Thirumurugan

Valparai is well known for its tea estate and is a famous tourist place in India. Government buses are the lifeline for local people here. The buses usually travel on good-conditioned roads and off-roads in forest hamlet villages. In the morning, most of the buses start with devotional murugan songs (Tamil diety), then slowly move with evergreen Ilayaraja songs, and SPB is the prime voice of these buses. When the Valaiyosai song from Sathya movies plays on the bus, when the BGM of the song starts, it would have been goosebumps and an unofficial song of these rural buses. The driver plays a dual role: a driver and a DJ. The drivers are mostly locals; they know most of the villagers and people on the roads. They wave their hands to their known friends like painting in the air at every bus stop. They used to stop and talk for a while on the narrow roads, with their fellow drivers coming opposite with smiles. They are self-disciplined on roads while giving way to the up-climbing heavy wh...

A fter an exhausting day (May 13, 2019) in the field, one might only think of an appetizing meal and a good nap at the base camp. But, sometimes taking away a few hours from that special nap for some learning is excellent, which everyone would agree on. One such moment in my field days was when I heard about the big festival of the Irula community from the local villagers of Thegumaradha earlier called as ‘Getthapatti’ (Thengu= Coconut tree, Patti = cattle herd) .  As my interest awakened, I decided that the best way to explore more about this festival Is to be part of the experience. Irula are the Dravidian ethnic group native to the Nilgiri mountains of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. They are dark people and speak their own dialect Irula language. Moyar Irula’s speech has mixed Tamil and Kannada language. According to the Irula heads, the festival is celebrated for ages and they doesn’t know the exact date when it started. It stopped in the early 90s by the active movement of...

The city of Chennai is renowned for its myriad attributes, such as being the second oldest municipal corporation in the world, the iconic British establishments, and the longest beach in Asia, but not many know it for the large number of lakes and water tanks within the small area. I have grown up in a place with two lakes, 7-8 small ponds, 40-45 round wells, and a copious 100 acres of agricultural land in my neighborhood. Since my childhood (the early 2000s), the two lakes in our vicinity catered to the needs of our people in several ways like play ground during summer, a fishing ground during monsoon, a source of water for domestic use and agriculture, an open swimming pool for the kids and a place of recreation for elders in the evenings. My friends and I swam and played in the lake often, also bunk school, and hid around the bushes of water tanks. The only leisure place for most of us. I could say the COVID-19 lockdown was our final fun time with some mischievous activities. Ever s...

கரும்இரவு ஆழ் கடல் பால் வண்ணத்திரை.. தொலைதூரம் தெரியும் என்னில் அடங்க‌ நட்சத்திரம்.. மோதிர நிலவு வெள்ளியின் அருகில் மை போல் மின்ன.. நட்சத்திர ஒளியில் பூக்கள் போல் பூத்திருக்கும் ஆழ்கடல் மீன்கள்.. மிதவை தொனி ஊஞ்சல் ஆட்டுது பேனி... உரசலில் வழி நெடுகிலும் தங்கச் சிதறல்களை சிதரிச் செல்லும - தொனி... தொலைதூரத்தில் காற்றிருக்கும் கலங்கரை தேடி; அதனை துரத்தும் வழிநெடுகிலும் பரந்த கடற் புல்வெளி பவளப் பாறைகள் கடந்து செல்லும்... கடற்கரை ஒளிரும்..  அலைகள் துரத்தும் காற்று அச்சமூட்டும் பாறைகள் மறைந்திருக்கும் கண்கள் நித்திரை தேடும் சிமிட்டும் விழித்திரை பெரிதாகும் ஒளிரும் கனத்தில் நட்சத்திரம் வழி காட்டும்..  கரை வந்து சேரும்.. - வே. திருமுருகன்.

It's not necessary to look like a giant, have a base voice, or have a big beard and moustache. The ones showing off, making themselves famous, or seeking popularity needs to be better, and they need to be better at making their food in the forest or marine environment.  Imagine, in the worst case scenario - if a natural calamity struck you (tsunami or worst cyclone), either you search for food or popularity. Most of us will search for food and resources rather than popularity. Then Why there's a severe battle for the possession of considering themselves as an 'Alpha male'? Our field assistant is one of the prime examples of this topic. I am amazed by its skill. He's a humble giant, doesn't have a tall appearance, and is "short-statured." Still, he can hunt down his food (either in water or land), open water diver, professional swimmer, tackle uncomfortable situations, and survive in remote places. Also, he's personally sound, well behaved having a ...

  Elephants and Frontline staffs.  For those who think working in the forest gives pleasure. But that's not true. For a tourist, it's easy to come and go (enjoy) the protected areas for some days. But these frontline forest department staffs are the real ground workers and are solely responsible for safeguarding Indian reserves. They are the people who work for almost #24 hours a day. They are strong enough to face wild animals and prevent wild animals near agricultural lands. The department works, manages, accompanies researchers, guards guests, tourists, night rounds, poachers, petty politics, etc. Many policies can be easily written on paper and passed out the order. But the implementation should be done by these frontline staff. If the Indian army parade gives 'emotions' and 'goosebumps,' you should also be proud of these forest department staff, who risk their lives daily to protect nature's wealth.  The wealth of the country doesn't depend on the p...

This content is especially for my friend Santhanapandi from Madurai, Down South, Tamil Nadu. He was the one who took me to see jallikattu's live performance. It was a memorable day as I realized the uniqueness of our own Tamil Nadu and a new side of its culture. I grew up in a region where jallikattu sport is never played. After watching the play, I am forced to think about why we protested for Jallikattu two years back. But everything happened for good. So here it goes, my friend took me to his village and showed me his bulls. They were six-foot-tall majestic bulls that one can only imagine in dreams. Only their family members can touch them. No other people can't even go near or touch them. There's a close bond shared between the bull and the family. We saw "Vadamanju viratu," named bull tied with a rope in a rotating circular manner. The players have to embrace the bull for some seconds. There are several strict rules meant to be followed during the play. The g...