Andal (Tamil: ஆண்டாள் Äṇţāḷ, an 8th century or earlier ^[1]) is the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of Margazhi. Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to the god Vishnu, the patron deity of the Vaishnavas. The Srivilliputhoor Temple is dedicated to her and marks her birth place.^[2] Adopted by her father, the Alvar saint Periyalvar who found her as a baby, Andal avoided earthly marriage, the normal and expected path for women of her culture, to "marry" Vishnu, both spiritually and physically. In many places in India, particularly in Tamilnadu, Andal is treated more than a saint and as a form of God herself.

Early life[link]

Andal is believed to have been discovered under a Tulsi(Basil) plant in the temple garden of Srivilliputtur, by a person named Vishnucitta who later became one of the most revered saints in Hinduism, Periyalvar. The child was named Kodhai. This is popularly thought to mean "a beautiful garland" in Tamil^[3] but it is unlikely as in ancient times this was a popular personal name even for men as evidenced by Sangam era male names such as Kodhai as mentioned in a Purananuru poem on a Chera king Ko-k-Kodhai. The name Kodhai is often Sanskritized as Goda. Kodhai was raised by Vishnucitta. Kodhai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion. Vishnucitta doted on her in every respect, singing songs to her about Lord Vishnu; teaching her all the stories and philosophy he knew; and sharing with her his love for Tamil poetry. As Kodhai grew into a beautiful maiden, her love and devotion for the Lord grew to the extent that she decided to marry none but the Lord Himself only. As days progressed, her resolve strengthened and she started to live in a dream world with her beloved Lord and was constantly fantasizing about marrying Him. ^[4]

Vishnucitta had the responsibility of delivering flower garlands to the Lord's temple, everyday. Kodhai made these garlands and sent it to her beloved Lord through her father. Eventually she started acting unusual by wearing the flower garland which was meant to be offered to the Lord. This is generally considered sacrilege in Hinduism because the scriptures teach the devotees not to offer to the Lord, a thing that has already been used by a human being. However, Kodhai felt she should test to see how the garland suited her and only if it did, she should offer it to the Lord. One day, she was caught red-handed by her father in this strange act, and as an orthodox devotee he was extremely upset. He rebuked her and told her not to repeat the sacrilegious act in the future. Frightened and apologetic, Kodhai made a new garland for the offering that day. Legend says that that very night the Lord appeared to Vishnucitta in his dream and asked him why he had discarded Kodhai's garland instead of offering it to Him. The Lord is believed to have told Vishnucitta that He had whole-heartedly accepted Kodhai's offering all this time. This moved Vishnucitta so much even as he started to realize the Divine Love that existed between the Lord and his daughter. From this day on, Kodhai is believed to have been respected by the devotees and came to be known as "Andal", the girl who "ruled" over the Lord. She is also known by a phrase Soodi kodutha Sudarkodi which means "The bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after wearing them".

Marrying the Lord[link]

As Andal blossomed into a fifteen-year-old beautiful young woman of marriageable age (girls were married at a much younger age in those days), her father prepared to get her married to a suitable groom. Andal, however, was stubborn and insisted that she would marry only the Lord at Srirangam. This perplexed and worried her father. Legend has it that he had a vision give by the Lord, once again, and was instructed to send Andal to Srirangam; the lord simultaneously commanded the priests at Srirangam, in their dreams, to prepare for the wedding. Andal who was anxious to reach Srirangam was unable to control herself in her urgency to meet her beloved Lord. She ran into the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord and is believed to have merged with Him completely at that point.^[5]

Literary works[link]

Andal composed two works in her short life of fifteen years. Both these works are in Tamil verse form and are exceptional in their literary, philosophical, religious, and aesthetic content. Her contribution is even more remarkable considering that she was a girl of fifteen when she composed these verses and her prodigiousness amazes readers till date.

Her first work is the Thiruppavai, a collection of thirty verses in which Andal imagines herself to be a Gopi or cowherd girl during the incarnation of Lord Krishna. She yearns to serve Him and achieve happiness not just in this birth, but for all eternity, and describes the religious vows (pavai) that she and her fellow cowherd girls will observe for this purpose. ^[6]

^[7]

The second is the Nachiar Tirumozhi, a poem of 143 verses. Tirumozhi, literally meaning "Sacred Sayings", is a Tamil poetic style. "Nachiar" means Goddess, so the title means "Sacred Sayings of the Goddess." This poem fully reveals Andal's intense longing for Vishnu, the Divine Beloved. Utilizing classical Tamil poetic conventions and interspersing stories from the Sanskrit Vedas and Puranas, Andal creates imagery that is possibly unparalleled in the whole gamut of Indian religious literature. However, conservative Vaishnavite institutions do not encourage the propagation of Nachiar Tirumozhi as much as they encourage Tiruppavai. This is because Nachiar Tirumozhi is belongs to an erotic genre of spirituality that is similar to Jayadeva's Gita Govinda.

The impact of these works on the daily religious life of the South Indian has been tremendous. Just like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Thiruppavai is recited with great religious fervor by women, men, and children of all ages, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The daily services in most Vaishnava temples and households include this recitation. Both of these works, particularly the Thiruppavai, has been studied extensively by innumerable scholars. It has also been translated into a number of languages over the centuries.

Status in the Society[link]

Andal is now one of the best-loved poet-saints of the Tamils. Pious tradition reckons her to be the veritable descent of Bhumi Devi (Mother Earth) in bodily form to show humanity the way to His lotus feet. She is present in all Sri Vaishnava temples, in India and elsewhere, next to her Lord, as she always desired. During the month of Margazhi, discourses on the Tiruppavai in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English take place all over India. ^[8]

References[link]

v t e Alvars Poigai Alvar Bhoothathalvar Peyalvar Thirumalisai Alvar Nammalvar Madhurakavi Alvar Kulashekhara Alwar Periyalvar Andal Thondaradippodi Alvar Thiruppaan Alvar Thirumangai Alvar Divya Desams Divya Prabandha Mangalasasanam South India's 75 Apostles of Bhakti

Vishaka Hari is a prominent Carnatic music vocalist and established exponent of Harikatha, otherwise known as a story teller of Kathakalakshepam.

Vishaka Hari learnt Carnatic music under the legendary Carnatic violinist, Lalgudi Jayaraman, while her spiritual guru and father-in-law is Sri Krishna Premi,^[1][2] Vishaka Hari has performed in several sabhas during the Chennai Music Season since 2006.

On occasions, Vishaka Hari also performs with her husband, Sri Hari (Krishna Premi's son), who uses his English literary background to supplement her kathakalakshepam performances.^[3]

Vishaka Hari learnt Bharatha Natyam from prominent dancer, Professor Sudharani Raghupati.^[2]

References[link]

Andal Ampatuan, Jr. (born 15 August 1960^[2][3]) is the former mayor of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao. He is the son of patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., and his family continues to represent a powerful force in Mindanao politics.^[4] His brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, is the regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Accused in 2009 Maguindanao Massacre[link]

Ampatuan came to international attention in November 2009 as a result of the Maguindanao massacre. He was to run for governor of the province against Esmael Mangudadatu in the 2010 elections. However, Mangudadatu's female relatives and a group of journalists were ambushed and killed in the massacre, and Ampatuan Jr. quickly became the prime suspect.^[5] A member of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, he and his father and brother were expelled by party chairman Gilberto Teodoro due to the massacre.^[6] He surrendered to Filipino authorities and was charged with murder.^[7] He has denied any involvement,^[8] though several witnesses have gone on record stating that they saw him at the scene of the crime.^[9] In September 2010 he went on trial as the prime suspect in the massacre.

Personal life[link]

He is the second son of Gov. Datu Andal S. Ampatuan Sr. and Bai Laila Uy-Ampatuan. He is married to Bai Zandria S. Ampatuan.

References[link]

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Karthik Raja is a Tamil musician from Chennai, India. He made his debut as music composer in the Tamil film Alexander.^[1][2][3]

Personal life[link]

Karthik Raja is the eldest son of musician Ilaiyaraaja and Jeeva. His brother Yuvan Shankar Raja and sister Bhavatharini, who are also Tamil Film music directors and playback singers, have worked with him on notable projects. He graduated from St. Bede's School in Chennai. On June 8, 2000, Karthik Raja married Raja Rajeswari at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Career[link]

Born to a family of musicians, he had exposure various kinds of music at a very early age.^{[citation needed]} He had his formal training in Western Classical music from the Trinity School of Music, mainly in piano (affiliated to Jacob John).^{[citation needed]} He also had training in Carnatic music from T. V. Gopalakrishnan and Dakshina Murthy Swami.^{[citation needed]} To this day he derives most of his inspiration from classical music (Western and Indian) and jazz.^{[citation needed]}

As a child, he often used to accompany his father to the recording studios.^{[citation needed]}. At the age of 13, Karthik Raja played the keyboard for the song Kannukkum from the Tamil movie Ninaikka Therinda Maname (1987). Many such outings followed including playing keyboard for the soundtrack of the movie Nayagan. Karthik also arranged many recordings for his father and composed his first song Pandianin Rajiyathil for the movie Pandiyan (1992) and Ninaikindra for the movie Athma (1993). Around this time, he also composed some background score for the TV series Bible.^{[citation needed]}

He debuted as a full fledged composer in 1996 through the Tamil movie Alexander, soon followed by Manikyam. Then came many chart-busters that included Ullaasam, Naam Iruvar Nammaku Iruvar, Kadhala Kadhala and Dumm Dumm Dumm among others. He also debuted into Hindi films with Grahan which won him the R D Burman award for the best new talent.^{[citation needed]}

He also known for his symphonic and jazz arrangements. He also accompanied his father on numerous outings, notably in Thiruvasagam Project.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Film scores/Soundtracks[link]

Albums[link]

Awards[link]

• 1998:Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent - Grahan
• 2001: Cinema Express Award for Best Music Director - Dumm Dumm Dumm

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Karthik Raaja Lounge
• Karthik Raja Hits

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

Suhasini Maniratnam
Born	(1961-08-15) 15 August 1961 (age 50) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	actress, film director, film producer, writer
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Mani Ratnam (1988–present)
Children	1

Suhasini Maniratnam (born Suhasini on 15 August 1961) is an Indian actress. She made her film debut in 1980 with the Tamil film Nenjathai Killathe for which she won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress.^[1][2] Suhasini has won a National Film Award for Best Actress for Sindhu Bhairavi in 1986. She has also won seven Southern Filmfare Awards and other awards such as Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Nandi Awards and Kerala State Film Awards.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Suhasini was born on 15 August 1961 in Chennai to actor Charuhasan, the elder brother of Kamal Hassan..^[4][5]

Film career[link]

Suhasini has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She started her career as a make-up artist for several leading actors at that time. In Kannada, she acted in several movies like Bandhana and Muttina Haara (1990) directed by Rajendra Singh Babu, Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu (1983) directed by K. Balchander, and Suprabhatha, directed by Dinesh Babu. In Kannada films, she is a popular artist, especially in Vishnuvardhan movies which were hits at box office. She was introduced to Malayalam cinema through Padmarajan's Koodevide (1983), which also featured Mammootty. Her role in the AFI Fest-nominated feature Vaanaprastham (1999), which starred Mohanlal, was particularly well received.

She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 1986 for her role in the 1985 Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi, directed by K. Balachander. In 1996, Suhasini stepped into direction with Indira. She also wrote the screenplay for the film. The project was produced by G. V. Films.

Suhasini and her husband Mani Ratnam are involved in the running of their production company Madras Talkies, with G. Srinivasan.

Majority of Suhasini's movies are in Telugu. She acted with popular actors such as Krishna and Chiranjeevi. With Chiranjeevi, she appeared in over 20 films which are mostly box-office successes. Her latest appearance in the Telugu movie Leader was well received.^[6]

Awards[link]

National Film Awards

• National Film Award for Best Actress – Sindhu Bhairavi (Tamil) (1986)

Filmfare Awards South

• Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada – Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu (1983)
• Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada – Bandhana (1984)
• Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu – Swathi (1984)
• Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada – Muthina Haara (1990)
• Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada – Amrutha Varshini (1997)

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress – Nenjathai Killathe (1980)

Kerala State Film Awards

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress – Ezhuthappurangala (1987)
• Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress – Theerthadanam (2001)

Nandi Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Actress – Swathi (1984)
• Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress – Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001)

Filmography[link]

As actress[link]

• 2012 - Viraat (Kannada)
• 2012 - Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara? (Telugu)
• 2012 - Varuvan Thalaivan (Tamil)
• 2012 – Gabbar Singh (Telugu)
• 2012 - Myna (Kannada)
• 2011 – Mathond Madhuvena (Kannada)
• 2011 – The King & the Commissioner (Malayalam)
• 2010 – Deadly Soma-2 (Kannada)
• 2010 – Varudu (Telugu)
• 2010 – Leader (Telugu)
• 2010 – Sanju Weds Geetha (Kannada)
• 2010 – School Master (Kannada)
• 2010 – Kanmani (Kannada)
• 2010 – Eradane Maduve (Kannada)
• 2010 – Thillalangadi (Tamil)
• 2010 – Seedan (Tamil)
• 2010 – Raavanan (Tamil)
• 2009 – Makante Achan (Malayalam)
• 2009 – Nammal Thammil (Malayalam)
• 2009 – Vilaapangalkkappauram (Malayalam)
• 2009 – Rakhi (Telugu)
• 2009 – Mallika I Love You (Telugu)
• 2009 – Balam (Tamil)
• 2008 – Pandurangadu (Telugu)
• 2008 – Aegan (Tamil)
• 2008 – Amma Cheppindi (Telugu)
• 2007 – Mathad Matadhu Mallige (Kannada)
• 2007 – Satham Podathey (Tamil)
• 2007 – Sri Mahalakshmi (Telugu)
• 2006 – Rakhi (Telugu)
• 2006 – Seetakokachiluka (Telugu)
• 2005 – Vacation (Malayalam)
• 2004 – Dostha (Telugu)
• 2004 – Shock (Tamil)
• 2004 – Pedababu (Telugu)
• 2003 – Abhimanyu (Telugu)
• 2003 – Vaseegara (Tamil)
• 2002 – Nammal (Malayalam)
• 2001 – Nuvvu Naaku Nachchav (Telugu)
• 2001 – sakutumba saprivara sametam(Telugu)
• 2001 - "Chocolate" (Tamil)

• 2000 – Yaarge Saalathe Sambala (Kannada)

• 1997 – Egire Paavurama (Telugu)
• 1997 – Amruthavarshini (Kannada)
• 1997 – Pelli Pandheri (Telugu)
• 1996 – Ramudochhadu (Telugu)
• 1995 – Himapatha (Kannada)
• 1993 – Samooham (Malayalam)
• 1993 – Chinna Kannamma (Tamil)
• 1992 – Akka Mogudu (Telugu)
• 1991 – Usha (Kannada)
• 1990 – Muttinahara (Kannada)
• 1989 – Amma (Telugu)
• 1989 – En Purushanthaan Enakku Mattumthaan (Tamil)
• 1989 – Mamatala Kovela (Telugu)
• 1989 – Oru Sayahnathinte Swapnam (Malayalam)
• 1988 – Akhari Poratam (Telugu)
• 1988 – En Bommukutty Ammavukku (Tamil)
• 1988 – Marana Mrudangam (Telugu)
• 1988 – Suprabhatha (Kannada)
• 1988 – Dharmathin Thalaivan (Tamil)
• 1988 – Manchi Donga (Telugu)
• 1988 – Varasudochadu (Telugu)
• 1987 – Samsaram Oka Chadarangam^[7](Telugu)
• 1987 – Dhoorathu Pachai (Tamil)
• 1987 – Ananda Aradhanai (Tamil)
• 1987 – Manathil Uruthi Vendum (Tamil)
• 1987 – Manivatharile Aayiram Sivarathrikal (Malayalam)
• 1987 – Ezhuthapurangal (Malayalam)
• 1987 – Aradhana (Telugu)
• 1987 – Punnami Chandrudu (Telugu)
• 1987 – Punya Dampathulu (Telugu)
• 1986 – Kirathakudu (Telugu)
• 1986 – Sirivennela (Telugu)
• 1986 – Rakshasudu (Telugu)
• 1986 – Seetharama kalyanam (Telugu)
• 1986 – Shravana Sandhya (Telugu)
• 1986 – Rakkuyilin Ragasadassil (Malayalam)
• 1986 – Pranamam (Malayalam)
• 1986 – Chantabbai (Telugu)
• 1985 – Jackie (Telugu)
• 1985 – Tene Manasulu (Telugu)
• 1985 – Mahaaraju (Telugu)
• 1985 – Sindhu Bhairavi (Tamil)
• 1985 – Katha Ithuvare (Malayalam)
• 1984 – Ente Upasana (Malayalam)
• 1984 – Illaalu Priyuraalu (Telugu)
• 1984 – Mangamma Gari Manavadu (Telugu)
• 1984 – Bandhana (Kannada)
• 1984 – Intiguttu (Telugu)
• 1984 – Challenge (Telugu)
• 1983 – Thai Veedu (Tamil)
• 1983 – Koodevide? (Malayalam)
• 1983 – Benkiyalli Aralidha Hoovu (Kannada)
• 1983 – Uruvangal Maralam (Tamil)
• 1982 – Manchu Pallaki (Telugu)
• 1982 – Gopurangal Sayvathillai (Tamil)
• 1982 – Aagaaya Gangai (Tamil)
• 1981 – Palaivana Cholai (1981) (Tamil)
• 1980 – Nenjathai Killathey (Tamil-Debut film)

As director[link]

• Indira (1996)
• Penn (television show) (1991)

As a dialogue writer[link]

• Thiruda Thiruda (1993)
• Iruvar (1997)
• Raavanan (2010)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Suhasini at the Internet Movie Database