Why Gold Plating, Again On Gold ?

'Kalvi Thanthai' ( Father of education), as he is popularly called for his great reforms in education, former Tamil Nadu chief minister K.Kamaraj was remembered on his birth anniversary a few months ago. But, what do you think of the same egalitarian social reformer, as his image appears on the calenders hung in many provision stores, depicting him the representative of a particular community ? Adding insult to injury, the city has also witnessed a flex banner misusing even the eminent linguist and etymologist Devaneya Pavanar as a member of a particular community.

The banner announced the Naatru Nadu Vizha, an annual festival celebrated at Perur to honour the deity Lord Patteeswarar. The celebration is to remember the Supreme God ,who, by taking the incarnation of a farmer, planted saplings in a paddy field on the banks of river Noyyal in Perur.

Legend has it that Lord Shiva or Patteeswarar, a 'friend' of the eighth century devotional Tamil poet Sundarar, was 'helpless', since He had few gifts to present the bard. And, having known that the poet was on the way to meet Him at Perur, the God incarnated himself into a farmer and left the temple to plant saplings on a paddy field surrounded by fragrant creepers.

Speaking its glorious past, the Shiva temple stands on the banks of river Noyyal at Perur. Nevertheless, its deity seems to be 'helpless' even now, like how He was to His friend and poet Sundarar. The Almighty, who caught even the sacred river Ganga on His brow and checked its flow from His matted locks, seems to have done little to protect Noyyal from Karunya University, Chinmaya International School and Isha Yoga Centre, which are blocking the river's waterways.

While industries and dyeing units of Coimbatore and Tirupur discharge their effluents into Noyyal and certain NGOs pretend to restore the polluted river for obtaining domestic and international funds, it is a great pity that the God stands as a mute spectator in His Perur shrine, which is commended as Melai Chidamparam on par with the great Thillai Nataraja Temple.

Unlike the silent Shiva, great Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, in his immortal work Thirukural, emphasizes the importance of water by glorifying rain as 'ambrosia', without which, even offerings to God would be hardly possible on earth.

However, the poet and philosopher, who preached equality in birth of all beings, has faced a discrimination from the touch-me-not sadhus at Haridwar in Utharakhand. His 12-ft statue, which was taken to be installed on the banks of the highly polluted Ganges, unbidden, is now lying abandoned wrapped in a plastic sheet.

At a time, when a few political leaders demand the proper installation of Thiruvalluvar's statue on the same river bank, Raja Manickam, one of the Facebook user from Coimbatore, only wonders at the 'crying need' for installing the universal Tamil poet's statue in North India.

Praising a poem by Venil Krishnamoorthy, a Coimbatore-based publisher and poet, on the uninvited act, Raja Manickam left a comment thus:

“ Thangathirkku Etharkada Varnam? “ ( Why gold plating again on gold ? )

Sources: Kongumandala Sathakam – Karmega Kavingar, Thiruperur Puranam - Kachiyappa Munivar, Noyyal Andrum Indrum – Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion – John Dowson.

Sharing Memoirs of His Nondescript Kongu Hamlet

C.Subramaniam, Former Vice - Chancellor, Tamil University, Thanjavur 

In his poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, famed English poet Thomas Gray mourns the death of the common people as he comes across a country churchyard in an evening. Finding no difference between the great and common, Gray even assumes that there might be someone like John Milton, Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden among the dead villagers, whose talents had never been discovered, for they were simply folks of the countryside. From a similar angle as Gray viewed the rustic people, a poet from the Kongu region shares his memoirs on the people of his village people in his book Mamaraththupatti. And the poet is none other C.Subramaniam, former registrar of Bharathiyar University and retired Vice-chancellor of Tamil University, Thanjavur.

“ The hamlet 'Mamaraththupatti' in the present day Tirupur district is my native. In my book of poems on the same title, I have remembered a few, great people, who have left an indelible mark on me” says C.S, as C.Subramaniam is popularly called in Coimbatore.

While introducing the arid village C.S says:

“ Despite its name being ' Mamarathupatti' ( A village of mango trees), the village hardly has any trees. And I wonder how it was named so”

But, Sirpi Balasubramaniam, a two-time Sahitya Akademi award winning poet of Coimbatore, who has penned the foreword to the book, assumes the answers for C.S's question.

“ It is surprising that the village ' Mamarathupatti' has few trees. Still, it could have got the name after a rare event, in which a mango tree must have grown somewhere there! ”

Though the book is about a nondescript hamlet in the Kongu region, Sirpi commends C.S for making it distinctive by introducing its sons of the soil in the background of their anecdotes in his book of poems.

A busy educationist, heading a number of schools and colleges in the city, C.S informs that he could find a little time to write the book while he was at his daughter's home in the US recently.

“ Writing a book on my native village Mamarathupatti had been my long-time wish. The characters you come across in my book are real men and women of my village, alive or dead today. Their ethical life style,culture and sincerity inspired me to pen the book” says C.S.

The book Mamarathupatti, which has as many as 24 chapters, includes the author's memoirs on a traditional midwife, who helped his mother deliver the child. Interestingly, soon after the baby boy (C.Subramaniam) was born, the birth worker had to attend to another pregnant woman, who delivered a baby girl just after an hour from C.S's birth. And now, the baby-boy and baby-girl are the elderly couple C.Subramaniam and Chellam Subramaniam – the husband and wife, who met the coincidence of sharing their birthday!

Writing a chapter on Periyaa Nadar, a coconut palm climber, C.S recalls:

“ Periya Nadar would always be bare-chested. If you observed the bruises on his body, you could certainly say the number of trees he climbed. A diehard fan of the Tamil matinee idol and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.G Ramachandran, Nadar, one day, watched the evening show of M.G.R's 1955 box office hit Gulebakavali at the touring talkies in the village Arikaran Valasu. The film, which portrays the hero's fight with a tiger, had a different effect on Nadar. As we headed to the same film for the night show, the innocent Periyaa Nadar told us that we would not watch M.G.R's fight with the tiger in the night show. Because, the hero had killed the animal in the evening show itself ! “ 

Link to a small publication of this story in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/15022155 

Introducing the Unorthodox Spiritual World of Siddhas

Ignorant people, who are in the rat race of modern life, can opt out of the meaningless struggle for material, if they read and enjoy a few interesting songs by Pambatti Siddhar, one of the unorthodox saints, who practised a revolutionary form of spirituality against the established religious doctrines in Tamil Nadu. Though most Coimbatoreans have been to the 'Pambatti Siddhar Cave' on Marudhamalai, many know little on his life, contributions and attainment of Samadhi in the cave.

“The term 'Siddha' has different synonyms to mean the wisest man, for 'Sidh' means wisdom” explains S. Sethupathi, who has authored the Tamil book Sindhai Kavarntha Siddhar Padalkal ( Inspiring poems of the Siddhas)

S.Sethupathi

An author of over 50 Tamil books, Sethupathi is currently a professor of Tamil in Bharathidasan Government College for Women, Puducherry. His book Sinthai Kavarntha Siddhar Paadalkal is a compilation of poems by as many as 24 Siddhas. Of them, a verse by Pambatti Siddhar parodies the short- lived material pleasures of people.

Eminent poet and bilingual translator M.L Thangappa has rendered the poem into English for Parai, an anthology of Tamil literature edited by modern Tamil poet Pothiyaverpan. It reads thus:

Storeyed mansions

Decorated halls

Fortressed castles and palaces

Do not accompany one

After life is gone.

People who know this

Do not cherish those things

But look upon them with disdain.

Declare this to the world, O snake

Though the world does not know the natural name of the unorthodox saint, it is interesting to note that he got the name ' Pambatti Siddhar', as he could once be a snake charmer by profession. Some other researchers on Siddha literature view it from a different angle and opine that it could be due to the refrain in his poems ' O snake', as, at the end of every stanza, he orders the serpent to take his philosophy to people.

In addition to the poems, Sethupathi has also provided short biographical sketches of the Siddhas as he heard from people and read from legends, for no historical documentation was done on their lives.

“ Legend has it that Pambatti Siddhar was once a snake charmer. One day, he had gone deep into the woods looking for a king cobra, which had a ruby in it. But, there, he came across a mystic, whose name was Sattai Muni. The mystic, with a tinge of philosophy, asked the snake charmer why he had come in search for the serpent, while it is already within his body ! Then he explained to him that every human body is a forest, inside which a cobra dwells. Its name is Kundalini, the potential power which is believed to lie coiled ( like a snake) at the base of one's spine” says Sethupathi.

It is also believed that Kundalini is awakened through meditation and other yogic exercises for attaining enlightenment.

“ The snake charmer accepted Sattai Muni as his guru and listened to his 'upathesams'. Then having learned all austerities from him, the snake charmer did penance for years and finally became a 'Siddha'. Hence he came to be called 'Pambatti Siddhar' ” explains Sethupathi. 

Link to a short, edited write-up in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/14922106 

Imbibing Pablo Neruda's 100 Love Sonnets in Tamil

 How is the translation of their languages

Arranged with the birds?

- Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

As a boy, Pa.Gunasekar would run errands for the DMK founder C.N.Annadurai, whenever the leader visited Coimbatore. Anna would call the 15 year-old boy and ask him to hire a horse cart,in which he and his party colleague E.V.K.Sampath traveled on the streets of Coimbatore to address public meetings.

An author of as many as 24 books, Gunasekar is 80 years old.

Pa.Gunasekar - Picture shot by A.Raja Chidamparam

“ We lived just opposite the house of the couple Krishnasamy and Gandhimathi in R.S.Puram. Gandhimathi, a teacher of Mathematics, was the daughter of Kannammal, Periyar E.V.Ramasamy's younger sister. And Krishnasamy was a cousin of E.V.K.Sampath. During those days, I have seen Anna and Sampath stay in their house and go to the Rainbow cinema in an Oldsmobile car to watch English films” recalls Gunasekar.

“ After enjoying an evening show at Rainbow, the Dravidian stalwarts traveled to 'Chidamparam Poonga' ( V.O.C.Park) in a horse cart and addressed the public meetings there” reminisces Gunasekar, who also penned a book Perarignar Anna Oru Pugazh Gopuram – His memoirs on C.N.Annadurai.

The leader, whom people addressed as 'Tamil Nadu's Bernard Shaw' for his memorable plays, staged many of them including Chandiramohan, Or Iravu, Vandikaran Mahan and Needhi
Devan Mayakkam at the R.S.Puram Boys High School.

“ In Needhi Devan Mayakkkam, I have seen Anna even donning the role of Ravana, the Lankan Tamil king, who is depicted as a villain in the Ramayana “ remembers Gunasekar.

Though Gunasekar's earlier inspiration was C.N.Annadurai, his world of letters has crossed new horizons and brought valuable pieces of world literature to Tamil.

Gunasekar, who earlier rendered a number of Latin American poems into Tamil and compiled them in his book Kannadigalai Vizhungum Kannnadi ( A mirror that swallows mirrors), has now come out with another work Kaadhal Oru Minnal Por ( Love, a lightning war) – his translation of poems from 100 Love Sonnets, a book written by the Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda.

An avid reader of literature, Gunasekar says that his life is synonymous with books.

“ Whenever I had a compulsion of visiting a relative's home in a distant town, I don't stay there for long hours, but rather go to a nearby library and spend my time there. Even when I visit my son's home in Florida in the US, I take a bus to Orlando to reach a public library . During one such visit to the library, I translated many of the Latin American poems from the books available there” informs Gunasekar.

Evaluating Gunasekar's recent translation of Pablo Neruda, popular Tamil periodical Kumudham has commended him saying that he has honoured Neruda by rendering his verse in a lucid Tamil language.

“ The art of translating poetry is not a job of looking for equivalent words by browsing through bilingual dictionaries and thesauruses. But it is an art of carefully fetching a poet's emotion from one language to another “ signs off Gunasekar.

Link to the article in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/14343410

Reflecting Social Life of Rural Kongu

Maa.Natarasan - Picture shot by Prakash Chelllamuthu

Kaliammal, a woman from a rural pocket of Coimbatore, was forced to leave the house within days from her husband's death. The man, a musician and harmonium maker, had eked out a living at Kinathukadavu by thatching house roofs many decades ago. And the remaining part of the widow's life was with her another destitute elder sister and an unmarried younger sister, who were taken care of their brother Arumugam, the only male member of the family.

This is a real life incident, which happened in a family at Kinathukadavu many decades ago.

But, a short story penned by Maa.Natarasan, a writer of regional fiction on the rural pockets of Coimbatore, resembles the real life incident in Kaliammal's family.

“ In any village of Coimbatore, you could see at least five or six such destitute women living in their mother's home. Such incidents stand witness to the prevalence of male domination even in the 21^st century.” says Ma. Na, as he is popularly called in the literary circles of Coimbatore.

A former associate professor of Tamil at the CBM College, Kovaipudur, Maa.Na is an author of several books including Oor Kalanjupochu, Kanthaayam, Appathalum Oru Kalyanamum, Kunnam and Mayilai Maadu.

The short story on the title Pirava Puli ( The tamarind that cannot be born), which is found in his recently published book Mayilai Maadu, depicts the dedication of the character Palanisamy in taking care of his two destitute sisters Lakshmi, Sarasa and their respective children. The author has appropriately titled the short story as Pirava Puli - a strange tamarind tree seen at the famous Patteeswarar Temple in Perur. The tree got its name 'Pirava Puli', since its seeds do not produce shoots.

“ I have compared the selfless Palanisamy with the holy tamarind tree, as he has decided not to marry a woman and beget children by her. Because, he is shouldered with the responsibility for life in taking care of his two destitute sisters and their kids ” says Maa.Na.

On his use of the natural Kongu Tamil phrases like Esili podathe, Paanga Poyittu Vaa, Ikkataala, Akkattala, Appa Suppama and so on in his fiction , Maa.Na says:

“ In the rural Kongu society, you can come across such words and phrases more from women, since they only have time to chat for long hours ”

The author, whose writings reflect the social life of agricultural families in the Kongu region, informs:

“ Eking out a living by agriculture is hard not only these days. The bitter truth was felt even during the time of my father, who was a farmer at Mandiripalayam. Hence, he did not want me continue his line, but advised me to study well and grab a 'white collar' job.”

Nevertheless, Maa.Na, despite living in the city, finds more pleasure in visiting his native village quite often and meeting his early day friends and relatives.

“ What I lost in the alienation from my traditional roots by arriving at the city, I discovered them in R.Shanmugasundaram's novels Nagammal and Poovum Pinjum, as they reflected the rural social life of Kongu region. While I was a youth, I met the great Kongu novelist at 'Chidamparam Poonga ' ( V.O.C park). He was in conversation with Kovai Gnani, a veteran Marxist literary critic of Coimbatore” he recalls. 

Link to the article in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/14293522 

Unearthing Local Histories from Temple Myths

Sasikala addressing on Konunattu Sthalapuranangal 

While today there are stringent rules against religious conversion through 'fraudulent' means, centuries ago, conversions of faith were carried out through still more enticing ways. As Buddhism and Jainism dismissed immortality and afterlife in their doctrines, Shaivism, a major branch of Hinduism, used clever strategies to lure people by promising them the impossibilities in life as possible by fabricating them in puranas and ithihasas.

“While Buddhism and Jainism lost popularity among the people for their rational views of life, Shaivism succeeded by creating and spreading unbelievable myths and fables” said G.Sasikala, a resource person in Tamil Virtual Academy and a researcher on temple myths.

Addressing on the topic 'Kongunattu Thalapuranangal' ( Temple myths in Kongunadu) in the monthly lecture series at The Vanavarayar Foundation recently, she compared the two incidents in the lives of Lord Buddha and Sundaramurthy Nayanar, a shaiva bakthi poet.

“ Once, a grieving woman, who lost her only son, came to Lord Buddha and prayed to him to bring her boy back to life. Though Buddha took pity on the poor woman, he wanted to teach her indirectly the fact of death being inevitable to all. He told her that he would resurrect her boy, on condition that she must bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house, in which no one had ever died. As instructed by Him, she visited a number of houses and realised that there could never be one such house on earth. By making her do so, Buddha made her know that none on earth can escape death”

But, Sundaramurthy Nayanar, in his Tevaram narrates an incident that he heard two discordant notes coming from opposite houses – one echoing joy and the other sorrow. The poet learned that two boys of the same age had gone to bathe in a tank, from which a crocodile emerged and devoured one of them. And after three years, the parents of the surviving boy were happily conducting Upanayanam ( Thread ceremony) for their son, while the parents of the dead were wailing over their departed son. Moved by this scene, Sundaramurthy Nayanar sang a pathigam ( poem in praise of a deity consisting generally of ten stanzas ), worshiping Lord Shiva to resurrect the dead boy. As a result, it is said that the crocodile appeared from the surging tank and ejected the boy, which it had swallowed !

“ Thus Shaivism brought the people into its faith by making them believe the impossible as possible”explained Sasikala.

An author of the research books Pullamangai, Thiruchennampoondi and Keeragaloor , Sasikala, however, said that sthala puranas are great resources to know the regional history of places.

“ Despite myths enveloping such local histories in sthala puranas, a serious researcher on them can separate out the facts “ noted Sasikala.

Muthupalaniappan, former Joint Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, who republished the works Avinashi sthala purana and Thirumuruganpoondi sthala purana, chipped in:

“ The Thudisai Sthalapurana has documented Sundaramurthy Nayanar's visit to Thudiyalur. As Lord Shiva is believed to have treated the devotional poet with a dish of mouth-watering Murungaikeeerai (cooked leaves of drumstick), the deity came to be called 'Viruntheeswarar'. Moreover the sthala puranas of Thirumurthi temple and Dharapuram temple in the Kongu region, were penned by a barber and the saatrukavi ( A poem in praise) for the works was written by a Muslim, whose profession was fixing laadam ( horse shoe) for oxen”

Link to the article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/957899/The-New-Indian-Express-Coimbatore/05102016#page/18/1

A Fitting Tribute to His Gravedigger - Comrade

The departed undertaker 'Odum Pillai' Rajendran

Writing obituary is a way to express one's emotional views on someone dear, that bade farewell to the worldly life. But, the recent death of a vettiyaan or undertaker, who had given decent burials to thousands of unclaimed dead bodies, received few obituaries in the city. Nevertheless, P.Shanthakumar, founder of Thozhar Trust, a voluntary organisation, which is committed to give dignified burials to unclaimed dead bodies, pays a tribute on his gravedigger-friend 'Odumpillai' Rajendran of Puliyakulam.

The history of 'Marathon' race, as anyone knows, is from a Greek messenger's act of running a long distance till Athens to announce the joyful news of Persians' defeat in the battle of Marathon. But, the undertaker Rajendran's act was to 'run' to different villages and announce the sad news of one's death in a particular community. He also had to return gasping by the run to bury the dead body. Hence, the man was called 'Odum Pillai', a designation in a particular community in the yesteryear Coimbatore, when the city had little bus facility.

Women involved by Thozhar Trust in burying dead bodies

P.Shanthakumar

 

Admiring the priceless mission of Rajendran, Shanthakumar points out:

“ A Vettiyaan (undertaker) employed in a corporation cemetery is not given any salary, but just entitled to bury the dead. And his source of income is only the paltry sum provided by the kin of the deceased. Nevertheless, Rajendran would accept any amount of money, whenever we requested him to bury the decomposed, unclaimed dead bodies. Residing with his family members in the corporation cemetery, Puliyakulam, Rajendran was always glad to carry out his priceless mission”

Shanthakumar also recalls that his undertaker-friend had never hesitated to render his service even when Thozhar Trust took around ten to fifteen dead bodies for burial.

“ Rajendran, who had given dignified burial to as many as 2000 unclaimed dead bodies, was of great support to Thozhar Trust. Whenever I visited his home in the corporation cemetery to give his remuneration, he would tell me that the payment was not so urgent to him. The great man's demise is an irreparable loss to the world of social workers” added Shanthakumar.

Karuppusamy, district coordinator, Thamizhar Urimai Munnani, points out:

“ The term 'Odum Pillai' was a designation for a man in the Devendrakula Vellalar community. However Rajendran, who rendered his service within the community, later converted it as his occupation”

Echoing Karuppusamy's views, M.Elangovan, a stage drum player and music teacher, says:

“ In our locality Kuniamuthur, the 'Odum Pillai' would not deliver just the news of death, but also carry messages on marriages and temple festivals. But, in due course, such varied services of him must have branched out from his act of delivering death news. Despite his title 'Odumpillai' he never needed to 'run' and deliver a message on a temple festival. Because, the happy news of a shrine's consecration is not so emergent to be delivered as that of a man's death”

link to the news item in The new Indian Express ; http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/957899/The-New-Indian-Express-Coimbatore/05102016#page/17/1