TOP 10; 8.HEY RAAM

This was a movie which came out with sky-high expectations,only to fall flat at the box-office.I was just 13 when the movie released and the first time that I saw this movie,I lost all the respect that I had for Kamal for I cant understand any single part of the movie.Not just me,many faced this problem.Reason:THIS MOVIE, WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME.5 years later,when I watched this movie again on television,I realised how naive I had been then, for this movie had everything in it to become a classic.

The movie begins with 89 year old Saket Ram(Kamal Haasan) in his death bed.On his way to the hospital,he thinks about his past and the movie moves in to the "Flash back" mode to the 1940's.Saket and his friend Amjad(Shahrukh Khan) are close pals working in Mohenjadaro as archeologists.When Saket comes back home to visit his wife Aparna(Rani Mukherjee) in Calcutta,he find the city in shambles due to clashes between the local hindus and muslims.Amidst the clashes,Aparna is brutally raped and murdered by muslim extremists.Saket,in a fit of rage kills them all and because of this incident,he develops a hatred towards all muslims.What he does thereafter and how does he changes his mind forms the rest of the story.

This is the first official directorial venture of Kamal and he does full justice to his tag.Just watch the video I've given below to know about his capabilities as a director.The story,screenplay and the narration are completely new to Indian Cinema.The most high point of the movie is the way Saket,whose initial aim was to kill Gandhi,later turns in to a Gandhian.Vasundhara Das,Hema Malini,Girish Karnad and Atul Kulkarni appears in meaty roles.

Ilayaraja's musical score is one of the reasons the viewers,get engrossed in the happenings.It is of a very high quality and Iam convinced of the fact that it is one of his best works.Iam not going to say anything about Kamal's acting because I am too little a person to talk about his acting.In short he is amazing in the movie.This movie is a must for all those who wants to peep in to the times of Partition and the effect it had on common man.

P.S:

9. PUDHUPETTAI

10.ROJA

HARSHA BHOGLE'S ANTICS

Harsha Bhogle,he certainly is one of my favourite cricket commentators...A man who has an eye for different situations....A small collecction of his famous comments...Here goes....
1. This was in a match btw india and SA.. umpire Rudi Kuertzen caught on camera sporting a rare smile. Harsha commented.... "last time Rudi Kuerzten smiled there was peace in west asia"
2. This is again from the natwest trophy final..When Yuvraj got out at a very crucial stage..Harsha's one liner.. " Yuvraj singh will realize that this will be his longest walk back to the pavillion "
3. When Sachin once got out to a lollypop offspinner (I guess it was Michael Vaughan) in '02. He wonderfully said, " Oh what a shame. It was reminiscent of a soldier who survived the war when all the bullets were flying by his nose and then got run over by a bicycle in his native town ."
4. Ind vs Aus 2000 icc knockout champioship played in Kenya. (Yuvi's debut) Sachin was smasing all aussie bowlers, and then he his a superb off drive off Lee. harsha : " this innings by Tendulkar has been a beautiful garden, the last shot being the most beautiful flower in it "
5. Ind vs Nzl. (in Nzl 2002-2003) Sehwag had MANY lucky escapes. when he was dropped once again. Harsha : " its been that kind of a day. today Sehwag can walk blindfolded across a busy highway and not get runover ."
6. Natwest Final: During Nasser Hussain's mistimed hits/top edges on his way to his maiden hundred " Nasser Hussain is trying desperately hard to find innovative ways of getting himself out"
7. In the same match... " if you are not watching this segment of play, don't ever call yourself a cricket lover anymore. you are watching cricket of a very high order here".
8. Here's an old one...at perth Adam Gilchrist took a blinder and he described Gilly's dive thus, " ... some of the sea-gulls flying here are going to get a complex."
9. When Tendulkar got a hundred he said " touch of Class & stamp of Authority "
10. Recently in India's tour of South africa...he blurted out suddenly after Sreesanth's antiques with the bat and hips..." dis is the funniest thing u'll ever watch on a cricket field"...!!
11. When Smith dropped Sachin in the 2nd Test Graeme Smith would be hoping that the world under his feet opens up & he would find a crevice large enough for him to slip through....
12. After India lost the recent test series in SA India lost the series because they surprised themselves by winning the 1st test . A win should never be a surprise .
13. After Anil Kumble scored his maiden Ton...this is what our great man had to say...
" This is the most romantic moment in Indian Cricket....."
14. " The last time Billy gave lbw , Berlin wall was not there , there was peace in Afganistan,..................."
15. In a match between Aus n SL , Harsha said to Ian Chappell , " I am sure you'll never become a lawyer , I understand everything you say "
Ian Chappell had no counter for this.
16. Harsha was hosting the ICC Awards before the T20 World Cup and he called on Jonty Rhodes to present an award. So as Jonty began climbing down the stairs, Harsha exclaimed, ''it's pretty unusual to see Jonty walk down the stairs, I thought he might slide down them !"
17. When the wickets were falling in a heap in the T20 match...
THIS SERIES IS SPONSERED BY KFC AND THE WICKETS ARE FALLING FASTER THAN THEIR (KFC's) DELIVERIES....
18. When Gambhr was dropped twice on consecutive deliveries, - " We should conduct a dream job in Australia & the winner will get to stand in the slip region!!!!!!"
19. When Kumble and Ishant were batting, Hussey dropped a catch of Ishant off the bowling of Johnson and Harsha exclaimed," It's autumn in Adelaide. It's the time when leaves change their colour and they start dropping. Here, as well the catches are dropping..".
20. In a match, Dravid left a ball alone while batting. To this Gavaskar, who was commenting alongside Harsha was very impressed by the way he left the ball. He went on appreciating that for a minute or so. After this Harsha's comment was, " Sunny, you nearly got an orgasm of happiness, didn't u!" & then both burst out into laughter!
21. Dhoni is battin with Anil Kumble.. Dhoni calls for a tight single,n Harsha has this to say," Dhoni scrambles for a single n causes Anil Kumble n all of his 37 yrs to rush to the other end.."
22. After Shaun Tait did not live up to the hype Cricket Australia created around him, Ponting took him off the attack. Harsha, in his own inimitable style: 'Shaun Tait should go up to Ponting and say " Hello Mr ponting, my name is Shaun Tait, and I am supposed to take 45 wickets in this test match "
23. HB was analysing the innings of Laxman...Laxman made a crucial 79 in the second innings. HB said something like- " Aussies must be feeling that whenever we are on the verge of 17th,this man(Laxman) comes in between!"
24. RP SIngh walked in but it was Laxman on strike. So the Aussies wanted him to take a single and get RP on strike... so they spread out the field completely, with only the keeper, one slip and one gully inside the 30 yard circle..
That's when Harsha says .. "now suddenly, Don Bradman is batting out there in the middle... "
25. Seeing the flock of seagulls flying across the pitch Harsha tells Wasim Akram : " As you would say in Punjabi... kee gull hai? sea gull hai!!! "
26. When Michael Clarke was caught at slip off kumble , he was still watin 4 da decision , over this Harsha said, " I think he is waiting for tomorrow's newspaper to declare him out"
27. Yuvraj hit the long six off brett lee went outside the stadium in durban 'are there people working late in the office there....... we want the ball back'
28. In T-20 gayle hit a monstrous six but but fell just short of the golf course outside the stadium Harsha: " wat a poor shot just misses the golf course "
29. " If i cannot be Tendulkar then Tendulkar can also not be me "
30. The players told their favourite shots while coming on to bat.... Collingwood said "a little nudge of the pads" and Pietersen said blocking the ball.... Harsha commented " the next thing they'll say is that their favourite shot is to leave the ball alone"
31. What an introduction to India -Australia semifinal: " This is a battle between unstoppable force against immovable object "!!!!

DEVARMAGAN HERO-SIVAJI Or KAMAL

Recently, I watched the movie,Devar magan.I have watched the movie umpteen times before,but this time it had a big impact on my mind.Perhaps, I have matured with age.What a stupendous movie it is??? But I still feel it didn't receive the kind of accolades that it should have received.For that matter many of Kamal's movie had suffered similar fates,notable examples being "Anbe Sivam" and "Hey Ram". The major fact that the movie had a bigger impact on me this time is the performance of the legendary thespian Sivaji Ganesan who plays the role of Kamal's father.It was a treat watching the actor perform.I staunchly believe that this movie is his best work till date.Many would disagree.Of course he has given us some superb movies like "Vietnam Veedu","Veerapaandiya Kattabomman","Rajapaart Rangathurai",to name a few.But Devar Magan ranks atop for the sheer fact that none of his other performances have been as natural as this one.For a change, Kamal Haasan was completely over shadowed in all the scenes that he appears along with Sivaji.In my opinion apart from Kamal and Bharathiraja(in "Mudhal Mariyathai") no one has utilised Sivaji better in his later years as an actor. When you have Amitabh Bachan doing variety of roles in his later years I sincerely pity for Sivaji Sir that we haven't been able feed his thirst for good roles. While waching the movie two scenes caught my attention.The first one is when Sivaji asks kamal to do something good for his people.His expressions and dialogue delivery are absolutely chanceless.The second one is the scene when Kamal asks the "Kanakku Pillai" to cancel his ticket. One thing is for certain.Tamil Cinema certainly misses this great actor who could have given much more than what he has delivered.

KANDHASAMY-MY REVIEW

In recent times how often have you come out of a movie theatre with a sense of satisfaction? The past two years have not been good for Tamil Cinema altogether with only as many as 10 movies being profitable ventures.The rest have all been crap, to say the least.Kandhasamy belongs to the latter category.Its shocking that a wonderful actor like Vikram has acted in a movie with such a wafer thin story line and a dreadful screenplay which has consumed more than 40 crores.

When Tamil Cinema is moving towards neo-realism with movies like Nadodigal,Pasanga..etc Susi-Ganesan comes up with a SUPER-HERO story involving Vikram,Shreya Saran,Ashish Vidhyarthi,Vadivelu and others.Kandhasamy IPS(Vikram), does exactly what Rajni had done in Sivaji, but as a CBI officer.He does a RobinHood, takes money from the rich and distributes the money among the poor.The only difference is in the fact that he does them in the disguise of God.Yup..You got it right..God.There is nothing interesting in the screenplay apart from this fact.

Shreya has shown everything that she could. From here-on she could only go nude.She just comes,fights with Vikram,dances and goes.Adding to the viewers misery is her voice.It is so shrill that you get frightened at the first instance.Except the climax, the director has failed in justifying his expenditure.

Now let me take a look at some of the positives,though there are very few.Vikram,as usual looks handsome and does what is expected of him and does them with a penchance.Though the veterans Prabhu and Y.G Mahendra tries to lift the movie with their natural potrayal,the screenplay is so poor that the movie falls flat.The rest of the actors just fall apart.The music is just about okay.The movie could have been crisper but still the editor had done a fair job.The camera-work by N.K. Ekambaram is one of the high points of the movie.

Iam still shocked by the fact that I have watched this movie buying the ticket for 150 rs and the overall expenses have crossed 300 bucks.My sincere advice to all those wanting to watch this movie is "BETTER SPEND THEM ON CHARITY".Atleast you'd make someone happy rather than sitting in a theatre with a grim face wondering what the director is trying to conveyy.Let two weeks pass by and you can download them for free.If you are still interested in watching this movie,may your soul REST IN PEACE

VERDICT: AVOID IT

MARKS: 5/10

TOP 10; 9.PUDHUPETTAI

Pudhupettai(2006) is a Dhanush starrer, directed by his brother Selvaraghavan.It is till date,the best work of both Dhanush and Selva.The story revolves around Kokki Kumar(Dhanush),who escapes from his home after seeing his father kill his mother.After facing several ordeals and using his cunningness,he becomes the goon who literally rules Pudhupettai,a part of the city of Chennai.

The success gives him over-confidence and he makes enemies,big time which forces him to go in to hiding.What happens next forms the rest of the story.

The movie was criticized heavily for its display of violence and gore.Some felt that the movie had too much of graphic detail about the life of the goons of Chennai.The movie was not a big Box Office grosser,but still I can assure that there have not been a Tamil movie which was as realistic as this movie.The tag-line of the movie is "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" and this tag aptly sums up the movie.

The film was technically superior with outstanding camera-work by Arvind Krishna and editing by Kola Bhaskar.But the lime-light was hogged by three persons,Dhanush,Director Selvaraghavan and the Music Director Yuvan Shankar Raja.For Dhanush, it was a role of a life-time and he gave a performance of a life-time.The film out and out Selva's and while watching the movie you could feel the amount of work Selva has put in to the movie.The screen-play,potrayal of the characters,subtle expressions,powerful dialogues and the movie's closeness to reality all stand testimony to Selva's class.

But in my opinion Yuvan has clearly over-shadowed everyone in this movie.Leave aside the songs,everyone following Tamil Cinema know what he is capable of but it was with the background score with which he was absolutely amazing.The interludes were of the first class.

Sadly,but expectedly this movie did not recieve the accolades it should have recieved.But in my book this movie certainly ranks among the Top 10.

P.S: 10.Roja

DOWNLOAD MICHAEL JACKSON'S SMOOTH CRIMINAL

To download the full video of the Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal,Click Here

DOWNLOAD NADODIGAL VIDEO SONGS

The Video is of DVD Quality.Click on the below links to download the songs.

Adungada Machan Adungada

Yakka Yakka

Sambo Siva Sambo(Interval)

Sambo Siva Sambo(Climax)

Ulagil Entha Kadhal(Ananya)

Ulagil Entha Kadhal(Sasikumar)

DOWNLOAD AYAN FULL MOVIE-DVD9

To download the full DVD quality print of the movie click on the links below

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

TOP 10; 10.ROJA

At the 10th place is Roja,directed by Manirathnam.For a change,it had a different story and a gripping screen play.It is one of those Tamil movies which reverberated throughout India,thanks to its universal theme.This movie had everything going its way,Santhosh Sivan's tilting camera,Manirathnam's direction,the lead pair's soulful acting,and above all it was A.R.Rahman's first movie and he absolutely rocked.It was the first of Manirathnam's political trilogy(Bombay and Dil Se followed).

Roja(Madhu Bala) is a young lady born and brought up in Southern India. She marries Rishi(Aravindsamy) and they leave the village to settle in the city, where both fall in love. Rishi, who works for the Indian Government, is instructed to go to the troubled state of Kashmir on a classified mission, Roja goes along. Then Roja's world is shattered when Rishi is abducted and held for ransom by a group of militants who want an independent Kashmir, and the release of a terrorist held with the Indian military forces. Roja persists in her efforts to get her husband back.

It was perhaps the first movie which talked extensively about the Kashmiri militants.As usual Mani was perfect with his screen play and the high point of the movie is the scene where the militants try to burn the Tricolour.Arvindsamy's acting and A.R.Rahman's background score pushed up this particular scene by several notches.This movie also had some brilliant performances from Nasser,Janakaraj and Pankaj Kapur revelled in his role as the militant head,Liaqat.It is one of those very few Indian movies which told the viewpoint of the militants in its true light.In he climax,though the lead pair re-unite, you could feel a sense of sympathy towards the antagonist and this is the movie's USP. I recommend this movie to all thos patriots out there and I assure you ,you will not be disappointed

.

Disclaimer:

First of all I'd like to mention here that these movies were rated by me purely in my taste.It doesn't mean that this is a comprehensive list,but still it has a high level of accuracy,in my opinion.Readers are bound to have a difference in opinion and I expect them to express those differences as comments.

Top 10 Tamil Movies

When I meet people from other states,I ask them "Do you watch Tamil Movies?".Most of them would reply to me saying they don't know which movies to watch because they don't want to waste their time watching crap movies.Once during a train journey from Madurai to Mysore I met a Belgian by name Johannes.He too asked me to suggest some Tamil movies to him and I did so promptly.Many people will have the same doubts in their mind.For their sake Ive decided to write about the Tamil movies which I think ranks among the All Time top 10.Starting from today I'll write about one movie,a day.Do watch out.

Raja Raja Cholan's Memorial(Samadhi)

This is the video footage which shows the dilapidated condition of the memorial(Samadhi) of Raja Raja Cholan(Arul Mozhi Varman),one of the greatest rulers India has ever seen.I was in tears watching this video.Ever since reading Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan and several other novels based on his life,I was fascinated by him and that inspired me look deep in to Tamil's history.I can't
say I know the history inside out but as far as I know he ranks among the likes of Ashoka,Samudra Gupta and Akbar.In fact it was under his reign that KUDAMUZHUKKU(an exercise by which the village head would be elected by the people of that particular village through election) system was introduced.I'll write about this syatem in detail some other day.In a way it was a predeccesor to the modern day elections.A 1000 year old memorial of a emperor lying in shambles and our Chief Minister spends crores for installing a statue of some unknown poet.This could happen only in Tamil Nadu.GTH guys.

RAHUL DRAVID IS BACK

So,the Indian team for the Lankan Tri-Series and Champions Trophy has been selected and as usual there has been a huge hue and cry over the selection.This time,the fodder for the media is THE WALL,Mr.DEPENDABLE...who else but Rahul Dravid.To me,his inclusion to the team was imminent ever since Fidel Edwards bowled that fatal bouncer to scalp Gautham Gambhir in the ICC World T20 Super Eight match in England.With Sachin not in the side for the ODI series against the Windies that followed the T20 debacle the "Talented" Indian batsmen struggled once again.So, Rahul is being drafted in to the squad to bolster the batting strength.But I really cant comprehend what his role would be in this team.If it is a stop-gap arrangement to win the Champions trophy,then the selectors have done a grave mistake.Rumours are that Rahul has made a pact with the BCCI to give him a chance so that he could quit the ODI's gracefully,which to me looks childish.Rahul is a legend, no doubt but with his inclusion the selectors have put themselves in a precarious position.For a batsman of his class,he certainly will score runs and guys dont be surprised if he comes out on top of the batting charts in the Champions Trophy.Now what will the selectors do if Rahul performs well?Will they drop him even if he plays well which will certainly be a disgrace to the legend.Iam not asking for them to retain Rohit Sharma,who was simply pathetic,to say the least.But why not guys like Badrinath,Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli who have staked their claim for a spot in the team with tonnes of runs in the domestic circuit?If the selsctors had an eye on the 2011 World cup they should have given a chance to these guys instead of a veteran whose future in the ODI team is rather bleak.But as a fan of Rahul Iam looking forward to see those delicate cuts,wristy flick off the pads which I have been missing.

COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF LATER PANDYA KINGS

Jatavarman Kulasekara-I :- 1190 AD to 1210 AD:

He was son of Vikraman. His Meikeerthi is a very good source. He fought and

compromised with the Chola king Kulothunga-III. His reign may be

regarded as an important land mark in the history of the second Pandyas.

He ruled Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari

areas. He created the Rajagambira Chaturvedi mangalam, consisting

of 1030 Brahmadeyas. So he was known as “Rajagambeera”. He

appointed Maravarman SundaraPandya as his crown prince.

Maravarman SundaraPandya - I :-1216 AD to 1231 AD:

He was the brother of Jadavarman kulasekara. He had titles like Kaliyugarama,

AdisayaPandyadeva. The King SundaraPandya was an ambitious

competant, and capable ruler. He fought wars against the cholas and

the Kongu kings. Maravarman sundaraPandya captured some portions

of Trichy and modern Pudukottai districts. A good part of the Vishnu

temple at Tiruttangal was built. After him Jadavarman Kulasekara– II

ruled for sometime.

Maravarman Sundara Pandya - II :- 1238 AD to 1253 AD:

He made many grants to temples. He defeated the chola king

Rajendra-III.

Jatavarman Sundara Pandya - I :- 1251AD to 1268AD:

He succeeded Maravarman Sundara Pandya – II. He had title as Tribhuvana

Chakravarthy for conquering Elam, Kongu and the chola kingdom.

During his time the Pandya kingdom became the Pandya empire. The

cholas completely disappeared from the Tamil scene. The hoysalas

retreated to the Mysore highlands. Ceylon was conquered. The

Kongudesam became a province of the Pandya kingdom. The chera

ruler was defeated. Due to these victories Jatavarman Sundara Pandya-

I was known as “Emmandalamum Kondarulliya pandiya”.

Religious Endowments: Jatavarman Sundara Pandya-I provided the

roof of Nataraja Shrine in Chidambaram with gold tiles. He built a hall

and the west tower of Chidambaram temple. He rendered the same

golden service to the Ranganatha swami shrine in Srirangam. So he

was titled as “Ponveintha Perumal”. He also endowed liberally to some

Jain pallis. He patronised Saivism, Vaishnavism and Hinduism. He

coronated his son Maravarman Kulasekaran-I as the crown prince.

Maravarman Kulasekaran–I: 1268AD–1308 AD:

During his reign foreign writer Morcopolo visited Tamil country and wrote about

it. The social condition of the Tamil country was known from the writings

of Muslim historian Wassaf. Maravarman captured kollam from Chera

nadu. Due to this he was called as “Kollamkonda Pandya”. He invaded Ceylon and brought huge wealth from Subhagiri fortress and the tooth

relic of the Buddha to Madurai. His Kingdom expanded till cholanadu

and upto Thondaimandalam. He appointed Jatavaraman Sundara Pandya

as Viceroy of the Kongu country and Maravarman Vikrama Pandya as

Viceroy of Chengleput and South Arcot Districts. He built the outer

wall of Nellaiyapper temple in Tirunelveli.

War of success among the Pandya heir apparents made the

muslim rulers to invade Pandya kingdom. Malik Kafur invaded and

carried away as much loote as possible. The whole Pandya country

became part of Muslim empire. The second Pandya rule which lasted

for 120 years marked a significant land mark in the history of Tamil

country. During the period of second Pandya rule the glory of the Pandyas

expanded to North only to north India but also to Srilanka.

Eeram-Audio songs download

Eeram,an S Pictures production has Nandha and Aadhi of Mirugam fame as lead actors.Music is by Thaman Sai,The fat boy who appeared in Boys.He seems to be the next big thing in Tamil Cinema.

To download the songs click here

Malai Malai-My review

I really wonder for how long are we going to see a movie in which the hero,an angry young man from a village comes to the city and bashes up the villain,a city ruffian.Malai Malai is one such movie.The story is pretty simple,a tried and tested one.Arun Vijay and Prabhu, are brothers.Prabhu is unmarried and Arun Vijay is always on the lookout for a suitable bride for his brother.Meanwhile Arun Vijay falls for Vedhika,relative of his neighbour Pandu. and she too reciprocates.In one village function Prabhu sees Kasturi and seems to develop a liking for her but doesn't shows his feelings.Vedhika, a RJ returns to her homeplace Chennai and Arun Vijay,since being a typical Tamil Cinema hero also goes to chennai in search of her.There he meets Prakash Raj and circumstances! makes them foes.How Arun Vijay tackles Prakash Raj forms the rest of the story.Sounds pretty similar huh???
A.Venkatesh,the director has given us a cocktail of several hit movies like Dhool,Thiruppachi..etc.The biggest saving grace of the movie is Santhanam and he simply rocks in the limited opportunities that is give to him.Kanju Karuppu,simply irritates in the name of comedy.Now,we come to the hero.Arun Vijay after all his failures has decided that action is his route.He does what is expected of him.Way to go man...Vedhika,the heroine looks ravishing and stunning.But the story simply lets all these talented actors down.I wonder,how does Prakash Raj does the same role repeatedy in different movies?Wont he get bored?Prabhu too does his part well.
Mani Sharma, the composer does a decent job and his background score iseems similar to his earlier movies.The Director has been sure of his target audiences,the B and C centres and the movie should satisfy them.After all the years of toil and disappointment Arun Vijay seems to have got his first breakthrough.

Verdict:Watch it if you have no work

Marks: 6/10

WHY IS RAJA RAJA STANDING OUTSIDE??

Why do the Hindi politicians who control the Indian Government refuse permission to install Emperor Raja Raja Cholan's statue within the outer walls of the Thanjai Big Temple?

Many thousands of Hindu devotees and tourists from around the world visit the Thanjai Big Temple. If Raja Rajan's statue is installed on the temple grounds for all to see, they may ask the others and tour guides about him and will come to know of his conquests, his majesty and the glorious days of the Second Golden Age of Tamil Nadu. The Hindian controlled Indian Government does not want people to know about this glorious past and the great kings of Tamil Nadu who are second to none. Hindian politicians and elite want people to think that all the glorious past of Indian history is centered on the Hindi heartland of today. They want to hide and put under a blanket all other histories, be it that of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala or Tamil Nadu, for example.

Read the history books used at schools under the jurisdiction of the Indian Government (Central Schools and schools accredited under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)). You will read in detail about the kings and emperors who ruled from what is today the Hindi heartland, for example, Chandra Guptan, Ashokan, Akbar, et al. But you will not read very little about the Tamil kings or the Bengali kings or the Assamese kings, etc. (Count the pages in those books. Tamil kings get less than 5% of what is allotted for kings from the present Hindi belt region. Great kings like Senguttuvan and Karikalan are not even mentioned.) In the Indian history according to Hindians, these lands do not have a glorious history worth mentioning although, in truth, every one of these nations has a rich past. Refusal to grant permission to install the statue of one of the greatest emperors of South Asia on the grounds of the temple he built is just another attempt by the Hindian politicians to hide the glorious past of the Tamil people.

(NOTE: Emperor Raja Raja Cholan is not the only one whose history the Indian Government wants to hide. About two decades ago, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi tried to distort the history of Emperor Rajendra Cholan's conquest of the Ganges Plains (today's Hindi land). I published an article about it in the Tamil magazine ":Thamizh Nilam" a decade ago.)

About a year after the publication of the article, in January 2002, the Indian Government controlled National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released the new curriculum for Indian History to be taught at Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and other schools affiliated with the Indian Government. It came under criticism from some historians. The noted educator Dr. Arjun Dev said that no political unit of the Deccan and South, except the Rashtrakutas, find a mention in the syllabus of ancient India for Class XI. Even the Satavahanas, Pallavas, Chalukyas and Cholas do not find a place.