Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Education in the lap of HR&CE

  The progress of humanity through the prism of religion, with God as the torch bearer, should be one of the noblest perceptions of any government, surpassing political and religious barriers. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board was constituted in 1927 and was subsequently renamed as the Hindu Religious &Charitable Endowments Department in 1951, with the twin objectives of maintenance of temple properties, and promotion of human/social enlightenment. The Hindu Charitable Endowments Act was framed in 1959 and came into effect from 01/01/1960. 

  Ever since the inception of this body, temples in Tamil Nadu enjoyed the benefits of periodical renovation and consecration. During the last four years countless temples in Tamil Nadu have been renovated and consecrated. The revolutionary ideology of the present political dispensation ruling Tamil Nadu, did not come in the way, to avert the fascinating face lift given to age old temples and the various physical facilities made available to devotees, in many of those temples. 

   Besides the substantial maintenance of temples, the HR&CE Department functioning under the aegis of the state government, took up the onus of starting a few educational institutions with the singular objective of making education reach the bottom most sections of people living under meagre financial resources. One of the fundamental objectives of this move, is to free education from the clutches of the caste oriented, conservative designs of education, once aggressively promoted by the higher ladder of the Indian caste system.Caste can never be the determiner of anybody's career.

  In the recent days, a section of political activists, have been venting out their harboured views, supporting the exclusive maintenance of temples by individuals or agencies, focusing only on religion and religion related routines, so that the funds donated to any temple by the devotees, are not diverted to purposes and activities,other than those related to rituals, prasad and conduct of devotional musical shows and classic dance programmes. Most of these aspects mentioned here, are closer to the heart and soul of the upper caste lobby, which vows to wholly own God and religion, so as to make the temple premises as the sole property of specific groups.

   If the temple maintenance is solely vested with any particular Private body, upholding religion and prioritizing only the rituals, an entire section of beneficiaries involved in the maintenance of temples, will lose their voice to be raised for the preservation of their survival rights and benefits, thrown open to them, by any government. In addition to this, delinking of temple maintenance from the hands of HR&CE, will deprive the already deprived sections, of their existing access to temples, and their right to avail themselves of the educational and social schemes, envisaged by the HR&CE.

  Those who are fanatically bound to any religion will always go with their orchestrated religious agenda, and exclude the expanded modules and schemes meant for the progress of all sections of society, living in a region. Basically speaking, God belongs to all living beings and not to any specific religious groups, trying to monopolize religion for divisive tendencies and direct benefits.

  Quoting Allen Bloom, "Education is the movement from darkness to light" and God is the incarnation of light and radiance. Minds require this radiance not only to visualize the ethical and spiritual boundaries of life, but also to enlarge its vision for enriching its global insight. The purpose of education is to perpetuate these bifocal dimensions of radiance. Hence, is it wrong to radiate the deserving downtrodden minds through educational programmes sponsored by temple funds? Does God want any money? When it comes to diversion of temple money for the procurement of educational honey, some people talk about the potential possibility for corruption.

   Corruption permeates everywhere in every walk of life. Where is the guarantee that there will be no corruption in Private agencies, in the form of misappropriation of accounts, diversion of funds to vested interests and evasion of tax through foul means. After all, most of the funds donated by devotees are put into the offertories by cash and coins, and the absence of digital transaction will keep such fund collections in a dark net.

  All said and done, constantly whipping any single political party against corruption, smacks of a concrete and valid move to arrest corruption, because all those who are talking about corruption in one political party, are only throwing stones from their glass houses. Let sanity prevail among the narrow minded political and religious voices, so as to correct their fences first, before blaming others against encroachment.

  Education is the direst need of the hour and from whichever source it is made available, it should be seen as a delighting dawn. HR&CE is one such source that is opening the doors for learning and knowledge as a global tool. It is not a selective musical instrument to be tuned to please the ears of God. God's ears are meant more for hearing the cries of humanity, than for listening to repeated rhythms as prayer. 

  In fact,God must be wanting to see more munificence and magnanimity in humanity, instead of hearing his most familiar musical notes. Education in the lap of HR&CE is like a baby in the lap of its beloved mother and God would certainly certify that lap, as His lap too,

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Sunday, July 13, 2025

வெட்கப்படு

வெட்கப்படு!

வேலியே பயிரை மேய்கையில்,

மூலையில் நின்று நீ வெட்கப்படு.

வெட்கப்படு!

வேலெடுத்து வீரம் போற்றிய மண்ணில்,

கூலிக்கு மாரடிக்கும் கூட்டம் கண்டு நீ

வெட்கப்படு.!

போலிகள் பலர்கூடி போதனை செய்கை யில்,

காலங்கள் தோறும் கற்றசுய அறிவிழக்க நீ

வெட்கப்படு!.

நீ ஏற்ற மனிதமும் நீ போற்றும் மொழிகளும்,

கூர் மழுங்க சூளுரைக்கும் சூதறிந்து நீ,

வெட்கப்படு!.

நிறம் மாறா குணத்தோடு நீ கண்ட நீதி நெறி,

புறங்கூறும் சிறியோர்தம் அகமறிந்து நீ

வெட்கப்படு!.

சாதி மதமென்று சரடுகள் திரிப்போரை பார்த்து நீ,

வெட்கப்படு!.

நல்லது நினைக்கையில் நல்லது நடக்கு மென்று நீ,

நெஞ்சுநிமிர்த்தி நேர்வழிநடக்கையில்,

அல்லவையில் திளைக்கும் அறவழி

அற்றோரின் அழிநிலை கண்டு நீ,

வெட்கப்படு.!

ப.சந்திரசேகரன்.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Free Speech

 Free speech has its right and reasonable reach

 Wherever the 'me' and 'you' assure no breach.

  Free speech is hated by despots as a lousy leech, 

  When it wriggles on the doors of imperial screech.


 Free speech flatly encounters many an uproar, 

 Whenever it expresses fair feelings,kept in store. 

 Inflated or triggered conflicts collect into a core

 As the political bulls sharpen their horns to gore.


Free speech is the forlorn child of the Fourth Estate;

But the media's music is in tune with the power spate.

Even justice raises its voice on heavy issues, ethically late;

So how can free speech remain as common man's mate? 


World around has turned socially vibrant,in digital form

But with no tongue to topple suppression,by verbal storm.

P. Chandrasekaran.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

The tragic takeoff

What kind of tragic takeoff is this?

Baggage checked, and security checked.

May be the carrier was carefully checked too.

Who would have ever thought that

The flight they boarded, would soon become a crematorium,

With their hopes of landing, fatally falling into death traps?

The forsaking hands of God 

Were perhaps firm in their grip,

To forcefully pull down the flight, instantly after takeoff.

The passengers and the crew travelled to death's destination,

Taking along with them, a few more unaccompanied lives.

Race, religion, and nationality remained rumbled, and ravaged.

Whose fault caused this ferocious fall of the airborne Boeing? 

Where are our air travel safety norms tacitly, and tactlessly, going? 

P. Chandrasekaran.



Monday, June 2, 2025

கலைஞரின் வாசமிகு நினைவுகளில்,

முத்தமிழும் செம்மொழியும்,

கொத்துக் கொத்தாய் 

கொடிகளின்றிப் பூத்து,

சத்துமாவுச் சொற்களென

வித்தை பலபுரிந்து

வீறுநடை போட்டிடவே,

வித்திட்ட நாளிதுவாம்!

நித்தச் சூரியனின்

புத்தொளிப் பரவசத்தில்,

சத்தமிட்டுச் சொல்வோம் !

"திருக்குவளைத் திருநாளும்

திருக்குறளின் ஓவியமும்

திரட்டிய தீந்தமிழால்,

ஜூன் மூன்றில்,

தான் விரிந்து

வான் மிளிரும்,

வரலாற்றுக் கலைஞரின்,

வாசமிகு நினைவுகளில்!"

ப.சந்திரசேகரன்.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

முரண்

  

முரண்,

அரசியலின் அரண்;

தனிமனிதனின் திறன். 

மாற்றிப் பேசுவது

முரணாகிப் போகுமெனில் 

"மாற்றம் ஒன்றே மாறாதது" 

என்பதும் முரண் தானே! 

காதலில்,

விழிகளுடன் வார்த்தைகள் 

மோதி முரண்படும். 

சாதகத்தில், 

பரிகாரம் முரணாகி,

பல்லிளித்து நிற்கும்;

பரிகாரம் பூர்த்திசெய்ய,

விதிவிலக்கு முரணாகும். 

தவறுகளை சரிக்கட்ட 

செயல்களே தவறாகி, 

தவறென்பதே சரியாகும். 

கொன்றால் பாவம் 

தின்றால் போச்செனில், 

தின்றதன் பாவத்தை 

ஒன்பதில் ஒருவாசல், 

ஒருமுறைக்கு பலமுறை, 

கருவறுத்து கழிக்கும்.

தவறுகளின் பிராயச்சித்தம், 

மன்னிப்புக் கோரலோ?

தண்டனை ஏற்றலோ? 

மன்னிப்பும் தண்டனையும் 

முரண்களின் முகவுரையே! 

மனிதரில் இறைவனைக் 

காண்பதெனில், 

இறைவனே மனிதனாமோ? 

கடன்பட்டார் நெஞ்சம் 

கலங்குவது பகற்கனவே! 

முரண்பட்ட வாழ்க்கை 

கிடங்கில் முடங்கி 

முடியாததும் முழுநிசமே! 

அறன்களின் கண்ணாடியில்,

முரண்களும் முகம்காணும்!    

ப.சந்திரசேகரன்.


  

Sunday, May 18, 2025

When bad neighbours make good fences blast

 Will bad neighbours make good fences?

 Defence detours,far beyond the fences.

 When unholy politics desecrates religion,

 Neighbours of ruptured religion choose war 

 Against peace buttressed by pages of holy books.

 Terrorists are tins of munition packed by 

 Pirates of the fundamental script of friction.

 Peace lovers are pawns in the game of war.

 The voices of middlemen vanquish mutuality,

 Adding fuel to the fire, heaping a higher casualty.

 Terrorism and its counter moves are teasers tense,

 Turning into sickly serials, suffocating sound sense. 

'Good fences make good neighbours' said Frost.

But bad neighbours force the good fences to blast. 

P. Chandrasekaran.