Thevar magal- A rehearsal?

After a well orchestrated attack on the main Opposition Leader of Tamilnadu, there were more than three versions floated in the regional television. Vasant TV said Jaya came late, much later than her scheduled time and hence there was some skirmishes between AIADMK followers and the police. A policeman was shown in some channel claiming that when Jaya came the massive crowd became impatient as they were made to wait for long and hence they attacked and the result was broken cars. Three people were arrested and the police claim there were no signs that it was preplanned. A minister went even further and claimed that the AIADMK Chief was playing petty politics. he accused her of trying to divert people's attention since she was unhappy with Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's growing popularity after his efforts to resolve the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. Jayalalitha firmly and swiftly and probably rightly pointed fingers at MK ALAGIRI, the pet son of the Chief minister and claimed it was a murderous attack akin to the one staged against Indira Gandhi in 1977. 


Actually any of this version could be true and there may be more versions too. But truth can be one only and that is' This is a colossal failure of the Tamilnadu Police'. This clearly shows how much value the police had given to the threat letter Jaya received just a day before from a LTTE friendly person from Canada. Even otherwise they should have cordoned the crowd and then only allowed the motorcade of Jayalalitha as is the practice world over. And if it was not preplanned was the site of incident some quarry, enabling the mob to easily pick up stones enough to damage a motorcade? The site of incident was near the entrance of the samadhi and hence there must have been scores of media men and photographers and video men. How come no one has come out with some authentic information so far? 


One Tamil Daily says there were people atop trees too throwing stones. Don't tell me it was a stone tree and they just plucked them to use and throw. And the Question by Jaya as to how come they targeted her vehicle and the dummy vehicle which follows her particularly is very valid. 
That this could have been a staged affair as claimed by DMK is nothing but a cruel comedy. Even if so, how did the police allow so many stones in an area which had many VVIP people visiting? Both the front and rear panes of Jaya's car were broken clearly showing that it was not an occasional stone which hit it. 


Entry and exit points near Nandhanam signal was closed during most of busy morning hours in Chennai to allow free flow of Milk on Thevar statue. All vehicles including Buses and Lorries were diverted in some sidelines creating massive Traffic jam and confusion and heart burns for commutators. Every evening after work many commutators are stopped in Mount road to allow free passage for the Chief Minister for he always choses that time to return to his house from arivalayam.  But people bear with it because this is the small price we have to pay,  for having leaders and hence to secure them. How come such security was lacking down south. 


The rise of Alagiri has made the southern Tamilnadu a highly insecure zone and law and order is at its lowest now. The police there behave as if they are hired body guards of their Masters and presume their only duty is the welfare of the power lord of south. 

If the Jaya's version is true and looks like it, Then may be she was saved by the Grace of Thevar and it is possible that if she had gone at right time it could have been a more deadly attack. May be the change of time diluted the aggression. Well all this is perception and  In public life, perception becomes the operative truth. The minimum a responsible state government should do is to order an enquiry and provide additional fool proof security to the Opposition Leader. This could be some sort of a rehearsal too for such type of rehearsals were seen in Benazir Bhutto's life too. 

If it can happen to Jaya it can happen to any one else. At least for this the Opposition should close ranks and 'plead' for better law and order in the state. This is a shame. 

Ass I am

Does the home ministry have any clue on how to handle affairs of this nation? South was attacked in Bangalore, west in Gujarat and Malegaon and of course Mumbai riots, East- Orissa, North- Delhi and Bihar riots, and now Northeast- Assam. The Home Minister still talks like Gautama Buddha and says there is no Intelligence failure and this is result of the hate campaign prevailing all over the country. He is adamant in not bringing in tough laws and has nothing more to say or do. 

The public has be Vigil and that is the only solution. The following are some of the comments made in a Srilankan daily by people of Srilanka. They may look inhumane but reveals the feelings of the sinhalese there. Well cant blame them when we cannot take care...

"We should drop dhal in Assam as a goodwill gesture", 

 "We have been suffering from this kind of problem for 30 years. This is an eye opener for India. They should let us solve it once and for all, and not obstruct us when our valient soldiers are fighting at Prabakaran's door step.".

"My deepest sympathies to all the Indians who lost their lives in this latest cowardly attack by Islamic militants. This bomb looks like the handiwork of the SIMI, a banned terrorist organization in India that still enjoys considerable amount of support among various politicos, especially the pro-minority parties. We Sri Lankans need to understand that the threat posed by Islamic extremists is greater than the threat posed by the LTTE. I am in no way condoning LTTE atrocities, but we all should understand by now who the REAL enemy is. Citizens of Lanka, the threat posed by Islamic militants is a clear and present danger to our country. The LTTE is a weak, inept organization who use 'ponna' tactics to achieve their goals, just see the last air-attack, which caused less damage than a bunch of fireworks going off. The Islamic militants in India are fighting without a reason. Their sole motivation is Osama bin Laden, some strange Arab man that they take their orders from."

"First you have to solve your problems.after that come to srilanka"

"Now that the shoe is on the other foot, let me ask you a question. "Comfortable?""

 

More than a stunt

Entering the capital using a toy like plane without being traced, striking the destined target with some outmoded bombs and inflicting heavy damage and above all inspite of sophisticated F-7, MI- 24 and PT6 aircrafts deployed  to intercept the Tamil Tiger plane, the rebel planes return to their base safely. 

Even though the government in Colombo play down the latest Tamil Tiger air raid as nuisance, the emerging details confirm that their air raid getting deadly as each sortie they fly, says military expert in Colombo.
The lights at the Bandaranaike International Airport was also switched off as a precautionary measure on Tuesday night. But the airport authorities later said that the situation is back to normal quickly on the night and the flights are operated with out any delays.
But the details emerged now indicate that two passenger flights, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways were diverted to Chennai during the incident to ensure passenger safety. The two flights later flew into Colombo and left for their onward destinations in the early hours of the morning with delays.
The Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne told journalists earlier that the damage to the Kelanitissa power station is minimal. But later he said, Two turbines of the Kelanitissa power station were damaged in the LTTE air attack on Tuesday night and it would take at least six months to restore them.
“Assessing the financial loses would take some time as no survey was done to determine the physical damage. The bombs had pierced through the concrete roof of the installation which is one foot in thickness and had fallen on one turbine and on the cooler of the GT 7 turbine,” he further said. The damaged turbines have the capacity to generate 165 MV of power through gas and steam. A sinhala paper claimed this will result is a loss of about Rs. 240 lakhs per day for the government. 

An authoritative source said that Chinese F7s launched from Katunayake air base had failed to zero-in-on the enemy aircraft. "Their (F7s) missile systems failed to ‘lock on with the enemy aircraft," the source said. This would necessitate an overall review of the SLAF’s strategy, the source said. The military asserted that the LTTE could try to exploit the situation.

The initial detection had been made north-east of Mannar at 10.18 p.m. by 2D radar installed by the Government of India at the SLAF base at Vavuniya.

Thaladdi had come under attack within minutes after the detection, the source said.

Both the Indian radar and a Chinese 3D radar station located in the Western Province had detected the enemy aircraft but interceptors failed to carry out a successful missile strike. 2D radar provides direction and the distance of a target whereas the Chinese radar provides even the altitude of a target.

Timesnow yesterday showed how cd's were distributed in villages which were propaganda cd's of LTTE. It showed gory photos, result of srilanka air attacks and also an appeal by an LTTE soldier. The reporter however wrongly said Marakkanam was in Tamilnadu while it is part of Pondicherry.  These mediamen will never learn.

Latest news: Srilanka retaliates: Sri Lankan jets hit rebel suicide bombers' base 

Viswa Anandham

A proud beaming Father and Mother, continuous phone calls, Swarming mediamen, an equally thrilled and beaming wife and sports editors having a field day in Television channels the whole of yesterday evening - All thanks to the supreme feat by Our own, The Chennai super sportsman, The Tiger wood of India, Viswanathan Anand. He is now the undisputed King of World Chess.

Anand defeated Kramnik by 6.5-4.5 in the eleventh game itself. This is no ordinary achievement. Acclaimed as the Fastest Brain in the world, Viswanathan Anand is the World Number one and World Champion. It is his success in the world scene that has made this ancient Indian game, a mass sport in India.The critics rate him as one of the biggest natural talents ever in the history of chess. His hallmark lightening speed and intuitive play came to be recognised when he became the first Indian Grandmaster in 1987.

Prior to this championship, Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik have played 51 classical chess games, of which Kramnik won six, Anand took four wins, and 41 games were drawn.
In rapid games, the score is 10–2 in favour of Anand with 34 draws. In blitz the score is 2–2 with four draws. In the blindfold games the score is 4–3 in favour of Kramnik with six draws. In Advanced Chess Kramnik lead 1–0 with seven draws.

Chess is an ancient, at the same time a very versatile game (e.g. distinctly different pieces that originally corresponded to armies – pawns as the infantry, castles as war elephants, etc.), but the rules are comparatively simple. On the other hand, a standard game of 40 moves allegedly offers more possibilities than there are atoms in the universe, so that even the fastest computers will never be able to come even close to mastering the game.

The Origin of Chess is from India during the Gupta Dynasty in 6th century and was called caturanga or sathuranga[ four divisions] which later went to persia and developed there as shatranj.Around 1200, rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes rendered the game essentially as it is known today.

The crown has rightly gone to a son of India, the country which gave this sport to the world.

see

1.  Vishwanathan anand's Track Record

2. All India Chess Federation

3. Chess in India

Sathileelavathy

A new serial called Sathi leelavathy started today in Kalignar Tv to be telecast every week day at 1.30 PM.

'Leelavathy', who appears to have a secret past, marries Surya in a bid for vengeance.

She becomes the darling of the entire family, but for her husband. Despite all his endeavours, Surya is unable to expose her, and he continues on her way to wreak vengeance on her husband.

In the middle of this, Surya’s sister gets trapped by a lover, which is such an old twist in every serial on television.

The husband and wife are supposedly the only two who are aware of the real reason of Leelavathy’s presence in the house.

What does Surya do? Who is 'Leelavathy', and what is her connection to the hero?
These and other answers are revealed through many twists and turns which are sure to keep viewers glued to their TV sets for a long time to come. After all, this is what viewers lap up day after day with so much glee.

Produced by S Jeyalatchumy, and directed by KV Shakthi, the serial has been captured on camera by RK Vikraman with screenplay and dialogues by S Prabhu Shankar.

Fly over Tourism

Three Flyovers one near the airport, Panagal park and the fully complete Kathipara junction, were opened for public this month. The GN CHETTY and a few more flyovers are expected to open in the coming months.
The face of Chennai has changed for ever. Now the famous and grand old Gemini flyover has a real competition from a much bigger and probably more useful kathipara Junction clover leaf shaped flyover. But how much are these flyovers helping.

The following are recent pictures of the Airport flyover.







The airport flyover has not really eased traffic congestion and there are problems for the airport staff for now they have to trek to catch a bus for their destination as bus stops are far away now. Also it is reported that airport is visible very clearly from the flyover and hence on lookers get down from their vehicles and are using the flyover for sight seeing, creating blockades. Also I am not sure how safe it is being so close to airport and it being so visible. Probably laying a see thru fence for security purpose is necessary.

The following are the recent photo's of Kathipara flyover.








There are some traffic confusions as proper route directions are not in display. One person has died with in a week after its inauguration and nearly half a dozen injured. Hope they correct this. Otherwise the flyover looks good and once some green is added beneath it, it will be great.

The Panagal park flyover is bad to say the least. It is creating problem for the walking crowd in usman road and most popular shops are with lesser access now. And the rains create more confusion. The road under the flyover has frequent traffic jams and as of now mostly diverted public buses only use this fly over.

Job well done but half done

The Tamilnadu government has done the right thing by postponing their threat to withdraw all MP's.  The deft and Willy politician, Chief Minister karunanidhi has cleverly diffused an impending national crisis. The present circumstances had very few options for India and the best option of sending relief materials to Srilanka and leaving the war on terror for srilanka to handle on its own way and will , has been rightly adopted. Srilanka has also been humane in its posturing and has made the right noises to facilitate this face saving measure.  

The Ground situation in Srilanka has changed a lot compared to the IPKF days and that is why today the Srilankan army is smelling victory inspite what a superior Indian force could not achieve during IPKF episode. Post Rajiv assassination, Post 9/11, and defection by Karuna etc has helped them to stop most of the aid and arms flow for LTTE. Inspite of an aerial attack by LTTE yesterday, the fact and common sense suggest that probably in couple of years LTTE can be sidelined completely or at least marginalised, thanks to superior air and military power of an all Sinhalese army.  

But a complete rout of LTTE whenever it happens and if at all it happens will lead to a vacuum in Tamil Leadership in Srilanka, which will be obviously exploited by Sinhalese chauvinists. The origin of LTTE and the ethnic conflict in Srilanka is mainly because of these Sinhalese Chauvinists and so history will only repeat itself if they are given any free hand. Balkanisation of Srilanka is not in India's Interest but a life of equality and justice for the Tamils there is also in India's Interest and also that of Srilanka. 

Srilanka can have only two options. Give birth to EElam or establish a unitary government that provides equal opportunity and equal justice to all its citizens irrespective of their language, religion or creed. If the Government's motive is towards that as suggested by its president in his latest Interview to Mr. N. Ram then he should start the process right away. And India should facilitate the Srilankan Government to achieve this. The APC resolution he is talking about will have no meaning if the principle opposition party is not a part of APC. Also the hardcore Sinhala parties should be a signatory to any such resolution. Only then the words of the president will become a reality. 

If this war against LTTE goes on for one more year and if no concrete steps are taken to show the Tamils what their life would be post LTTE there is a high probability that the Tamils will be further marginalised. And that does not augur well for Tamilnadu and India. What Vaiko and Seeman said a few days ago may become the common language of this state if that is allowed to happen. If the war continues for a year or two more does that mean lakhs of Tamils will live as refugees in their own country till then? How can UN and other world countries keep quiet on this inhumane situation? 

It is difficult but India has to get involved now and in a bipartisan way and only to allow a unitary state of Srilanka to exist near our border. It is time for India and Tamilnadu to be proactive. If India can pardon the Kashmir militants and have a dialogue with them then they should also see if it is feasible to pardon Prabakaran in India and accept him as a participant in any future dialogue in Srilanka, if he agrees to give away his demand for secession. 

Karunanidhi should accept Srilanka's invitation and go to their country and bring some reason in the thinking of the Srilankans. There should be more cultural and bilateral exchanges between the Sinhalese and Tamilnadu to help reduce their majority syndrome. Prabhakaran may be a terrorist in the eyes of the Srilankan and Indian Government but it is a fact that no one cares more  for Srilankan Tamils as he does. If it is not feasible for him to be involved then the leadership in Tamilnadu should get involved at least to fill the vacuum which is imminent if LTTE falls. 

A few rules regarding interference in a sovereign country can be modified if both are willing and that can be made possible if both understand that a long term solution is possible only by mutual coexistence of the conflicting communities.  Otherwise this LTTE may fall but later many more will rise. 

The recent aerial attack by LTTE clearly proves their bravery and also proves they cannot be easily marginalised. This may be an opportunity for the president to make understand the chauvinist Sinhalese to reason that a political solution is the only option possible. India should involve more countries especially the west and work for a peaceful Indian Ocean. 

This is not a time to self congratulate for diffusing a crisis but to get more involved in avoiding a human catastrophe in a near future. 

Half done is not done. 

see counter view: Jaya tells people to send telegrams to CM and Leave the Lanka problem to the Lankans

see similar view: Tamil cause minus the LTTE 

Also see: Media have social responsibility to promote peace processes: Ram

How far is far away?

Yesterday night at around 11.30 pm I saw breaking news in Sun news, which said Srilanka’s capital, has a black out because of LTTE bombs on a military base near Colombo and also a bomb in Colombo. I kept seeing other channels and only Makkal TV joined Sun to announce the news. After about an hour breaking news surfaced in CNN-IBN too. NDTV and Timesnow were possibly fast asleep. After around 1.45 am even Sun News stopped displaying the news. Today morning at around eight am I saw detailed news in Sun News and also in Times now. I did not have time to see the details in CNN-IBN but they too were showing it in their scrolls. But surprisingly NDTV was still in dark or probably I missed it in a hurry. But I do see the news in their website now. The incident occurred at 11.oo PM, yesterday in Colombo and mannar army base.

On October 23rd, both NDTV and CNN-IBN were breaking news in the morning, which was alive in their scrolls for more than thirty minutes, which said ‘Heavy Rains in Chennai- schools and colleges closed’. Believe me there was not a drop of rain in most parts of Chennai the whole day. But Schools and colleges were shut because of a government order released the previous night, anticipating heavy rains as per Met advise. see weather history of Chennai on that day

With in next few weeks, Indian tricolor flag is expected to fly in the Moon, which is on an average about 385,000 km away from India. ISRO, India and because of them the world at large will know more about the moon and it should be a proud moment for all of us.

The above three are three different news with no connections at all but prompts us to ask the question How far is far away?

Srilanka is just 24 kms away from India and it takes a night for NDTV and Timesnow to get the news of an air attack there. Even CNN-IBN took more than two hours to flash the news. Why is our news gathering so slow? And all channels stopped relaying this news later in the night and is it because of some Intelligence advise. I always believe that any News about any terror activity should get less mileage in news because it is this mileage they get by news, which is the main cause for their act. But this could not have been in the minds of our newsmen as their past clearly shows that they cherish such moments. So it is nothing but failure in getting the news as and when. It also makes us ask whether do we have any mechanism to know what is happening there?

Now let us discuss the Rains in Chennai. Chennai is part of India and Surely NDTV and CNN-IBN have a fleet of staff stationed here. In spite of this how could they break such false news and even now do not realize they made a mistake? The most possible explanation is they acted on a news agency report, which must have read schools and colleges closed in Tamilnadu anticipating heavy showers. Again why is the news we get not reliable? The recent history shows that on most of the days when the government here announces holidays for schools and colleges the clouds shy away in Chennai. They had kept the schools closed on Tuesday also and even that day there was scant rains in Chennai. There are scores of websites like the one to which we have given a link in one of our previous paragraph which predict weather in India much better than our MET office. Surely the offices of these sites must be miles away from India. Why is that India which has capability of reaching Moon still not able to have a more reliable weather forecasting mechanism? I remember seeing a program in Makkal TV on Thursday night when one news commentator asked the same question and also said that ‘In London they give forecasts like between 2- 4 pm there will be 10 cms of rain and normally they never go wrong except that the cms may be 1 instead of 10’

It is evident that what we get as news is Quantity and mostly similar Quantity with no or very less emphasis on its Quality. Any thing which happens is a happening and only “Interesting’ Happenings’ become news for us. And what is ‘Interesting Happening’ is decided by a small coterie of media men who some how are in unison on deciding it even while competing.

With in the next few weeks Moon may become more familiar to us but when will we get familiar with the ‘real’ happenings in Srilanka? And can we?

The Frontier within

How much can be said and how far can your thoughts go? Indian constitution, like many of the world's democracies offer Freedom of speech and expression as 'rights' of its citizens. But still we are a nation where some use words to intimidate, where some fear to use words because of fear of retaliation and where words are used only to please the lords of power.

The only way to reach any truth is through open debate. But ignorance, misuse of widely spread ignorance, vested powers and authoritarianism has muted the freedom of expression in many parts and class of our society. If one set of opinions is allowed to suppress others, by force or by fear of force, then the permanent discussion that should permeate any free and democratic society ends. Only the freedom to challenge and debate can overthrow prejudice. Coercion does not secure conviction, but merely suppresses dissent. But that is what happens most of the time.There is no courage and little benefit in telling society what it wants to hear. Courage lies in saying what society wishes to ignore. But we see television channel 0ffices burnt and its workers killed just because they used their freedom to publish an opinion poll which was against the interests of an upcoming prince. We see Newspaper offices attacked by unruly mob because they dared to publish the opposite views of the mob. The rest merely jot down the views of these lords of power for otherwise they may also be in receiving end.

The leader of MDMK Vaiko, his party's presidium chairman Kannappan and two film Directors Seeman and Amir were arrested recently because they poured their hearts out and it was viewed as an act of sedition by the state. Arundhati Roy, a booker prize winner has deftly used her celebrity status to the hilt and has positioned herself as the sole spokeswomen for public issues and has the knack of forcefully expressing what the western media would like to hear about India and her doings. She had the guts to say India needs freedom from Kashmir as much as Kashmir needs from India just a few months ago and no state in India booked her for sedition. But when Vaiko said some thing similar about a happening in a neighbouring country, he is now counting steel.

"It is a great tribute to the tolerance of India's ethos that a person who openly calls for Balkanisation of country is not being locked up and the keys are not being thrown away," is what the Congress Spokesman Manoj Tiwari said, after Arundhati Roy's remark which was widely published in Western and Muslim Media. I fail to understand why that spirit of tolerance was diluted when Vaiko and his gang were sent to gaols.
It is true that freedom of speech does not mean saying anything and getting away. It should have its limits. But is it not true that this ambiguity is used by the powers of the day by seeing limits as what they would wish to hear than what is appropriate.

What did vaiko say? As per press reports he said a separate Tamil Eelam under the leadership of LTTE chief Prabhakaran would become a reality. ‘‘LTTE and Sri Lankan Tamils could not be separated. Though we are against violence, we should differentiate between violence and right,’’

‘‘If the Indian government supplies arms to Sri Lankan Army, we will also supply arms to our Tamil brethren. We would not hesitate to carry weapons to save the Tamils. If such a situation arises I will be the first person to go to Eelam. I will boldly make my trip public. I warn that I will be able to mobilise youth across the country,’’- He said this in a meeting in Coimbatore District.

The first two sentences are very similar to what Arundhati Roy said except that Vaiko did not say Srilanka would also need freedom from Eelam. But she was not arrested and Vaiko is behind bars. Does that suggest that Freedom of speech in India allows articulating forcibly balkanisation of India but dare you articulate balkanisation of any other Country, which rejoices by genocide of people with Indian Origin?

The second part of his statement is actually a cause and effect statement. Many christian Leaders in Orissa off late has openly declared that the christian youth of the state will take up arms if the state does not protect them. In fact Police in Orissa have claimed knowledge of the same happening in Orissa. “In the past two weeks we have arrested seven Christian youths – some while they were making bombs and some with guns,” said Praveen Kumar, the police chief of Orissa’s Kandhamal district.According to police sources, the arrested Christian youths admitted that they got arms and ammunition's, including explosives, from the Maoist rebels.

“During interrogation, the arrested Christian militants revealed that many Christian young men who were ‘not satisfied with government actions against Hindu militants’, were desperate to resort to violence against Hindus in revenge attacks and they were on the lookout for arms and explosives,” said one police intelligence officer who specialises in Maoist groups in Orissa’s capital, Bhubaneswar.

Shah Imam Bukhari , in a recent letter to Prime minister has written "The Governmnet should stop harassment of Muslims or else we will be compelled to take extreme steps" Now how different is the speech of Vaiko from this letter by Imam. But this Imam cannot be arrested because that would mean losing minority votes but Vaiko's arrest would annoy Jaya a sworn enemy of the powers of this state.

Vaiko's statement can be viewed in this context. if and if only Indian government supplies arms to Srilanka which is using them to persecute Tamilians, our blood in Srilanka, only then..... which is similar to what the above leaders are saying

Simi is a banned organisation as of now. There are cases pending to lift its ban but as of now it is a banned organisation. But we see leaders like laloo, Amar singh and Ram vilas Paswan openly supporting them. So how different is their support from that of Vaiko supporting LTTE, a similarly banned Organisation.

Again the timing of the arrests is also a mockery. The words of sedition by Vaiko was preceded by the words of sedition by the Two Film Directors. But the State thought it wise to deal with the words of Vaiko first and dealt with the words of others only after Opposition ridicule and pressure to be bipartisan. So it seems some words take longer time to mature in to words of sedition, than other words. In fact the words of the film directors were shown live in a television channel while those of Vaiko had very less or no publicity, till his arrest.

Whether India should intervene in Srilanka and if so to what extent are all different matters. But is Freedom of speech existent in this largest Democracy is the moot question in this page. Whether we support the words of Vaiko or Arundhati Roy is also not an issue. But our question is if she has a freedom why does it not exist for him. An extreme view of any subject does not necessarily mean an act of sedition for it does not inflict any damage physically to any living being. These words can easily be diluted by counter words of moderates or an open ridicule of those words by different set of words. Do we underestimate the wisdom of our people to such an extent that mere words can initiate large scale violence? Is our systems and democracy so fragile?

Chief Justice B.P. Sinha said in Kedar nath case[1962]: “Comments, however strongly worded expressing, disapprobation of the actions of the government, without exciting those feelings which generate the inclination to cause public disorder by acts of violence, would not be penal. In other words, disloyalty to government established by law is not the same thing as commenting in strong terms upon the measures or acts of the government, or its agencies, so as to ameliorate the condition of the people …”

It is also a fact that these sedition charges may not hold in the court. But who cares- neither the powers of the state not Vaiko. For the former the purpose of embarrassing Jaya and cajoling Congress is fulfilled and for the latter it is Publicity fit enough to enhance his chunk of votes in any future election. So after 14 days Vaiko may emerge Taller and that is how Freedom works here.

The Ordinary man's freedom in this democracy is limited in only hearing , watching and commenting in murmurs while that of any other aspirant in public life is limited only to the extent that the powers 'feel' permissible. That is the unwritten law of our land.

Sun can wait, stars visible

Broadcast tribunal TDSAT on 24Th October, directed channel distributors MSM Discovery and Star Den to supply signals of Star and Sony group of channels to Arasu Cable Corporation, the Multi System Operator (MSO) owned by the Tamil Nadu government.

TDSAT bench headed by Justice Arun Kumar directed MSM Discovery and Star Den, distributors of Star and Sony group of channels, to supply their signals to the four head-ends established by Arasu Television in Thanjavur, Vellore, Trichirapalli and Triunelveli. Passing an interim order, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal also directed Star Den to supply its decoders and sim within five days and MSM Discovery in three days to Arasu Cable Corporation.
The tribunal also fixed a subscriber base of 20,000 for the state-government controlled MSO for signing agreement with the broadcasters.

Channel plus owned by Marans submitted a reply to the petition and the petitioner has requested for 10 days time. The next hearing is on 14Th November. So Sun may not be officially available till then. However news is both Sun and Star Vijay are availabale in most places even from Arasu linked Cable operators and everyone knows how.

Jaya's Deepavali

Jaya Tv Deepavali special programs are as follows. Mumbai express and Muthurai are the special films. 4.00-5.00 Mangala Isai
5.00-5.30 suprapatham
5.30-6.00 Isai deepam
6.00-6.30 Arul neram
6.30-7.00 Raaga sangamam
7.00-7.30 Tamil News
7.30-8.15 Special Kalai Malar with siburaj
8.15-9.00 Madhavan Namma Aalu
9.00-9.05 News headlines
9.05-10.30 Patti Mandram
10.30-12.15 Kanavugal Ayuram
12.15-13.00 Thaa Tha Namitha
13.00-13.30 tamil News
13.30-17.30 Mumbai Express
17.30-18.30 Dostu bada dostu
18.30-19.00 Silumbu -aatam
19.00-19.30 Nadiga velu
19.30-20.00 Tamil News
20.00-20.30 Puthu release
20.30-21.00 Poova thalaiya
21.00-1.30 Muthurai Tamil Film

Deepavali in the Sun

Chandramukhi and Vettaiaduvilayadu are the super movies on Monday in Sun Tv. Chandramukhi, the supreme hit by Rajinikanth will be the sun's trumpcard for diwali and is expected to give a tough race for Billa , kalaignar's diwali show. The following are the other programs for the day from sun TV.

6:00 am Naadha Inbam - - Thanjavur T.R.Govindarajan Troupe
6:30 am Vandhathe Deepavali by Film Playback Singer Magathi
7:00 am Sirappu Vanakkam Thamizhagam -
Chief Guest : Actress Meena
8:00 am ‘Dindugallu Dindugallu’ Paadal Uruvana Vidham - Interview with Actor Karunas with making of Song for the film ‘Dindugal Sarathi’
8:30 am Idhu Ennoda Style - Interview with Actor Simbu
9:00 am Sigaram Kandein - Actor Vivek’s exclusive interview with Ex.President of India -
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
10:00 am Sirappu Pattimandram - Prof. Solomon Pappaiah
11:00 am Special Movie – Vettaiyaadu Vilayadu
Starring: Kamal Hassan, Kamalini Mukherjeei, Jyothika, Prakash Raj & Others
2:00 pm Special Movie – Thimiru
Starring: Vishal, Reema Sen & Others
2.33 pm Thimiru - Movie Contd
5:00 pm Sirappu Asathapovathu Yaaru … Deepavali Special
6:00 pm Special Movie - Chandramuki
Starring: Rajinikanth, Nayantara, Prabhu, Jyothika and Others
7.30 pm Chandramuki - Movie Contd
10:00 pm Sivakasiyil Sirippu Pattasu – Actor Vadivelu Celebrates Deepavali with fireworks makers in Sivakasi
11:00 pm Comedy Time

Bala & Priya

The Maanada Myulada part 2 finals was held in Nehru stadium Yesterday and the telecast of it will be at 7.30 pm today. Bala & priya won the first prize. Ganesh and AArthi won the second and Lokesh and Sujibala won the Third prize. The shocker was Gokul and Kavi did not win any prize.

Well it is not  talent which wins but talent plus luck plus audience votes. Congrats to the winners.

Christian media Blitz

If you had heard her properly then surely you will cry for her. A nun who has sacrificed her wants for god's sake is brutally raped multiple times and paraded half naked. The police did not intervene even tough they were present. The police took her statement under duress and were the least cooperative.

There have been many incidents in the past when nuns in india have alleged rape and which were later found not true. But this one seems real. That is the impression I get and you should also get. Secondly this case cannot be under Orissa police in spite of a Supreme court rulling to that effect. You and me should understand and force the supreme court to hand over the case to CBI - well that is the motive for the battered nun to be paraded in front of a hungry media. In a day when the market was crashing both NDTV and CNN- IBN found time to show her live press conference. In fact they even missed the Live press conference of RBI governor who was solacing the losers of the market.  Obviously they have their priorities right for how else will they bulild up proper platform for their 'verdict' and 'face the nation' issue for today's or tomorrow's night?

If she trust's her god, she need not worry for not all police in Orissa are black sheeps. But if she fears for some thing else or if her lawyer fears the case is weak then of course CBI will be better for it is in direct control of Italy. woh, I am sorry, the Italian madam. Well, all the same.

On a serious note, whoever raped her should be paraded and stoned and they deserve nothing less than death sentence. They cannot be human.

see Orissa nun says cops friendly with 'rapists'

Stupid Hindu Bombers

Two boys and a lady are arrested in Madhya pradesh , just weeks before elections there and Mumbai police claim they have cracked the Malegaon blast case. The lady was a member of ABVP and now is a member some hindu organization, they claim.

There are two ways you can look at this. One, Trust the Mumbai Police for it has solved all the cases so far except getting Dawood and Company and moreover it is under direct command of a Congress party headed Government and Congress is headed by a ever secular Italian Madam. So now that we have decided to trust them for the above obvious reasons, let us look at the case. How stupid can they get, these bombers? Using their own motorcycle and except that no trail? The police say [ I have not mentioned 'claimed' because we decided to trust them,just for now] the bombers had used chemicals to erase the registration number etc, but the police found the identity of the motorcycle by forensic tests. And what was the purpose? To create communal tension? Well by now even a kid knows that Indians have become numb to these attacks and with in minutes after any blast, they are back to their work. [ some call it Indian tenacity] Or was it to kill some innocent muslims? well then they could have done it in Indore itself why Malegaon?

Or was it to prove a point that Hindus are also capable of 'self destruction'? Even here they showed that their bomb was inferior and method shoddy and they left a easy trail. So even this could not be. So may be lunatics? Even this does not fit in because then they could not have plotted. Whatever be the reason, since we trust the police, those arrested surely have  bombed Malegaon, inspite of being Hindus. But is it not natural to find a few black sheep in any community? While whenever any bomb blast by Islamic terrorists happen, the secular leaders always score points on how not to alienate a community and to see them separately from the terrorists. But when a Hindu Terrorist is arrested the secular channels freak out crying aloud and emphasisng on the Hindu angle and showing pictures of Muslim dead. That is the brand of Indian secularism.

Is it not ironic however that most of this Hindu terrorists cases are from Maharastra only? The thane blast(2008), Nanded blast(2006), Parbhani Blast(2003). The only exception is the Tenkasi blast which was in Tamilnadu. Well the similarity is they were all low intensity and in case of Nanded blast they got killed in their premises and police recovered even ied bombs from their site. In case of Thane blast the perpetrators were facing a cash crunch while making bombs, as per police for they bargained for the materials used in the bomb.

Now the second view. Can we trust the Maharastrian police? If the secularists cannot trust the Delhi police why should non secularists like we ordinary people not suspect Mumbai Police? The blast took place on September 29th. On October 1st, Mumbai Police found the identity of the bike and also the first owner. So what took them 23 days to find the second owner. And after the news that the identity of the bike has been found what was the sadhavi doing in her home? Cooking rabbidies? This looks more like the case of Maoists claiming again and again that they killed swami. The trail was left so that the police come and catch her, probably that is when she would receive payment for her deeds for the purpose was to smear a particular organization in Madyapradesh, in time of elections. Is it not feasible for the police to plant bombs in a Nanded residence and claim a medal? Is it possible for a clever person to find gullible hindu youth and motivate them to indulge in activities which will serve the purpose of that clever? Use the cause and effect theory. The only one to gain by these arrests is the Home Minister whose state is Maharastra and the Government there is his party's. Well these words are only my perception and thanks to the likes of Amar singh and his friends, now we are free than ever before to openly shout out our perceptions, even if means suspecting the law enforcers of the land.

Well thanks to MJ Akbar for teaching me that " In public life, perception becomes the operative truth". Well my perception need not be yours.

Remember the movie Arjun [ Hindi sunny deol - 1985] and Sathya [ Tamil remake, kamalahassan]?

Malegaon Blast predicted

Four persons were killed and nearly 80 injured when a motorcycle bomb went off in the power loom town Malegaon, just two days ahead of Eid, On September 29Th. On the same day a crude bomb blast in Modasa town in Gujarat at 9.30 p.m., killed a 16-year-old boy and injured 10.

Police today claimed to have cracked Malegaon blast and claim that they have evidence that Hindu groups were involved in the blast. We had predicted this happening on September 28Th itself. Yes it's true.

This were our words on a post Breaking News: No blast in Delhi published at 7.18 pm on September 28Th. "I will not be surprised if a Hindu hand is shown in a blast of near future in an attempt to dilute the Muslim anger, very soon. Now do not blame me for any hand in it. It is just a perception and "In public life, perception becomes the operative truth".

See Terror charge on Hindu groups kicks up storm - A cool 24 days after the blast, when the parliament is in session and when the government is feeling the heat on Terror strikes, Maharastra Police claim a Hindu hand- well my perception need not be yours. But surely here is a chance for some Hindu university to sponsor a suspect's litigation.

Also see
1.Heavy security in north Gujarat after Modasa blast
2.Malegaon blast: Hindu groups under scanner -  They had this suspicion as early as October 1st. Do not tell me they found out the owner of the bike only yesterday. Well my perception need not be yours but "In Public life , perception becomes the operative Truth" 
3.Hindu group behind blast  - Read the comments 

Switch on, till is there

A gittery Tamilnadu government withdrew the 20% scheme which it announced yesterday, clearly Succumbing to pressure from various sides including opposition parties.The official notification said that the government has decided to withdraw its decision following opposition from leaders of various political parties, though the restriction on using more than 600 units will apply only to 5.5 lakh out of the 130 lakh domestic consumers, who use on an average more than 600 units bi-monthly. However, no changes had been made to the restrictions introduced to industries. Though financially it is good news, it would also mean more power cuts in chennai.

Thanks to the early morning mosquito bites, NDTV's Sanjay Pinto has reacted to the power cuts in Tamilnadu and has written a wonderful article in NDTV web site. See Shocking current affairs

Also see Times of India article - Shocking news- TNEB loses crores

Also see New measures will aggravate power crisis, says Jayalalithaa

Also see Load shedding will mean many jobless

Also see More power cut will lead to lay off

Vijay's Deepavali 2008

Vijay Tv as usual is the first to announce it's diwali 2008 special programs list. The celebration starts on 25th itself with special suprapatham at 5.30 am. The other special pograms for 25th October are as follows
08:00
• Leoni Pattimandram - Diwali Spl 2005
09:00
• Vijayil Deepavali Idhuvarai - Diwali 2008
11:00
• Four Students- movie
Bharath,Gopika
14:00
• Samayal Samayal - Diwali 2008
15:00
• Dhaam Dhook Isai Kondattam-diwali 2008
17:00
• Pudhiya Winnargal 1
18:00
• Kunguma Poovum Konju Puravum 107-diwali 2008
18:30
• Thanga Tharagai Priyamani-diwali2008
19:00
• Challenge With Simbu - Diwali 2008
20:00
• Jodi No.1 Season 3-diwali 2008
22:00
• Koffee With Anu - Season 2-Diwali 2008

The specials for 26th are as follows, other than the repeats of 25th
08:00
• Sirappu Pattimandram-diwali 2008
09:00
• Hats Off To Prabhu Deva-diwali 2008
11:00
• The Great Indian Magic Show-diwali 2008
18:30
• Manasukkul Mathappu Nadhiyavudan-diwali 2008
20:00
• Kana Kaanum Fundigai-diwali 2008
21:00
• Neeyaa Naana
Gopinath
22:30
• Erumugam-bharathudan Oru Nermugam-diwali 2008

The special programs for 27th october is as follows



05:30
• Mangala Isai - Diwali 2008
06:00
• Arul Urai -diwali 2008
06:30
• Samarpanam - Diwali 2008
07:00
• Sangeetha Sangamam-diwali 2008
07:30
• Sivakumarin Vazhkaiyil Thaai Manaivi Magal-diwali 2008
09:00
• Neeya Naana-diwali 2008
10:00
• Lights Camera Kalyanam-diwali 2008
11:00
• Koffee With Anu Season 2 - Diwali 2008
12:00
• Challenge With Simbu - Diwali 2008
13:00
• Challenge With Simbu - Diwali 2008
14:00
• Challenge With Simbu - Diwali 2008
15:00
• Hats Off To Prabhu Deva-diwali 2008
17:00
• Pudhiya Winnergal 3
18:00
• Padikadhavan-the One-diwali 2008
18:30
• Poo Pookum Oosai-diwali 2008
19:00
• Simbu Aadum Silambattam-diwali 2008
19:30
• Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu-diwali 2008
20:00
• Neeya Naana-diwali 2008
21:00
• Koffee With Anu Season 2 - Diwali 2008
22:00
• Pudhiya Winnergal 3

Media instigates Violence

Violence anywhere is news, but for the Indian media only Violence is news. And this is the main cause for so much violence in the country. There is an incentive to be violent, for only then the perpetrators or their issues get noticed.  

It starts from the top. Does any one know what is discussed in the Loksabha or Rajya sabha? But if pandemonium strikes in these houses, everyone comes to know about the issue which caused it for only then our media uses it as 'news'. Only if there is a disruption in the house we care about it, otherwise it is sought of some club meeting whose contents are only relevant to the club. Every disruption in the house of leaders is a big loss to every tax payer, but who cares. And why should they because they function only by this disruptions. Only the loud and ugly are heard in this country whose father is Gandhi. 

Recently a private airlines sent off thousands of its staff and it is a fact that open display of their agony and involvement of Raj & co. are main reasons for their reinstatement. So does end justify means? 

Our citizens have very short memory, so some motivated perpetrators believe that they need to bomb our cities now and then to remind us of some erased masjid or a burnt train. And they succeed too because only then this issues are discussed in 'Big fight' or 'verdict' or 'versus' or 'week end debates'.  Kashmir is in focus only because of their violent ways. There are numerous examples we can cite. 

Tamilnadu is right now suffering because of very lengthy power cuts, does the media care? Opposition parties are conducting rallies and fasting in many towns but is it any news for our national media? 

Kerala feels center is ignoring it. Its chief minister went on a protest march in the capital to high light it. Even this is not news enough, but a disruption in Loksabha has made the TRP driven media to atleast make a remark on it. 

Tamilnadu's chiefminister is today the most influential chiefminister of the country and has proven in the past that he can get anything whether personal, private or public from the center but he also felt that a resignation blackmail is the only way to make his own center to act on Srilanka. So there is an incentive to be violent in this country. 

Regarding the Raj episode in Maharastra,  if he is arrested and punished what about the media who are his accomplice, for his actions has been only because of the ways of our media? 

Mumbai is the financial capital of India not because the nation chose it be. It evolved itself to become the capital of finance mainly because of its geographical advantage etc. And Mumbai belongs to Maharastra. So if the martha manoos is unhappy for becoming secondary in his own place there is an issue to be addresed and he cannot be condemned for being anti national. When Mumbai chucked out and harrased Tamilians many years back no one was arrested and it was not an issue in any house. But now if Raj is arrested, it is only to placate a even more violent northenor and also because north indians have more votes than the marathas.  

Violence is wrong, whatever be its form and where ever it be. But what is the alternative to get noticed. 

Maanada Myulada controversy number two

Remember the finals of Season one where Raghav and prretha were seen aloof with their second prize and then the cries of a foul play? Well season two may also have similar controversy. A member of Orkut and a witness of the live finals shooting, which was telecast this Sunday, has this to say

Lokesh and sujibala performed their final song with fire ,drums etc..but kala master took that song as if she was shooting for a film...7 times they danced for the 1 song ...suji was forgetting all her steps but master gave her time to recollect and made them perform bit by bit with full energy ...is this a true reality show?

Neepa performed for a classical number on which she missed out all beats ...but at last master made her dance again her classical for which neeba was given 3 chances...but master and her mother shed tears by saying she is a wonderful dancer like padma subramaniyam?????enna ulagam da ethu?

bala and priya were performing suddenly song got stopped and master was pretending as if some light fault and as soon as they were ready with new costumes and set was ready for them they started to perform....audience are not idiots madam!!!!

gokul and kavi performed their light sequence twice to make perfect !!??!!

Among all these to every body's surprise kushboo madam left the show after 3 performances ..but she was giving comments about all the performers as if she watched others performances too.....

There are some who felt Kushboo was not very kind to Aarthi Ganesh and kept reminding audience that they were more concept and less dance. 

Well more may be coming before 25Th, the grand announcement day. 

Chennai Electri'no'city

Save electricity or pay more is the new scheme from Tamilnadu electricity board. Also they have mentioned a minimum of 20 hours power supply for cities and towns. 

If your electricity bill meter reading for the months of November and December is not 20% less than what it was for the months of September and October, then be prepared to pay 50% more for every extra unit consumed. This means if your reading for two months is 800 units, you will have to bring it down to 640 units, or else you will pay 50% more for every unit consumed above 640. at present the slab charge for above 600 is 3.05/unit hence you will have to shell out 1.525*160=244 Rupees more for the above example if you do not reduce consumption. Your earlier bill would have been 1730 but if you do not reduce and consume the same 800 now it will be 1974. A clear 14% increase in expenses. 

Of the 1.3 crore domestic consumers, 5.7 lakh consume more than 600 units per two months.It stated that the domestic connections in urban areas would be given “at least 20 hours of power supply every day.” As regards HT industrial establishments and commercial complexes, 40 per cent power cut will be imposed, apart from the existing restrictions during evening peak hours (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) when they should not draw power from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). In respect of Low Tension current transformer (LTCT) service connections, the power cut will be 20 per cent.  In the case of low-tension (LT) industrial establishments and commercial complexes, the ceiling on energy consumption is 2,000 units in two months.

In rural areas, three-phase supply will be provided for 10 hours and single phase for 14 hours. Agriculturists can use electricity for six hours during day and four hours at night.  Essential services such as Railways, fertilizer plants, educational institutions, hospitals, embassies and media have been exempted from the regulations. The regulations would be reviewed at the end of December.

Present and Future

The Installed capacity of TNEB is 10122 MW and peak reached so far is 9383 Mw. The present shortfall is more than 600 MW to 1000 MW. Tamil Nadu is at present getting only 7,195 MW of power against the requirement of 8,000 MW.

Wind mills were supplying 1,500 MW, hydel sources 1,000 MW, thermal 2,520 mw and power stations using gas were generating 321 MW. The state was getting 1,754 MW from the central pool, besides 100 MW from Kerala.

The situation might not ease till the Russian-aided Koodankulam Nuclear power station's first unit is commissioned next year.

Business bodies feel Tamil Nadu needs a medium term plan to tide over the present power crisis and not a short term solution as the crisis will continue for 3 years to 4 years. 

The national percapita consumption is 632 while in Tamilnadu it is between 950- 1000., much higher than karnataka and Andra pradesh. The per capita consumption of pondicherry is however more than 2500. Per Capita consumption is equal to gross electrical energy available/population

The tariff in Tamilnadu for domestic users is much lower than Andra and Karnataka but higher than Pondicherry. If you are consumping 800 units in tamilnadu the bill will be 1730 while for the same consumption in andra it will be  approx 3085 and in karnataka it will be 2740. 

Tamilnadu has never seen power cuts of this magnitude. There is now nearly 9 hours power cut in mofussil towns and up to 90 minutes in chennai. As per this scheme Chennai might have to suffer at least three hours power cut a day. All industries outside Chennai and in Chennai suburbs have suffered a lot. Exports has been hit. And there is no sign of light and no end of the tunnel visible. But all is not so gloomy. Perhaps if things go well by end of next year things may ease . 

Under the prevailing circumstances, the Government needed to make a pro active decision and they have this scheme in platter. If everyone reduces their consumption by at least 10% there may not be any need for any power cut. But Industries will not be able to reduce more than 5% and domestic consumers can try to reduce at least 6-14%. 

Normally a Tamil middle class is very economical and whether it will be feasible for them to reduce 20% is a question mark. Many joint families may try to get separate meters for now they may have to see nearly 20 to 30% hike in their expense otherwise. Mosquito menace makes ac mandatory for many upper middle class. So may out of enthusiasm, the first month may see a drop but in December the consumption may come to normal. However it will fetch more money for TNEB. 

TNEB which had 1712 crores surplus in 2002-3 is now reeling under heavy deficit of more than 1421 crores and may be by march it will reach 2500 crores unless corrective steps are done. Main reasons for this dismal scenario are the various free schemes of the government, the subsidy, raise in procurement from private parties and of course theft. The average cost of power purchased from all the sources comes to Rs.3.61 per unit. The cost of power generated by the TNEB’s stations is Rs.1.95 per unit. After taking into account various factors including line losses, the weighted average cost of power supplied by the Board is Rs.4.25 per unit.

Smart energy meters in houses, proper distribution and collection mechanism can bring down the losses to a great extent.  Also wind power utilization is very poor due to poor connectivity. 

Well it requires two hands to clap. Public support is required to come out of this electrical mess. 

20% reduction feasible

The following is the approx wattage of various household and domestic electrical and electronic items used often. 1K wattshr = 1 unit.  and 100 watts= 1 Kwatt So if you use a geyser for half hour a day the consumption is 2k watts * 1/2 hr = 1 unit/day

 So one way to reduce consumption is by reducing the usage of these equipments appropriately. 

There are other ways too, as follows

1. Use fluorescent or compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) wherever lights are required to be switched on for more than 4 hours a day. These lamps can save three-quarters of the electricity used by incandescents. The best targets are 60-100W bulbs used several hours a day. New CFLs come in many sizes and styles to fit in most standard fixtures.
2.Use table lamps instead of overhead lights when reading
3.If you use Tube Lights, use Slim Tube Lights with electronic ballasts. A 4-feet Tube light with electronic ballast consumes around 34 watts but its illumination is no less than 100-watt incandescent lamp.
4.Use multiple door Refrigerators. Again it should have Energy star rating, i.e. consume less electricity for same cooling. Keep Refrigerator, Deep freeze well ventilated & open the door as less as possible.
5.use fans as much possible or both fan and air conditioner together. It will cool the room with less electricity
6.Check, clean or replace the filter of air conditioner on monthly basis. It will give more life to Air conditioner as dirty filter blocks airflow and consume more electricity.
7.when using Washing machines or Dish washer use it with Full load of clothes or Crockery. Try to dry clothes in the sun or air.
8.Always buy Energy efficient Electric items.
9.Use geysers with thermostat and timer control for energy saving. Members of the family can take bath in quick succession.
10.Try replacing the existing electric geyser with an LPG gas geyser.

11. Remember to keep computers in stand by mode or OFF when not in use. 

There are even better ways to reduce more than 20%.

1. Be out of your home for most of the day. Keep visiting friends and relatives and contribute to their increase. Take care they do not read this.
2. Try candle light dinners.
3. Take cold water bath.
4. Use pots for drinking water.
5. Sleep early and get up late. !!!!.
6. Remove the roof and use sunlight!!!!!!.