Nayan: Smoking in Tamil cinema became glamorous when Sivaj Ganesan stylishly puffed away in the movie Pudhiya Paravai. The Nadigar Thilagam, a smoker in real life, gave different dimensions to the habit whether as a pipe smoking lawyer in Gauravam or as the playboy of Vasantha Maaligai with a cigar dangling from the edge of his lips. Rajinikanth was Sivaji's natural smoking successor, catching the fancy of the youth with his flick, throw and catch of the cigarette. Rajinikanth and the tobacco stick became so synonymous that even during a telecast press meet, he was lighting one cigarette after another.Till Union health minister R. Anbumani Ramadoss earnestly appealed to him not to be a bad role model for the youth who took pride in mimicking the superstar. In his last three movies Rajnikanth did not smoke though he could not resist playing tricks with  chewing gum.

Nayan: By-election to the 52nd ward of Madurai corporation  was marred by incidents of stone-pelting and road picketing in the presence of election observer K.Gopal. At least 10 persons, including a booth agent sustained injuries. Even as voting began at 7 am in 19 booths in the ward, stone-pelting was reported from near two booths when the local body representatives from the DMK, accompanied by armed gangs, allegedly attempted to barge into voting booths. DMK, AIADMK and CPM have fielded their candidates.

Nayan: A surge in the flow of domestic and foreign tourists to the Union territory in the last three years has made Puducherry one of the most preferred tourist destinations in the South.  According to officials in the Directorate of Tourism, a total of 7.98 lakh domestic tourists visited Puducherry in 2007 compared to 6.52 lakh in 2006. A total of 57,682 foreign tourists came here in 2007 against 46,273 in 2006. Nearly 1.88 lakh domestic tourists and 23,500 foreign tourists have visited Puducherry till March this year.

Nayan: Chief minister M. Karunanidhi has justified the release of 1,405 life convicts as "nothing uncommon" and claimed that the Communists' allegation of setting at liberty the DMK members involved in the murder of Leelavathy as "unfounded." "Releasing life convicts on occasions like these is not new," he said and reminded his erstwhile allies that it was the then DMK government, which was responsible for bringing the culprits to book. "We had not been lenient to the six persons (convicted for murdering CPI (M) Madurai corporation councillor Leelavathy) as they belonged to the DMK. We ensured they were brought to book and went through a fair trial."

Nayan:  AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa launched her campaign to "dethrone the DMK government in the state and the Congress-led UPA at the Centre." She chose her favourite Theni district in which falls her Andipatti constituency and the auspicious full moon day to kickstart her prelude to the parliamentary elections ahead. Reeling out the omissions and commissions of both the governments, especially the spiralling prices of essentials, Jayalalithaa dubbed the ruling DMK as the "betrayers of Tamils" in vital livelihood issues such as Cauvery, Mullaiperiyar, Palar and Hogenakkal.

Nayan: Operations of the state-run Arasu Cable TV Corporation are to be launched in Tirunelveli zone covering most of the south but neither the government machinery nor the ruling partymen, not even the operators, seem excited.  There have been no advertisement campaigns. The district administration has failed to print formal invitations. The media was not given information about the launch till 5 pm Sunday. Even the officer in-charge of the corporation for Tirunelveli zone, Balasubramanian was not present in his office here to oversee preparation for the inauguration.

Nayan: It is said that Malayali expatriates have popularised two cultures all over the globe—teashops and Onam. The Mallu-run teashops are a common sight across the world. The festivities associated with Onam, the national festival of Kerala, also reverberate from countries where the Malayalee has pitched tent. Onam in Chennai is no different either. Jewellery and textile shops owned by Malayalees offered special Onam discount sales. Restaurants arranged Onam Sadya resplendent with four varieties of payasams. The city also saw an Onam Fair to which housewives made a beeline to purchase Kerala delicacies. But the only missing link was Mahabali. You mention Mahabali, the average Mallu will recall either Innocent or Cochin Haneefa, the ace film comedians who portray the King regularly in comedy tracks of Malayalam films.

Nayan: A career in the aviation industry might be the ultimate dream job for ambitious Chennai girls – the irresistible combination of big bucks, exotic locales and attractive incentives has ensured long lines of prospective air-hostesses, most of them as young as 17 years old, signing up for expensive courses offered by the airhostess training institutes that have cropped up all over the city. However, the runway seems riddled with potholes for these south Indian belles, as most of them find themselves unceremoniously dumped into the hospitality industry, as they fail to meet the stringent criteria demanded by airlines.

Nayan: The government is taking all possible steps to tide over the power crisis in the state, with an immediate aim to further reduce the shortage, said state chief secretary Mr K. S. Sripathy. Attributing the power shortage to multiple factors, he said, "We are trying our best to tide over the power crisis. We are reviewing the situation on daily basis. May be hourly basis. And we have enlisted the support of everybody, including, manufacturing, IT and service industries, to overcome this crisis."