Crocus sativus

Crocussativus L. 
(Iridaceae); Siddha name: Kungumapu The dried stigma and tops of styles are used in treating asthma and cough. Also it is used in multiple ailments such as seminal debility, leucorrhoea, diarrhea and rheumatism . The herb has sedative, antispasmodic expectorant (in dry cough, whooping cough, and bronchitis), stomachic, diaphoretic and antitussive effect
 

Saffron is a small, bulbous, perennial spice, a member of the lily family. To produce saffron, the stigmas [the part of the flower which catches pollen] must be painstakingly handpicked, cut from the white style and then carefully laid on a sieve and cured over heat to deepen the flavor- a process so labor intensive that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

Currently saffron is commercially produced in Iran, Greece, Morocco, Spain, Kashmir and Italy. Iran is the most important producer of saffron both, in terms of volume and quality, and Spain being the largest importer of the spice.

 

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Tamil culture

                     "யாமறிந்த மொழிகளிலே தமிழ் மொழிபோல்
                          இனிதாவ  தெங்கும் காணோம் "

"Tamil" means "sweetness" and "culture" has been defined as "sweetness and light." "Tamil" and "Culture" therefore, make a most graceful combination both in Language and Life.

Culture:

Culture has been defined as a " way of life" as sweetness and ligt" as activity of thought and receptiveness to beauty and humane feeling. These brief definitions as sufficient to show the comprehensiveness and the indispensability of culture, for one must have a way of life, and that way of life should be combined with sweetness and light, with activity of thought, and with beauty and humane feeling.

Tamil culture is nothing else but the Tamil way of Life, a pattern of gracious living that has been formed during the centuries of Tamil history. Itt has been conditioned by the land, the climate, the languages, the literature, the religions, the customs, the laws, the food, the games and toys of the tamil people, by the palmyra palm, the gingelly oil, and the vegetables associated with them. culture is a most elusive and at the same time an all-embracing term.

The Tamil Language:

The tamil language has been spoken in this Island, it would seem, at least for the last three thousand years, The punchmarked coins of an early era point to connections that ceylon may have had with Mohenjodaro and the Indus Valley civilisation. Tgamil poetry composed in ceylon has been included in the earliest. Tamil Anthologies, and the Tamil spoken in ceylon represents a pre-pallava period with its ancient morphological and grammatical forms an its repertoire of words considered obsolete for centruries on the neighbouring continent.

 A language is always a mirror of a people's genius" The tamil language has been spoken basically in its present form for the last two thousand years, and it continues even now th be the living language for thirty to forty million people about thirty million people in India, more the two million people in ceylon, nearly one million people in Malaya, Vietnam and Indonesia, Africa and even Trinidad and the Martinique Islands. Tamil is as much a classical language as Greek, Latin or Sanskrit, with this difference that while her ancient contemporaries have changed beyond recognition or been long regarded as "dead" Tamil continues to be one of the most vigorous of modern languages, and perhaps offers the only example in history of an ancient classical tongue which has survived to this day and yet remains young as it was two thousand years ago.

Tamil literature:

Tamil literature has made certain definite contributions to world thought and letters. Its love poetry and its inclusion of love poetry in its theory of poetics are indications of the humanistic approach to life that is characteristic of Tamil Culture. The love poetry of the Tamils is the product of a people among whom the finest ideals of courtship and wedlock had long been cherished. The ethical poetry of the Tamils has been the wonder of all foreigners who have studied it. The maxims of Thiruvalluvar of the Tirukkural is a book of which Dr.Albert schweitzer has said.


                  " There hardly exists in the literature of the wold a book
                             which contains such lofty maxims"


and Dr.Pope Observed:

                  " I have felt sometimes as if there must be a blessing in store for 
 a people that delight so utterly in compositions thus remarkably expressive of a hunger and thirst after rightcousness"

If English be the language of commerce, French the language of diplomacy, Italian the language of love, and german the language of philosophy, the Tamil is the language of devotion, The devotional poetry in Tamil is so great in bulk, and in depth and intensity of emotional fervour, that its continued study has given the language a certain aptitude for the expression of themes pertaining to mysticism and contemplation. The nature poetry of the Tamils is again the result of a people who lived intimately with Nature. No people, except perhaps the people of the pacific islands, have made so much use of flowers and plants in daily life for various purpose as the Tamils have done. The Tamils said it with flowers not only in love but also in warfare. The ancient Tamil warriors went to battle, their brows decked with garlands, and each strategic movement had its own symbolic flower.

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Thiruvalluvar

                                                              திருவள்ளுவர்

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Calotropis gigantea(Asclepiadaceae)(Erukku)

Calotropis gigantea(Asclepiadaceae)(Erukku)

We call giant milkweed plant or crown flower erukku in Tamil, madar in Hindi. It is a plant that grows wildly all over in Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Thailand, Sri Lanka & Philippines. Many of us think this plant has very little use but on the contrary every part of this plant has got wonderful medicinal values. We make a garland out of the flowers for worshiping and when I was a child, I used to love making the garland as it is one of the easiest to make. Crown flower's botanical name is calotropis gigantea and belongs to the family apocynaceae. Though it is widely used in ayurvedic medicine, all parts of this plant is poisonous at certain dosage. 

When you cut the leaves and stem, a milky juice will flow out, this juice was used as an arrow poison in olden days. If you break the leaves from the plant, a white milky latex will flow out, if we touch this latex and then touch our eyes, it will cause reversible eye blindness. Though this plant is very poisonous, if we know how to use it correctly we can get wonderful benefits out of it. Even still today, many people use the juice to treat all kinds of poisonous bites. For that the leaves are ground to extract the juice and the juice is mixed with little bit of honey and given to the patients, but the dosage is very very important.

 Another important use is for boils, when the slightly warmed leaves are tied around boils, it makes it mature very fast. The juice of the crown flower leaves are used for treating constipation too, for that the juice is extracted and 3 drops of the juice is mixed with 1.5 tbsp of castor oil and give internally. Though I am writing all the remedies here, please remember that when taking internally, it can be toxic at certain levels, so do it very carefully under the guidance of an experienced person. You can use the plant for external applications without any problems or side effects. Here in Tamil Nadu, using erukku leaves for treating heal pain is very very famous. I was quite surprised when I came across a study that was conducted regarding the effect of crown flowers on patients who were suffering from heel pain. 

The study was conducted on 60 people with heel pain, this study was done for a period of 180 days and the final conclusion was that all the patients experienced significant positive results. The researchers concluded that if the patients continued the treatment for longer periods of time, they will experience very very good results. 

A few important things about the study was that it was done for almost 180 days and the patient were given warm flower compress twice a day daily. So you have to do it regularly at least for a few months to see results and the treatment has to be done regularly. It is always nice when our traditions are backed by science and I hope in the future, more studies like this are done to prove clinically all our home remedies. There are two varieties of the plant that is very common in India, one produces white flowers and another produces purple flowers like in the picture above. The white flowers are regarded highly than the purple flowers. Though you can use both flowers interchangeably, if you happen to get the white plant, please use that. Pregnant women should never ever consume this plant internally.


How to use the method of Erukku:

1. Remove the leaves from the plant, you will find milky latex flowing from the broken part. Wash the leaves well to get rid of the latex.

2. Take a brick and heat it over open fire. Once hot, place the 3 to 4 leaves over the hot stone and press the heels over it. Keep pressing the heels over the leaves till the brick loses it's .

3. Another method using a stone: Heat a small stone that retains heat well. Place 2 to 3 fresh leaves over the heels and then with a help of a cloth, take the heated stone and press it over the leaves. This is also very effective.

4. The method done in the study: Boil water in a pan, once it comes to a boil add the flowers and heat it for a few minutes till it is wilted, switch off and remove the flowers.

5. Place the flowers over the heels and cover the flowers with a cling film (in the study they used polythene sheet) and tie a coarse, thick cloth like a bandage over it.

NOTES:

This treatment should be continued regularly for a few months to get very good relief.

In the study, the flower poultice was kept on the patient for 8 hours (I think overnight) and no pain killers were given in the time period.

All the patients showed improvement in their walking and inflammation was significantly reduced on the 10'th day itself.

Most importantly, there was no side effects using the treatment (the patients blood was checked for toxicity).

You can do either the treatment with flowers or the leaves but when handling the hot stone be very very careful.

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Siddha medicine

Siddha   medicine 

 “Siddha”,  which originated from Tamil Nadu, a south-east state of India and practiced mostly in and around areas of its  origin.  Siddha medicine has  been  in  existence  and  is scientists of Tamil Nadu who explored and explained the reality of nature and its relationship to man by their yogic awareness and experimental findings. They postulated the concept of spiritualism for self-improvement, and the practices initiated by them came to be known as the "Siddha System”. It is believed that Siddhi was obtained by 18 highly experienced and intuitive Siddhars ,who were believed to cure innumerable diseases.

Agasthiyar, one among the 18 Siddhars is believed to have contributed more in the development of Siddha, whose life period is approximately between fifth to sixth centuries. He is considered as the ‘’Hippocrates of Siddha medicine and also one of the greatest philosophers of India. Some of his works are still in standard books of medicine and surgery, which are in the daily use among the Siddha medical practitioners. The siddha is mainly concerned with the development of drugs, which have high potency and long life for their use in future. It also aims to activate the generation of cells and to maintain the longevity.

Siddha system is based on 96 principles (thathuvams) which are broadly classified under the following categories: 5 elements (pancha bhutam), 5 sense organs (pori), 5 functions of sense organs (pulan), 5 motor organs (kanmenthiriyam), 5 perception of senses with the help of five sense organs (gnanenthriyam), 4 intellectual faculties (karanam), 1 wisdom of self realization (arivu), 10 channels of life force responsible for the dynamics of prana (naadi), 10 vital nerve forces which is responsible for all kinds of movements (vayu), 5 visceral cavities (asayam), 5 five states of the human body or sheath (kosam), 6 stations of soul (aatharam), 3 regions (mandalam), 3 impurities of the soul (malam), 3 humours (tridosham/ tridosha siddhantam), 3 physical bindings (eadanai), 3 cosmic qualities (gunam), 2 acts (vinai), 8 passions (ragam), 5 states of consciousness (avasthai).

The common specific features of these two systems are: tridosha siddhantam;wind (vatham), bile (pittam) and phlegm (siletuman), pancha bhuta theory; space (aakasam), air(vayu) ,fire (thee) , water (neer) ,earth (munn), three gunas; subtle (sattva), activity (rajas), gross (tamas), and six kinds of tastes (arusuvai).

 

1.Caesalpinia bonduc (Caesalpiniaceae); Siddha name: Kaliccikkai The seeds of Caesalpinia are used in the treatment of asthma and also in intermittent and chronic fevers, colic, acute arthritis, palsy, painful and swollen testicles . There is no scientific investigation of this plant on any respiratory diseases. Other activities such as anti-microbial and mosquito larvicidal effects have been reported..          Kaliccikkai

                   
Calotropis gigantea
 (Asclepiadaceae); Siddha name: Erukku The flowers of Calotropis gigantea are used in cough, asthma, catarrh and loss of appetite. The powdered root bark is soaked in its own milky juice from which bougies are prepared and their fumes are inhaled to treat cough in Siddha medicine. The flowering tops pounded and boiled with molasses are given every morning for treating asthma (Pandanus database of plants). Its leaf juice is used in external swellings. The aqueous stem bark extract had been found to be effective on bronchial irritation by ammoniac in guinea pig. Exposure of the latex of this plant may cause some toxic effect such as corneal endothelial cytotoxicity and local inflammation.

Adhatoda vasica Nees (Acanthaceae); 

Siddha name: Adathodai The leaf extract of Adhatoda vasica is used in Siddha mecidicin to cure bronchial asthma, eosinophilia and cough . In some areas the traditional healers use the leaves of this plant orally along with the flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis to treat asthma . The relief of bronchial obstruction by its leaf extracts may be attributed even if partially, to the presence of alkaloids . The plant also consists of antiinflammatory , antiulcer , hepatoprotective ] and antitussive  properties. 

Apium graveolens L. (Umbelliferae);

Siddha name: Celery-keerai The seeds and leaves of Apium graveolens are used in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis as well as liver and spleen diseases. Seeds are also
used in the treatment of chronic skin disorders including psoriasis. One of its compound apigenin (flavonoid) has been proven to possess vasodilatory action in thoracic aorta of rat .The another compound apiin (flavonoid) showed significant inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production in-vitro and reduces inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in-vivo . The seeds and leaf extracts have been shown to reduce the drug induced toxicity  in rats. Its root has been reported for some side effects such as allergy and irritation .

Boerhavia diffusa L. (Nyctaginaceae);

Siddha name: Mukaratee

Mukaratee:
The roots of B. diffusa are used in Siddha medicine for the treatment of asthma and also in other diseases such as dropsy, ascities, heart disease, kidney stone and colitis . Recent molecular studies have shown that the ethanolic extract of B. diffusa has immunosuppressive effect including reduction of nitric oxide and superoxide in vitro which are associated with asthma and COPD. It has also been demonstrated to have spasmolytic , anti-bacterial anti-microbial , antidiabetic and antifungal activities. There is no toxic report on this plant; rather it has been shown to have chemopreventive activity in mice .

Acalypha indica L. (Euphorbiaceae);
Siddha name: Kuppaimeni

Kuppaimeni:
The Leaves, roots, stalk and flowers of Acalypha indica are used in Siddha Medicine  for its medicinal properties. The leaf powder cures respiratory diseases. Its other actions include cathartic,anthelmintic, expectorant, emetic, anodyne,hypnotic, antimicrobial and wound healing properties . Recently, the ethanolic leaf extract of this plant has been shown a potent snake venom neutralizing property in the experimental animals  which indicates its detoxification effect. There is no specific study on its toxicological aspect; however, one clinical report indicated its hemolytic effect in glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase deficient individuals.

aeBorassus flabellifer L. (Arecace);Siddha name: Panaimaram

The seeds and whole plant are used in cough and pulmonary affections. It is also used in several other conditions such as hiccup, gastric catarrh, diabetes,pthisis, gonorrhea, indolent ulcers, carbuncles and enlarged spleen .Fresh sap has diuretic, cooling, antiphlegmatic,laxative and anti-inflammatory activities. The ash of dry spadix has antacid and antibilious (used in heartburn) properties . The oral feeding of mice with B. flabellifer flour induced the generation of T suppressor cells which were able to suppress the delayed type hypersensitive
response to serum red blood cells. Some toxic effects of the shoot of this plant have been observed in experimental and subclinical studies. 

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TAMIL CULTURE: History of Tamilnadu

TAMIL CULTURE: History of Tamilnadu: History of the Tamilnadu The history of the tamil nadu begins with the 3 kingdoms,CHERA, CHOLA and PANDYA, which are referred to documen...

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History of Tamilnadu

History of the Tamilnadu

The history of the tamil nadu begins with the 3 kingdoms,CHERA, CHOLA and PANDYA, which are referred to documents of the 3rd century BC. some of the kings of these dynasties are mentioned in SANGAM LITERATURE, and the age between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd Century AD is called the SANGAM AGES, At the beginning of the 4th century AD the PALLAVAS established their rule with kanchipuram as their capital. Their dynasty, which ruled continuously for over 500years, left a permanent impact on the history of Tamilnadu, which was during this period virtually controlled by the PALLAVAS in the north and the PANDYAS in the south.

In the middle of the 9th century a CHOLA ruler established what was tobecome one of India's most outstanding empires on account of its administrative achievements (irrigation, village development) and its contributions to art and literature, THE AGE OF THE CHOLAS is considered the golden age of Tamil history.

Towards the end of the 13th century the cholas were overthrown by the LATER PANDYAS who ruled for about a century and were followed by the VIJAYANAGARA DYNASTY, whose greatest ruler was Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529), and the NAYAKS of Madurai and Tanjore, THE COLONIAL AGE Opened in the 17th century. In 1639 the British East India company opened a trading post at the fishing village of madraspatnam, Today MADRAS, the capital of Tamil Nadu. In 1947, India achieved INDEPENDENCE, The Overshelming majority of the population of Tamil Nadu is HINDU, with active CHRISTIAN and MUSLIM minorities.

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Festivals

 Festivals

There are a number of festivals observed in Tamil Nadu. Very famous festivals are Pongal, Deepavali and Karthikai. Among them Pongal is considered to be the special festival of Tamil Nadu and it is called Tamizhar Thirunal, the festival of harvest celebrated for four days in mid-January. . Pongal festival takes place towards the final stage of harvest.

The first day of Pongal is known as Bogi or Bogi pandikai. On that day people worship the Rain God. Also, all the old and unusable articles are burnt in bonfires. The second day of Pongal is the Pongal proper. On this day people worship the Sun God. The third day is Mattu Pongal. On this day they bathe the cattle and worship them, as they are the mainstay of farm life. The fourth day is known as Karinal or Kanum Pongal or Kanni Pongal. On this day villages assemble at a public place and many native games. They meet with their friends and relatives on this day. The young virgins pray to the god to get good partners and happy life .Deepavali is enthusiastically celebrated in both urban and rural areas of Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Deepavali is celebrated in memory of the demon Narakasuran who was killed by Lord Vishnu on the day of Deepavali. Symbolically this means god destroys evil. 

Karthikai is commonly celebrated by all Tamils putting Diibam (lights) out every night throughout the Tamil month Karthikai. During this period people worship Lord Murugan also called Kartikeyan or Subramanyan son of Lord Siva.  Apart from these popular festivals, there are several other festivals such as car festivals in many villages and towns. Tamil Nadu is full of fairs and festivals in particular, car festivals. There are also a number of folk deities who are worshipped with equal if not more fervor all over Tamil Nadu. Also the rituals and ceremonies that take place at birth, naming, ear boring, puberty, marriage and death differ from region to region, from caste to caste, and from religion to religion.

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Architecture ot Tamilnadu

Architecture and Scripture

Tamil Nadu is famous for huge temples and marvelous Gopurams (temple towers). Raja Rajan, the Chola king (11 A.D.), constructed a temple in Tanjavur. This temple Gopuram is very tall and it is called Thanjaipperiya Koil, the big temple of Tanjavur. His son Rajendra Chola, who subdued the rulers of the region up to the river Ganges, constructed another big temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram. Except that the Thanjai periya Koil is bigger in size than the temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram, they are exactly similar. The former was named as Rajarajeswaram and the latter was named as Gangai Kondacholeswaram. These temples are famous for the huge Nandis ‘bulls’ and Lingams. The temples of Madurai Meenakshi Amman, Kanchipuram Varadharajapperumal, and Chidambaram Natarajar are worth seeing. The skill of Tamils in architecture and sculpture can be seen in these temples. The five Rathams (cars) carved in rocks at Mahabalipuram are extremely beautiful. There are also other works that show the skill of Tamils in sculpture. The Collectionsof Vigrahas ‘icons,’ statues, drawings and paintings, etc., found in the museums of Madras, Tanjavur, Pattiswaram and  Kaverippumattinam deserve special mention

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Tamil Stories

Short Stories

Puthumaippithan was considered as an outstanding short story writer and paved the way for the future field of short story in Tamil. He was considered as king of short stories in Tamil. Jayakantan is one of the eminent and popular storywriters  in Tamil. He is not only a storywriter, but also a novelist. His novels  Parisukkupo, Vazhkai Azhaikkiratu, etc., are worth reading. Among his novels, Akkinippiravesamis extremely good. Another storywriter who deserves our appreciation is              R. Sutamani. She has written many stories among which Unam stands unique. Jayasirpiyan, Sundara Ramasamy, A. Madhavan, Ashoka Mithiran, Nava Bharathi P.Pukazhenthi, Puvai S. Arumugam and others are well known writers in the field of Tamil short story writing. Apart from these stories, there are a number of stories published in several weekly and monthly magazines. Kumudam, Anandha Vikadan, Kalaimagal, Kalki, Tiipam, Kungumam, Taay, Minnambalam and several others are the journals that give primary importance to stories.

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Foods

Food

Each geographical area where Tamils live has developed its own distinct variant of the common dishes plus a few dishes distinctly native to itself. The Chettinad region, comprising of Karaikudiand adjoining areas, is known for both traditional vegetarian dishes, like appam, uthappam, paal paniyaram, and non-vegetarian dishes, made  primarily using chicken.Rice, the major staple foodin most of Tamil, is usually steamed and served with about two to six accompanying items, which typically include sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu, and thayir(curd) or moru(whey or buttermilk).GheeClarified butter called neyyiin Tamil, is used to flavor the rice when eaten with dhal or sambar, but not with curds or buttermilk. Morkulambu, a dish which can be spiced with moru, is also popular with steamed rice.

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Tamil Music

Art of Music

The ancient Tamils possessed a highly developed system of music and musical instruments. Their musical culture was at a high level. Works dealing exclusively with the science of music were written during the Sangam period, but were lost long ago. The Silappthikaram of the second century A. D. throws flood of light on the music of the Tamils. Music in Tamil nomenclature is isai. They had five kinds of Pans (specific melody type), namely Mullai, Kurinji, Marudham, Neythal and Palai. Apart from this, they had seven musical notes, viz., Kural, Thuttam, Kaykkilai, Uzhai, Ili, Vilari and Tharam. These seven notes might be roughly equated with the seven modern musical notes sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha,and ni (saptha svaras ‘seven notes’). Tamil books associate the following animals and birds with the saptha svaras:sawith beetle, riwith parrot, gawith horse, mawith elephant, pawith cuckoo, dhawith cow, and niwith goat.Whereas the Sanskrit tradition of Bharata compare saptha svaras with the cries of animals and birds, viz., sawith peacock, riwith cow, gawith goat, mawith heron, pawith Indian nightingle, dhawith horse, and niwith elephant. Through the Sangam works one can learn that the Tamils had many musical instruments. They had their famous yazhs (kind of harps). Sagotta yazh, Peri yazh, Siri yazh, Mahara yazh, Sengattu yazh, and are the names denoting different kinds of yazhs. Sagotta yazh was a stage instrument. Peri yazh was a large harp consisting of twenty-one strings while Siri yazh with seven strings. Among all yazhs, Peri yazh and Siri yazh seems to be very ancient. Music was always associated with dancing in a ncient times.

 The treatment of music as an independent of its relation to dancing is found only in later works after Silappathikaram. It appears that in the period of Nayanmars and Alwars, the native system of music was retained with some deviations. Some of the pans are still used in the recitals of the Devaram hymns. In the year 1943 the patron of Tamil language, literature and arts, Dr. Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar started the Tamil Music Academy at Chennai and thereby he attempted to restore and enrich the Tamil music.

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Dance

Dance

Tamil is broadly classified into Iyal ‘prose’, Isai ‘poetry’ and Nadakam ‘drama’. Nattiyam or Kuthu is mainly concerned with dance. The ancient Tamils had two kinds of Kuthu: (1) Vethiyal and (2) Podhuviyal. Vethiyal is especially meant for royal families and Podhuviyal is meant for the public. Later on this convention had disappeared. Since the kings had slowly lost their power the arts patronized by them also gradually lost their glamour. Thus the Vethiyal type of drama became extinct. The Silapathikaram furnishes the legendary origin of dancing. The ancient Tamil country is the home of the classical dance known as Bharata Natyam. Drama and dance gradually emerged as two different branches. In1960s and 1970s cinema overshadowed drama.

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Poetry

Poetry

The late poet Subramanya Bharathi popularly known as ‘Bharathi’ started a new era in the history of poetry. He used poetry as an instrument to arouse patriotism, and was successful to a great extent. His poetry went not only to the hands of scholars but also to the hands of common people. The complete works of Bharathi were published under the title Bharathiyar Kavithaikal. Among his works Kannan Pattu, Kuyil Pattu and Panchali Sabadham are outstanding.

Another poet the late Bharathidhasan, the beloved follower of Bharathi, is the most celebrated and outstanding poet in Tamil Nadu. He followed Bharathi in making Tamil poetry very popular and in using it as the best instrument to inspire people. But he deviated from Bharathi in many respects. Bharathi believed in God but Bharathidhasan did not. While Bharathi was preoccupied by the problems of the freedom struggle and other national interests, Bharathidhasan was particular in the development of the Tamil Nadu, Tamil language, Tamil people, and Tamil culture. Among his literary works, Pandiyan Parisu, Kudumba Vilakku, Tamil Ilakkam and

Azhakin Sirippuare highly valuable.

Besides these two poets, Kannadhasan, Abddul Rahuman, Vairamuthu, Mudiyarasan, Surada, Tamizh Azhagan, K. C. S. Arunachalam, Ponnadiyan, and Mu. Metha and others enrich the field of Tamil poetry. Kannadhasan’s Attanathi Athimanthi and Mangani and Mudiyarasan’s Pungodi are excellent works. Sudhanantha Bharathi is a living poet in Tamil Nadu. Sri Aurobindo influences him. His work Bharatha Sakthi is very famous. This book won the Raja Rajan

Award of 100,000 rupees.

Besides these works, there are a number of anthologies of poems published in this century. Several poems are being published in weekly and monthly magazines. Mullaicaram, Kavidhai

and a few other journals give primary importance to poetry.

In this connection, mention should be made about the new or modern poetry. The modern poets, Pichaimurthi, Mani Vaidheswaran and others are interested in modern poetries. They are of the opinion that the Tamil literary field needs new experiments and new developments and they believe that their attempt may contribute something to the Tamil literature.

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