Forget MGR, Karunanidhi And Jaya; It Is Kamal Rajini And Vijay Now!
Tamilnadu state that had three consecutive Chief Minsters from the cine field (MGR, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa) seems destined to witness a rich crop of heroes aspiring for the CM’s chair. The left leaning Kamalahasan right royally launched his party the Makkal Needhi Maiam (people justice centre) in February this year. Earlier in January, Rajinikanth announced his decision to enter politics. By April it was reported that he created 38 district units for his Rajini Makkal Mandram — the precursor to his party — and appointed over 7,000 office-bearers. Standing third in the queue is Vijay indirectly pumping info that he may jump into the political arena some day. “Usually, a party is formed, then they win the elections and finally, form sarkar (government). But we have first made Sarkar and will now contest in the elections,” said Vijay at the audio release of his film SARKAR in October. Though said in jest, the cat was out of the bag. Barring Rajinikanth, none of the three stoutly back nationalist forces in the state. Clarifying his observation on the Mahaghatbandhan, Rajinikanth said last week: “if the opposition parties are seeing the BJP as a dangerous party, then for them (opposition parties), the BJP is a dangerous party. It is for the people to decide." He then added, "If 10 people are ganging up against one, imagine who is powerful. You can decide."
Jaderi Residents Bent Upon Perpetuating Hindu Roots
Village Jaderi is a blessed place. The reason: 90 percent of its 150 families is engaged in supplying the white ‘namakatti’ (a kind of clay) that Vaishnavites use to adorn their forehead with the religious ‘namam’. The village is located in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. Jaderi is blessed for one more reason. It is this: All the five temples in the village are maintained by children. They clean the premises and light lamp at the sannidhi on a regular basis. The kids conduct temple festivals too. In spite of all this, there is no official priest nor do the Hindu kids have any guidance in matters of religion. To make matters worse, evangelical groups keep visiting the village and try to entice the villagers by deceitful conversations. The best part of the situation is that the majority of the villagers want their kids to learn Hindu religious practices formally. Writes a recent visitor to Jaderi: “One lady told me that if I was sincere in my desire to reciprocate to the village for their services to the vaishnava community, I should organise good and effective cultural programs in which Hindu priests regularly participate, interact with the villagers and conduct festivals in the village, thereby helping the village children to preserve therir Hindu roots”.
A Viilage Wedded To Education Of Its Kids Offers seer varisai !
Relatives of Bride go in a procession carrying various gift items meant for the bride and bridegroom during the marriageIt is called ‘seer varisai’ in Tamilnadu. A similar procession was organised to the Panchayat Union Primary School in a village off Vazhappadi near Salem. Of course, it was not a marriage procession. Items such as fans, mats, public address system, dress materials, utensils, buckets, dustbins, books, notebooks, dictionaries and atlas useful to the school were carried by the villagers on their heads or shoulders along the procession led by traditional musicians playing various instruments. The ‘seer varisai’ procession was held in connection with the anniversary of the school, which accounted for 120 rural students belonging to weaker sections. The ultimate goal of the procession was to ensure the school authorities and the teachers that the villagers will always stand by them in the service of education. It also went a long way in creating awareness among the students about their responsibilities in ensuring discipline with due regard for teaching community. The residents handed over the ‘seer varisai’ articles to the school authorities in the presence of officials of the education department, office-bearers of the parent-teachers association and students. School authorities as well as parents said that such gestures strengthened the bond between the parents-teachers and students.
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