AVM Productions

AVM (Tamil: எ.வ.ம) is the oldest and largest film production studio in India. It is currently owned by M. Saravanan and his son, M. S. Guhan. The most recent film they have produced since their opening with Nam Iruvar in 1947, is Vettaikkaaran and Leader. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. Besides Tamil they have produced many films in Bollywood and Telugu. They have introduced numerous actors in the Tamil and Telugu film industries, some of the prominent actors are Vyjayanthimala, Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan.

Early history

Among South India's movie moguls, A.V. Meiyappan is a far-sighted entrepreneur and filmmaker with dash and dynamism, he had a finger on the pulse of the moviegoer. Entering the world of movies soon after it was introduced in India in the year 1931, for nearly half a century he worked incessantly, producing pictures of many kinds in many languages. A man with great foresight, he faced much adversity early in his career but like a true pioneer fought relentlessly and made it to the top.

A talent scout, he opened the doors of opportunity and success to many performing artistes and technicians.

Born on 28 July 1907, Avichi Meiyappan hailed from a Nattukottai Nagarathar family of Karaikkudi in Tamil Nadu. Avichi Chettiar ran a mini-department store, named AV & Sons. It sold gramophone records. Meiyappan, who joined his father's shop even as a teenager, decided to produce gramophone records instead of merely marketing them. He came to Madras where along with friends K.S.Narayana Iyengar, Subbaiah Chettiar and others promoted Saraswathi Stores. He found excellent support in K.P.Varadachari, its manager, and his lawyer friend Thoothukudi Govindachari Raghavachari he produced many records.

Maiden venture
Tomb at the AVM Studios in Chennai

The dawn of the talkie era (1931) inspired Meiyappan to start Saraswathi Sound Productions and he launched his maiden movie venture, Alli Arjuna a Hindu mythology based movie. The film was shot in Calcutta and proved a total flop as the one that followed named Ratnavali. At this point, an aspiring amateur actor and college graduate A.T.Krishnaswamy joined the unit as assistant director who was associated with Meiyappan for nearly a decade and wrote and directed the early AVM productions.

The reverses forced Meiyappan to lie low but only for a while. In association with Jayanthilal, a cinema house owner based in Bangalore, he promoted a new company Pragati Pictures Limited. Grabbing an opportunity that came his way, AVM made Nanda Kumar, Tamil version of a Marathi film launching it as a Pragati production. The highlight of this movie was the debut of T.R.Mahalingam in to Tamil movie Industry.

The film was a landmark because for the first time playback singing was tried, with Lalitha Venkatraman singing for the actor who played Devagi. Meiyappan took the sprawling Club House off Mount Road on lease and shot scenes without going to studios and erecting sets. Soon after he shifted his unit to another sprawling edifice known as Admiralty House in Adyar.

Success

Diamond Jubilee year of AVM Productions

In 1940, Meiyappan produced Bhoo Kailas, a mythological film which created history. The film was made in Telugu, its lead players were from Telugu cinema and it was directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, a Mangalorean who had his training in Bombay. The film turned out to be a big hit and also won critical acclaim! Meiyappan struck gold with comedy next. Sabapathy (1941) with the saucer-eyed T.R.Ramachandran in the lead, Kali N.Ratnam and K.Sarangapani was a run away success. Then came a series of hits like En Manaivi, Harishchandra (1943), Sri Valli.

The city of Madras began to feel the strains of the World War II raging on elsewhere and to reduce the exposure from Japanese bombing, Meiyappan moved his facilities to Karaikudi. In the outskirts of the town karaikudi he occupied a drama auditorium with a large open area around it on long lease and erected a studio. Thus was born AVM Productions with AVM Studios.

Hits like Nam Iruvar (1947), Andha Naal (1954), and the National Award winning Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke (1957) followed.

Meiyappan died on 12 August 1979, and after his demise his sons took over the mantle. The AVM saga continues, its glory undiminished

Read More

Thiruvalluvar Statue, Kanyakumari

The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (40.5 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. It was opened on January 1, 2000 (Millennium) and is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean . The statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38 foot (11.5 m) pedestal that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The statue standing on the pedestal represents "wealth" and "pleasure", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue.

The combined height of the statue and pedestal is 133 feet (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons.

The statue, with its slight bend around the waist is reminiscent of a dancing pose of the ancient Indian deities like Nataraja. It was sculpted by the Indian sculptor Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple.

This monument was hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004

Construction:

In 1979, the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai laid the foundation stone for the statue. However, the installation and the sculpting work began on September 6, 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to Vivekananda Rock Memorial when funds were allocated in the 1990-91 budget. Initially, the project stalled but then recommenced in 1997 and was completed on January 1, 2000. At the cost of more than US$1 million (INR 61.4 million), it employed about 150 workers, sculptors, assistants and supervisors. The slight bend around the waist made the design challenging. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati solved the problem by creating a full-length wooden prototype before construction. Study of this prototype led to the identification of an energy line (known in Vastu science as kayamadhyasutra), currently an empty cavity in the center of the statue from top to bottom. Sthapati designed the statue to survive earthquakes of unexpected magnitude.
The stone work was divided amongst three workshops, in Kanyakumari, Ambasamudram and Shankarapuram. Ambasamudram contributed 5,000 tons of stones, while Shankarapuram was quarried for 2,000 tons of high quality granite stones for the outer portion of the statue. While the largest of the 3,681 stones weighed over 15 tons, the majority weighed three to eight tons. An interesting detail is the 19-foot-high face, with the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, forehead all made of individual stones carved by hand. Stumps of palmyra tree and poles of casuarina (ironwood) were used for scaffolding. It took 18,000 casuarina poles tied together with two truckloads of ropes to reach the top of the statue.

The statue stands 400 meters from the coastline of Kanyakumari on a small island rock. Ferry service are available from the mainland. The ferry service to Vivekananda Rock Memorial stops for a while at the Thiruvalluvar Statue.

Read More

Vellore Fort

Vellore Fort (Tamil:வேலூர் கோட்டை) is a large 16th-century fort situated in Vellore city near Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The Fort was at one point of time the headquarters of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

The Fort's ownership passed from Vijayanagara Kings, to the Bijapur Sultans, to Marathas, to the Carnatic Nawabs and finally to the British, who held the fort until India gained independence. During British rule, the Tippu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha were held in as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a Christian church, a Muslim mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter of which is famous for its magnificent carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it is also a witness to the tragic massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya.

History
The Fort was built around 1566 by Chinna Bommi Nayak and Thimma Reddy Nayak, subordinate Chieftains under Sadasiva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Vijayanagara kings called it "Raya Vellore" to differentiate it from "Uppu Vellore" in the Godavari region. The name Vellore is also spelt "Belur." The present day Chennai region and Tirupathi were under the domain of the Fort.

Construction
The fort was constructed in granite from the nearby quarries in Arcot and Chittor districts. It spreads over an area of 133 acres (0.54 km2) and is located at an altitude of 220m within a broken mountain range. The fort is surrounded by a moat which was once used as an additional line of defence in the case of an invasion. It includes an escape tunnel leading to Virinjipuram about 12 km away, which could be used by the king and other royals in the event of an attack. The fort is considered to be among the best of military architecture in Southern India and is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

This 13th century fort was opened up to tourists and is now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, and is well maintained compared to other monuments.

Jacques de Coutré, a European traveller in the region during the 1610s, stated that “We arrived in the city of Belur, which is also walled, with two walls of stone, and is more than two leagues in circuit, with very deep moats full of water. It seemed to be almost two cities. I have never seen a city that was so fortified and which had such lovely walls and bastions as this one. We prize the cities of Antwerp and Flanders, but neither can compare in their fortifications or loveliness to this city”

Buildings within the fort
The fort houses a Temple, a Mosque and a Church, the renowned Vellore Christian Hospital, and many other buildings that are now used as public offices.

Sri Jalagandeeswarar Temple
The temple, dedicated to Jalagandeeswar, is noted for its sculptures, and speaks volumes of the exquisite craftsmanship of the highly skilled artisans of that period. The sculpture in the porch on the left of the entrance is a masterpiece appreciated by the connoisseurs of art and architecture. The temple was long used as an arsenal, and remained without a deity, although several years ago it was sanctified with an idol of Lord Shiva.

During mughal period the idol was removed and kept away from the town, forgotten by the generation. In the year 1983 a Christian missionary spoke out side the fort ground, inside the fort an empty temple. This evoked a quick response from the Vellore elites and all gathered together and promptly placed the idol and started their prayers. Though he incited violence it ended in awakening the public to complete the temple and prayers started and continuing. Its now the destination for the vellore folks to say their prayers. Thanks to the Rayas who meticulously built this wonderful temple. The Britishers want to loot and take this large wedding hall piece by piece to England.Latter it was dropped. What they looted from India will last for their generations. The temple has a large wedding hall adorned with elegant reliefs and monolithic sculptures. The temple manifests a double Gopuram and impressive mandapam. The temple is maintained by a Trust.

The Mosque
This building was constructed during the last Arcod Navab's period.
The Church
This building was constructed during the early British period (Robert Clive, East Indian Company).
Muthu Mandapam
This is a memorial built around the tombstone of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of Sri Lanka. Situated on the bank of the Palar River, it is just one kilometer north of Vellore town.
Government Museum
This is a multi purpose museum maintained by the Department of Museum Government of Tamil Nadu. Its treasures include ancient- and present-day curiosities relating to subjects such as anthropology, botany, geology, numismatics, pre-history, and zoology. Historical monuments of the erstwhile composite North Arcot district are gracefully depicted in the gallery. This museum is kept open on all days between 9.00 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. and 2.00 p.m and 5.00 p.m. except on holidays, and admission fee is INR 5/-.

Location and transportation
The Fort is situated in the centre of Vellore town opposite to Old Bus stand. Vellore is in Chennai-Bangalore highway and is 120 km (75 mi) from Chennai and 210 km (130 mi) from Bangalore. The nearest rail station is Katpadi Junction, where almost all important trains stop. The nearest airports are Tirupati Airport, Chennai International Airport and Bengaluru International Airport.

Read More