Chennai News 89

CHENNAI NEWS
(NEWS OF CHENNAI AND TAMILNADU BY ENVERNATHAN)
Volume 89 (May 2008)

Enver’s Rambling.

My mum is an ardent viewer of Sun and KTV like many of my friends and relatives. However I think that viewers are really being short changed. It looks like Multichoice just does not care. I was shocked to see that no information is being given about any programs on these two channels. At least last year when I was here the name of the programs were given if not any information about it. Well it has gone from bad to worse and now neither the names nor the times are given thus it is not possible for people to record these programs. My friend Benny Rasen did mail me about this problem however I did not realise it was so bad. A little while ago someone from Multichoice did contact me about this problem and my advice to them was to appoint a consultant in Chennai to keep them up to date with the program details. I even offered to help them. However I was told that I would be contacted as soon as she returned to her office. I have not received any communication till now. So I just wonder how committed Multichoice is to solve this problem. Maybe viewers of Sun and KTV should form an organisation to look into this.

This Sunday is Mothers day. So a very happy Mothers day to all you mothers. I normally attend the function at the Gengai Amman temple in Cato Manor. It is so appropriate that they carry garagam in dedication to the mother on this day. It is also a good place to meet all your friends and relatives especially the old Cato Manor and Mayville residents.
On Saturday I am planning to go to the Eisteddfod of the South Coast region to be held at the Vishnu temple hall in Main Road Umzinto starting at 9 am. If you are from the South Coast then you should attend. It normally starts in the morning. For those readers from nearby who like to meet me please do so.
TO ALL THE MUMS OUT THERE
HAVE A WONDERFUL MOTHER’S DAY
Here are the other eisteddfod dates.

Lower North Coast 17/18 May at Stonebridge hallDurban South 25 May Northern Natal 31 May NewcastleSouthern 01 JuneUpper North 07 June Pietermaritzburg 08 June TPA

The Inter-Regional Finals is to be held on 14 & 15 June 2008 at the Merebank Regional Hall commencing at 08H30 on both days.

National Eisteddfod Children's: 05 & 06 July 2008 at the Merebank Regional Hall in Durban


Internet

I have also started a blog site called www.envernathan.blogspot.com
I intend putting all my old volumes of Chennai news in this site and also news that cannot wait a whole month. Please visit it at least once. This will also give me some idea of the readership of Chennai News. Unfortunately I lost all the very early copies of Chennai News when my system crashed. Hopefully one of you may have it.

My son Kamesh has his own blog site, which can be accessed at http://kameshgovender.blogspot.com/. It is quite interesting and he loves putting pictures etc in it.

I have finally registered my website www.envernathan.com I am now in the process of developing this site.
Some of you who visited India a few years ago promised me space on your server. I did not follow it up at that time but now that I have a web domain I will need that promised space. Please mail me.


One of our groups in Facebook is called Learn and Teach Tamil. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6084403897) This was started on 1 December. This is an interactive site for people who want to learn Tamil and also for people who want to teach. As it is aimed at adults we are using the English font. Please join in to get involved. Kamesh has prepared some lessons, which I will share with you. However to get really involved on a daily basis it will be better to join the group.
This site is becoming very popular and is increasing daily.

For those of you who are interested in Tamil movies you can join the group Tamil Movie Club. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6526801521) Not to be confused with the Movie club that you pay R100 as an investment. The one in Facebook is of course free. You can join in some lively discussions on all aspects of Tamil cinema.
The latest addition is the Tamil Eisteddfod group. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7818284447) This is a place for all of you who ever took part in an eisteddfod whether as a participant, administrator, Adjudicator or the audience. The rule of the group is that you must introduce yourself. Hopefully we will have a collection of experiences that will inspire others to take part.
For those of you who are looking for a Tamil word processor then you should look at the Azhagi software. This is also excellent for transliterating Tamil songs etc.. You can get a free basic copy by downloading from the site www.azhagi.com If needed you can then opt for the more advance version. You don’t even have to know Tamil to use it.

Kamesh has taken it upon himself to help his school raise funds for their building expansion project. He has managed to get two ex students from the USA to make a donation. He has got his mum’s friend from Bangalore to do likewise. He has asked me to include this in Chennai news. If you would like to donate something for the building you can contact him at kwg2005@gmail.com

Tourism Scene

This is a mail by one of my clients Mrs Kim Tailor that she sent to all her friends and relatives.
India was wonderful. We spent quite a lot of time beforehand talking to all sorts of people who have been there and reading up in the lonely planet and other guides to plan our trip. I think we did a great job. For those of you who don’t know, I left with three friends Savi, Barbara Erswell and Linda – a lovely English girl and a friend of Barbara's, at the end of Feb. We landed in MUMBAI in the early hours of the morning and went straight to a hotel. After a few hours sleep and a good breakfast from our 4 star hotel, we were collected for a full day tour. Our guide was excellent and there is lots to see - the Eliphanta Caves date from about 450 AD have amazing Hindu carvings hewn out of the rock face, mainly of one of the lords (Shiva), the Jain Temple (they will even brush an ant away from the path so as not to stand on it!!!!!!!), a home where Gandhi stayed for many years, public gardens etc. The most amazing sight for me was the Dhobi Ghats - the world's largest outdoor laundry where up to 10 000 dhobis – washer men - wash clothes for the people of Mumbai. One thing we noticed was that it was cleaner than we expected it to be but then we did not visit the slums which we had read about in Shantaram.

We caught a very early plane to UDAIPUR. This for me was a highlight. It is smaller and much prettier than any of the other cities in the North that we visited. It is a famous place for honeymooners as there are numerous lakes – the biggest Lake Pichola, housing the wonderful Lake Palace Hotel, which looks like a floating palace in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately a big wedding was taking place the weekend we were there so we could not visit it but we still had a boat ride on the lake and visited the wonderful City Palace and Museum. It is 300 years old and has been added to by each Maharaja (one still lives there and participates in religious ceremonies with the town people). It is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. We had two nights here - in what they call a HOMESTAY….someone’s home. We were lucky as I met an old school friend (unbelievable) who was staying in a hotel which she said was awful. In fact we had people coming up to reception at each of the hotels where we were staying, who were desperate to move from their hotel to ours…..
In the streets it was normal to see elephants (all painted – even their toenails) for religious ceremonies, camels pulling carts, donkeys carrying bricks, cows wondering aimlessly, tuk tuks or auto-rickshaws as they are called, taxis and people everywhere.
We then drove to JAIPUR, known as the pink city as all the buildings were painted pink (more like terracotta) in 1876 for Edward 7ths visit – pink being the colour of hospitality and all buildings in the old city are still painted every 10 years. We stayed at the posh Le Meridian hotel for two nights and enjoyed the luxury after the long road trip. The Amber fort is the biggest attraction here and tourists go up the hill, riding elephants. We did not get there early enough and the queue was daunting. We did not mind as that night we went to a local fair and rode an elephant just for the experience. The detail in the decoration of the fort was amazing, as with ALL of the old buildings we visited in India.

From Jaipur we drove to Agra and were up before sunrise to visit the Taj Mahal. It is impossible to describe on paper. The beauty, workmanship and symmetry of the building is awesome. The inlaid work in the marble is difficult to take in. Our guide showed us using a torch how just one flower was made up of over 60 small pieces of semi precious stones like jade and lapus lazuli. It was here that we all felt a bit ripped off after we shopped in one of the shops specializing in pashminas etc. He has been very skillful as we were determined NOT to shop in Agra having heard stories of tourists being ripped off and then we found ourselves doing what we had said we wouldn’t do….shop.
Then it was onto Delhi. We had three nights here and we all felt we could have done with just two. There is a LOT to see but when you have visited lots of palaces, temples and forts they all sort of mesh with one another. We saw plenty of them and it was good planning, ending our trip in the south which is very different.
From Delhi we flew to Goa. Goa is very like Mauritius in many ways. Weather is similar and there are fantastic hotels along the coast with the towns being quite scruffy. In fact we often made parallels between India and Mauritius. Goa is full of English tourists. They find it very cheap and many Brits rent there for part of the year. The history is connected to Portugal and anyone who remembers their SA history will remember that Vasco De Gama went onto this part of India after discovering Natal and Malindi further up the coast. There are magnificent Christian churches to visit in Goa that date back to this time in the late 1400’s. We stayed at a fantastic 5 star resort with the best breakfast selection I have ever had and thought we were in heaven.
Cochin or Kochi is in the state or Kerela and is famous for its backwaters and for where ayurvedic massage originated.
This was the best part of the trip for me. Friends of my folks had stayed here for 10 days last year and had loved it, so I was very excited. It lived up to all expectations. The backwaters were amazing. The boats are luxury with en suite rooms and aircon – very spacious and come with a crew of 3, a cook, a helmsman and a general guy to see to your every need. The food was top class – fresh fish and many vegetarian side dishes using fresh veggies bought from the villages we stopped at. As you glide by the villages you see all sorts of interesting activities – men shaving, everyone bathing, washing clothes, swimming, fishing, cleaning pots etc. I think that these backwaters will become very busy and more expensive as people realize how wonderfully relaxing it is. We met a few honeymoon couples. As with all parts of India that we visited, Cochin was FULL of history, the Chinese fishing nets, the Jewish synagogue which had exquisite blue tiles from China laid in 1762, and the 16th C Dutch Palace with its erotic paintings of Krishna surrounded by enraptured female figures. The last thing I did before the driver collected me for the ride to the airport for my trip home was to have an ayurvedic massage. It was a great idea and I felt very relaxed for my trip home, leaving India on a high

Unfortunately Kim had to come back home after the Kerela part of the tour. So she did not write about the last leg which included Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and Kanchipuram.



The next group tour will be on 2 September this year for 3 weeks. I am still working on the dates but it should be around September 1 or a week later. This tour will go via Mauritius so there is a possibility of staying a few days there. This is a three weeks long South tour. I have 10 people from the Phoenix area already booked. If you want to join in please do so. To make it easy I plan to include both breakfast and dinner and all the entrance fees. Thus all you will need to bring is your spending money.

Places that will be visited are Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram, Pondicherry, Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Trichy, Palani, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Kovelam beach, Trivandrum, Kollam, Allepey, Cochin, Coimbature, Ooty, Mysore, Bangalore, Puttarpathi and Tirupathi. For those that want an add-on to the North this can be arranged.

I have still to price it but will be looking at a price of below R15,000 inclusive of flights. Contact me if you are interested.

As a new service I have now added accommodation and tours in Mauritius as an extra service on to the holiday. I find that it can be done quite cheaply when booked directly with the owners in Mauritius. I am now looking at a similar service in Dubai.

If you are thinking of coming to India then please contact me so that I can plan an enjoyable trip for you at the most economical prices. All tours are tailored made for your individual tastes and needs.

Film scene


The Name is Rajnikanth is a book written by an ardent Rajni fan Dr Gayathri Sreekanth. The book that was written with the aid of the superstar and his family is 384 pages with over 100 pictures. It traces his life from a humble bus conductor to his status as a superstar. However the book is heavy and I will have to send it by courier. With the falling rand it should land at about R200. I have a few left so contact me if you need one.

Many people felt that with all the hype of the 20/20 cricket that cinema would take a backseat. However when Gowri and Kamesh went to see the Vijay’s movie Kuravi they could not get tickets as it was houseful even though the Chennai Super Kings were playing a match in Chennai.

I have been thinking about the Tamil Movie club and there seems to be a need to a more broader based entertainment club that will look at other aspects like live shows etc with movies being one of the functions. If you have any thoughts and ideas on this subject please contact me.

The success of Veyyil has catapulted Vasanthabalan to such heights that there’s already much expectation from Angaadi Theru, his next. New face Mahesh is the hero, and Anjali, the heroine of Katradhu Thamizh, is being paired with him. “It will be a realistic film like Veyyil,” begins Vasanthabalan. The crew went all over the State searching for its hero. Mahesh was chosen from among 17,000 youngsters and after three-months of scouting. “Mahesh comes from a very ordinary background. His father sells nuts outside a cinema hall, near Dindigul. And convincing him to allow his son to act was just one of the many challenges we faced,” laughs Balan. Anjali’s girl-next-door looks won her a place in Angaadi … “The two are doing a near-perfect job. They’ve not gone beyond two takes for a shot,” (courtesy Malathi Rungarajan)

The ‘Jayam’ brothers are all smiles these days. Santhosh Subramaniam has proved a hit and it makes it the duo’s fourth consecutive win in a row! “It’s not as though I give my brother special attention. It’s only that he’s a diligent learner and gives his all to every project he works in — not just mine. The lengthy climax, in which an emotionally charged Ravi takes on his father Prakash Raj, was okayed in one take! After the shot, Prakash Raj hugged Ravi and congratulated him on his performance, while the others in the unit stood stunned by his show. I’ve always been aware of Ravi’s potential. I’m glad when others realise it,” says his proud elder brother Raja, the director of Santhosh … (courtesy Malathi Rungarajan)