Thiruvempavai by Manickavasagar (9th century CE) and Thirupavai by Andal (7/8th century) are special hymns sung during the month of Markazhi (December-January). This year, our daughter chose to sing and record all the songs from Thiruvempavai. While she was preparing for singing, I drew inspiration from her and translated some of the songs. In these songs, […]
Rathnakumar was getting ready to go to the Bharathanatyam performance. The programme included a felicitation speech by Vyjayanthimala. His friend Selvin Rajadurai was a fan of Vyjayanthimala. They had both viewed the film Sangam starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala several times. After his wife Lalitha’s demise, Rathinakumar realized how complicated it was to live alone. […]
For scholars and lovers of Russian culture alike, the translation of Vasily Grossman’s epic World War II novel Stalingrad into English is a literary event of surpassing significance. Made possible by the herculean efforts of husband-and-wife duo Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, who together have now translated most of Grossman’s prose oeuvre, this exhaustive restoration of […]
வீடு பத்திரமான இடம் “புலிப்பால் கொண்டுவரப்போனான் ஐயப்பன்” புத்தி வளரபேச்சு குறையஅந்தம் கண்டது மௌனம் காய்ந்து வெடித்ததும்அனாதையாகக்காற்றில் அலைக்கழியும்இலவம் பஞ்சு ஊருக்கு வெளியேதாமரைக் குளம்தனியேபூத்துக் கிடக்கும்வெறிச்சோடி. Home’s a safe place. “Ayyappan went forth to fetch tiger’s milk.” As wisdom waxes and speech wanes The Universe ends in silence. Dried up and bursting forth the silk cotton swirls orphaned in the swaying breeze […]
In the lunar month of Aadhi1, on an auspicious day when the stars were aligned as per the dictates of Siddha Yoga, the Sudalai Maada2 God woke up. It made up its mind not to put up with it anymore and boiling with rage twirled its moustache. “Screech, screech!” it scraped its sword on an […]
Heraclitus prophetically proclaimed that no man ever steps in the same river twice. He argued that neither the constantly flowing river, whose water changes with each passing moment, nor the man who crosses it remains the same. A cinephile, a true cinephile, can see his reflection in the same river of Heraclitus. The growing world […]
The birds were chirping in a high pitch during dawn past few days. Crows and mynahs make noises as though they were pecking one another and fighting. Echoing this tantrum peacocks’ screams were heard from the bushes above the stream. It’s unusual of peacocks to scream as the day begins. But the whooping of the […]
One would stumble upon reading Humberto Solás’ interviews. Although this emblematic figure of Cuban cinema is influenced by the aesthetics of Italian Neo-realism, he affirms that “European society seems to be drained, and culturally crippled.” He also dares to opinionate that the films of Vittorio De Sica are nothing but “passive testimonials about the good […]
When ‘Criterion’ released the eclipse DVD series of Kobayashi’s films, the title given was ‘Against the system – Masaki Kobayashi’. The caption tells everything about him. A perfect tagline. Director Masaki Kobayashi’s heavy traumatic experiences in the Japanese military regime, and the ramifications of its inhumane treatment towards its own soldiers fueled his rage, modified […]
‘Salo’ fame Italian director Paolo Pasolini was filming a dream sequence. A stud of horses drive into the sea against the harsh wind. Their hooves, smacking the waves, are glittering in the sunlight. As they gallop into the ocean of green, gathering all of their bounding energy into one, the lethal array of waves are […]