What it means to you to be a Chennaiite?
A very casual query that any Chennaiite – a rich person or an average layperson – will be able to talk something passionately about the bond they have with the city or the way they grew up in the city. But not so with Ms Kanimozhi.
She gave an exceptional narration that showed a terrible disconnect she has with the city but a horrible connect with a crass political mentality.
She could not say a single word on what Chennai gave her or did to her, nor on the way she felt as one who grew up here (or she grew up elsewhere, I don't know). She seems to have no emotional bonding with the city. All that she knew was how to thrust her concocted beliefs to take a dig at Brahmins and Hindus.
Chennai is popularly known for filter coffee, The Hindu and idly- saambaar. The Hindu nowadays looks like their party newspaper and idly saambaar is a non-issue. What is left is filter coffee, and see how she has used that GK to mouth the horrible things! (given at the end of this post)
Filter coffee is connected with 'maami' (usually referred to the married Brahmin woman) according to her.
Kanimozhi sees this maami married to a Muslim or a Christian!
This is her image of Chennai or rather what it means to be a Chennaiite.
Can a maami serve filter coffee if she is married to a Christian or Muslim?
Avanga appo coffee poduvangala illa karuvaadu samaippangala? (Can she make coffee or karuvaadu / non-veg?) Where could Kanimozhi get filter coffee if the maamis go after Christians and Muslims?
Kanimozhi also says that we have not made religion political. But she is making every bit to snub Hindus and takes a peculiar satisfaction in seeing Hindu religion losing its character. Her Chennai must have only Christians and Muslims and no Brahmins or Hindus, it seems.
Why maamis, aren't there women from other castes who have made a mark for themselves? Why single out maamis?
Kanimozhi even takes a solace that there are no honour killings in Chennai (or Tamilnadu?). But there are other killings and deaths. The horrific suicides reported in Chennai in the last 30 days were mostly about Christian women and young school going children who could not bear study-pressure. What does her government do to avert such deaths?
Kanimozhi must also ponder over why there are no honour killings in Tamilnadu in general. She need not whack her head to find the reason. It is enough she sees the Tamil Movies that show the reality atleast in marriage issues. There will be a maaman (uncle) or father who would drag the eloping girl back home and get her married to the one decided by them. In rural Tamilnadu inter caste marriage is still not tolerated. If we go by the surveys brought out by English magazines, Chennai and Tamilnadu still continues to be conservative in marriage issue. Even the city groomed people go through matrimonial columns through 2 levels of vetting – one done by parents on social and other issues and then only the prospective guys and girls come into the picture.
Marriage is not a social approval for a man and woman coming together. It is thought to be so in the present day world. But Hindu marriages have a lofty ideal of discharging duties of dharma, artha and kaama as a man and wife. Then only the final goal of Moksha will become possible. Of these 4 ideals called Purusharthas, Dharma and Moksha stand on extreme ends. Artha (material life) and kaama must be conducted with dharma. Only then Moksha will be a smooth reality. This mentality makes one tolerant to ups and downs of life and accept each other than expect the other to fulfill one's fancies.
This is the basic idea of Hindu marriage and the ideology of ancient Tamils too. Puranauru tells about a king who conducted his daily routine by adhering to Dharma, Artha and kama. Those who sought gifts from the king need not wait at the entrance of his palace to meet him. The king divided his day for Dharma when he used to meet people at a specified time and present them with gifts and the things they wanted. Then he would spend time with his courtiers to discuss about how to conduct the affairs of the state (artha). Then he would retire to his apartments to be with his wife. So the one longing to meet the king to receive gifts from him could go at the time allotted for dharma related issues and get satisfied by the King's generosity.
These 4 purusharthas are unique for Hinduism and are universal in application. The institution of Hindu marriage is built on these purusharthas only. Arjuna was ready to quit fighting mainly on this plank – that the women widowed due to the death of the men in a war would not be able to live in dignity and would be led to trespass the Kula dharma. As a result, the oblations to the Pithrus (departed souls) could not be offered. When oblations are not offered, the future generations would be afflicted with incurable diseases. The causative person who made all these would have to incur terrible karma. Arjuna did not want himself to be the causative one for these things. He was ready to live the life of a despondent than to become the cause for such a scenario.
The Purushartha connected to Hindu marriage is not a mere belief, we can see the misfortune occurring from the 3rd generation onwards. Oblations to Pithrus is the main issue. A Hindu marrying a Christian or Muslim or an atheist of the Dravidian mold or a Hindu converting to these religions would cease to offer the oblations.
The 3rd generation offspring of these people start showing up symptoms of incurable maladies.
As an astrologer I am receiving the 3rd generation people of the Dravidian atheists of the 20s and 30s and also converted people. Jupiter, the lord of Dharma is found badly afflicted in their horoscopes. They also complain of peculiar diseases that have no cure. Kanimozhi can recall the life of some Dravidian politicians who have such instances happening in their families. As a humanist I feel sorry for them, but as an astrologer I can not say any remedy for them other than telling them to fall in line with the Hindu way and wait for one more generation to pass off for better fortunes to return to the family.
Don't undermine Hinduism Ms Kanimozhi. Your father's favorite Silappadhikaram says more vociferously how karma comes back ferociously to the one who initiated it. Taking glee at maamis or Hindus becoming Christians or Muslims can not do any good to you in your karmic long run. You may dismiss this as rubbish. But that is what Kalapurush wants people to do. The trespassers or wrong doers are not punished immediately. They would have their free run in this birth or at the current period. Kalapurush would wait for the immediate memory to die down and then strike at an unsuspecting moment later. No one can escape its dragnet. That is the real lesson that everyone must remember.
*************
From
http://www.dc-epaper.com/DC/DCC/2010/08/22/ArticleHtmls/22_08_2010_103_005.shtml?Mode=0
Celebrating a special bond.
By
KANIMOZHI,
Rajya Sabha member
Outsiders perceive Chennai as a very conservative city, they think of a maami serving filter coffee. That's the image of Chennai outside. But then, the maami could still be married to a Muslim or a Christian, be a top surgeon and a social activist too. That's the real Chennai.
We might be a city of a million kinds of people, yet we live in harmony and can look beyond our boundaries such as caste, class and so on. I don't think anyone here -politicians included, can even dare to dream of justifying an honour killing or such retrograde aberrations seen in some other places.
We are very inclusive and this has not happened overnight.
Chennai is one place which can celebrate a Tamil film and also the December Carnatic music festival, along with the world cinema.
Of course, there are things that have to be done. It would have been wonderful to have our satellite city and it is sad that even expanding our airport is becoming a very political thing. How would you get investments without a good modern airport? And where is the employment then?
I think in certain ways we have to open up and stop making everything political. Thank God, we have not made religion political. And in spite of our pride in Tamil and Tamil culture, Tamil Nadu is one of the very few states and Chennai one of the very few cities which are so inclusive. We have respect for other languages and cultures, and the courage to celebrate them.
Our culture is way ahead and has a more human face. And we are justifiably proud of that.
I thank the author for a wonderful article. I believe Kanimozi is married to a Christian and you cannot expect much from her,as she comes from a DMK stock.In her letter, she thanks God. Which one , I wonder, she being an atheist. Why is she wearing bindi?
ReplyDeleteRama
What does this person Kanimozhi know? I once saw her state in an NDTV interview (during the height of the Sethu Samudram issue) that Raavana was not a Brahman. She was so foolish to say that. Whoever knows Ramayana know that Lord Rama did puja to Shivalinga at Rameswaram for killing a Brahman, that was Raavana.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand, why we give undo importance to Kanimozhi and hail her scribblings as Poetry.
\\Thank God, we have not made religion political.\\
Madam Kanimozhi, from when did you start believing in God??? :)
I don't know about Kanimozhi as Christian. But some one in MK's family has christian connections. Some news item on Azhagiri published sometime ago mentioned a christian name as his relative. But today we can not make out from the names. All these people who covert retain their Hindu names. IAS officer Umashankar, currently in news is a christian.
ReplyDeleteReservation issue is making them retain Hindu name, I think.
The media gives importance to them MR Vijay. Research papers were read on her literary works (?) in the Tamil Conference. But she does not even know the basic literature. Ravana identity is one.
ReplyDeleteAnother is that she once quoted Bharathiyar as having said that Tamil will gradually die (thamizh ini mellach chagum). That was not Bharathiyaar's view. He wrote it as the opinion of the those who were opposed to Tamil and went on to assert that Tamil would not die. So this shows that Kanomozhi has not read patiently even Bharathiyaar's songs.
On Ravana's identity, it was Periyaar who raked up the issue and said that Ravana, the non-brahmin was killed by the brahmin Rama. He publicized this view and planned to enact a drama on this theme when Rajaji was the CM. Many were agitated by the vilification campaign on Ramayana carried by the drama. How could Rajaji allow such a drama, asked people.
When someone asked him the day before the drama was to go on stage why he did not ban the drama, he merely said - why should I ban this drama which is not based on facts. Ravana was not a non- Brahmin and Rama not a Brahmin.
Only then Periyar came to know this fact about canceled the drama. Such is the level of knowledge these people have about anything Hindu. They have not done any in-depth study on any of these issues. MK's current overtures to treat Tamils as Dravidians is another such folly from their bag of half-baked knowledge.
Same thing happened with their fuss on Tamil New year's day. On Tamil New Year's day and Sanskrit names for 60 years, it was Anna who started the issue giving a weird story for the sanskritised names of years. His source was an encyclopedia called Abhidhana chinthamani written by a Jain monk. That story can not be found in any Hindu texts. It is obvious that the Jain writer had subverted the story to denigrate the Hindu story.
Annadurai read this encyclopedia while he was in jail and blew it up into an issue. He did not read the original texts nor did he bother to check the veracity of the story. That is their level of analysis or research into literature. Kanimozhi follows those footsteps only!
RK is right. Why is Kanimozhi wearing a bindi, when she gets such joy out of denigrating Hinduism.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as you commented, I really cannot understand why converts retain their Hindu names if they hate Hinduism so much. I am in IT, and people having Hindu god names like Mahalakshmi, Karthik, Gopikrishnan etc in my company are all actually converted Christians.
Speaking of conversion, while watching Sun and Kalaignar TV serials recently (Thendral and Mahalakshmi), I was shocked to see how brazenly they discuss converting to Christianity. In both cases, the girls were Christians and had fallen in love with Hindu boys. The dialogues were how the Hindu boys must convert to Christianity so that the girls can be allowed to marry them.
Dear jayasree madam
ReplyDeletei am really speechles going thro ur blogs. I am person with PG engg degree in electronics, and so many times i used to interlink the concepts and the rules laid by our elders in ourlife. Hinduism is full of science, and all info. is pure science, which even the so called advanced science world cannot think of. I am so happy to have read ur blogs on sethu and recently we did the thila homan for one of the ancestors at dhunushkodi and i was really doing it with srithai as i know that we are sending our person to the pithur world. I am really happy and i would like to meet u in person, i will be happy if i can have a mail id.
One more requesst, there are certain families which are not allowed tow ear diamonds even if they are born in tulam for which sukra is the lord and diamond is his stone. I was searching for this topic and i could not get info. can u please place a post on this.
One more topic, i like to suggest is the srichakram. Can u throw some light on this.
wonderful blog, and i wish u all the best
Mangalamravi
Welcome Mr Mangalam Ravi.
ReplyDeleteI am not aware of the info you have given about families not being allowed to wear diamonds. If at all such a dictum exits in certain families, that might be to do with local or familial reasons.
Perhaps I will write some time on gemology and how to choose the gem as per one's horoscope.
On Srichakram, I have no plan to write.
I once provided my mail ID in the blog, but had withdrawn it as I started getting lot of mails seeking personal astrological advice. My work on this blog is to give info on general interest and expositions on Hinduism and astrology and not to give personal advice to people through astrology. I request readers to understand my stance.
AMUDHAN
ReplyDeleteKANIMOZHI IS MARRIED TO ONE ARAVIND WHO WAS RAISED IN SINGAPORE AS A CHRISTIAN BUT HE IS NOT LIVING WITH HER.KANIMOZHI CHILDREN ARE STUDING IN ADYAR VIDHYA MANDIR. ONE BSNL EMPLOYEE WHO WENT TO INSTALL MODEM AT HER HOME FOUND LOT OF AZHWAR PRABANDHAM AND NAYANMAR WORKS IN TAMIL IN HER PERSONAL SHELF. SHE IS IN ASSOCIATION WITH FATHER GASPER RAJ WHO LINED UP CHRISTIAN LATHA PANDIYARAJ (HUSBAND IS HINDU AS IT IS COMMON IN NADAR COMMUNITY, WIFE WILL BE XTIAN AND HUSBAND WILL BE HINDU OR VICE VERSA .THEY GO TO BOTH CHURCH AND TEMPLE. MOST OF THE AGRESSIVE PEOPLE IN EVANGALISM ENGAGED IN CONVERSION IS ONLY NADAR CHRISTIANS- IN TUTICORIN OR KANYAKUMARI DIST. KANIMOZHI IS FROM NADAR COMMUNITY AS HER MOTHER WHO VISIT ALL VISHNU TEMPLES FROM PARTHASARATHY TO MADHAVA PERUMAL TEMPLE IN MYLAPORE. SO KANIMOZHI IS INFLUENCED BY FATHER GASPER RAJ WHO HAS LINED UP AKILA SRINIVASAN, THE DIRECTOR OF SRIRAM INSURANCE IN CHENNAI SANGAMAM WITH MOFIE MANPOWER MR.PANDIYARAJ ( NOW JOINED IN VIJAYKANTHA PARTY ). SO ONLY MONEY IS THE CRITERIA OF ALL THESE PEOPLE BESIDES RETAINING POWER. THEIR TONGUE WILL TWIST TO THE TUNE OF THE MONEY POWER WHICH CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES HAVE PLENTY.
SO KANIMOZHI SPEECH IS NOT SURPRISING TO ME.KANIMOZHI LINED WITH HINDU RAM, BOMBAY JAISHEREE (KARNATIC MUSICIAN WHO FIRST RENDERED JESUS SONGS IN KARNATIC
RAGAM DUE TO THE GOODWILL OF KANIMOZHI WHO LATER ROPED IN MANY SINGERS LIKE SRIRAM PARTHASARATHY, O S ARUN ECT FOR SINGING PRAISE OF JESUS SONGS IN KARNATIC MUSIC WHICH CD WAS RELEASED BY ARUNA SAIRAM. THIS NEWS CAME IN ''THE HINDU ''. SO KANIMOZHI HAS LINED UP MANY MAMIS AND MAMAS FOR SINGING THE GLORY OF JESUS. TAMIL BRAHMINS ( NOT ALL ) WHO REACH FAME AND NAME ARE POSSESSED WITH SECULARISM THOUGHT IN THE MIND LATER SURRENDERED TO MONEY BAG FROM MISSIONARIES. LET THESE PEOPLE VISIT CHURCH ( THEY WILL FEEL MORE PRIDE OF BEING A SECULARIST ) IF THEY VISIT ANY CHURCH BY CHANCE IN THE NOON TIME, THEY CAN SEE MANY DEAD BODIES WITH MOURNING PEOPLE IN THE PRAYER HALL BEFORE BLEEDING JESUS, SO THAT THESE IGNORANT PEOPLE GO AND TAKE BATH AT HOME. THEN THEY WILL REALISE THE TRUTH HINDUISM IS FULL OF SCIENCE AS THEY BURN THE CORPSE BODIES IN FIRE LIKE THEY DISPOSE THE ROTTEN VEGITABLES OUT OF FRIDGE AND WILL NOT LIKE TO BE CALLED AS '' SINNER '' MANY BRAHMINS CONTRIBUTE DONATIONS FOR 80-G BENEFITS FOR THE MISSIONARIES '' WORLD VISION'' THE MOST CONVERSION ARM OF CHRISTIANS. THIS IS BECOUSE THEY NEVER THINK OF THEIR OWN RELIGION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE.TWO YEARS AGO ONE OF THE TRUSTEES WIFE OF A PERUMAL TEMPLE WHO RUNS A SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN IN MYLAPORE, ORGANISED CHRISTIMAS SANTA CLUSE AND TREE FOR CHILDREN DURING XMAS TIME. NEXT YEAR SHE DROPPED DUE TO MY MESSAGE TO HER. EVEN PADMA SESHTRAI YGP DAUGHTER SCHOOL ALSO ORGANISE EVERY YEAR ( HOW COME HER MOTHER PERMIT THIS ). WE HAVE KRISHNA JAYANTHI, RAMA JAYANTHI AND MANY HINDU FESTIVALS WHERE CHILDREN CAN BE TAUGHT ABOUT OUR RELIGION. SO LET HINDUS FIRST REALISE THE GLORY OF OUR RELIGION.
Thanks for the details Mr Amudhan. The details are appalling.
ReplyDeleteWell said by all commentators above. I think the biggest issue now in India as well as the rest of the world is 'WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF SECUALRISM'. In fact, there is no such person called secular. Almost everyone uses this word just to force convert their religion, this is an exception for the Hindus, since we were brought up that way. I should mention about what Swami Vivekananda said (the words may not be the exact ones) "We do not go behind monkeys and adams to preach Hinduism, rather one must go to a Guru to learn, understand and live Hinduism' and I think thats why we dont do easy conversion a.k.a selling God
ReplyDeleteThere are only two things of importance for these people. "Money" & "Power". Many religious heads make use of politics as politicians make use of religion. As my aged-friend Jim says, "Every man has a hole in his heart which can never be filled." -Krishan
ReplyDeleteI consider it an utter waste of time to analyse the rationale behind the speech of any politician. They will say anything that suits their purpose at that point, and will change their stance the very next moment if there is anything to gain by it - sheer opportunism is their raison d'etre. Let them pursue whatever religious beliefs they want, and let them go and convert anyone they please. Only the weak in mind and character will allow themselves to be converted, so let us get on with our lives and living the hindu way of life to the best of our ability.
ReplyDeleteThere is a fundamental difference between our eastern philosophies like Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Taoism, and the western religions. I say Philosophies because that is what they are, not religions. Our basic assumption is that human beings are intelligent, rational beings who are capable of making their own intelligent decisions. These teachings provide guidelines, paths for each seeker which he may very well choose to reject and follow his own (atheist) path, which is also OK here.
ReplyDeleteHanuman is not going to come down with hellfire and brimstone, burning you forever if you choose to reject him. In fact, the very essence of the Gita is this. Krishna gives you advice and suggestions, not rules and regulations. Arjuna could very well choose to ignore him and find his own path, and Krishna would still be beside him.
I doubt even 5% of Hindus understand the true nature of the wealth and practical usefulness our teachings and are able to go beyond the stone idols of gods in the temples who they expect to come flying down and rescue them. This is the reason most anti-Hindus who were born Hindu turned this way. Kani and her family are obviously only interested in power and money, as are all other politicians here. Religion is just used as a tool in her empire building strategy. One cannot expect any better from people like this.