'"Pakistan will come and bite you" doesn't work here.'
N Kalyanasundaram started saving up last year so that he could feed the hungry during the second COVID lockdown.
Two years ago, Inspector Stephen Jose told his colleagues he was going to participate in a body-building contest. He was 48. They didn't think he was serious. But he was. In January 2022, he became Mr Tamil Nadu.
In one village, a woman asks, "They are always showing cash seizures on television, you think some of it will escape and we will get money as usual?" "Only 1 percent of cash is actually seized, the rest has arrived, you don't worry," a party worker assures her. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports on the election in the southern-most tip of the country.
'I am an auto driver, and I am doing my best.'
Jitendra Kumar was arrested on July 11 for no fault of his and only released 86 days later.
Everybody in Tamil Nadu, it seems, has an opinion on superstar Rajinikanth entering politics. A Ganesh Nadar presents a cross-section of views on the actor's chances in the electoral arena.
'Religion must be in your home and in the temple, not in government functions.'
Ritika Hiranandani tells Ganesh Nadar that Sachin Tendulkar is responsible for breaking the gender divide and making cricket family entertainment.
'You can do anything after retirement. You have to pursue it. You have to take it up as a challenge.'
Dr Anand Rai says the Madhya Pradesh government is harassing him by transferring him and his wife to Dhar and fears for his security in the new posting.
'Dowry is the main reason for female foeticide'
Javed Khan has been operating an auto ambulance in Madhya Pradesh's capital city since a month.
'Not only have we rescued 1,700 fishermen but on the morning of November 30, we evacuated 1,044 fishing folk, otherwise the missing numbers would have been much higher.'
'There are around 80 to 100 elephants in zoos around the country.' 'We should not keep them in captivity for our entertainment.'
'In the current scenario e-commerce delivery is flourishing, driving demand.'
Yaadhum is a documentary that talks about how Islam spread in South India because of trade and not through invasion.
'The north east people are complaining, but the BJP is not listening to our voice.'
'When someone gives you one kilo of gold you have some obligations to them'
'The financial situation of Tamil Nadu is much worse than it was in 2016.' 'The finance minister's is a horrendous job.' 'I am certainly not going to ask for it.'
His time will be divided 50-50, he says, between his autorickshaw and his work as mayor.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com meets the family of CRPF jawan G Subramanian, who was among the 41 martyred in Pulwama.
'It is undemocratic and shows fascist tendencies.'
'By birth, you are not superior or inferior to anyone.' 'There are millions of people who want to have a casteless society. I am one of them.'
The hits and misses of the week.
American journalist Mark Scialla was deported after he was found covering the Sterlite agitation in Tuticorin while on a tourist visa.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Salman Khan's big Eid release Tubelight is also a major loser.
'Politics is in a mess. Good people have to join to clean it up.'
Salman Khan's much awaited Eid release Tubelight turned out to be a damp squib at the box office. Distributors stand to lose on their investments.
'If the BJP comes back to power, Sterlite will open in one week.' 'If the Congress comes to power, it will open in one month.'
'The government is not ready to talk to us. They have their own agenda.'
288 first-time offenders have been coaxed to leave the path of crime and lead a normal life.
'I did get a couple of offers (in Hindi cinema) but the roles required a doll-like heroine, a glamorous role. I was getting challenging roles in the South and so I stayed here.'
Hemangi and Prashant Nakwe's vegetarian thaali business is keeping them busy in the lockdown.
'Nobody has Dhoni's record of championship in three formats.' 'Every cricketer, every Indian, will agree to that.'
Aditi Mammen Gupta, who hails from the family that started Malayala Manorama, MRF Tyres & Funskool, tells us about her start-up.
A Ganesh Nadar shares interesting vignettes that usually get lost in the heat-and-dust of election coverage.
'They are going to be clubbed with the Lok Sabha elections which are six months away.' 'These people who are ruling Tamil Nadu know very well that they cannot win another election.'
