Raja's read only memories

Subramaniam is one among the 200-odd typists who have been churning out instant documents at the Madras High Court campus, for decades together   Chennai: Call it ‘mechanical’ dispensation of justice if you may, but the humble typewriter, a device of the last century perceived to have gone extinct in recent times, is vital to the functioning of the litany of the city’s courts. In fact, the clang of the typewriter is an indicator that most of its needs, especially those relating to documentation, are being served. Want to get an affidavit typed or a statement composed in a jiffy? A large number of typists here would do it, with devices that are at the minimum 15-20 years old. Talk about giving a touch of antiquity to your work. The Law-Chamber of the Madras High Court is one such place that has an intrinsic link with the typewriter. Abuzz with activity right through the day, its expansive corridors over its three floors accommodate no less than 60-odd ‘verandah...

The breakthrough promises to reduce complexity of cancer treatment (Image: www.brecorder.com)     Chennai: Two alumni of educational institutions from the city are at the forefront of a breakthrough in cancer treatment, which they claim can remove the shroud of inevitable fatality associated with the disease. The breakthrough pertains to the discovery and synthesis of a protein that can be lethal to tumour cells and Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) – the root causes for the disease and its re-generation. Born in a hamlet in Namakkal, Salem district – the same as that of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasan Ramanujam – and educated at the Madras Christian College and JIPMER, Puducherry, Prof Arunasalam Dharmarajan claims to have discovered the protein, codenamed SC-201. The professor, who is presently with the School of Biomedical Sciences at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, says that the protein has the potential to lead to the development of a drug that cou...

Author’s note: Here goes my encounter with the kin of the violin artiste Lalgudi G Jayaraman. I’d like to call it the story that failed to make it to the media.     Take a bow: Violinist Lalgudi G Jayaraman Last Monday, as I received a call from a colleague, informing me about the demise of Lalgudi G Jayaraman, and therefore, asking me to swing into action in preparing his obit article for the newspaper I work for, I realised how narrowly I had missed out on meeting him. It was as if the plot of R K Narayan’s Waiting for the Mahatma – where a love-struck couple brave it all to meet Gandhi, prior to his assassination – with a twist was being played out on me. But first, a flashback… The ace violinist M S Gopalakrishnan had passed away sometime in January this year. One among the ‘trinity’ of the Carnatic violinists – Lalgudi Jayaraman and T N Krishnan being the other two – I decided to talk to the other two for a compelling news article. I decided to call Lal...

Field Marshall in the making? Its release was preceded by controversies — two, to be precise — that generated ample heat, with sections objecting to the seemingly inaccurate portrayal of a community and its lead actor’s supposed preference for cheroots, culminating in a slew of apologies from its makers. Going by the posters commemorating its 50-day run at the BO, Thuppakki could court another controversy, forcing its makers to do an encore. Some thumbnail images accompanied ‘Ilayathalapathy’ Vijay in the movie’s posters that surfaced in Chennai on the occasion; a closer look revealed them to be, along with our current Defence chiefs, the select Armed Forces chiefs, who, during our nation’s moments of distress, helmed our forces and ensured that we emerged unscathed and victorious — our Field Marshals. The impression the poster seemed to generate was that actor Vijay was on his way to being decorated as the nation’s next Field Marshal, pitching him along the likes of ...

He’s the one-in-all intelligence extraordinaire of the nation. From sniffing out terrorist threats to neutralising them and tracking down its masterminds, so smooth is his modus operandi that it could give hot chocolate sauce poured over ice-cream a complex. His bravado outclasses that of a Jason Bourne, his magnetism to the feminine could put a James Bond to shame and in plan execution could make your Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger seem like schoolboys fighting over a lollipop. The protagonist in Thuppakki , an army officer portrayed by Ilayathalapathy Vijay, does this all and much more, but is unable to perform the simple act of kissing his lady-love, well, on her lips. He gets the opportunity to do so twice, but the call of duty precedes his romantic pursuits, resulting in Cupid’s own travesty! Lips-locked, literally, one may say. This, however, may serve as a pointer to a deep-rooted phenomenon in the Indian film industry in general and the Tamil film industry (Ko...

The review bug bites this author after he caught up with two of Kollywood's recent releases... Maatraan - conjoined to confound and contrive Basic science stipulates that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and can only be transformed from one form to another. In Maatraan , director K V Anand turns this dictum on its head by employing all the ingredients for a gripping blockbuster — a leading hero in a dual role, an upcoming starlet, a plot involving a nefarious researcher and exotic locations (I ain't talking about the songs alone), A-list technicians and an established production house to boot — and comes up with a product that can at best be described as nothingness. Of glamorous translators and wealthy heirs... So, we have conjoined twins Agilan and Vimalan (Surya), heirs to an energy drink organisation constructed by their ambitious scientist dad (Sachin Khedekar), with contrasting personalities. While Vimalan is studious, a teetotal...