Thai Poosam and the Tamil Frontier Spirit

Thai Poosam is a significant day for ethnic Tamils living in Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion and Singapore. This year, it falls on Saturday, January 30. The holiday denotes the full moon of the month of Thai and is dedicated to the God Murukan or Skanda, also known as Seyon in the Sangam-era of Tamil literature.

'Tai Poosam Cavadee’ is a public holiday in Mauritius and Reunion . It is a holiday in certain states of Malaysia. There were moves to lobby the Singapore Government to make it an official holiday in Singapore in lieu of Wesak which had been declared an ‘Indian holiday’ though largely confined to Sino-Singaporeans influenced by Sri Lankan Buddhist missionary activity. [The Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore are entitled to two public holidays each. Two days had already been allocated for the Chinese lunar new year. Deepavali had been designated as one 'Indian holiday'].

Murugan Temple in Verugal, Sri Lanka East-pic by: drs. sarajevo

Thai Pongal is not a noteworthy event for the ethnic Tamils of those lands. It is not observed with the same Jaffna fervour amongst the estate workers of central Sri Lanka either. Is there a reason for this?

I would like to surmise why. Thai Pongal is a harvest festival dedicated to the Sun God. It coincides with the purported shift north in the movement of the sun. This is known as Uttaraayanam and has a special resonance for rural farming communities that have tilled their lands for generations. This is witnessed to this day in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Each day in the entire month of Maarkali, Tamil farming communities draw decorative kolams using rice flour on their front porch and place a symbolic Pillaiyar [Ganesha as the patron deity of the farmer] at the center of the Kolam. The month long observance concludes with Thai Pongal.

However, the colonial interlude in the history of Tamil Nadu in the 1800s led to a breakdown of the vibrant rural paddy economy, of local authority and local irrigation networks. This resulted in repeated famines. The hunger and destitution forced many landless laborers to move across the seas to Malaya, Mauritius, Reunion and the tea plantations in Sri Lanka in the 1800s. The rural farmer lifestyle with its Vellalar/Mudaliyar-dominated caste feudalism had ended.

Like the God Murukan who moved out of his ‘parental home’ and sought his own ‘individual destiny’ as it were, the descendents of the indentured Tamil migrants who had been detached from their rural roots emphasized Thai Poosam as part of their new and at times more prosperous lives in far off lands. This was an expression of their independent tenacity in the new frontier of Tamil geographic space.

Many of the indentured laborers who moved overseas hailed from the fiercely independent Maravar/Thevar/Kallar/Thondaman caste noted for their devotion to the God Murukan. The Thevar Polygars/Palaiyakarar in Tirunelveli in the deep south of Tamil Nadu and the affiliated Thondamans in Pudukottai in central Tamil Nadu fiercely resisted the brief intrusion of the Delhi Sultanate in the 1300s, the raids of Tippu Sultan in the late 1700s and the onset of British rule in the 1800s. This militarized community formed regiments in the Vijayanagara and Madurai Mahratta Nayak armies. They were deeply religious and patronized Hindu religious institutions.

Thai Poosam therefore is a statement of displacement, independence and a tenacity of spirit, not agrarian conformity. While Ganesha went round his parents, Murukan went round the universe in search of the much sought after ‘Mango’. This holiday is a salute to self-reliance, perhaps even defiance. While this is conjecture on my part, it offers possible insights into the psyche of the 19th century Tamil diaspora.

Swamy threatens to launch stir on Madurai airport naming issue

Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy has threatened to launch an agitation if the Tamil Nadu Government further delayed its consent to name the city airport after freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.

Addressing a well-attended meeting organised by his party here this evening, Swamy, a former Lok Sabha member from this city, said the civil aviation ministry had already forwarded to the state government his proposal to name the airport after Thevar, revered by the backward Thevar community, seeking its comments.

Besides he had himself written a letter regarding the same. "But the Tamil Nadu Government is sitting silent on the letter," he claimed. He also said AIADMK Government headed by O Panneerselvam in 2001 had also not given its consent for the proposal.

"We follow the same policy of Thevar -- that nationalism and spiritualism are two eyes of a man. Thevar had national
outlook,and broke the back of the British in Tamil Nadu when the so called Dravidian parties were backing the Raj. Now it is for the congress Government to decide whether to name the airport after a freedom fighter or not, " he said.

Yet another DMK assault on Hindu faith

Coconut ban in Meenakshi Temple

By BR Haran

THE Tamil Nadu government is contemplating a ban on coconuts inside the world famous Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. Police attribute ‘security reasons’ for this decision; they claim the temple has always been on the terror radar and that central intelligence agencies have frequently received threats of a jihadi attack.

Though the police have increased security on the advice of the central intelligence agencies, they are wary of jihadis using coconuts as bomb planting instruments. They say it is very difficult for them to screen puja materials brought in from outside by thousands of devotees everyday, and that is why they recommended a ban on coconuts inside the temple. The temple’s Executive Officer Rajanayagam, in a show of rare “intelligence”, suggested that devotees could use flowers instead of coconuts! The archagas of the temple are dead against this outrageous idea.

Temple: Centre of community development and livelihood

Temples are a symbol of Bharat’s centuries-old divine heritage. A temple is a centre of activity, not only for the devotees and the archagas, but also a great livelihood for the traders of flowers, coconuts, fruits, herbs and leaves, bamboo sticks, brass and earthen lamps, puja materials, etc. Bamboo sticks were used to make plates and baskets for carrying materials for worship and now the plastic bags have replaced them and bamboo merchants around temples are now extinct. Plastics are posing a grave threat to the environment and to the lives of elephants and cows reared by the temple, and other cattle and dogs which roam near the temple depending on the food and eatables given by devotees and vendors. In one stroke, a poor community is made extinct and a danger to environment and animal lives is welcomed.

Puranic significance of coconut

There is an interesting Puranic history behind the sanctity of the coconut. While Bhagwan Shiva was on his mission of “Tripura Samhaaram”, the pivotal piece (Achaani in Tamil) of his chariot broke at a place in Tamil Nadu— Achirupaakkam (Achchu – pivotal piece; Itra – broke; paakkam – town and hence Achirupaakkam). Bhagwan Ganesha arrived and reminded Shiva that He was the one who told the world to start any ritual or function or even any act only after invoking the blessings of Ganesha, and since Shiva himself had failed to do so, his chariot was stranded. Shiva asked for a prayaschita; Ganesha said, “Since you failed to start with Ganesh Puja out of ahankaar (Karvam in Tamil, meaning head-weight), you have to sacrifice your head.” Later Parvati came to the rescue of Shiva and asked Ganesha to suggest a remedy as world will be ruined if Shiva’s head is removed from His body. Ganesha creates a coconut with three eyes and a tuft (Kudumi in Tamil) and breaks it. Hence the Tamil practice of addressing Shiva as Kudumi Thevar.

Devotees of Swami Ayyappan going to Sabarimala on pilgrimage carry ghee inside a coconut and break it at the temple in order to use the ghee for Abishekam. Normally butter and ghee are used mostly in Vishnu temples, as the name ‘Navaneethan’ indicates, and carrying ghee inside a coconut by Ayyappa devotees is to signify the birth of Swami Ayyappan out of the unison of Shiva and Vishnu. Coconut is an integral part of Hinduism, culture and tradition; there is no worship, custom or ritual sans coconut. Any coconut merchant would vouch for the fact that temples are at the top of his clientele list, rarely next only to hotels. The state govern-ment’s proposal seems to be yet another anti-Hindu act with an intention of giving a huge blow to religious tradition and culture. It will certainly hit the livelihood of coconut vendors, merchants and farmers.

Failure of the law enforcing department

The police citing ‘security reasons’ for the proposed ban on coconuts is outrageous and plain stupid. The Meenakshi Amman Temple has been under threat ever since Muslim fundamentalists started observing the anniversary of the so-called Babri demolition (which they actually ignored this year, with two senior clerics, Shia and Sunni respectively, organising family wedding festivities on that date, and arguing against observing the Babri anniversary). Yet in Tamil Nadu, a big drama is unfolded every year! A bomb blast occurred in the temple on May 18, 1996 within a year of the formation of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK). But TN police failed to check the growth of jihadi organisations, which resulted in the serial blasts in Coimbatore in February 1998.

Hostile environment: Government’s own creation

It is pertinent to understand the environment around the famous temple. Successive DMK governments have leased out the lands, shops and buildings around the temple for paltry sums. Most lessees are Muslims and the hundreds of shops (including meat shops) surrounding the temple are owned by Muslims; many are Kashmiri Muslims. Most shops mislead the public by having Hindu names! There is a rule by the Corporation that no structure should be built with a height of more than nine metres in a radius of one kilometre from the temple. But many buildings have come up, including a few churches and mosques. This rule holds good for other temples also, as it finds a place in HR & CE’s Rule Book itself. Regarding Meenakshi temple, it is difficult to have darshan of the temple towers even within half a kilometre! Instead of correcting this, the police talk of a ban on coconuts!

Anti-Telangana protestors turn against Tamil Nadu

A section of anti-Telangana agitators from the Rayalaseema region turned their anger against Tamil Nadu by closing the head regulator gates of Kandaleru reservoir to stop supply of Krishna water to Chennai under the Telugu Ganga project on Saturday.

When the authorities opened the gates on Sunday, a group of agitators ransacked the office.
The anger turned against Tamil Nadu because the announcement about the Centre's decision to accede to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader K Chandrasekhara Rao's demand for a separate State to be carved out of united Andhra was made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The agitators were further infuriated by the comment, quickly retracted by Union Home secretary G K Pillai that Hyderabad would be the capital of the proposed Telangana State.

The agitators were under the impression that Mr Pillai, a Keralite, is a Tamil. The divisional engineer of Kandaleru dam M.A. Subhramanyam said they have to release water to protect the inerest of Rayalaseema farmers. According to officials, they have been releasing 2,000 cusecs of water into Kandaleru-Poondi canal, which carries water to Chennai.

Of this, about 700 cusecs of water was being released at Poondi reservoir since the farmers of Nellore and Chittoor districts also utilise the water. Lands located along the course of the KP canal and Srikalahasti and Tirupati towns also depend on this water. Officials said stopping the water would seriously affect farming activity.

Another section of agitators sought to stop Chennai-bound trains in some parts of the Rayalaseema region.

Andhra-bound Tamil Nadu Government buses and lorries were halted at the border near Tiruvellore, 40 km from here. Truck movement was also affected in view of the unrest in Tirupati, Kalahasti, Nellore and Chittoor.

Meanwhile, Tamils living in Sathyavedu and other villages of Andhra Pradesh bordering Tiruvellore staged a road blockade on Sunday in protest against the division of the State. They said should the State, formed on linguistic basis, be divided, then the Tamil-majority villages in Chittoor districts should be merged with Tamil Nadu.

In another development, the Telangana issue has revived the demand for division of Tamil Nadu into north and south.

Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S Ramadoss revived the demand the other day, saying that the bifurcation of Tamil Nadu would benefit northern districts. What he left unsaid was that the Vanniar community, which is the base for his party, is concentrated in these districts. Likewise, Thevars are a predominent caste southern Tamil Nadu.

Therefore, the All-India Muvender Munnani Kazhagam, a Thevar caste group aligned with Ms Jayalalitha, has also raised the same demand.

Dr Ramadoss said the smaller states carved out of big states have been "performing exceptionally well on the development front." He recalled that he was severely criticised when he first raised the bifurcation demand ten years back "for the sake of better administration."

Vanniar Sangham leader A K Natarajan shared the dais with All India Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam president S sethuraman when the latter demanded a north-south divide with Madurai as capital for the proposed southern State.

The two leaders said that the composite Madras presidency had 12 districts at the time of the independence. Since the formation of Madras State in 1956, later renamed as Tamil Nadu, the number of districts had gone up to 32. The two leaders said if the government could create more districts for administrative convenience, the same logic would hold good for dividing the State into two.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday promptly and firmly dismissed the demand for a division of Tamil Nadu."Neither the DMK nor the people of Tamil Nadu will want it", he told reporters in Chennai.

Mr Karunanidhi also said, in reply to a question about the agitation against the move to form Telangana State, he said cryptically, "this is what will happen if a decision is delayed and then hurriedly sought to be enforced".

In Puducherry, the campaign for separating Karaikal enclave in Tamil Nadu and declaring it as another Union Territory was revived by S P Selvashanmugam of the Karaikal struggle committee. He said when Goa got Statehood, Daman and Diu in Gujarat retained the Union Territory status.( The comparison is not apt as Puducherry is still a Union Territory and it is yet to realise its long-pending demand for full-fledged Statehood.

Mr Shanmugham has threatened to lanuch an agitation from January next year if the Centre remained indifferent to the demand for separate Karaikal "because successive governments have ignored our interests and concentrated all the development in capital Pondy."

Mani Ratnam to launch Karthik’s son!

Everyone present at the press meet of Arun Vijay’s ‘Maanja Velu’ was at shock. The reason is yesteryear heartthrob Karthik’s dynamic attendance. The actor shocked the press by giving out his number and answered all the questions with that old zing (still young). “If I get good roles like how I got to work in ‘Maanja Velu’, I will definitely act hence forth,” said the actor to everyone’s delight. One more delightful news from the actor’s mouth was that his son Goutham will be launched by director Mani Ratnam soon. We got to hear that Mani Ratnam who will be working in a Hindi project right after his ‘Raavan’, will do a Tamil project with Karthik’s son simultaneously. Industry is abuzz that Goutham will be taking a role played by Bollywood’s Ranbir Kapoor in a Hindi film, which will be directed by Mani Ratnam.

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Manja Velu is almost complete

The Manja Velu team of director A Venkatesh, Stunt master Kanal Kannan, producer Mohan and lead actors Arun Vijay, Karthik, Riaz Khan and heroine Dhansika held a media briefing at AVM studio where the shooting is going on.

The film which is a remake of the Gopichand action film Lakshyam from Telugu is almost 75 percent complete. Said Arun Vijay: “ It is shaping up well and we hope to create the magic of our last super hit Malai Malai”.

Karthik is making a comeback of sorts after five years to mainstream commercial cinema. Said the actor: “I am doing a small role in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. When I got a call from Arun Vijay, to play his brother in the film, I was surprised. But now, we all are like one big family and most of the time, I don’t like to go home after pack-up. I am enjoying a warm welcome from my friends”.

Director A.Venkatesh added that technically the film is brilliant. Producer Dr Mohan announced that his third film will be titled Kavalthurai. Vijayakumar, father of Arun said that the 100 days function of Malai Malai will be held soon in a grand manner with Kamal Hassan being the chief guest.

Swamy condemns attack on Elangovan's house

Janata Party today condemned the attack on the residence of former Union Minister EVKS Elangovan and said the party would stand by the senior Congress leader.

Elangovan's house at Adyar here came under attack last night after he had torn and removed posters and banners eulogising slain LTTE leader V Prabhakaran in Erode.

"We condemn it. Janata Party will stand by him and let the pro-LTTE elements in the state be warned," party president Subramanian Swamy told reporters here.

Calling for strict action from the state government, Swamy, a vocal opponent of the LTTE, also demanded dismissal of the ruling DMK government, "even if one more poster comes up."

On "leak" of the Liberhan Commission report, he blamed Union home minister P Chidambaram for it.

Swamy said Centre had written to the state asking for its concurrence to rename the Madurai airport as Muthuramalinga Thevar International Airport, after the freedom fighter from Madurai.

He demanded that Tamil Nadu government withdraw a letter by former chief minister O Panneerselvam in 2001 objecting to the renaming of the Madurai airport and warned of launching an agitation if the letter was not withdrawn.

Suriya Bala confirmed for ART in Macau GP

By

Vince Pettit

Published: November 13, 2009Posted in: Formula BMW

Suriya balakrishna Thevar will be representing the Asia Racing Team (ART Motorsports) after agreeing a one-off race deal to drive fot them in the Macau GP.

Making his Macau debut the Singaporean driver will be taking part in the legendary street race.

Speaking before the announcement he said: “I have no expectations for this weekend as it’s going to be my second race in the Formula BMW Pacific series, and it’s a Street Race once again.”

“However, my strategy for the weekend is simple. I must learn the track well and use what I have learnt till now in the last race of the year. I’m just looking forward to the first and only practice of the weekend. It’s going to be a tough race for me but I am confident because I have a wonderful team to work with.”

Team Manager Philippe Descombes, added “We know Suriya very well from his Asian Formula Renault outings and Singapore GP – Formula BMW race. We accomplished two days of prolific testing in Zhuhai, China, and we made some good progress with him. Suriya’s physical condition is much better than it was at the time of Singapore GP. Definitely Macau GP will be another very important experience for him to prepare the 2010 season.”

Practice kicks off 19 November with Qualifying on 21 November and the race 22 November at 9.10am local time.

மீண்டும் நடிக்கும் கார்த்திக்

தமிழ்த் திரையுலகில் 1980-களில் கதாநாயனாக கலக்கியவர் கார்த்திக். சில வருடங்களுக்கு முன் சினிமாவுக்கு முழுக்கு போட்டார். தற்போது நாடாளும் மக்கள் கட்சி என்ற கட்சியை துவக்கி அரசியலில் குதித்தார். கார்த்திக்கை மீண்டும் நடிக்க வைக்க முயற்சிகள் நடந்தன. அவர் சம்மதிக்கவில்லை. ஆனால் தற்போது ஏ.வெங்கடேஷ் இயக்கும் மாஞ்சாவேலு படத்தின் கதை பிடித்துபோக திரும்பவும் நடிக்க வந்துள்ளார். இதுபற்றி இயக்குனர் ஏ.வெங்கடேஷ் கூறியதாவது:- மாஞ்சாவேலு படத்தில் முக்கியமான அண்ணன் கேரக்டர் உள்ளது. அந்த வேடத்துக்கு கார்த்திக் பொருத்தமாக இருப்பார் என்று அணுகினோம். கதையை கேட்ட கார்த்திக் நன்றாக இருக்கிறது என்று சொல்லி உடனே நடிக்கவும் சம்மதித்தார். அருண் விஜய்யின் அண்ணனாக படம் முழுவதும் வருகிறார். அவர் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட காட்சிகள் படமாக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. வருஷம் 16, கோகுலத்தில் சீதை கார்த்திக்கை இந்த படத்தில் பார்க்கலாம். சுறுசுறுப்பாக மின்சார வேகத்தில் புதுசக்தியோடு படப்பிடிப்பில் பங்கேற்கிறார். தினமும் காலை 8 மணிக்கு படப்பிடிப்பில் ஆஜராகி விடுகிறார். மாலை வரை படப்பிடிப்பு அரங்கிலேயே இருந்து காட்சிகளை முடித்து கொடுத்துவிட்டு புறப்படுகிறார். இந்தப் படம் அவருக்கு பெரிய திருப்புமுனையாக இருக்கும் என்றார்.