Sunday 27 December 2015

அனைத்து சாதியினரும் அர்ச்சர்கர் ஆகலாமா?


அனைத்து சாதியினரும் அர்ச்சர்கர் ஆகலாமா? 

அனைத்து சாதியினரும் அர்ச்சர்கர் ஆகலாமா? என்ற கேள்விகளுக்கு விடை காணும் முயற்சியாக அமைந்தது இந்த வார கண்ணாடி நிகழ்ச்சியின் ஆவணப் படம் :

ONE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiv8xixAT94

TWO : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUweXfAFvmI

THREE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofYkHSdq-PU


Tuesday 1 December 2015

 கடலூர் சிறுமி சொன்ன பாடம் 

கடந்த வாரம் கடலூர் மாவட்டத்திற்கு சென்றேன். வெள்ளம் ஏற்படுத்திய பதிப்புகளை பற்றிய ஆவணப் படம் தயாரிக்கச் சென்ற என்னை ஒரு குழந்தை ரொம்ப பாதித்துவிட்டாள்.. அவள் பெயர் ராஜலக்ஷ்மி... இப்போ பாரிஸ்ல பருவ  நிலை மாற்றம் பற்றிய ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சபையின் கூட்டம் நடந்துட்டு வருது...இந்த ராஜலக்ஷ்மி சொன்ன விஷயம் பெரிய பெரிய ஆளுமைகள் சொல்லற கருத்தை விட எளிமையா பருவ நிலை மாற்றம் பற்றி சொல்லுச்சு...
"2004 ல சுனாமி வந்தப்போ என்னோட புத்தகம் எல்லாம் காணாம போச்சு....2011ல தானே புயல்ல என்னோட வீடு காணாம போச்சு.. இப்போ இந்த வெள்ளதில எல்லாமே போச்சு... எப்போ என்னோட வீடும், ஸ்கூலும் நல்லா இருக்கும்??"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJyfWADF8AU&list=PLMFLgBNDQhNCPT6erkGUVr4eBUmKNo2CH&index=5


Tuesday 4 August 2015


LOVE KHADHIJA, LOVE TRUTH


Khadija Ismayilova : the name looks like a mantra in an unknown language for me. Its a name of a strong woman on earth, an inspiring person on this planet and a noble journalist. She instills confidence among journalists who want proceed their journey in the path of investigative reporting. She was awarded the PEN Barbara Goldsmith Freedom To Write Award 2015. I am glad to listen to Khadija's mother whose words pumps new spirit to everyone who lends an ear to her.

check out Khadija: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRRKc3mnrd0

Khadija's work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36451PzNr0c


Sunday 5 July 2015

In search of a Kid

I worked on a story last night. It was on a search for a kid who has become an addict for HANS, a banned tobacco product. A voluntary organisation has been sending this video to people to look out for the child and urged the government to provide medical treatment asap. 

Link to the news story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdHwRPXYAHo

If you come across this child, pls let us know.

Friday 19 June 2015

PROMO FOR TV SHOW ON WATER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr2XoR0LCJE

Sunday 31 May 2015

DOCUMENTARY FILM ON CUDDALORE


My first documentary film on Cuddalore environmental issues. It was a great experience for me. I learnt so much during my travel and interaction with people in Cuddalore. Leading a daily life in Cuddalore is really a big task. LINK for the documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h8T2AFtreU&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share


Tuesday 12 May 2015

                  I ENJOYED RAINY DAY AND CYCLED TO MY OFFICE

Today shunning all my laziness, I took a bold step to cycle all the way from my home to office. Mustering courage I peddled a few steps from Tiruvanmiyur signal to Adyar LB road. OMG it took 15 mins. I recollected how I would vroom through these roads without giving any thought to look at tiny shops on road and men who cycle. With full determination, I cycled on battered roads and counted 100 to hold my spirit. hmm... I reached Greenways road, I am dead tired. No looking back. Pulled up myself, I was singing all heroic songs to energise my legs. right from MGR to Rajini to the latest watched movie-Utthama Villan- I sang it all!!
No words to explain the atrocity''of two-wheelers and the fourwheelers. A kind bus driver on TTK road slowed down and allowed me to ride at my speed. I was forced to stop for two minutes at the CP Ramasamy road because of the signal. The journey continued as the drops of rain drenched my soul. I am happy. I think, peddling is a problem at the initial moments; then the rim of the tyre takes you on all pathways!
When I was riding via Poes garden, a serene locality, my humming became clear for the pedestrians. But to myself its not enough! charged up and telling myself that I CAN DO IT!! I reached gemini. From nowhere I got the strength to easily ride the long stretch of the crowded Nungambakkam to reach my office. WOW- I broke my record of laziness!! I should thank the rain for giving a shield from heat waves of Chennai that helped me to cycle.

Sunday 3 May 2015


photo: google

LATEST EXPEDITION TO GARBAGE CLIFF 


It was my latest expedition to yet another kingdom of the underprivileged.  This time I went to Kodungaiyur, where exists the massive mount of Chennai's garbage dump. As per the Chennai Corporation records over 4,000 metric tonnes of the city's garbage are dumped here every day. Truckloads keep emptying the stinking toxic wastes through the day, every day. 

Some 20 kms from my News7 studio, I was there with my crew to film the kids at work. It was for my Saturday show- Maiyam. When I informed my cameraman and driver that they should have their breakfast before entering Kodungaiyur, they did not understand why and so they did  not follow my advice. But once we were there, they were shocked to see that several streets were filled with garbage on either side. And in some streets, people were literally living on roads in small huts that were surrounded by garbage.  After a lot of search, they managed to find a small street side food shop but their appetite seemed suddenly gone. 

On the road, I inquired an old man about the road to Panakkaran Nagar (meaning – a colony of rich men) that would take us to ground zero of the Kodungaiyur dumpyard. Ironically, for some reason, the cluster of houses of the below-poverty-line people had earned that name, Panakkaran Nagar.  I recollected my meeting with India’s venerated  environment journalist P.Sainath sometime back, when he had mentioned that while presenting the news, one must always talk about two extremes so that people would understand the difference.

While climbing the garbage mounds, my cameraman and driver were moaning and cribbing that I always took them for a ‘ride’. (I don’t seem to be interested in covering press meets at five star hotels and meetings in lavish resorts was their complaint!!). Anyhow, when I climbed the top of the filthy mountain of toxic garbage, we couldn’t breathe properly. Though the pathway was filled with dry waste, the closer spot where children and adults collecting and separating the waste was full of wet waste. And the dusty air, grease and grime on our faces seemed to revolt the two men in my team. 

After many attempts, I was able to convince a little boy to talk to the camera about his Kodungaiyur career. Kumar, a class five dropout, enters the dumpsite at 10am and works hard till about 2pm. He would rest for a while in a little tent there and have his lunch. He then works till about 4pm. He would sell his day’s collection of plastic bottles and get a few rupees. 

I told my cameraman to capture the shots of how these garbage pickers run behind the huge trucks that bring fresh loads of garbage. And how easily they pick out the kind of waste that they specialize in 'merchandising'. For example, there are teams that would collect only pet bottles, a few others would look for e-waste, yet another team looks for thick cardboards... 

After three hours there, the dusty air and smell from the garbage became too much for us. We wanted to wrap up the shooting. A kind woman came to me and offered water. I turned to my crew and they were aghast. How would they use any water from that place? I smiled as I accepted the water and washed the grime off my face and quenched my thirst. A tea-seller appeared from nowhere, climbing up the garbage mountain on  his two-wheeler that carried his huge can of tea and several paper cups. As the garbage-pickers gathered around him, one kind soul turned to me to ask if we could have some 'nice tea'. We tried hard to smile and mumbled an answer--we are very grateful but we must go because we have a deadline. Actually we were feeling very tired and very suffocated. 

On the way down, two little kids ran behind us for the send off. Though the Kodungaiyur smoke and stench gifted me with a terrible cough that drained me the next couple of days, I was glad that we could get some good shots on the camera and also the crew could understand the tough living of those garbage pickers and the poor inhabitants of Panakkaran Nagar. When I narrated the Kodungaiyur trip to my dad and told him I must thank God for granting me good life, he replied, 'No, fight with God. Ask Him why he has made life so tough for those people'.

Tuesday 14 April 2015

                                   OK KANMANI TO PERUMAL MURUGRAN


I was just surfing the net going from one extreme 'o kadhal kanmani' film songs to flipkart to journalism fellowships to articles in the OPEN magazine; meanwhile checking out my official mails! As the songs were flowing through my 'headphone', I got to read the article on forgotten controversy of writer Perumal Murugan.

To me the following part that recorded the version of historian Theodore Baskaran made sense:   

Some of these experiences would be lost to us if they weren’t preserved so well in the amber of literature. “In another 50 years, they will say ‘untouchability’ never existed,” says historian Theodore Baskaran, who is among the intellectuals from the Kongu region to have stood by Murugan. “Denial of history and culture go hand in hand with in- sensitivity to literature.”

I believe writer Perumal Murugan presently living in one of the corners of the Chennai city, should actually give a second thought and get back to writing. We need people like him who are repositories of knowledge and actually report on historical issues that the GEN Y should know.  

LINK to OPEN magazine article: http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/delible-ink


As I had finished reading the article, I had already heard the mental manadhil song - Music by ARR and lyrics by Vairamuthu in the film by Maniratnam' four times !! chillax

Saturday 4 April 2015

Maiyam show on importance on mental health : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ148eoTif8

Sunday 29 March 2015

Maiyam show on successful women in science, sports, health and social causes :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD9HMBF2lU4&list=PLMFLgBNDQhNAvTzEQUVPtDEFj68cVy3Aa

Tuesday 17 March 2015

WARM  WELCOME - குளிர்ந்த நெஞ்சுடன் வரவேற்றான்


Warm regards , warm welcome, heart-warming story இப்படி பல வார்த்தைகளில் நாம் ஆங்கிலேயர்களின் வார்த்தை பிரயோகத்கை அப்படியே பயன்படுத்துகிறோம். கடந்த வாரம் பூவுலகின் நண்பர்கள் நடத்திய  'பொழுதுகள் 6'' நிகழ்ச்சியில் நண்பர் நக்கீரன் இது எவ்வளவு வேடிக்கையானது என்று விளக்கினார். குளிர் பிரதேசத்தில் இருக்கும் ஆங்கிலேயர்களுக்கு வெய்யில் என்பது விருப்பமான ஒன்று. அவர்கள் வெயிலை வரவேற்பார்கள். அதனால் தான் warm regards , warm welcome, heart-warming என பயன்படுத்துகின்றனர்.  


நாமோ சுட்டெரிக்கும் வெயிலுக்குச் சொந்தகாரர்கள். நமக்கு குளிர்ச்சி தான் தேவை. அதை தான் நம் விரும்புகிறோம்.  அதனால் தான் தமிழில் ''குளிரிந்த பார்வை பார்த்தாள், குளிர்ந்த நெஞ்சுடன் வரவேற்றான்' என்று பயன்  பயன்படுத்துகின்றோம். நான் warm regards என்று இ-மெயிலில் பயன்படுத்துவதில்லை!!. கொஞ்சம் யோசிப்போம்.    

Friday 27 February 2015

Rafflesia Ornaldii

Rafflesia Ornaldii and Subarakshitha

It was a fantastic morning for me. My cute little friend Subarakshitha prepared breakfast for me. Ofcourse I helped her with cutting the vegetables to make tomato curry and poori. She came with her family to wish me for my birthday and decided to stay back in my house. We went to the beach in the evening. Both of us were playing in the sand for while. She was talking to me about her school, homework and how she dominates in her class as a group leader. I was just wondering and at the same time thanking God for giving those glorious
moments with such a lovely kid in my life. I am blessed. 

Little Suba in my kitchen
This little girl became my friend way back in 2012. A fully drunk millionaire drove a Merc over a pavement at Egmore in the middle of the night while my little Suba was sleeping there with her grandmother and her cousin. She woke up to witness the death of her cousin Muniraj and raised an alarm as the car had run over her right hand completely damaging her wrist. I wrote about the incident and visited her at her house.

She did not talk to me at the first sight. I made frequent visits and became her friend. It took some time for her to accept me as her friend. My news articles in Deccan Chronicle helped Suba for her treatment. I was glad that I was able to bring a smile on the face of the child. I had sent a Barbie doll for her once. Then we spoke to over the phone about her hospital treatment, rejoining for her studies, blah, blah... and the friendship blossomed similar to the world’s biggest flower –Rafflesia Ornaldii...


Her visit yesterday was a great gift to me. God’s gift. 

Wednesday 25 February 2015

  Why I hate plastics

Three years ago, I visited the government veterinary hospital to meet experts there who came up with a research paper on plastic being found in cow's milk. The startling fact revealed yet another shocking story to me. While I was leaving the hospital I learnt that plastic that we leave on roads are consumed by cows and buffaloes and that's how plastic has contaminated the fresh milk from cow.

While I was leaving the place feeling great that I had got a damn good story for the day, I stopped infront of the mortuary. When I peeped in I found two big buckets filled with plastic bags. Those bags looked as if they were soaked in blood. Doctors there told me that almost 35kgs of plastic bags were found in the stomach of a cow. With a heavy heart, I left the place. I wrote the story and at the same time, I decided I shouldnt use plastic bags anymore. I avoid it till date as much as possible. I feel like killing a cow everytime I buy a plastic bag.

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Brazil taps run dry: Amazon forests on deathbed



I felt very bad when I read a report in The Hindu newspaper on huge water crisis spilling over Brazil.  Just imagine the situation where the children are fed sandwiches only because the school managements are unable to use water to clean the plates on which cooked meal is served. The following is the link for the article:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taps-run-dry-in-brazils-largest-and-wealthiest-city/article6905903.ece 

Thursday 19 February 2015

Maiyam - an one hour show on increasing road accidents in Tamil Nadu will be telecast in News 7 Tamil on this Saturday at 11 am to 12 noon. The aim of the show is to spread awareness on prevention of road accidents and introduce survivors and in turn inspire viewers. I anchor the show.

More about the show:
One theme will be chosen by Maiyam team every month; And the one hour weekend show will have exclusive stories and experts views and iconic people, who have overcome challenges in life, will be introduced in the show. In the third week,  three hour live show be aired from a rural area where the issue is prevalent. Maiyam show will be telecast on 7th Feb, 14th Feb,21st and 28th Feb of this month.

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Promo for my show on increasing road accidents in Tamil Nadu.

Every Saturday at 11to 12 noon - at News 7 Tamil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xZZpJQ9woE&index=1&list=PLMFLgBNDQhNAvTzEQUVPtDEFj68cVy3Aa

Thursday 29 January 2015

News story on plight of dwarf people

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDyRWB1VmkI

Monday 26 January 2015



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M-3vH70_nI

A visual story on rain water harvesting. How it improved the water table in Chennai city and also helped the residents to quit buying water from private agencies.

Thursday 15 January 2015

These are the stories published on thalaikoothal, a traditional practice followed in down south districts of Tamil Nadu by which family members kill their elderly parents. My stories brought the issue to the light and the government took action to bring the practice to an end. With the help of voluntary organisations, elders in Virudhunagar district have now formed self help groups to guard themselves from errant children and fight for their rights.