Featured Articles

• Vol. XXXIII No. 9, August 16-31, 2023

The story of Solidaire

Business Houses of the South by Sushila Ravindranath

Solidaire TV was one of the Chennai success stories of the 90’s. From setting up small scale units, the founder A N. Srinivasa Rao, took the plunge to manufacture televisions. The government had just opened up the market. The other entrant from Chennai was Dyanora. This story is about Solidaire, which Rao launched with great […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 9, August 16-31, 2023

Hockey at its best, and Chennai fans loved it

-- by S.R. Suryanarayan

The Indian team came, saw, and conquered! It was a moment that will long remain etched in the minds of all those who were witness to the grand spectacle that unfolded at the revamped Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium. India came back from a 1-3 down situation to beat Malaysia 4-3 and lifted the Asian Champions trophy […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 8, August 1-15, 2023

Dr. K.S. Sanjivi and the VHS

On June 22, 1965, the Rotary Club of Madras met at the Connemara Hotel to confer its For The Sake of Honour Award on Dr. K.S. Sanjivi. Conferring it was an equally illustrious man of medicine – Dr. R.V. Rajam, noted venereologist. What followed was a delightful tribute by the latter to the former and […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 8, August 1-15, 2023

The Kuvikam Twins  – Creating waves in the world of Tamil literature

— by R.V. Rajan (rvrajan42@gmail.com) What to do post-retirement is a question that haunts some when nearing retirement age.  Many take up hobbies they had no time for during their period of employment. Two ex-bankers – famously known in the Tamil literary world as the Kuvikam Twins – not only pursued their passion for writing but […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 8, August 1-15, 2023

Thank you, Donors

We today, publish donations received with thanks for the period May-June 2023. – The Editor Rs. 100: T Rajagopalan Rs. 150: R.T. Namasivayam, P. Arangasamy, T.K. Badrinath Rs. 151: R. Ravindranath Rs. 200: Soora Chandramouleeswaran, Nityaanand A.D. Rs. 400: Ashok Krishnamurthi, S. Jagadish, N. Raghavan, A. Kamalakannan, Shushaanth S Rs. 500: K.V. Lakshminarayanan, K.M. Vedapuri […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

Teaching Thamizh to a Thamizh Child

-- Sujatha Vijayaraghavan (sujviji@gmail.com)

“I don’t want to study Thamizh. I will learn Hindi” wailed Chelvan, whose full name was Thamizhchelvan. The name meant that he was the child of Thamizh. He was in his third standard and had got single digit marks upon hundred in his Thamizh exam. He had barely passed his other subjects. But had failed […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

Lost Landmarks of Chennai

-- by Sriram V

From Hand-Pulled to Cycle Rickshaws – A Forgotten Jubilee There was a time when the cycle rickshaw was ubiquitous in our city. Now it has become a rarity, with the auto-rickshaw having more or less taken over. The mechanised or cycle rickshaw came to our city in the 1960s. Prior to that, we had the […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

A hundred years of the handbook of south-Indian grasses – by K. Rangachari and C. Tadulinga Mudaliyar

-- by Anantanarayanan Raman (anant@raman.id.au)

I bit my tongue when I realized that two years have elapsed without me remembering the centenary of the publication of the Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses written by K(adambi) Rangachari (a.k.a. Kadambi Ranga Acharyar) assisted by C(hinnakavanam) Tadulinga Mudaliyar. The Superintendent of the Madras-government Press published this 318-page handbook in 1921 and priced […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

A Memorable Exhibit at Majestic Madras Memorial Hall

-- by Thirupurasundari Sevvel

The Vanam Art Festival was organised as part of the Dalit History Month celebration by the Pa Ranjith-founded Neelam Cultural Centre. The event was held at the Madras ­Memorial Hall at Evening ­Bazaar Road in George Town. The building – a structure of the iconic classical style – was constructed by the British in 1860 […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

The Legacy of Old Mylapore’s A.K. Vel Saloon

– by Baskar Seshadri

It was the early Fifties. Angamuthu of Mylapore took an interest in the business of hairdressing, a field which, at that time, had no organised shops – most people groomed their hair in the house or in common spaces like the local temple tank. It was Angamuthu who took the bold step of opening a […]