Between you & me

CHENNAI

THERE IS little that one can add to the rich tributes paid to G. K. Moopanar. I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting him as a young man when I was staying at the family mansion at Sundaraperumal Koil as the guest of his father. Even then young Moopanar was imbued with the ideals of nationalism. Pretty soon he became an acolyte of Kamaraj, who could see the innate values of the young man - a strong feeling for the poor and downtrodden, despite being one of the richest scions of one of the richest families in the state; an equally strong feeling in favour of secularism, though coming from a traditional family, orthodox in their views and religious to the extreme; and a passion for nationalism, though brought up amidst wealth and splendour. Kamaraj soon took the young man in hand, and gave him his political start by placing him in charge of the Congress in Thanjavur district.

The rest of his career has been well- documented, and need not be repeated here.

Close to the centre of power for decades, he remained a true Congressman, advising Prime Ministers and Presidents from behind the scenes. His modesty and a sure feeling of where he might be most useful, made him turn down the Prime Ministership of India when it was twice within his reach. We were thrilled when he broke with his traditional loyalty to Congress, and started the Tamil Maanila Congress in 1996. And we were equally disappointed when he chose to cast the lot of his party with the alliance headed by the AIADMK, which can be explained only by his intense faith in secularism.

I saw him several times on public occasions when he would give me a friendly nod in recognition, but I never took it upon myself to pursue our friendship, but when we ran into each other sometime before he passed away, I was thrilled when he recalled our meting in his ancestral home. He was a great gentleman.

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A READER writes to say that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and NGO activists tend to ignore the problems, noise and fumes, which occur in several residential areas. While the computers and residents luxuriate in their comfort, the rest of the area suffers from the health-hazard experiences.

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THE MALAYALEE Club (Srinivasa Nagar, Chetpet, Madras, Tel: 8265833) has an elaborate plan for celebrating National Harmony on September 26. One of the more important aspects of the programme will be fraternal greetings offered by different people from different States.

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CONSUMERISM - THE column has received several issues of Consumers Voice, published from New Delhi. This magazine, in addition to providing much useful information to the average consumer, gives a comparative analysis for products available in the market.

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There was this Londoner, Parthasarathy, who caught a terrible cold. The doctor examined him and suggested that he sit on a chair, then open the door of his house. The man said: you are crazy, that was pneumonia. The doctor said: Exactly, that is the idea. We know how to cure pneumonia, but we do not know how to cure a cold.

S. KRISHNAN

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