TAMIL NADU has always thrown up some of the more colourful praise names in Indian polity. North of the Vindhyas, the names are often softer, more familial. Like Chachaji for Jawaharlal Nehru, Tau for Chaudhary Devi Lal, Mamaji for Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Didi for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Some praise names are quietly respectful, like Saheb for Sharad Pawar. Some say a little more about the person, like Manyavar Kanshi Ram. Some party workers switch between monikers depending on the context, like the softer Balasaheb or more political Hindu Hriday Samrat for Bal Thackeray.
In Tamil Nadu, party followers blend the arts, romance, and respect into praise names. So, M. Kanuranidhi became Kalaignar (The Artist), with the name paying homage more to his skills as an orator, lyricist, playwright and poet. C.N. Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa both had two names in circulation. The populist Amma and the combative Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader) for Jayalalithaa, and intimate Anna and literary Perarignar (Great Scholar) for Annadurai.
M.G. Ramachandran had four names—MGR, Vathiyar (Teacher), Makkal Thilakam (Pride of the People) and Puratchi Thalaivar (Revolutionary Leader). K. Kamaraj, too, had four—Karmaveerar (Man of Action) and Perunthalaivar (Great Leader), and the last two that celebrated his practical wisdom and his contribution to education, Kalaikann Thirantha Kamarajar (Kamaraj, who opened our eyes to education) and Padikkatha Methai (Uneducated Genius). The naming tradition has extended to recent entrant Vijay, too. He carried Thalapathy (Commander) from cinema to politics.
Following the death of his father, Kamaraj dropped out of school but was later dubbed Kingmaker by the English press for his role in putting two prime ministers in power—Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. That should serve as an indication of how Tamil Nadu has punched above its weight in politics for a long, long time. Hence, this cover on this colourful and politically aware state that is going to the polls.
Chief of Bureau (Chennai) Lakshmi Subramanian interviewed Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for you. Among achievements close to his heart, the chief minister has listed financial support for homemakers and a breakfast scheme for schoolchildren. He also quotes Anna to take a humorous swipe at the Union government: “Why does a goat need a beard, and a state a governor?”
Lakshmi rounds off the coverage with articles on the AIADMK and Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and an interview with the Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Seeman.
Senior Special Correspondent Kanu Sarda continues our coverage of the West Bengal assembly polls and has interviewed Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja and BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya for you. Former Rajya Sabha member Jawahar Sircar has contributed a guest column on what happens when politics is a choice between fears.
In @leisure Special Correspondent Anjuly Mathai reviews Portrait of an Artist, a book of photographs on artists in their studios. The images are by Rohit Chawla, and the text by Kishore Singh. The creative process is in itself a rabbit warren of stories. Writer Alexandre Dumas, for example, wrote on colour-coded paper.
Blue for fiction, pink or light red for articles and non-fiction, and yellow for poetry.