Song by a grandma with unconditional love

1^st June 2014- I thought it was a just another Sunday for me. But a different evening for me. I was in Virdhunagar to interact with members of elders self help group. It was an overwhelming moment for me. Valliamma from Vellalore village in Virudhunagar sang a song. Tears welled up my eyes as she was singing and mentioned me in the song as a person who could take care of elders more than their own children. She sang that ‘Pramila is like Prithianga Devi’ who would support deprived elders like her own grandfather and grandmother. I was touched. My grandfather Ramu came to my mind and I could feel him. He was telling me that he was very much present in the hall and was hearing the song by Valliamma. Thathas and Pattis present there were all in smiles.

What have I done to steal  her heart is the following story: on 26^th January 2010, I published an investigation article in my newspaper Deccan Chronicle on how many elders in Virudhunagar, down south district of Tamil Nadu, were killed by their own families in the name of a traditional killing practice- Thalaikoothal.(Bathing the sick old man or woman in cold water and force feed coconut water to the elder. The aged person would suffer renal failure and die within a day). Young people who did not wish to go through this elaborate process opted to kill the elders with lethal injection availing the ‘service’ of quacks. In my story I revealed my risky trips to talk to such quacks and seeking their help to kill my grandpa. A quack who agreed to ‘help’ me promised that her injection would work effectively and she was successful in her earlier attempts.

After this story, the district administration asked its officials to come up with census of elders in the district and ensured every single death of elders should be properly investigated by the local authorities. My friend R.Elango of  Helpage India, who gave the tip off about the killings, and I wanted to bring change in the lives of elders beyond the news reporting. Now over 500 elders self help groups were formed in Virudhunagar. Regular meetings are conducted by these groups which give an opportunity to elders to share their sorrows and happiness. Every member in the group supports another needy elder. The Sunday evening meet was one such meet and Valliamma was one of the members of the group who electrified the people with her song. 

Hubby seeks compensation for wife's coma

Chennai, May 1: A man in Kanyakumari is taking the state health department head on as his wife slipped into coma after a family planning operation. His writ petition filed before the Madurai bench of the Madras high court says that his wife, who was admitted to the Nagercoil government medical college hospital (NGMCH) for family planning, slipped into coma as the doctors provided nitrous oxide instead of oxygen for breathing. He asked the court to take action against the government hospital and the gas agency for negligence and also sought compensation to raise his two children. 

Petitioner S.Ganesan (45) Semponkarai village in Kanyakumari told the court that presently his wife Rukmani, who has been under treatment in the intensive care unit of the Madurai Rajaji government hospital since April 2011, needs specialised treatment at Vellore CMC hospital. “When Rukmani was admitted to the NGMCH in March 2011 for family planning, she was quite healthy. Doctors told me that she suffered severe blood loss and she had to be moved to emergency care. Within hours they informed me that Rukmani was unconscious and she would be all right within a week. But her condition did not improve. Sources in the hospital told me that nitrous oxide was given to Rukmani instead of oxygen,” said Ganesan, a tailor.  

Ganesan said he had no option but to take his wife to the government general hospital in Madurai for better treatment in April 2011 as the chief doctor at NGMCH told him that there were no medical experts and equipment to save his wife. “The chief doctor asked me to admit my wife in the Madurai hospital. She was weighing 65 kg before the family planning. Now she has gone down with 45 kg. Her parents are taking care of her, staying on the corridors of the government hospital as they couldn’t afford to rent a house there. I am unable to raise my children living all alone in Kanyakumari,” said Ganesan. So far, he has spent more than Rs 3 lakh on medical expenses. He said he had pledged Rukmani’s jewels and took loans for the expenses. He said he had approached the court with lots of hopes.

என் புத்தக  அலமாரி

தோட்டக்காட்டீ - இரா.வினோத் ,அறம்  பதிப்பகம் 

இலங்கை  மலையாக  மக்கள் பற்றியும் , தேயிலை பறிக்கும் வேலைக்கு சொற்ப கூலி, தொழிலார்களின்  வாழ்கை அந்த தேயிலை  எஸ்டேட்குள் தொலைந்துவிடும் நிலை பற்றியும் இந்த கவிதை நூல் தெளிவாக கவிதை நயத்துடன் பேசுகிறது:



குப்பை  ரத்தம் 

மணமற்றது
குணமற்றது
நிறமற்றது
இனமற்றது

கூலிகள்  குடிக்கும்
குப்பைத்  தேநீர்  மட்டுமல்ல
மரவள்ளி  தின்னும்
மறத் தமிழனின்

செந்நீரும்தான்!


பட்டினி நிலா 

தினந்ததினம்
பிள்ளைகளுக்குச்
சோறூட்டச் சொல்லி
அழுது
அடம்பிடிக்கும்
லயத்தில்
பால் நிலா !

Madras high court gives justice to child Suba

• Court ordered the accused to pay medical bills

• Suba wants to play as she did earlier 

Chennai, March 19: The Madras high court came to the rescue of the Mercedes crash victim Subarakshitha, a poor class six student, by directing the hospital where she has been undergoing treatment for multiple fractures for almost a year, not to charge her family.

The high court on Monday ordered that the millionaire Merc owner should bear the costs as he allegedly drove the car rashly over a pavement while drunk, killing a boy and badly injuring Subarakshitha.

Shaji Purushothaman, son of Empee group owner, allegedly drove on the pavement in front of Egmore children’s hospital and severely injured Subarakshitha in May 2013. Since then she has been undergoing treatment in a private hospital.

Though Shaji paid Rs 5 lakh initially for the surgery, Subarakshitha’s parents - father Kumar, an auto driver, and mother Manjula -housemaid, did not hear anything from him about the post-operation medical bills. They often took loans to pay medical bills.

Speaking to me , Kumar said, “For all these days, I couldn’t take my daughter to the hospital whenever needed only because I didn’t have enough money. There were days when I waited for more than a week to get her scan reports. The court verdict has given me big hope. Suba manages to write her lessons on her own. But she would cry often asking me whether her severely injured right wrist and shoulder would become alright.”

Milton, counsel for Subarakshitha, said the hospital authorities would produce the medical records in court and Shaji would pay the bills. “Suba’s family lives in utter poverty. The court’s directive would help the family look after her medical needs. We believe this would bring the smile back on Suba’s face,” he said.

Maniamma, an exemplary politician  

Chennai, March 18: Very few politicians these days can match the personality of Manaloor Maniamma, a Brahmin widow who defied the customs and rituals in the 1950s and hit the road on her bicycle to take up people’s issues. Rejecting the family’s demand that she should shave her head and stay indoors, Maniamma sported a close-cut hairstyle, wore mundasu vesti, learnt silambam martial art and took part in freedom struggle, besides networking with farmers of Thanjavur as a Communist leader.

Writer Gnani has profiled Maniamma in his book ‘Neruppu Malargal’, a collection of stories on great but unsung women. Excerpts from the book: Maniamma was married to an advocate as his second wife - when she was just 10 years old. Her husband arranged English tuition for Maniamma. After he died, she taught English to Dalit children in her neighbourhood. She challenged the atrocities being heaped upon Dalit farmhands by the rich landlords. Not just landlords, even her relatives were angry about her association with the underprivileged.

After participating in a meeting addressed by Mahatma Gandhi in Thanjavur, Maniamma decided she should lead a meaningful life. She shunned the saree and stopped doing the rituals prescribed for a Brahmin widow. She rode her own bullock cart and shocked the locals riding a bicycle. Though she began as a Congress supporter, she got drawn towards the Communist movement as it gave her a more comfortable platform to work for the coolies and fight for better wages, against caste discrimination. Thousands of Dalits in Thanjavur and Nagapattinam considered Maniamma as their family member.

When the Communist party was banned in India in 1948, Maniamma was among the many comrades who got jailed for their political activities. “There cannot be a better role model for a good politician of any age, any time, than Maniamma”, said CPI leader R. Nallakannu, himself a man of acknowledged virtues such as simplicity and honesty. “She inspired men and women to fight for a good cause till the very end. Her presence would simply electrify any rally”.

Pointing out how most of the present day politicians are only after money and power, octogenarian Gandhian Krishnammal Jaganathan said, “Her name still gets mentioned in the themmangu songs of farmers. Her death still remains a mystery. People say she was killed by the landlords”. 

30 years on, justice not delivered for victimized woman 

Chennai, March 17: Police will file complaints; courts can hear petitions and deliver judgments but who will ensure that the victim gets final justice after the tiring journey through various courts? 

That’s the sad saga of Sundari (names changed), a retired bank employee in Chennai, who knocked on the doors of several courts for 30 years before finally getting an order from a magistrate at Egmore court directing her engineer husband to pay her Rs.30 lakh as compensation for ill treatment.

But even two years after that verdict, the distressed woman is yet to get the money. Cops tell her they cannot find her husband to enforce the court order.

“I got married in 1977 to chemical engineer Raghavan and lived with him for just five years. I learnt he was having some illicit relationships and when I questioned him, he harassed me and told me to get out of the house. I moved out so as to bring up by son in a better environment. My husband applied for divorce but I did not consent", said Sundari, recalling her trauma.

While balancing her time between work at the bank and bringing up the boy as a single mother, she also attended the courts seeking justice as by then, she learnt that Raghavan had married a third time after the second wife passed away. “These two marriages were illegal because Raghavan has not divorced me. I showed his voters’ ID and ration card to prove to the courts that he married two other women”, Sundari said.

Four arrest warrants issued by the Egmore and Ambattur courts since 1992 went unanswered, so she filed a petition under the ‘Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act’ (PWADVA) in 2012 and got that extraordinary verdict that Raghavan must pay her Rs.30 lakh for his abusive conduct. “He gave just Rs.One lakh and disappeared. My son is now 30 years old. I am still fighting for justice”, Sundari told DC. 

There is a thin silver lining though. With help from a woman PWADVA officer, Sundari recently managed to gain a small space in Raghavan’s house to live since she remains his legally wedded wife. An iron grill separates the two.

Indian scientists quit DRDO jobs 

Chennai, February 28: Several students exhibited their scientific study and projects in their schools as part of the National Science Day celebrations on Friday(28th February 2014). But a recent report from the DRDO (Defence Research Development Organisation) revealed that scores of scientists are leaving their jobs. And many important projects like light combat aircraft; aero engine and long-range surface-to-air missile have been postponed to 2016. On this National Science Day, DC spoke to scientists and organisations that promote scientific temper among students about the real science world.

In his recent report to the Rajya Sabha, Union defence minister A.K. Antony said a total of 358 scientists (338 resigned and 20 opted for VRS) had left DRDO from 2009-2013. While the minister claims that many scientists leave the organisations because of personal reasons or for pursuing higher studies, scientists and voluntary organisations that work for child scientists have a different tale to tell.

Reasoning that bureaucratic red tape, non availability of necessary infrastructure are major issues that push young scientists to leave jobs, a senior scientist with the department of science and technology said, “Unlike other government departments, research centres and DRDO cannot be expected to deliver the targeted output every year. The scope and investments for trials should be provided. The red tape that dies down many departments, kills the spirit of many scientists.” On condition of anonymity, he said, “Lack of encouragement and opportunities to try out new projects is yet another hurdle.”

N. Mani of Tamil Nadu Science Forum, a voluntary organisation that organises science exhibitions and awareness programmes, said, “Political appointments and unfriendly working environment are some of the factors that drive scientists to the exit gate of premier research institutes. Based on our interactions with scientists, we understood that nexus between senior authorities and appointment of unqualified persons for top jobs de-motivate the talented persons.” 

The following table gives the details of number of projects being delayed in DRDO. This information was shared by union defence minister A.K.Antony in Rajya Sabha.  

Project	Probable Date of Completion (PDC)
	Original	Revised
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Phase-II	December 2008	December 2015
Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA, Navy), Phase-I	March 2010	December 2014
Aero-engine Kaveri	December 1996	December 2009#
Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) System	October 2011	March 2014
Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM)	May 2011	December 2015
Air-to-Air Missile, Astra	August 2012	December 2016