விஜயகாந்த் வழிபட்ட திருக்கோலக்கா கோயில் `பாடல் பெற்ற தலம்’ மட்டுமல்ல... `ஓசை பெற்ற தலம்’!
மு.ஹரி காமராஜ்
 vikatan

தே.மு.தி.க தலைவர் விஜயகாந்த் இன்று தன் மகன் சண்முக பாண்டியன் பிறந்தநாளை முன்னிட்டு, நாகப்பட்டினம் மாவட்டம் சீர்காழிக்கு அருகிலுள்ள திருக்கோலக்கா கோயிலுக்குச் சென்று, அம்பிகையை வழிபட்டார். தனக்கு நன்றாகப் பேச்சு வர வேண்டும் என்பதற்காகவே விஜயகாந்த் அங்கே சென்று அம்பிகையை வழிபட்டார் என்று சொல்லப்படுகிறது. ஓசைநாயகியை வழிபட்டால் பேச்சு நன்றாக வருமா... அந்தக் கோயிலின் தனிச் சிறப்புதான் என்ன. அதற்கு நாம் திருஞானசம்பந்தர் காலத்துக்குச் செல்ல வேண்டும்.

`உயர்வானவற்றை உயர்ந்த இடத்தில்தான் வைக்க வேண்டும்’ என்பார்கள். சிங்கத்தின் பாலை தங்கப் பாத்திரத்தில்தான் வைக்க வேண்டும். ஒளிமிக்க வைரத்தை தகரத்திலா பதிப்பார்கள். அப்படித்தான் தன்னைப் பாடி மகிழ்வித்த ஞானசம்பந்தருக்கு, அவருடைய உயர்வுக்கு ஏற்ப ஓர் உயர்ந்த பொருளை பரிசளித்து, அம்மையப்பனாகிய ஈசனும் சக்தியும் மகிழ்ந்த இடம் திருக்கோலக்கா. அதுமட்டுமல்ல, இந்தத் தலத்து இறைவனை திருமகள் வழிபட்டு, திருமாலை மணந்துகொண்ட கோலத்தில் காட்சி தந்ததால், இந்தத் தலத்துக்கு, 'திருக்கோலக்கா' என்ற பெயர் ஏற்பட்டது.

ஞானக்குழந்தையாம் திருஞானசம்பந்தர், ஆலயம்தோறும் சென்று ஈசனை மகிழ்விக்கப் பாடி வந்தார். இசை லயத்தோடு அவர் பாடும்போது கைகள் சிவக்க தாளமிடுவதைக் கண்ட ஈசனும் அம்பிகையும் தவித்துப்போனார்கள். என்ன இருந்தாலும் தாய்மை உள்ளம் கொண்ட ரூபம் அல்லவா அம்மையும் அப்பனும் இணைந்த கோலம்! தான் ஞானப்பால் கொடுத்த குழந்தையின் கைகள் சிவந்து வலிக்காத வண்ணம், தாளம் கொடுக்கத் திருவுள்ளம் கொண்டாள் சக்தி. சக்தியின் விருப்பத்தை ஈசன் நிறைவேற்றினார். பித்தளையோ தாமிரமோ கொடுத்தால் அது பெருமையாகுமா. தன் குழந்தைக்கு பொன்னால் ஆன தாளம் கொடுக்கத் தீர்மானித்தார் ஈசன். உலோகங்களில் உயர்ந்ததான பொன், பெரிதாகச் சத்தமிடாது. பொன்னை, பொன் கொண்டு தட்டினாலும் மெல்லிய சத்தமே கேட்கும். தாமிரம், வெண்கலம், பித்தளையைப்போல தங்கத் தாளத்தின் சத்தம் பெரிதாக வராது. இருந்தால் என்ன. தாளம் கொடுப்பது சிவசக்தியர் அல்லவா. பொற்றாளத்தில் ஓசை எழவே செய்தது. ஆம். பொன் தாளத்துக்கு ஓசை கொடுத்தாள் அம்பிகை. அந்தத் தலம்தான் திருக்கோலக்கா திருத்தலம்.



காவிரிக்கரைத் திருத்தலங்களுள் ஒன்றான கோலக்கா, சீர்காழிக்கு மேற்கே சுமார் 2 கி.மீ தொலைவிலிருக்கிறது. `நமசிவாய’ என்ற பஞ்சாட்சரம் எழுதப்பெற்ற ஆடகப் பொன்னால் ஆன தாளத்தை சீர்காழிப்பிள்ளைக்கு ஈசன் கொடுக்க, அந்தத் தாளத்துக்கு அன்னை சக்தி ஓசை கொடுத்தாள். அதனால் ஈசன் 'திருத்தாளமுடையார்' அல்லது 'சப்தபுரீஸ்வரர்' என்றும், இறைவி 'ஓசை கொடுத்த நாயகி' என்றும் வணங்கப்படுகிறார்கள். 2,000 ஆண்டுகள் பழைமையான திருக்கோலக்கா கோயில், சம்பந்தரால் பாடப்பெற்றது. காவிரியின் வடகரையில் அமைந்துள்ள, தேவாரப் பாடல்பெற்ற 15 வது தலம் இது.



திருக்கோலக்கா, `பாடல் பெற்ற தலம்’ என்பதைத் தாண்டி, `ஓசை பெற்ற தலம்’ என்றும் புகழப்படுகிறது. இதனால் சரிவர பேச்சு வராத பலரும் இங்கு வந்து வழிபட்டுத் தெளிவாகப் பேசும் திறனைப் பெறுகிறார்கள். விநாயகர், தட்சிணாமூர்த்தி, பிரம்மா, லிங்கோத்பவர், துர்கை, முருகன், மகாலட்சுமி, சோமாஸ்கந்தர், சனீஸ்வரர், பைரவர் மற்றும் நவகிரக சந்நிதிகளும் திருக்கோலக்கா ஆலயத்தில் அமைந்துள்ளன. கையில் தாளத்துடன் காட்சிதரும் ஞானசம்பந்தரின் வடிவமும் இங்கிருக்கிறது. இந்தக் கோயிலிலுள்ள கொன்றை மரம் மூன்றாகப் பிரிந்து, மும்மூர்த்தியர் வடிவில் பக்தர்களை ஆசீர்வதிக்கிறது. சீர்காழியில் சித்திரைப் பெருவிழாவின் இரண்டாம் நாள் திருமுலைப்பால் விழா நடைபெறும்போது, திருக்கோலக்காவில், பொற்றாளம் கொடுக்கிற திருவிழா நடைபெறும். திருஞானசம்பந்தருக்கு ஈசன் தாளம் கொடுத்த திருவருளைப் பற்றி சுந்தரரும் தனது பாடலில் பதிவுசெய்திருக்கிறார்.

H-1B visa cap reached for fiscal year 2019: US Immigration Services

PTI
Published : Apr 7, 2018, 7:50 am IST

The USCIS would conduct a lottery to decide successful applicants for the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations. (Photo: Representational | File)

Washington: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS, said it has reached the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2019 and would conduct a lottery to decide successful applicants for the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals.

The fiscal year begins October 1, 2018.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa cap for advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, a statement said.

The statement did not mention the exact number of H-1B petitions it received since April 2, when it started accepting applications for the popular work visas for highly skilled Indian professionals.

"We will not have exact petition receipt numbers for a few weeks. However, the USCIS will be conducting a lottery as we have done in past years," said Arwen FitzGerald, the USCIS spokesperson.

"The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited multiple filings," the USCIS said.

The agency said that it would continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the FY 2019 H-1B cap.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

‘Language isn’t a barrier for excellence’, says Vice-Chancellor of Anna University
By Sushmitha Ramakrishnan | Express News Service | Published: 07th April 2018 03:54 AM |


CHENNAI: Language is not a barrier to building an institution and bringing excellence to it, said M K Surappa, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Anna University on Friday. He claimed he was unaware of the opposition to his appointment from various political parties that sought to label him as an outsider since he is a Kannadiga.

“I don’t think language is a barrier to building an institution and bringing excellence. The leader should be par excellence and should have integrity, passion and commitment to the institution and people of the nation or the State where he is living,” he said, in a telephonic interview with TNIE.Governor and Chancellor of the university Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday appointed Surappa as the V-C for three years. The post has remained vacant for the last two years; two search committees for the post were formed and dissolved; the third committee short-listed Surappa and two others from a list of 170 candidates .

Opposition parties have strongly condemned the appointment of K M Surappa, hailing from Karnataka, as the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University. PMK leader S Ramadoss has slammed the Governor for appointing a “corrupt” Surappa as V-C. “The appointment of Surappa is atrocious and the claim of Raj Bhavan that due process was followed is a façade,” he alleged in a statement, adding that Surappa’s stint at IIT faced severe criticism. “Due to his delayed decisions, the construction cost of Punjab IIT (IIT Ropar) rose to `1,958 crore from `760 crore,” Ramadoss charged. Surappa faced charges of plagiarism and had a poor relationship with his subordinates, he added.

The criticism from other political parties had a stronger linguistic tone. “At a time when the Cauvery protests are raging in Tamil Nadu, the Governor’s appointment of Surappa from Karnataka as the V-C of Anna University is not acceptable,” DMK working president and Leader of Opposition MK Stalin said. In a Facebook post, he said academics, who were “sons of the soil,” should not be belittled” by such appointments.

Statements from both Communist parties in the State and SDPI questioned if the Governor could not spot even one able Tamil candidate for the post.MDMK founder Vaiko sought withdrawal of Surappa’s appointment and said that only an academic from Tamil Nadu should be nominated to the coveted post. Kamal Haasan, actor-turned-politician, in a tweet, said, “We asked for water from Karnataka and we get a Vice-Chancellor from Karnataka, instead. The gulf between people and the government cannot be more obvious....”“A candidate for the VC post should be chosen purely based on his academic credentials and ability to manage an institution and not on his linguistic background,” said E Balagurusamy, former VC of Anna University, adding that the search committee and the Governor had followed a rigorous selection process.

Taking a dig at politicisation of institutions, Balagurusamy said, “Because of political interference, we had one VC who showed preference to those from a certain caste, followed by one who preferred a certain religion, followed by another secular one who favoured anyone with money.”Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar clarified, “The appointment was made, based on the reports given by the search committee. The Governor has done this within the purview. The state government is in no way linked to this.”

State BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan said the choice was not influenced by any political party but Surappa was preferred for his credentials.A Narayanan, a social activist, who has been raising voice often against corruption in the education system, said, “there is a sense of hope and satisfaction that our timely judicial interventions have helped bring about fixed time-frame, minimum standards and qualification norms for search committees and VC selection process.”

Not the first to face political flak in Tamil Nadu
Suryanarayana Sastry was recently appointed as the V-C of Ambedkar Law University and Premeela Gurumurthy for the Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University. Both appointments were criticised since they were considered “outsiders”

Allegations against me baseless, says Vice-Chancellor of Anna University

By Sushmitha Ramakrishnan | Express News Service | Published: 07th April 2018 03:52 AM |

Last Updated: 07th April 2018 03:52 AM | A+A A- |

CHENNAI: MK Surappa, who will serve as Vice-Chancellor of Anna University will administer more than 240 colleges affiliated to it. He had served as the Director of IIT-Ropar for six years from 2009 to 2015. Holding a doctorate in metallurgical engineering, Surappa has teaching experience of more than 30 years. Of these, he had spent 24 years at Indian Institute of Science. A fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, he has around 150 research publications to his name.amit bandre

you have been shortlisted and selected as V-C of Anna University out of 170 candidates. Were you always interested in the university’s work?

Anna University is an institution with great legacy and I’m taking it up as a challenge to improve it. I was the secretary for Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (2004 to 2009) and introduced several novel society-centric scientific projects. I have also helped the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission on some projects. I later went on to become the founding Director of IIT-Ropar and the institute became No 1 among new IITs in terms of research impact. I want to use the insight and experience I have earned in a place like Anna University which is doing so well. I want to make Anna University much better than IITs and bring up its ranking and make it more impactful to nation.

Is there any particular area that you’d like to develop in the university?

I don’t want to focus on any area particularly. Every University should contribute to various fields and the university should contribute to knowledge on different topics and disciplines. We should think about futuristic technologies, for which we need to change some subjects, content, programmes and build new labs. I wanted to be very neutral at IIT Ropar. Which is why I didn’t start my own department there or write any paper with faculty during my tenure there.

Political parties have raised criticism about your tenure at IIT Ropar. One criticism is to do with non-utilisation of funds dedicated for infrastructure and another allegation that you plagiarised someone else’s work 

There is no criticism from political parties against me. I wasn’t aware about this. However, the allegation on the building is baseless. The architect we had chosen for the labs had cheated us on the tender and the construction got delayed. I didn’t want to go ahead with the same architect. So, we released a new tender and I didn’t want to use the funds for anything else. I’m shocked to hear about allegations of plagiarism. I believe in high levels of integrity. There is no proof for such a thing.

Coming to the elephant in the room, you must have heard about the linguistic controversy 

I don’t understand this. In the early 60s and 70s, eminent scholars used to go to other universities across State. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has come to Mysore from Tamil Nadu. I don’t think language is a barrier to building an institution to bring excellence. The leader should be par excellent. The leader should have integrity, passion and commitment to institution and people of the nation State where he is living.

Chargesheeted Bharathiar University in Coimbatore distance education chief to rejoin duty

By S Mannar Mannan | Express News Service | Published: 07th April 2018 03:30 AM |

COIMBATORE : Bharathiar University School of Distance Education Director (incharge) R Mathivanan, whose name was included in the FIR, based on which Vice Chancellor A Ganapathy was trapped by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) while accepting bribe from a assistant professor, has now been allowed to rejoin duty at a constituent college in Pollachi.Based on a complaint from T Suresh, assistant professor (on probation) of Chemistry Department, the DVAC caught Ganapathy red-handed while accepting bribe. One of the CDs submitted by complainant T Suresh contained audio conversation between him and Chemistry Department head N Dharmaraj and School of Distance Education Director (incharge) R Mathivanan.

In the FIR, Chemistry professor N Dharmaraj and Director (incharge) of School of Distance Education R Mathivanan were included as accused. While Ganapathy and Dharmaraj were suspended, Mathivanan went on leave. Now, the university has allowed Mathivanan to rejoin duty and shifted him to a constituent college in Pollachi.

Mathivanan, who was initially appointed as director of University Grants Commission-Human Resource Development Centre, was given additional charge as director (in-charge) of School of Distance Education. When contacted, University Registrar (in-charge) B Vanitha said, “Only when a government employee is imprisoned for a certain number of years could they be suspended. Since Mathivanan was not arrested, he was not suspended. As authorities wanted him to be away from the university, he was shifted to a constituent college in Pollachi.”

When asked whether the UGC was informed about the FIR registered against him, she said, “He has returned to work only now. The syndicate will discuss this and the UGC will be informed about the FIR registered against him.”Meanwhile, Ganapathy, who was asked by the university to vacate his quarters, has sought more time to vacate. “Ganapathy has sought more time to vacate the quarters, saying that his ward has written NEET. Once the results are out, the suspended V-C will vacate the quarters,” the university officials said.

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