#Radio Announcers (Tamil)

[thatswhywelovegermany]

November 9, the fateful day of the Germans in history

Nov 9, 1313: Battle of Gammelsdorf - Louis IV defeats his cousin Frederick the Fair marking the beginning of a series of disputes over supremacy between the House of Wittelsbach and the House of Habsburg in the Holy Roman Empire

Nov 9, 1848: Execution of Robert Blum (a german politician) - this event is said to mark the beginning of the end of the March Revolution in 1848/49, the first attempt of establishing a democracy in Germany

Nov 9, 1914: Sinking of the SMS Emden, the most successful German ship in world war I in the indo-pacific, its name is still used as a word in Tamil and Sinhala for a cheeky troublemaker

Nov 9, 1918: German Revolution of 1918/19 in Berlin. Chancellor Max von Baden unilaterally announces the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and entrusts Friedrich Ebert with the official duties. At around 2 p.m., the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the "German Republic" from the Reichstag building. Two hours later, the Spartacist Karl Liebknecht proclaims the "German Soviet Republic" from the Berlin City Palace.

Nov. 9, 1923: The Hitler-Ludendorff Putsch (Munich Beer Hall Putsch) is bloodily suppressed by the Bavarian State Police in front of the Feldherrnhalle in Munich after the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav Ritter von Kahr announces on the radio that he has withdrawn his support for the putsch and that the NSDAP is being dissolved.

Nov 9, 1925: Hitler imposes the formation of the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Nov 9, 1936: National Socialists remove the memorial of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in front of the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig.

Nov 9, 1938: November Pogrom / Pogrom Night ("Night of Broken Glass") organized by the Nazi state against the Jewish population of Germany.

Nov 9, 1939: The abduction of two british officiers from the Secret Intelligence Service by the SS in Venlo, Netherlands, renders the British spy network in continental Europe useless and provides Hitler with the pretext to invade the Netherlands in 1940.

Nov 9, 1948: Berlin Blockade Speech - West Berlin mayor Ernst Reuter delivers a speech with the famous words "Peoples of the world, look at this city and recognize that you cannot, that you must not abandon this city".

Nov 9, 1955: Federal Constitutional Court decision: all Austrians who have acquired german citizenship through annexation in 1938, automatically lost it after Austria became sovereign again.

Nov 9, 1967: Students protest against former Nazi professors still teaching at German universities, showing the banner ”Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren” ("Under the gowns – mustiness of 1000 years", referring to the self-designation of Nazi Germany as the 'Empire of 1000 Years') and it becomes one of the main symbols of the Movement of 1968 (the German Student  Movement).

Nov 9, 1969: Anti-Semitic bomb attack - the radical left-winged pro-palestinian organization “Tupamaros West-Berlin” hides a bomb in the jewish community house in Berlin. It never exploded though.

Nov 9, 1974: death of Holger Meins - the member of the left-radical terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF) financed in part by the GDR that eventually killed 30 people, dies after 58 days of hunger strike, triggering a second wave of terrorism.

Nov 9, 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall - After months of unrest, demonstrations and tens of thousands escaping to West Germany, poorly briefed spokesman of the newly formed GDR government Günter Schabowski announces that private trips to non-socialist foreign countries are allowed from now on. Tens of thousands of East Berliners flock to the border crossings and overwhelm the border guards who had not received any instructions yet because the hastily implemented new travel regulations were supposed to be effective only the following day and involved the application for exit visas at a police office. Subsequently, crossing the border between both German states became possible vitrually everywhere.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.1 (after 1950)

1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman at Blair House. 1951 – Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred United States Army soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary. 1952 – Nuclear weapons testing: The United States successfully detonates Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, at the Eniwetok atoll. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons TNT equivalent. 1954 – The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence. 1955 – The establishment of a Military Assistance Advisory Group in South Vietnam marks the beginning of American involvement in the conflict. 1955 – The bombing of United Air Lines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members aboard the Douglas DC-6B airliner. 1956 – The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala. Delhi was established as a union territory. 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: Imre Nagy announces Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Soviet troops begin to re-enter Hungary, contrary to assurances by the Soviet government. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich secretly defect to the Soviets. 1956 – The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued. 1957 – The Mackinac Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages at the time, opens to traffic connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens. 1963 – The 1963 South Vietnamese coup begins. 1968 – The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is officially introduced, originating with the ratings G, M, R, and X. 1970 – Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France kills 146 young people. 1973 – Watergate scandal: Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor. 1973 – The Indian state of Mysore is renamed as Karnataka to represent all the regions within Karunadu. 1976 – Burundian president Michel Micombero is deposed in a bloodless military coup d'état by deputy Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. 1979 – In Bolivia, Colonel Alberto Natusch executes a bloody coup d'état against the constitutional government of Wálter Guevara. 1979 – Griselda Álvarez becomes the first female governor of a state of Mexico. 1981 – Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1982 – Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio; a Honda Accord is the first car produced there. 1984 – After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupt. 1987 – British Rail Class 43 (HST) hits the record speed of 238 km/h for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for traction motors. 1991 – President of the Chechen Republic Dzhokhar Dudayev declares sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the Russian Federation. 1993 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union. 2000 – Chhattisgarh officially becomes the 26th state of India, formed from sixteen districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh. 2000 – Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations. 2001 – Turkey, Australia, and Canada agree to commit troops to the invasion of Afghanistan. 2009 – An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes near the Mir mine after takeoff from Mirny Airport in Yakutia, killing all 11 aboard. 2011 – Mario Draghi succeeds Jean-Claude Trichet and becomes the third president of the European Central Bank. 2012 – A fuel tank truck crashes and explodes in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, killing 26 people and injuring 135.

[wushigod]

The BBC will split its operations in India into two separate companies, after raids by India’s tax authorities last year. The BBC announced that it was forming an independent, Indian-owned company called the Collective Newsroom, which would produce content for the corporation’s six regional channels which broadcast in Indian languages including Hindi and Punjabi. The BBC has applied to have a 26% stake in Collective Newsroom, but it will be largely independent from the broadcaster, in order to comply with strict laws brought in by the government of prime minister Narendra Modi which have targeted companies that receive funding from abroad. A smaller team of reporters and producers making content for the BBC’s English-language radio and television news channels as well as digital news for the website, all headquartered in the UK, will remain in India working directly for the broadcaster. The highly unusual overhaul of operations by the British public broadcaster comes after the BBC offices in India were raided in 2023 by India’s tax authorities in an operation that lasted several days. The raids, which the government called a “tax survey”, came after the BBC aired a documentary examining Modi’s role in deadly communal riots that took place when he was chief minister of the state of Gujarat. The Indian government condemned the documentary and responded by invoking emergency laws to ban any clips or footage of the documentary being shared, despite it only being aired in the UK. Not long after dozens of officials from India’s income tax department arrived at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai. Some senior members of staff were questioned for three days. The government denied the raids were connected to the documentary, and were part of an investigation into the BBC violating India’s strict rules on foreign investment, accusing them of not fully disclosing profits. The BBC, which has had a presence in India since 1940, said it remained committed to producing content from India not only English but in its channels broadcasting in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. Under the new structure, four former BBC employees have set up a private, Indian-owned company that will create content broadcast on the BBC’s six regional language channels as well as the Youtube channel. It will employ about 200 staff who previously directly worked for the BBC’s regional news channels in India. Collective Newsroom will also be able to make content for other Indian broadcasters. It is unclear if it will have to comply with the same standards of impartiality imposed on all BBC programming. Rupa Jha, chief executive of Collective Newsroom, described the new operation as an “independent news organisation that leads with the facts, works in the public interest and hears from diverse voices and perspectives.” Jha said they had a “a clear, ambitious mission to create the most credible, creative and courageous journalism”. Ninety employees will remain in India directly employed by the BBC in the UK and reporting to editors in London. Their content produced from India will be accessible to Indian audiences through services such as the BBC world news channel and BBC World Service radio but it will be published out of the UK headquarters.

[swldx]

Radio Vaticana 1454 1 Jan 2024

11700Khz 1452 1 JAN 2024 - RADIO VATICANA (VATICAN CITY STATE) in TAMIL from TINANG (VOA). SINPO = 55333. ?Indian Language?, sitar musical interludes, male announcers alternating. Backyard fence antenna w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), Etón e1XM. 250kW, beamAz 270°, bearing 324°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 12515KM from transmitter at Tinang (VoA). Local time: 0852.

[manishsahana]

Latest News: Top Headlines from Around the World

latest news

The world is constantly changing, and the latest news is essential for staying informed. From politics and business to science and technology, there is always something new happening in the world. Here are some of the top headlines from around the world on September 26, 2023:

India

Probe agency ED raids 12 locations linked to members of banned PFI in Kerala. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided 12 locations linked to members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala. The raids were conducted in connection with a money laundering case. Bengaluru bandh today: Cauvery row straining Karnataka-Tamil Nadu explained. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a bitter dispute over the Cauvery river for decades. The dispute has flared up again in recent weeks, and a bandh has been called in Bengaluru today to protest against the Tamil Nadu government's decision to release water from the Cauvery dam. Sikh protesters burn Indian flag in Canada over Nijjar's murder. Sikh protesters in Canada burned the Indian flag on Monday to protest against the murder of Dilbag Singh Nijjar, a Sikh man who was killed in a suspected hate crime in Ontario. No power to look into Akasa-pilots feud: DGCA. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that it does not have the power to look into the feud between Akasa Air and its pilots. The pilots have been protesting against the airline's salary and working conditions. 'Index inclusion to bring $25billion foreign inflows.' The inclusion of Indian stocks in global indices is expected to bring in $25 billion in foreign inflows, according to a report by Morgan Stanley. World

UK Cost-Of-Living Crisis Set To "Cut Lives Short": Report. A new report has warned that the UK's cost-of-living crisis is set to "cut lives short" as people struggle to afford food and energy. The report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said that the crisis could lead to an increase in deaths of up to 10,000 people per year. Keeping Up With Newlyweds Parineeti And Raghav - See Delhi Pics. Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha got married in a private ceremony in Delhi on Monday. The couple shared pictures from the wedding on social media, and they were congratulated by fans and celebrities alike. 'India On Path Of Peace, We Want To Go With Them': Sri Lankan Minister. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry has said that India is on a path of peace and that Sri Lanka wants to go with them. Sabry made the remarks during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New York. Pics: Work At Ram Temple Site In Full Swing, Grand Inauguration In January. The construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is in full swing, and the temple is expected to be inaugurated in January 2024. The temple is being built at the site where the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan Aim To Tackle All Human Disease By 2100. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have announced that they are aiming to tackle all human disease by 2100. The couple has pledged $3 billion to support research into artificial intelligence and other technologies that could help to cure diseases. These are just a few of the top headlines from around the world on September 26, 2023. For more news, please visit your local news source or a reputable news website.

Analysis:

The news headlines from around the world on September 26, 2023 reflect a wide range of issues that are impacting people's lives. From the cost-of-living crisis in the UK to the war in Ukraine, there is something happening in the world that is affecting everyone.

It is important to stay informed about the latest news so that you can understand the world around you and make informed decisions about your life. You can stay informed by watching the news, reading newspapers and magazines, and listening to the radio. You can also follow news organizations on social media.

It is also important to be critical of the news that you consume. Not all news sources are created equal, and some sources may be biased or inaccurate. It is important to be aware of the different perspectives on an issue before you form an opinion.

[starfriday]

Director of Jalsa, Suresh Triveni, outlines vision for Opening Image.

Announces his upcoming directorial films and plans for his content studio

Mumbai, 30th January, 2023: On its release in March 2022, the riveting drama thriller,

'Jalsa' caught global attention for its nuanced story, enthralling performances, and

impeccable direction. The film which was appreciated by critics and audiences alike,

garnered multiple awards and accolades for its director, Suresh Triveni and lead actors –

Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah as well as several recognitions in the technical categories

Following the film's success, in April 2022, Suresh Triveni announced the formation of

creative studio and production house, 'Opening Image', in partnership with one of India’s

premier producers, the Vikram Malhotra-led Abundantia Entertainment, to create and

produce films and series.

After his successful outings with Jalsa and the 2017 fan-favourite, Tumhari Sulu, Suresh

Triveni is now ready to entertain and captivate audiences with his next two directorial

ventures. While one film is an out-and-out action drama, the other one is a dramedy with

an element of thrill that explores questions of identity in today’s world. While more details

on both films are being kept under wraps, both are set to feature prominent A-list actors

and roll in the next 12 months. Beyond Suresh’s directorial films, there is an exciting slate

of content in development with young and fresh writers and creators, all set to be launched

under Opening Image.

Director and Founder of Opening Image, Suresh Triveni, says, "The vision for ‘Opening

Image’ is to create disruptive stories and provide a platform that encourages young talent

to tell their stories. We want to build a community that provides an ecosystem for

storytellers to flourish. On my individual front, I am excited to be back in the director’s

chair and along with my team offer fresh stories to audiences across the world. The

partnership with Abundantia Entertainment and Vikram is growing from strength to strength

and we’re having a great time telling stories together where each one of us brings

complimentary skills to the mix.”

Vikram Malhotra, Founder & CEO of Abundantia Entertainment adds, "Suresh and Opening

Image are truly building a forward-looking, audience-focused creative community and

ecosystem like no other. Its amazing to see the progress that Opening Image has made in

such short time and heartening to see the platform that it is providing to upcoming writers

and directors. On another note, I am super excited with the shape Suresh’s directorial films

are taking. Unique and entertaining”!

About Suresh Triveni

The man behind the popular 'Mauka-Mauka' campaign that caught the nation’s imagination,

Suresh Triveni is an Indian ad and feature film director. In 2017, he made his Bollywood

feature film debut with the Vidya Balan - starrer Tumhari Sulu, a slice-of-life film,

chronicling the life of an enthusiastic housewife who lands a lucrative job as a radio jockey.

It was an instant hit and was also remade in Tamil. He also wrote and directed the critically

acclaimed drama-thriller, Jalsa which released on Amazon Prime Video in March 2022.

About Abundantia Entertainment

In its young journey, Abundantia Entertainment has achieved an impressive track-record of

producing audience-focused, impactful content that includes films like the recently

released Ram Setu, Jalsa, Chhorii, Sherni and Shakuntala Devi as well as films in its early

years like Airlift, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Missing and Baby. Apart from the Breathe franchise

across three seasons, Abundantia Entertainment’s original series slate boasts of the

acclaimed Hush Hush (2022) and an exciting list of upcoming titles. Its 2023 line-up features

films like the Hindi remake of the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Soorarai Pottru jointly

produced with superstar Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, Anu Menon’s murder-mystery, Neeyat,

with an ensemble cast led by Vidya Balan, Sukhee with Shilpa Shetty in the lead, remake of

the critically-acclaimed, Angamaly Diaries helmed by Madhumita and the sequel to the

successful 2021 horror film, Chhorii.

Abundantia Entertainment has an exciting slate of films and shows in development which

includes films with talented directors such as Jai Mehta (Scam: 1992) and Mayank Sharma

(Breathe) as well as series like the ‘The End’ - marking the series debut of superstar Akshay

Kumar, a multi-season crime drama based on the bestselling ‘Rita Ferreira’ books, remake

of the Israeli hit YA series, ‘The Missing’ and ‘The Hood’ and the book adaptation of the

bestseller, ‘Flawed – the Nirav Modi saga’.

Social Media Handles

Instagram - @abundantiaent | Twitter - @Abundantia_Ent | Facebook - @AbundantiaEntertainment

www.abundantiaentertainment.com

[mrjobsinfo]

SLBC Vacancies 2022 - Radio Announcers (Tamil)

SLBC Vacancies 2022 – Radio Announcers (Tamil)

SLBC Vacancies 2022 – Radio Announcers (Tamil) : Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation vacancy 2022, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) Vacancies 2022 SLBC Vacancies 2022 Advertisment (English) – Download SLBC Vacancies 2022 Application (English) – Download

[southeastasianhistories]

There are many stories of how this song came to Nusantara. One of them goes: there was a regular steamer service between the Seychelles and Singapore. One of them goes: the daughters of the exiled Sultan heard the song on Mahé and loved it, and taught it to their brother, who taught it to another brother, who whistled it to a British administrator, who made it Perak’s state anthem. One of them goes: this happened in 1888. One of them goes: this happened in 1902. One of them goes: the whistler was in fact the private secretary to another Sultan, a musician himself. One of them goes: the tune was already popular in Perak, which is why it was whistled. One of them goes: the Sultan in exile composed it himself. One of them goes: the Sultan, returning from exile, was required to live in Singapore, and heard the tune there. One of them goes: this happened in 1901. One of them goes: more than one story can be true. One of them goes: it is pure coincidence that two songs have the same tune, inilah yang dikata seni muzik itu sejagat, this is why it is said the art of music is universal.

[...]

What was gained by turning “La Rosalie” into the official anthem of Perak, and then Malaysia? Certainly these two versions are more confident, more rousing and unifying in their attempts to bring Negeri, and then Negara together. The imaginative boundaries of the song seem to have expanded from a passionate lover or sibling to all the people of a state and a nation. With the expansion comes a corresponding narrowing too. The rain on Rosalie’s back, the moon, golden sand, the falling flower of a slain sister, a pair in a rowboat, again the moon, the audacity of swearing upon a crocodile are all swept away by grand orchestral arrangements. Instead of revenge, or pining, or a heart that cannot have any peace, there is harmony between people, ruler, land and God, at least in the lyrics.

[...]

—when it was first announced to the public, it was thought of as undignified, after all, the tune coursed through every jukebox, every dancehall—

            —a Cantonese one, too, but the lyrics are so sickly sentimental, barely saved by the language—

            —all other versions banned by statute—

            —the union's response to the synthesiser was to try to ban it, because it put string players out of work—

            —made his breakthrough while at university in Taiwan… calls for his citizenship to be revoked… considered charging him with sedition—

            —the idea began sprouting in Iowa, but my first draft was ignored by the editors of a local publication, so I shelved—

            —Tan Sri Dato Abdul Mubin Sheppard, born Irish, joined the Malayan Civil Services, married in Singapore, imprisoned during World War II, converted to Islam the year of Malaysian independence, performed the Haj, documented several accounts of our tune, died Malay—

            —accusations of plagiarism fly furiously all over the internet, each comment a little flea—

            —but there are no records of it in de Béranger’s extant published songs, and he wasn’t a composer anyhow, but a lyricist, so who could have written the tune—

            —in Dutch it seems to have been about a slavegirl pining for her master, who has sailed off leaving her with a blue-eyed child—

            —Saidah Rastam, who I am in debt to, says, my country is an emotion… When the Federation of Malaya was born, hardly anyone knew what Malaya should be. There were so many desires, conflicting beliefs. It could all have fallen apart so easily—

            —Sheppard had the sense of adventure to send the anthem to the Seychelles in the 1960s, and an old woman recognised it instantly on the radio—

            —video of schoolkids singing the anthem in Chinese translation went viral; investigations found Chinese textbooks with the offending versions and unearthed Tamil ones too, except the Tamil text is sung phonetically, based on the Bahasa Malaysia—

            —my peer reviewer said “Terang Boelan” was one of numerous cultural texts that propelled the Japanese fascination with and longing for “the South” before and during the Second World War—

            —ruled that the Chagos Islands have to be returned to Mauritius, but the UK says it has every right to them, and so the Chagossians keep waiting—

            —a malaise called time is upon us all, and it makes us forget—

            —also performed by Felix Mendelssohn's Hawaiian Serenaders, Mamula is, as far I as I can tell, an imaginary island, as imaginary as Sawoba, itself as beautiful as Hawaii—

            —Wayang Kassim made it a hit from Penang to Singapore and beyond—

            —there might have been a lyric-writing competition forgotten or obscured by the official narrative, with Indonesian-Malaysian composer and musician Saiful Bahri winning and writing the words to the anthem—

            —isn’t there something in the silver voice, the grey ship, the tin—

            —it could all have fallen apart so easily, the miracle is, it didn’t—

            —hum it, now, all together, take a deep breath, and—

A History of Negaraku in Seven Rumours, Tse Hao Guang

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.22 (after 1900)

1907 – A run on the stock of the Knickerbocker Trust Company sets events in motion that will spark the Panic of 1907. 1910 – Hawley Harvey Crippen (the first felon to be arrested with the help of radio) is convicted of poisoning his wife. 1923 – The royalist Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup d'état attempt fails in Greece, discrediting the monarchy and paving the way for the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic. 1934 – In East Liverpool, Ohio, FBI agents shoot and kill notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd. 1936 – Dod Orsborne, captain of the Girl Pat is convicted of its theft and imprisoned, having caused a media sensation when it went missing.[8] 1941 – World War II: French resistance member Guy Môquet and 29 other hostages are executed by the Germans in retaliation for the death of a German officer. 1943 – World War II: In the second firestorm raid on Germany, the RAF conducts an air raid on the town of Kassel, killing 10,000 and rendering 150,000 homeless. 1946 – Over twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their families and equipment. 1947 – The Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan begins, having started just after the partition of India. 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis: President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation. 1963 – A BAC One-Eleven prototype airliner crashes in UK with the loss of all on board. 1964 – Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but turns down the honor. 1964 – An all-party Parliamentary Committee selects the design which will become the new official flag of Canada. 1975 – The Soviet uncrewed space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus. 1976 – Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs. 1981 – The United States Federal Labor Relations Authority votes to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) for its strike the previous August. 1983 – Two correctional officers are killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspires the Supermax model of prisons. 1987 – John Adams' opera Nixon in China premiered. 1992 – Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-52. 1997 – Danish fugitive Steen Christensen kills two police officers, Chief Constable Eero Holsti and Senior Constable Antero Palo, in Ullanlinna, Helsinki, Finland during his prison escape. 1999 – Maurice Papon, an official in the Vichy government during World War II, is jailed for crimes against humanity. 2005 – Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active Atlantic hurricane season until surpassed by the 2020 season. 2005 – Bellview Airlines Flight 210 crashes in Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board. 2006 – A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a national referendum. 2007 – A raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base is carried out by 21 Tamil Tiger commandos, with all except one dying in this attack. Eight Sri Lanka Air Force planes are destroyed and ten damaged. 2008 – India launches its first uncrewed lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. 2012 – Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping. 2013 – The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013. 2014 – Michael Zehaf-Bibeau attacks the Parliament of Canada, killing a soldier and injuring three other people. 2019 – Same-sex marriage is legalised, and abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland as a result of the Northern Ireland Assembly not being restored.

[sareesinthewind]

Photo 1: Parasakthy and Sundha 1961 in Colombo Photo 2: Parasakthy and Sundha in the 80s in Chennai Photo 3: Sundha  as a BBC newsreader 1982 in London Photo 4: Sundha interviewing a young Mathematics prodigy from Tamil Nadu from Radio Ceylon studios 60s in Colombo Photo 5: Sundha was also a talented photographer, and this is one of the photos he took and cheekily edited on his film camera Photo 6: Sundha performing in one of the radio dramas, Radio Ceylon 1950s Photo 7&8: Front and back cover of ‘Mana Osai - Reminiscences of a Broadcaster’ a book about Sundha Paraskathy Sydney, Australia *note that uncle refers to Parasakthy’s husband, the late Sundharalingam. In 1948, uncle, as a young boy,  had listened to the running commentary of Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral procession. Back then in Jaffna nobody had a radio at home,  so the school principal hired one for the kids to be able to listen to Gandhi’s tributes. Uncle said that he and many of the children cried. Uncle was so amazed at how something happening in a distant land could move people in his village in Chavakacheri.  In his wonderment at how this was possible,  his dream to one day become a radio announcer was born.  Sri Lanka started broadcasting in 1923, three years after Europe started the BBC. The transmitter was built using equipment from a captured German submarine. Colombo Radio, later known as Radio Ceylon, started broadcasting in English first and later added Sinhhalese and Tamil . As the station’s popularity grew in India,  Hindi was introduced, which also catered  for the Hindi-speaking businessmen in Colombo. While uncle was studying at Jaffna Central college, he stayed in a hostel and would listen to the 9pm All India Radio news on the public radio installed in Subramanian Park while the other students would be engrossed in their studies. At the age of 21,  uncle started working in Colombo,  having skipped his university entrance exam to earn money. There he found himself working in the office next to Radio Ceylon.  One of his colleagues was a radio drama artist and invited uncle to join him. Uncle fell in love with the stage and soon became popular for his theatrical talents.  When a vacancy opened up for a news reader, he applied and was appointed to the job.  By the fifties, radio had become a big craze in Jaffna, but very few people could afford a radio and our parents also didn’t want us to get distracted by listening to film songs and dramas.   Even if we could afford a radio,  my family didn’t have electricity. We had a simple life and education was our main focus. Uncle’s family also didn’t have electricity and had to go to a neighbour's house to listen to his broadcasts.  While at Radio Ceylon, he was seconded for a ministerial post as press officer with the option of returning to his job as a news announcer when he wished to do so. 

His duties included reading the papers and giving the minister a summary of daily events as well as interpreting speeches from Sinhala to English or Tamil. He also accompanied different Sinhalese ministers on their trips, bearing witness to their acts incitement of discrimination against the Tamils. He would often come home and tell me how sad he felt. His next job was as a simultaneous interpreter in parliament, a service provided for the Members of Parliament . Most of the Members spoke only Sinhalese or English and uncle worked as the Tamil translator.  

Because parliament only sat for a few days a year, uncle had a lot of free time, which he filled by voicing jingles for advertising companies and performing in radio plays .

The stage was like a second home for him. He had so much confidence in all three languages. In 1969, he and another interpreter were selected to do the simultaneous interpreting for the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20.  These Sinhalese and Tamil interpretations, which were done non stop for three days,  were broadcast by Radio Ceylon all around the country and region, capturing that awe-inspiring moment in history.  The US Embassy in Colombo trained the team, which included Tamil and Sinhala scientists, for about a week, so that they were familiar with the technical terms. They also had to go through a simulated landing. Uncle found the American English difficult, but managed to successfully complete the task. Though Sinhala chauvinism escalated  well before the eighties, we never imagined  it would eventuate in the pogroms and violence that followed, culminating in the atrocities of 2009. 

When the Sinhala Only Bill was passed in 56, uncle had to read it out as news on Radio Ceylon and had to cover stories of its implementation. Uncle was also a news reader during the 58 ethnic riots and the 76 and 78 pogroms. 

Uncle's time at Radio Ceylon, his time in parliament and our years in India, the UK and Australia as a refugee during which time he yearned to return to our country of birth, had a profound effect on him. His resulting grief stayed with him right until his last days in Australia. In 1959, I graduated with a BA in Arts from Peradeniya University. My family never thought I would get a place in the university, as it was a difficult entrance exam. In those days, the  results were announced in the English newspapers. But in our home, we only read Tamil newspapers. My father's friend saw the results and sent the paper to our home, with my name underlined, through another friend. I also had the option of entering a Teachers Training College to study teacher training, which required a less competitive mark than university studies. My school principal, the late Miss Thambiah, however encouraged me to enrol in university and promised me that I would have a job back at our school, Vembadi Girls’ High School, when I had finished my degree.

In Jaffna, education was mainly segregated into male and female schools. In certain schools, at the higher levels there was mixed education. So university was where I first met men, outside my immediate family. It was also the first time I met Sinhalese students. There were about fifty Tamil students and two or three hundred Sinhalese students. We enjoyed  our single rooms and ate in a dining hall with fork and spoon. We were served a lot of beef and so I became a vegetarian. University is where I tasted cheese for the first time. Our education was free, and our living expenses were minimal. Those of us who remember the days of no ethnic divide,  will remember university as a wonderful experience. Those days we had the best of everything in Sri Lanka - free education and free medical services. Everything was good, till the politicians  of the majority community poisoned the minds of the  people against the minorities living in the country. I think that now it's too late for change. The poison has sunk in too deep.   After my studies, I returned to Jaffna and started teaching at my high school. I was so happy and I had many dreams of helping my siblings, who were excelling in their studies. But a marriage proposal to uncle came my way in 1961 and though I had a lot of ambitions and wasn’t keen on it, it was my parents wish and so I obliged.  After our wedding, I joined uncle in Colombo where we had a comfortable life, like most middle class families. I got a job at the Muslim Ladies College in  Bambalapitya Colombo. Teaching in a multicultural environment was another unforgettable experience.  Our move to Chennai in 1980 was not my decision and nor was I in favour of it. Our only daughter Subhadra had just sat for her OL exam and was keen to continue her bharathanatyam studies, while we wanted her to attend university. It came as a rude shock when one morning in January 1980  uncle asked me to sign my retirement papers. He explained there was an option for lady teachers to retire after twenty years of service, which i had just completed, and I could avail myself of that facility. He said I could go to Chennai to educate  Subhadra in the Fine Arts (music and dance), while at the same time help her to get a degree in Arts/Science. My school principal refused to endorse the papers as  I was in the process of  being appointed as  principal of the newly built  Colombo Hindu Ladies College. I was appalled!  Who would throw away everything so good? I was in a dilemma but my husband solved it for me. He said “a decision has been made, let us not go back on it”. He said that Tamils couldn’t live in Sri Lanka in peace anymore and that political unrest was  simmering.  He said that he no longer wanted to live like a fugitive in his country of birth ‘his தாய் நாடு’ and that after translating the venomous speeches of the Sinhalese Members in parliament, he had spent many years of sleepless nights. He said that at least in Tamil Nadu we would feel a sense of familiarity and could continue to be part of the Tamil culture and language.  He reminded me that we had to seek refuge in a Muslim friend’s house during the 1977 pogrom and that our daughter had no chance of entering university with the government’s standardisation policy which penalised Tamil students. So in Jan 1980 I retired and we left for Madras, our home for the next twenty years. There were only three other Tamil families from Sri Lanka who had settled down in Chennai after the first pogrom in 1958 and they all welcomed us graciously. Mr and Mrs Sivapathasundaram had made Adyar their home, the suburb which would become our home too.  Mr Sivapathasundaram  was a  renowned  broadcaster at Radio Ceylon and a popular Tamil writer on par with Indian writers.  He was the one who gave the name Thamilosai to BBC Tamil Radio. We realised theirs was a life of struggle even after spending nearly three decades in Tamil Nadu. Our years in Chennai were also tough, and those who came to visit us were shocked to see how we were living in a single room annex. In 1982, we received a surprise phone call from the BBC asking uncle if he would come and work as the Tamil radio producer for one year, while  Mr Shankaramoorthy, the then producer, took one year of medical leave.  In uncle’s previous trips to the UK he had acted in some of the BCC Thamilosai’s radio dramas and so they were familiar with his talents.  Subha had entered Stella Marie’s College, so we put her in the college hostel and set off on our year long UK adventure.   We could have stayed on after our contract was over by taking part in radio programmes, however uncle said that he wanted to listen to carnatic music and hear Tamil in his ears - காதிலே தமிழும் பாட்டும் கேட்கவேணும் ! So after our stay in the UK was over, we flew straight to Colombo, with the hope of settling back there.  After about 10 days of visiting our families  in Jaffna, uncle, again said that he felt something bad was going to happen and he wanted to get back to Chennai.  I again didn’t want to leave. I missed our family and they missed us.  We had nobody in Chennai.  Uncle however insisted that we had to return to see our daughter Subha and once again said “I don’t want to be a second class citizen in my own country”. We arrived back in Chennai in May 1983. In July when the pogrom against the Tamils started in Colombo, those who had money, got on planes and arrived at our doorstep. Over the following six months, at least a hundred Tamils made their way to our home straight from the airport.  We helped them find temporary accommodation to begin with, then a  home and a school for their children. We became local guardians to hundreds of children, as this was a government requirement. There were number of challenges we faced as guardians - illness - exam failures - two missing students - but we were thankful we could help them.  Those who could afford to sent their children to other foreign countries. Thanks to the BBC, we had a telephone, which became so useful for the many Eelam Tamils who would line up outside and inside our home to use it. One night, we had more than 20 people sleep in our tiny annex. Those nights were tough, but what were we to do? Uncle, who looked to life’s positives, would often tell us that he was grateful that we got out in time and didn’t have to go through the trauma of watching our people being massacred. He was even more thankful that we were in a position to be able to help those that did escape.  After hearing of the massacres and the burnings of the 83 pogrom, the people of Tamll Nadu became sympathetic to our cause and opened up their homes for rent. MGR, was the Chief Minister at the time, and said all Eelam Tamils could be accepted into schools in Tamil Nadu. For those who didn’t have money and escaped the island by boat, they were kept in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, and their plight was and still is an incredibly sad one. Many are still there with very little protection or hope for a better future. We were the lucky few and though we never returned to live in our country, we have a lot to be thankful for.  In the years that followed, uncle became BCC’s Thamilosai correspondent for Tamilnadu, which allowed us to continue living in the India and provided us with a permanent income. Thanks To BBC, we were also able to get a visa to visit our daughter in Australia.  After uncle passed away in Australia after a tragic accident in 2001, I did not want to go back to India and all my family members had left Sri Lanka by then. I stayed on with my daughter's family as a refugee for 12 long years. It was a period of struggle and great uncertainty, thanks to the Australian government.  I was finally granted Australian Citizenship in 2017.  END In 1999 Dr Maunaguru, a close friend, turned audio recordings by uncle about his life into a book titled ‘Mana Osai -Reminiscences of a Broadcaster‘.  Uncle was not keen on the book idea, but he agreed on one condition that the book when published  would be distributed free - he said everyone has a story to tell so it's not fair to make money off it.  Aunty’s grandson Senthan is now also a radio broadcaster and co-hosts the popular podcast Stuck in Between.  

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.1 (after 1950)

1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman at Blair House. 1951 – Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred United States Army soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary. 1952 – Nuclear weapons testing: The United States successfully detonates Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, at the Eniwetok atoll. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons TNT equivalent. 1954 – The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence. 1955 – The establishment of a Military Assistance Advisory Group in South Vietnam marks the beginning of American involvement in the conflict. 1955 – The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members aboard the Douglas DC-6B airliner. 1956 – The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala. 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: Imre Nagy announces Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Soviet troops begin to re-enter Hungary, contrary to assurances by the Soviet government. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich secretly defect to the Soviets. 1956 – The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued. 1957 – The Mackinac Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages at the time, opens to traffic connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens. 1963 – The 1963 South Vietnamese coup begins. 1968 – The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is officially introduced, originating with the ratings G, M, R, and X. 1970 – Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France kills 146 young people. 1973 – Watergate scandal: Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor. 1973 – The Indian state of Mysore is renamed as Karnataka to represent all the regions within Karunadu. 1979 – In Bolivia, Colonel Alberto Natusch executes a bloody coup d'état against the constitutional government of Wálter Guevara. 1979 – Griselda Álvarez becomes the first female governor of a state of Mexico. 1981 – Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1982 – Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio; a Honda Accord is the first car produced there. 1984 – After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupt. 1987 – British Rail Class 43 (HST) hits the record speed of 238 km/h for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for traction motors. 1991 – President of the Chechen Republic Dzhokhar Dudayev declares sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the Russian Federation. 1993 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union. 2000 – Chhattisgarh officially becomes the 26th state of India, formed from sixteen districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh. 2000 – Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations. 2001 – Turkey, Australia, and Canada agree to commit troops to the invasion of Afghanistan. 2011 – Mario Draghi succeeds Jean-Claude Trichet and becomes the third president of the European Central Bank. 2012 – A fuel tank truck crashes and explodes in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, killing 26 people and injuring 135.