Friday, November 21, 2008

CHENNAI NEWS
(NEWS OF CHENNAI AND TAMILNADU BY ENVERNATHAN)
Volume 96 (November 2008)

Enver’s Rambling.

Well Barack Obama did make it in the Presidential elections. Has America finally shed its racist past? Although Obama technically is not a descendent of one of the slaves who toiled in the US he has accomplished the almost impossible. To the credit of the Americans I cannot see it happening in the UK or Europe in the imminent future.
The people of India were fully behind the Obama campaign. Even though many economists said that McCain’s policies would be more beneficial for India, Obama’s charisma had the people here rooting for him. Let us hope he has it in him to put right eight years of George Bush’s policies.
A point to ponder is what would have happened if Obama’s father had decided to move to SA instead of USA. Would Barack have been a statistic of Xenophobia.

Although an ardent Ferrari fan it was still heartening to see Lewis Hamilton win the F1 Championship. After losing points technically earlier on I guess justice prevailed when he luckily finished fifth. It would have been really cruel if he had lost it again like he did last year. I guess this will be the first of many. Now if only he would move to Ferrari.

This email floored me. I can imagine losing a customer because of a higher quote but never imagined losing a customer because of a lower quote. This prospective customer mailed me saying that he had sent his itinerary to about 9 different agents and my quote was by far the least for the same category of Hotels. In fact he says by about R5000 per person less (his figures not mine). This sounds like a whopping big difference if he is not mistaken. However this frightened him as he began to worry about what quality of hotels I would use. He must have talked to some of my satisfied tourists because he did come back to me. He told me that in future I must keep my prices in par or a little less than the others. But how will I know what the others quote. Anyway I will not live my life according to other people’s rules. I will continue to cost my tours according to my figures and if it is cheaper than others so be it. The one thing I do know having seen some other itineraries is that I do use better hotels in the same category.

The Indian government has woken up very late in recognising that innocent Tamils were being killed in the war against the LTTE. This happened when the Tamil MPs said that they would resign from Parliament if the Indian government did not intervene. The Indian government has pleaded that they cannot interfere in the affairs of another country. They seem to have forgotten that it was their interference against the then West Pakistan that enabled East Pakistan to gain independence and become Bangladesh. The Tamil film and TV personalities held protest fasts highlighting the killing of innocent Tamil civilians. Almost all Tamil politicians with the exception of a few have come out against the bombings of civilians. The Chief Minister Dr Karunanidhi said this is the first time he has witnessed an elected government bombing its own civilians. He has urged the government to press for a ceasefire and a political solution. As of today things look very bleak for the LTTE and one just wonders if they will come out of this as they usually have done so many times in the past.

With all the other news around, India’s rocket to the moon Chaandrayan has been a very low key affair. The Indian scientists have managed to build a rocket at just a sixth of the cost of an Americian equivalent. In fact it costs less than an airbus plane. India has more communication satellites in space than any other country. Does this herald India’s future dominance of space?

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 http://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 http://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.

I just heard that there is a batch of young South Africans that have been invited by the Indian government to tour India as a kind of getting to know your roots. My friend’s daughter Thireshini is one of them. I am looking forward to meeting this group as they will be ending their tour in Chennai after attending the Pravasi Bharathi Divas.

I just received this website from my friend Dr Deena Padayachee. http://www.tamilsa.org/ - the official website of the Tamil Federation of Kwa Zulu Natal. You can register for their newsletter and there are some interesting articles especially on the background and history. However it does not seem to be updated and I am sure that they will put this right.

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 http://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.

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 http://www.azhagi.com/

My son Kamesh has his own blog site, which can be accessed at http://kameshgovender.blogspot.com/.
Film scene

The Tamil movie world is mourning the death of veteran actor MN Nambiar on Nov 19. He was 88 years old. Dubbed the handsome villain he was equally at ease in a Sivaji or MGR movie. With the death of MGR, Sivaji, Gemini and now Nambiar this is the end of the old era of Tamil movies. Although born in Ooty his home language was Malayalam but it was in Tamil movies that he made his mark. An absolute fitness freak he was also well trained in Indian martial arts. He was an ardent follower of Lord Ayappa and went on Pilgrimage every year. He was responsible for taking both Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachan and many others on pilgrimage to Sabrimalai.
He acted in 360 movies in mostly Tamil but also Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Sinhalese and also one English movie Jungle. In his prime he was the number one choice for the villain’s role for most directors. As he got older he started acting in character roles many as an endearing grandfather. Said to be a person of excellent character it was in these roles that his real character showed.

I watched the movie Vaaranam Aayiram a few days ago. This is the latest by the highly successful trio of Surya, Gautham Menon and Harris Jayaraj. The story is a recollection of various incidents in his life and the influence of his parents especially his Dad. The movie gives Surya who plays both the father and son an opportunity to play a number of roles during their various stages of their lives.
The first is the dad during his college days while studying at the Madras Christian Collge. I really took to this role as it is the same era that I studied at the same college. I could see myself and many of my friends in the mannerisms of this role. We then see dad Surya at various ages while the son is growing up till his death. In fact the movie is Surya remembering the past when he hears of his dad’s death. Surya plays the role of the son as a school boy, a college student, a young businessman, a man distraught when his girlfriend dies, a man who overcomes drugs, a hero and finally an officer in the army. Matching him is Simran as the mother also portrayed from her college days till the present. Sameera Reddy as the girl he falls in love with gives a brilliant portrayal as the college grad who at first is bemused by him but later falls in love with him when he goes to USA where she is studying to woe her. Divya is his sister’s best friend who has grown up in front of him without him really noticing him. She provides his later love interest whom he eventually marries.
The music by Harris Jayraj is a hit but also there are a number of songs sung by Surya which is not on the CD. It is a real pity that he has gone on record saying that he will not do the music for any future Gautham movies.
The film however is a tad long at three hours and can test your patience. Also his drug addiction and how easily he is cured may send the wrong signals. Also why is it in Indian movies that the man must always fall apart when he loses the woman he loves?
However I enjoyed the movie especially the first half.

Music Scene

The movie A Aa E Ee has six songs by music director Vijay Anthony. The title song is a really peppy song by Rahul Nambiar and Dinesh. The second song is called Dingi Tappu by a host of singers Megha, Sheeba, Ramya, Vinaya, Maya and Vijay Anthony. The song has a lot of techno effects. The third song is Natta Nadu by sangeetha, Karthik and Christopher. This song has a nice folk beat with good percussion. Kanni Vedi is a beautiful ballad by Sangeetha and Vijay Anthony. This girl has a really beautiful voice.
Mena Minuki by Vijay Anthony, Suchithra, Suchithra R and Sangeetha and is another fast beat song that will have you tapping your feet. The last song is Tappo Tappo by Bakshi and Sulabha. This is a nice upbeat duet with beautiful interludes. What is noticeable is that the music director has not brought down big names from the North and yet has produced a very good music album.

The movie Aanandha Thaandavam has 6 songs by young music director GV Prakash. The first song is Pattu Poochi which is a beautiful soulful ballad by Naresh Iyer and Harmony. Kallil Aadum is a beautiful duet by Benny and Shweta. Poovina another lovely duet sung by Srinivas and Shreya Ghosal. Megha Poola by Shankar Mahadevan is quite an intense song. Kanna Kangiren by Shuba Mudgal, Nityashree and Vinitra is a fast paced song with swarams as the interlude. This is a really interesting concept. Nityashree’s unique voice is quite capturing. The Aanandha Thaandavam Theme is an instrumentsl with Navin Iyer on the wind instruments and GV Prakash. GV Prakash is making quite a name for himself at such a young age.

Adada Enna Azhagu has 8 songs by music by TM Jaymurugan and Jeewan Thomas. The theme song is a fast paced duet song by SPB and Gopika Poornima. Unnai Ennaku is a beautiful ballad by Hariharan. Ulaga Azhagellam is a slow beat male duet by Shankar Madhavan and Karthik. It has some good voice modulations. Kummu Kummu is another slow song by Tippu, Srutipriya and Shalini. However it has a nice beat. Deepavali is a nice peppy sung by Mano, Harish ragvendra, Anuradha Sriram, Mukesh, Kalayani and Sainthavi. I am sure this will be for a group dance. Nisha is a beautiful ballad by Assalam with beautiful female harmony. Theeratha is a good upbeat ballad by Mukesh . Malarum Nilavum is another upbeat ballad by Mukesh.

Tourism Scene

I am still toying with the idea of the March group tour which I have being organising for the past few years. The difficulty is giving a price in rand. However I think I will give it a try and price it in rupees and take it on a day to day basis. If any of you are interested in coming or sending your loved ones then please contact me. I will be personally accompanying the group. Can also add Mumbai if you want to go there.

01/03 Arrive in Chennai and prepare for tour.
02/03 Chennai City tour
03/03 After breakfast leave for Tirupathi. Darshan will be arranged. Collect your special luddos and return to Hotel.
04/03 After breakfast drive to the Sai Baba ashram in Puttarpathi. You are free to visit the ashram at your leisure.
05/03 After breakfast drive to Bangalore –. Shop a little in the evening.
06/03 After breakfast sightseeing in Bangalore. Visit the many gardens, The Nandhi Bull temple, The house of legislature etc
07/03 After breakfast drive to Mysore. Visit the city Palace. In the afternoon visit the Brindhavan Gardens. Hotel Pai Vista
08/03 After breakfast drive to Ooty. Visit the Muthamalai game reserve on the way. Hotel Preethi Classic
09/03 Full day sightseeing in Ooty. Visit the gardens, the Ooty lake and Dodda Peta peak.
10/03 After breakfast drive down to Coimbature. Visit the Marudamalai murugan temple.
11/03 Drive to Cochin. Sightseeing in Cochin. Jewish Synagogue, St. Francis Church, Dutch Palace, Chinese fishing nets etc. In the evening a Kathakali Dance Recital.
12/03 Drive to Allepey for a cruise on the backwaters and then drive to Kollam.
13/03 After breakfast drive to Kanyakumari.
14/03 Sight seeing Kanyakumari. Take a ferryboat to the Vivekanandha rock and the Thiruvalluvar statue.
15/03 Morning get up to watch the sun rise. After breakfast drive to Madurai. Evening visit the famous Madurai Meenatchie temple.
16/03 Drive to Trichy – visit the Rockfort temple
17/03 Thanjavur/Chidambaram/Pondicherry
18/03 Mahabalipuram/Chennai
19/03 Free day for rest or your own activities.
20/03 leave for airport for flight to SA.

Add on: 20/03 fly to Delhi
21/03 Drive to haridwar (River Ganges)
22/03 Visit Rishikesh and then drive back to Delhi.
23/03 Delhi City tour
24/03 Day trip to Agra
25/03 fly to SA.

For all your travels contact me at insatours@gmail.com. We tailor make packages for you and have done tours for 1 up to a group of 54. All prices are wholesale to you.

Sydenham Tamil Society
Fundraising Event
Tamil Koothu(Dance) ~ Karaoke Competition ( Tamil and English)
Date : 20 December 2008
Time :18H30
Venue : Old Mutual Sports Hall,
Francois Road, Howard College Campus

BRING YOUR OWN SNACKS AND DRINKS







I hope you have kept yourself free for this event. Although this organisation has been in existence for almost 40 years this is the first time it is having a fundraising event. This is to finance all the cultural work that they are embarking on in the Sydenham, Clare Estate, Asherville and Overport areas in particular and Durban in general. I am really sad that I cannot attend especially as it is my birthday but I am hoping that all of you will support this event in my absence. So if you want to give me a birthday present do so by buying a ticket. For more information send a mail to their PRO at sivaninaidoo@gmail.com. Send a copy to me also at egovender@gmail.com so I can see who you are. As this is a BYO function no problem with extra expenses.


Notice Board.

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 (NPO 054 571)
Free Tuition in Tamil, Music, Dance & Religion. Saturday 9.00 - 11.00 at Sri Ganesha Temple - Cnr of Palmview Dr & CrestBrook – Phoenix.
Progithar Tuition on Wednesdays and for regular crash course like the “Learn Tamil Challenge - 12 lessons”
Contact Suja or Kovilan Muthumanikam on 032 5376875/ 083 7428508.

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 072 702 5991, Thirumala 082 563 4439, Don 082 787 2056 or Inbam 083 262 6511 or email info@hcl.co.za Visit our website http://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 http://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

MELANIE KISTEN DANCE ACADEMY - SCHOOL FOR DRAMA AND MODERN INDIAN DANCING
CLASSES : Merebank - Saturday 10-11am- Settlers Primary School
Chatsworth - Saturday 1.30pm - 2.30pm – Woodhurst Library

For Further Details contact : Melanie Kisten Cell : 083 2269840 / 0832351207 A/H : 031 4678826

Kumari Veloshani Manicum Dance Academy

Specializing in Bhartha Natyam , Modern Indian & much more
Training centres
Monday- Redcliffe , Verulam
Tuesday- Wembley Primary School, Phoenix
Thursday- Brailsford Primary School, Phoenix
Friday-Sterngrove Primary School, Phoenix
For more info contact :Veloshani -0727831738/0315074455

If I have missed out anyone please forgive me and remind me and I will put it in the next one.

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 R2000 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, 4021. 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)