Energy source
The way to get more energy in your life is to use it. Get yourself started, and you'll get the energy flowing. The most powerful and sustainable energy does not come from outside sources. The energy you use to effectively get things done comes from the purpose that is inside you.
When you're engaged in something truly meaningful, there's no need to search for the energy to do it. That energy is with you in great abundance.
To plug any activity into your energy source, connect it to your authentic purpose. When you know without a doubt why it is important, you'll find everything necessary to get it done.
The more useful and valuable things you do with your life, the more energy you'll have available for even greater accomplishments. Take a small step forward, and you make a bigger step possible.
Put the energy you have into meaningful pursuits. And you'll soon be making even more.
State of focus
To be highly effective in what you do, enter a special state of being that you can create with your own intention. Enter a state of focus. In this state, trivial outside events do not have the power to distract or annoy you. You simply accept them, move past them, and continue working on what's truly important to you.
In your focused state, there is no hesitation or worry about getting it wrong. You move ahead with steady, persistent efforts, knowing that even the mistakes will lead to learning and improvements.
Always with you in your state of focus is a clear and authentic sense of purpose. The energy to keep going and to keep focused comes from remembering why.
When you are focused you are curious, flexible, and open to new ways of creating value. At the same time, you're able to keep yourself solidly on track toward the specific goals you have chosen.
Enter a peaceful, powerful focused state. And make good things happen for your whole world.
Get on with life
Some people are not going to like you no matter what you do or what you say. Get over it and get on with life.
Some of your efforts are not going to bring the results you were after. Accept it and find another approach.
Occasionally you'll be distracted and knocked off course for a while. On a regular basis, life will have its disappointments.
Those disappointments and distractions do not have to stop you. In fact, you can choose to let them inspire you and to push you forward. No matter what has just happened, you are free in this moment to act with positive purpose. Whether the past has worked in your favor or not, the future is yours to create as you wish.
Life is too important to waste it feeling sorry for yourself or beating yourself up.
Get up and get on with life, and make it match your highest expectations.
A new world
Today you have the chance to create a new world. For life is constantly changing, and in those changes there is always great opportunity. Think carefully about exactly how you would like your life and your world to be. Create a dream that is authentically you.
Feel the reality of that dream in the depth of your spirit. Then feel the energy with which you will make it real.
Change is always happening, so choose to make change your friend. Hold tightly to the steady values that have always meant so much to you, while finding new and fulfilling ways to express those values.
Do not rely on others to change your life for the better, because you are the person who knows what you value most and who is best able to make it happen. Commit yourself to seeing the positive possibilities in every turn of events, and then do the work necessary to make those possibilities real.
Life is filled with much goodness and you can make it even better.
Every up, every down, every new development is your opportunity to positively change the world.
Get to work
Hard work is easy compared to the alternative. For the alternative is a life without meaningful accomplishment or fulfillment. Effort can be difficult, time consuming and inconvenient. And yet, the rewards created by diligent, focused effort make all that effort well worth the trouble.
Effort brings lasting value out of troublesome situations. Effort puts your dreams into action and makes them real.
When you're wondering how to get what you want, the answer is usually simple. Get to work.
Life is always overflowing with abundance. Through your efforts you express that abundance in personally meaningful ways.
There is always work to be done for those who are willing to do it.
Be willing, get to work, and enjoy the immense value that your efforts create.
Whatever may come
What can you do when the situation gets worse? You can improve. Life throws many challenges at you. And you always can respond in a positive, effective way. It is wise to plan for the future and to prepare for the future. Yet there is no need to worry about the future.
Because whatever the future may bring, you will find an answer for it. Whatever events may transpire, you can craft a powerful and successful response that will move your life forward. It may indeed be very difficult. And in transcending that difficulty, you have the opportunity to find great fulfillment.
Dream big dreams that resonate perfectly with who you are, and know that you will reach them.
For whatever may come, you can make it work for you.
Actually do
The results you achieve are not based on what you plan to do or what you say you'll do. Your results come from what you actually do. The rationalizations and excuses you make will not add any value or quality to your life. Your actions are what truly make a difference.
To get where you wish to go requires more than just talking about it. To get where you wish to go requires focused, sustained effort. And the great thing is, you're perfectly capable of making whatever effort is necessary. You must simply choose to actually do it.
No one can reach real fulfillment on your behalf. The life you experience is the life you create for yourself.
There are so many possibilities to choose from, and so many opportunities to make life great through the actions you take. Now is the moment to actually do it.
The path to true happiness
What is the path to true happiness? How far must you go to find happiness? You need not go very far at all. For happiness is always inside you, ready whenever you are. No object, no person, no circumstance will make you happy. You are always happy when you decide to be.
The good things in life do not cause happiness. It is precisely the other way around. Allow happiness to flow out from you, and the good things in life will surround you and fill your world. Choose to be happy, with no conditions imposed upon that happiness, and you'll create the ideal conditions for your life.
Happiness is a beautiful gift you can give yourself no matter what.
Give it freely and it will change your world.
Conditions change
Conditions change all the time. What you could depend on yesterday, might very well be gone today.
What once worked so well for you, will eventually fail to bring the results you seek. So when conditions change, you have the valuable opportunity to change along with them.
Life by its very definition is always changing. People who make the most of life are those who expect the changes, welcome them, and find the positive possibilities in each one. When you see changes occurring, instead of making a judgment make a careful observation. You cannot stop the changes that are already taking place, so your best strategy is to find the opportunities that are embedded within them.
And those positive opportunities are most certainly there. Rather than being fearful of the changes, be curious, and you'll see the hidden value in those changes. You can count on the fact that the world will continue to change.
And you can always choose to take the actions that will make those changes be for the better.
Higher expectations
When you discover that you've exceeded your own best expectations, don't be frightened. Be curious, and get a little more ambitious. After all, you've done something you never expected you could do. Think of what else you could now do that you would have never before considered.
Though it's great to succeed beyond your expectations, it can also be very uncomfortable. And that discomfort can pull you back down, getting you to under perform in order to compensate for your recent spectacular performance.
Instead of giving in to that need for comfort, get excited about what you've just accomplished. Instead of bowing to your previous expectations, choose to raise your expectations even higher.
No, you didn't just get lucky. You took the actions necessary to accomplish even more than you had expected.
Now you have the outstanding opportunity to build on that accomplishment. Step boldly forward, don't look back, and continue amazing yourself with all that you can do.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Remembering Kavi Arasu Kannadasan [24 - 6 - 1927 to 17-10-1981]
His given name at birth was Muthiah. But when he made his exit from this world, at the age of 54, on October 16, 1981, millions of Tamils remembered him only by the name Kannadasan. For Tamils all over the world, he epitomised Tamil poetry. Even the illiterate, who couldn't read and memorise the poetry of Kamban or the maxims of Valluvan, could hum the compositions of poet Kannadasan.
A number count of his publications shows a tally of 109 volumes, which include 21 novels and 10 slim volumes of essays on Hinduism, captioned Arthamulla Indu Matham (Meaningful Hinduism). In addition, he produced about 4000 poems and approximately 5000 movie lyrics, between 1944 and 1981, all with an eighth grade education at the formal level. He was also an excellent example of this century's Tamil goliard.
What made Kannadasan click? There is no doubt that he had a penetrating eye and keen observational powers. He also did not live a cocoon-type of life. He dipped into everything that Tamil Nadu could offer - wine, women, drugs, gambling, politics, polemics, atheism and religious sanctuary. After enjoying everything, what he did was remarkable - he composed verses about all his experiences, with self depreciating humour and biting sarcasm. These verses touched the sympathetic chords of Tamils from all walks of life - school boys, undergrads, housewives, farmers, manual labourers, plantation workers, middle class representatives and even upper class elites.
He was at his best when he wrote lyrics on the philosophy of cycles of life. Let me reminisce on some of his most popular compositions in this column. It is a pity that Kannadasan's verses has not been translated into other languages yet. I have made an elementary effort here, while not attempting a literal translation.
"...If only Kannadasan had been born in Europe or the USA, instead of Sirukuudalpatti village in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, he probably would have become a Nobel laureate in literature and received international recognition. But on the other hand, Tamils would have lost a goliard, who composed lyrics in Tamil for every sentimental moment they experience in life...."
இந்த பூமியில் நிலையாய் வழ்ந்தவர் யாரடா?
வந்தது தெரியும் போவது எங்கே
வாசல் நமக்கே தெரியாது
வந்தவரெல்லாம் தங்கி விட்டால் -
இந்த மண்ணில் நமக்கெ இடமேது?
வாழ்க்கை என்பது வியாபராம் -
வரும் ஜனனம் என்பது வரவாகும் -
அதில் மரணம் என்பது செலவாகும்.
Kannnadasan Memorial at SiruKootalpatti
Friday, July 11, 2008
What types of video camera do they use in making Hollywood films?
Even with the digital revolution, a majority of big budget productions still prefer shooting on analog film. It is most common that they are shot on 35mm and even 65mm film, which is then digitized for editing in the computer (some still cut on film...Spielberg). You'll find that most big shoots use Panavisions and Arriflex cameras. Now these cameras are not available for purchase, only rental (which is still outrageously expensive), but they value at over half a million $$ in most cases! You can buy some cheaper used 35mm and the indie film alternative, 16mm cameras at http://visualproducts.com/.
However, as the previous answers correctly stated, more and more films are shot in digital, but its not likely that they'd be shot on your average Sony Handycam. Instead, here are some popular digital cinema cameras, which are a lot more expensive:
1) Red One
2) Panavision Genesis
3) Dalsa Origin
4) Thompson Viper FilmStream
5) Arri D-21
6) Sony F23 and F35 (sometimes)
[they are in no particular order]
Some shoot in your typical high definition with resolutions of 1920 x 1080, but some shoot in higher definitions, such as 4K, which is 4096 x 2048. Again, many of these cameras cannot be purchased... only rented. However, the RED ONE can be purchased, making it the cheapest one, and arguably the best. You can buy the Red One for $17,500 only for the body, but you'll need accessories such as lenses, LCD screens, batteries, and some sort of memory storage. The RED One is an amazing camera for an awesome price (in retrospect at least), rivaling cameras that cost a quarter to half a million. It shoots in 4K resolution and goes hand in hand with Final Cut Pro on Macintosh computers. check it out at http://www.red.com/
I know these cameras are probably not within your budget, so here are some good prosumer camcorders:
1) Sony PMW-EX1
2) Panasonic HVX200
3) JVC GY-HD200U
4) Canon XH-A1
[these ARE in a particular order]
The best is definately the Sony EX1. The HVX200 is a sort-of-close second. The reason is that both cameras shoot in tapeless media. My reasoning is that these tapeless media cameras will get you closer to true HD, while your typical HDV is still heavily compressed (better than AVCHD though). The Sony EX1 uses SxS Media cards while the HVX200 uses P2 cards. I have heard that the SxS is slightly better than the P2 card as far as compression.
Looking at the JVC HD200U, that's a totally different camera. It does NOT shoot in 1080 HD, only the lower resolution 720 HD. Now this would turn most people off to this camera, but I still really like it. Besides, I'd rather shoot in 720 HD with 60 frames per second progressive, than 1080 in 30fps progressive, or even 60fps interlaced. It also has interchangeable lenses, which is real nice! It was even used on an indie film that was blown up to 35mm and released internationally!
In the consumer range, also check out the RED SCARLET. It's only $3,000 and has the best resolution of any camera under $10,000! It shoots in UNCOMPRESSED 3k!!! If you're wondering what 3k is, lets just say that its considerably better than the HD we're used to. Its not as good as the 4K on the RED One, but 3k has a resolution of 3072 x 1536! That's excellent considering Sony still has 1920 x 1080 resolution cameras in its $40,000 range! welll, I hope that helps :)
Additioanl Information:
They are proffesionall video cameras which can cost from 5-6 GRAND if ur a biginer then just do what i did, buy a HD video which cost like 3-4 hundred, but get 1 from sony as they give u more megapixels and quality for ur muni and are more reliable then after a while if u feel like u wana continue then buy a pro camera from ebay.com
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadca...
http://www.arri.com/entry/products.htm
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...
There are others... these are most common. Lenses are extra. Processing is typically done on custom equipment.
For these information on whole world not many are familiar with.
If you want one of these camera systems, you better have the budget to buy 4 new exotic luxury cars or 4 new mansions, because that is how much these camera systems cost to purchase and operate for this type of movie. You will still need to purchase the recording media - which can cost just as much. Then you need to develop each roll, review the film, and reshoot if necessary - which again, can cost as much as purchasing the film or purchasing the camera system. Don't forget your budget for all labor (film crews, talent, editing, management, and security), services (food, water, sewer, power, and maintenance), transportation (to and from film site a well as vehicles in film), lodging (if filming outside your normal area), effects (props, explosives, modified materials, specialized or rare items), and permits or licenses (depending on where and when you are filming) - again, same price as before. Most productions at this level actually rent camera systems a fraction of the cost, hire locally, and film simple stories with no special or rare requirements on their own turf. This can save almost 1/2 of the required budget.
Most camera systems at this level are pieced together from a variety of accessories to fit the particular requirements, and different scenes in the movie will require different pieces to be added or removed. The camera systems are also geared for specific lighting, conditions, or create a specific 'look' or 'feel' because most use a very specific type of film. Not many save to digital media, and most that do are Sony - they invented this technology for George Lucas's requirements to film Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III.
Most filmmakers at this level are full fledged directors. Most directors specialize on a particular group of cameras and only film projects those cameras can handle, or they analyze the requirements for the particular film (distribution formats, editing requirements to create that distribution format, and the producer's instructions on how the story is to be told) to find the correct camera. Directors will rely primarily on the advice and expertise of the cinematographers and camera operators, since directors at this level don't always operate the camera or know the strengths and weaknesses of a particular camera system in a particular configuration.
Filming and Editing these types of movies can also be a problem depending on how and where you are distributing your film. Most movie theaters are part of some larger group in a film distribution network, and each network is set up to project their own specific type of cellulose projection film. This can be painful for the filming and editing crews since each distribution format has its own requirements and limits. These problems are usually researched and managed in pre-production long before filming begins.
Above, Nikolai provides a list of cameras commonly used to film movies you will see in theaters for the next 5-10 years. Nu'uanu provides links to 3 of the top level camera and camera support manufacturers that have been around for the past quarter century (25 years).
If you want to skip all this hassle and distribute your movie by DVD instead of a theater network, you can and should use a typical professional small format HD camcorder in the $10,000 and lower range. If you are talking about a TV show instead, you can use the same professional small format HD camcorders under $10,000 for movies going to DVD. Most reality shows, documentaries, cable TV sows, and news crews you see on TV today use these camcorders.
However, as the previous answers correctly stated, more and more films are shot in digital, but its not likely that they'd be shot on your average Sony Handycam. Instead, here are some popular digital cinema cameras, which are a lot more expensive:
1) Red One
2) Panavision Genesis
3) Dalsa Origin
4) Thompson Viper FilmStream
5) Arri D-21
6) Sony F23 and F35 (sometimes)
[they are in no particular order]
Some shoot in your typical high definition with resolutions of 1920 x 1080, but some shoot in higher definitions, such as 4K, which is 4096 x 2048. Again, many of these cameras cannot be purchased... only rented. However, the RED ONE can be purchased, making it the cheapest one, and arguably the best. You can buy the Red One for $17,500 only for the body, but you'll need accessories such as lenses, LCD screens, batteries, and some sort of memory storage. The RED One is an amazing camera for an awesome price (in retrospect at least), rivaling cameras that cost a quarter to half a million. It shoots in 4K resolution and goes hand in hand with Final Cut Pro on Macintosh computers. check it out at http://www.red.com/
I know these cameras are probably not within your budget, so here are some good prosumer camcorders:
1) Sony PMW-EX1
2) Panasonic HVX200
3) JVC GY-HD200U
4) Canon XH-A1
[these ARE in a particular order]
The best is definately the Sony EX1. The HVX200 is a sort-of-close second. The reason is that both cameras shoot in tapeless media. My reasoning is that these tapeless media cameras will get you closer to true HD, while your typical HDV is still heavily compressed (better than AVCHD though). The Sony EX1 uses SxS Media cards while the HVX200 uses P2 cards. I have heard that the SxS is slightly better than the P2 card as far as compression.
Looking at the JVC HD200U, that's a totally different camera. It does NOT shoot in 1080 HD, only the lower resolution 720 HD. Now this would turn most people off to this camera, but I still really like it. Besides, I'd rather shoot in 720 HD with 60 frames per second progressive, than 1080 in 30fps progressive, or even 60fps interlaced. It also has interchangeable lenses, which is real nice! It was even used on an indie film that was blown up to 35mm and released internationally!
In the consumer range, also check out the RED SCARLET. It's only $3,000 and has the best resolution of any camera under $10,000! It shoots in UNCOMPRESSED 3k!!! If you're wondering what 3k is, lets just say that its considerably better than the HD we're used to. Its not as good as the 4K on the RED One, but 3k has a resolution of 3072 x 1536! That's excellent considering Sony still has 1920 x 1080 resolution cameras in its $40,000 range! welll, I hope that helps :)
Additioanl Information:
They are proffesionall video cameras which can cost from 5-6 GRAND if ur a biginer then just do what i did, buy a HD video which cost like 3-4 hundred, but get 1 from sony as they give u more megapixels and quality for ur muni and are more reliable then after a while if u feel like u wana continue then buy a pro camera from ebay.com
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadca...
http://www.arri.com/entry/products.htm
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...
There are others... these are most common. Lenses are extra. Processing is typically done on custom equipment.
For these information on whole world not many are familiar with.
If you want one of these camera systems, you better have the budget to buy 4 new exotic luxury cars or 4 new mansions, because that is how much these camera systems cost to purchase and operate for this type of movie. You will still need to purchase the recording media - which can cost just as much. Then you need to develop each roll, review the film, and reshoot if necessary - which again, can cost as much as purchasing the film or purchasing the camera system. Don't forget your budget for all labor (film crews, talent, editing, management, and security), services (food, water, sewer, power, and maintenance), transportation (to and from film site a well as vehicles in film), lodging (if filming outside your normal area), effects (props, explosives, modified materials, specialized or rare items), and permits or licenses (depending on where and when you are filming) - again, same price as before. Most productions at this level actually rent camera systems a fraction of the cost, hire locally, and film simple stories with no special or rare requirements on their own turf. This can save almost 1/2 of the required budget.
Most camera systems at this level are pieced together from a variety of accessories to fit the particular requirements, and different scenes in the movie will require different pieces to be added or removed. The camera systems are also geared for specific lighting, conditions, or create a specific 'look' or 'feel' because most use a very specific type of film. Not many save to digital media, and most that do are Sony - they invented this technology for George Lucas's requirements to film Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III.
Most filmmakers at this level are full fledged directors. Most directors specialize on a particular group of cameras and only film projects those cameras can handle, or they analyze the requirements for the particular film (distribution formats, editing requirements to create that distribution format, and the producer's instructions on how the story is to be told) to find the correct camera. Directors will rely primarily on the advice and expertise of the cinematographers and camera operators, since directors at this level don't always operate the camera or know the strengths and weaknesses of a particular camera system in a particular configuration.
Filming and Editing these types of movies can also be a problem depending on how and where you are distributing your film. Most movie theaters are part of some larger group in a film distribution network, and each network is set up to project their own specific type of cellulose projection film. This can be painful for the filming and editing crews since each distribution format has its own requirements and limits. These problems are usually researched and managed in pre-production long before filming begins.
Above, Nikolai provides a list of cameras commonly used to film movies you will see in theaters for the next 5-10 years. Nu'uanu provides links to 3 of the top level camera and camera support manufacturers that have been around for the past quarter century (25 years).
If you want to skip all this hassle and distribute your movie by DVD instead of a theater network, you can and should use a typical professional small format HD camcorder in the $10,000 and lower range. If you are talking about a TV show instead, you can use the same professional small format HD camcorders under $10,000 for movies going to DVD. Most reality shows, documentaries, cable TV sows, and news crews you see on TV today use these camcorders.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Charlie Chaplin biography, the little tramp - world famous tramp clown
Click the link below to know everything about Charlie Chaplin.
http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php?/site/articles/charlie_chaplin_biography_the_little_tramp_world_famous_tramp_clown/
http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php?/site/articles/charlie_chaplin_biography_the_little_tramp_world_famous_tramp_clown/
Raja Ravi Verma's Paintings
These are wonderful peace of work of Ravi's, which would be an inspirational for all painters at learning level.
Confidence, Trust, and Hope
CONFIDENCE: Once all village people decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer all people gathered and only one boy came with an umbrella....
TRUST: Trust should be like the feeling of a one year old baby when you throw him in the air; he laughs.....because he knows you will catch him....
HOPE: Every night we go to bed, we have no assurance to get up alive in the next morning but still we have plans for the coming day....
HAVE CONFIDENCE…!! TRUST OTHERS…..!! NEVER LOSE HOPE……!!!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Jayalalitha's Interview with Karan Thapar to BBC World's HARDtalk India
Transcript of J. Jayalalitha’s interview on BBC World’s HARDtalk India. Excerpts from the interview.
KT: Hello and welcome to HARDtalk India. My guest today is the Chief Minister of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. Just over three years ago her party won an astonishing 80% victory in the state elections, just over three months ago her party failed to win a single seat in the National elections. How does she explain this astonishing reversal of fortune? Is the Chief Minister misunderstood or has the Chief Minister made mistakes. That in a sense is the core question that I shall put today to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha. Chief Minister, how do you explain that humiliating outcome in May, not a single seat for your party?
JJ: I don’t think it was a humiliating outcome at all. The results show that we have retained our vote bank. We got more than a crore of votes on our own which I think was a very good performance.
KT: But you got no seats.
JJ: Yes, but that is because we go by a simple majority system here.
KT: So the voting pattern of the country and the voting system went against you?
JJ: I would say that we retained our vote bank. There was no erosion in our vote bank. We did very well but there was a formidable alliance ranged against us.
KT: Let’s talk a little about the image the press has built up about you which many people believe has gone against you this time around. Over the last three years the press has variously described you as undemocratic, as irresponsible. They’ve even talked about you as irrational, vengeful and maybe even irresponsible. Are you misunderstood or have you made mistakes you can admit to?
JJ: I’m not irresponsible at all. That is totally removed from the truth. Yes I am misunderstood. As for all these tags that is because the media have been against me, not just for the past three years but ever since I came to politics. Perhaps it is because the whole world is a stage and everyone is acting all the time and I tend to be straight to the point. Hypocrisy is not my forte at all. That way I must say I’m a bit unconventional for a politician. The rule of the game seems to require considerable play-acting. I have acted in films before the cameras but I’m incapable of acting in real life.
KT: You mean your honesty and straight forwardness goes against you?
JJ: I’m honest. Let me be very honest with you. I prefer to play straight and I prefer speaking the truth. If I appear to be blunt, so be it. Yes, I am misunderstood and the media have a large part to play in this.
KT: Let’s explore that a little. You said that you weren’t irresponsible yet within five days of your party failing to win a single seat at the May general elections you reversed a whole series of decisions that you had taken over the last three years.
JJ: Let me explain. The changes made in May 2004 were termed by the press and the media as rollbacks and they made it appear that these were done in the wake of the results of the parliamentary elections. But that is not really so. What I was attempting was a major calibration of the process of structural adjustment which had to be undertaken after I assumed office in May 2001.
KT: But you did it just after you lost seats rather than earlier.
JJ: No let me explain. I will explain. You must remember that I was bequeathed a shattered economy and total fiscal chaos by the previous DMK government. To put it mildly the state treasury was simply not making payments. I inherited a whole pile of unpaid bills. The fiscal balance had to be restored and these needed structural changes. It was…
KT: (Intervenes) But forgive me Chief Minister the reforms include economic and fiscal reforms which you reversed.
JJ: Yes.
KT: So far from making structural changes you are reversing your own structural changes.
JJ: No I was just explaining that I inherited a whole pile of unpaid bills and fiscal chaos. I had to make the people swallow bitter medicine. By 31st March 2003 all the earlier payments were cleared and by the end of the fiscal year 2003-2004 Tamil Nadu’s fiscal heath was fully restored. As the fiscal situation turned from terminal decline to the pink of robust health I started making these calibrations even from January 2003, well before the parliamentary elections.
KT: Do you know what people say, the press says that Jayalalitha reversed her economic and fiscal reforms such as stopping power to farmers, such as stopping cheap access to easy grain for people earning over 5000 because she wanted easy popularity. She had lost, she was worried she would lose again.
JJ: That is not correct. You must remember that Tamil Nadu has been greatly affected by three years of continuous drought and people, particularly the poor farmers and agricultural laborers had to be insulated against the income shock caused by drought. In such a situation one cannot be dogmatic or opinionated. If change is warranted in a new situation, so be it. It has to be done.
KT: In which case why did you…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m sure I have done well in protecting the farmers and the landless agricultural laborers and you must remember that Tamil Nadu has been free from starvation deaths and malnutrition deaths which have afflicted many other states.
KT: Chief Minister, why did you then reverse the anti-conversion bill? That was extremely popular when you first passed it.
JJ: That has nothing to do with economic reform.
KT: Yes but it was one of the reversions.
JJ: It was misunderstood and particularly it was blown up by the media.
KT: So in other words you buckled under media pressure?
JJ: No, not at all. It was misunderstood by many people. It was not an anti-conversion law, it was an anti forcible conversion law.
KT: But it was misunderstood for almost two years. You could have repealed it earlier, you didn’t. You only repealed it after you failed to win seats.
JJ: It has nothing to do with that. If you insist on giving this interpretation I can’t help it.
KT: What about the…
JJ: (Intervenes) As to why the media is biased, that is because I am a self-made woman. Politics has for long been a male bastion. Mrs. Indira Gandhi changed all that, but still you must remember that Mrs. Indira Gandhi had all the inbuilt advantages. She had the advantage of being born in the…
KT: (Intervenes) You’re saying that media picks on you?
JJ: I do think so.
KT: Because you are a woman?
JJ: You are not allowing me to finish anything I want to say.
KT: No, is it because you are a woman?
JJ: I don’t think it’s because I am a woman. It’s because I don’t have a background like other women political leaders of Asia. If you’ll allow me to complete a sentence, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was born into the Nehru family. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaiake was the wife of Bandaranaiake, Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of Bhutto, Khaleeda Zia was the widow of Zia-ur- Rehman.
KT: What’s the point you are making?
JJ: Sheikh Haseena was the daughter of Mujibur Rehman. I have no such background. I’m a self made woman.
KT: And so you are picked upon.
JJ: Nothing was handed to me on a golden platter.
KT: But are you saying that because you are self-made you are picked upon?
JJ: I do not know the reasons. It’s the media who have to explain why they have been so biased.
KT: Okay. You say that you are not irresponsible, you say that in fact calibrated changes…
JJ: (Intervenes) If you knew my routine you would be surprised. I get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and I am awake till one the next morning and all my time, all my attention is religiously devoted to work, work and nothing else but work. I have no time, no time to think of vendetta or think of vengeance against…
KT: (Intervenes) You are saying you have no time… It is interesting that you should pick the word vendetta. You say you have no time for vendetta. The press point out that when you arrested your predecessor you did it at two in the morning, on a Saturday although the case against him had already been filed a day before.
JJ: If you allow me a few minutes…
KT: But can I finish the question and then…
JJ: I know what you are getting at. So, the DMK’s government foisted cases against me and threw me in jail. I languished in jail for twenty-eight days in a case in which I was ultimately acquitted...
KT: (Intervenes) So was it revenge?
JJ: When Mr. Karunanidhi did this the media gave him kudos for throwing me into jail portraying it as a triumph of good over evil. If only they knew the truth, later the people saw through Mr. Karunanidhi’s mean game and they elected me to power in 2001 with a thumping majority.
KT: (Intervenes) But when you arrested him…
JJ: When I became Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi was arrested in a corruption case. At that time his family channel Sun TV played a big hoax with a very cleverly edited footage…
KT: (Intervenes) Can I interrupt because I think the important thing Chief Minister…
JJ: (Intervenes) And at that time the entire media was…
KT: (Intervenes) You are reading a statement…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m not reading. I’m looking at you and talking. You can check it in the camera.
KT: But I want to say…
JJ: I’m looking at you and speaking. I’m not reading.
KT: I’m want to put out a concern to you. People say…
JJ: (Intervenes) You have notes before you. Shall I say you are reading.
KT: I have questions in front of me.
JJ: Alright I have notes in front of me. Nothing forbids me from having notes.
KT: Chief Minister…
JJ: I’m not reading. I’m looking at you straight in the eye. I look everyone straight in the eye.
KT: You arrested a man who was 77.
JJ: Age has nothing to do with corruption.
KT: A former Chief Minister of 14 years standing…
JJ: I too was a former Chief Minister when I was arrested.
KT: So was it revenge? It was vengeance?
JJ: It was not vengeance. He was involved in a corruption case.
KT: You don’t regret the way it was handled?
JJ: I do not regret it at all because what was shown to the people was cleverly edited footage, it was a hoax played on the people. People in the media like you would not have seen through it, you may have taken it on phase value, but the people saw through it.
KT: Okay what about what the press calls your inconsistency and unreliability. They say that her relationship with Sonia Gandhi as an ally is an on-off affair.
JJ: I do not want to discuss Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in this interview.
KT: Why?
JJ: I have the choice to pick and choose the questions I want to answer.
KT: You have a choice to pick and choose the questions you wish to answer but don’t you think…
JJ: It’s my democratic right. I don’t have to answer every question you put to me.
KT: Except…
JJ: I do not wish to discuss Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.
KT: Except for the fact that people will wonder why you don’t want to talk about someone who was your ally in ’99, who you publicly spoke against as a possible Prime Minister of the country…
JJ: If you have other questions you may ask them. I don’t wish to answer these questions.
KT: Okay can I put one quote to you? The press say that she turned against Sonia Gandhi in 2003 to ingratiate herself to the BJP; today she is saying nice things about Sonia Gandhi because she wishes to ingratiate herself with Congress.
JJ: I have not said any such nice things. All that I said was I did not make any personal attacks and I have no reason to make any personal attacks. What happened during the parliamentary polls was an electoral confrontation and not a personal confrontation.
KT: Except…
JJ: (Intervenes) Now I’m looking you straight in the eye and you are reading from your notes.
KT: I’m reading a quotation of yours so I don’t get it inaccurate. In ’98 you said it would be a national shame if that foreigner comes to power. In 2003 you said it will be a crime shame and moral bankruptcy for the Congress to project Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.
JJ: My feelings on the issue of a person of foreign origin ruling the country are well known.
KT: And unchanged?
JJ: My statements are on record. There is no change in my stand.
KT: So you remain by your position?
JJ: Yes I’m quite consistent.
KT: That Sonia Gandhi should not become Prime Minister of India.
JJ: Not just Sonia Gandhi. Not just Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, any person of foreign origin.
KT: Let’s switch to another concern the media has. They say that Jayalalitha is undemocratic. In fact they go further. They say you are dictatorial. How do you respond to that?
JJ: I think people are the best judges.
KT: Why…
JJ: The media has never had good things to say about me. And you didn’t allow me to finish what I wanted to say earlier.
KT: Why do your M.L.As …
JJ: You’d be surprised to know my routine I said. I spend all my time devoted to work. I don’t do anything else. I work all the time for the development of Tamil Nadu, for the good of the people of Tamil Nadu.
KT: I accept that completely. But why do your M.L.As and your Ministers in public prostrate themselves in front of you?
JJ: They prostrate before other political leaders. They prostrate before Mr. Karunanidhi too. His MLAs and MPs do that all the time.
KT: But they are people…
JJ: Except that you choose not to notice it. Whenever there is any small incident involving me it is blown up beyond proportion. It is an Indian tradition to seek blessings from elders.
KT: In this fashion?
JJ: Yes it is an Indian tradition. I think you are an Indian. I think you know enough about Indian tradition and culture.
KT: But is it fitting for ministers of the state…
JJ: I have asked them not to do it.
KT: They don’t listen to you?
JJ: They do listen. They don’t do it nowadays in public.
KT: It’s been stopped?
JJ: It’s been stopped.
KT: When you say they don’t do it in public…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’ve given many statements to this effect. I have given public statements asking my party men and MLAs and Ministers not to prostrate in public. They don’t do it. They’ve not been doing it for the last three or four years.
KT: The media also points towards the fact that in slightly over three years you have reshuffled your cabinet, as the Deccan Chronicle points out, over fifteen times.
JJ: That I’m allowed to do, for administrative convenience.
KT: You mean to say that you need to do it so often for administrative convenience?
JJ: I know what I need to do for the good of the state.
KT: The press says…
JJ: If certain persons are appointed to certain posts and if their performance is not satisfactory, for the good of the state, for administrative improvement I have to make a change. I cannot refrain from making a change simply because their will be carping criticism from persons in the media like you.
KT: Except for the fact that the media all the way across the country says that Jayalalitha does it to keep them insecure, to keep them dependent on her.
JJ: If they keep on making such unjustified remarks I have nothing to say.
KT: Let’s talk a little about you. Your party the AIADMK is formally a part of the Dravida movement. The Dravida movement…
JJ: Not formally part of the Dravida movement, it is still part of the Dravidian movement.
KT: Except that the Dravidian movement is a rationalist, atheist, iconoclastic movement. Where do you personally fit into that?
JJ: It’s not an atheist movement, it’s not an atheist movement. You are totally wrong. You haven’t read Dravidian history.
KT: Periyar was an atheist...
JJ: Anna said, ‘ondre kulam oruvane devam’, that means there is only one God. So Anna recognized the existence of God, so it doesn’t mean atheism.
KT: Are you embarrassed by your belief in numerology and astrology?
JJ: Who said that I believe in astrology and numerology? You say it, people in the media say it. What is the proof you have of that?
KT: Don’t you chose…
JJ: (Intervenes) Why should I be embarrassed?
KT: Don’t you choose auspicious hours when you do things?
JJ: Many people in India do that. Have you asked this question of Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani, many other leaders?
KT: I asked identical questions of Vasundhara Raje Scindia. The press says that Jayalalitha spends a lot of time propitiating gods, she spends a lot of time choosing auspicious hours. Are you superstitious?
JJ: I am not superstitious and I must say I am rather disappointed with the tone and tenor of this interview. You seem to preface almost every sentence, every question with the word the press says or the media says so. The press and the media have always been making uncharitable, unfair, unjustified remarks, comments without any basis. What do you expect me to say to all this?
KT: Can I ask you why did you believe in…
JJ: If people believed all that the media have said about me, have written about me, I couldn’t have won a single election, I wouldn’t be sitting where I am now.
KT: Except for the fact in 2001 suddenly you…
JJ: I’m sorry I agreed to do this interview. That’s all I can say.
KT: In 2001, Chief Minister, you changed the spelling of you name. Can I ask you why? You added an extra ‘a’.
JJ: It’s my prerogative to do so. I don’t have to explain. I don’t have to explain anything to you for that matter.
KT: No but I asked for a simple reason. As Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, you set an example…
JJ: I changed the spelling of my name before I became the Chief Minister again. That is my prerogative. Did you ask Vaiko why he changed his name to Vaiko from Y. Gopalaswami? Go and ask him that.
KT: So when the press depict you, as I began this interview by saying…
JJ: (Intervenes) You are doing a good job of it again now.
KT: No I’m putting a question to you. When the press depict you as irresponsible for reversing your policies…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m not irresponsible. I spend all my time working. I deny it totally.
KT: When they say you are vengeful you deny that?
JJ: I deny that.
KT: When they say you are inconsistent, you deny that?
JJ: I do deny it.
KT: And when they say that her attitude to astrology, numerology suggests she is irrational, you deny that as well?
JJ: I deny that also. I’m a perfectly rational, sensible, sober, very responsible leader. I can say with confidence that no other Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu’s history has worked so hard for the development and progress of the state as I have been doing and as I am doing.
KT: Then let me put this to you. You face state elections in slightly under two years time in May 2006 at the latest.
JJ: Yes I am perfectly aware of that.
KT: Are you worried that after the problem you faced in May at the general elections when your party did not win a single seat that you will lose the state elections?
JJ: (Intervenes) I am not worried at all.
KT: But won’t this press image that is widespread across the country, not just Tamil Nadu, work against you?
JJ: It’s irrelevant.
KT: You are confident that you can reach out to the people above the press and convince them of the real Jayalalitha?
JJ: As I told you earlier if the people took seriously what the media persons have been writing about me and saying about me, I could not have won a single election.
KT: Except that you lost in ’96 and you didn’t win any seats at the national elections in 2004.
JJ: What about the ’98 that came immediately after ’96? What about the general elections then?
KT: But this is what I am saying. Your career in the last ten years, and particularly in the last three, has seen amazing roller coasters.
JJ: This is true of every political leader. It’s true of life itself. Life is full of ups and downs. The political career of any leader is full of victories and defeats. No one is consistently successful, no one is a consistent loser.
KT: You’ve also faced cases in court. Does it worry you that now you have to go to court not just in Tamil Nadu but…
JJ: I have been facing a number of cases since 1996. All these cases were foisted on me. I have never run away from facing these cases. I’ve been acquitted in 12 cases so far. What does that show? That the cases were false.
KT: In one of the cases, the Tansi case, where you were acquitted and exonerated by the Supreme Court, the same court, in its verdict said it asked you to ponder on whether you have done the right thing in breeching the spirit of the code of conduct…
JJ: (Intervenes) I never comment on any judgment of the Supreme Court. I have never done so so far, I will not do it now.
KT: Except for the fact that many people felt, not just the press this time, but the court was actually saying that legally you were innocent but morally you had a case to answer at least to yourself personally.
JJ: I told you I do not comment on any judgment of the Supreme Court, whether the judgment involves me personally or any other matter of public importance. I never have commented on any judgment of the Supreme Court, I will not do so.
KT: You are a very tough person, Chief Minister.
JJ: People like you have made me so.
KT: You said that you were misunderstood.
JJ: Yes.
KT: Do you think that you are badly treated by the press?
JJ: I do not wish to say anything more on this. Anyway your interview is not doing anything to help matters.
KT: My aim, Chief Minister, was to get to the core of the misunderstanding. You said that the press…
JJ: Your aim seems to have been to put as many unpleasant questions as possible and try to provoke me.
KT: Not to provoke you but to put to you the questions that have been discussed for the last three years and which in many ways may be responsible for the electoral adversity…
JJ: Haven’t you asked all of your questions? Have you got anything more to ask?
KT: I have come very close to the end of this interview, I have only one last question. Are you confident that you can see your electoral low point over with, and that you will win in 2006?
JJ: Wait and see. I told you already I don’t believe in astrology. I can’t predict what will happen in the next elections but you will be around I suppose. Wait and see what happens.
KT: Is that a yes, you will win?
JJ: I said wait and see.
KT: Chief Minister, a pleasure talking to you on HARDtalk India.
JJ: I must say it wasn’t a pleasure talking to you. Namaste
Note: This is a verbatim transcript. Opinions expressed by the interviewee are personal and not those of the BBC.
KT: Hello and welcome to HARDtalk India. My guest today is the Chief Minister of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. Just over three years ago her party won an astonishing 80% victory in the state elections, just over three months ago her party failed to win a single seat in the National elections. How does she explain this astonishing reversal of fortune? Is the Chief Minister misunderstood or has the Chief Minister made mistakes. That in a sense is the core question that I shall put today to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha. Chief Minister, how do you explain that humiliating outcome in May, not a single seat for your party?
JJ: I don’t think it was a humiliating outcome at all. The results show that we have retained our vote bank. We got more than a crore of votes on our own which I think was a very good performance.
KT: But you got no seats.
JJ: Yes, but that is because we go by a simple majority system here.
KT: So the voting pattern of the country and the voting system went against you?
JJ: I would say that we retained our vote bank. There was no erosion in our vote bank. We did very well but there was a formidable alliance ranged against us.
KT: Let’s talk a little about the image the press has built up about you which many people believe has gone against you this time around. Over the last three years the press has variously described you as undemocratic, as irresponsible. They’ve even talked about you as irrational, vengeful and maybe even irresponsible. Are you misunderstood or have you made mistakes you can admit to?
JJ: I’m not irresponsible at all. That is totally removed from the truth. Yes I am misunderstood. As for all these tags that is because the media have been against me, not just for the past three years but ever since I came to politics. Perhaps it is because the whole world is a stage and everyone is acting all the time and I tend to be straight to the point. Hypocrisy is not my forte at all. That way I must say I’m a bit unconventional for a politician. The rule of the game seems to require considerable play-acting. I have acted in films before the cameras but I’m incapable of acting in real life.
KT: You mean your honesty and straight forwardness goes against you?
JJ: I’m honest. Let me be very honest with you. I prefer to play straight and I prefer speaking the truth. If I appear to be blunt, so be it. Yes, I am misunderstood and the media have a large part to play in this.
KT: Let’s explore that a little. You said that you weren’t irresponsible yet within five days of your party failing to win a single seat at the May general elections you reversed a whole series of decisions that you had taken over the last three years.
JJ: Let me explain. The changes made in May 2004 were termed by the press and the media as rollbacks and they made it appear that these were done in the wake of the results of the parliamentary elections. But that is not really so. What I was attempting was a major calibration of the process of structural adjustment which had to be undertaken after I assumed office in May 2001.
KT: But you did it just after you lost seats rather than earlier.
JJ: No let me explain. I will explain. You must remember that I was bequeathed a shattered economy and total fiscal chaos by the previous DMK government. To put it mildly the state treasury was simply not making payments. I inherited a whole pile of unpaid bills. The fiscal balance had to be restored and these needed structural changes. It was…
KT: (Intervenes) But forgive me Chief Minister the reforms include economic and fiscal reforms which you reversed.
JJ: Yes.
KT: So far from making structural changes you are reversing your own structural changes.
JJ: No I was just explaining that I inherited a whole pile of unpaid bills and fiscal chaos. I had to make the people swallow bitter medicine. By 31st March 2003 all the earlier payments were cleared and by the end of the fiscal year 2003-2004 Tamil Nadu’s fiscal heath was fully restored. As the fiscal situation turned from terminal decline to the pink of robust health I started making these calibrations even from January 2003, well before the parliamentary elections.
KT: Do you know what people say, the press says that Jayalalitha reversed her economic and fiscal reforms such as stopping power to farmers, such as stopping cheap access to easy grain for people earning over 5000 because she wanted easy popularity. She had lost, she was worried she would lose again.
JJ: That is not correct. You must remember that Tamil Nadu has been greatly affected by three years of continuous drought and people, particularly the poor farmers and agricultural laborers had to be insulated against the income shock caused by drought. In such a situation one cannot be dogmatic or opinionated. If change is warranted in a new situation, so be it. It has to be done.
KT: In which case why did you…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m sure I have done well in protecting the farmers and the landless agricultural laborers and you must remember that Tamil Nadu has been free from starvation deaths and malnutrition deaths which have afflicted many other states.
KT: Chief Minister, why did you then reverse the anti-conversion bill? That was extremely popular when you first passed it.
JJ: That has nothing to do with economic reform.
KT: Yes but it was one of the reversions.
JJ: It was misunderstood and particularly it was blown up by the media.
KT: So in other words you buckled under media pressure?
JJ: No, not at all. It was misunderstood by many people. It was not an anti-conversion law, it was an anti forcible conversion law.
KT: But it was misunderstood for almost two years. You could have repealed it earlier, you didn’t. You only repealed it after you failed to win seats.
JJ: It has nothing to do with that. If you insist on giving this interpretation I can’t help it.
KT: What about the…
JJ: (Intervenes) As to why the media is biased, that is because I am a self-made woman. Politics has for long been a male bastion. Mrs. Indira Gandhi changed all that, but still you must remember that Mrs. Indira Gandhi had all the inbuilt advantages. She had the advantage of being born in the…
KT: (Intervenes) You’re saying that media picks on you?
JJ: I do think so.
KT: Because you are a woman?
JJ: You are not allowing me to finish anything I want to say.
KT: No, is it because you are a woman?
JJ: I don’t think it’s because I am a woman. It’s because I don’t have a background like other women political leaders of Asia. If you’ll allow me to complete a sentence, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was born into the Nehru family. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaiake was the wife of Bandaranaiake, Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of Bhutto, Khaleeda Zia was the widow of Zia-ur- Rehman.
KT: What’s the point you are making?
JJ: Sheikh Haseena was the daughter of Mujibur Rehman. I have no such background. I’m a self made woman.
KT: And so you are picked upon.
JJ: Nothing was handed to me on a golden platter.
KT: But are you saying that because you are self-made you are picked upon?
JJ: I do not know the reasons. It’s the media who have to explain why they have been so biased.
KT: Okay. You say that you are not irresponsible, you say that in fact calibrated changes…
JJ: (Intervenes) If you knew my routine you would be surprised. I get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and I am awake till one the next morning and all my time, all my attention is religiously devoted to work, work and nothing else but work. I have no time, no time to think of vendetta or think of vengeance against…
KT: (Intervenes) You are saying you have no time… It is interesting that you should pick the word vendetta. You say you have no time for vendetta. The press point out that when you arrested your predecessor you did it at two in the morning, on a Saturday although the case against him had already been filed a day before.
JJ: If you allow me a few minutes…
KT: But can I finish the question and then…
JJ: I know what you are getting at. So, the DMK’s government foisted cases against me and threw me in jail. I languished in jail for twenty-eight days in a case in which I was ultimately acquitted...
KT: (Intervenes) So was it revenge?
JJ: When Mr. Karunanidhi did this the media gave him kudos for throwing me into jail portraying it as a triumph of good over evil. If only they knew the truth, later the people saw through Mr. Karunanidhi’s mean game and they elected me to power in 2001 with a thumping majority.
KT: (Intervenes) But when you arrested him…
JJ: When I became Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi was arrested in a corruption case. At that time his family channel Sun TV played a big hoax with a very cleverly edited footage…
KT: (Intervenes) Can I interrupt because I think the important thing Chief Minister…
JJ: (Intervenes) And at that time the entire media was…
KT: (Intervenes) You are reading a statement…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m not reading. I’m looking at you and talking. You can check it in the camera.
KT: But I want to say…
JJ: I’m looking at you and speaking. I’m not reading.
KT: I’m want to put out a concern to you. People say…
JJ: (Intervenes) You have notes before you. Shall I say you are reading.
KT: I have questions in front of me.
JJ: Alright I have notes in front of me. Nothing forbids me from having notes.
KT: Chief Minister…
JJ: I’m not reading. I’m looking at you straight in the eye. I look everyone straight in the eye.
KT: You arrested a man who was 77.
JJ: Age has nothing to do with corruption.
KT: A former Chief Minister of 14 years standing…
JJ: I too was a former Chief Minister when I was arrested.
KT: So was it revenge? It was vengeance?
JJ: It was not vengeance. He was involved in a corruption case.
KT: You don’t regret the way it was handled?
JJ: I do not regret it at all because what was shown to the people was cleverly edited footage, it was a hoax played on the people. People in the media like you would not have seen through it, you may have taken it on phase value, but the people saw through it.
KT: Okay what about what the press calls your inconsistency and unreliability. They say that her relationship with Sonia Gandhi as an ally is an on-off affair.
JJ: I do not want to discuss Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in this interview.
KT: Why?
JJ: I have the choice to pick and choose the questions I want to answer.
KT: You have a choice to pick and choose the questions you wish to answer but don’t you think…
JJ: It’s my democratic right. I don’t have to answer every question you put to me.
KT: Except…
JJ: I do not wish to discuss Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.
KT: Except for the fact that people will wonder why you don’t want to talk about someone who was your ally in ’99, who you publicly spoke against as a possible Prime Minister of the country…
JJ: If you have other questions you may ask them. I don’t wish to answer these questions.
KT: Okay can I put one quote to you? The press say that she turned against Sonia Gandhi in 2003 to ingratiate herself to the BJP; today she is saying nice things about Sonia Gandhi because she wishes to ingratiate herself with Congress.
JJ: I have not said any such nice things. All that I said was I did not make any personal attacks and I have no reason to make any personal attacks. What happened during the parliamentary polls was an electoral confrontation and not a personal confrontation.
KT: Except…
JJ: (Intervenes) Now I’m looking you straight in the eye and you are reading from your notes.
KT: I’m reading a quotation of yours so I don’t get it inaccurate. In ’98 you said it would be a national shame if that foreigner comes to power. In 2003 you said it will be a crime shame and moral bankruptcy for the Congress to project Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.
JJ: My feelings on the issue of a person of foreign origin ruling the country are well known.
KT: And unchanged?
JJ: My statements are on record. There is no change in my stand.
KT: So you remain by your position?
JJ: Yes I’m quite consistent.
KT: That Sonia Gandhi should not become Prime Minister of India.
JJ: Not just Sonia Gandhi. Not just Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, any person of foreign origin.
KT: Let’s switch to another concern the media has. They say that Jayalalitha is undemocratic. In fact they go further. They say you are dictatorial. How do you respond to that?
JJ: I think people are the best judges.
KT: Why…
JJ: The media has never had good things to say about me. And you didn’t allow me to finish what I wanted to say earlier.
KT: Why do your M.L.As …
JJ: You’d be surprised to know my routine I said. I spend all my time devoted to work. I don’t do anything else. I work all the time for the development of Tamil Nadu, for the good of the people of Tamil Nadu.
KT: I accept that completely. But why do your M.L.As and your Ministers in public prostrate themselves in front of you?
JJ: They prostrate before other political leaders. They prostrate before Mr. Karunanidhi too. His MLAs and MPs do that all the time.
KT: But they are people…
JJ: Except that you choose not to notice it. Whenever there is any small incident involving me it is blown up beyond proportion. It is an Indian tradition to seek blessings from elders.
KT: In this fashion?
JJ: Yes it is an Indian tradition. I think you are an Indian. I think you know enough about Indian tradition and culture.
KT: But is it fitting for ministers of the state…
JJ: I have asked them not to do it.
KT: They don’t listen to you?
JJ: They do listen. They don’t do it nowadays in public.
KT: It’s been stopped?
JJ: It’s been stopped.
KT: When you say they don’t do it in public…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’ve given many statements to this effect. I have given public statements asking my party men and MLAs and Ministers not to prostrate in public. They don’t do it. They’ve not been doing it for the last three or four years.
KT: The media also points towards the fact that in slightly over three years you have reshuffled your cabinet, as the Deccan Chronicle points out, over fifteen times.
JJ: That I’m allowed to do, for administrative convenience.
KT: You mean to say that you need to do it so often for administrative convenience?
JJ: I know what I need to do for the good of the state.
KT: The press says…
JJ: If certain persons are appointed to certain posts and if their performance is not satisfactory, for the good of the state, for administrative improvement I have to make a change. I cannot refrain from making a change simply because their will be carping criticism from persons in the media like you.
KT: Except for the fact that the media all the way across the country says that Jayalalitha does it to keep them insecure, to keep them dependent on her.
JJ: If they keep on making such unjustified remarks I have nothing to say.
KT: Let’s talk a little about you. Your party the AIADMK is formally a part of the Dravida movement. The Dravida movement…
JJ: Not formally part of the Dravida movement, it is still part of the Dravidian movement.
KT: Except that the Dravidian movement is a rationalist, atheist, iconoclastic movement. Where do you personally fit into that?
JJ: It’s not an atheist movement, it’s not an atheist movement. You are totally wrong. You haven’t read Dravidian history.
KT: Periyar was an atheist...
JJ: Anna said, ‘ondre kulam oruvane devam’, that means there is only one God. So Anna recognized the existence of God, so it doesn’t mean atheism.
KT: Are you embarrassed by your belief in numerology and astrology?
JJ: Who said that I believe in astrology and numerology? You say it, people in the media say it. What is the proof you have of that?
KT: Don’t you chose…
JJ: (Intervenes) Why should I be embarrassed?
KT: Don’t you choose auspicious hours when you do things?
JJ: Many people in India do that. Have you asked this question of Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani, many other leaders?
KT: I asked identical questions of Vasundhara Raje Scindia. The press says that Jayalalitha spends a lot of time propitiating gods, she spends a lot of time choosing auspicious hours. Are you superstitious?
JJ: I am not superstitious and I must say I am rather disappointed with the tone and tenor of this interview. You seem to preface almost every sentence, every question with the word the press says or the media says so. The press and the media have always been making uncharitable, unfair, unjustified remarks, comments without any basis. What do you expect me to say to all this?
KT: Can I ask you why did you believe in…
JJ: If people believed all that the media have said about me, have written about me, I couldn’t have won a single election, I wouldn’t be sitting where I am now.
KT: Except for the fact in 2001 suddenly you…
JJ: I’m sorry I agreed to do this interview. That’s all I can say.
KT: In 2001, Chief Minister, you changed the spelling of you name. Can I ask you why? You added an extra ‘a’.
JJ: It’s my prerogative to do so. I don’t have to explain. I don’t have to explain anything to you for that matter.
KT: No but I asked for a simple reason. As Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, you set an example…
JJ: I changed the spelling of my name before I became the Chief Minister again. That is my prerogative. Did you ask Vaiko why he changed his name to Vaiko from Y. Gopalaswami? Go and ask him that.
KT: So when the press depict you, as I began this interview by saying…
JJ: (Intervenes) You are doing a good job of it again now.
KT: No I’m putting a question to you. When the press depict you as irresponsible for reversing your policies…
JJ: (Intervenes) I’m not irresponsible. I spend all my time working. I deny it totally.
KT: When they say you are vengeful you deny that?
JJ: I deny that.
KT: When they say you are inconsistent, you deny that?
JJ: I do deny it.
KT: And when they say that her attitude to astrology, numerology suggests she is irrational, you deny that as well?
JJ: I deny that also. I’m a perfectly rational, sensible, sober, very responsible leader. I can say with confidence that no other Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu’s history has worked so hard for the development and progress of the state as I have been doing and as I am doing.
KT: Then let me put this to you. You face state elections in slightly under two years time in May 2006 at the latest.
JJ: Yes I am perfectly aware of that.
KT: Are you worried that after the problem you faced in May at the general elections when your party did not win a single seat that you will lose the state elections?
JJ: (Intervenes) I am not worried at all.
KT: But won’t this press image that is widespread across the country, not just Tamil Nadu, work against you?
JJ: It’s irrelevant.
KT: You are confident that you can reach out to the people above the press and convince them of the real Jayalalitha?
JJ: As I told you earlier if the people took seriously what the media persons have been writing about me and saying about me, I could not have won a single election.
KT: Except that you lost in ’96 and you didn’t win any seats at the national elections in 2004.
JJ: What about the ’98 that came immediately after ’96? What about the general elections then?
KT: But this is what I am saying. Your career in the last ten years, and particularly in the last three, has seen amazing roller coasters.
JJ: This is true of every political leader. It’s true of life itself. Life is full of ups and downs. The political career of any leader is full of victories and defeats. No one is consistently successful, no one is a consistent loser.
KT: You’ve also faced cases in court. Does it worry you that now you have to go to court not just in Tamil Nadu but…
JJ: I have been facing a number of cases since 1996. All these cases were foisted on me. I have never run away from facing these cases. I’ve been acquitted in 12 cases so far. What does that show? That the cases were false.
KT: In one of the cases, the Tansi case, where you were acquitted and exonerated by the Supreme Court, the same court, in its verdict said it asked you to ponder on whether you have done the right thing in breeching the spirit of the code of conduct…
JJ: (Intervenes) I never comment on any judgment of the Supreme Court. I have never done so so far, I will not do it now.
KT: Except for the fact that many people felt, not just the press this time, but the court was actually saying that legally you were innocent but morally you had a case to answer at least to yourself personally.
JJ: I told you I do not comment on any judgment of the Supreme Court, whether the judgment involves me personally or any other matter of public importance. I never have commented on any judgment of the Supreme Court, I will not do so.
KT: You are a very tough person, Chief Minister.
JJ: People like you have made me so.
KT: You said that you were misunderstood.
JJ: Yes.
KT: Do you think that you are badly treated by the press?
JJ: I do not wish to say anything more on this. Anyway your interview is not doing anything to help matters.
KT: My aim, Chief Minister, was to get to the core of the misunderstanding. You said that the press…
JJ: Your aim seems to have been to put as many unpleasant questions as possible and try to provoke me.
KT: Not to provoke you but to put to you the questions that have been discussed for the last three years and which in many ways may be responsible for the electoral adversity…
JJ: Haven’t you asked all of your questions? Have you got anything more to ask?
KT: I have come very close to the end of this interview, I have only one last question. Are you confident that you can see your electoral low point over with, and that you will win in 2006?
JJ: Wait and see. I told you already I don’t believe in astrology. I can’t predict what will happen in the next elections but you will be around I suppose. Wait and see what happens.
KT: Is that a yes, you will win?
JJ: I said wait and see.
KT: Chief Minister, a pleasure talking to you on HARDtalk India.
JJ: I must say it wasn’t a pleasure talking to you. Namaste
Note: This is a verbatim transcript. Opinions expressed by the interviewee are personal and not those of the BBC.
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