Remembering the gory 106 years ago !! ~ Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair book - Gandhi & Anarchy !!!

 

Have you ever read a book titled ‘Gandhi & Anarchy’  published in 1922 – written by - Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair,   President of the Indian National Congress in 1897, later  elevated to the bench of the Madras high court as a Judge and   knighted in 1912 .. .. and his connection to this day !!!

 

On this day in April 2017, United States conducted an airstrike in Achin District, located in the Nangarhar Province of eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan.  The airstrike was carried out using the largest non-nuclear bomb in the United States' arsenal, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), with the goal of destroying tunnel complexes used by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP). 

The bomb was dropped from the rear cargo door of a United States Air Force Lockheed MC-130. On 15 April 2017, Afghan officials reported that 96 IS-KP militants, including four commanders, were killed in the strike.  According to an Afghan Army official, there were no civilian casualties. 

The American Revolutionary War ( 1775 –  1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war.   

The Battle of Bound Brook  occurred on this day in 1777.  It was a surprise attack by British and Hessian forces on a Continental Army outpost in Bound Brook, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War. Although the British aimed to capture the garrison, they fell short and took some prisoners. U.S. commander Major General Benjamin Lincoln left quickly, abandoning papers and personal effects. Late on the evening of April 12, 1777, four thousand British and Hessian troops under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis marched from the British stronghold of New Brunswick. All but one detachment reached positions surrounding the outpost before the battle began near daybreak the next morning. During the battle, most of the 500-man garrison escaped by the unblocked route. U.S. reinforcements arrived in the afternoon, but not before the British plundered the outpost and began the return march to New Brunswick.

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These are insignificant to what India suffered way back in 1919 this day.

Often Indian freedom struggle gets described in one pithy statement  - Gandhi got us freedom without shedding blood !  ~ how much away from truth, and why the sacrifices and blood of martyrs was so deliberately buried under ? – how can the Nation forget the bloodshed on that day in Apr 1919 ??- People have died on battlefields, not on meeting platforms ! 

Amritsar historically  known as Rāmdāspur is in the Majha region of the Punjab.  The Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath Sthal situated at Amritsar is believed to be the Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. This was also the place of Ramtirth ashram where Lava & Kusha were born.  There is also a tree here that marks the place where the ritual horse from Ashvamedha Yagna of Lord Rama was captured by Lava Kusha. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru is credited with founding the holy city of Amritsar in the Sikh tradition.  The town grew to become the city of Amritsar, and the pool area grew into a temple complex after his son built the gurdwara Harmandir Sahib, and installed the scripture of Sikhism inside the new temple in 1604. 

Sadly, Amritsar is also the place when on 13th April 1919 hundreds of innocents were massacred by the British – the  Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killings of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of Reginald Edward Harry Dyer.  No event within living memory, can ever make so deep and painful an impression on the Indian subjects than the history or the very thought of massacre of innocents at Amritsar.  The ruthless execution has no parallels and this Nation suffered economically more severely from the World war despite no direct participation.   It was the cruel General Dyer who had earlier written  a spirited account of his campaign against some nomad tribes on the frontier of South- East Persia and Baluchistan in 1916. 

The gory massacre was to occur and make Baisakhi day April 13, 1919, a tragic day on that day, local residents in Amritsar decided to hold a meeting  to discuss and protest against the confinement of Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two leaders fighting for Independence (did we ever read about them in our school books ?). People were also protesting implementation of the Rowlatt Act, which armed the British government with powers to detain any person without trial. It was no violent crowd – it had a mix of men, women and children,  gathered in a park called the JallianwalaBagh, walled on all sides having  a few small gates.  It was to be a peaceful meeting of peasants and people and included pilgrims visiting the famous Golden temple. 

For one man it was not a peaceful assembly - Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer entertained himself,  thoughts of  a major insurrection and thus he banned all meetings. On hearing that thousands had gathered in the park,  Dyer went with fifty riflemen to a raised bank and ordered them to shoot at the crowd. Dyer continued the firing for about ten minutes, till the ammunition supply was almost exhausted; Dyer stated that 1,650 rounds had been fired, a number which seems to have been derived by counting empty cartridge cases picked up by the troops. Dyer was removed from duty and forced to retire. He became a celebrated hero in Britain among people with connections to the British Raj.  

For those of us with little knowledge of history – the names are confusing -  there were two of them.  Michael O'Dwyer, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab who approved the action and Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer who executed the mindless massacre.

Uptil the above can be found in many websites – perhaps the following is not so well known.

Visitors to the famed Guruvayur temple for sure would have seen the large and tall lamp made of bronze, over 30 ft in height with 300 wicks – this was presented by Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair.  He was the President of Indian National Congress in 1897,  elevated to the bench of the Madras high court as a Judge and knighted in 1912. In 1914, he was invited by the Viceroy Lord Hardinge to become a Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, the highest governing body in British India. He was the only Indian member of the Council.   Sir Nair was in the Executive Council when the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh took place, and martial law was imposed in the Punjab. Even in this exalted position, he had not been aware of the horrors that were occurring there as press censorship was so severe in the Punjab. When news trickled down he was horrified that he was part of a government that had permitted these atrocities and resigned.

He went initially to England to fight for the right of Indians to govern themselves and later, on his return to India, wrote a book in which he blamed the then Lt. Governor of the Punjab, Sir Michael O’Dwyer for the atrocities that were committed.  In 1923, Sir Michael O’Dwyer, who had been Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab until 1919, sued Nair for libel. As Sir Nair refused to apologise or retract, O’Dwyer sued him for defamation at the Court of the Kings Bench in London to be tried by an English Judge and Jury.   In his book, Gandhi and Anarchy, Nair had written: ‘Before the reforms it was in the power of the Lieutenant-Governor, a single individual, to commit the atrocities in the Punjab which we know only too well.’ The book had been written to attack Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-co-operation movement, but Nair, who was a moderate, had not resisted the opportunity to take a swipe at a man whose oppressive policies he, and much of India, regarded as the real cause of the Punjab Disturbances of 1919 and the repression under Martial Law which had followed them.

The case was heard before Mr Justice McCardie in the Court of King’s Bench in London over five weeks from 30 April 1924, and, apart from being one of the longest civil hearings in legal history, was notable for being the only court to air in England any of the matters arising from the Punjab Disturbances of 1919. The case was seen, and particularly so by the plaintiff, Sir Michael O’Dwyer, as a method by which to vindicate the actions of officials of the Punjab Government who had taken a hand in suppressing the disturbances, among them most notably Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, the perpetrator of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar. 

In preparation for the case, both sides gathered evidence from supporting witnesses. For O’Dwyer, this was a relatively easy matter, as many key figures who had been involved in India in 1919 were by now back in, or close to, England and could appear in person. These included the Viceroy of the time, Lord Chelmsford, by 1924 a Government Minister, First Lord of the Admiralty; his Commander-in-Chief in India, General Sir George Carmichael Munro, by now Governor of Gibraltar; and Major-General Sir William Beynon, General Officer Commanding 16 Division in Lahore, Sir Michael O’Dwyer’s military equivalent in the Punjab and Martial Law Administrator during the disturbances, who had by now retired. So strong and impressive were these supporting witnesses, that O’Dwyer felt the need to solicit testimony from only six men in India.

Nair found himself at a very great disadvantage. In England in 1924 there were few who were prepared to support his view that Sir Michael O’Dwyer had been a repressive tyrant, and those who were, had little public standing.  Nair’s legal team was forced to fall back on depositions legally sworn by over 120 witnesses in India. Justice McCardie made it plain that he attributed these far less weight than he did the evidence of those who appeared before the jury. In the event the Indian depositions had little effect and have been forgotten since. Sir Michael O’Dwyer won his case, and was able ever thereafter to maintain that he and Dyer had been vindicated in a British court of law. 

On 15^th Aug 1947 India obtained freedom without shedding blood – Gandhi was hailed as Father of the Nation and the leader of Indian National Congress Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India – WE  have read lot of history in our schools and colleges.

Nair's eldest daughter Lady Madhavan Nair and son-in-law and nephew Sir C. Madhavan Nair (a legal luminary and a judge of the Privy Council) lived in  estate known as Lynwood, in Chennai. The British defeated Sir Sankaran Nair, while Indians have forgotten him .. .. Sad !! 

Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair CIE (11 July 1857 – 24 April 1934) was a  lawyer and statesman who served as the Advocate-General of Madras from 1906 to 1908, on the High Court of Madras as   justice from 1908 to 1915, and as India-wide Education minister as a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from 1915 until 1919. He was elected president of the 1897 Indian National Congress, and led the Egmore faction, opposing the Mylapore group.  He wrote a book titled Gandhi and Anarchy (1922).

Jai Hind

With regards to all those martyrs whose sacrifices have given us this freedom.

 
S. Sampathkumar
13^th Apr 2025.

Compassion !! ஐம்பதிலும் ஆசை வரும் !!!

 

ஐம்பதிலும் ஆசை வரும், ஆசையுடன் பாசம் வரும் !!

ஐம்பது அல்ல எண்பது - இல்லை, இல்லை, அதற்கு மேலாக எவ்வளவு வயது கடந்தாலும், 

ஏனைய உயிர்கள் மீது பாசம், பரிவு காண்போர் மிகப் பெரியோர்

Affection and compassion to other living beings is not constrained by age.  

 When posted on  X [Twitter], Grok explains this image as : 

·        The image shows an elderly man in traditional Tamil attire affectionately petting a calf, reflecting a cultural value in Tamil Nadu where compassion for animals is revered, especially in spiritual contexts like Thiruvallikkeni, a historic temple area in Chennai known for its reverence of cows. ·       

·The Tamil caption translates to “Affection and compassion for other beings transcend age,” highlighting a philosophical belief rooted in Tamil spirituality, often linked to Vaishnavism, which emphasizes empathy for all living creatures as seen in practices at the Parthasarathy Temple. ·       

·Cows hold a sacred status in Hindu tradition, often symbolizing nurturing and divinity, and their presence in Thiruvallikkeni aligns with the area’s history as Vrindaranyam Kshetram, a holy forest where sages performed penance, fostering a deep connection with nature. 

Interesting ! 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
11.4.2025

Sri Kumbeswarar Temple - Mangalam

 

 

*யானை பசிக்கு சோளப்பொரி* கேள்விப்பட்டு இருப்பீர்கள் ~ கும்பகோணம் ஸ்ரீ கும்பேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோவில் யானைக்கு கேரட் .. .. !!

The Tamil proverb would mean offering popped grains / maize to the hungry mammoth elephant would in no measure down its hunger –

here is ‘Mangalam’ the elephant of Sri Adhi Kumbeswarar thirukovil eating carrot. (pic of 2018)

Summer - water is precious !!

 

 

 

water is precious, never waste even a bit of water .. very important !

நாராய், நாராய், செங்கால் நாராய்

 

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills.

பழம்படு பனையின் கிழங்கு பிளந்தன்ன

பவளக் கூர்வாய்ச் செங்கால் நாராய்

- நாரை விடு தூது - சத்திமுத்தப் புலவர்.

Squirrel in autumn

 

 

Leaves may fall away – but I will not go away

says this furry Squirrel  

manjappai disbursed in ATM !! - மஞ்சள் பை `மஞ்சப்பை' - is an emotion

I have not heard of English comedian actor - Reginald Alfred "Reg" Varney  known for his television roles on The Rag Trade and On the Buses, appearing in the latter's three spin-off film versions.   Have you ?? 

Every day we step out and buy something  - would you carry a shoulder bag ? many are always dependent on plastic bags (though there is ban on plastic at many a places).  May be you are among one who would carry stylish bag with brand name written prominently -  Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, Fendi, Prada,  Bottega Veneta – all known  for their luxury and exclusivity..   Ayyo pavam Ones like would carry a ‘kattai pai’ of Saravana Stores or some other textile store like VKTK (Kanchi) / Kumaran .. .. our earlier generation used to carry cloth bags – mostly yellow in colour (Manjal pais) – remember the ones of Popular Swadeshi Store of Triplicane. 

In good old PSU days – salary used to be disbursed in cash on the penultimate day. The Accounts Section would become too busy with sub-staff going to bank, collecting cash – a group of people sitting together to prepare the salary cover, putting in cash of various denominations; some favoured with new notes ! [not to speak of some employees, who would prepare their own customised salary cover,  showing a lower amount than what they got – to hoodwink their spouses and keep some personal money !!!!] – in those days, those who took salary by cheque used to get 3 days in advance [there was a condition that an individual should not be maintaining an account with the bank on which Office was issuing salary cheque].  Feeling that currency in hand and getting some new notes all were pleasures of yesteryears ! - gone are such small satisfactions with salary getting credited and we drawing money from ATMs devoid of smaller changes !

 

Almost 6 decades ago, on 27^th June, the  first appearance in UK streets and people in disbelief,  talked about taking money from ‘holes in the wall’.   The world’s first ATM was unveiled by Barclays at its Enfield branch in north London on 27 June 1967. As a tribute to the golden anniversary, the bank  transformed the modern-day Enfield cash machine into gold.   most frequently-used payment method by the end of next year. 

ATM [Automated Teller Machine] has come a long way as an electronic telecommunications device that enables the customers of a financial institution to perform financial transactions, particularly cash withdrawal, without the need for a human cashier, clerk or bank teller.  There are millions, seen in every important Street, Airports, Railway stations, some malls, theatres and more.  On most modern ATMs, the customer is identified by inserting a plastic ATM card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smart card with a chip that contains a unique card number and some security information.  

From traditional  ‘hole in the wall’ , the original ATM,  brainchild of John Shepherd-Barron, from Inverness,  has evolved so much.   Mr Shepherd-Barron died in 2010 at the age of 84. While he was long regarded as the father of the ATM, another Scot, James Goodfellow, can also lay claim to the title.The Paisley native unveiled his iteration of the ATM the same year at Mr Shepherd-Barron.  

Despite the rise in other new technologies, such as online and mobile banking, the ATM remains popular 50 years on.  ATM’s  first user was late English actor Reg Varney.  Early dispensers were designed to receive hole-punched vouchers allowing withdrawals of £10 each, which could be purchased by the customer from the bank and inserted in the dispenser when needed. 

In India, HSBC was the first bank to introduce the ATM concept in India way back in 1987. How many times do you use ATM every month ?.. ..  Moving away, ATMs are not exclusive to Banking and dispensation of money ! – they also vend other products such as magazines, Milk,  chocolates and soft drinks.  A few years ago,  an Indian Company – Gitanjali Gems, the world’s largest integrated-branded diamond jewellery manufacturer and retailer,  introduced gold, silver and diamond sales through vending machines.   Understand that in the Middle East,  in the lobby of Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel;  ATM  dispenses gold bars of  1 and 10 grams, plus a series of gold coins displaying custom engraved designs.

 

For commoners like me the price of Gold or its availability on ATM is never a news, we are more concerned with brinjals, potato, tomatoes and other vegetables, bought and carried in cloth shoulder bags !!  there was a time when the cloth bags were seen, were carried by every human on road – though it is more of a cloth bag coming in various colours, it was identified as Manjal pai -  மஞ்சள் பை   `மஞ்சப்பை'  - it simply is not a bag, more of an emotion.

 

Well, the news is on the banks of Kairavini Pushkarini, the temple pond of Sri Parthasarathi swami, in front of Temple gopuram has sprung up a new ATM, that dispenses ‘manjal pai’ the yellow bag – priced at Rs.10/- - it is quite a hit.

 
Regards – S. Sampathkumar
11.4.2025

 

  

Pond Heron !!

 

In Maari – when asked Danush would describe his daily life – as getting up, going up to his local head, do assigned chores, come back, have some drinks in the night, hit bed late, get up again, go up to his … .. so routine and mundane is what most city dwellers life could be. 

A couple of decades ago, most people would reel out City Bus routes and would wait for Pallavan Transport Buses, which came at designated frequency; they were over-crowded, yet people happily commuted to office, reached office in time, did work, opened their dabba for lunch, finish, had little chat with colleagues, did AN routine – at close of office hours, rush back to bus stand, reach home late, eat, sleep and get ready for the next day. 

Life has changed from Adding machines, to Calculators, to desktops, to laptops – and office routine more of VC, Team meetings, Manager shoutings!, Excel sheets, PPTs and .. .. .. looking deep into the screen (escaping to check WA posts and FB/Insta)

In everyday hurry, we see dogs, cats, cows, crows, pigeons, odd black-kite, rare parrots and .. .. ..  For people living in  concrete jungles and inside cramped homes, villages are welcome changes – the greenery, trees, chirping birds, cattle all offer great feast to eyes and heart !  - this beautiful small bird was in the middle of lush green field and a google  image search puts it to be ‘ Pond Heron’ !!

Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks.  

மருத நிலத்தின் கருப்பொருட்களான பறவைகள், கொக்கு, நாரை, குருகு, வாத்து, அன்றில் போன்றன என்று தொல்காப்பியர் குறிப்பிடுகின்றார்.  இந்திய குளத்துக் கொக்கு எனப்படும் குருட்டுக் கொக்கு, வயல் கொக்கு, மடைக் காத்தான், மடையான் என்றும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.  மீன்கள், தவளைகள், மெல்லுடலிகள், பூச்சிகள், ஓட்டுடலிகள், பல்லிகள் மற்றும் எலிகளை வேட்டையாடித் தின்று சூழலியல் சம நிலையைப் பேணுவதுடன் விவசாயிகளுக்கும் பயனுள்ள ஒரு பறவையாகக் கொக்குகள் விளங்குகின்றன. வயல்களை பயிர் செய்வதற்காக உழவு செய்யும்போது அங்கு நூற்றுக்கணக்கில் கொக்குகள் வரும், 

பெரும்பாலும் யாவருக்கும் தெரிந்த நீர்பறவைகள் - நாரையும் , கொக்கும் சங்க நூல்களில் பல  பாடல்களில் கூறப்படுகின்றன . பறவை நூற்படி நாரையும் கொக்கும் எவை எவை  என்று பிரித்து இனம் காண வேண்டும்.    நாரையும் கொக்கும் ஒரே இனப் பறவைகளாயினும் (Herons) வெவ்வேறு பறவைகளாகும் .  

Interesting !
With regards – S Sampathkumar
10.4..2025 

Elephant at Temple ~ யானையின் மணிகளும்

 

My love for elephants ~ this time this cute one at ThiruNinravur ..

யானையின் மணிகளும் ~ பின்னால் இருக்கும் சிறுவனின் சிரிப்பும் !!

Cyclist in Chennai traffic roads

 

How right !! ~ a small boy wading in bi-cycle amidst speeding vehicles on busy traffic hour in Chennai (2018)

Do you like, do you hate Crows ! ? !

Do you like black ! – do humans hate Crows, more because they are seen aplenty !?

காக்கை சிறகினிலே நந்தலாலா - நின்றன்

கரிய நிறம் தோன்றுதையே நந்தலாலா  ! 

கேட்கும் ஒலியில் எல்லாம் நந்தலாலா - நின்றன்

கீதம் இசைக்குதடா நந்தலாலா  !!

பாரதி ஒரு பன்முகக் கவிஞர். நாட்டுப் பற்று, மொழி்ப் பற்று, சமயப் பற்று  அனைத்தும் அவர்தம் பாடல்களில் சிறப்புற வெளிப்பட்டன.   பாரதியின் கவிதைகளை வாசிப்பது அற்புதமான அனுபவம்     ”இருளிலிருந்து ஒளிக்கு” இட்டுச்செல்லும் உண்மை உணர்வுகள் அவை.  காக்கையையும் நேசிப்பார் உண்டோ !!  காக்கை சிறகின் நிறம் இருள், குழப்பம், அஞ்ஞானம் போன்றவற்றை குறிப்பிடுகிறது. அங்கிருந்து ஒரு பயணம் துவங்குகிறது. 

Crows are black birds known for their intelligence and adaptability, and for their loud, harsh "caw." They also have a reputation for damaging crops; however, their impact may be less than previously thought.  The genus Corvus comprises crows, ravens and rooks. These birds are all part of the Corvidae family, which includes jays, magpies and nutcrackers. The head feathers have a coppery-purple gloss and the throat feathers are quite long and fluffed out in some calls and displays.

Crows are extremely intelligent birds. They are known for their problem-solving skills and amazing communication skills. For example, when a crow encounters a mean human, it will teach other crows how to identify the human, says some researchers. In fact, research shows that crows don’t forget a face.

Many types of crows are solitary, but they will often forage in groups. Others stay in large groups. A group of crows is called a murder. When one crow dies, the murder will surround the deceased. This funeral isn’t just to mourn the dead, though. The crows gather together to find out what killed their member. Then, the murder of crows will band together and chase predators in a behavior called mobbing. With some crow species, the yearlings and non-mating adults live in a group called a roosting community. 

Some crows migrate while other crows don’t migrate in the common sense. They will travel to warmer areas of their territory, when needed. Recent research has illuminated this startling dimension of avian behavior, revealing that crows — members of the avian elite — can hold grudges for up to 17 years. This discovery showcases the profound capacity of the crows’ memories. The study also sheds light on the social transmission of knowledge about threats within bird communities.

The research project, led by experts at the University of Washington, was launched in 2006. Professor John Marzluff, an environmental scientist, initiated the study by donning a fearsome mask and temporarily trapping seven crows. He identified them with leg rings before their safe release. In subsequent years, the professor and his assistants sporadically wore the same mask — strolling the university campus while feeding the resident crows. Marzluff recalled an incident while wearing the mask when 47 out of 53 crows he encountered vehemently scolded him. This was a substantial increase from the original seven crows that were captured, suggesting that these birds could recognize threatening humans and pass on this knowledge to their kin.

Stories abound of crows dropping nuts onto busy roads, waiting for cars to crack them open, and then retrieving the food once the traffic stops. Some crows have even figured out how to use sticks to extract insects from tree bark or fashion hooks from twigs to fish out food from hard-to-reach places. The study from the University of Washington undeniably contributes to affirming the crows’ place in the intelligence hierarchy among birds.

Interesting !

Regards – S Sampathkumar

9.4.2025

  

Ayya Kumari Ananthan is no more !!

Very sad to know that Ayya Kumari Ananthan is no more ! – a man known for his literary style, simplicity, honesty and outwardly friendliness to people, he endeared to people by the way he lived and the principles he practised.

 

பாராளுமன்றத்தில் முதன் முதலில் தமிழில் பேசியவர் இன்று தமிழோடு காற்றில் கலந்துவிட்டார்  !!! 

Harikrishnan Nadar Ananthakrishnan, famously known  as Kumari Ananthan (19 March 1933 – 9 April 2025)  was a Nationalist par excellence,  was a leader of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, floated his own party and merged with Congress again.  He was a  Gandhian and renowned orator whose deep love for Tamil led him to successfully fight for the right to address Parliament in his mother tongue. 

Back in 1977 when Congress suffered defeat in Lok Sabha following emergency, Ayya Ananthan was  elected to the Lok Sabha from Nagercoil constituency as  Indian National Congress candidate in 1977 election.  This constituency had been earlier held by A Nesamony, Ayya Thanulinga Nadar and Perunthalaivar K Kamarajar himself.  However, Ananthan  was defeated in the 1996 and 1998 elections. Later he became a Member of the Legislative Assembly. He floated a new party called " Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress" breaking from Janatha party and had an alliance with AIDMK in the 1980 by election contesting 10 seats and winning 6 of them. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress candidate from Thiruvottiyur constituency in 1980, from Radhapuram constituency in 1984 &   Congress candidate from Sathankulam constituency in the 1989 and 1991 elections. 

His speeches and books in Tamil have a large fan following.   He also principally fought for ban on liquor, protecting Palm trees, integrating rivers and constructing Bharat Matha temple and went on padayatra.  His younger brother is entrepreneur (Vasanth & Co) H Vasanthakumar, whose son is a MP now.  His daughter Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan is a famous physician, who was the leader of State of Bharathiya Janata Party and who was    Governor of Telangana and Puducherry. 

In this passing away, TN has lost a sincere principled nice Gandhian.  He used to be a regular for Bharathi Vizha in every December at Bharathiyar Illam in Triplicane and here is a photo clicked at Barathi vizha in 2018.

 
With grief – S Sampathkumar
9.4.2025
 

Sad, 27 year old prodigy announces retirement !!!!!

 

Are you a Cricket fan ! – follow CSK and were upset when a soon to be 44 bit the dust of a very unlikely delivery.  Thala MSD made 12 ball 27 and churned hopes but a low full toss a mile outside leg, was hit straight to Chahal at short fineleg, who gobbled it up in two attempts.  !!! No post on CSK sinking  or on MS Dhoni but sentimental support to a young Cricketer who at 27 has called it a day !! Sad !!! 

He is quoted as saying – ‘Things didn’t leave me’:  born in Malvern, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. His father, Ján  had emigrated to Australia as a child from Serbia, has Czechoslovakian roots. Ján also played cricket, as a fast bowler, and was regarded as a "Caulfield legend". The Young Prodigy was awarded a sponsorship by bat manufacturer Kookaburra when he was still playing under 12s, making him the second youngest Australian after the great Ricky Ponting to be signed by the company. The parallels with Ponting continued as he rose through the junior ranks, there were even annual rumours in Melbourne cricket circles of Ponting sightings at his  matches. 

At the under 19 national carnival, he  officially announced himself as a star of the future by peeling off four consecutive centuries as he broke the tournament runs record with a tally of 650 from eight innings. Later that summer, he made his debut for Victoria in Sheffield Shield cricket and early the following season, he became the second ever Victorian, after the great Dean Jones, to smash a double century against Western Australia at the WACA. His unbeaten 243 also made him just the ninth player to score a Shield double hundred before their 21st birthday.

 

On 4th Mar 2018,  I had posted on this batsman .. ..  about the injury sustained by  Victorian batsman Will Pucovski in a  Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales after being hit on the head by a delivery from a fast bowler, who too  made headlines.  Pucovski had to be helped from the field after he was felled by a bouncer on day two of the match at the Junction Oval. The 20-year-old (then)  ducked into a short ball from  Sean Abbott and was struck on the side of the helmet, before kneeling on the ground. The bowler and other NSW players quickly went to his aid and signalled to the dressing room for help. Pucovski walked off the oval with assistance a few minutes later, retiring hurt on 4.   

Injuries on Cricket field are nothing new ~  way back in 1975, when Lankans were minnows in World Cup -   Australians piled on 328 for 5. In reply, Sri Lanka reached 150 for 2 in the 32nd  over, up with the clock and fighting hard. Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson wanted to be different when they could not dislodge the wickets ! - Sunil Wettimuny and Duleep Mendis were repeatedly struck on the body, with Thomson, steaming in from the Pavilion End, causing the most damage. Both batsmen were hit, but Mendis was laid out by a ball Alan Gibson in the Times described as "not a bouncer but a short ball aimed at the body".  The noise grew in Thomson's next over when he floored Wettimuny, who had already been hit sickening blows on the legs and body.   

For India at Sabina Park 1976 was more nastier experience ! ~ the bloodbath.   Five Indian batsmen were absent hurt in the second innings.   Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel were in the super-fast category, while Bernard Julien and Van Holder weren't far behind.  Aunshuman Gaekwad was hit on the left ear and spent two nights in hospital, while Brijesh Patel had stitches after being hit in the mouth (remember that these were pre-helmet days). Neither of them played any further part in the match - and neither did Gundappa Viswanath, who was caught off a ball which broke a finger of his right hand. Bishan Bedi, India's captain, declared before he and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar - two of Test cricket's worst batsmen - had to face the music. All 17 members of India's touring party fielded at some stage during the match - and one of the substitutes, Surinder Amarnath, was carted off to hospital during the game for an appendix operation. West Indies won the match by ten wickets, and won the series 2-1.  

On Monday, February 1, 2021 – down under, the 3^rd Test got underway at Sydney - debutants being Navdeep Saini and William Jan Pucovski .. .. the man who played well in that Test has retired from all Cricket today at age 27, having just that solitary test for his Nation.  He made a promising 62 opening the batting to confirm he was an international star of the future for Australia, but a string of concussions continued to hamper his progress.  

Last year, a medical panel recommended the 27-year-old retire. “I’m not going to be playing cricket again. It’s been a really difficult year to put it as simply as possible. The simple message is, I won’t be playing at any level again,” Pucovski said on SEN’s Whateley.  “It had always been my dream to play for Australia, I found myself in that position in 2021. My ambition didn’t stop there. I wanted to be that guy that was a leader of the batting unit. I wanted to play 100 Tests. “Unfortunately, one Test is where it ends.”  

Pucovski will not be lost to the game however, as he was also announced as the new men’s head coach of Melbourne Cricket Club, who he played Victorian Premier Cricket for from the age of 12.  Sadly, he has plagued by concussions on the field.  “In the couple of months post that (last concussion) I struggled to get anything done, walking around the house was a struggle,” Pucovski said. “From there it’s been a tough year, a lot of the symptoms didn’t go away which has led me to this decision. The first few months were horrendous, but things didn’t leave me. “I’ve only just turned 27, the space of concussion is very young. Speaking to a lot of specialists, this is a difficult space to deal with. “The technology isn’t quite there to understand what is what. When you have symptoms for over a year and I’ve had others for numerous years, it can be quite difficult to see how can I get out to play professional sport again when I’m struggling to live my life how I want to.”  

A few years earlier,  he shocked the Australian cricket community shortly after by taking a mental health break. Pucovski’s mental health issues were connected with his concussion woes, that began when he was tackled into another player’s knee while playing school football. The concussion incidents continued to mount. He was hit in the nets at Melbourne Cricket Club training by former Victoria and New South Wales quick Chris Tremain. NSW and Australian white ball fast bowler Sean Abbott also hit him with a bouncer in a Shield game, but the head knocks were taking place in other ways too. He slipped in the shower and hit his head on the shower door, a volleyball hit his head during a warm up game on the morning of a Shield match and he also hit his head diving the field while playing for Victoria.  

In several interviews in recent times, Pucovski opened up on how his body would essentially shut down in panic in each of the incidents.  He kept coming back however and consecutive double centuries against South Australia and Western Australia in October 2020 after moving to the top of Victoria’s order after having typically been a first drop, earned him his Test debut.  He was likely to debut in the series opener in Adelaide, but was felled by Indian quick Mohammed Siraj playing a lead up game for Australia A.  Pucovski’s much-anticipated first stanza in Test cricket had to wait until the third Test in Sydney, and after that is where it stopped.  

The following summer, he suffered another concussion blow while batting Victoria and then in October 2022, he took indefinite leave from the sport. He returned to the Victorian line-up during the 2023/24 summer and appeared to be heading towards a national recall with a century against a NSW attack that included Nathan Lyon, Tremain and Jackson Bird. But the next game, is career ended as he was struck by a bouncer from Tasmanian speedster Riley Meredith, his 13th reported concussion.  

Pucvoski retires with 2350 first class runs at an average of 45.19, including seven hundreds and nine fifties, and goes down as one of Australian cricket’s great what if stories. He played one Test match as the 460th cap for Australia, scoring a half-century 62 in his debut innings in 2021 against India and 10 in the second, before he suffered a shoulder injury whilst fielding that prevented further Test appearances.  The  13 known concussion injuries during his career along with mental health issues have put an end to his Cricketing career at age 27.   An independent medical panel was convened to assess Pucovski's future last year after the number of concussions that he had in his sporting career were estimated in the mid-teens dating back to his first head knock while playing Australian rules football as a teenager. That panel recommended Pucovski retire from the game although he took some time to make a decision while there has also been an negotiations with Cricket Australia on his contract, insurance and potential lost earnings which have yet to be concluded.  

It makes a very sad reading indeed.  Dear Will Pucovski – feeling very sad for you.  All the best in life Bro.  Stand brave !! – you are surely an achiver.

 
Regards – S. Sampathkumar
8.4.2025