Govindaraju. On a Selling Spree

Among his vast collection of rare newspapers and old journals is a copy of the first issue of The Indian Express — of 1932 vintage. And that can also be bought from S A Govindaraju, who after spending a life time building a literary treasure trove with passion, is planning to hang up his boots. At the age of 77, the voracious collector no more looks out for books or other things to add to his collection but looks for worthy buyers.  In fact, the man has preserved his collection carefully for 45 years, is now choosy about buyers, who are expected to prove their credentials to him. “I don’t sell my books to those who don’t love them,” he says.

Having inherited the passion — and also half the collection, which now comprises around 2000 books, magazines, newspapers, print advertisements,  jewellery catalogues and other things —  from his father, who was a doctor by profession, Govindaraju carried on the tradition till very recently when he realised that he can no longer preserve the treasure trove for long. All his children live abroad and they may not be able to maintain the huge collection, he feels.

So the precious possession is kept at the garage of his house in Raja Annamalai Puram (No 45/50, Second Main Road), which is regularly browsed through by people keen on picking up a piece or the other.

IAS officers, professors, politicians, celebrities and book lovers are among the visitors to the garage-turned-library, notable among them being actress Gautami and cartoonist Keshav.

The collection has a wide range of articles from jewellery catalogues to literary works, novels, books on philosophy, politics, spirituality, old Punch magazines, Harpers monthly magazine (1879), Penquin and Pelican publications, early advertisements for Lux soap, Titan watches, old Tamil magazines like Anandha Vikatan, Kalki and also painting of artist Silpi.

An alumni of Madras School of Social Work, Govindaraju had worked for companies like the  defunt B&C Mills, TVS and MRF, besides practising as an independent labour law consultant. Then he taught at the University of Madras in the Department of Politics and Public Administration.

The incorrigible book lover, however, has one concern: ‘The book industry is dying.’ He also has a grievance: Book collectors like him are not allowed to sell old books at the annual book exhibition in Chennai.

(Govindaraju can  be contacted on 9941132756 or at renuka_govindaraju@yahoo.com)

VEPERY BUSINESS MAGNET

A pleasant afternoon indeed, I travelled to vepery from anna square in order to check out the place. I had already been there sometime back, there was one petite thing which induced me to go back to that place of all the other places in Chennai.

Vepery is a heavily crowded place, which is situated between the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Central Railway station. The population there is mostly of Jains and therefore it has a huge Jain temple in the beginning of the area. It is surrounded by beautiful historic buildings such as the Dina Malar office and the St. Andrews Church. The place is quite sophisticated with good schools and colleges and also other social amenities. There is also a school for special children in the church grounds and also a lot of community buildings to fulfill the needs of the poor.

My main reason behind my re-visit to that particular place was because of a smart business magnet who belonged to that area. He might not have the looks of an entrepreneur who earns nearly millions  a day, but he has immense amount of knowledge  to win over his customers. 6000 a day might not sound a massive amount for many, but earning 6000 out of a roadside chat shop is huge and incredible. I met this man last month when I had come for a field work, he quenched my thirst as well as contented my hunger with his mouth-watering Pani Puri. I can still feel the taste of it when I think about it. An obese 50 year old man named Raja owns a chat stall on the E.V.K.Sampath Salai which is adjacent to the Malai Malar office. I have no idea if he adds some drug to his puri’s  but anybody who had his pani puri’s would definitely want to have it once again, it’s that delicious. He started off with just a cycle and a pot which would have the masala pani but now he has his own scooter, an apartment and his son studies at Agarwal Vidyalaya. Time changed him from a roadside vendor to an astonishing brilliant business man.

When I asked him what his business strategies are, he answered me casually with his master piece grin on his face “ I treat my customers like my buddies and make them feel comfortable that is the main reason behind all these Honda’s and Audi’s being parked infront of this roadside stall, secondly my prices are cheap when compared to other chat shops , I sell 15 pani puri’s for 20rs, which you cannot find anywhere else with this quality, thirdly my stall is in the right location, Vepery is one of the place which has large population of the Marwadi’s and Gujarathi’s who love chats, I also see to it I avoid garlic and onions for them and that’s how I earned goodwill from them.” And when asked about the fourth reason, he tackled me off by telling that the fourth one was a mix of his secret recipe and his secret business strategy, which he wouldn’t let out.

Whatever it may be, his preparations cannot be compared to anything less than the blissful nectar from heaven. He also prepares various other dishes such as Chocolate and cheese sandwich, Hot Sour Chilli Toast Sandwich, Noodles Sandwich and a lot more adding on to the regular chat variety. The prices are very affordable and shocking, nothing is more than 28rs and one plate of any chat from there can be shared by two for sure. His target customers are mostly the students of Agarwal Vidyalaya and G.S.S.Jain college, along with them there are plenty of students from Doveton Corrie who throng to the place to eat his special addictive Pani Puri’s.

His hardwork, dedication and a sharp mind has got him all that he wanted in his life. He is now a happy man living with the love of his life and his adorable son who studies in the 7^th grade. His story sets an example to all of us, it might be an old saying but it still has it’s own significance in one’s life  “ hardwork repays”.  His stall is right opposite the Jain temple in vepery, all of you must really taste this kind of food atleast once in your life time.

Insights of Ayyapppa Nagar

The residents of Ayyappa Nagar, a small colony behind the Koyambedu Market , are in a thorny situation due to the newly developing lorry parking. A vast area of more than 15 grounds, poses a big threat as the residents feel their privacy is completely lost. The compound wall of the the parking area is too low which makes the drivers and other strangers, staring at their residence all day and night. The colony has a total of 39 plots and around 374 residents, the locality is surrounded with good schools, park, departmental stores ,market , and both private and mofussil  bus stands  and is a highly developed colony, but of recent the area is losing its charm due to the immoral activities that are happening there.

The lorry drivers and cleaners indulge in obscene shameful activities, which make all the womenfolk feel very uncomfortable and insecure. This parking lot directly faces the colony’s premiere dance institute; Akshaya arts, “both the students & teachers feel that their privacy is completely lost as these people constantly stare , peep into the classes and pass outrageous comments during the class hours “ says Mr. Binesh Mahadevan ,Director Akshaya Arts. Everybody seems to be  apprehensive to even walk on that particular stretch of road as the street lights are constantly stolen or broken leaving the road pitch dark.

There other people too who cause a tough time to these residents, next to the parking is the corporations night shelter for the homeless, otherwise called as the round building. It serves as a safe place for most thieves and crooks. They trespass our flats during nights and sleep on our corridors, ring the bell  and disturb us during night, says Mr. Suresh, resident of the flats opposite the round building. It is a risky route for the womenfolk especially because of the pitch dark routes and lack of security, chain snatching and other immoral activities often happen here says Sasikumar, Executive member, Ayyappa nagar welfare association, even after constant complaints, the place isn’t got any better. The police pay attention for few days and lose interest after that.

The solitude and vast space has added up one more brutal incident, the murder of a money lender recently. The victim was told that his money would be returned if he came to that particular and was hacked to death by a few party men and the prime assassin. After this incident the policemen are more cautious and have kept a complaint box in front of the round building, though it never serves its purpose. The residents want the police to be more vigilant and heedful to bring back the charm of the colony.

TAILORED.

TAILORED!

A dancer’s costume is what that adds to the aesthetic appeal of their performance, and crafting the same is a god given gift . D.S.Aiyellu, a living legend in the field of Costume designing is one such gifted person. He started his career under the guidance of Sri. Ambedkar in 1944 at the Gemini studios and soon learnt the art form to set up his own independent division in 1946.

His career kicked off when he started designing costumes for Mrs. Vyjayanthimala bali , legendary actress/dancer , from 1950-1970 he served as her personal designer during the same time he also stitched costumes for yester years actress kamala and kanaka. In 1962, he set up his own tailoring outlet at tiruvalluvar street and later moved to his current shop located in Nandanam, in 1971.

From legends to upcoming artists, he has served a wide variety of artists spreading all over the world. If an artist looks perfect on stage , the credit always goes to Aiyellu’s costumes, which make the artists look like sculptures. Famous dancers like Padma Subramanyam, Ranganayaki Jayaraman , Bragha Bassel, Priyadarshini govind ,Alarmel valli , all prefer stiching theirs as well as their students costume with Aiyellu, as they feel he is a lucky charm to their artistic life. Actresses like Revathi , Hemamalini , Shobana also get their costumes stitched here, as they love his perfection. At the age of 82 , he still needles the thread with his naked eye.

When asked him how much time he takes to stitch one costume he says, “ if it is a simple one , it takes half a day, but if it’s a little complex one with Kacham and all, it takes one day for me to finish”. Though he has 5 to 6 staffs working under him, he always prefers to do most of the work as it gives him fulfillment . he also added that , “ I would like to rest only when my soul rests, till then I will serve the art fraternity to my fullest” , concludes Aiyellu. Sri. Aiyellu , received the Sangeeth Natak Academy award in the year 2005, but all those who have been benefitted by him , have a strong feeling that he must be given a “Kalaimamani” in the field of costume designing.

KEYchain TO SUCCESS

People enjoy collecting stamps, coins, antiques, and othrer valuables, whereas 42yr old Rajendra Rathi, of Sowcarpet finds pleasure, collecting Keychains of all kinds.

From plastics to precious metals,, Mr. Rathi has a rare collection of different varieties of keychains. It all started 25 years back, when he went on a school excursion, he was struck by this keychain seller on the roadside and got his first keychain of his collection from him. From then on he has had a strong desire to collect more and more of these and store at home. Today he has about 5000 keychains to his credit ranging from Plastics, fur, mud, white and black metals, bamboos, wood, silver and gold.

About 10% of his collection are made by him. When asked him how he finds time for all this after work and family chores he says with a confident smile, "After work watever time i have i devote for this completly", and moreover his family extends their fullest support to help him continue his untiring passion, his children always help him find new keychains and his wife patiently arranges them in a systematic and definite pattern which really serves as a visual treat.

Mr. Rajendra Rathi not only has keychains to his credit but also 2000 rare pictures of Lord Ganesha and about 3000 music cassetes from 1970's to 2000's. His untiring efforts must be recognised by the Limca book of records concludes Mr.Rathi.

Learning Blooms in Ayodhya Kuppam.

Ayodhyakuppam, a fishing colony near Marina beach, was once known for its criminals, particularly with gangster Veeramani's writ running large in the area. But after his death in a police encounter on the Marina sands in 2003, the 1,050 families in the colony have come under the spell of a do-gooder, a man with a vision called Sasi Kumar.

As president of the Ayodhyakuppam Welfare Association, Sasi Kumar has not only ensured that the dropout rate of children from the colony has come down to zero but has also admitted 102 students in school, some of them top-notch institutions where Chennai's affluent class send their children. Earlier, Sasi Kumar says, children from the colony attended the nearby government and aided schools and the dropout rate was almost 50 per cent.

In the colony that has about 100 graduates there is not a single professional college graduate, he says and pins his hopes on Mahesh, now a Plus One student of Hindu Senior Secondary School, who will be joining an engineering college. Sasi Kumar has already identified a sponsor to support the fisherman's son in his pursuit of his engineering degree provided he scores 1,100 marks out of 1,200 in the higher secondary examination and expresses a desire to help others when he grows up. Mahesh is a bright student and will score more than 1,100, says Sasi Kumar.

Sasi Kumar, now 38 years old, started the work in his colony 10 years back with a view to bringing about a change in the lives of the fishermen. "People here were living like savages and children rarely attended school as education was last on their priority list," says Sasi Kumar, who graduated from New College. The fishermen were exploited by the educated and wealthy class, who denied them remunerative prices for their catch and paid low wages for work done by them. So Sasi Kumar decided to catch them young and prepare them for a prosperous future. Since it has to start with education, he roped in his friends from outside the colony and found wellwishers and sponsors to support the education of the children of the colony. Using his influence he got admission for the children in premier schools like Rosary Matriculation, Hindu Senior Secondary, Washington Matriculation, Rex Matriculation, Sacred Heart (Church Park Convent), Children's Garden, Guru Vidhyalalya. Christ Church Matriculation and Monfort.

The high fees charged by some of these schools, the books and the uniforms were taken care of through sponsorship, while Sasi Kumar arranged for evening tuition and computer coaching inside the colony, which even has a small library for school children.

He promoted sports by providing the children with equipment and special coaching in volleyball, football and swimming.

One of the girls from the colony, Ragavi, represented India in the Commonwealth Games.

“Talent, potential and aspirations are high among our children, especially the girls. Given an opportunity they will excel,” says Sasi Kumar, who says he just needs generous sponsors.

The Dying Dryfish Market

Moolakotharam situated near the Basin Bridge is a famous dry fish market since 1860's. The goods came through the Buckingham canal from Gujarat, Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh, trade flourished in this part from where dry fish was exported to other parts of Tamil Nadu such as Tindivanam, Kumbakonam, Villupuram, Mayavaram to name a few. But as people started to get refined in terms of culture and life style, this place started to lose its charm and the number of traders drastically dropped down, from 200 shops in early 1900's  to 5 wholesale and 10 retail shops earning about Rs.1600/- per day.

Today, its condition is miserable, the Government has said that the area would be cleared in few months as the metro rail work is scheduled to begin soon. The Government has been showing a lot of injustice towards the people of this area, "they denied license to our shops for over 3 years and this year due to certain reasons they issued the license for all three years altogether", said Mr.M.V.Mohammed, a wholesaler in that area who has been there ever since his birth. When asked him , what he would do if he had to give up his shop, he said "we would put them on rickshaws and sell them wherever we can, "the Corporation is a powerful entity and we are nothing infront of them",says Mohammed.

They have given up and are ready to move out of the place eventhough they do not have a place of relocation. when asked other shopkeepers , they either kept silent or acted as if they had no idea of the issue, something ponders them from letting out their opinion, though they live in a land of complete freedom.

socially responsible journalism..

Markandey Katju inspires me to write this... Quite a cumbersome issue that has been rinsed, washed and dried too many times already, so instead of pulling out the dried aspects of the whole idea of socially responsible journalism, I'am going to share three stories, three little random events that provoked me to think.

The first one is an incident i happened to witness few days back. It was around 5pm on Monday and i was travelling from the university to my residence at koyambedu on a rickety public transport. It was a normal boring day, one which people associate with being a typical Monday, riddled with heavy traffic and over the top pollution. It was near NSK nagar stop that i noticed a lot of people craning their necks to get a good view of some event. What can possibly interest people grumbling their way back home from work? The sight i saw made my intestines curl into a tight knot. A man was being hacked to death by about 6 people in the middle of the road with about hundred people watching. As the bus moved on, i made a checklist in my mind to lookout for an article related to this gruesome event in the next day's newspaper, and on Tuesday to my disappointment, there was no account of the story in any of the leading publications. With a personal sense of guilt, one that comes with belonging to a community that has failed, i quizzed my HOD about this.
His answer only sunk me deeper into the ocean of guilt. He said most journalists today only summarise stuff that they get out of the crime journals from the commissioner's office. This statement left me gaping at a huge hole in the system. A Fatal flaw. How can we be so insensitive and irresponsible about the way we cover news. After all the talk about journalism being a 'noble profession' and all the social good cliches we throw out to people, this kind of cubby hole journalism is unacceptable. It doesn't even make commercial sense. News is breaking and its breaking faster all around us. Social media has given the power to the end users to report, to break news faster than ever. That smoothly brings us to the second story. Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US air raid on May 2nd. Now, that's not the story. The story is how the news got viral. The first accounts were first posted by a Pakistani man residing in the area on twitter. within minutes it was re-tweeted several times and the media eventually picked it up. The lesson here is, we really need to embrace technology. We are no longer the sole content creators in the world. There is an army of Internet savvy people out there who can deliver the so called breaking news. Do we sit around and watch while new and disruptive media enters or do we embrace it and generate content faster, better and more social than ever before. It would be a grave injustice to our work, community and to the Indian public at large if we do not embrace these technologies.

The third story relates to the latest remarks made by Mr. Markandey Katju, the new chairman of the Press Council Of India. Without going into detail, he pointed out 4 key problems with the Indian media.

• Twisting facts. The journalists today are so monotonous in their work, they often dont do their basic duty of carrying out a research before the write something. they are careless and end up with vague worthless facts.
• Paid news. This seems to be continuing for generations. They make news with their pockets being filled. The social responsibility of a journalist is burnt alive with fire in the form of currency. We are here to protect the interests of the public and not to work as the puppets of big shots.
• Creating hype over Non-issues as Real issues. This has become a trend with Page3 parties on a hype. In a country like India we have a million things to worry about, our Government is sloppy, there is corruption everywhere, thousands of farmers commit suicide and various other socio-political issues which need to be looked into and make people aware of it, but we rather tend to project the kind of life the upper class is enjoying and more of the celebrity talks than the real issues.
• Tendency to brand. The media often tends to brand one particular community for all the misery that happens in our country. They do not look deep into any aspect of it, all they want is to create a hype, every news channel wants to break the news first and therefore they don't even look at the after effects of it they blindly believe all kinds of rumours and publicly announce that such an such party or person belonging to a particular religion has been the source behind such brutality. and there starts the next conflict between people belonging to various religions and so on.

To summarize , ours is a developing nation of around 1.2 billion people. It is mathematically impossible to have a news scarcity. But filtering through the hay stack, delivering the right facts and telling a compelling story is our duty. The duty to the nation, to our profession and to our community. If you have noticed, I have left all three stories without a conclusion. Let us together script the conclusions to the problems plaguing our profession. I'm hoping that the future generation of journalists will ponder over these problems and arrive at a sustainable solution for our future and to give these stories a happy ending or is it a happy renaissance!!

RARE BOOKS

S.A.Govindraju, a 77 year old energetic gentleman with a very pleasing personality welcomed me with a wide smile on his face to his unique book stall “THE RARE BOOKS”. The very name of the stall had attracted me at the first sight. After glancing over a few  books, I became very curious to know how he managed... to get these books and from where?  Therefore I picked a conversation with him, and asked him about the same, without any hesitation and grumpiness that one holds as he gets aged, this person was kind enough to take time to answer my questions. With great delight he told me that, he has been collecting these books for over 45 years and has over 2000 and more books that are exceptional and uncommon. He had great literary works of Indian as well as the foreign writers who created a revolution during those periods. He also has special collection of work by different freedom fighters from different parts of the world such as Kenneth Kaunda the Zambian leader, Nelson Mandela and a lot more who are hardly known to the people these days.  His favourite among his collection is the Punch magazine which he adores a lot for the excellent cartoons sketched by great artists of Europe during 1840’s and so on. All these books were gifted to him by his father asking him to first “read and then preserve”. Preserve? , then why is he selling them? , was my next question, for which he answered in a very concerned tone “ I am getting older and weaker day by day, and whatever I have preserved , I want it to go to the right hands, who can understand the worth of the valuable piece of literature”, he also said that he was largely disappointed with the current generation of writers and readers as they have no quality in writing as well as reading, which is pushing the literature of the country to a very soiled state. Govindraju attempts to preserve what he can of the literary culture that is fast in decline. He also gave me a personal invitation to visit Rare Books, which is at R.A. Puram , Chennai-28 , to see much more of his massive unsurpassed collection of books.

BIENVENUE

Iam finally here!

I have been asked to write a blog ever since i updated my educational qualification as "studying: Mass Communication and Journalism on my facebook profile". After months of laziness i finally decided to start my blog and here it is "VANdaNAV", the name is very special to me as it has the name of two people who inspired me throughout my life one is of course me, Iam always inspired by my own self as i always believe in competing with myself and try to better my work than the one before , the second person is "NAV" my first friend,enemy,critic,and my most inspirational geek brother,a person who loves books and lives to read them,he is also one among those who pestered me to write a blog, this one is for him. My blog is a compilation of things i saw, learnt and got inspired during the course of my fieldwork and I hope to make a good start.