SUNSET symbolizes
transition or mysticism - poetically
evoking the haunting, ethereal beauty of a sunset, display of its ghostly colours and fleeting glow.
The sight of Sun dipping below the horizon scattering radiance through a thicker atmospheric path is to be seen to be believed.
18.3.2026
Ever heard of Cephalalgia ! for sure yes !! it is the technical medical term for a temporary disorder in the body. Also have you read about Sribagh Pact !!
Sribagh Pact was an agreement between the political leaders of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions during the separate Andhra signed on 16 November 1937. Historically, the Sribagh Agreement has been an important subject matter to the people of the Rayalaseema region regarding developmental issues due to the attitude of the then-Andhra leaders.
We have used their
products so many times - Amrutanjan Healthcare Limited, is an Indian pharmaceutical company
headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It
was founded by Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao in Bombay in 1893.
Nageshwara Rao was a journalist, social reformer and freedom fighter. Amrutanjan
Healthcare's main product is its pain balm. In 2002, Amrutanjan Healthcare
launched a series of anti-diabetic medicines called Diakyur ; fruit juices under the Fruitnik brand are also
theirs.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department on Monday (March 16, 2026) informed the Madras High Court that the Chennai-based, 132-year-old company Amrutanjan Limited, popular for its pain relief balm across the country, was in occupation of 14 grounds of the Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple land on Luz Church Road till 2018. The company has to pay arrears of ₹9.74 crore towards rent.
Appearing before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, Special Government Pleader (HR&CE) N.R.R. Arun Natarajan said, the temple authorities had initiated action under the Revenue Recovery Act of 1890 to recover the rental arrears. He also said, there was no direct landlord-tenant relationship between the temple and Amrutanjan. The SGP said, the temple had given 14 grounds and 910 square feet of its land on a 99-year lease to one P.R. Sundera Iyer on August 28, 1901. Then, the lease was given for a monthly rent of ₹1,400. Iyer, in turn, had assigned the lease rights to a woman named Ramayee Ammal from whom Amrutanjan Limited had obtained the rights and continued to occupy the lands on payment of ₹1,400 a month for decades together.
He said, Amrutanjan continued to be in occupation even after the expiry of the 99-year lease period on August 27, 2000. Though notices were issued in 2001 and 2004, the company did not vacate the property. Hence, in 2005, a committee constituted for fixing fair rent for temple properties fixed the monthly rent for the 14 acres of land in the heart of Chennai city at ₹3.3 lakh per month and demanded the rent from 2001. [this appears to be under fair rent act and is way below the market rate at these localities]
It is stated that the Company instead of paying the arrears filed a writ petition in 2005 to declare Section 34A(5) of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act of 1959 as illegal, ultravires and unenforceable, since it requires any person filing a statutory appeal before the HR&CE Commissioner to deposit the claimed rental amount in the temple’s bank account. The writ petition was dismissed by a single judge of the High Court in 2025 and hence the present writ appeal.
It was further
pleaded before the Bench that the Company continued to be in possession of the property
till 2018. Therefore, the single judge had directed the HR&CE department as
well as the temple administration to recover the rental arrears. Wondering what necessitated the company to
challenge the validity of a legal provision, the Chief Justice’s Bench
dismissed the writ appeal.
So the news is - The Madras High Court has refused to grant relief to the popular pain relief balm makers, Amrutanjan Limited, in the case over rental arrears of Rs 9.74 crore it owed to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) by way of occupying 14 grounds and 910 sq ft of land belonging to the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore.
Upholding the single judge’s order, the bench said, “As rightly observed by the single judge, if the plea of the appellant that the condition mandating pre-deposit is onerous is accepted, then the religious institutions, which heavily depend on such rental income would not be able to maintain the properties and fulfil the religious duties.” That apart, as noted in the order passed by the single judge, the appellant (Amrutanjan) has been in occupation of 14 grounds and 910 sq ft by paying a paltry rent of Rs 1,400 for more than a century, the bench pointed out.
This was a writ petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution praying inter-alia, the fixation of fair rent. What does not meet the eye is this rent itself is measly considering the market value and the Appellant Company reported a total revenue (turnover) of more than 450 crores. They had paying a measly Rs.1400/- pm for more than 14 grounds and had created infrastructure worth crores on it.
The landed area
belongs to Thirumylai Sree Kapaleeswarar temple – century ago, lease was granted in favour of one
P.R.Sundera Iyer for a period of 99 years (in 1901), who assigned the right to the petitioner and
therefrom, the petitioner is in possession and enjoyment of the property. After a
century of such possession, the lease was terminated with effect from 31.10.2001 and
the petitioner was directed to vacate and surrender vacant possession of the
land on or before 1.11.2001. Thereafter, the Dept had sought to refix the rent on the basis of
the fair rent index prevailing in the locality and had fixed the fair rent at
Rs.3,30,832/-.
The lease expired in August, 2000 and more than two and a half decades have passed and till now, the Company did not pay the prospective enhanced rent nor made any pre-deposit of the demand of rent before taking up the appeal. The Honble Court concluded that this writ petition fails and the same is dismissed. The petitioner, it is informed has been evicted from the premises. However, if the eviction has not been done till date, the respondents are directed to take necessary steps to evict the petitioner from the property and the respondents are also directed to take steps to recover the rent fixed by the Fair Rent Committee, including the arrears, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, if the same has not been paid. There shall be no order as to costs.
Amrutanjan is a famous reputed analgesic balm manufactured and distributed by Amrutanjan Healthcare. Amrutanjan was founded in 1893 by journalist and freedom fighter, Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao. He popularized the balm by distributing it free-of-cost at music concerts. The brand is owned by the parent Amrutanjan Healthcare. It is now headed by Sambhu Prasad, the grandson of Nageshwara Rao.
Kasinadhuni Nageswararao, better known as Nageswara Rao Pantulu, (1 May 1867 – 11 April 1938) was an Indian journalist, nationalist, politician, businessman, and a staunch supporter of Khaddar movement. He was conferred with the title Desabandhu (Friend of the masses) by the people of Andhra Pradesh. He was a major financier of Congress activities in Andhra and Chennai. In 1935, the Andhra University honoured him with Kalaprapoorna, an honorary doctorate of Literature
Cephalalgia is common ‘headache’ - the symptom of pain in the face, head, or
neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache
Some tend
to ask boorishly – Do you know who I am ? –
trying to display their power, might, popularity and what not !!
In this
beautiful World, perhaps in three generations or more, the name, the aura that
surrounded, popularity – all will disappear.
Classic
example – this building was once frequented by hundreds of people daily and was
the centre of all attraction. Around
2011 it was razed and most of Triplicanites do not even know that one such
thing existed !!
Name it
!! [Answer by Eve]
18.3.2026 @ 12 noon
In
Temples, in marriages and in many traditional places, we are used to hearing
mangala isai in Nadaswaram to the accompaniment of “Thavil” - a
powerful, barrel-shaped percussion instrument.
Here is Thiruvallikkeni vidwans playing Thavil and Nadaswaram at Thavana
uthsava bungalow during purappadu.
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Unlikely
you may have heard this Malayalam song sung by K Jesudoss yettan :
Charumukhi usha mandam – maaraleelaa lolayaayi
Thannude sundara nandanaseemani – chennithu manmadha chinthayil
muzhuki
Poothavalli nikunjathil – kaathirunnithanirudhan
The instrument “Thavil” is either played while sitting, or hung by a cloth strap (called nadai) from the shoulder of the player. The right head is played with the right hand, wrist and fingers. The player usually wears thumb caps on all the fingers of the right hand, made of hardened glue from maida flour. The left head is played with a short, thick stick made from the wood of the portia tree. It is not uncommon for left-handed players to use the opposite hands, and some nadaswaram groups feature both a right- and a left-handed thavil player
The thavil consists of a cylindrical shell hollowed out of a solid block of jackfruit wood. Layers of animal skin, water buffalo on the bigger opening (high sound) and goat on the smaller opening (low sound), are stretched across the sides of the shell using hemp hoops attached to the shell. The right face of the instrument has a larger diameter than the left side, and the right drum head is stretched very tightly, while the left drum head is kept loose to allow pitch bending. The larger face is higher in pitch than the smaller face.
Thavil is a traditional musical instrument of the ancient city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. It is an integral part of the Carnatic music in Thanjavur. It is mostly made in Thanjavur and Valayapatti.
A thavil (தவில்)
or tavil is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument. The
thavil and the nadaswaram are essential components of traditional festivals and
ceremonies in South India. Notable Tamil
movies featuring Thavil include : "Thillaanaa Mohanambal",
"Paruthiveeran", "Karagattakaran", "Sarvam Thaala
Mayam".
The item pictured here is a Chenda – melam, a traditional percussion instrument commonly used in Kerala. It is a cylindrical percussion instrument crafted from wood, with leather or parchment stretched over the ends. The Chenda is essential in Kerala's temple rituals, cultural festivities, and classical dance forms. It produces a resonant, powerful sound and is played using sticks. Chenda playing is most commonly categorized by its ensemble styles, known as Melams, and solo performances. There are seven classical types of melams, with Panchari and Pandi being the most prominent.
The song at the start
featured in movie ‘Chenda’ released in 1973, directed and produced by A. Vincent. The film
starred Madhu, Srividya, Sukumari, Sudheer and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. The
music was composed by G. Devarajan with
this particular song sung by mercurial K Jesudoss
