor.

“There are over a hundred different sorts of handicrafts here,” says Israel. “And we constantly meet new craftsmen and invite them to display the best of their workmanship here.”

The Old Curiosity Shop

There is something decidedly Dickens-esque about the red-brick building on Mount Road that houses the Kashmir Art Palace. Step inside and you will understand why it is also called ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’. A line from the inimitable author’s novel, by the same name, flashes unbidden across the mind as you step inside, “the place… was one of those receptacles for old and curious things which seem to crouch in odd corners of this town and to hide their musty treasures from the public eye”.

Mohammed Lateef, whose father started the store in the mid-1940s, says, “The struggle for Independence was at its peak back then and there was a lot of turmoil in the north of India. My father (Ghulam Mohammed) came down to Madras for a visit and liked the relative peace and simplicity of the people here.”

Mohammed Lateef. Photo: SaiSen/Mint

So, Ghulam went back to Kashmir, sold his existing business and used the money to set up the shop on Mount Road. “Back then, people didn’t understand the concept of antiques,” says Lateef. “This used to simply be a gift shop for the English officers who needed to pick up things to take back to their homeland.”

It was his clientele who named the shop, laughs Lateef, turning on a cassette player. Don McLean’s Vincent wafts through the store. With a satisfied expression, Lateef leans back and says, “My style has always been vintage and I don’t sell anything I don’t like. I suppose this store reminded (clients) of the original Old Curiosity Shop.”

Currently, he says, his shop has a mix of both old and new things, “A lot of my clients are in the IT sector—they like to spend money on their house. And I like educating them,” says Lateef, who claims that Jawaharlal Nehru, former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran and actor Sivaji Ganesan visited the store during their lifetime.

“I can make you go back in history,” he promises, picking up a large lump of quartz that gleams gently in the dim light. Holding it up, he remarks, “This is at least million years old.”

There are other things in the store, perhaps not so primeval, but rare and unique nevertheless: finely embroidered, ancient pashmina garments, sepia-hued letters written by Indian statesmen, black-and-white photographs and the cameras that took them, gramophones, radios, typewriters, telescopes, compasses, sundials, five-decade old comics, century-old etchings and sketches, toys, vinyl records, coins, stamps, vintage jewellery, old movie posters, books produced by the Gutenberg press.

“After the British left India, this changed from a gift store to an antique one,” he says, “I talked to my clientele, understood their hobbies and started sourcing things for collectors all over the world. Some of the things I have here once belonged to royalty.”

Gem and Company

It is a small, unpretentious store on NSC Bose Road opposite the Madras high court. Clunky old buses trundle past, shoving pedestrians off the road and raising whorls of dust that find their way into the store, coating furniture and clients with a fine layer of dirt.

Behind the glass shutters of the wooden shelves, however, the pens are safe enough: the little-girl fountain pens with Disney princesses and fairies emblazoned on them, the slender metal cylinders that glint in the sun, the hand-crafted ebonite canisters of swirly brown and streaky black, the packets of cheap and convenient ball pens, the multicoloured gel pens.

“I have a passion for pens and love them,” says M. Pratap Kumar, owner of Gem and Co., which exclusively sells pens. “That is why I do what I do.”

M. Prabhat Kumar. Photo: SaiSen/Mint

It began a little less than a century ago, in the late 1920s, when Kumar’s grandfather N.C. Cunnan and his friend Venkatrangam began Gem and Co. Back then, all pens had to be imported from England, he says, adding that today, besides the regular brands such as Parker, Reynolds, Cello, Waterman, Sheaffer and Cross, he also sells the shop’s own brand of pens, Gama. “We sell our pens all over India and abroad,” he says.

Though he stocks a variety of pens, Kumar admits that he has a penchant for the good old fountain pen. “I always advise children who come here to use fountain pens. They are cheap, long-lasting, eco-friendly, don’t stress either the paper or your fingers and give you a much more legible and neat script,” he says, admitting that he is thrilled that schools in the city today are now insisting on their students using fountain pens.

In addition to selling pens, he also focuses on pen servicing, “The fountain pen is a very technical instrument; our exclusive service station for old pens can help you revive even your grandfather’s pen.”

From a shelf below, he takes a slender, velvet-padded box and opens it to reveal an amber-coloured pen. The cap is shattered and the nib cracked, but he picks it up almost reverentially and remarks, “This is an antique pen—once I am done with it, it will write better than any new one.”

Higginbothams

The air-conditioning isn’t working and shimmery, gossamer cobwebs hang like decidedly unlovely birthday streamers off long-stemmed grubby white fans. But the stained glass through which sunlight filters in leaving behind tiny pinpricks of bright light on the smooth black and white Italian tiles is beautiful, as is the sweeping wooden staircase that leads to the gallery above.

The pendulum of the tall grandfather clock must have oscillated for nearly 170 years, but time continues to sit lightly on Higginbothams, the oldest surviving bookstore in India. Unlike most other popular bookstores in Chennai, which have diversified their offerings over the past decade or so (in a few cases, books are no longer even stocked there), Higginbothams is unabashedly what it claims to be—a bookstore in the truest sense of the word.

Photo: Nathan G./Mint

M. Hemalatha, a senior customer relations manager who has been with the company for more than 33 years, says, “We are a conservative place and our environment may not be fancy. But when it comes to books, we have all that you require here. We have books across all subjects—technical and academic, bestsellers, classics, non-fiction, regional language publications…”

Labelled shelves of books cover the nearly 12,000 sq. ft store, while notice boards mounted on the wooden railings that bind the mezzanine floor celebrate the power of the written word. “Finishing a good book is like leaving a good friend,” declares one notice, attributing the comment to American publisher and author William Feather. Joseph Addison’s observation that “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body,” is printed on another. Then there is Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and writer Barbara Tuchman’s simple but lucid comment, a personal favourite—“Books are the carriers of civilization.”

Started by Abel Joshua Higginbotham, a former librarian, in 1844, the bookstore has grown into one of the key attractions of the city. It was frequented by the who’s who of the day, from publisher John Murray to Madras governor Charles Trevelyan and British prime minister Clement Atlee; it became the official book supplier of most government-owned or managed institutions of the time, including the Connemara Public Library.

In 1891, Abel’s son C.H. Higginbotham took over and began expanding the business—building the large high-ceilinged white building where the store is now located, taking it to other large cities in South India and also establishing capsule versions of the store at most railway stations.

“In addition to our larger stores in South India, we also have stores in college campuses, railway stations and the Chennai airport,” says Hemalatha.

In 1925, the store was bought by John Oakshott Robinson and merged with his existing printing unit, Associated Press, to form Associated Publishers.

Black-and-white portraits of the various stakeholders in the business smile enigmatically at you as you enter the store. Between the two portraits of founder Abel Joshua Higginbotham and his son C.H. Higginbotham is one of the late S. Anantharamakrishnan, founder of the Amalgamations Group.

“The bookshop was taken over by the Amalgamations Group in 1945,” explains Hemalatha, adding that it has been with the group ever since.

Despite it being a weekday morning, there are a few children crouched on the floor, examining the bottom shelf of the children’s section. “Reading is increasing among young people in spite of multimedia influences,” says Hemalatha. “Earlier, we were afraid that physical stores would go as the online market was able to give discounts we could not match. However, people who truly love reading still enjoy browsing in a bookstore for the touch and feel of books. And because we are a serious bookstore, they continue to come here.”

Poppat Jamal and Sons

The last year of the 19th century saw a terrible famine spread across Western and Central India. Poppat Jamal, whose family had a wool-exporting business in Gujarat, decided to escape it by leaving home. After a brief stint in Rangoon and then Bombay, he decided to explore the south of India and landed up in Madras.

“My grandfather came here and found a job working with Ibrahim Peer Mohammed and Company, a crockery company in Broadway,” says Mahmud N. Jamal, who has taken care of the business since the early 1970s.

Mahmud Jamal. Photo: SaiSen/Mint

In 1901, Poppat Jamal’s employer decided to sell the business, “He asked my grandfather what he thought the stock in the store was worth,” says Mahmud. “My grandfather said Rs50,000, which was a fortune in those days.”

Though he didn’t have that sort of money, Poppat Jamal agreed to take it over. “The former owner told my grandfather to pay him back after selling the goods. There was a lot of trust in those days,” adds Mahmud.

The large blue-and-white cup and saucer at the entrance of the store may proclaim the name of the business in its current avatar, Poppal Jamal and Sons. But it was not always named so, reveals Mahmud.

“My grandfather started the business with his brother, so it was initially called Poppat Jamal and Brothers,” he says. “When his brother passed away in the 1920s, the name changed to Poppal Jamal and Sons.”

Prior to Independence, the wares were imported from the UK and Japan, he adds. However, as better Indian brands came into the market, they started sourcing more products locally.

From bright melamine dinner sets to Cristal d’Arques glasses, neatly packaged lunch boxes, ceramic cups, airtight storage boxes, electronic gadgets and finely carved silverware, the range is extensive and attractive.

“We stock both local and international brands; we also have Taz, our in-house brand,” says Mahmud, adding that baking equipment is currently hugely popular. “We have a cross-section of buyers and our price range extends from Rs10 to Rs40,000.”

The store has changed locations (in 1958, it moved from Broadway to Mount Road) and the business has expanded (the company now has four stores in the city, as well as stores in Coimbatore and Vijayawada) but what the brand stands for remains essentially the same: PQR—Price, Quality, Range.

Mathsya

They say that when the Battle of Kurukshetra was fought, the king of Udupi refused to take sides, opting instead to cook and serve food to the soldiers gathered on the battleground. As with most stories from the epics, divine intervention came into play: the king would meet Lord Krishna every day to determine how many soldiers would survive the battle that day, thereby deciding the quantity he had to cook.

Little wonder indeed that the little town of Udupi in South Kanara, Karnataka, produces some of the finest vegetarian food in the country. Once upon a time, Madras was filled with hotels serving Udupi cuisine; unfortunately with the changing times, many of the old Udupi hotels were forced to shut down.

Mathsya, located at the corner of Halls Road in Egmore, has managed to hold its own since the turn of the last century. Ram Bhat, a partner of the popular restaurant, says, “To understand Mathsya, you have to understand Udupi philosophy. At the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, food is served as prasadam to all.”

His grandfather Ramanna Bhat, who set up the restaurant in the early 1900s, was affiliated to that temple and set up the restaurant when he moved to Madras. “Back then, it was called Madras Café,” he says. “When my uncle Shama took over, he called it the Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan.”

The name changed again after Independence, it was then called Udupi Home, he says, adding that “During the Indo-China War in 1962, there were constant power cuts, the trains came in late and people were stranded without food. So, the government gave Udupi Home permission to serve food post-midnight.”

And that holds good even today. The bells that decorate the hand-crafted wooden door of the restaurant jingle into the wee hours of the morning, while a wooden statue of Mathsya (the piscine avatar of god Vishnu) in the centre of the room welcomes all who enter—middle-aged homemakers, runny-nosed children, mustachioed businessmen and mini-skirted party-goers—equally graciously.

“In the late 1970s, we changed the entire set-up and gave it a more modern look and menu,” says Bhat. “While the rasam vadai, Raja Raja Cholan dosai, onion rava dosai, Manglore bondas and filter coffee continue to be all-time favourites, we also have things like cheese toast, bread-peas masala, aloo parotta and pav bhaaji,” he says, adding that “we are the first restaurant to introduce authentic Punjabi and north Indian cuisine to the south”.

Source…..Preeti Zachariah…..www.mintonsunday.livemint.com

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Message for the Day…” Shiva must be seen thro the two horns of Nandi…”

August 23, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Sathya Sai Baba

When visiting a temple of Lord Shiva, none should pass between the bull (Nandi) and the Lingam – the Jiva (individual soul) and Lord Shiva, it is said; for they are to merge into one. Shiva must be seen through the two horns of Nandi, they say. When asked the reason for this procedure people reply, “Well, it is holier than other methods of viewing the Lingam”. But the inner meaning is, ‘You must see the Shiva in Jiva’ – Pasu (animal) and Pasupathi (Lord of all beings) are one: Nandi and Iswara become Nandiswara. When in bondage, it is Nandi; when the bound becomes free, it is Iswara – Nandiswara! This Union is entitled to be honoured. When Pasu is offered to the Pasupathi, and its separate identity is cast away, it is true Yajna (sacrifice). Today, these symbolic acts have changed beyond recognition. The practices of today and the principles of yesterday are far apart – the smallest detail of secular life must be inspired by the higher ideal of spiritual fulfillment.

Madras …then and now….

August 22, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Change has always been beautiful and always will be. You go down the memory lane while seeing the old photos and reminiscing the time that passed by. And it may be anything – school friends, best friend or your hometown. Can you imagine how much of an impact it would create if the photos were merged into one and you couldn’t help but notice the stark difference and revel in that moment?

This Indian photographer, Raunaq Mangottil, has clicked photographs of Chennai. And these are not just photographs that hold aesthetic value, but it makes you realise the change that city has undergone over the years. When you look at it, you would realise that so many things have changed but even then, some things haven’t.

1. Statue of Thomas Munro, Park Town

Then: Thomas Munro, an official of East India Company who came to Chennai in 1789 and was responsible for Ryotwari system. After he died, his statue was made here.

Now: One of the blissful places of Chennai now. Free from traffic, this area is now taken care of by the military.

2. The Hindu Office

Then: The balcony of this office was used to keep a check on the test match scores, as can be seen in the picture.

Now: The never ending traffic has put an end to that.

3. Spencer Plaza Signal, Mount Road

Then: Bullock carts were a common sight then and the Kashmir Art Palace, the Old Curiosity Shop, and Agurchand Mansion leading to the LIC Building is quite evident.

Now: Only frustrating one-ways.

4. Corporation Of Madras

Then: This was constructed in a Neoclassical style and stands to be one of the finest structures of Chennai.

Now: Passers-by are not allowed and is now shielded by Metro Construction blue sheets.

5. Higginbotham’s & Poompuhar

Then: This one was for all book lovers. This was India’s then largest bookstore. The building next to Higginbotham’s is Poompuhar, the popular textile shop.

Now: Though the bookstore is there even now, you’re most likely to be pulled over by the cops because of parking problems. It has a brilliant English-language selection, including Lonely Planet books, and a good range of maps now.

6. Casino Theater

Then: Mount Road was a cart track leading from Fort St.George to St.Thomas Town, as well as functioning as a heavenly treat for film buffs.

Now: Unfortunately, a terribly managed and a lost landmark now.

7. Chennai Central

Then: This station was relatively a calm place. People used cycles for commuting other than the much acclaimed Ambassador cars then.

Now: It is filled with the ever increasing population, but it stands majestic even now.

8. Egmore Station

Then: Madras Egmore was previously called the Egmore Redoubt, a place to store ammunition for the Britishers.

Now: Still retains its old charm, but with an added advantage of CCTV Cameras and round-the-clock security.

9. Rajaji Salai

Then: This was one of the main commercial centers of Chennai. Walking on this road used to be a pure bliss.

Now: Traffic runs incessantly between SBI Buildings and Burma Bazaar now.

See, he hasn’t just rummaged through the internet for old pictures. It is a brilliant collection which is guaranteed to make you go nostalgic.

News Source: I am Madras

Source….Aparajta Mishra….www.storypick.com

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India Is Home To The World’s First Completely Solar-Powered Airport….

August 22, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

One of the world’s three biggest polluters just took a big step toward reducing its greenhouse emissions and embracing renewable energy sources.

India’s fourth-largest airport, the Cochin International Airport in the southern city of Kochi, announced on Tuesday that it is now “absolutely energy neutral,” The Economic Times reports. The airport is co-funded and operated by the Indian government through a public-private partnership.

The airport’s energy neutrality is possible thanks to a 12-megawatt solar system consisting of more than 46,000 panels installed on a 50-acre site. The system can generate up to 60,000 units of electricity daily.

According to Al Jazeera America, the project took six months to build and cost $10 million, which the airport anticipates it will recover within five years. The panels are expected to last 25 years.

The Cochin airport’s solar panels as seen from above in Kochi, India in the southern state of Kerala.

The panels were designed and installed by Bosch Ltd., which has a five-year partnership with the airport, according to Catch News.

The airport began testing solar energy in March 2013, when it installed a small solar plant on the arrival terminal’s rooftop, according to The Economic Times.

The project has been seen as a model for the rest of India, and the government is urging other airports to follow suit.

India’s goal is to ramp up solar capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2022. Its current capacity is four gigawatts.

India has a broader goal to derive 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2022, with 3 percent coming exclusively from solar. Earlier this summer, the government rolled out new incentives to encourage developers to turn to renewable energy.

Source…..Joseph ErbentrautChicago Editor, The Huffington Post,….www.huffingtonpost.com

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August 22, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

I love small airports. I believe they are wonderful creations of God, made solely for the purpose of teaching big airports a thing or two about how airports are meant to be.

Small airports are refreshingly cosy. They don’t hurry you. If you are late, which in my case is almost always, there is someone willing to help you through with some good, old fashioned hollering. (“Hey, Bill, this gentleman has forgotten his luggage, can you run him home in your car while I hold the gates open?”)

At small airports, owing to the plethora of electronic equipment and assorted connectors in my hand baggage, I always get extra attention (“Ooh, what do we have here–let’s have a look-see, shall we?”), which never fails to make me feel special. Invariably, this allows me to catch up with the security officer about the weather, and thereafter guide him by way of a series of manipulative answers to ask me what I teach at Bournemouth University. When he does, I lie through my teeth and say, “Nanotechnology.” I always go for nanotechnology because nobody is impressed with journalism or journalists these days, and, between you and me, there isn’t much future for either.

The other reason I love small airports is because they come with small planes. Small planes are utterly charming, if you ask me. They have an individuality that big planes lack. You get to walk up to them and board, which makes the whole experience up close and very personal. You get to notice that the panting blonde who is waving you on to the plane is the same blonde who checked in your luggage when you arrived and the same blonde who scanned your boarding pass a minute ago. You get to see the dirt marks on the nose of the plane and the places where the paint is beginning to peel. If you plan the boarding carefully, you might even get to run your hands on the fuselage a bit. This is something you never get to do with big planes. Who amongst us can claim to have scratched the underbelly of an Airbus or a Boeing? No one, I bet.

When you walk into the cabin of small planes, you get to duck your head a bit and feel tall and powerful. This is good for the morale, particularly for short people, who never get to feel tall and powerful otherwise. If Napoleon had flown Flybe even once, I am certain the world would have been spared much bloodshed. In small planes, you can also peer over the pilot’s shoulder and say, “Aha, gotcha, you doodler!” After that, if you are the worrying kind, you could check with the flight attendant if the plane did indeed stop at your destination (“Excuse me, miss, but could you tell the pilot I want to get down in Edinburgh?”). I always do this because it is good to confirm things, and also because it reminds me of a more innocent time when everybody went everywhere by bus and you routinely passed on similar instructions to the driver.

Once you’re inside, small planes allow you to connect to the world in a manner big planes cannot. The flight attendants are less robotic, almost awkward, at times on the edge of a fumble. You see everyday traffic through your window as you taxi. When you take off, you receive a free back massage, thanks to the frantic reverberations of a small engine struggling against the big pull. The best part is that you get to see the world passing beneath you in a Google Earth kind of way. And if you have seated yourself in the fore of the plane slightly ahead of the wings (in my opinion, the seventh or eighth row is best for this), you can press your nose to the window and watch the propellers whirring close to your face. Call me macabre, but there is something distinctly primal and thrilling about that sight. Big planes and big airports? No, it is not the same.

Chindu Sreedharan teaches journalism at Bournemouth University, England. He is the author of Epic Retold.

Source…..Dr Chindu Sreedharan …..www.huffingtonpost.com

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Room for Tea…

August 22, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Parsi mint tea with brun maska

Taj Mahal Tea House in Bandra is a bright and airy space serving 40 varieties of tea

Amid a mix of old residential buildings, small eateries and ice-cream parlours, a grand bungalow painted in royal blue and pristine white has been making heads turn in an arterial street in Bandra. So although it opened on Independence Day weekend, people around already recognise the Taj Mahal Tea House. It appears to have been plucked straight out of Pondicherry’s French colony but the intended theme, we are told, is all things Indian and all things tea.

This becomes more obvious on the inside, which looks like an ornate, life-sized version of the brand’s blue-gold-beige tea box. Floral turquoise tiles have been introduced into the original floor of the bungalow. The walls are painted in rough, textured beige and gold. Cushions, wall art and staff uniforms also follow roughly the same colour theme.Hindustan Unilever sees this as a natural extension of its 49-year-old brand in the experiential space.
It serves some 40 varieties of tea. The Indian part of the tea menu includes references to Goan, Parsi, Rajasthani and Kashmiri traditions. The beverages have a base of Taj Mahal tea and milk infused with different combinations of spices. The pick of the lot is the Parsi mint tea which is not unlike the tea still served at the cafeteria in Colaba’s Cusrow Baug. It teams well with a serving of butter-slathered brun maska and homemade jam. Like most things that are good for your health, the karipatta or curry leaf tea is an acquired taste. The too-milky base does not help it. On the other hand, the recommended food pairing for this – a breadupma made with crunchy croutons – is quite pleasant.

The menu also has white and green teas, oolongs and cold teas. We tried the warm jasmine pearl tea, which is soothing but perhaps best suited for the end of an evening. The pink jasmine lemonade tilts heavily on the sweeter side. The menu mentions the two coffees that are also available, like an afterthought. The all-day food offerings are served starting as early as 7.30 am. While the fluffy omelette with toastedbesan bread – the tea house’s own creation – is a winner, the sandwich with cucumber, rucola and aubergine filling makes no impact. A cup of tea is priced around Rs 150, while a pot could cost up to Rs 200. Prices for food including breakfast and main courses range from Rs 150-650 per serving.

India, and certainly Mumbai, loves its tea. Tea lounges have mushroomed as a posh alternative to the scores of tea stalls on any street side. They are a welcome addition to an arena crowded with identical, unappealing coffee shops. There is famously Tea Centre in Churchgate, Cha Bar or Wagh Bakri tea lounge. More recently, XVII Tea Room in Bandra and Burma Burma in Fort have entered the market in Mumbai.
The experience at the new tea house is planned to feel like a home, not a tough ask in what used to be someone’s home. The bungalow’s thick wooden ceiling, archways and patio have been restored. There is what is called the sun room, a bright-airy section just by the entrance with a couple of chairs and stacks of newspapers and magazines. The main area has conventional dining tables. The other segments provide copious nooks for those who need time and room to themselves. Anyone looking to join one’s friends here on a busy day might have a hard time finding them in this meandering tea house.

A variety of unique seating is spread throughout the 3,500 sq. ft. lounge – including arm chairs, rocking chairs and big one-seater sofas. Such a set-up could find takers in a city starved of living and breathing space. A patio with large tables is ideal for big groups. A standout feature is the music room, where the decor includes Niladri Kumar’s sitar, Zakir Hussain’s tabla, other memorabilia and an area for music performance or poetry readings. Bookshelves are sprinkled across the space. There is a chess board too. Hindustani and Carnatic classical are also the choice of background music in the lounge.
Other walls showcase Brooke Bond ads from the 1960s, one of which features a young Zeenat Aman, painstakingly sourced from eBay and Chor Bazaar. The final section of the lounge is for the retailing of tea leaves, breads, biscuits and muffins. Fans of the beverage may be tickled by the quotes hung in frames and printed on napkins. For instance, Jane Austen’s ‘Indeed I would rather have nothing but tea’ or Chaim Potok’s ‘Come let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.’

Source….Ranjita Ganesan…www.business-standard.com

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