Talk of the town

THE CASE relating to the alleged suicide by industrialist, Ramesh and his family members is one which stands out even when it comes to conducting the post-mortem.

The grapevine has it that normally cases of suspected poisoning are booked under `death under suspicious circumstances' and the police do not take them seriously.

So much so, usually a constable gives the requisition to the hospital authorities to conduct post-mortem on such bodies.

In the Ramesh family suicide case, it was different.

An Assistant Commissioner of Police is said to have given the requisition for conducting the autopsy.

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EVEN BEFORE the ruling party AIADMK began its campaign against the DMK leader, Mr.M.Karunanidhi to negate any sympathy gained in the wake of his recent arrest, the AIADMK's non-political partner, DK, has swung into action.

The DK general secretary, Mr.K.Veeramani, launched his campaign in Chennai recently justifying the Government action against the DMK leader.

Using video clippings and newspaper reports for effect he sought to disprove various allegations of the DMK leader.

As his argument was well received by the audience, including AIADMK workers who were present in good number, he may extend his campaign throughout the State.

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AS THE attention of the State Government turns elsewhere, many in the civil service wonder if the bout of transfers has stopped.

Unlikely, say others who insist that there are at least a few who `deserve' some `better responsibilities' after having been `sidelined' for the past four years. For them the waiting continues.

Others who continue to wait include some IAS officers and a few PROs seen by earlier rulers as `pro' present regime. The dictum ruling Fort St.George seems relatively straightforward - no one is too big nor too small to be on compulsory wait.

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HERE'S ONE more tale of the soil. Media Dreams production `Pandavar Bhoomi' is director Cheran's upcoming project awaiting release. ``Only two songs are left, the rest of it is over,'' the director tells us.

The director who boasts of hits such as `Bharathi Kannamma' and `Vetri Kodikkattu', gives actor-director Raj Kiran a chance for a comeback. And there's also young Arunkumar, whose future depends on the outcome of the film.

The debutante heroine Shamita is yet another ``director's choice'', after Media Dreams supposedly gave Cheran complete freedom after the company was convinced about the screenplay.

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SHAKTHI 2001, Raj TV's special programme for women suddenly had to shift to a new venue on Thursday. Initially planned to be held at the Nehru Stadium, the programme was moved to the Indian Airlines Stadium, Nungambakkam.

Vasundhara Das and her dance troupe was listed as the star attraction of the day.

The inside story is that the Chief Minister herself intervened in the matter, taking a decision that the stadium will not be used for any purpose other than what it was built for - sports. However, considering the history, it seemed quite the thing to do, as earlier, when a fete for the former Chief Minister Mr.M.Karunanidhi was to be held in the stadium, Ms. Jayalalitha moved the courts to prevent it.

The organisers of the programme, in the face of such strong opposition now decided to shift the venue to a less convenient but less controversial place- the Indian Airlines Stadium, at Meenambakkam.

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OPEN SESAME. Enter TMG, rather, TMG Enter. India's first and only 24-hour technology infotainment channel is now in Chennai. The Technology Media Group recently launched their services in the metro, mid July and have begun `delivering technoledge'.

TMG Enter - a free, digital channel uplinked from New Delhi now available in 45 major towns in the country came into town through a tie-up with Sumangali Cable Vision. According to Mr.Subhanjan Sarkar, Chairman-TMG, the channel was started with the `purpose of providing viewers with up-to-date technology news and information'.

And to cater to the essential Chennai market, the Channel will look at programming in Tamil within the next quarter.

By K.T.Sangameswaran, S. Vydhianathan, R. K. Radhakrishnan, Sudhish Kamath and Ramya Kannan

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