The Blood Stains Behind the 'Manchester of South'

The burial scene of the four trade unionists, who were hanged to death on January 8, 1946 

V.O. chidamparam Pillai 

World knows that freedom fighter ‘Kappalottiya Thamizhan’ V.O.Chidampam Pillai was put behind bars in Coimbatore and made to pull the oil press as punishment. But, in the modern history of Coimbatore, many are hardly aware that it was V.O.C, who launched the first trade union for the welfare of workers here. Fraser Square, which is a busy spot opposite the C.S&W Mill or ‘Stanes Mill’ today, had once been called ‘Puliyanthoppu’ (Tamarind grove). It was here the leader addressed the gathering and launched the city’s first trade union named ‘Kovai Thozhilalar Sangam’ with N.S.Ramasamy Iyengar as its president and K.P.Subbayya Kounder as honorary secretary on April 4, 1920. 

“V.O.C, who was also a lawyer, served his sentence in Coimbatore prison. However, even after his release in 1912, the British government cancelled his Sannath (The license for practicing as lawyer those days). He reeled under poverty after losing all his assets by launching the first indigenous shipping service in Tutuicorin, his native town. Following this, he ran even a provision store and also sold kerosene to eke out a living, but all in vain” informs a chapter in the book Kovai Mavatta Communist Iyakkaththin Perumaimiku Varalaru, written by N. Ramakrishnan.  

“CS& W Mills, ( Coimbatore Spinning and Weaving Mills), the first mill in Coimbatore was founded by Sir Robert Stanes, an Englishman, in 1888. Thereafter, came up in the city the Kaleeswarar Mill and Somasundara Mill. They were all adjacent to the Railway Station and goods shed. The Brooke Bond Company too was about the railway track. As a labourer in Brooke Bond between 1969 and 1970, I have even seen a railway track running through it. This facilitated the British-owned companies to unload the raw materials and load their productions in close proximity” said K.Purushothaman, a trade unionist, who worked in Brooke Bond company.

K. Purushothaman addressing on ' Trade Union Activities in Kongunadu

Addressing on the topic ‘Trade Union Activities in Kongunadu’ in the monthly lecture series organized by The Vanavarayar Foundation, Purushothaman pointed out:

“The British founded the railway in Coimbatore, primarily not to facilitate  travels of people, but  transport cotton and other raw materials to the port towns including Madras and Bombay, from where they were sent by sea for production in England”     

Purushothaman said that before electricity came to Coimbatore from the Pykara Project in the early 1930s, the mills were functioning with machines being operated by the power obtained from burning coal.

“The advent of electricity contributed to the establishment of a number of textile mills further in Coimbatore. This led to the extent of calling the city as the Manchester of South India.  Between 1932 and 1938, the city, which earlier had just four mills, witnessed as many as twenty four” said Purushothaman,

He recalled the selfless crusade of trade unionists N.G.Ramasamy, P.Jeevananthan, P.Ramamurthy and many others for establishing the rights of the working class.  

Purushothaman informed that the country had no strict labour laws then  and workers  were mercilessly exploited by  the mill owners and supervisors, who ruled them with an iron hand.  

“Since atrocities by mill supervisors were frequent, workers were treated no less than slaves and women workers were subjected even to sexual abuse. In one such incident, Ponnaan, the supervisor of Sri Ranga Vilas Mill and his aides outraged the modesty of a woman worker ' Poolaimedu' Rajee. With the incident sending shock waves among the mill workers, a team led by  four trade unionists encountered Ponnaan and his aides. The incident, which turned into a conflict, led to the death of Ponnaan.

In order to put down trade unionism with an iron hand, the proprietor of the mill, with the support of police, allegedly forged a 'dying declaration' of Ponnan and sent the four trade unionists Venkatachalam, Ramayya, Chinnayyan and Rangannan to prison. The case, which went up to London Privy Council, was finally closed with the judgment that all the four accused shall be hanged to death.

In the early morning of  January 8, 1946, the four were executed as per the judgment and their bodies were brought to Chinniampalayam in a mammoth mill workers rally.

Fulfilling their last wish, the mill workers buried all the four together in one grave at Chinniampalayam.

Link to the article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/29099238

The Odour that was Red in Colour

Amidst smoke and noise of gunshots                                                                                                                          

The blood, oozing out from her throat                                                                                                                         

Drenched that night 

And left the dark world                                                                                              

Dampened in the odour 

– it was red in colour.

Perhaps, she hardly presumed                                                                                                               

That something deadly would pierce

Through her mouth                                                                                                         

 And plug the path -                                                                                                                                   

A point, where she had a word for the saline wind                                                                                                                            

A thick smoke engulfed

Her world of colours                                                                                                            

She lay like a stray dog, crushed to death on the road                                                                              

Blood trickling down her mouth fails to freeze

They bring oceans of water 
To clean the red stains on her cheeks                                                         
But run back, as they billow in blood                                                                                                              

The hunters in khaki, with their modern rifles, continue their search 

For human meat

Birds that flew

In the firmament                                                                                                                   

Feel the worth of wings.                                                                                  

A Walk Down the Memory Lane of Old Coimbatore

The Thottikattu Veedu (A house in the style of traditional architecture) of ‘Sivakavimani’ C.K. Subramania Mudaliar, an eminent Tamil scholar, freedom fighter and former Vice chairman of Coimbatore municipality, still speaks the glory of its past at Vaishyal street. On both sides of the heritage building at the traffic congested road, grown high - the two trees planted by Mahatma Gandhi, when he visited Coimbatore.

'Sivakavimani' C.K.Subramania Mudaliar

“C.K. Subramania Mudaliar would receive letters from eminent freedom fighters including Sri Aurobindo. However, on a day when the police were about to raid his house, CKS’s wife Meenakshi tore all the documents, burned them, stirred the ash in water and poured it into the well at the backyard of the house” recalls a descendant of C.K. Subramania Mudaliar.

“An eminent Tamil scholar, Subramania Mudaliar penned commentaries on  Periyapuranam, a saiva piece of   bhakthi literature by Sekkizhar.   Since CKS was of great help to freedom fighter, ‘Kappalotiya Thamizhan’               V.O. Chidamparam Pillai, the latter christened his son as ‘Subramaniam’ in memory of his Coimbatore friend”  informed Rajesh Govindarajulu, who led a team of history enthusiasts in the ‘Heritage Walk’ organized by The Vanavarayar Foundation as part of the Coimbatore Vizha.

Coimbatore historian Rajesh Govindarajulu addressing the Heritage Walk

“Rao Bahadur A.T. Thiruvenkatasamy Mudaliar, who was the Municipal chairman of Coimbatore, could have built  the largest house in Coimbatore in 1888, The Manikoondu ( Clock tower), which  stands tall in the centre of the city, was built by Mudaliar’s sons in memory of their father in 1923”    

Rajesh  informed the two other old names of Coimbatore:

“While the area quartering the agraharam (Brahmin colony) had been called Uma Parameshwari Sathurvedhi Mangalam, the rest in the city had the name ‘Veerakerala Nallur’ ”

Tracing the etymology of the two Uppilpalayams in the city, Rajesh informs:  

“The two localities were named as ‘Uppilipalayam’ after the community Uppiliyars, who were experts in constructing, maintaining and repairing forts. They also engaged in making cannon balls.”

Now, Rajesh halts for a while near the Victoria Town Hall, which is presently the administrative building of Coimbatore Corporation.  

“ Commemorating  Queen Victoria’s  reign of 50 years, Sriman S.P. Narasimhalu Naidu, a Brahmasamaji, popular journalist and travel writer, who  mooted the idea of bringing Siruvani water to Coimbatore, got the Victoria Town Hall built at a cost of Rs.10,000 in 1892 “  he said.

Recalling his memory of catching a glimpse at the matinee idol and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G.R alias M.G. Ramachandran, Rajesh reminisced:  

“The Nawab Hakkim Road houses two popular cinemas – Raja and Nazz. When the MGR starrer Nadodimannan ran to packed houses in Raja, the matinee idol, on the celebration of the film’s victory, came on foot in a procession, waving at the multitude of his fans”

Coimbatore is not a coastal town:  

“But the city has a street by name Siviar Veedhi where only fishermen lived! They eked out a living by making nets and fishing in the tanks including Periyakulam and Valankulam”

Echoing Rajesh’s view, R. Jegadisan, an epigraphist who organized the Heritage walk, says:

“The Kannada term ‘Siviar’ denotes fishermen. The Nawab Hakkim Road, from where the street branches, had once been called ‘Meenkadai Theru’ for the line- up of a number of stalls selling fish”



Link to my article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/25464186

A Poet’s Brush That Painted An Epic of Love

N.R.Muruganathan

 

  A Tamil short epic, authored by N.R. Muruganathan, who is 

80 years old now, introduces Nanjundapuram, a village, 

once famous for toddy with acres of 

its coconut groves. His  description says that the fertile 

village provides work for bulls and plough throughout the year with the ‘wonder’ of river Noyyal flowing across it. 

But, today it is an irony that Nanjundapuam is no more a 

village, but a concrete jungle with a number of

gated communities, individual houses and 

busy commercial establishments along its road. 

Muruganathan, though wrote his epic Thoorigai

( Painter’s brush) and bagged a prize in 

1995, he set a part of its story in his  native village 

Nanjundapuram, as he had seen it while he was a boy. 

“ I took my B.A in Tamil literature from the Government Arts College. However, I did not seek a job, and rather continued our family’s occupation of agriculture at Nanjundapuram”            says Muruganathan. 

The author remembers a ten-year period in the history of  Coimbatore, during which 

there was not a single drop of rain. 

“ The city witnessed a great famine due to the failure of monsoon for a decade from 1961 -1971. Coimbatore wore an 

infernal look with plants and trees withering away. But, I saved many of the coconut and areca nut trees in my field, for my brother regularly provided some water from his farmland 

well to irrigate the plants”    

Reminicing his student days, the octogenarian author informs that he was inspired by the Tamil classes conducted by the legendary Tamil scholar and teacher Pulavar Sundararasanar while he studied at St. Michael’s Higher Secondary School, a 300 year old heritage institution of Coimbatore. 

A lover of writing and staging plays in his earlier days, Muruganathan says: 

“ I penned my first play on the title Puratchi Kanal in 1963. It was staged at the movie hall Shanmuga, for the cinema was also a venue for staging dramas in the yesteryear Coimbatore “  

A few years ago, Muruganathan had a road accident and was hospitalised. He remembers that his friend’s son saw him lying in a pool of blood, took him in his car and rushed him to the hospital. 

 “ Following the surgery, I had been in coma for about forty five days. My wife Rajee, who is no more today, dedicated herself by attending to me. She shed tears at my condition, laid her head on my feet and slept throughout the nights. One day in the morning, I felt that I got back my senses. I remember that the the first word I uttered was my wife’s name ‘ Rajee’ by calling her so” breaks down Muruganathan, who had married his beloved from a different caste after a romantic affair with her.  

Thoorigai - In nutshell

The short epic, a tragedy, ends in the death of the two characters Manian and Vanmathi, who were in love with each other. The work, which has been written in Anthathi ( poem in which the last letter, syllable or foot of the last line of one stanza being identical with that of the succeeding stanza), bagged a prize in the competition jointly conducted by the Tamil magazine Amudhasurabi and Indian Bank in 1995. The short epic contains a foreword by yesteryear popular poet and lyricist Vali. Sirpi Balasubramaniam, a two-time recipient of Sahitya Akademi award has also written a foreword.

Link to my article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/24096532 

Remembering a Veteran of Kongu’s Folk Theatre

'Kothapalayam' Gurunatha Vathiyar

  

The veteran folk theatre artiste, Gurunatha Vathiyar from Kattuvalavu in Edapadi near Salem in the Kongu region, was a man of self respect. Once, Karuppu Chettiar, a caste Hindu and rich man of the village, could not bear the scene of a Dalit Mrithangam artiste and flute player sitting on the chair. He burst out abusing them by name of their caste. 

“ You, men from the low caste !, how dare you are sitting on the  chair” 

The rich man’s outcry woke up Gurunatha Vathiyar from sleep. He told the touch-me-not thus: 

“ Being rich and provider of food to the poor, you may be respected as a God. You may even be revered as a ‘king’ to the surrounding eighteen villages. It may be true that the temple car of your village will not move a step without your ‘divine’ touch. But, what do you know about the art form Kooththu ? ” 

A chapter in the special issue of the Tamil magazine Manal Veedu, admires thus the self respect of this veteran folk theatre artiste, who recently passed away at the ripe old age of 90. 

“ I met Gurunatha Vathiyar for the first time when I was a 14 year-old boy at the village Madhanaickenpatti. I observed the great folk artiste hold the audience spellbound by his astounding performance by donning the character of ‘Athiveera Vanniyan’ in the folk theatre ‘Vanniyan Pirappu’ “ says                  M. Harikrishnan, editor of the magazine Manal Veedu and director of Kalari Heritage and Charitable Trust. 

It may be noted that Harikrishnan was the pioneer to initiate the mission of rescuing the folk art forms like Therukoothu and Tholpavai from extinction. A technician by profession in his village Erwadi after Salem, Hari interviewed numerous veterans in the traditional art forms and brought them to light by regularly publishing their interviews in Manal Veedu, which he has been editing since 2007. Besides, he and his friend Dhanapal have compiled the interviews and brought them into an exclusive book on the title Arunkoothu. 

“ Gurunatha Vathiyar was an agriculturist, but a veteran with exceptional performing skills in folk theatre. For the first time, when he watched a Kooththu staged by another folk theatre veteran Selavadai Konnavayan at the Dadhapuram Karattu Perumal Koyil, Gurunathan felt a Kooththu artiste in him too. From then on, he became an ardent lover of  folk theatre and enjoyed watching it wherever it was held. Finally, his zeal for the performing art bore fruit, and for the first time, he donned the role of Arjuna in the folk theatre ‘Thropathai Thuyil” informs Hari. 

“ Gurunatha Vathiyar, who developed the mythology of Vanniya Puranam to perform it in the folk theatre, was thorough in rendering his dialogues and fluent in dancing. Do you know the duration of Vanniya Puranam?. Believe it or not, it is staged as series for seven whole nights! “ sums up Hari. 

Manalveedu - In nutshell 

The special issue of the Tamil literary magazine begins with a homage to folk theatre veteran Kothapalayam Gurunatha Vathiyar, popular artist Veerasanthanam and poet H.G. Rasul. The book contains poetry by Karuthadayan, Perundevi, Vishnukumar, Uma Maheshwari and many others. Besides, it contains the contributions by popular modern Tamil writers including Lakshmi Manivannan, Azhagiya Periyavan, Anar, Va.Mu. Komu, Mu. Suyambulingam and playwright and film actor Mu. Ramasamy. 

Link to my article in The New Indian Express http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/23998574

Anthirei Kethi or Anthirei Kethish ? That was the question

A hero stone to honour the polygar: Photo: Raja Ramasamy

The grave of an Englishman, which was discovered at the village Tali near Udumalpet in Tirupur district a few years ago, has an interesting tale behind it.

The Tamil inscription on the tombstone reads thus:

“Thanjai Nagarathiliruntha

 Anthirei Kethish Paranki

Iirupathezhu vayathil

Dheiveekamaki Adingina Samaathu “

The inscription informs that an Englishman by name Anthirei Kethish , a twenty seven year old Englishman from Tanjore ‘attained divinity’ and buried here)

It reminds a poem by great Tamil poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, in which he calls the English  ‘Paranki’ (white gourd) as ‘ Parankiyai Durai Endra Kalamum Poche’  ( Gone are those days, when we called the ‘white gourd’ as Lord!). Similarly the inscription on the gravestone too addresses the deceased Englishman  as ‘ Paranki’

An oral tradition maintains that Ethalappa Naicker, a Kongu chieftain who ruled a palayapattu with Tali as headquarters, hanged this British messenger to death in retaliation to the killing of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the polygar of Panchalankurichi. What’s more, Ethalappa Naicker hanged the white man from a tamarind tree in the same way as the British executed Kattabomman.  

“However, there is little historical evidence on this incident. The inscription too informs only the death of an Englishman by name Anthirei Kethish” says Nandakumar, on whose farmland the grave is found. Interestingly, the farmland too came to be   called ‘Thookkumara Thottam’ after the incident.  

Nandakumar adds saying that the palace of Ethalappa Naicker was razed down in a cannon strike during his war against the British government.

Thenkongu Sathasivam, a writer and history enthusiast, informs:

“The book Tali Ethalappan Varalaru, which narrates the history of the Kongu chieftain, informs that he executed the Englishman Anthirei Kethish to avenge the execution of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The book points out that Anthirei Kethish came to meet Ethalappa Naicker to hold peace talks with him, after the British government sensed it would meet a defeat in the war against him. Ethalappa Naicker, who had integrated all his neighbouring 14 palayapattus ( group of villages)and provided a strong military support to Oomaithurai, the younger brother of Katabomman, was a threat to the British government. Nevertheless, the book hardly says anything about the death of Ethalappa Naicker. It ends in a scene in which he informs his commander that he is moving northward and asking him to follow soon”

But, epigraphist Jegadisan asks:

“Why did Ethalappan have to move northward, as the Gurumalai, where he was said to have gone underground, is on the west side from Tali? His expression ‘northward’ implies his bidding farewell to the world. In ancient Tamil society, it was called ‘Vadakiruththal’ (facing northwards and fasting unto death). In Jainism, the same is called ‘Sallekana’ “ 

Link to the article in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/1409009/The-New-Indian-Express-Coimbatore/28102017#clip/23253736/39f5a108-610c-4871-bad8-9b308ce1a536/861.3333333333334:914.2893289328932