Premium reads

Nepal’s political test, India’s smartphone push, and The Odyssey: Today’s Premium reads

The Daily Catch-Up: From missing railway linen to India’s moment at Lord’s

Harappan town in Gujarat, Hormuz tensions, RBI’s growth optimism: Today’s Premium reads

Goddess Saraswati without veena: Sculptures of Pallava, Chola eras reveal an earlier iconography

The veena, today regarded as inseparable from Saraswati’s identity, appears to have emerged as her dominant symbol only in the later period.

Understanding the disappearance of Egyptian Vulture in Tamil Nadu

Conservationists highlight the urgent need for coordinated conservation efforts including the establishment of an Egyptian Vulture Conservation Breeding Programme in the State

How an attempt by Tamil Nadu to create an AIIMS-like facility failed to take off decades ago

Presently, Madurai has been earmarked for the State’s first AIIMS

Tamil Nadu’s elusive Bengal foxes and their shrinking space

Bengal foxes are known for their monogamous behaviour. Forest Department officials said the species are now known to occur only in pockets in Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Madurai and Villupuram.

When Chennai’s Veeranam drinking water project hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons

Decades ago, the Veeranam project, meant for bringing water to Chennai, had continued to evoke controversy for long

From ‘virus’ to ‘tsunami’: How outgoing Chief Ministers, leaders of Tamil Nadu viewed election results since 1967

In a recent comment on the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam winning the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections, DMK president M.K. Stalin described the victory as a “new and attractive tsunami of illusion”

Of Parai, Tholkaapiyam, and battling a stereotype

The Parai is at the forefront of discussions of caste empowerment. It has played an undeniable role in enabling the migration of the oppressed from the margins to the mainstream. But under that history is a fact: the Parai was, first, a language – and so, just as much, an identity

Tamil Nadu’s rare controversy over government bungalow to former President Venkataraman in 1992

In Bihar, a row has arisen now in the wake of a second notice issued by the Bihar Building Construction Department (BCD) to former Chief Minister Rabri Devi for vacating her present government accommodation – 10, Circular Road bungalow — in Patna.

Tamil Nadu CM Vijay’s Kollur Mookambika temple visit revives memories of MGR and Jayalalithaa’s trips

According to a July 12, 1985, report, MGR had by then visited the Mookambika temple seven times. Even towards the final years of his life, he continued the practice. In January 1987, he again travelled to Kollur for darshan at the temple.

Death of a heroine and the making of hit Tamil film ‘Bhadrakali’ with substitute actor

“I remembered a girl who had danced in the movie Pattikattu Raja. She bore some resemblance to Rani Chandra. I discussed it with cinematographer Viswanath Roy and we devised a plan to use her,” said actor Sivakumar.

The fate of Nagapattinam’s lost vihara

The return of the famed Leiden plates to India revives questions about what became of Nagapattinam’s great Buddhist vihara and its vast endowments

Narasu’s Coffee turns 100

The Narasu’s story began in 1926 with its founder, V. Lakshmi Narasimhan (fondly known as Narasu), introducing high-quality tea and coffee blends.

Varadarajulu Naidu, the relentless freedom fighter and doyen of journalism

He was called the Bal Gangadhar Tilak of south India, as his accomplishments in instilling the national spirit, in public speaking and journalism were as exemplary as those of Tilak. There is no proper memorial for him in Tamil Nadu, barring an Ashoka pillar in Salem city where he lived for most of the time, wherein the plaque bears his name.

Murder of siblings and a police encounter that rocked Coimbatore in 2010

The Supreme Court, on August 1, 2019, confirmed the death sentence of Manoharan, finding the case to be of the “rarest of rare category”

When a DMK MLA was arrested for conducting inspection and a journalist landed behind bars in 2001

While elected representatives are empowered to inspect government offices within their constituencies, no such authority extends to party functionaries

A plastics ban Tamil Nadu tried in 2002 and stepped back from

Introduced on May 7, 2002, the Bill proposed a ban on the sale, storage, transport and use of non-reusable plastics due to the rapid increase in disposable plastic consumption and its impact on groundwater contamination and rainwater percolation

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu who were defeated in elections

From the early years of Dravidian politics to more recent decades, voters have not hesitated to defeat stalwarts, even Chief Ministers

How Scheduled Castes in Tirunelveli empowered themselves by establishing schools

The community established schools not only in Tirunelveli district but also in other parts of Tamil Nadu. Now, there are 28 schools originally established by the community that are functioning as government-aided primary schools in Tirunelveli

Salem C. Vijiaraghavachariar, the freedom fighter who fought against Kala Paani

Salem C. Vijiaraghavachariar, one of the doyens of the national movement during the pre-Gandhi era and the first Tamil to become the All India Congress Committee president, was ordered to be transported to Andamans to serve a 10-year imprisonment. He appealed to the High Court of Madras and got his conviction quashed on January 9, 1883

Thanjavur Big Temple inscriptions bring alive the fierce fight between Shivaji and Afzal Khan

The inscriptions, written in Marathi on the south-western walls near the Vinayagar Temple, also describe the history of the Maratha kings and praise Danish missionary Rev. Friedrich Christian Schwartz. They also highlight how Serfoji sent his army and offered financial assistance to the British during the war against the Marudu brothers

Of MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, and Tamil Nadu’s star-studded politics

Actors with huge fan followings, such as Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan, and Vijayakant, as well as popular stars like K. Bhagyaraj, Karthik, and Ramarajan, have tried their luck in elections with limited success

Party support for Independent candidate, an election strategy in which Jayalalithaa succeeded and MGR failed

Tamil Nadu has in the past witnessed two elections in which Independent candidates secured the backing of a mainstream political party — with strikingly different results. The two instances were separated by nearly 25 years

Ontavantha Pidariyum Oor Pidariyum: The story behind the proverb

The proverb’s origins are traced to Udayalur in Thanjavur district, according to noted epigraphist T.N. Subramanian

How Tamil Nadu waited for Assembly election results over the decades

For the first time in Tamil Nadu’s history, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were deployed in all the 234 Assembly segments in the 2001 Assembly elections, mirroring simultaneous rollouts in Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal

Demographic shifts and the rise of Hindutva in Kanniyakumari district

Kanniyakumari holds a distinctive place in Tamil Nadu’s political history. Despite nearly six decades of Dravidian dominance in the State, it became the first district to elect a Hindutva-backed candidate as early as 1989, when V. Balachandram of Hindu Desam won the Padmanabhapuram constituency

Mahatma Gandhi, his Salem visit, and philately

The philatelic museum, which was set up in January 1997, exhibits commemorative stamps and first-day postal covers issued by India and a host of countries, including those in the African and Caribbean regions on Gandhiji. It also showcases a reclining teakwood chair used by Gandhiji during his stay in Salem

An idol found near Gangaikonda Cholapuram confirms the ‘Thiruvarasu’ of Nathamunigal

Near the Gangaikonda Cholapuram-Kumbakonam Road is a place called Sorgapallam or Sembodai where an idol of Srinivasa Perumal as once found half-buried under a tree. In the year 2000, another idol was found buried in a field. It was that of the first of the Sri Vaishnava Acharyas, who was said to have been at the place in his final hours

Inside Villa Skyfall, James Bond-inspired Florida mansion listed for $85m

Villa Skyfall, a stunning estate available for $85 million in Delray Beach, Florida, epitomizes luxury living. This mansion presents an entire ecosystem tailored for its affluent owner, including equipped closets and a fully functioning kitchen. Its design channels a James Bond aesthetic, prioritizing security and privacy. Stone Creek Ranch is becoming a magnet for global elite, enhanced by the allure of Florida's lack of a state income tax.