பதின் வயதில், துயருற்ற வேளையில்,
இளைப்பாறினேன் உன் தோள்களில்!
அதில் பெற்ற உவகையில்,
காதல் மலர்ந்ததே என் உள்ளத்தில்!

ஒய்யாரமான உன் பல்சர் வண்டியில்,
மருதம் நோக்கிய நம் பயணத்தில்!
பின் நோக்கி உதிர்த்த உன் புன்னகையில்
வழுக்கி விழுந்தேனே, மீள்வேனோ இம்மையில்?

நீ என்ன கண்டாய் எதிர் பாலீர்ப்பில்?
என் காதலை சொல்ல நினைக்கையில்,
தடுத்தன உன் எதிர்பாலீர்ப்பு ஆதிக்க எண்ணங்கள்!
இருந்தும், சொன்னேன், பிரிந்தேன்- கூச்சத்தில்!

அரும்பாய் மலர்ந்த வேட்கையிலும் பிழை காணும் ஊரில், தோற்றேனோ எந்தன் காதலில்?
சமூதாயமே, என்ன கோளாறு உன் பார்வையில்!
திருந்தும் எண்ணம் உண்டோ உன்னிடத்தில்?

கடவுளென்று இருந்தால், நான் திட்டியதில்,
உனை தன்பாலீர்ப்பாளராய் மாற்றி இருப்பார் நொடிகளில்.
அவர் இருந்தால், நான் இறந்து, அவரை சேர்கையில்
அவரை தண்டிப்பேன். காதலை அடைவேன் மறுமையில்!

Recently, I was hesitant to speak about my sexuality in a Twitter Spaces. So, I thought of writing my gay'n'ace experience here. Firstly, about my sexual/romantic orientation: I am romantically attracted towards people of my gender (homoromantic). In terms of sexuality, though I have sexual drive and attraction, I never wanted to act on my sexual drive. However, I openly identified myself as a part of ace-spectrum only recently. I’ve never had sex and never willingly or unwillingly exchanged a kiss with anyone so far.

I’ve had no relationships but I had an open but unrequited love for my ex-/best friend (a cis-gendered heterosexual) for 15+ years. Open, in the sense, I was open about my love for him always. My love blinded his homophobia and his mean ways of converting me into a straight person which included: forcing me to visit a conversion therapist and verbally abusing me to get...

This poem was recited in Vasippu Medai of Chennai Queer LitFest 2020.

காதல் தோழா,

அன்று, என் பள்ளித்தோழன் – உன்னை நீங்கிப் பிரிந்தேன்.
உன் நன்மைக்காக.
என் காதல் மிகுதியால் உனக்கு இடைஞ்சல் கூடாதென்று.

ஈராண்டுகளுக்கு பின் என் நட்பே உயர்வு என்றெண்ணி,
நட்பை மட்டும் நாடி வந்தாய் என்னிடம்.
என் காதலோ அந்நட்பையும் காதலித்ததால்,
நட்புறவாடினேன் உன்னிடம், என் காதலையும் மறைக்காமல்.
அதில் மீண்டும் உன் வயப்பட்டேன்,
ஞாலம் பதினெண் முறை ஞாயிறை சுற்றியதை
உணராமல், உன்னையே சுற்றிவந்தேன்!
அந்நட்பின் பயனாய், நானே உனக்குப் பெண் பார்த்து,
மணம் முடித்தும் வைத்தேன், என் காதல் வலியை மறைத்து!

பின், இன்று ஏன் என் நட்பைக்கூட ஒதுக்கித் தள்ளுகிறாய்?
நான் உன்னைக் காதலித்ததுப் பற்றி, உன் தாரத்திடம் கூற இயலாதென்றா?
அல்லது, என் பாலீர்ப்பானது தற்போது உனக்கு அழுக்காய்த் தோன்றுகிறதென்றா?
இல்லை, உன்னைக் காதலிப்பதற்கு மற்றொருவர் வந்துவிட்டார் என்றா?
இல்லை, உன் சமூகச்சூழலில் நான் பொருந்தமாட்டேனென்றா?
அன்று உனக்காக உன்னை...

Philosophy of veganism is entirely about justice for animals. Like all justice movements, it questions the injustice perpetrated by oppressors (humans) against other animals (the oppressed). However, veganism is often misunderstood as a movement that ignores human conditions in the narrative against cruelty to animals. I see veganism as an all-encompassing philosophy that includes removing injustices within our species as well (we too are animals). However, we must acknowledge that veganism is not a religion or a community that has a specific doctrine to follow. So, one can see racists, casteists, misogynists, and abusive /militant activists masquerading themselves vegans. I believe that they cannot be called vegans since veganism is about respecting all sentient lives (including homo sapiens). Before addressing the question of necessity, let’s look at what exactly is veganism. Veganism...

During this LGBTQ pride month, I came across an article (link here) explaining why participants of the Chennai Pride Parade carried the portraits of Periyar and Ambedkar. Moulee, the author and founder of Queer Chennai Chronicles, argues that the aims of both social justice and queer pride movements are to fight for the self-respect of communities marginalised by society. He also mentions the similarity of names of the Periyar’s movement and the ‘pride parade’ when it is translated in Tamil (pride in Tamil is translated as ‘suyamariyathai’ which is the name of Periyar’s social movement). Queer Chennai Chronicles moved a step further and has created an inclusive flag for social justice and queer pride movements. This blog aims to analyse the intersections of Periyar’s thought in the queer rights movement.

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy has been the beacon-light of the Dravidian movement that...

Mine is one of the few lonely voices in Tamilnadu who think animal rights stand above the cultural arguments in Jallikattu case in Tamilnadu. I have watched Jallikattu only through my television set. However, I understand village economy and the importance of cows and bulls in the Tamilnadu villages. I believe that if (and only if) Jallikattu is the only way our cows can survive as argued by a section of experts, it has to be held with greater restrictions. In such case where there is no other alternative (such as creating sanctuaries) to protect the breed, Jallikattu would be considered a bitter medicine to keep the rare breed sustain. It is a bitter medicine because the torture to the poor animal is visible even from the television sets. Yes, even drinking cow’s milk and eating beef can also be torturous to animals. But milk and in some cases beef has become a strong part of Indian...

Research has overwhelmingly shown that language is an innate ability which manifests itself into an individual language using a minimal language input. Similarly, researchers have found that babies are born with rudimentary counting skills (https://today.duke.edu/2013/10/babymath). If such mathematical ability is nurtured in a right direction, anybody could solve any real world problem with exceptional mastery. Yes, it is the direction that matters not the number of formulas to remember, not even the amount of practice.

Before we move on to understand the direction of math teaching, let us analyse how we learn languages. Natural spoken languages as mother tongues are always learnt primarily through listening. Error correction, teaching grammar rules, or motherese (pampered speech used by mothers) has proven to be of little use when it comes to first language acquisition. In some...

A society that guarantees freedom of expression will turn out to be a fertile ground that yields scientific achievements, philosophical values and thereby the progress of humanity. Language is the tool through which the innovation attains its shape. Therefore, ensuring the freedom to learn and use languages is the most important step towards ensuring freedom of expression.

Today (January 25, 2015) marks the 50th anniversary of the Anti-Hindi Agitation-1965 -a student protest in Tamilnadu (India) against the imposition of Hindi by the then central government that led to the loss of more than sixty civilian lives, most of whom were students. The protest subsided on the central government’s assurance that English will continue as one of its official languages.

Unfortunately, to date, the lesson has not been learnt by both the central and state governments. They continue to impose...

The new year started with a slew of brutal attacks on freedom of expression. The satirical weekly newspaper, Charlie Hebdo was attacked resulting in the loss of seventeen precious lives for its ‘alleged’ insult of Prophet Mohammed. I use the term ‘alleged’ because it is difficult to gauge the insult or pain caused. Such ‘insult’ is a relative term.

A faithful Muslim, I suppose, cannot be offended by this because just a piece of cartoon cannot distort or diminish the respect he had grown for the prophet since his childhood. He may just laugh at the ignorance of the cartoonist and move on. On the other hand, such cartoon feeds the cowardice radical elements such as ISIS to remove Muslims from the mainstream and use them as their targets to get themselves popular.

The subsequent peaceful protest with the slogan, ‘Je suis Ahmed’ in support of the police officer, Ahmed Merabet, killed in...