THE POLITICS OVER STATUES - ONE AT CHENNAI AND ANOTHER AT BANGALORE - WHO WILL RESPECT WHAT AND WOULD THERE BE REVERENCE !!!!

Dear (s)

This message was circulated to my Friends on 30th July 2009..  posted on my blog now and intend posting another post as a follow up of this......... do read and post your feedback..

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There are countries sharing their resources happily and there are States embroiled in controversies. Most riparian states have had difficulty. For Tamilnadu and Karnataka, river Kaveri has been the bone of contention of serious conflict on sharing of the waters. If that is necessitated by the need for water in delta, there is another broiling over statue. If you are a Chennaite, you are accustomed to statues of political leaders and other noblemen dotting the beaches of Marina. What pristine beauty or prestige, a statue would add is better seen on Marina beach where apart from Triumph of Labour and Mahatma Gandhi, there are various other statues including the ones of Kannagi, Kambar, Ilango, Bharathiyar, Avvaiyar, Robert Caldwell, Constanzo Beschi, Anni Besant to the cine Sivaji. Whether they add lusture and sense of pride is a moot point.

Come 9th Aug 2009, a bronze statue of Tamil saint Poet Thiruvalluvar is to be unveiled at Bangalore and on Aug 13, that of Kannada Poet Sarvagnar will be unveiled at Ayyanavaram, in Chennai.

Many would be startled to know that unveiling of a statue at Bangalore has been simmering and potentially threatening relations from 1991 atleast and was infact one of the demands of Brigand Veerappan for release of matinee idol Rajkumar. This photo tells it all.

Inside the cover, lies Thiruvalluvar Waiting to be unveiled for many years and police men guarding the statue – what a colossal waste of money and resources !!.

The CM of Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa took a commendable move forward by announcing that the statue would be unveiled at Ulsoor soon by the CM of Tamilnadu. Though such announcements have been made by earlier Chief Ministers also in vain, this looks prospective especially with the news that Karnataka Officials have found a suitable spot in Ayyanavaram, in Chennai to erect the statue of Kannada poet Sarvagna. Some pro- kannada organizations have given a call to observe Bangalore bandh on Aug 9th to protest the unveiling of the statue. One of them says that there is no need for statue of Sarvagna in tamilnadu apprehending damages or disrespect, if issues like Cauvery emerge.

For the not so informed : Sarvajna (Sarvagna) was a famous poet in kannada known for his pithy three-lined poems called tripadis. The period of Sarvajña's life has not been determined accurately, and very little is known about him. Based on studies of his literary style and the references of later writers, historians estimate that he may have lived during the first half of the 16th century. Some references in his works indicate that his real name was Pupadata - Sarvajña appears to have been his pseudonym. In all, about 2000 three-liners are attributed to Sarvajna. It is possible that some of these were written by later authors.

Popular because of their alliterative structure and simplicity, they deal mainly with social, ethical and religious issues. A number of riddles are also attributed to Sarvajna. Here is some from his literature to feast :

** What use is giving advice to a fool a hundred times? It is like raining on a rock for hundred years. Will it ever soak in?

** A service without flowers, the king without a horse and friendship with one who does not know the language (one who cannot carry an intelligent conversation) are a waste.

Thiruvalluvar is a celebrated Tamil poet whose work Thirukkural is held very high on ethics in Tamil literature.

His period is widely held to be between the second century BC and the eighth century AD. Thirukkural is considered as 'World common faith', as it shows the way for human morals and betterment in life. The Kural has been translated into most languages, likely next only to the Bible and the Quran. Thirukkural is a classic of couplets (kurals) numbering 1330 organised into 133 chapters.

Here is something to feast from thirukkural :

** What is truthfulness? It is nothing but utterance Wholly devoid of ill.

** Those gifted with the faculty of contentment Never have that shady skill called fraud.

** Men of good conduct cannot speak ill Even by a slip of tongue.

It is obvious that not much is learnt from the works of either of the great Poets and there certainly are more important issues afflicting common man. But ……………… such issues have surfaced time and again

With regards - S Sampathkumar.