One flipped a flat rock and yelled, ‘SNAKE!’ We crowded around, and they pounded it to death with stones, screaming, ‘Kill it, it’s poisonous!’

Snakes, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll | A Memoir

[By the Founder of Chennai’s Famous Snake Park & Crocodile Park Trust]

Rom a.k.a Romulus Whitaker

Well, I’ve just finished reading his inspiring memoir titled, Snakes, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll: My Early Years that he had co-authored with Janaki Lenin, and published by HarperCollins this year [2024].

Just giving us all, excerpts from his book, before we get to know more about him towards the end of this post. 

So here goes -

Mummy started me fishing when I was about four years old. She rigged a long straight stick with a length of string and a bent pin. I collected worms by turning over rocks in the yard and kept them in a jelly jar half full of soil.

I dropped the bait into the water and waited.

A sharp tug startled me. With a swirl, a fish almost took the stick out of my hand. I hauled with all my strength and flipped a struggling yellow perch on to the grassy bank next to the log. 

Before it could wriggle back into the stream, I dove on it, and the spines on its dorsal fin pierced my hands. Wiping the drops of blood on my shorts and ignoring the pain, I carried the fish home.

Hooking that fish set me on a lifelong obsession, which included catching barramundi in New Guinea, mahseer in the Himalayas, largemouth bass in the Everglades and channel catfish in the Mississippi River, to name a few.

My friends had small fishing rods, which were much better than my home-made one. One let me borrow a hook, which made fishing easier. I coaxed Mummy into buying me a proper fishing rod. This was when a decisive incident set me on my course as a snake missionary.

We rolled over rocks to find earthworms, what my buddies called ‘angleworms’, for fish bait.

One flipped a flat rock and yelled, ‘SNAKE!’ We crowded around, and they pounded it to death with stones, screaming, ‘Kill it, it’s poisonous!’ I didn’t stop them, nor did I join in.

Not having seen one before, I was fascinated but afraid.

After the boys stepped back, I squatted near the battered creature and examined it. I carried it home on the end of a stick against their advice. Mummy and Gail were in the kitchen when I walked in.

‘The poor thing!’ Gail exclaimed. ‘It’s a harmless garter snake, Breezy,’ Mummy said.

‘It wouldn’t have hurt you.’ ‘I didn’t kill it, Mummy. The other kids did.’

‘Promise me you won’t kill a snake,’ she said. I readily did.

Perhaps this was when I became fixated on the reptiles and vowed to be their champion. After that episode, I took to turning over every stone—not for earthworms but for snakes. When I found one, I took it home alive in the jelly jar.

‘It’s a milksnake,’ Mummy said.

She took a photograph of a four-year-old me holding it, recording the event for posterity. As cold spring merged into warm summer, I caught gorgeously patterned milksnakes that the village kids called checkered adders, tiny delicate ring-necked snakes, Dekay’s snakes, sleek and fast ribbon snakes, and garter snakes.

I tried different handling techniques, eventually learning to move one hand over the other as the snake slithered. The excited ones shat and musked on my hands, and each species had a distinctive odour. For instance, garter snakes stank worse than skunks, but milksnakes weren’t so bad.

I also got bitten a lot, making the local boys react, ‘You’re gonna die. You’re a goner. Just wait and see! A checkered adder bite’ll kill you in an hour.’

Mummy bought Snakes of the World by Raymond L. Ditmars, who later became one of my heroes. Of course, I couldn’t read it by myself.

She read aloud the chapter titled ‘The New World Harmless Snakes’ several times.

Before long, I had memorized their names and every detail about these creatures’ habits and temperaments.

Mummy helped me convert an old aquarium into a terrarium in which to keep snakes as pets. To feed them, I caught grasshoppers and small frogs in the fields.

Another time, I found a shed snakeskin under a rock. Back at home, I examined it with my plastic magnifying glass. The skin was inside out. ‘Mummy, snakes shed their skins the way we take our socks off,’ I announced my discovery.

The eye of the snake was covered by a single rounded lens of skin. Everything about them was so wonderfully different. I made out faint long lines down the back. A garter snake.

As her parents had encouraged Violet, Ma reinforced my curiosity. Everyone expected I’d outgrow snakes. As a teenager, I became enamoured of motorbikes, but my interest in snakes didn’t wane.

As long as I can remember, snakes have been the focus of my fascination and love.

I was so lucky to grow up in the northern New York countryside, where harmless snakes were common. The wilds of the Kodaikanal hills in south India, nurtured that love to an obsession during my schoolboy years.

Many conservation pioneers started their careers as ardent hunters, a phenomenon captured in the 1978 book The Penitent Butchers by Richard Fitter and Sir Peter Scott.

As a high school student, I killed and skinned birds for a museum collection, which put me on the fringes of scientific research.

For a year after I graduated, what people call a ‘gap year’ these days, I shot spotted deer and blackbuck to eat, stalked a marauding leopard and guarded crops from elephants. In Wyoming, I spent more time hunting and fishing than getting a college education.

You may wonder how a boy who grew up loving snakes could exploit them. It’s for that reason this is not a memoir, but an autobiography.

If I were to cleave to the single track of how I am viewed—a reptile conservationist, educator and researcher—a lot of back story would be missing. In an autobiography, authors are caught between extolling their virtues and achievements, and camouflaging their raging egos.

It would be dishonest to chronicle the awards and applause, and airbrush my bloodthirsty past off the record. The simple thing to do would be to leave out these inconvenient parts as they are not acceptable activities for a conservationist today.

That way I’d escape the criticism that’s sure to come. By revealing my bloody hands and early love of destruction, whether it be of animal life or explosives, you, the reader, can see the real me with all the warts.

I make no apologies, since I don’t view myself as a conservationist— that’s a label others have bestowed upon me.

I’ve always done what I loved, whether fishing, hunting, catching snakes or championing the cause of habitat protection and protecting snakes,

writes Romulus Whitaker, the famous 81-year old herpetologist, and the man renowned for establishing the Madras Snake Park, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and the Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team, as well as for his work conserving India’s rainforests - the habitat of so many endangered species.

Interestingly, the idea of the park was conceived to rehabilitate the Irula tribe, who are known for their expertise in catching snakes. Well, the tribals of the Irula tribe went jobless after the government had announced a ban on snake trading.

It was Whitaker who helped the Irula tribe to get involved in extracting snake venom used for the production of antivenom drugs.

"A person sitting next to you has a story that you don’t know anything about" ❤️

Shreekumar Varma

Author, Blogger, Critic, Columnist, playwright, poet

On Song @ The 13th Edition of the TG Narayanan Endowment Lecture

Today | 5th December 2024 | CMS Auditorium

Mr. Shreekumar Varma releasing Cornucopia

An eminent MCC-ian of the 70s, Shreekumar Varma, [who had his schooling in MCC School, Chetpet, and later went on to do his BA, MA and MPhil in English at Madras Christian College, and also taught in the Dept of English for one year] – was the speaker for the 13th Edition of the TG Narayanan Endowment Lecture today.

He spoke on the topic, ‘Writing to Live: Stories within Stories’.

Here goes –

Dr. Manohar Samuel, my classmate in BA and MA, Dr. Franklin, the gracious young man then, who remains gracious even today, Dr. Ganesh, Mr. Keshav, an active Alumni member, the grandguru – Prof. Cherian Kurian, my MA English classmate - Mr. Kantharaj Jude Sekar, IFS, Director General of Forests, New Delhi, (Retd), my BA Classmate – Anand Ponniah, who was responsible for ‘driving’ me here today and to all my good friends... and I have a special word of appreciation for the excellent rendition of the State Anthem of Tamil Nadu - thamizh thaai vazhthu by the Dept Choir. 

I first stepped into this beautiful campus 50 years ago, and I did my PUC, BA, MA, and then  went to Bombay – I was a journalist – I came back did my MPhil for one year, and afterwards I was called back to teach English Literature in the Dept of English.

Two weeks ago, there was a book release – that had a lot of old faces from MCC around me – and there was this girl – who is now a famous film director, who was an assistant to Maniratnam, and who later went on to do her own films, and now she’s done a serial too. She came up to me and said, Sir, you were the one responsible for my interest in creative writing. It’s an amazing thrill that you feel – any teacher feels – when a student comes back and tells you that!

And this is what we do! You take stories from someone else and pass it on to others. This is what we do in class, and this is what a writer does as well.

Beyond the rhetoric and intellectual and critical discourse, there is the very core of our literary pursuit that we often tend to forget: The story. 

Not the story in the book, but the stories of the world and the stories of you and me – without which the story in the book would be orphaned.

Mr. Shreekumar Varma on Song...

There are two ways of writing –

Doing the done thing all over again. You follow the masters – whether it’s literature, or architecture, or mathematics or public administration. In the case of literature, if you are a writer, you study the great writers, the thinkers, the classical masters the modern writers, and then you write a beautiful poem, novel, play or essay that will fit the same mould, flow in the same waters, and be true to what you were taught.

Then there is the second way – the yet to be done thing that you create.

You read the masters, you research a field, you look around and see the people, the neighbourhood, and finally, you look within yourself to find the story that needs to be written by you.

In the second case, you know your art. But when you begin your creation you do according to your experience, your mind, your heart, or rules. It may have been done before, but the world sees a difference in it – a creativity, a freshness, a new quality that can be named after you!

I’ll give you an example. I will show you two pictures – both are self portraits by Picasso the Artist. The first one was painted by him – his self-portrait when he was 15 years old, in the year 1896. He must have studied the masters, and wanted to paint a lot when he was young.

Then he grew and he grew and he grew. Out came cubism. The masterstroke of Pablo Picasso. And then when he was 90 years old, he painted his last self-portrait.

The first and the last...

Now just imagine if he had painted this self-portrait the first time. Would he have got this recognition. They’d have called it nonsense.

He studied the masters, had his creativity, went into the route which no one else had taken, led these people through that path and showed them what he’s capable of. And cubism is a recognised, big part of the art scene today.

That’s because you have to learn to be simple. You have to learn everything else to be able to know yourself. Your art grows within you, watered by the stories around you, and the stories that came before you.

Many of you must have been familiar with Arunagirinathar - a Tamil saint and poet who lived in the 15th century and is known for his devotional hymns to Lord Murugan.

There are a couple of stories about his life – one miraculous and the other, more matter of fact.

In the film version, Lord Murugan appears before him, and Arunagirinathar (played by TMS) asks him, what should I do to attain you, my Lord?

Lord Murugan simply replies, Chumma iru. (do Nothing). It means, be still.

That doesn’t actually mean do nothing. It means, you have to look at the world, study everything, you have to go through that process. You cant simply paint your last portrait and say, this is me!

You have to go through all that. Only then your path will be recognised.

So that I think, being still, is the primary way to what’s lying inside you. There’s so much within you.

Each of us – sitting here – looking and admiring other people’s works, movies, reading books, new discoveries, you have so much to offer, if only you look within yourself and see the stories around you.

In an art school for example, the students are taken on little excursions and told to paint what they see! - the trees, the skies, the birds, the flowers, the animals, etc.

They are also taught the techniques of art and the process through which a thought or an idea can be turned into a piece of art.

In the study of literature, that little excursion of discoveries would be about stories.

Along with our own personal stories, our most important stories include those of our families, our friends, our neighbours and our colleagues.

Two, three, four decades from now – those college friends, with whom you are sitting today! Just look at them and see, how much of friendship there is now, and how much of friendship was there in the past! will they be sitting with you today like the way my friends are sitting here. Those are the stories. 

A person sitting next to you has a story that you don’t know anything about. Those are the stories you grow up with. And that energises you – while you are learning all these technical things – the intellectual discourses and critical studies, etc.

The more stories we have, the more we can understand other people and the world. The more we understand and welcome, the less we will condemn and reject. And this an important lesson for a writer.

More than any creative writing techniques or templates, this is the important thing – to understand and try to get into the mind of another. In my life, the process began with my years in this college. The train rides, the people I met, my fellow students, my teachers – everyone had a story. I only had to listen. And because I listened, my own story was enriched.

And then I became a journalist in Bombay. Imagine the number of stories I was exposed to.

So many interviews added more and more stories. And in Bombay I also worked in a magazine run by the film industry. So I can go anywhere – any film party, any shooting, go and interview any producer, director, and so during that time I was in close contact with the story tellers, the actors, the musicians.

And I was getting my dose of life in various forms. Most important thing is – life is a changeable thing. It doesn’t stay the same forever. We are constantly evolving and our stories are growing. 

We are a work-in-progress, until the day we die. We are not finished products. That’s one of the most important things for a writer to learn. That’s why you find this self-portrait of Picasso when he was 15 and that one when he was 90. When you can trace the first book of an author and find the progress when you read the last book of his.

Everybody has a story. For example, Charles Dickens earned money to get his father out of prison. At twelve, he worked in a shoe-polish factory, and you know what he wrote. Whatever you experience goes into your creativity.

Ken Kesey, who wrote his novel titled, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1962, was janitor in a mental hospital. The novel is also set in an Oregon psychiatric hospital, and the narrative serves as a study of institutional processes and the human mind, including a critique of psychiatry, and a tribute to individualistic principles.

What he experienced went into his creativity.

Perumal Murugan, closer home, born into a family of farmers in Tiruchengodu – his father was a farmer and so he couldn’t earn enough to support his family. So he ran a soda shop in a cinema theatre in Namakkal district. And Murugan became a Professor in Tamil Literature. See the deadly combination of theory and the lived life which is obvious in his writings.

To be continued…

Our Lovely Band of Professors - Past & Present

The lecture was well-attended by all our students, and faculty and students from other city colleges as well.

The Q & A Session was highly engaging with thought-provoking questions donning the post-lecture session.

Student authors including Shreya, Lekhaa, Ganga Santhosh and Gracelin were honoured by Mr. Shreekumar Varma. He also took a photograph with them.

Cornucopia, the exclusive Literary Magazine of the Dept of English, designed by Prof. Christina Dhanasekaran a.k.a. DeeCee was released by Mr. Varma on the occasion.

A host of our past professors and former Heads of Department graced the occasion – including Dr. Mekala Rajan, Dr. Ganesh, Dr. Azhagarasan, Head, Dept of English, University of Madras, and other luminaries. 

Our Vibrant Student Authors with Author Shreekumar Varma

Dr. Franklin Daniel, Head, Department of English, was at his wittiest best, while welcoming the gathering - that had us all in splits – setting forth the tone and the tenor for what’s to follow.

Dr. Rufus while introducing Mr. Shreekumar Varma, was highly appreciative of his friends who’ve been with him right from his school days in the 1960s up until today – seated proudly in the first row to listen to their classmate’s lecture. He then quoted from Mr. Varma’s blog (thinkopotamus.blogspot.com) – On his tryst with writing.

Here goes – (from Mr. Shreekumar Varma’s Blogpost)

Sensitivity and a sense of self does strange things to you sometimes. You are aware that you - this being on two legs, seeing the world through two small pin- holes in your face - are living an entire life, making things happen and impinging on other people’s lives. One day, you’ll close those eyes forever, and life as you know it will end.

My wife says that I get so involved in my writing that I reflect every emotion I write about. She’s wary about my subjects and gets jittery when I write dark events.

Invariably, some of it seeps into real life. My third play, Platform, lay waiting for some months before a director picked it up.

The play was appreciated and drew some brilliant performances. During the cast party at the director’s house one rainy afternoon, the male lead (who’s now gone on to do feature films) took me aside.

He said, “I’ve been wanting to tell you this for some time. It’s amazing, there’s such a marked resemblance between my life and that of the character you wrote for me. No one knows that part of me, but you’ve been so accurate!”

I patiently explained to him that I hadn’t written the character for him. I hadn’t even known who was going to direct the play, much less who was going to act in it!

After the Lecture - Meeting with our I MA Students

I have now got used to the fact that my writing may precipitate or reflect events without any help from me. I’ve come across people who’ve lived the lives and moments that I’ve described while sitting in the privacy of my room. I think creativity is a link between ourselves and the universe. What awakens in us might have gone to sleep in some part of the universe, or vice-versa, quoted Dr. Rufus, from Mr. Shreekumar Varma’s blogpost.

Overall, the programme was highly rewarding in every way to all of us who had gathered together to listen to our own fellow MCC-ian!

Viva la MCC!

Photos Courtesy: Therese Maria | Painting Courtesy: rarehistoricalphotosdotcom

The good ol' Film Roll Days ❤️

3rd December 1994

#memoriesfromdiaries

#FilmRollDays

#HSC Days

[This day, 30 years ago, from my personal diaries]

Nawaz Makes Hay As Santa - dodges Wardens 😊

Today being a holiday for us in school, [MCC School, Chetpet], most of us woke up quite late, with half of the decorations having been completed only late into the previous night. After lunch, again went back for decorations.

By 6.15 pm the Christmas programme started. Meiyappan, our M1 Class Rep, who was also from our hostel, was the MC for the evening.

Nawaz was perfect in his role as Santa.

And guess what? He made the most of the opportunity, by dodging all the wardens (who had imposed hefty fines on him) with Christmas gifts. 😊

Earlier in the week, I had requested my maternal aunt – Shubha Chithi, to get me a film roll for my camera, since it was such a memorable occasion for all of us.

As for the Kodak film rolls of those days, which had just 36 exposures, we had to be very careful about every snap that we took.

Still, I had wasted two film exposures that day.

It was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us boys in the hostel. So we made the most of the night – having fun, dancing, joking, etc.

By 11.15 pm our warden Mr. Parthiban came and locked our dorms for us to get into snooze mode after a memorable evening’s fun and frolic.

Cordially Inviting You...❤️

 

The Research Department of English cordially invites you for the

XIII TG Narayanan Endowment Lecture

On the topic

Writing to Live: Stories within Stories

On Thursday, 5th December 2024 at 10.30 am

At the Centre for Media Studies Auditorium, MCC

About Shreekumar Varma

Indian author, playwright, newspaper columnist and poet.

Formerly Professor of English & Journalism, Madras Christian College.

He is the grandson of Sethu Lakshmi Bai, Regent Maharani of the erstwhile Travancore State, and great grandson of the artist Raja Ravi Varma. He is the son of the present matriarch of the Travancore Royal Family. He lives in Chennai, India.

His books for children include PAZHASSI RAJA: THE ROYAL REBEL, (Macmillan,1997), DEVIL'S GARDEN (Puffin, 2006) and THE MAGIC STORE OF NU-CHAM-VU (Puffin, 2009, shortlisted for Crossword Prize). He is the author of the novels, LAMENT OF MOHINI (Penguin, 2001) and MARIA'S ROOM (Harper Collins 2010). His forthcoming novels include THE AXE OF PARASHURAMA, GAYATRI CLUB and INDIAN SCOTCH.

He has written seven full-length plays, one short play and two mini plays: THE DARK LORD (second prize, British Council Playscripts Prize), BOW OF RAMA (first prize, The Hindu- The Madras Players Playscripts Award), PLATFORM (inaugural play of The Madras Players Golden Jubilee year), MIDNIGHT HOTEL (raised more than 40,00,000 rupees for the Christian Medical College, Vellore), NATHU'S DREAM (children's musical), FIVE (political thriller) and CAST PARTY (murder mystery), GANGA AT RISHIKESH and INTERVENTION and DEMEANINGS.

His poems, articles, reviews, short stories and interviews have appeared in several periodicals including The Hindu, Indian Express, Deccan Herald, Seminar Magazine, Aesthetica Quarterly, A Hudson View and Pulse-Berlin Magazine, as well as academic journals. 

His stories, articles and poems have appeared in many Indian and international anthologies. He has translated poetry and fiction for the OUP Anthology of Malayalam Dalit Writings in Translation (Oxford University Press).

He wrote the script for a series of internationally produced films on the Buddha to be shown in visitors' centres at heritage locations like the Ajanta caves. He has also written poetry for two dance performances. He has been a columnist for publications like The New Indian Express, The Economic Times Madras Plus, The Hindu MetroPlus and the Deccan Herald. He is also a literary reviewer for The Hindu and the Sunday Herald.

He was an adjunct professor in Creative English at the Chennai Mathematical Institute for 13 years. He taught English Literature and Journalism at the Madras Christian College. He has lectured and presented papers at several colleges and institutes and at the Madras University.

He was a charter member and president of the Rotary Club of Madras Southwest and editor of the club magazine for eight years. He was awarded the Charles Wallace [India] Trust fellowship, and was Writer-in-Residence at Stirling University, UK, in 2004.

He was on the jury of the inaugural The Hindu Best Fiction Award as well as short story and poetry competitions organised by Deccan Herald, Karadi Tales, IIT Chennai's Saarang and The Prakriti Foundation. He is married to Geeta, and has two sons, Vinayak and Karthik.

You may also want to look up for a report on the First TG Narayanan Endowment Lecture on our past blogpost HERE. 

A Tribute to Major Mukund Varadarajan by his Friend Maj. Vishwanath ❤️

A Tribute to Major Mukund Varadarajan

By

Maj. Vinod Vishwanath

Alumnus, Madras Christian College

From The MCC Magazine | 2014-2015

I write this with great sadness over the unimaginable loss of my best friend. They say you never understand the loss until you experience it.

I know what it means now, because I have lost a dear friend who always gave it all for his friends. But what destiny has in store for you is totally different.

Mukund had an amazing competitive streak that came out during out numerous times together. We had lot of common interests, be it cricket, badminton, running, hitting the gym and almost everything else.

What was astonishing was that he grasped things fast and kept at it. That pretty much sums up Mukund's attitude towards life. He hated losing and fought for what he loved.

He was fiercely loyal to his friends, had a wicked sense of humour and had a keen sense of right and wrong which reflected in everything he did.

Madras Christian College was another thing he loved. From the cross-country route around the college, the badminton courts, the pavilion, the bell to the miller statue all bring fond memories of my friend.

The country as a whole might hail him as a warrior, patriot and a hero. But to people close to Mukund he is just an amazing friend, brother, husband, father. As somebody rightfully said, “No body tries to be a hero; they just end up that way".

A Rare Write-up from the MCC Magazine | 2014-15 by Ms. Indhu on her Husband Maj. Mukund ❤️

A Profound Tribute by Ms. Indhu Rebecca Mukund

From The MCC Magazine | 2014-2015

Titled,

A Tribute to Major Mukund Varadarajan

The Son, The Husband, The Father, The Friend, The Officer

Two lovely and soulful tributes on Major Mukund are featured in the 2014-2015 Volume (LXXXI) of the MCC Magazine.

The first one, on page 65 is by Indhu, his wife, and the second one, from his friend Vinod Vishwanathan.

This bespeaks to the importance of documenting such inspirational tributes. Kudos to the Editor of the College Magazine for having thoughtfully done this memorable archiving for posterity’s sake.

Here goes her soulful tribute –

Indhu Rebecca Mukund

Alumna, Department of Communication, MCC,

(W/o Maj Mukund Varadarajan AC, Alumnus, PGDJMC, MCC-SCE)

Maj. Mukund Varadarajan A C

The Son, The Husband, The Father

The Friend and The Officer

Gleaned from the Madras Christian College Magazine 2014-2015

Mukund was an ordinary man with extraordinary aspirations and a strong, almost-invincible self-confidence. Though one would judge him as the silent type on the first meeting, Mukund talked when he had to and was well known for his humour.

He was a sincere friend, a dutiful son, a devoted husband and a proud father. Beyond all this, today he has proved himself to be a brave soldier willing to defend his country with his life.

In one of his personal letters, he had written, that he wouldn't regret the choices he made, because, right or wrong, at the end he would at least know that he had taken the chance when he had to and proved his mettle in the face of unforeseen challenges.

The Ashoka Chakra he received this republic day justifies this passion that made him the man he was. Mukund never tolerated mediocrity in himself and his men. He believed in doing his best everywhere. Half measures were never entertained in any aspect of his life.

He strived to keep his integrity intact and to be true to himself. His colleagues and seniors saw this in him often as he never shied away from making his opinion or his objection known when required. He was also very compassionate and generous.

Of course there were flaws to him, he had a short temper, was over protective of those close to him and those he was responsible for, couldn't be diplomatic and was often too blunt. But all these were trademark traits of an officer too.

He was designed for the profession he chose and he enjoyed it thoroughly. Mukund would often say that he wanted to do something phenomenal and prove himself as a brave young officer, far before he retires. He definitely did that.

His generosity, integrity and bravery stemmed from his personal convictions that were deeply rooted in a passionate and sincere heart.

He loved his job and that is what he saw it as, job that was entwined with his sense of duty. I am told that there are men who came back to his company, to serve under him, and that was a side of him that I wanted to see but couldn't, because I was obviously not a member of his company. It definitely justifies my claim that he was a good company commander and a sincere officer who worked for his men and was fair at all times.  

On a lighter note, a true Tamilian, he was an intense Tamil movie fan and would often quote from the movies he loved, especially the movies starring Rajnikant.

But interestingly, he lived by some of these quotes, especially those from the movie Anbe Shivam. He did believe Love is God and I am glad he did because that is how and why found him and he found me.

To this day I have thanked God for letting me be a part of his life and though he has been taken from me, I choose to think that it must be because he was too good to be here. 

For the family the loss is still too difficult to accept, because he was the only son, the only brother, the only love, the bravest father. But we are proud too and we have discovered that in an uncanny manner, pride and sorrow do go hand in hand.

Call for Paper Presentations @ Queen Mary's College (Autonomous), Chennai

 

Call for Paper Presentations

Queen Mary’s College (Autonomous), Chennai

The PG & Research Department of English

In Tandem Research Club

invites

Postgraduate Students and Research Scholars are invited to present papers in the Webinar on

“Nobel Laureate Han Kang’s Works in the Context of Peace Studies”.

On

23, 24 January 2025

[5.30 pm to 7.30 pm]

To register -

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrBzPpcYw746CuYuglfsmZp_Zk0J5CeaMRao3rTX5WTcOsTQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

The last date for registration is: 21st December 2024.

Cordially Inviting You...❤️

 

A Seven-Day FDP

"On finding out that Naavarasu had died during ragging, David dismembered his body with surgical precision..." 😭

Beauty and the Beast | 23rd November 1996

An Awesome Beauty Pageant and a Gruesome Murder

#memoriesfromdiaries

[This day, 28 years ago from my daily diary entry]

Well, this I guess is one of the benefits of writing your daily diary consistently – it helps you look back on your past posts with a whiff of nostalgia, on the daily events of your good ol’ past – the things that you have Seen, Heard and Read, and the swoonworthy/ newsworthy events from the day’s newspaper that you have faithfully transferred to your daily diary for posterity’s own sake - and when you read it today, 28 years later – you feel like events of the past come to life with flesh and blood, right in front of your Mind’s Eye – with such a ‘reality of representment’ – helping you re-live those past memories right into the present!

Indeed, as critic Scupin Richard says, our past conditions our present and ably directs our future.

And as Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita –

Whatever happened, happened for the good; Whatever is happening, is happening for the good; Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good only!

On this note, here’s wishing all ye diarists godspeed as well! 

Coming back -

Well, this particular day had two newsworthy/noteworthy events!

The first one is -

On this particular day - 23rd November 1996 - the much-hyped and controversial Miss World 1996 pageant got underway at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

[Controversial, because, some critics and protestors were dead against the concept of hosting beauty pageants in India, since they felt that such pageants represented women in a way that was culturally inappropriate. 

There was also widespread accusation on the pageant that, women were objectified and used merely for entertainment. Some among the protesters even tried self-immolation, and one person died in the protest as well. 

With such a strong backlash, the swimsuit competition was hence moved to the Seychelles Island.]

Interestingly, this 1996 edition was the first time India had hosted the Miss World Pageant, with representatives from 88 countries participating in the pageant.

Ms. Aishwarya Rai, the Miss World 1994, from India, was a judge in Miss World 1996.

The stage design - reminiscent of the 14th-century ruins of Hampi - was done by Sabu Cyril.

Miss World Greece (Miss Hellas), Irene Skliva, 18, was blue-crowned Miss World 1996 and till date, Irene remains the only woman from Greece to have won the Miss World title.

The 1996 Miss World Pageant in India

28 years later, this year marks the return of the beauty pageant to India, [in March 2024], the second time the event was hosted in India, when Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World on 9th March 2024 in Mumbai, India.

The second news that hogged the limelight for this month - November 1996, was the gruesome murder of Naavarasu, a first-year MBBS student (with Annamalai University’s Raja Muthiah Medical College in Chidambaram), by his senior John David.

Since one of our family friend’s son was studying in Annamalai University, and I had chanced upon him today - with all curiosity - I had asked him on how the incident had happened, and he narrated the shocker of an event and its aftermath to me in such detail. 

The ghastly murder had happened since Naavarasu, (son of the then-Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras) refused to comply with the inhumane demands of John David – where Naavarasu was asked to strip and lick footwear. 

On finding out that Naavarasu had died during ragging, David dismembered his body with surgical precision and threw his body parts in various places. 

The chilling murder led to a huge public outcry, forcing the Govt of Tamil Nadu to ‘Act’. Tamil Nadu hence became the first state in India to criminalise and ban ragging in educational institutions, with the passing of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1997.

Sadly, and ironically, almost three decades later, today, even as I am typing out this post, I also happen to read about yet another shocking incident that had shell-shocked the whole of India this week.

Anil, a victim of ragging, with his sister

Anil, a brilliant student (who had scored 550 in NEET without taking any coaching classes) died within a month of joining medical college, after being ragged by his seniors in his hostel in the nights on 16th & 17th November 2024. Police have arrested 15 second-year students for the murder of their junior.

Although the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the aegis of the Department of Higher Education, Government of India has time and again emphasised on the punitive measures and the ban on ragging in educational institutions, it is quite unfortunate that, the menace of ragging still continues unabated in most of the institutions across India.

On an aside, it is quite heartening to note that, the parents of Pon. Naavarasu, [the innocent victim of ragging], have started a noble initiative - The Pon Naavarasu Trust, the very next year (March 1997) with the following noble ideals enumerated below - 

The School founded in Naavarasu's Memory

It is imperative to stem the tide of disillusionment among the youth of our time. It is possible for every socially responsible citizen to make a small beginning however humble it may be, and help generate an ethos and a milieu conductive to what Jonathan Swift long ago called " sweetness and light ". 

As a Chinese proverb goes, "Even a thousand-mile journey must begin with a single step".

To shape a generation of fine citizens who will be conscious of their role in enriching society and life. The trust will take up projects that will assist aspiring youth to enrich one's life through the appropriate application of Science and Technology coupled with the inculcation of cultural, ethical and moral values. 

The prime objective of the PON NAAVARASU TRUST is to bring about a change of heart and foster a humane disposition of the mind. 

It is hoped that in the long run such values will percolate and might even create a movement turning the young people in positive directions. 

With such a large ideal in view the trust plans to develop/run educational institutions, motivating students towards an inner culture by strengthening a sense of fellowship among them.

The Trust has also started a school called, Pon Naavarasu Matriculation School to foster their noble ideals.

More on their noble initiative can be found on their website HERE.

Giving here, a diary entry by Naavarasu, which is so heart-rending, on why he wishes to become a medical doctor in the future, written by him on 11th March 1993. 

Pictures are from: Naavarasu Trust Website/ The New Indian Express / Miss World Website

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