From: sp2@cec1.wustl.edu (Sundara Pandian)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: soc.culture.tamil [Reply to Shyamala Parameswaran ]
Date: 17 Apr 1992 13:03:36 -0500
Organization: Washington University, St. Louis Mo.
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

In article <92107.215156U15297@uicvm.uic.edu> you write:
>
>Why should a separate USENET group for tamil(s) be
>established under the soc.culture hierarchy?
>

    Please refer to the postings by Krishna Raj and myself . Your
posting shows an ignorance of some salient points supporting the creation 
of soc.culture.tamil.

>A few enthusiasts hit upon the AHA! experience in their
>newfound discovery that tamils lived worldwide and were
>bound in culture (more), literature (more), history
>(less), politics (even less) regardless of the fact
>that they lived in the Trobriand Islands or Madagascar.
>Some other eager-beavers jumped on to the bandwagon
>lending their fervent ardor in responding to the spirited
>call "Tamils of the World, Unite!" All this is very moving.
>
>But first let us examine the reasons why a new USENET
    ------
>group for tamils is deemed necessary. 
    In fact, you have stated one reason in your above paragraph. For your
information, there is no newsgroup for people from Malaysia or Singapore and
I have seen some postings from them supporting the creation of Tamil newsgroup.
I like to quote from Sangam literature to show this worldwide friendliness of
Tamils.
    "yaadum oorE -yaavarum kElir" [ Kaniyan Poonkunranar ]
 [ People worldwide ,we all are friends .]
This newsgroup is intended to serve Tamils worldwide to exchange views on  
Tamil culture.        

>The generic chant
>that effervesces through all the eager ushering is: why
>wade through 100+ articles to read ones on Tamil culture/
>language/literature/history/politics/etc. Why indeed.
>If some nanotechnology would create a remote that can
>be aimed at the console, then all such endless wading
>would end and misery lifted.
     One doctor met a stranger walking on the street. He wished the doctor
"Good Morning". The doctor took a thermometer and studied his temperature.
He took him to his clinic and tested for 4 hours. Then he charged him 50 rupees
and said to him, "You are allright".
    It seems like you have made a resolution to stop the creation of this 
Tamil newsgroup. Think about it. Why should the Tamils in Srilanka, England,
Australia, Africa, Malaysia, or Singapore should take the trouble to scan all
the articles to find relevant Tamil articles. Some people read articles every
3 days or every 4 days. They miss nice articles. Ram Devnadhan who suggests the
"press the 'n' key if you don't find the article relevant", once wrote to me
in his mail,when I asked him to comment on my song "I've a scientific attitude"
replied me by e-mail that he missed it as he had about 600 postings unread.Then
I sent that song to him by e-mail and then he replied  commenting on my song.
     We don't have to go thru all those hurdles -finding a remote and all that
 stuff. We are not those doctors who inspect a stranger for 4 hours only to
see that he is allright. Life is not that hard. If interested Tamil people -
worldwide- cast their "yes" votes, soc.culture.tamil will be formed and 
attempts are being made to execute the standard procedure.
   
> Of course, that would
>give birth to the drone subculture (as if remotes at
>home and couch-potatoing hasn't already done so) but
>this rambling is digressing and far be it that I get
>judgemental on this. Until those remotes appear, life
>seems tough in this crazy traffic on SCI.
>
      Same reply.
>Well, USENET is 'free', we have tasted the nectar of
>democratic success in forming SCI, Alok's SCIA, RMIC,
                                    ------------
>RMIM...so why not a Tamil Internationale? Sure.
       Have you read postings in the net soc.culture.indian.american ?
If you have been reading it, you would not have missed reading 
Alok-Trina-Pravin Rathnam conversations. 
      soc.culture.tamil will not be such a network. I have already posted
a detailed article indicating some topics that this network will offer.
I wanted to write a detailed exposition on "ThirukkuraL" for a long time 
and I will write it in soc.culture.tamil titled "Mei PoruL Kaanbathu Arivu".
Also, Vashistha is there. He has already promised to write "pudhukavithai"s.
With many people around to talk about Sujatha's works, Cho's dramas ,this 
network will bring back good memories to those who are far away from        
Tamilnadu. As Suresh pointed out in his posting,
     soc.culture.tamil is a bridge to link all tamils worldwide 
K.Srinivasan is there with his "Thiruppavai' postings. I will request him
to repost them on soc.culture.tamil.
      If you don't have any objection on Alok's s.c.i.a., you may not have
any objection on s.c.t.-qualitywise. There are many talented people around.
You are promised to find good articles in s.c.t., once it is formed.
There will be also articles in English and English translations for Tamil
poems and Thiruppaavai and so people interested in Tamil culture can follow
them easily.

>Will it
>have room for a discussion on whether Vengayya Sambar
>tastes better at Concerns in Matunga or Olan at Ram
>Krishna Lunch Home in Matunga or Idi-Appam at Sarvana
>Bhavan at K.K.Nagar? 
       soc.culture.tamil is open to all. You can write on Tamil recipes .
But, Tamil culture is not all about food. See,what Thiruvalluvar says on
childs.
   "Kuzhal inidhu yaazh inidhu enbar tham makkaL 
    Mazhalai chol kElaadhavar." [KuraL]
 Translation and details will appear on the KuraL series in s.c.t.


>Tamil culture is very gastronomic
>too, Tiruppavai and Kural, notwithstanding. 
     Why is that ? Tamils know KuraL. In Madurai P.R.C. buses, there are many
Kurals in each buses.  Mostly, I memorized Kurals from my bus journeys in
Madurai. KuraL is a part of Tamil culture. Tamils celebrate Thiruvalluvar day.

 >Then, we
>can octopus-like lay claims on 'tamil' music, and wrench
>what belongs to the tamils away from RMIC, RMIM. 
    I don't know how often you read r.m.i.m. There is hardly any article on
Tamil music in it. Mostly, you will find discussion on Hindi music and hindi
lyrics. I,being one of those rare contributors of articles on Tamil music,
promise you that I will send copies of my articles to r.m.i.m. once s.c.t. is
formed. 
                           
>And
>what about eversilver patrams which are much better in
>Dadar than those in T-nagar or Pondy bazaar? Patrams,
>sure as nose-studs, are an intrinsic part of Tamil
>culture. And then, we can in the global unification of
>netwide tamils, rejoice, float janma-patrikas, maybe
>snatch a spouse or two out of this exclusive USENET
>array in tamil-to-tamil bonding and really, live
>happily ever after, Tiruvalluvar and Vasuki style.
   There is nothing wrong in posting articles looking for bride (Tamil) in
soc.culture.tamil. I don't see any joke on old Tamil people talking about
Patrams. They do that on the occasion of marriages. However, I don't think
that there will be such discussion on s.c.t. In fact, I had no idea of it,
till I saw your posting.     
    Every culture has its own traditions. One may not like those traditions.
In that case, he may state his reasons. But, abolishing a newsgroup as it may
also talk about its traditions is not a commendable act. 
>
>So, in effect, in seeking a newgroup tamils are seeking
>exclusivity, are merely branching out and not divorcing
>themselves from SCI. 
    Again, I like to restate that soc.culture.tamil is not aimed at Tamils
from Tamilnadu. It is intended for Tamils worldwide. It pervades the 
nationality. It serves as a bridge to link all Tamils worldwide .As such,
it does not fall under soc.culture.indian. If a writer in soc.culture.tamil 
feels that his article may pertain to all Indian writers ,he would send a 
copy to soc.culture.indian. 
     You are basically misdirecting the Indian readers in S.C.I. that
soc.culture.tamil is a subset of soc.culture.indian. It is not a subset.

>Hopefully many such culture tentacles
>will appear and maybe, just maybe, by circa 2000 the Indian
>subcontinent will take over netland! I find this prospect
>truly exciting.
>
      Have some mercy for Tamils. 
>
>Yours, in Tamilness,
>Shyamala Parameswaran

                                                                  S.Pandian,
                                                           sp2@cec1.wustl.edu
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Organization: Physics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA