Reeling in controversy
Displaying larger-than-life banners of political leaders is a common sight during party events in the state, however, goofing it up is rather rare. At the 107th birth anniversary celebration of former chief minister M G Ramachandran, at Keezhmittaalam panchayat near Ambur in Tiruppattur, standing shoulder to shoulder among AIADMK leaders Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami in the banner was actor Aravind Samy! The organisers had failed to realise they had used a picture of Aravind, who acted as MGR, from the film ‘Thalaivii’.
It is not known whether Aravind’s portrayal of MGR was spot on that the cadre couldn’t tell the difference or, most probably, if it was a genuine goof-up. Nonetheless, after getting trolled and public outrage, a new poster with the real MGR replaced Aravind Samy.
Cast-e-ing aspersions
There have been allegations that the Book Sellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) has been functioning like a caste association for some time now. With that in mind, a young publisher suggested to enquire the caste of BAPASI office bearers in the last 10 years, stating that a majority of them would belong to one particular caste, which would show their domination in the organisation. The publisher was also miffed that the organisation had closed its membership for several years now and said that stopping the young generation from making contributions will only cost it in the longer run.
Meaty affair
A meat seller in the city, who out of his fondness for late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, has been running the shop with the name ‘Amma’ for many years now. The shop and sign board are also painted in hues of AIADMK green. To this day, several of his customers consider it a government-owned meat shop, never failing to rebuke him for not selling meat at subsidised rates and keeping the prices on par with meat shops elsewhere in the city.
(Contributed by Praveena SA, Subashini Vijayakumar and Nirupama Viswanathan; compiled by Affan Abdul Kadar)