Kumudam (Magazine)

இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: குமுதம் ‎

Kumudam Magazine

Kumudam's Symbol

S.A.B. Annamalai

Kumudam (1947) is a popular Weekly Magazine in Tamil, published from Chennai. Kumudam Group published many other magazines including Kumudam Reporter, Kumudam Theeranathi, Kumudam Snegithi, Kumudam Bakthi, Kumudam Jothidam, Kumudam Health Special and Malaimathi.

History

Ra.Ki. Rangarajan, I.R. Sundaresan, Punithan

Kumudam Magazine was started in 1947 by S.A.P. Annamalai with Dr. M. Azhagappa Chettiar as honorary editor. In Thirty years, it became the third best-selling weekly magazine in India (first was Malayala Manorama, next Rani weekly) and sold six lakh copies. S.A.P. Annamalai was its editor in chief and P.V. Varadarajan was the publisher. When Kumudam Magazine became a limited company, one hundred percent shares were owned by S.A.P. Annamalai and his wife Kothai Achi.

Supplemental Magazines

Kalkandu, with Tamilvaanan as its editor, emerged from the management of Kumudam magazine. Then different magazines came out,

• Malaimathi (Monthly Novel)
• Kumudam Reporter (Investigative Magazine)
• Kumudam Snegithi (Women's Magazine)
• Kumudam Bakthi (Astrology Magazine)
• Kumudam Health (Medical Magazine)
• Theeranathi (Literary Magazine)

Editors

Kumudam magazine's editor in chief S.A.P. Annamalai was a writer. With him Ra.Ki. Rangarajan, I.R. Sundaresan, Punithan were also part of the editorial board. They are said to be responsible for the success of Kumudam magazine. All three of them wrote in Kumudam magazine under different names. Later Sujatha, Malan, Priya Kalyanaraman were editors of the magazine.

Kumudam's Uniqueness

There are many reasons given for the success of Kumudam magazine's sales.

• The popular magazines of that time like Kalaimagal, Kalki and Ananda Vikatan presented the Brahmin culture first and foremost. This is because the readers and writers were primarily Brahmins. Although Kumudam had Brahmins writing, it was conducted without the semblance of Brahmin culture. Hence it gained support from the educated and rising non-Brahmin communities of India after independence.
• Kalaimagal, Ananda Vikatan and Kalki confined themselves as family journals and restricted content on sexuality. Kumudam was consistently subtly transgressing the boundaries of sexual expression of the day. So it attracted younger readers.
• Kumudam formed itself through readers' reactions. So it followed cinema very closely. It has adopted a style of presenting everything else using cinema along with messages about cinema. For example, when Kanchi Chandrasekhara Saraswati announced a Pidiyarisi thittam, the announcement was accompanied by a picture of the star of the day, Chaukar Janaki providing rice (Pidiyarisi).

Kumudam's Serials

After Kalki, Kumutham is the most successful weekly magazine that used serialized stories.

• Chandilyan wrote a serial called Kannimadam. Later when Mannan Magal came out it received wider welcome. In continuation of it lengthy serials like Kadalpura, Yavanarani, Rajamuthirai, Rajathilagam, Jalatheebam, Raja Perigai came out in Kumudam. They brought huge readership to Kumudam.
• Ra.Ki. Rangarajan translated Henry Sharrier's Papillon novel and published it under the name Pattamboochi in Kumudam. It became one of the popular serials.
• M. Karunanidhi's serial Romapuri Pandiyan was one of the famous serials.
• Sujatha made his Kumudam debut in August 1968 with the novel Nylon Kayiru. His Anitha Ilam Manaivi is his second successful serial. He continued to write detective stories in Kumudam. They were well received by the readers.

Kumudam's Columns

Kumudam 1959

Kumudam 1959

Kumudam's later team:Balakumaran, Sujatha, Malan

Kumudam's Columns are very famous.

Columns written by Kumudam's Editors

• Lights On - Vinoth (Cinema news written by Ra.Ki. Rangarajan)
• Arasu Bathilgal - Question & Answer section written by S.A.P.
• KisuKisu (Gossips about Cinema)

Columns written by Guests

• Variyar Virundhu
• Thirumbi Parkiren - Jayakanthan

Debates

Kumdam Magazine was continuously creating various debates. Debates were generated depending on news about actors and politicians.

The primary controversy was the violent protest by caste unions in 1980 when Sujatha wrote a serial titled 'Sivappu Karuppu Veluppu' in the Kumudam magazine against the backdrop of the Sepoy riots, which they felt denigrated the Nadar caste. Sujata apologized and the serial got stopped. He wrote the novel under the name 'Ratham Ore Niram' without caste references.

Conflicts about Rights

Kumudam was started with the investment of S.A.P. Annamalai. It was held as a limited company. Managing Director S.A.P. Annamalai and his wife Kothai Achi were 100 percent shareholders. P.V. Parthasarathy is the publisher secretary of this company.

In 1994 when S.A.P. Annamalai passed away, his shares went to his son Javahar Palaniappan. Kothai Achi became Managing Director. P.V. Parthasarathy and his son P. Varadarajan looked after the day-to-day operations of the company. They were given 33.39 percent shares as per the will of late S.A.P. Annamalai. S.A.P. Annamalai and Parthasarathy were close friends. Both of them worked together for the development of Kumudam Company. Because of that connection, 33.9 percent shares were given to the Parthasarathy family. Javahar Palaniappan is a doctor in America. So in 2008, he handed over the Managing Director position to P. Varadarajan.

In 2010, Jawahar Palaniappan filed a complaint against P. Varadarajan with police, alleging that he had taken over the company by defrauding the company's funds and shares. P. Varadarajan argued that Javahar Palaniappan, an American citizen, cannot hold shares in Kumudam. The case got dragged in many ways. Finally in June 2020 the National Company Law Tribunal has ruled that Jawahar Palaniappan owns the management of Kumudam[1].

References

• Mugappu - Kumudam News Tamil
• The Hindu News - Kumudam Judgement

Notes

1. Kumudam Management again goes to Jawahar Palaniappan: Judgement from National Company Law Tribunal - hindutamil.in

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