Category: Classic Kovai

Hope College At Peelamedu Turned A Landmark Coimbatore has been a city of techcellence for a long time now. A number of developments and the work of quite a few pioneers helped the city to evolve not just itself but the entire region. Industrial Scientist G.D.Naidu was among the top 30 people who had worked to make the city great. Its thanks to the efforts of such great people that Coimbatore is known as the Rome of Kongunad. The sing song ‘Mariyadhai Tamil’ of this region had spawned technology, linguistic…

Sandow M.M.A.Chinnappa Devar was a popular devotee of Lord Muruga all his life. This famous film maker had produced movies with animals and his house used to resemble a zoo. Devar is well known for producing movies in a short span of time. His partnership with Chief Minister M.G.Ramachandran is legendary. He had produced several super duper hits with MGR as the hero. ‘Neela Malai Thirudan’ was his movie and it was the first instance when he used animals. Devar was deeply devoted to Lord Muruga all his life. He…

Arun Gokuldas, The Pride of Coimbatore Arun Gokuldas was born in 1944 to Maniben and Gokuldas Thulsidas. His father Gokuldas had been a cotton waste pioneer. The members of this noble minded family have donated a maternity home and also built a temple for Lord Sathyanarayana. Arun, the youngest among his brothers did his schooling from Stanes Anglo Indian High School and completed his B.Tech in Textiles from A.C.Tech. He has been associated with Rotary Club of Coimbatore – Texcity and is happily married to Vandana. The couple are blessed…

Europeans travelled all the way to India in order to create portraits and sceneries. Many of them specialized in street life. The rich and the powerful commissioned them to produce enduring pieces. A lot of facts and fiction have been spun around the lives of these creators. Movies and novels have been made on this subject. In fact, the author Gayathri Prabhu in her book ‘Untitled’ has strung together a fine story based on the times of Tipu Sultan. The story is based on the life of a painter who…

T S Avinashilingam Chettiar, A Visionary With A Mission T.S.Avinashilingam Chettiar (Ayya) was born in the May of 1903. He came under the influence of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. These influences led him to lead a life of dedication and service. He spearheaded the freedom movement in Tamilnadu from the year 1930 and was repeatedly incarcerated (1930, 1932 , 1941 and 1942). Ayya was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1934. It was 1946 when he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly and he became…

Kovai Kizhar C.M.Ramachandran Chettiar was writer, leader, learner and teacher all his life. He was the President of the Cosmopolitan Club for a few years. He lived on Trichy road and Late Prof T.A.Venkatachalam used to recall the academic help and mentoring received from him in connection with Tamil during his school days. Prof T.A.Venkatachalam accompanied Kovai Kizhar C.M.Ramachandran, five of his relatives and visited Sri Lanka at the dawn of the Republic. Kovai Kizhar has written a book about this experience. He had attended a Tamil conference and given…

Coimbatore – The gift of Noyyal is the home to a lot of heritage. The Palakkad gap has blessed the city with salubrious weather. Thanks to this route a number of international travelers have visited the region. The territory was thus able to break all the barriers and move ahead. Let us celebrate the heritage of Coimbatore by revisiting it on this occasion. The two tiered clock tower is a fine piece of heritage. This century old building which houses the clock tower is the ‘autograph’ of Coimbatore. Yes, the…

Forts were very important those days. The strength of a kingdom was based on its defense mechanism. Mythology and history are full of forts. Kumbalgarh fort is endowed with the second longest wall in the world. The forts of Chitorgarh, Jodhpur, Amber, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi and the mighty forts of the Marathas are legendary. Shivaji’s general Tanaji lost his life while capturing the Sinhagad fort in the year 1670 AD. The Chandragiri and Golkonda forts are famous even today. Kingdoms were made and lost because of the forts held…

A number of people would read the ‘Thula Cauvery Mahatmeeyam’ and have a bath in the River Noyyal or visit Srirangam during the Tamil month of Aippasi. Its a time when the waters of all the rivers are brought to River Cauvery by the North East Monsoons. Bathing in the waters of this sacred Cauvery is supposed to remove all our sins. Its a time when we are made to be aware of all our flaws and a correction process is put in place. Some people do not eat onions…

The followers of Goddess Vasavi Kannika Parameswari hail from the Telugu speaking parts of our country. They migrated during the rule of Vijayanagar. These people have maintained their tradition while also adapting to Tamil culture. The Kula Devatas or family deities of these Telugu speaking people who moved over are fully located in Tamilnadu. The first tonsuring and ear piercing ceremonies of their children are done in these temples. These sacred thread wearing people pray in temples which are maintained by priests who do not wear the sacred thread (poonul).…