Friday, October 31, 2008

Chennai News 95

CHENNAI NEWS
(NEWS OF CHENNAI AND TAMILNADU BY ENVERNATHAN)
Volume 95 (Deepavali Special 2008)

Enver’s Rambling.

Whenever Deepavali comes around it reminds me of an incident that happened to me many years ago. I must have been around 15 years old. I lived in Lorne Street in the town area of Durban near the Shah Jehan cinema which stood in the corner of Lorne and Grey streets. I remember my friends and me bursting crackers in the evening when one of them suggested that we go to the movies. The Shah Jahan had just been renovated and they were showing a western. I don’t remember the name but I am sure it was a Charlton Heston movie. So we stopped bursting crackers and I put my share in my pocket as I did not want to go home. I knew once I was seen by my father there was no way I would be able to get out of the house for a second time. We were really enjoying the movie from our balcony seats when some idiot threw a bunch of lighted crackers to the section below. I remember thinking to myself how stupid the guy was for doing such act. Any how because there was such a commotion from the people below they stopped the screening and decided to search all the people upstairs. So I thought well now the guy was really going to get it. However they did not apprehend anyone and the search came very close to us. It then dawned on me and I froze as I had crackers in my pocket. Off course I was searched and they cried out “We got him”. They wanted to take me to their office downstairs. Now anyone who knows the happenings of the Shah Jahan in those days would know that the one place you did not want to be taken to was their office. The last guy I knew came out without two front teeth. So, on the top of my voice, I put up an argument that it was not me and even tried to prove with some nifty “ballistic” angles that the crackers could have not come from my seating position. Luckily I was backed up by most of the people seated around me and with the crowd becoming restless to see the movie they let me go after confiscating all my crackers. I honestly tell you I don’t remember the rest of the movie as I was in shock.

Just who is a Tamil. The reason I ask this is that many people seem to be very confused about this. Tamil is a language which however has a distinct culture. It is not a religion like some people assume. Here we have Tamils who are Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jain and Buddhists and I dare say many atheists. This does not seem to happen in South Africa where many non Hindus Tamils seem to think that they are not Tamil. Maybe it is time to invite all Tamils irrespective of their religious inclinations under the banner of a united Tamil fraternity. Please don’t misunderstand this as a call for new Tamil organisation. For me the SATF (with its provincial affiliates) is the main Tamil organisation of South Africa. All other Tamil organisations should be affiliated to it. In this way we have one strong mouthpiece for the Tamil people.

The Sydenham Tamil Society which has its cultural roots in the late 60’s will be having its first fundraising dinner dance on 20th December at Howard College. Besides the Tamil Koothu (dance) they have lined up a Karaoke competition. There will also be lots of prizes to be won. I will give you more news about this in the next CN. However you can mail their PRO Miss Sivani Naidoo at sivaninaidoo@gmail.com

For those of you who have access NDTV please make a point of watching the documentary called Our Family by Professor Anjali Monteiro and Professor
K.P. Jayasankar. The documentary is based on my sister-in-law Pritham’s one women play Nirvanam (liberation) referring to the act of liberating oneself from the male body and transforming oneself to a female. It documents the lives of three generations of people referred to as Aravanies in Tamilnadu and Higras in the North. The narration is done by Pritham in Tamil with English subtitles. It will be telecasted on Sunday Nov 2 at 9.30 to 10.30 am SA time.

Congratulation to Mala Lutchmanan on the release of the following:
1. The Skandha Sashti Kavacham (book & cd)
2. Learn Tamil - A beginner's guide - vol 1
3. Learn Tamil - vol 2

Date: 2 November 2008
Venue: SABC, 100 Old Fort Road, Durban
Time: 4pm

The Pravasi Bharathi Divas is a meeting held every year by the Indian government for Indians living out side India. Although held mostly in Delhi this year it is Chennai that will be hosting this colourful and interesting event for the very first time. It will be held from January 7th to 9th at the Chennai Trade Centre. For more information you can log onto www.pbdindia.org and can register for the event. However check with me for accommodation as I am sure I can get it at a better rate or advise you to book with them if I can’t. However some of the hotels on the list are not worth the price so I will tell you which to avoid.
As a prelude to this meeting you can attend the first World Tamil Economic Conference and Tamil Diaspora Meet also in Chennai from 5th to 7th January at the Taj Coromandal Hotel. For more information you can log onto www.economic-conference.com and register here. I will give you more news of tours that I have planned before and after these two meetings. Don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.
8th November- SAMARPANAM- an offering of DevotionBharat Natyam production joining the celebration of Verushka’s dance school in India, Bharata Kalanjali turning 40 years and my esteemed Guru, Shri VP Dhananjayan turns 70 and my 10 year anniversary of her arrangetarm.A joyous celebration of the life and legacy of 'The Dhananjayans'
THEKWINI COLLEGE, DA'INTREE AVENUE 8TH NOVEMBER 2008 6.30PM TICKETS: R50 & R30
12TH November- SAI NATYA. a dance collaboration with six dance schools and accompanied by Karthigasen Pillay. A humble offering of Dance to Bhagavan Sri Satya Sai Baba.Contact: Verushka 0833600037 / 031-4036469

It is not everyday you get something for nothing. You can earn points by using this search engine which can be exchanged for presents. To subscribe go to the website http://scour.com/invite/envernathan/

I have finally registered my website www.envernathan.com I am now in the process of developing this site. If you can help me please do so.
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.

To read the back issues of Chennai News log onto http://envernathan.blogspot.com

One of our groups in Facebook is called Learn and Teach Tamil. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6084403897) This was started on 1st 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.

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). You can join in some lively discussions on all aspects of Tamil cinema.
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.
The latest addition is the Chennai Super Kings (IPL). This is off course for all supporters of the Chennai Super Kings 20/20 cricket team. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18926205926
For those of you who are looking for a Tamil word processor then you should look at the Azhagi software. You can get a free basic copy by downloading from the site www.azhagi.com

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.
Film scene

The two main Deepavali releases have been Ajiths Aegan and Bharath’s Seval. After years of rivalry between the big stars this years Deepavali offering has been described a one day match between India and Bangladesh.

Aegan which stars Ajith, Nayanthara, Navdeep, Pia, Jayaram and Suhasini is a mixture of comedy, romance and action. The movie is directed by dance master Raju Sundram (Brother of Prabhu Deva). The storyline has shades of Main Hoon Na as this move was also inspired by ‘Back to School’ and others of this type.
Siva (Ajith) is an undercover cop. He is used by his father who is the police commissioner (Naser) in very sensitive cases. The righthand man of the city’s notorious don (Suman) wants to give himself up to the police. However the gang comes to know and his attempt is compromised and he escapes. Naser asks his son to apprehend him. They know that his daughter (Pia) studies in Ooty and Siva goes there as an older student who is resuming his studies after a long break. He takes along a fellow policeman played by Haniffa who provides much of the light relief with his naivety and innocence. Ajith not usually know for comedy also gives us some funny moments as he tries to befriend Pia and her boyfriend (Navdeep). He gamely allows himself to be a butt of the jokes even mentioning his flabby stomach. Siva also sees professor Maliga (Nayanthara) and it is love at first sight much to her exasperations. However it does not take her long to fall under his spell. Nayanthara looks slim and trim as she pesues a more sensual image. Gone is the lovely chubbiness that she had in Chandramukhi. Mention must be made of the antics of Principle Jayaram and his office boy Sathyam who will have you in stiches even when overacting a bit.
Anyway after saving Pia from being kidnapped he becomes friends with the students which allows him to apprehend Pia’s father. He finds out that Navjeeth is actually his younger “brother”. Siva was adopted by Naser and Suhashini who later split when the younger son is born. Anyways all ends well.

Seval (Roster) stars Bharath, new girl Poonam, Simran, Krishna and the veteran Rajesh. Bharath is a village ruffian who spends most of time pursuing all the wrong deeds much to the disgust of his father. The family grows flowers for a living which they sell to all the people in their little town. Bharath somehow manages to pledge their farm after a bout of gambling which further infuriates his father. However when Bharath sees Parijatham who is the daughter of the local brahim priest, he falls in love with her and slowly changes his ways. Vadivel is his cousin and besides the comedy plays a very pivotal part in the movie. Simran makes a comeback in movies as the elder sister of Pari and revels in the comedy parts. However when she is diagnosed with cancer and is on her deathbed, she asks her younger sister to marry her husband so that her child could be brought up by her. Siva spends most of the time protecting the honour of Pari who because of her beauty is eyed by the lecherous the village leader. This is a real family drama with lots of sentiment and lots of subplots. However director Hari is a past master in keeping everything together and making sure all the characters have a meaningful role. The movie is also a continuation of the evolvement of Bharath as an actor. Newcomer Poonam makes a good impression and is sure to bag many more roles. Definitely a movie for the family as it has something for everyone.
Four Tamil movies have made it to the prestigious International Film Festival of India which is run by the Department of Information and Broadcasting. The festival is being held at Goa from Nov 22 to Dec 2. The movies are Kanchivaram in the Indian Panorama and Billa, Kallori and Muthal Muthal Muthal Vaaram selected in the regional section. However the Tamil Film Industry is furious that movies like Anjaathey and Subramaniapuram which were both critically acclaimed and huge box office hits were ignored. They question how a remake like Billa and the little seen movie M3V were chosen instead.

Music Scene

The music CD of Silambarasan’s latest movie Silambaattam has 5 songs with music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The first song is Silambaatam by Shankar Mahadevan and is a fast paced folk song with brilliant percussion.
The second song is a daban koothu rap song Nallamdhana by Silambarasan, Earl and Suzie Q. The Tamil lyrics are by Gangai Amaran and the English lyrics by Suzie Q and Earl. The song is very good and the Sivamani on the drums is excellent.
Machaan Machaan is a beautiful duet by Illiaraja and Belashende. Illayaraja will surprise with how young he sounds. The backup music especially the guitar by Amal Raj is really good. Vechikkava is a remix that sounds very similar o the original with a few changes. However the trumpet work is really catchy. The song is song by Silambarasan and Suchimitra.
Where is the Party is a fast paced folk song that seems to be inspired by one of Pushpa Kandasamy’s folk tunes. I think this one will do well in SA as it is easy to sing along the English parts. This is sung by Mukesh and Priyadharshini and the words are by Simbu himself.

Events
‘Bharata Natyam – The First Knowledgeable Step’ which contains a general knowledge of understanding and performing the correct steps in Bharatha Natyam.
According to Krish Swamivel this is the first time most of adavus are being presented in this extremely useful format, and I am sure this will be found indispensable by the dance students, dancers and dance lovers.
Enquiries: Krish Swamivel @ 083 778 7083 or 031 403 7083 Introductory offer @ R89 only

Those of you in Capetown and surrounding areas are invited to attend the Opening of BUDDHIPRIYA (Bestower of Knowledge) ACTIVITY & LEARNING CENTRE

Venue: Sri Siva Aalayam Hall
Date: Saturday 1st November 2008
Time: 2:30pm
Kindly RSVP for purpose of refreshments Curly Valoo - 072 149 2191, Kubeshini Govender - 078 312 5488, Premie Pillay - 082 674 2567



The Sideman Tamil Society has successfully started their yoga classes last week with 9 participants and from what I heard they really enjoyed it. So if you want to join them then better contact them fast as they want to take a limited number

Notice Board – Please mail me if you want to put your organisation on this notice board. However I need a mail from the principal organiser so that information is accurate.

The Sydenham Tamil Society has started singing and harmonium classes under the tutorage of Mr Kumaresan Chetty every Wednesday at 6 pm. Yoga classes also on Tuesdays. For more information contact their PRO Miss Sivani Naidoo sivaninaidoo@gmail.com.

Sri Saradha Institute of Arts and Culture (Free Tuition in Tamil, Music
& Dance)
Saturday 9.00 - 11.00 at Ganesha Temple - Cnr of Palmview Dr &
CrestBrook - Phoenix
Contact Suja or Kovilan Muthumanikam on 083 742 8508 for more details

Manormani Dance Academy. A school of Bharatha Natyam and Folk Dance.
Saturday 9.00 – 12.00 at Umgeni Road Temple. 13.30 – 16.30 ABH – Chathsworth.
Tuesday 15-30 – 17.00 Stanmore Regional Hall.
Wednesday 17.30 – 19.00 Mount View Civic Hall.
For further details contact Mrs Govender on 031-5053379

Hindu Cultural League - Music and Dance Academy
Offers the following classes on Saturdays in the disciplines of Music, Dance and Language: Bharata Natyam, Tabla, Harmonium, Tamil, and Karnatic Vocal Classes & Folk & Contemporary Dance. Children and adults, from beginners to advanced are welcome.
Classes are held at the H. A. Jack Primary School, Cnr Jauncey & Preston Roads, Abbottsford (close to Melrose Temple). Johannesburg. For more information in respect of times, cost and other information, contact
Rueben 072 709 5991, Thirumala 082 563 4439, Don 082 787 2056 or Inbam 083 262 6511 or email info@hcl.co.za Visit our website www.hcl.co.za

Sahaja Yoga, the following numbers could be used: Durban - 031-400 4703, PMburg - 033-391 3557, Johannesburg - 011-864 3410, Cape Town 021-713 2463alternatively, you could visit www.sahajayoga.org for more info or e-mail lincoln.pillay@bcx.co.za.

Natya Ananda - Academy of Fine ArtsMonday: Asherville 4-7.30Friday: Phoenix 4-7Saturday: Chatsworth unit 1. 8 - 1pmContact: 0833600037 / 031-4036469verushkamood@hotmail.com / natyavp@redbean.co.za

Classified Section.

I have 1 mrithangam at R1200 (18”) and a naal also R1200 to 1 mrithangam at R1900 (22”) and a kuchi mrithangam for R2100 (24”). Two double reed harmoniums at R1800 each. A scale change at R5000 and a Paul and Co at R7000. Electronic srudi box at R650. Please contact me if you need any. Dance bells – 5 lines at R160 and 6 lines at R180. Mallipoo - Double R20 a metre. Dance sets from R400 (stones) to R1200 (temple set). I also have a Sachin Tendulkar’s MRF cricket bat for R600. I just remembered that I have a beautiful coat style leather jacket for sale at just R650. However this for a really big size guy and is a XXL.

South Africa: Contact Mrs. K. Govender, 30 Eskdale Road, Sydenham, Durban, 4091. Tel. 031-2086929.

Mauritius: Contact Mr. Balakrishna Tandrayan, 8 Sun Yat Sen Street, Port Louis, Tel. 2423404. Fax. 2413299. (Sorry this is for people from Mauritius)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Chennai news 94

CHENNAI NEWS

(NEWS OF CHENNAI AND TAMILNADU BY ENVERNATHAN)

Volume 94 (October 2008)

Enver’s Rambling.

Sometimes even I don’t realise how seriously CN is taken. I had a call from a friend in SA a few days ago asking why I did not include his notice in the magazine. Sorry Henry I will not forget the next time.

Almost every year there seems a problem with the date of festivals and I am always asked to give the correct date. Now I am no expert but I just check with the calendar here as it is documented well in advance. The main problem seems to be Deepavali especially with the North South difference. So far only one person has asked me about this year’s Deepavali. I guess most South Indians are still in a state of shock that it falls on a Monday (according to my calendar) which is a fasting day for most of them. No problem for the North Indians as their day falls on a Tuesday which is their fasting day and in any case they have a fully vegetarian Deepavali.

This is what I would do if I was living in SA. I would have the usual Deepavali meal with trimmings on Sunday. I could even have a Deepavali braai as mum or the missus will be busy with all the baking preparations. On Monday I will have a real traditional cultural Deepavali (with the oil-bath and new clothes) and fireworks (not crackers as it will scare the dogs). On Tuesday in the name of linguistic and cultural unity I will once again celebrate Deepavali. So instead of a one day festival I will now have a three day festival. Maybe it will have to takeaways or Sunday’s leftovers on Tuesday as mum or the wife will be quite tired after all the preparations on Monday.

After the initial flurry of emails about the axing of KTV there seems to be a lull. Either I have been cut out of the loop or the campaign has lost steam or maybe it has been solved. I have heard that Zee TV is starting a Tamil channel in India so maybe this channel can be approached by Multichoice as Zee is already in SA. As they do not broadcast live to SA maybe the programs can be subtitled as is their Hindi programs. However Multichoice should consider this as an add-on and not in anyway think of replacing Sun TV. Sun TV has been declared the best channel in India not just in Tamil but among all the language groups.

I have been told that Narain Naidoo is actually Francis who is the person who started the idea of Radio Phoenix until it was high-jacked from him. He also ran a Tamil radio station on the internet for quite a while. I am not sure if it is still operational. I don’t know how he got involved with Multichoice but this guy is a real Tamil language and cultural patriot. He did send a letter introducing the Ethekweni Tamil Sungam to me. However he used the post office. Life is too short for snail mail I think all organisations should be using email and hopefully have a website.

A Hindu scholar Swami Thayalan Reddy is in the country from USA. He is from the International Hindu Revival Movement. He is prepared to speak at your organisation. For further information contact Dees Pillay 0837878351. I have not heard him speak so Dees can enlighten you on his capabilities and topics.


As from October 2 (Gandhi’s Birthday) it will be a crime to smoke in a public places in India. The move has been welcomed by the medical fraternity and by non smokers. A barman when interviewed said that it was now such a pleasure to work in a smoke-free pub. The Health minister is now looking at how to control alcohol consumption.

The new season of the ICL 20/20 cricket tournament has started. This is the league of less hype and more cricket. It has the best of the young Indian talent combined with the experience of the overseas veterans. I tell you the quality of cricket is really good. It is telecasted by Ten sports and Zee Sports so I am not sure if it is being shown in South Africa. The best part is that the teams have mostly talent from the corresponding city so you can really identify with them. The Chennai Super Stars won the first competition and are unbeaten so far in the current one.

The Pravasi Bharathi Divas is a meeting held every year by the Indian government for Indians living out side India. Although held mostly in Delhi this year it is Chennai that will be hosting this colourful and interesting event for the very first time. It will be held from January 7th to 9th at the Chennai Trade Centre. For more information you can log onto www.pbdindia.org and can register for the event. However check with me for accommodation as I am sure I can get it at a better rate or advise you to book with them if I can’t. However some of the hotels on the list are not worth the price so I will tell you which to avoid.

As a prelude to this meeting you can attend the first World Tamil Economic Conference and Tamil Diaspora Meet also in Chennai from 5th to 7th January at the Taj Coromandal Hotel. For more information you can log onto www.economic-conference.com and register here. I will give you more news of tours that I have planned before and after these two meetings. Don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.

The Sri Siva Aalayam invites you to an Evening of Bhajans by Veeramani Kannan at the Sri Siva Aalayam (Capetown) on 16th October 2008 From 6:30 – 8:00pm

ALL WELCOME - Light refreshments will be served. Contact Guru Krishna: 083 794 2542

8th November- SAMARPANAM- an offering of Devotion
Bharat Natyam production joining the celebration of my dance school in India, Bharata Kalanjali turning 40 years and my esteemed Guru, Shri VP Dhananjayan turns 70 and my 10 year anniversary of my arrangetarm.
A joyous celebration of the life and legacy of 'The Dhananjayans'

12TH November- SAI NATYA. Dance collaboration with six dance schools and accompanied by Karthigasen Pillay. Our humble offering of Dance to Bhagavan Sri Satya Sai Baba. The above two invitations are from Varushka so the ‘my’ and ‘our’ refers to her and not me. For her contact details see Naatya Ananda at the bottom.


Please don’t forget to keep the 20th December free. The Sydenham Tamil Society has a special invite for you. For those of you now living in Gauteng please plan you KZN visit so that you are in Durban for that weekend.


Internet

I have finally registered my website www.envernathan.com I am now in the process of developing this site. If you can help me please do so.

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.

To read the back issues of Chennai News log onto http://envernathan.blogspot.com

One of our groups in Facebook is called Learn and Teach Tamil. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6084403897) This was started on 1st 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.

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). You can join in some lively discussions on all aspects of Tamil cinema.

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.

The latest addition is the Chennai Super Kings (IPL). This is off course for all supporters of the Chennai Super Kings 20/20 cricket team. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18926205926


For those of you who are looking for a Tamil word processor then you should look at the Azhagi software. You can get a free basic copy by downloading from the site www.azhagi.com

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.


Film scene

I recently saw the movie Sakkrakatty (sugar lump) starring Shantanoo son of Bhagayaraj and Poornima Jairam. The movie is one of those sweet love stories that do not tax your concentration too much. It is about a first year college student Yuvaraj who on his first day sees Deepali (Ishita) who he falls in love with. Don’t these students go to college to study? Anyway after a while she responds. However a small diversion occurs when his very attractive cousin Reema (Vedhika) comes to town and enrols at the same college. The cousin falls in love with him. He is seen in what looks like a compromising situation, and Deepali breaks up with him. Thus it is now the work of his loyal friends to help him patch up. However again he is caught in a comprising situation with the same cousin (although everything is above board) and again she leaves him. His friends then decide to have a party and to invite both the girls. Their idea is to trap Reema on CCTV admitting that he has nothing to do with her. However this astute girl sees the cameras and is really hurt. She says all he had to do was ask and she would have readily admitted the fact. Anyway the girls develop a mutual admiration for each other. Finally the hero is forgiven. The music is by AR Rahman and is really good especially the Taxi Taxi song. However the picturisation does not compliment the songs and tried to do too much. If I was the director I would have switched the girls around as Vedikha looks much more heroine material.

After the long wait the movie Kadhalil Vizhunthen (I fell in Love) was finally released. The film boasts the song Nakka Mukku that has taken Tamil Nadu by storm for quite a few months. I saw Krish Swamivel’s troupe dance to this song at the Tamil New celebrations in Chatsworth. The movie is the first release by Sun Pictures and has been really punted on their networks especially the Nakka Mukku song. The movie stars a much slimmed Nakul (Boys) and debutant Sunaina one of the cutest girls that I have seen for a long time. The movie is told mostly as a flashback to the train conductor Livingstone who is superb in this small role.

Sabha (Nakul) lives in a slum and is a very good soccer player. However he meets an accident due to Meera a rich girl played by Sunaina. Meera then takes it upon herself to nurse him back to health especially when she learns that he does not have a mother. Friendship soon blossoms into love and they make a happy couple. The first part of the movie is excellent as it unfolds the romance between the two. However Sabha comes back from a tournament and learns that Meera has been killed in an accident. He becomes mentally disturbed and imagining that she is still alive he removes the body from the hospital and flees with it. He then becomes very protective and injures or kills anyone who he thinks is a danger to her. Although I did not like this part of the movie I must confess that it was well done and the acting and direction was superb. The young crowd at the cinema seems to have lapped it up. I see a very good future for both Nakul and Sunaina.

The movie has musical score by Vijay Anthony, cinematography by S D Vijay Milton and editing by V T Vijayan. Made on a shoestring budget of just one crore rupees (less than R2 million) it has become a super hit and is still running to full houses.


Poi Solla Poram is a movie by Vijay (Kreedam). The movie is a remake of the Hindi Khosla ka Ghosla however very well adapted for the Tamil audience. It stars Kartik Kumar who has finally made it on his own after always playing the perennial second hero. His new look really fits the part as the young software engineer who is trying to make his way to the US. New girl Piya who plays the part of his girlfriend Amritha is also very cute and bubbly. However the director keeps the romance subdued and does not distract from the main story. The movie also explores how a family whose members have grown apart is brought together when there is a crisis to be solved.

Sathyanathan (Nedumudi Venu) a retired government employee has sunk all his money in a building plot where he hopes to build his dream home. How ever when he takes his wife and three children to the site for the bhoomi pooja he finds that it has been occupied by someone called Baby. Further investigation shows that Baby (Nasser) is a notorious land grabber and is well connected with the police and the politicians. He asks for a sum of 1,5 million rupees (R300,000) to vacate the property. Finding no joy with the police, lawyers, politicians and even the social activist groups he decides to take the advice of his second son and engage some small time gangsters to help take over the land. This is successful for a day as the next day he is arrested by the police for forcible trespass. He decides that the best thing to do is to give up the land and remain in his cramped quarters. He is still cross that his son wants to go to USA. However Uppillinathan (Kartick), as the last thing before he leaves, decides with the help of his brother, sister and friends to try and get back the land by guile. With the help of Asif (Bosskey), a former assistant of Baby until he was robbed of his land, they devise a sting. This brings you to the second fun filled comedy part. Amritha’s father “Daddy” (Mouli) who runs a drama troupe plays the part of a rich Businessman from Dubai and is helped by his actors and actresses who play all the minor parts of the sting operation.

How they go about it I will leave to you to watch the movie to find out. People who watched the Hindi version said that the found a freshness in the Tamil version. For me who had not even heard of the Hindi version before this leave alone seeing it, I must say that I really enjoyed this movie.

People are eagerly waiting for the Deepavali releases.

The Ajith-Nayanthara action comedy entertainer Aegan is directed by Raju Sundram. Ajith has a huge youth fan base and with glamour girl Nayanthara will be hoping to have a huge success.

Pitted against them will be the love story Vaaranam Aayiram starring Surya with three heroines in Sameera, Divya and Simram. The Surya, Gautam Menon and Harris Jayaraj are a very successful combination and the music is already number one here.

Seval a mass entertainer with action and dances starring Bharat is directed by Hari and also stars Poonam Baweja. This movie will do very well in the smaller centers.

Guru en Aalu starring Madhavan, Vivek and Mamtha Mohandas is directed by Selva and is said to be a real laugh riot with Vivek cross dressing.

Competing with the big banners will be Prakash Raj’s Abhiyum Naanum starring Trisha. Director Radha Mohan of Mozhi fame once again teams up with this Duet Movies and Moser Baier production. The movie will explore the father daughter relationship.

However except for Vaaranam Aayiram and Seval the other movies are battling for screen space. Insiders are eagerly waiting to see if the trend of the smaller movies out performing the big stars will continue.


Music Scene

The Cd of Abhiyum Naanum has seven songs. The music is by Vidyasagar and the lyrics by the great poet Vairamuthu. One of the innovations is that each song is introduced by Prakash Raj in chaste Tamil. The Cd is packaged with song copies and a free DVD of the movie Mozhi.

The first song is Ore Oru Oorile is sung by Kailesh Kher and has a nice village feel to it. The second song Vaa Vaa en Dhevadhaye is sung Madhu Balakrishnan and is a beautiful ballad. Pachai Kaatre is sung by Sadhana Sargam and is a nice soft ballad with a Punjabi like peppy chorus. Moongil vittu Sendra is a short ballad song by Madhu. Azhagiya Azhagiya is sung by SPB with real feeling. Chinnamma Kalyanam by Kailesh Kher and Balle Balle by Rehan Khan are two short songs. As a bonus four of the main songs have instrumental versions.

Surya’s Vaaranam Aayiram also has seven songs with music by Harris Jeyaraj and lyrics by Thamarai. This Cd which comes with song copies is the current number one in Tamilnadu.

Adayae Kolluthey is a racy rock song by Krish, Benny Dayal and Sruthi Hassan (Kamal’s daughter). Nenjukkul Peidudham is a soft ballad by Hariharan, Devan and V Prasanna. Solar Sai is a rap based fast peppy song by Benny Dayal and Naresh Iyer. Mundhinam is a beautiful duet by Naresh Iyer and Prashantini. The musical interludes are just brilliant. Oh! Shanthi Shanthi by Clinton and SPB Charan is another fast beat pop song that will have you clicking your fingers. Ava Enna by Kartik and V Prasanna is a koothu based song that will be beautiful for a folk dance. Annul Maelae is a beautiful ballad sung by Sudha Ranganathan which for me is the pick of the movie.

Ajith’s Aegan has six songs with music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Hey Saala is a rap based song by Blaaze, Naresh Iyer and M Aslam. This song do well in the discos. Yahoo Yahoo by Suvi, Ujjaini, Sathyan, Ranjith and Naveen is a fast peppy song. Hey Baby by Shankar Mahadevan is a kind of cabaret type of song. I am sure it will become a theme song for those named Maliga. Odum Varayil by KK and Bela Shende is a beautiful fast paced duet with a lovely chorus. Kichu Kichu is by Vasundara Dass and Yuvan Shankar Raja is a duet with a jazzy feel something that Vasundra exels in. The last is a repeat of Hey Saala.


Tourism Scene

I had quite a memorable trip down South and to Kerela. I had originally planned to leave on 15th September but changed my plans when we received an invitation to Sibiraj’s wedding. Sibiraj an actor is the son of veteran actor Satyaraj. Both my wife and my mother-in-law had taught him and his sister.

I thus left on the morning of 16th September. I took an Air Con day train to Nagerkoil which is an half hours drive to Kanyakumari. I enjoyed the train trip as it gave me time to catch up on my reading. I had taken the book Inside Indenture. I got there just in time to bathe have supper and go to bed. Even at 11 pm I could find a small bistro where I had parathas, gravy and a fried fish.

The next day I checked out the Hotel and my clients the Moonsamis who had spent two days there. Kanyakumari really looks impressive especially after they added the 133 ft Thiruvalluvar statue near Vivekanandha Rock.

I then took a bus to Trivandrum (Thiruvanthapuram) where I had lunch and then another bus to Allepey (Alapuzha). I stayed at the beautiful Arcadia Residency. In the evening I took a walk along the canals of Allepey. I also bought a few Malayalee Cds and DVDs. I ate at a Muslim restaurant where I ordered chicken shawmas which was really tasty. The next day I took a ride on a houseboat through the canals taking in the colourful life of the people that live along the canals. After an excellent lunch we crossed the Venayand lake to Kumaragum. I got off at the jetty because the weeds prevented us from docking in front of the Hotel. However it was just a 5 min walk from the jetty to the Waterscapes resort. The resort is a cluster of single roomed cottages on stilts. They have a restaurant, swimming pool, Gym, ayurvedic massage centre and a games room. I missed the other guys in my group so I decided to explore some of the other resorts on my own. The next morning I met the rest of my group and we visited even more resorts. We then left for the Hill station of Munnar which is about 5 hours away by road. Munnar is a smaller version of Ooty. We stayed at the Tea County resort. We visited a few resorts and all of them were very impressive. The rest of the group was all agents from Maharashtra and Bengal and they spoke mostly in Hindi which I could not understand. However they were a jolly bunch and now and then translated what they were talking about into English. The first thing I did when I got to my room was to switch on the TV and select a Tamil Channel so that I could listen to a familiar language.

The next morning we visited a spice shop and I bought all the spices on the list that Gowri had given me and a few more that were not on the list. After visiting a few more resorts we drove down to Cochin stopping on the way at a Home-stay for lunch. This was a beautiful house in which 5 rooms were converted for home-stay. After many days of hotel food it was a real pleasure to eat the sumptuous food prepared by the hostess.

The opening program at KTM was outstanding. After the dancers performed their particular form of dance they got together and performed a fusion of different dance forms that was out of this world.

The next two days was spent visiting the different stalls of hotels, resorts and tour operators explaining their products. I met Yasmin and Clive from Harvey World and Ricky and Paul from in Phoenix. On the third day I made a trip to Palagad to visit an Ayurvedic resort. I underwent a full body massage that just cannot be explained. It has to be experienced. Later that evening I travelled back to Chennai by an overnight train. It was good to come back home but I had to answer an avalanche of Emails.


Notice Board – Please mail me if you want to put your organisation on this notice board. However I need a mail from the principal organiser so that information is correct.

The Sydenham Tamil Society has successfully started their yoga classes last week with 9 participants and from what I heard they really enjoyed it. So if you want to join then better contact them fast as they want to take a limited number

The Sydenham Tamil Society has started singing and harmonium classes under the tutorage of Mr Kumaresan Chetty every Wednesday at 6 pm. Yoga classes also on Tuesdays . For more information contact their PRO Miss Sivani Naidoo sivaninaidoo@gmail.com.

Sri Saradha Institute of Arts and Culture (Free Tuition in Tamil, Music

& Dance)

Saturday 9.00 - 11.00 at Ganesha Temple - Cnr of Palmview Dr &

CrestBrook - Phoenix

Contact Suja or Kovilan Muthumanikam on 083 742 8508 for more details

Manormani Dance Academy. A school of Bharatha Natyam and Folk Dance.

Saturday 9.00 – 12.00 at Umgeni Road Temple. 13.30 – 16.30 ABH – Chathsworth.

Tuesday 15-30 – 17.00 Stanmore Regional Hall.

Wednesday 17.30 – 19.00 Mount View Civic Hall.

For further details contact Mrs Govender on 031-5053379

Hindu Cultural League - Music and Dance Academy

Offers the following classes on Saturdays in the disciplines of Music, Dance and Language: Bharata Natyam, Tabla, Harmonium, Tamil, and Karnatic Vocal Classes & Folk & Contemporary Dance. Children and adults, from beginners to advanced are welcome.

Classes are held at the H. A. Jack Primary School, Cnr Jauncey & Preston Roads, Abbottsford (close to Melrose Temple). Johannesburg. For more information in respect of times, cost and other information, contact

Rueben 072 709 5991, Thirumala 082 563 4439, Don 082 787 2056 or Inbam 083 262 6511 or email info@hcl.co.za Visit our website www.hcl.co.za

Sahaja Yoga, the following numbers could be used: Durban - 031-400 4703, PMburg - 033-391 3557, Johannesburg - 011-864 3410, Cape Town 021-713 2463
alternatively, you could visit www.sahajayoga.org for more info or e-mail lincoln.pillay@bcx.co.za.

Natya Ananda - Academy of Fine Arts
Monday: Asherville 4-7.30
Friday: Phoenix 4-7
Saturday: Chatsworth unit 1. 8 - 1pm
Contact: 0833600037 / 031-4036469
verushkamood@hotmail.com / natyavp@redbean.co.za


KUMARI VELOSHANI MANICUM DANCE ACADEMY - THE ACADEMY OF BHARATHA NATYAM & MODERN INDIAN DANCE!

CLASSES:

Monday - VERULAM 5-6pm

Tuesday - WEMBLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL 5-6pm

Thursday - BRAILSFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL 5-6pm

Friday - STERNGROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL 5.30-7.30pm

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT VELOSHANI 031-5074455 / 0727831738

Classified Section.

I have 1 mrithangam at R1200 (18”) and a naal also R1200 to 1 mrithangam at R1900 (22”) and a kuchi mrithangam for R2100 (24”). Two double reed harmoniums at R1800 each. A scale change at R5000 and a Paul and Co at R7000. Electronic srudi box at R650. Please contact me if you need any. Dance bells – 5 lines at R160 and 6 lines at R180. Mallipoo - Double R20 a metre. Dance sets from R400 (stones) to R1200 (temple set). I also have a Sachin Tendulkar’s MRF cricket bat for R600. I just remembered that I have a beautiful coat style leather jacket for sale at just R650. However this for a really big size guy and is a XXL.

South Africa: Contact Mrs. K. Govender, 30 Eskdale Road, Sydenham, Durban, 4091. Tel. 031-2086929.

Mauritius: Contact Mr. Balakrishna Tandrayan, 8 Sun Yat Sen Street, Port Louis, Tel. 2423404. Fax. 2413299. (Sorry this is for people from Mauritius)