Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Meet the Halai Memons of Madurai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Uncategorized

Madurai:

The Halai Memons migrated to Madurai from Ranavav, situated close to Gandhiji’s birth place Porbandar in Gujarat in the 1870s for trade and business purposes. Incidentally, it was a Memon who took Gandhiji to South Africa for the first time.

Established in 1878, the Hajeemoosa store is a famous landmark in Madurai, situated near the east gate of the Sri Meenakshi Amman temple and still continues to be patronized by people from Madurai and many southern districts. M Ismail Omar, the present owner of the store says that his forefathers realized the great potential that Madurai had in terms of trade and started establishing their businesses here. The present store has many floors, but originally it was established as a small 100 sq feet shop. Many of them established their shops around the temple and flourished as they were well versed in the textile trade. These merchants were the connection to the outer world, as their goods included fabrics exported from across the world, making them much sought after by the elite.

Though reluctant to come to Madurai at first and leave their relatives behind, the ladies soon followed their husbands and started adapting to Madurai, as the journey back and forth from their hometown took many days. Their counterparts, the Sourashtrians, came forward to rent their homes to them when they first started settling in Madurai. Even today both communities continue to maintain close ties.

As their trade flourished, the Halai Memons reduced the number of visits to Ranavav as they could not leave their work in Madurai unattended. Ismail says that he has never been to his native place. But many still continue to visit their hometown for family functions and weddings.

People of this community make sure that their children converse in their language called Memoni, a mixture of Gujarati and Sindhi, right from the beginning. Weddings are a time to showcase their cultural and traditional art forms like the dandiya dance. All the 350 families of this community who live in Madurai are members of the Halai Memon Association, which has one of the oldest marriage halls in the city constructed in 1965. They rented out the premises to the people of Madurai for a very nominal cost, even when marriage halls were not constructed here.

Being pious Muslims, they celebrate and observe the festivals of Ramzan Eid, Eid-ul-Azha and Milad-un-Nabi, with a lot of religious fevour. Ramzan feasts are grand affairs with traditional delicacies and include dates brought all the way from Saudi Arabia.

The founder president of the Tamil Nadu Textile Merchants Association A C Mohammed, belonged to this community. His contribution to the development of the textile trade in Tamil Nadu is still remembered by the textile industries. He was also the founder member of the Rotary Club of Madurai, which is celebrating its centenary year this year and is the second oldest club in Tamil Nadu.

This community is also known for its charitable nature, contributing in a big way to orphanages, hospitals and the members are active members of the Rotary, Lions and Jaycees clubs. Today, the Halai Memons constitute an important part of Madurai, helping the city make significant strides towards development.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / July 31st, 2012

Vintage beauties ring in old times

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

A 1970 model of a Mercedes Benz and 1951 model of Chevrolet Style Line were among those that bagged awards. /  Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu

Looks of excitement mixed with a feeling of nostalgia for the yesteryears was common among the onlookers as several vintage cars and motorbikes made their way through the city roads on Sunday. The event was part of the 8 edition of the My TVS Rally organised by the Madras Heritage Motoring Club in the Don Bosco School. Showcasing their collections, owners of the vintage cars and motorbikes went for a drive to the Spencer Plaza and back to the venue.

While a few of those present had acquired an interest from a family member, others had picked it up as a hobby later in life. Ranjit Pratap, the owner of 30 such vintage cars had participated in the rally with 18 cars from his collection. “Though I loved cars as a kid, I never had the time while I was working. But now is the time to indulge.” His 1970 model of a Mercedes Benz ad 1951 model of Chevrolet Style Line bagged two awards at the event.

Steve Borgia, the owner of the oldest car- a 1929 model of the Chrysler, said, “It’s a thrill, but also an expensive hobby.”

Bikes, though only few in number, made quite an impressive show. There were the likes of MV Augusta from 1967, Lambretta LD from 1958 and Ideal Jawa from 1969. Cyrus Varun Kontath, the owner of a 1955 model of Royal Enfield and a 1960 model of Jawa along with three other bikes, keeps a close eye on them and takes them for a ride at least once a week.

Based on the parameters of aesthetics, originality, mechanical and coach work, several awards were given to the owners of the best maintained vintage car or bike and the oldest car, among others.

Though the designs are by Italians and Germans, it is the Indian mechanics who have maintained these cars for decades, said V.S. Kylas, the founder secretary of the Madras Heritage Motoring Club. “It was because of the colonial rule that we never got a chance to design cars. But now it is very heartening and gratifying to see that the cars are still in great condition.”

When asked about the turnout at the rally, he said, “Every year the size of the display keeps on increasing. These cars from the 1920s and the 1930s give us an insight into how cars were designed back then even without the use of computers.” Emphasizing on the cars being a form of heritage, he added that they would be passed on to future generations.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Arita Sarkar / July 31st, 2012

I am…

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

‘I’ve been making appalams since 1988. It began when my husband had an accident and I had to earn money. I raised Rs. 500 and started off the business.’

In the living-room of Latha K.’s West Mambalam flat, appalams and elai-vadams are clearly the VIPs. Hundreds dry under the fan on a black plastic sheet while hundreds sit in tall stacks waiting to be packed. Latha kneads the dough, pinching it off into small balls. “I learnt to make them long ago, in my village Padur, near Ulundurpet. I was a little girl and whenever there was a wedding in the village, all the women would turn up. They would sit around the mitham and make 2,000-3,000 appalams.” The urad dal was hand-ground, the girls pinched the dough off into balls, while the older women expertly rolled them out into round appalams. “It was hard work but there was food, laughter and gossip,” remembers Latha.

As she speaks, Latha swiftly flattens several dough balls and starts rolling. “When I started, 4 out of 10 people bought my appalams. Now all 10 buy. Who has the time to make them at home anymore?” Of course, home-made appalams are far superior to shop-bought ones. People even carry them abroad for friends and family, or when they relocate.

Latha got her recipe from her mother. Urad dal flour mixed with salt, asafoetida, jeera (for digestion), mustard water (‘so that it expands when fried’) and appalam karam (‘to make it crisp; it’s a substitute for the perandai water we used in the village’). After rolling, appalams need just one day to dry. Grinders do make the work easier , but it’s still a fairly labour-intensive task and calls for a certain knack. “Rolling pins embarrass even experienced people; no matter what you do, the appalams end up square,” says Lata.

In 1988, Latha sold 100 pieces for Rs. 60. Today, she gets Rs. 220. Her doubleappalams are very popular, as are the plain ones with ajwain. “Business has been good,” says Latha, “I now have helpers who I train personally.” And she smiles, as she rolls out another paper-thin piece.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Metroplus / by Aparna Karthikeyan / July 29th, 2012

Display of virtuosity

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Hindustani vocal by Pt.Jayateerth Mevundi at Kalakshetra, Thiruvanmiyur. Photo: M. Karunakaran

It was a memorable evening as each musician, at the Gharana Festival, rendered songs in their own style.

The Gharana Festival organised by the South Zone Cultural Centre Thanjavur, in association with Kalakshetra Foundation and Prakriti Foundation was just a celebration of the Gharana tradition. Three performances traced the legacies of the Gharana musicians and offered a comment on the orderly pedagogy of three illustrious musicians while also revealing the extent of their command over music.

The first evening’s performance was by Pt. Jayateerth Mevundi, who presented Puriya Dhanshri in a strong full-throated voice. Leisurely wading through the mandre saptak and developing it note by note, his voice appeared almost as if it were scaling a pyramid treating the three octaves as if they were one. This is a specialty of the Kitana style that has no curves and abrupt endings. The bandish in Miyan Malhar, ‘Kari Mana Mat’ and the beautiful bol aalaps ‘Tera Toon Sai,’ the intricate taan patterns and the meends flowing through the octaves brought out the Been gayaki in his characteristically clear voice.

A piece in ek taal ‘Att Aayee Badariya, Mand Ghumand Garaj Barsat’ was most beautifully rendered and particularly topical. In the thumri in Mishr Gara ‘Jadu Bhare Tere Naina Raseele’ there was great correspondence between the music and the words of the couplet. Purandaradasa’s beautiful Kannada bhajan in Jogia ‘Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada’ brought back memories of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi’s performances. Gopal Gudi Bandi on the tabla and Aswin Walawalkar on the harmonium gave excellent support.

FAST SARGAMS

On the next day, Pt. Vinayak Torvi presented Puriya Kalyan in vilambit for ‘Aaj Soban’ followed by a piece set to madhya laya ‘Bahut Dhin Beete.’ This in turn was followed by a tarana in ek taal, wherein the artist embellished the raga with fast sargams in a deep guttural voice.

Pt. Torvi also spoke of the relevance of the Gharana tradition and how proficiency in one style could lead to the appreciation and understanding of the other. A seasoned performer, he showcased the Gwalior style in his presentation of Raga Tilak Kamod, ‘Ee Guru Jan Khuda Manna’ and the Agra Rangila gharana style through the enunciation of Nom Tom Alap in Jaijaivanti—a well known piece ‘Damani Damke Dar More Laage.’ In this he beautifully exhibited the Des Ang. He concluded with a Kannada bhajan and another popular one, ‘Jamuna Ke Teer.’ Pt. Vyasamurty Katti on the harmonium and Gurumurthy Vaidya on the tabla lent able support.

POWERFUL TAANS

On the final day, Pt. Kaivalya Kumar, once again an outstanding exponent of the Kirana gharana filled the atmosphere with powerful taans embellished with murkis and tuneful renditions ending with tihaais. ‘Dhan Dhan Balam Sajan,’ a most evocative delineation of Raga Gavati brought out the meditative and aspects of poetic compositions. Traversing from ‘sa’ to ‘sa’ in three octaves with impressive feats of musicality in the dhrut ‘Paran Paayo Rey’ in teen tal and ‘Gunnat Gaayo Rey’ in ek taal, his portrayal of musical expressions was most exquisite. A thumri in Des ‘Rang Chunnari Bhigi Rang’ with laad and tappa ang extenuated the poignant nuances of the swara extolling the gayaki of Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan Sahib. Zhoola was the tour de force of the evening – ‘Ambuya Ki Daari Pe Zhoola Zhulaave Chalo Sakhi Sab Mil Mangal Gaanve.’ Shridhar Mandare on the tabla and Ravindra Katoti on the harmonium brought the weight of tradition to bear on this beautifully produced performance.

The evenings at Kalakshetra proved that while the walls of the Gharana are more porous now, leading to unconscious lending and borrowing between styles, each performer at the festival left his personal stamp on the ragas, making the evenings a memorable experience.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Music / by Jyoti Nair / July 26th, 2012

The life of Pi

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies

It’s one of the most mysterious numbers in mathematics, and clearly one of the most loved. Well, how else did the little pi manage to wrangle two celebratory days a year – Global Pi Day, March 14, to represent pi’s decimal value of 3.14 and coincidentally Albert Einstein’s birthday; and Pi Approximation Day, July 22, to represent its fractional avatar 22/7.

Even as you read this, T-shirts, mugs and other memorabilia are being sold in various parts of the world to celebrate the world of pi ( ). In mathematics, pi denotes the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter and was first given its 22/7 formulation by Archimedes.

In India, there may not be memorabilia but the day is being marked with lectures and seminars on the mystery of pi as well as its Indian connection. “As this is also the Year of Mathematics in India, being Srinivasa Ramanujam’s 125th birth anniversary, mathematicians have been giving a series of lectures over the weekends in different parts of Chennai,” says R Sivaraman, of the Pie Mathematics Association, who will be speaking on Ramanujam’s life and contributions next week.

“Ramanujam provided great insight into the computation of pi through his power series formulae,” says Sivaraman. “Thanks to his formulae, for the first time, the pi value could be accurately calculated up to 17.5 million digits. No one had managed that before,” says Sivaraman. Now, of course, thanks to Ramanujam’s formulae, computers can calculate the pi decimal value up to 1.24 trillion digits. “Pi is central to every mathematician’s research. You just cannot steer clear of it,” says  Professor Rajeeva L Karandikar,  director, Chennai Mathematical Institute.

“You need pi for everything, right from digging a well to sending satellites into space,” says Sivaraman, who adds he believes that the more you know of pi, the more secrets of nature you can unlock. Incidentally, ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhatta and Bhramagupta also cut into pi. Astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta of the sixth century AD calculated its value up to four places, while Bhramagupta in the eighth century AD, used 3 as a “practical” value of pi, and the square root of 10 as an “accurate” value of pi.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai, TNN / July 22nd, 2012

A classic twist

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A new resort in Karaikudi tries to revive the old Chettinad look and feel, finds Nirthya Rajan

REGAL AMBIENCE Carved doors and stained glass give that Chettinad touch. Photo: Special Arrangement

Exquisite cuisine and lavish mansions are to Karaikudi what jackfruits and boathouses are to Kerala. A small town in Tamil Nadu, Karaikudi in the heart of the Chettinad belt is steeped in the tradition of the Chettiars, the primary inhabitants of the town. They built immense mansions with pillars, windows, doors, and floor tiles in the best wood and marble and tiles sourced from all over the world, and filled their homes with exquisite artefacts.

As life moved on, so did the Chettiars, abandoning their mansions and moving out in search of better opportunities. Their grand homes now lie neglected; their possessions auctioned off, and sometimes even the intricately carved pillars and doors sold to antique hunters. It’s a piece of history that is dying.

Conservation groups like the Revive Chettinad Society are working to prevent the total extinction of such mansions by focusing on tourism and on preservation of these homes for future generations. One way to protect these ancient homes is to convert them into resorts where tourists can stay and enjoy the grandeur, their money helping to preserve the buildings. A second way is to imitate the Chettinad style of building to create new structures, so that the old architecture, designs and material are not forgotten.

Thappa Gardens in Ariyakudi (3km from Karaikudi) is one such resort, which has created a typical Chettinad house to promote and sustain the architectural tradition. The property is spread across four acres, divided into three parts like any Chettinad house – the lobby, the courtyard and private area.

Traditional floor plan

The area from the gate to the lobby is called the ‘Mogappu’ or entrance, which displays a rich Chettinad building style. For example, the front door is one foot thick with a three-layered teak wood frame with intricate carving and circular door handles.

The entrance leads to the courtyard, called the ‘Kalyana Kottai. Designated as the lobby and illuminated by natural lighting, it is lined with 12 carved pillars and the flooring is black and white chess-board style Athangudi tiles. The lobby has traditional indoor games like ‘Pallanguzhi’, chess and ‘Paramapadam’ (snake and ladder), an important part of the Chettinad lifestyle.

The ‘Valavu’ area, where the bedrooms of the sons used to be, is the restaurant, with 16 pillars and red Athangudi tiles. The common areas are decorated with ruby red and sapphire lampshades, as well as antique fans, chandeliers and furniture. The cottages each have a ‘Thinnai’ and the furniture is of teak wood. Each cottage has a replica of the ‘Molman Kurichi’ (a recliner chair) and an old-fashioned ‘Almirah’.

Replicating is a way of preserving our cultural heritage, and that is what such resorts aim to do.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Homes & Gardens / by Nirthya Rajan / July 20th, 2012

A President who set precedents

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Anecdotal recollections of those who worked alongside R. Venkataraman in public life and government

R. Venkataraman, the nation’s eighth president (1987-1992), loved to present himself a “copybook president.” But, he faced such situations that none of his predecessors did. During the second half of his presidency, the country underwent a phase of political instability and RV, as he was popularly known, had to swear in three Prime Ministers in barely 18 months.

After Chandra Shekher quit as Prime Minister in March 1991 a few days after his Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had presented the interim budget, RV, as president, took the initiative of having budgetary and financial provisions passed by Parliament, avoiding an unpleasant situation of having to promulgate an ordinance to cover expenditure. Unusually, the President wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray and the Prime Minister, advising them how this could be done. That was not the only occasion that he departed from the conventional approach that Presidents would have adopted under similar circumstances. His gesture of getting down the dais to give away the Dadasaheb Phalke award to the ailing Raj Kapoor at the 35th National Film Festival in May 1988 was another unconventional act. His assumption of office as President was only the culmination of his long innings in public life, spanning over 45 years. RV, who was a senior Minister in the Kamaraj Cabinet during 1950s and 1960s, is still the best-remembered Industries Minister of Tamil Nadu.

This book R. Venkataraman: A Centenary Tribute is essentially a compilation of anecdotal recollections of a host of persons including those who worked alongside him in public life and government. It carries 38 essays of those who have recalled his services to the nation in one field or the other. Besides, messages from 10 others explain the greatness of RV. His contributions — as Industries Minister who played a vital role in the industrialisation of Tamil Nadu; as Union Finance Minister who helped avert an economic crisis in the early 1980s by tackling deftly the problem of deteriorating balance of payments; as Defence Minister in 1982-1984 who guided the programme of producing modern indigenous fighter aircraft and as President who had created the right precedents in times of political instability — have all been vividly captured.

There are other aspects — “lighter” — of the personality of RV which have been brought out well in this publication. Geoffrey Howe, the longest serving Minister in Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet (1979-1990) and who was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1979-1983), has described RV’s mastery of English as one special feature of Venkataraman’s performance in meetings of committees of the International Monetary Fund and Commonwealth. According to Lord Howe, RV’s mastery of the language enabled him time and again to formulate “the only possible form of words which could deliver an agreeable conclusion.”

What is more lively is an account of Kapila Vatsyayan, veteran art historian, of the gracious and spontaneous acceptance by RV of her, what she called, “absolutely crazy idea” of utilising an air force plane for transporting precious bronze statues from Tamil Nadu for an exhibition during the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in New Delhi in March 1983. Two other articles — one by K.V. Ramanathan and another by T.S. Sankaran — stand out. The authors, both former civil servants, have not discussed much about their association with RV but about the subjects, which were dear to the former President. Ramanathan has passionately written about S. Satyamurti, who was Kamaraj’s political mentor, and Sankaran on the relevance of the trade union movement.

Dates and events

Notwithstanding several impressive features, the book suffers from factual inaccuracies. In an otherwise scholarly piece, Fali S. Nariman, distinguished jurist, writing about the sensational Presidential election in 1969, has stated that V.V. Giri got elected after the split in the Congress party. In fact, it was the other way round. At the time of the election, there was only one Congress. To refer to the Congress (I) in the context of the 1969 election was not appropriate. The Congress (I) was born nine years later — January 1978 — and Indira Gandhi was its chief. That was why the prefix — I.

P. Murari, another former civil servant and who was Secretary to the President during 1989-1992, has recounted his suggestion to RV on the dissolution of Tamil Nadu Assembly in January 1991 and written that in the context of the Supreme Court judgment in the Bommai case, it might be imprudent to accept the Union Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the Assembly. But, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment only in March 1994, three years after the dissolution of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Writing about the outcome of the Assembly elections to Maharashtra in 1978, Inder Malhotra, seasoned journalist, has commented that the Congress (I) and the Congress (O) were intensely hostile to each other. By 1978, the Congress (O) was no longer in existence. It along with parties including Bharatiya Lok Dal and Jan Sangh formed the Janata Party in 1977. The other faction comprised senior Congress leaders including K. Brahmananda Reddy, Swaran Singh and Y. B. Chavan. In all likelihood, Malhotra had this faction in mind. In her message, Shiela Dikshit, who has been Delhi Chief Minister since 1998, mentions that “Probably, he [RV] was the only politician from the southern state of Madras/Tamil Nadu who never lost any election.” This is off the mark as RV lost [by a margin of about 22,600 votes to a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate] in the 1967 elections in Thanjavur parliamentary constituency, a fact recorded by another contributor, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

What one can make out from these instances of factual inaccuracies is that the contributors, in general, have made their recollections, mostly out of their memory. The editorial team of the book must have ensured that in a publication marking the centenary of one of the celebrated Presidents of India, all the important details are carried right. After all, RV was known for meticulousness when it came to recollection of history.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Books / by T. RamaKrishnan / July 16th, 2012

Tamil computing wizard dead

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders, Records, All

     Anto Peter

Anto Peter, one of the strong proponents of Tamil computing and technical writer who created many Tamil fonts, died here on Thursday. He was 45 and is survived by his wife and two children.

A native of Arumuganeri in Tuticorin district, Anto Peter was the first to launch an exclusive website, tamilcinema.com, for Tamil cinema.

His company, Softview, was the first institution in Tamil Nadu to introduce graphics and animation Courses.

Tamil literary works such as Tirukkural and Aathichoodi entered the Internet portals with graphics and proper pronunciation thanks to the efforts of Anto Peter.

He was closely associated with many Tamil groups in the country and abroad and participated in international Tamil computing conferences. He also wrote the books ‘Graphics and Animation’ and ‘Multimedia Basics’ in Tamil and created awareness of Tamil computing among the masses.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Newsz. States> TamilNadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai, July 13th, 2012

TESO conference on August 12

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, World Opinion

DMK chief M. Karunanidhi

The conference of the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) will be held at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) grounds here on August 12, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi, who recently revived the organisation, said on Saturday.

Answering reporters’ queries on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa criticising him on the issue of training imparted to Sri Lankan Air Force personnel, Mr. Karunanidhi said: “It does not seem to be a Chief Minister’s statement. It is in bad taste. The statement contains attacks that are worse than those of a layman.”

It was made without exercising restraint on the limit to which those in the Opposition could be criticised, Mr. Karunanidhi added.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> States> TamilNadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai, July 14th, 2012

Grand prelude to Mylapore’s biggest festival

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

For City:  The annual car festival at Mylapore . Sri kapaleeswarar Temple. Photo: K_V_Srinivasan / The Hindu

The four Mada streets resounded with shouts of devotees

Be it picking up seven plastic toys for Rs. 50 from a pavement vendor or choosing from a bundle of ‘kolam’ stickers outside Indra Stores or buying liquid soap-filled containers to blow bubbles from, it’s fun choosing stuff you don’t really need. And this week, with the shops that have sprung up in Mylapore for the Arubathu Moovarfestival at the Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple, there’s no better time to indulge in unnecessary shopping.

D. Thilagavathy, a resident of Mylapore, was one of the thousands of devotees who had come to watch the car festival here on Tuesday. “Ours is a joint family and we bring all the children to the festival,” she said. “We are here for every occasion, including the Ther (Chariot), ‘Arubathu Moovar’, ‘Panguni Uthram’, and ‘ Adhikara Nandi’. The children ask for everything that they see. Each child will spend at least Rs. 100 on toys. We also enjoy buying them these things,” she added. Each time the chariot moved with the ‘uthsava’ idols of Lord Kapaleeswarar and Karpagamabal, the four Mada streets resounded with the shouts of devotees. Water was sprinkled on the path of the chariot and several philanthropists distributed food, water, buttermilk and ‘paanagam’ to the devotees.

When the temple car finally came to a halt, a winding queue of devotees waited to clamber onto it to get a better glimpse of the idols. I too, got onto the chariot along with my mother.

Two five-rupee tickets allowed us a few seconds of “proximity” to the gods. But it was a dangerous ride as there was hardly any space and one small misstep could lead to your hurtling down several feet to the ground. Able volunteers in the chariot stood minding every devotee who stepped onto it. After over four hours of following the temple car, the attention of the crowds turned to the vendors.

Adults too were enjoying the shopping.

With such variety on offer, it is hard to resist spending everything one has. You can pick up fake Kundan jewellery sets for Rs. 50, toy watches for Rs. 20 or Rs. 30 , Indianised Vuvuzelas that emit a deep booming sound when blown for Rs.10, and even earthen pots and pans. Visiris (handheld fans made of palm leaves), kumkum and thali charadu — considered auspicious sold the most, said a lady at the Srividya Manjal Kumkum shop.

Scholar Sudha Seshayyan says that the Panguni Uthiram Thiruvizha festival celebrated in most temples is very auspicious. “It is said that it was on that day that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi married, Lord Muruga and Devayani married and Goddess Mahalakshmi was born. The Arubathu Moovar festival is of special significance to the Kapali temple as of the 63 Nayanmars, Thirugnanasambandar is very important. He is said to have brought to life the daughter of Sivanesa Chettiyar of Mylapore.

The girl was called Poompaavai. She came to life after he finished singing a pathigam where he describes all the festivals associated with the Kapali temple. This festival also shows the importance given to devotion and devotees. The Lord will be pleased if his devotees are happy,” Dr. Seshayyan explained.

Somehow Mylapore seems to have become livelier and merrier. Perhaps it is in anticipation of Wednesday’s festival when the 63 Nayanmars of Lord Shiva are taken out in a procession. On Wednesday, festivities at the temple will begin at 9 a.m. The procession of the idols will be at 3 p.m. and it will take at least four hours to end.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Life & Style> Religion / by Deepa H. Ramakrishnan / Chennai, April, 04th, 2012