Hi all, Happy New year (very very advance greetings) I am not new member but this is my first mail. Presently I am in Vizag but temporary and soon return to Chennai.
During Kalki's period There were three magazines - all weeklies ruled the roast. Kumudham, Vikatan and Kalki. Kumudham edited by SAP, Vikatan by Dhevan and Kalki by Kalki. No doubt all the three are very good writers and let us not compare the three with each other. And let us not compare them in commercial terms also. only quality please.
But who gave more opportunity to other writers? Which editor was better in encouraging talents?
there were accusations that kalki suppressed talent while in vikatan, in some issues there were as many as 8 of kalki's productions. atleast 3 in different pen names and the rest without a by line.
and mahadevan's question seems a "loaded question".I am sure he has a fixed view on this question. but mahadevan why dont you give a short write up about devan and SAP.it would be most useful info on contemprary literature of kalki's times.
Hi Sir, I have no much idea because I have forgetten most of those days writers. The intellectual forum here can bring out details about their high quality .
In our home we used to purchase these weeklies for long long time. I remember that Kalki encouraged lot Thumilan. Dhevan - I do not know much, but his contemporaries Koththamangalam Subbu (may be junior to him), SVS and Lakshmi made very good contribution in Vikatan. Kumudham, the most favourite magazine, I think, brought so many talents includes Sandilyan, Rangarajan and Sundaresan. Yet, I would like to know more on this subject.
its totally a fresh subject and many here havent even thought of comparing the editorial capacities of the three.
but as far as I know, kumudam and kalki were highly succesful because the divorced the aspects of creative and non creative stuff.
SAP parthasarathy combination and kalki- sadasivam combination worked that way.
vasan was a master saleman who could sell his grandfather. onw small tidbit. kalki's first collection of stories saradaiyin thanthiram named after his 3 year old sisterinlaw was printed at the his own cost. kalki sold the phenomenal copies numbering 5.( one ws sold at 50% discount also) these unsold copies filled most of kalki's house constantly reminding him of the fact on what a poor salesman he was. when he went to thiruchengodu ashram for 3 years kalki handed over the copies to vasan. by the time kalki returned vasan has sold the entire first edition and had printed a second one.
I believe these three magazines had three different target audiences - within the broader readership of quality writings in Tamil. Some comparison by learned members, as suggested by Mr.Venketesh, would be of help.
Most of us were born after independence. Vikatan and Kalki, by that time treated as 'Kudumba Pathrikai' and Kumudham too joined with great speed.Three were good magazines.
The weekly release of the three were also on different days, so Vikatan comes on Friday the readers would have finished reading Thursday released Kalki or Kumudham. The readers were very fond of these magazines.
There were some funny fights too we used to amongst us, who to read first. More worthy Serials and good short story of 4 to 5 pages. I remember reading Javar Sitaraman's serial Minnal Mazhai Mohini very regularly without missing (I thing it was Kumudham) in my tender age.(I forgot too). My sisters used to save the serails too. Chennai, I have got ponniyin Selvan book in that shape. Jayakanthan and Baranitharan contributed regularly to Vikatan without gap.
But more titbits and worthy jokes were found in all the three magazines. Kumudham was very good till lates sixties, I think, then changed the track towards commercial side. But Vikatan maintained the traditional quality for many years. Kalki, ofcourse, after Kalki, the Kalki's soul helping the magazine through his repeated classic works Ponniyin Selvan and Sivakamiyin Sabatham. But one worthy thing that was to be mentioned about Kalki weekly, it did not change into the commercial track like the other two. Ki.Rajendran has done a good job by keeping the reputation to certain extend. I read ponniyin selvan in Kalki's one repeated such edition only.
Kumudham, no doubt, it was strengthened by Sandilyan novels. And SAP combination with Parthasarathi, Kalki-Sadasivam combination and also Dhevan-Vaasan combination worked very well.
Kalki is always good. Everyone can read the book from first to last page without any hestitation.
In Kumudham, earlier they published stories translated by Raa.Kee.Rangarajan. I remember one 'Pattampoochi'. It was a good one and I am still searching for that book.
In Vikatan also, Mr.X and his wife cartoons, Thona Thona Tholasingam, and other cartoons by Mathan were very good. Vikatan's editor was put into jail because of some joke - comparing MLAs with Robbers etc.,
'Ratham Ore Niram' by Sujatha was serialised in Kumudham, I think. I still remember the pictures by Maniam Selvan.
Pictures in Sivakamiyin Sabatham by vinu, (Sivakami looks like Sridevi) Pshycho Saranathan, Vinnum Mannum by Ki.Rajendran. Small pictures inside the story - Maan, Kulam and Vel etc.,
Dear Maha i gather Kumudam Started in 1947 by Late Mr. S.A.P. Annamalai and his close associate late Mr. P.V.Parthasarathy,
kalki passed away in 1954. sadasivam even wanted to stop the magazine after that byut was persuaded by rajaji not to. kalki's serials with newer pictures everytime is still their back bone of marketing.
so ananda vikadan was the long distance runner.what a sustained stay in the field of tamil journalism.
could you list major authors and novels magazine wise? venketesh
Call it co-incidence, divine design or whatever - but this happened.
Less than a week ago (rather 3-4 days back) our parents were telling me and my sister about the magazines of those days - Kumudam, Kalki and Vikatan. (for me these were history - because my reading dates back only to 1980s).
The discussion ranged - from the time the magazines used to reach the shops and the crowd that was there to collect the magazines on the weekly 'release' date - to the serials and stories published in them.
Kumudam was well known for its entertainment value - right from the stories, the pictures and even the perfume they used to apply to the pages - it is said that the pages used to have a fragrance. Yes, "Minnal Mazhai Mohini" was on Kumudam only - my mother recalled it. The stories and paintings of Saandilyan's novels were also talked about. I could recall Ra.Ki.Rangarajan's translations of Sidney Sheldon's novels and Sujatha's Ganesh Vasanth series.
Vikatan was praised for its standard (much of which has started draining out in the 21st century). They also recalled the novels of Maniyan and many other writers which came in Vikatan. I used to relish the centre-page jokes and the Mr.X series by Madhan.
Kalki - yes, the standard lives till today - though the depth has thinned down a lot. I too read Ponniyin Selvan for the first time during its repeat somewhere in the 1980s (with the great Maniyam's drawings). My aunt's house had a bound version of the same, which I read again a few years later. Timeless classic is the apt phrase, though cliched, to describe PS. I am also enjoying reading Ki.Raajendran's serial in Kalki now - containing anecdotes about Kalki, TKC, etc.
Though I am not qualified enough to comment on these magazines because my reading of them has been mostly recent (the last 2 - 2.5 decades), I could not hold myself back from writing this......
During our groups meet with writer Vikraman, I remember Thiru.Vikraman recollecting that, when PS was first serialized in Kalki, the magazine became so popular that, in Egmore station book stall there used to be a long queue to buy it. The book was sold only to those who bought Vikatan because the sale of vikatan went down due to Kalki.
Hi kalki must have been a great editor. h e would have been better off if he did not support rajaji so much. in fact when rajaji was invited tobecome chiefminister of madras state rajaji refused. kalki wrote a huge article on how it was demeaning to ask rajaji to become chief minister. even before the issue came out rajaji managed to be convinced and was sworn in. kalki in one article compared rajaji to budha, sankaracharya, patinatthar etc. if you read the tributes paid by kannathasan or c.n annadurai on kalki's death both carry references to kalki's overwhelming( blind?) attachment to rajaji.
Hi kalki was a merciless "vimarsakar' especially when he reviewed movies. p.U chinnappa was getting fatter by the day and kalki remarked, soon he will fill the entire scren and we will have to call him p.u periappa. but people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. when kalki's thyaga bhoomi was released it was mercilessly chopped to pieces. reviewers of dinamani and sudesamithran went on to say director K. subramnyams efforts went waste because of kalki's story. one review remarked that a dog charecter called jilli was the best amongst the cast. kalki was very hurt and he wrote two long articles defending his script.
When Mamta Banerjee floated her Trinamool, when PC / GKM floated Tamil Maanila Congress, when Sarad Pawar floted NC - I could not help but recalling Rajaji's Swatantra Party.
Without getting into depth, we can indicate :
Congress being Nationalistic - claiming Secularism; BJP aligning with Hinduism; Communists probocating Labour preferences. DMK probocating Dravidian principles.
I am not able to distinguish other parties from the above - but for the personal Agenda of the Founders.
That way I could not distinguish Swatantra Party of Rajaji, much from Congress Principles and fail to appreciate the movement.
But HE IS THE MAN WHO FORESAW TOMORROW AND FORGED ALLIANCE WITH ARINGNAR ANNA to TOPPLE CONGRESS IN TAMILNADU - ALMOST FOR the past 40 years !
He is Brilliant. But not politically successful.
That is why - my limited vision fail to look at RajajiJI at par with the Religeous personalities mentioned here.
SPSgaru, My intention here whether Rajaji suceeded in all his mission or not.. But his vision was very much suitable for general public and prosperous life. He has done his duty by finding a good party with lot of intellectuals who supported in that time. Today what the globalisation we saw, that was Rajaji's vision. He asked Nehru to build infrastructure like roads, rail and seaports and ask Indian bigshots to build workshops to manage themselves. Instead Nehru started to build so many PSUs. Great work, no doubt. But to day PSU was also great failure because PSUs managed by government principals.
Now Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), a Rajaji's principal, is widely being advertised and supported by governments of any principals (includes cummunists). How we can say Rajaji was a political failure when his vision was for long time prosperous.
Congress party was asked to disband itself by Mahatma Gandhi. But it continued. And lost its purity what it had during freedom struggle. So, Rajaji's co-operation with dravidian party in a critical situation like 1967s was in fact in a right sense. But that was another story the same Rajaji joined with Kamaraj (one-time adversary) to wipe out dravidian parties (1971-72). Again it was also a correct decision. If people listened Rajaji and Kamaraj in 1971-72 and voted out DMK, we would have surely seen a different and prosperous and vibrant Tamilnadu, because of the genuinity in their purpose.
So, politically Rajaji did his duty as 'Karmayogi'. The results of his actions, though late, will last long. Dhivakar.
Dear SPS 'Ramayanam' book was presented to adiyen by the great Mahatma in 1972 March, at his house at Bazullah Road when I was studying 11th at RKM-North. We four students were regular visitors to his house during 1971-72 for drinking water in the lunch hours. Most of times, the great human being used to present in the back door of the house to chat with us for five to ten minutes. When we said that we were to leave the school in March month, he presented each one of us a book signed by him and I have got Ramayanam. Though the books are very old that time itself, I still keep the valuable presentation very safely during my shifting journeys too. Thank you for the opportunity of writing the above. Though he was highly esteemed human being, he was very simple and he, at any time, never bothered that he was speaking to ordinary school boys. Wearing 'punchakachcha' vEshti and small cotton towel in the empty shoulders, tall but lean, non-aged speeches, simple way of questioning and getting tough answers, I still refreshing - ofcourse lately we used to forget whom with we are speaking casually, was once upon a time Governor General of India and Chief Minister of Madras and even Prime Minister of Madras Presidency - and simp-ly we call him Thatha.
> 'Ramayanam' book was presented to adiyen by the great Mahatma( rajaji) in 1972 March, at his house at Bazullah Road
the house was built by kalki to his taste. long corridors to walk and a nice swing both of which were kalki's muses for creativity. .rajaji's son lived next door, and when rajaji became chief minister of madras state for his convenience, kalki vacated the house. the house was bought and presented to rajaji by a businessman( was it jamanlal bajaj?)
That time Rajaji's house was not having a proper compound wall too. Not even watchman.
I remember my immediate neighbour NT Rama Rao in Bazulla Road. We students were stopped to enter in to his house for drinking water. Every day we try our best to enter into his house (chinnapillaiththanamthaan) that watchman used to his duty -very dutyfully - with a stick in his hand. Most of afternoons lot of buses from Andhra used to wait for 'dharshan' of their 'devudu'. Our hero NTR (I think he was having some impala car or some big car) whenever comes home, he would promptly visit the buses waiting in front of his house. As soon his face 'shown' to the devotees, that's all - all the passengers were very anxious chanting his name. some people used to ignite karpooram and after showing to hero the same was shown to the bus too. One of my Chennai Nayudu friend asked the passengers in broken telugu - why they should show karpooram to Bus?. The people used to say the bus will reach their home very safe and without any accident. we used to watch this routine but awfully.
When I was in Vijayawada, in 1983, he started his own party and within 8 to 9 months, he came to power very easily. This victory I was expecting and I used to tell my friends (I was contributor for IE). They have not agreed that time and even challenged that Andra was not Tamilnadu to go MGR way. But He came to power (without any trouble). But that was another story his all troubles joined together after some time and hunted him.
You are really blessed and fortunate Dhivakar Sir.
Rajaji was really a far-sighted statesman - a man much ahead of his time. He foresaw the economic future of India and took the line of globalisation and an economy with judicious capitalisation. His "Swatantra Party" supported private enterpreneurship with honest business practices. I know that 'Swatantra Party' is not competing in elections today because, it is not willing to state that it abides by Socialism - which was brought in as a subsequent Constitutional amendment. Think of the political sincerity of this party - how much time does it take in Indian politics to swear by a particular ideology and break it in seconds for the sake of power ?
I personally feel the one error he could have avoided was to support the Dravidian parties - overlooking how a narrow-minded political climate will affect TN. Perhaps he found these fresh zealots better than the corrupt Congressmen of that time. But somehow, he tried to bring back sensible rule with Kamarajar, but the public who had got emotionally moved by the DMK by then, did not support them. Had these great leaders won, it would have done a lot of good for TN.