Muslim singer Nagore Hanifa dies aged 96

Popular Tamil Muslim devotional singer Nagore E M Hanifa died aged 96 at his home in Kotturpuram in Chennai on April 8. He is survived by two sons and four daughters. Hanifa began singing for a livelihood at the age of 13 at his hometown of Ramanathapuram. His first concert was held at Tiruvalantur in Thanjavur district standing on a bullock cart that doubled as a stage. At first he sang only for weddings and prayer ceremonies using simple lyrics penned by local poets and set to tune on popular film songs of the day. All the songs were devotional and Hanifa’s stentorian voice with its powerful throw soon gained him many fans. He toured continuously giving nearly 45 concerts in a month with a group of five musicians and simple instruments.In the 1940s he worked for his uncle at Tiruvarur where he met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party leader M Karunanidhi, who would be a lifelong friend. For a short time, Hanifa sang DMK political anthems on Karuninidhi’s request, that are played even today.Later he also sang for films like Gule Bahavali (1955), Pava Manippu (1965) and Chembaruthi in 1992. His popular devotional numbers are Iraivanidam Kai Enthugal, Bismillah Endru, Theenkula Kannu, Engum Neeraintha Eraiyone among others.Hanifa remained a singer throughout his life despite a short political stint on Karunanidhi’s insistence as a DMK candidate in 1958 and 2002 elections which he lost. He was also chairman of Waqf Board for some time. Company sellsVeerappanmoustache waxCapitalising on the notoriety of slain forest brigand and sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, British/ American cosmetics company Lush has launched a moustache wax that is selling well in both countries. The wax comes in boxes pasted with a picture of Veerappan with his luxuriant handlebar moustache.Lush advertises that Smuggler’s Soul wax which has a sandalwood fragrance makes moustaches sleek and stylish. Their jingle has lines like “Veerappan’s mild woody aroma will keep your head clear and focused.”Veerappan was shot dead by Special Task Force police on October 18, 2004 at Papparapatti village in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu.Truck strikecalled off afterKerala pledgeA seven-day strike by truck owners from April 1 demanding better facilities at the Walayar check-post on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border was called off after talks with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy last week.Kerala has promised to increase toll counters to 14 with central excise counters, closed circuit cameras and a green channel for faster clearance. They also promised to build a large parking bay for trucks, with drinking water, toilets, paramedical and fire services. The strike was launched as only three toll counters were operational which caused massive traffic bottlenecks.New chief forsatellite centre

Award-winning Tamil Nadu-born scientist Mayilsamy Annadurai has been appointed as the new director of the satellite centre at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru.Annadurai is an electronics and communication graduate with a doctorate from Anna University Coimbatore. He joined ISRO in 1982 and led two national space projects -the Mars mission and Chadrayaan-1.