The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Down memory lane

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 08, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Down memory lane

Special Correspondent

Elaborates on the difficulties faced by newsmen in the early days of newspapers in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi chose the function to inaugurate the Press Photographers Association to go down memory lane and to describe the difficulties faced by newsmen in the early days of newspapers in Tamil Nadu.

At the height of the anti-Hindi agitation in 1937-38, in which he actively participated, many were arrested and jailed each day. Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, whom many dravidan leaders of Mr. Karunanidhi's generation consider their teacher) ran two newspapers then, `Kudiarasu' and `Viduthalai.' They carried pictures and names of those arrested in Chennai as part of the agitation.

But on some days the pictures were not available.

On those occasions, the editor used to seek Periyar's direction. "Periyar used to say `Don't you have the block from yesterday? Rub it a bit and print it. The faces will not be clear,'' ," Mr. Karunanidhi said.

On another occasion, the picture of an advocate from Mylapore was published for an obituary column on Soundarapandia Nadar in the weekly, `Dravidan'. The picture was procured by its Editor, N.V.Natarajan, from another newspaper, ``Nam Naadu''. The Editor of that paper lent the picture, hoping it was Nadar's.

He said that first he read `Murasoli' in the morning. not because it was the party organ, but because he wanted to check how many mistakes had appeared.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu