Shobha Warrier pays homage to M T Vasudevan Nair, the legendary writer and filmmaker who passed into the ages on Wednesday, December 25, 2024.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concern over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government despite pending money laundering cases against him. The court questioned the state government's decision, stating it is "terribly wrong" to appoint a person as a minister while facing legal proceedings. The matter has been adjourned to January 15, 2025.
Was this Chennai? Or Singapore? There's an area in Singapore that looked like a suburb of Chennai.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches against Chennai-based 'lottery king' Santiago Martin, the single biggest donor to political parties with over Rs 1,300 crore in electoral bonds, as part of a money laundering investigation. The action comes after the Madras High Court allowed the ED to proceed against Martin following a police decision to close the initial FIR against him.
Of these 212 million Indians, 133 million have untreated diabetes. Undiagnosed diabetes has been linked with complications such as diabetic retinopathy which can cause vision loss and blindness.
'With passage of time, Kamal did move away from the humdrum of commercial cinema, using it only as a peg to launch a new concept or new technology, as no other actor/film-maker has done in Indian cinema.' N Sathiya Moorthy assesses the career and politics of movie legend Kamal Haasan on his 70th brthday.
'We started AgniKul to show that space transportation should be as simple as road transportation.'
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
The bench said the report submitted by the special judge indicates that he has 29 cases with him. In many cases, the trial has begun while in many others the trial is yet to begin.
Balaji was arrested on June 14 last year by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam when he was the transport minister in an earlier AIADMK government.
The top court's order came after the Tamil Nadu government apprised it of the state having revoked his detention order following the opinion of an advisory board on the issue.
While agreeing to hear his petition on September 27 last year, the top court stayed the proceeding against Murugan that was pending in a special court in Chennai.
Ashwin has 20 scores of fifty or more in Tests, three more than Sir Richard Hadlee, while recording the same number of five wicket hauls as the great Kiwi in the format (36 five wicket hauls), solidifying his status as one of the format's greatest all-rounders.
'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
Always interesting, DMK politics is going to get even more absorbing in the days to come, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
'How do we truly measure a life? Is it in milestones or the fleeting moments we cherish later?' 'Or perhaps in the anniversaries that come each year, like an old friend?'
The bench not only issued notices to the state government and its police authorities, but also stayed the coercive proceedings against Shankar.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable.'
Granting the interim relief to Shankar currently lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said it would not decide the case on merits as the Madras high court is seized of the matter.
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Madras high court on Sunday held a special sitting to hear a plea of the wife of slain Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party president K Armstrong, seeking to bury his body at the party office in Chennai.
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'...without looking into yourself.' 'What matters most is human relationships and the human mind.'
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
The court observed it can't be denied that national security is always of paramount importance and any act linked to terrorism is liable to be restricted.
Veteran banker N Vaghul, who led the transformation of ICICI into a private sector lender, died on Saturday afternoon due to health complications. He was 88. Vaghul took over the reins of ICICI, then a public finance institution, in 1985 and turned it into a universal bank during his 11-year stint at the helm with the help of a young team as the economy liberalised.
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funding for Indian startups in the artificial intelligence sector has seen a dramatic decrease with deal sizes shrinking, notwithstanding the buzz around the country's potential as a major AI hub. Data from research agency Traxcn, which tracks PE/VC investments, shows that total funding for AI startups in India, which started with a bang in 2022 at $599 million, dropped sharply in 2023 to $168.4 million - a decrease of over 71 per cent.
Politics is not on the radar of 18 to 21-year-old Indians, reveals Rama Bijapurkar.
Velammal Institutions is the catalysing force behind this chess revolution in Chennai
The observations came from a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala while reserving the verdict on an appeal filed by NGOs -- Just Rights for Children Alliance of Faridabad and New Delhi-based Bachpan Bachao Andolan -- challenging a Madras high court verdict.
'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Incumbent DMK MP T Sumathy alias Tamizhachi Thangapandian will face-off former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, while the the AIADMK has fielded ex-MP Dr J Jayavardhan, who won from here in 2014.
Several Carnatic musicans have pulled out of Madras Music Academy's annual December conference to protest the Sangita Kalanidhi award to classical vocalist T M Krishna, who they allege has 'glorified Periyar' and vilified the Carnatic music community.