Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91

Vol. XXXII No. 23, March 16-31, 2023

Featured Articles

Artist Maniam: living in the hearts of many Tamil readers

-- by Subhashini Maniam, suba@maniamselven.com

India was preparing itself for Independence. The time was also coinciding with the need being felt in restoring India’s forgotten culture and heritage. Ramaswamy Krishnamoorthy (1899-1954) (hereafter, Ra Ki) and Thiagaraja Sadasivam (1902-1997) established Kalki in 1941. Providence brought Maniam to Kalki as a young artist. Soon the combination of Ra Ki’s writing and Maniam’s […]

Kannan – A Karma Yogi for Art, Literature and Heritage

-- by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan

Aindu Karangal Kannan, Natyarangam Kannan, TAG Heritage Kannan who passed away a few weeks ago was a man of action. His passion for literature, heritage, Carnatic Music, Bharathanatyam and Vaishnavism manifested in several courses of action to propagate them and bring to the fore the artists, writers and speakers. And all done in the most […]

When TN pulled off a totally unexpected victory

-- by Partab Ramchand

Exactly fifty years ago Tamil Nadu pulled off a truly glorious victory in the Ranji Trophy. Glorious because it was totally unexpected, achieved as it was against formidable opponents who were considered too strong and with the added benefit of home advantage. But displaying a never say attitude under the inspiring leadership of S. Venkatraghavan, […]

Knit into Pearls – The Knit India Through Literature series

-- by Ranjitha Ashok

A NOTE The Shriram Group has been committed to the preservation and promotion of Fine Arts, Indian Culture, Heritage and Literature. For the last 35 years, the Group has been sponsoring and organising South Indian Classical music programmes of young, budding and senior artists. We have been extending support to the sabhas during the Music Season every December in Chennai.

Choreographing the Now — Malavika Sarukkai-Anubhandh — Connectedness

-- by Geeta Doctor

It is the most intimate of Malavika Sarukkai’s explorations in dance.  When she first appears on the vast darkened empty space at the Music Academy, it is stripped of the paraphernalia of the classical dancer’s repertoire. The musicians on a platform at one side had been rendered more effectively on a soundtrack. Even the invocatory image […]

A Multifaceted personality who championed hygiene and sanitation

-- by Karthik Bhatt

The sanitary conditions in the mid-1800s in the Madras Presidency, much like in the rest of the country were appalling enough for Florence Nightingale to compile the Indian Sanitary Report. The construction of sewage drains in Madras was an important outcome of her efforts. Around the same time, a student at the Madras Medical College, […]

Lost Leisure – The Mystery of the 48 Square Grid – Marundeeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur

-- by Vinita Sidhartha

As we enter the East Coast Road from Thiruvanmiyur and drive south toward Mahabalipuram we see a beautiful temple gopuram on the left. This is the western entrance to the Marundeeswarar Temple, and you can almost miss it and never probably imagine what a beautiful temple lies within its walls. Once you enter the Marundeeswarar Kovil, […]

Parleys over the Pen Memorial

-- by The Editor

The decision to erect a pen-shaped memorial off the beach for the late Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, former CM of Tamil Nadu has run into protests from environmental activists, fishermen, and also the political opposition. While the latter would rank low on credibility (we are quite sure that they would not oppose a similar memorial for […]

Heritage Watch: 50 years of one of Chennais most iconic living beings – The Anna flyover!

– by T.M. Karthik

For many of us who have travelled across this landmark for most of our lives across decades, this flyover holds a bouquet of our stories and memories. In fact for many, many years, ‘flyover’ meant only one structure, even after the other juniors came up. Anything beyond ‘the flyover meant’ out of town, for somehow, […]

Lost Landmarks of Chennai

-- by Sriram V

Statues and Memorials on the Marina At a time when the proposed pen memorial on the beach is the subject of much debate, it is worthwhile to dwell briefly on the history of statues and memorials on the Marina. The first memorial of any kind to come up on the beach was that of Queen […]