kk nagar edition - MAMBALAM TIMES

Page 4 MAMBALAM TIMES: Ashok Nagar - K.K.Nagar Edition February 24 - March 2, 2012NO HOLDS BARREDBy M.A. SADANANDNO NOOSE IS GOOD NOOSENewspapers are aglut with stories of very wakefulpeople running to the Manila rope market to buy bales ofit to complete the process of justice, and a killing allowanceto the hangmen whose snooze between the gallows showshave been getting longer.These rope people are agog after mercy shifted base andsettled abroad in a huff at Sangma’s defeat in the Presidentialpolls. They bless Pranab for the thumbs down signal,but one good thing the executing crew performs to perfectionis the secrecy that is attendant on the ritual until thehangee is woken up a few minutes before the death marchto the gallows at sunrise. The killing crew is so tearful thatthey do not want to tell the hangee’s near and dear thattheir pet will be hanged on a particular day and that theymay see the hangee to say goodbye. The trend of secrecyinaugurated by Kasab’s hanging and burial in the jailcompound, was followed dramatically in Afzal Guru’s disposal.All that people look for is precedents.In the pre-replublican days when I was young and wasliving opposite the Cannanore Central jail in Kerala, thedeath knell used to sound at dawn quite often, followed byghastly siren hoots for 5 minutes to tell the denizens thatthe British government had done its duty to the slaves whodid not obey the laws crafted by Macaulay and signed bythe monarch. I, as a young boy, used to tremble at theannouncement of the impending execution in the localnewspapers, and the whole night leading to the legalisedbrutality enjoined on us by an Emperor sittng in his palace12,000 miles away!Look at the irony of it now. Our great law giver, the thengovernment of the United Kingdom, has abolished thedeath penalty while the erstwhile slave refuses to growfrom the jungle law and, in spite of Article 72 of our vauntedConstitution, refuses to be blessed by the act of mercy. Agreat saint of yore, or may be I was that fellow, is allegedto have said while in Kerala, “Life is beautiful! Live it, don’tdestroy it!”.The one who orders the hanging, the non-granter ofmercy and the low-paid hangman, all belong to the cofflethat defy the inherent divinity in all things created, if all thestatutes that authorise legal killing retain the killing provisionsa day more from this 18th day of February, 2013.Abraham Lincoln is remembered today for abolishingslavery and the idea that the colour of the skin was the sinequa non for American Presidentship. Ask friend Obama.The best of us and saints ultimately die, but killing isinherently evil and no law can pluck it, except the naturalclosure of life through death.5-day Namasankeerthanam inVani Mahal from todayBy Our Staff ReporterSri Thyaga Brahma GanaSabha (Vani Mahal, G. N.Chetty Road, T. Nagar) andSri Kanchi Mahaswami NamaSankeertana Patasala (Mumbai)will jointly conduct a 5-dayNamasankeerthanam fromFeb. 23 to March 3 in VaniMahal.Angarai A. L. Krishnamurthywill be honoured with the‘Sri Kanchi Mahaswami NamaSudha Vani’ award which willbe given away by JayendraSaraswathi Swamigal.The following are the details:Feb. 23: 6.30 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby SengottaiSri Harihara SubramaniaBhagavathar.Feb. 24: 4.30 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby R. Ganesh;6.45 p.m: Abanga dhivyanamamby Kadaiyanallur RajagopalaBhagavathar.Feb. 25: 4.30 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby K. Sattanathar;6.45 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby O. S. Sundar.Feb. 26: 4.30 p.m: Krishnagaanam by N. V. Alamelu andV. Subburaman; 6.45 p.m:Namasankeerthanam byManjupara M. R. Mohan.Feb. 27: 4.30 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby Kalpana Venkat;6.45 p.m: Nrudaya sankeerthanamby Hyderabad J.S. Eswar Prasad and J. Sairam.Feb. 28: 4.30 p.m: Namavaibhavam by Usha Hariharan;6.45 p.m: Abangabhajan by Savitha Sriram.March 1: 4.30 p.m: Namasankeerthanamby Sri GyanandhaBhajan Mandali; 6.45p.m: Namasankeerthanam byUdayalur K. Kalyana RamaBhagavathar.March 2: 4.30 p.m: Thodayamangalam guru keerthanaigalby N. Muthu Krishna Bhagavathar;6.45 p.m: Pooja VidhanamDivyaprabandham by A.V. K. Rajasimha Bagavathar.March 3: 8 a.m: Unjavirthi; 9a.m: Sita Rama kalyana mahotsavamand anjaneye utsavamby Jayarama Bhagavathar.All are welcome.Free spokenSanskrit classeson SaturdaysBy Our Staff ReporterSamskrita Bharati (Nungambakkam)will conduct freespoken Sanskrit classes forchildren (6 years to 12 years)on all Saturdays from 5 p.m to6 p.m at Bharathia VidyaBhavan, ThanickachalamRoad (Opp. Mathsya Hotel), T.Nagar.Classes are just beginning.More details can be had bycalling 90033 44778 or 9952945676.All are welcome.Namasankeerthanamin AyodhyaMandapam todayBy Our Staff ReporterUnder the auspices ofHanumanthapuram PallakiSeva Trust, Dr. Ganesh andparty will perform ‘Namasankeerthanam’on Sunday,Feb. 24, from 7 p.m to 9 p.m inAyodhya Mandapam (AryaGowda Road, West Mambalam).All are welcome.The Trust has taken the initiativeto raise funds for buildinga temple car for SwamiRaghavendra Temple (Mantralayam).It has appealed to the devoteesto participate and contributegenerously towards themission.For more details about theproject, Savitha Balaji may becontacted in 72999 21173.New temple car inauguratedBy Our Staff ReporterHundreds of devotees participatedin the kumbhabhishekamperformed in KasiViswanathar Temple, WestMambalam, to inaugurate itsnew temple car, on Feb. 20.The 33-foot-high and 14-foot-wide car was pulled by thedevotees and taken aroundadjoining areas.It left the temple at 6 a.mand was brought back at 6p.mE. G. Shekar (President) saidthat brahmotsavam will takeplace from March 17 to 23 whenutsavamoorthy will be takenout on procession in the templecar.Rs. 8 lakhs collected throughM. J. Shriram’s concertBy Our Staff ReporterRs. 8 lakhs was collectedthroughthe fund raising concertgiven by M. J. Shriram inVani Mahal last week for the‘Single Teacher School’ projectstarted by Swami VivekanandaRural Development Society(Textan House, 75, 4 thAvenue, Ashok Nagar).R. P. Krishnammachari (ExecutiveSecretary) said thatthe project was started in 2006and so far such schools havebeen established in over 650villages in Thiruvallur, Kanchipuramand Vellore districts.He said that these schoolsoperate to give after-schooleducational support to poorstudents and more than 20,000students are enrolled in theseschools. Donors can avail 100%tax exemption.The details about the projectare available in the websitewww.singleteacherschools.org.Railwayreservation formhelps in findingowner of misplacedlaptopBy Our Staff ReporterThe contact number mentionedon a railway reservationform helped RPF personnelto restore a laptop forgottenby a commuter at MambalamRailway station on Feb.19.Constable Palanivel of RailwayProtection Force (RPF)who was patrolling MambalamRailway Station at around 7p.m on Feb. 19, noticed a blackbag lying abandoned on the footbridge opposite the reservationcounter.He enquired around but noone claimed the bag.He then took it to RPF officeand an announcement wasmade on the loudspeaker askingcommuters if any of themhad misplaced a black bag.When there was no response,S. Maharajan (Sub-Inspector)opened the bag to see its contents.He found a laptop and a passbookin the name of GracySagayaraj issued by a bank inTrichy.Suspecting Gracy mighthave come to reserve a ticketto Trichy, they approached theticket reservation counterand checked the reservationslips collected in the last houror so.After sifting through morethan 500 slips, they finallyfound one with her name on it.It also had her address andcontact number.When Maharajan contactedher on the phone at around7.30 p.m, he was surprised tonote that Gracy had still notrealized that she had lost herlaptop bag.She then came to RPF officeto collect her bag and thankedPalanivel and Maharajan fortheir help.Bus stop encroached by roadside vendorsBy Our Staff ReporterThe MTC bus stop opposite R4 Soundarapandiyanar Police Station (Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar) has been encroached byroadside vendors. The pillars of another bus stop on the same stretch have been defaced with posters.CMYK