அவள் ஒரு மேனகை; என் அபிமான தாரகை

 

Tinseldom, Cinema is a dream factory !!  Everyday thousands dream to become a Hero or heroine, becoming famous overnight and earning crores. 

Am unable to understand how the heroes of 1970s still linger with hope of acting in one more film and overtly state that they still need more money – what happens to the crores earned during their half-century of career !!!  Ever heard of a hero (rather a main actor) in a Tamil movie of 1980 involving a famous heroine ! – Hari Prasath !! 

அவள் ஒரு மேனகை; என் அபிமான தாரகை;  அவள் ஒரு மேனகை

 

கலையென்னும் மானிடை மின்னும் தேவதை

காவிய வடியோரு நடமாடும் பொன்மகள் - ரஞ்சனி சிவரஞ்சனி சிவரஞ்சனி 

 

This song with music of Shankar Ganesh was a big hit – movie - Natchathiram (transl. Star) directed by Dasari Narayana Rao and starring Sripriya released in 1980.  It starred Hariprasath, Mohan Babu and host of others in guest roles. It was a remake of the 1978 Telugu film Sivaranjani where the famous film actress was played by Jayasudha.  

 

Nothing of the above has any relevance to the angel pictured by me today – with some background edit – a beautiful white Pigeon

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
5.4.2026

Boom Boom ....... booooom BumraH !!

 

This photo of what I had posted this day 2013 – popped up in FB now.  No prize for guessing who it is !! 

 

Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut on April 4, 2013, for the Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

 

He had been bought for 10 lakhs and was greeted with 3 boundary hits by King Kohli but his first wicket was that of Kohli and went on to finish that impressive debut at   3/32.  Strangely, he played only 2 matches in the 2013 season.  The Mumbai Indians purchased him again in the 2014 auction for INR 1.2 Crores. This year he was retained by MI at 18 Crores

 

He made his ODI debut in 2016 and has not looked back, becoming the lead bowler in all formats. 

 
S. Sampathkumar
4.4.2026

the affable elephant of Triplicane temple ~ and a friendly Photographer

 

A ‘B & W’ photo dating back to more than 50 odd years rekindles nostalgic memories, especially for Triplicane vasis. Elephants always attract me 

Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, and they are most attractive and  unique-looking animals, too. With their characteristic long noses, or trunks; large, floppy ears; and wide, thick legs, there is no other animal with a similar physique.   An adult African elephant's trunk is about seven feet (two meters) long! It's actually an elongated nose and upper lip.  When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows. Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.  An elephant's trunk is a fusion of its upper lip and its nose. Filled with more than 100,000 muscles, this huge appendage is both powerful and extremely dexterous. An elephant can use its trunk to rip a limb from a tree or to pick up a single blade of grass.  Elephants also use their trunks as snorkels when they wade in deep water.  

The ancient kingdoms of South India had perennial rivers, monsoon forests and many elephants.  Elephants played a great role in many wars and were treated as a great wealth for the Kingdom.  The anthologies and epics of Sangam literature have given heroic admiration to elephants. Elephants are majestic – the special battalion of elephants was sought after … its thick hide would protect from injury ~ the high riding portion gave the rider a good view to attack…     

Residents of Triplicane will ever remember the great majestic beautiful tusker named “Azhwan”. This was one who probably never misbehaved. This gigantic one would be bathed, decorated with thiruman on its forehead and would accompany perumal purappadu. At the end of the purappadu have seen Azhwar offering ‘saamaram’ to Perumal and would walk backwards. It used to carry sacred water (Thirumanjana kudam) from the temple tank, being taken in a procession every morning. 

This extremely kind elephant was a favourite amongst children and grown up. I have spent hours standing and watching its activities. Have ascended a couple of times on it also as it went on procession before the Perumal during maada veedhi purappadu. The feeding of Azhwan at Triplicane  was a much watched event. The mahout used to give it large round balls of rice cake with jaggery, made in the temple. When it came around in streets, people used to offer bananas, jaggery, and sugarcane – it would also eat branches of tree. There were other reports that it was tamed so much that it would happily drink coffee from nearby Vaitha hotel as also take things like kadalai urundai. 

The passing away of affable Azhwar in 1977 (14th Feb 1977)  was indeed a very sad event. Many of us wept. The mortal remains were kept for public viewing and thousands came to pay floral homage to it. Thousands accompanied the funeral cart – when it was taken in a lorry and buried at NKT Girls High school. Some months later (21st June 1977), a small male calf  aged 3 at that time was presented to the temple – Mohan was a playful truant. All of us started enjoying its little pranks. As it grew up, it became violent and more than a couple of occasions, got wild, threw things on its way out violently and went running in narrow lanes of Triplicane, making people feel threatened. 

Unfortunately, during that time there were more incidences of elephants turning violent and the then Govt. banned usage of elephants especially during the Iyappa processions and other public festivals. There were complaints from some quarters and the cumulative effect saw the sending away of Mohan to Guindy Park and then to Vandalur. Every time, I go to Vandalur and see a fully grown male elephant, I reminisce that it could be Mohan whom I saw as a small less than 3 ft child elephant. 

The man sitting on the elephant  is Mr Thanjai Moorthi, now in his mid 80s. A few decades ago, he ran a photo studio – ‘Thanjai Moorthi photo studio’ at kulakkarai – a very friendly person who gave people the face to remember (PP photos) – there was Maruti studio too, at Thiruther entrance (more about this later). The studio provided employment for some Triplicane youngsters too. 

Recently spent sometime with Mr Thanjai Murthi listening to Triplicane old stories – he shared this photo of him on top of Triplicane temple elephant Azhwan  [I remember Azhwan to be a tusker though !] 

 

Elephant loving Triplicane resident – S. Sampathkumar.
4.4.2026

Jumping Napoleon Mastiff at Zambazaar

I saw that big monster jumping playfully  over the head of a man ! On a busy Zambazaar area, Triplicane, it was unusual sight, to say the least !  - when asked a nearby person whispered – it is “Napolean Mastiff” – standing on its hindlegs, it was around 6 ft or so tall !!! This dog has   heavy "flews" (hanging upper lips) and noticeable folds on the forehead and dewlap (the skin under the throat).

 

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog !  Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit

And you ain't no friend of mine

 

Well, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, you ain't never caught a rabbit ~ And you ain't no friend of mine 

 

The Mastiff  is a giant dog breed known for its colossal size and exceptionally gentle, "couch potato" temperament. While they were historically used as formidable war and guard dogs, modern Mastiffs are beloved family companions often described as "gentle giants" due to their patient and affectionate nature. 

Making web searches, I realized that Napoleon, the fighter was not associated with dog.  Some  dogs are historically or fictional associated with the name Napoleon, most notably a famous 19th-century circus Newfoundland named "Napoleon the Wonder Dog," and the bloodhound character in Disney's The Aristocats. While Napoleon Bonaparte himself was initially indifferent to dogs.    

You don’t have to speak a word of Italian to understand opera. With a universality that transcends spoken word, its arias plunge a listener into the depths of our most primal human emotions – love and hate, jealousy and revenge. You also don’t need to know anything about dogs to register the similarly strong emotions evoked by the sight of a Neapolitan Mastiff. From their thick, rope-like facial wrinkles to their tree-trunk-sized limbs, this is a dog of unadulterated power and primitivism. In their elastic, lumbering gait, which belongs more to a big cat than a mere canine, there is a sheer bestiality that summons archetypes older than civilization itself. 

This is no “Napoleon” – but   a Neapolitan Mastiff  - called so,  because it originated in Naples, Italy.  The name "Neapolitan" is the adjective form for the city of Naples. The breed's history is deeply rooted in this region:  - Mastino Napoletano!!     They descend from the massive Molossian war dogs used by the Roman army.  After the Roman era, these dogs were selectively bred by farmers and estate owners in southern Italy—specifically around Naples—to be formidable guardians of homes and livestock.   

A few years ago, the Government of India moved to prohibit the import, breeding, and sale of the Neapolitan Mastiff, classifying it among 23 "ferocious" and dangerous dog breeds – not sure whether such dogs are there in large nos. in India – this picture was taken on the streets in 2015. 

Moving away,  the reference of a dog in Napoleon's life comes when he married Josephine.  She had a little Pug dog named Fortune. Although Pugs have a reputation for being rather mild in their temperament, Fortune spent most of his time in Josephine's apartments and became quite possessive and hostile toward men when they were around his mistress. 

The lyrics at the start are of - "Hound Dog" is   song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton in  1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one.  "Hound Dog" has been recorded more than 250 times. The best-known version is the  1956 recording by Elvis Presley, which ranked number 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, but was excluded from the revised list in 2021 in favor of Thornton's version.  Elvis  Presley's version, which sold about 10 million copies globally, was his best-selling song and "an emblem of the rock 'n' roll revolution".  "Hound Dog" has been at the center of controversies and several lawsuits, including disputes over authorship, royalties, and copyright infringement by the many answer songs.

 
Interesting !?! – fearsome to those, who do not like dogs.
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.4.2026