The Story of Kennedy (கென்னடியின் கதை) Published by Ananda Vikatan

Around the time of John F. Kennedy's death, Ananda Vikatan published a Tamil book on his life titled The Story of Kennedy. This is the cover of that book. It was written under the pen name Mayan. I believe "Mayan" was the pseudonym of the writer Maniyan, who was then one of Vikatan's editors and a popular serial novelist for the magazine.

I happened to come across an image of this book online recently, and it brought back a flood of childhood memories. This was the very first book I ever read about John F. Kennedy. I first noticed it hanging among the books displayed at the bookstore in the Jaffna Railway Station. Although I knew nothing about Kennedy at that age, I was captivated by his charimatic face on the cover and persuaded my mother to buy the book for me.

It was a beautifully produced volume, printed on glossy paper and filled with wonderful photographs of JFK and his family. I still remember the famous photograph of young John F. Kennedy Jr. hiding beneath the desk in the Oval Office while his father met with his officials, as well as the iconic image of the little boy saluting during his father's funeral procession. Those photographs left a lasting impression on me.

Bound by the Sweetness of Unni Menon's Voice!

Singer Unni Menon

I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that I am addicted to Unni Menon's voice. His voice, which caresses the heart, has the power to soothe and comfort the minds of those who listen to it. Try listening to this song from the movie Varushamellam Vasantham once with your eyes closed. You will understand what I mean.

Varushamellam Vasantham is the only hit movie of actor Manoj. Whenever I listen to this song, I often think that he could have been around for much longer. His calm acting and innocent smile captivated me. Music by Sirpy. Lyrics by R. Ravishankar. The lyricist has also passed away.

Poem: The Expanding Universe and the Searching Heart by V. N. Giritharan -

We exist within the vast, expanding universe,
Striving to comprehend, searching to know.

Distances of light-years leave us in awe.
Why does our existence remain like a mere drop?
In this immense space divided by vast distances,
We know of no other wandering life forms yet.

We exist within the vast, expanding universe,
Striving to comprehend, searching to know.

Is conquering vast distances possible or not?
We do not know if success will come in our lifetime.
Is this a universe devoid of other life?
Knowing the truth is not easy.

We exist within the vast, expanding universe,
Striving to comprehend, searching to know.

The barrier to finding the answer is the immense distance.
Increasing speed to transcend time
Is the only way to reach it,
butHow to achieve that? That is the question.

We exist within the vast, expanding universe,
Striving to comprehend, searching to know.

*digital art work using Google Nano Banana by VNG

"THE BLACK HOLE" Short Film Review / Thoughts:

["THE BLACK HOLE" Short Film Pick Featured by NineJunctions Written & Directed by Philip Sansom & Olly Williams (Phil and Olly) ]

I watched the short film "The Black Hole"! I lost myself in it too!  

Please watch this short film completely. It is an amazing short film. It is a scientific fact that a black hole is the end of spacetime, and anyone or anything that enters it can never return to this universe.

In our daily lives, we constantly see humans living in this spacetime getting trapped and suffering within the social, economic, and political systems they created, don't we? We see so many people struggling after getting caught up in excessive greed, don't we?

"The Black Hole" is a brilliantly crafted short film that blends this human psychology with scientific fact. Creativity is essential to make films like this.

The creativity of this short film leaves me amazed.

Watch this short film until the very end - youtu.be - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSmjqss0XKQ

---