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RR
2nd October 2005, 02:49 PM
TFM PAGE IMPRESSIONS

By NOV


A day at the beach always brings fond memories. The open skies and the seemingly never-ending ocean, coupled with picnics bring happy thoughts of vacations and family time. At the beach, have you seen a father walking along the beach leaving behind footsteps, with his son in tow trying to fill in dad's footsteps?

It is said that all men leave lasting impressions, like those of footsteps on the beach, on every person they come into contact with - no matter whether the person is a stranger or a loved one. Throughout the course of our lives, we meet and come into contact with thousands of people - each one leaving something of theirs behind, for you to ponder, enjoy, or suffer.

The internet has thrown wide open the doors and now our acquaintances have become unlimited. Our thirst for being wanted and for good company has become multi-fold. We touch people in more ways than ever imagined before.

TFM Pages too has become a link for tens of thousands (actually millions! I will tell you why shortly) and has brought together many of us from all over the world - as divergent as possible - but connected through one single motivation, our love for Tamil film songs!

On this tenth anniversary of TFM Pages, let us explore some of the ways it has touched millions around the world.

THE BEGINNING

Contrary to popular belief TFMP did not begin with the Discussion Forum. It was about 10 years ago when three guys Rajaraman, Ravindran and Palanivel - who besides being post-graduate students in IISc (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), shared a common love for Tamil songs - began the first steps into a journey which will touch millions world-wide. They had a dream - to compile a complete database of Tamil songs since its beginnings in the 1930s. Knowing that it was an impossible feat for just a handful of people to perform, they struck on the idea of exploring a new frontier – the worldwide web, which was just beginning to become popular in these parts of the world. On Oct 22 1995, TFMP website was born and released to the global community! The rest, as they say, is history.

MIME

Even in the beginning, TFM Page did not limit itself to its website. Back in the 1990s, most people did not have access to the internet, although many of them were provided with email addresses to facilitate their duties. Taking advantage of this, TFMP introduced the MIME quiz, which was solely held through email. MIME or Muthu Ingey Maalai Engey gave clues to about 20 songs and participation was invited from a (growing) regular source of email contacts. (Although some people renamed MIME as Mudi Ippo Mukkaalvaasi Illai, due to the difficulties in solving them :D)

The objective of MIME was to discover the title of the songs, which were also based on a particular theme. The winner/s would then be given the opportunity to conduct the next MIME, and so forth. The Q & A format can still be found in the archives. Much later, with the advent of the Discussion Forum, interests in the email-conducted MIME waned, and it was during then, I conducted two MIMEs, one on Kannan songs and another (with my TFMP pals, Kamala, Jay, Mani, Ragavan and Suresh) on Uravugal. These MIME quizzes paved the way for the now popular Song Quizes and also established email links among the original participants

DISCUSSION FORUM

The Discussion Forum was an off-shoot from this first website, and began somewhere in early 1997. The DF was an immediate success, what with its very simple yet attractive plain white format. Responses could be seen on the same page (or known as thread) and unlike many other forums of those days, did not require a fresh click for every single response. Looking back, it is quite unlikely for the TFMP to have reached the stage where it is now, without the very-addictive Forum. In fact, I was drawn to the DF way back in early 1997, when I took my first steps into the worldwide web. Even a novice like me with no technical know-how, could easily use and enjoy the DF. My first thread was basically lamenting the lack of Kannan songs after the demise of Kannadasan. Needless to say a huge list of Kannan songs was compiled with the input of dozens of Dfers, from all over the world. My journey with TFMP thus began from July 1997: http://tfmpage.com/forum/13048.21:22:46.html
I even managed to record a few cassettes from this list, which until today remain favourites of mine. This list then paved the way to a history of list-making! Today, if you do a search, you can get lists of almost anything, from List of TMS Songs to List of Songs with No Meanings!

EARLY DISCUSSANTS

Most of the active members of the initial stages have moved on in life and have also become firm friends. Some I can recall: Rajaraman, Ravindran, Kanchana, Arularasan, Bhaskar, Kitcha, Gopal, CP (Mrs Gopal), the Satya siblings – Satya Kabali, Satya Keerthi & Satya Kumar (fondly known as “bones”), Udhaya, Ramki, Srinath, Radha Sanjay and OS (obscure songs) Mano, PG, Aravind, Chandrasekaran (Pae), Shankar, Amar, Vijay, Sri Kanth, Geetha and many more, some of whom, I may have inadvertently left out. This initial crowd grew larger with another generation of Dfers lke Kiru, Manisegaran, RajaG, MS (Velaiyathavan), BB, Rags, Sree, Kamesh, SP Mahendran, YVS Mani, G Ragavan, Suresh, Jay, etc. We even had a few non-Tamil speaking visitors such as Neekesh, thanks to the appeal of the music of AR Rahman. http://tfmpage.com/forum/26241.01.26.00.html

It was during this “golden” period that the term HCIRF or Hardcore Ilayaraja Fan, was born, and is now a firmly entrenched tradition of TFMP Although many these day discussants have high respect for the “older” generation of Dfers, we too had our share of “fights” but which fortunately never descended to name calling. In fact I was right in the middle of one controversy, which I wish to recall - as time I believe, would have healed the wounds.

An album, which was then eagerly awaited for, was Jeans. So, when I got the first copy of the album, I opened a thread and posted my first impressions. Many Dfers then were from places other than India and could not get hold of the album and would just rely on my opinion; those were the days before streaming and mp3s with simultaneous world release unheard of as yet. Needless to say, that thread was one of the most active ever seen on TFMP and ran into 100s of pages within a very short span of time. Envy reared its ugly head and tempers began running high. It reached the pinnacle when a very senior Dfer wrote a poem in jest claiming that Ilayaraja recycled one tune from another MD, and left for the weekend, without realizing the impending impact of his joke! The entire forum became abuzz with accusatory threads and mega protests. The senior Dfer came back and was shocked at the emotion that had been created by his joke and wrote a long apology and offered to gracefully withdraw from the Forum. Not wanting to lose the very valuable Dfer, I called Ravi in the US and asked him to delete the thread. In my anxiety I had lost track of the time and failed to realize that it was in the middle of the night in the US. It was worse that it was Mrs Ravi who took the call! (She was not at all annoyed and even became a friend later. Hi Suba!) Anyway, to continue with the story, Ravi took my advice and removed the thread. Things became even uglier! Some HCIRFs who had seen the response, began making threats and demanded for explanations. It was the darkest day in the history of TFMP and the DF was shut down for a couple of days for things to cool down!!! I recount this episode so that present day Dfers do not get too hard on themselves. :)

PERSONAL MEETS

One of the greatest impressions left behind by TFM Page is in its role in connecting unrelated people, from all over the world. I have had the pleasure of getting to know, interact, meet and form relationships with people with whom I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to come into contact with. Within a short while of beginning participation in TFMP, I have been blessed to meet people like Sathya Keerthi, Arularasan, Sri Kanth, Chandrasekhar, Aravind, Kamesh and Suresh. Somehow RR still seems to elude me. :)

Similarly, other discussants, from the 3rd and 4th generations, too have had personal meets throughout the last ten years, thanks to TFMP. The following threads show some of the excitement of actually meeting people from cyberspace.
http://tfmpage.com/forum/20757.09.26.21.html
http://tfmpage.com/forum/541.13.30.00.html

Friendship has not been limited to personal meets alone. Many groups have been formed of similar-minded friends, exchanging greetings and news through emails. I personally belong to a few of these groups, including one which has a special name and networks through yahoogroup, thanks to TFMP!

The bond doesn’t end there. I have discovered that several discussants from TFMP have moved on to explore new frontiers such as Blogs, and continue their writings there. EXAMPLES.
All these people have one thing in common – they started their journey through TFMP!

TFMP AANDU MALAR

DF was not only about successes and feel good stories. We too have had our share of ups and downs. At one point of time, there was great excitement in bringing out an exclusive publication, called Aandu Malar, which was supposed to gather and contain massive information of the Tamil music industry. You can read all about it here: http://tfmpage.com/forum/9649.05:57:33.html

The excitement and furor of the beginning did not last and fizzled out due to the other commitments of the participants and the fear caused by the sheer size of the responsibilities. Perhaps this Aandu Malar idea need not be discarded and could become reality in the coming years. Probably this TFM Magazine is a step towards that direction?

ILAYARAJA vs AR RAHMAN

The fiercest battles were fought between the fans of Ilayaraja and AR Rahman, a trend that contnues to this day. The neutral fan virtually had no chance amidst the battalion from both sides and usually ended up taking sides. :D

This unrelenting contest drove many participants to corners with many reacting with unmeasured lashbacks. We have seen the deterioration of the tolerance level, where even name calling and using obscenity became the order of the day, only saved by the patient moderators. This phenomenon even encouraged threads of its own, where sane people and others tried to understand the psychology behind such animosity. http://tfmpage.com/forum/25709.9.html
http://www.tfmpage.com/forum/7023.06.25.41.html

TFM-DF MUSIC AWARDS

How can there be discussions on Tamil songs without voting for the best songs of the year vide conducting its own awards? The inaugural TFMP Music Awards was done through the DF in 1997. See here, for the excitement and the unseen behind the scene “manipulations”
http://tfmpage.com/forum/26190.03:56:59.html

While the first Awards was just to test the waters and satisfy the yearnings of the participants, The Hub Awards conducted earlier this year, has moved forward with newspaper articles and actual awards presented to the winners! Will we see the day when Awards are given out at a glittering ceremony in future?

RADIO PROGRAMMES

With the high reach of audience and the meeting of minds, it was inevitable that the TFMP will grow bigger and grow bigger it did! A much acclaimed radio show featuring the Top Ten songs of the week, Laxhme Aromas Unggal Thervu was launched on Ponggal in 2001. TFMP was chosen to be the platform for the casting of votes! This long running programme which began in the Malaysian government Tamil Station Radio 6 (now Minnal FM), at one point of time, commanded a 1.2 million audience! Trends on radio deejaying saw a 180* change with the advent of this programme, which was also simultaneously netcast on Sunday mornings at the TFMP.

Songs from the 80s hold a special place in the hearts of millions and rightfully, Radio 6 saw a 80s period show called Pon Maalai Pozhudhu. Again it was TFMP that was the meeting point between the audience and the producers of the programme. Songs of the 80s were listed on TFMP and listeners could request their favourites through the net.
Both these programmes chartered new and unexplored territories for a musc website, never attempted before by any other. History has yet again, been made!

PAATTUKKU PAATTU AND CHAT PAGE

The TFMP attracted many experts of Tamil songs, and naturally the instinct to recall songs at immediate notice was apparent. Paattukku Paattu quenched the thirst – where each discussant will post a few words of a song and the next discussant will continue with another song from the chosen word. This game became highly popular and where other threads will take weeks or months to reach a dozen pages, PP enjoyed very high responses and threatened to destabilize the entire DF with numerous pages within a very short span of time. This trend continues today, and is the only thread that exceeds 100 pages in five days or sometimes even less!

The PP eventually evolved to become a chat page and became a place to lose inhibitions and get to know each other. In the TFMP, a parallel Arattai Pakkam was created specifically for this purpose, which saw many senior Dfers retiring from active participation in the main threads and seeking solace here. Thus a naayar-tea-kadai was created in TFMP. :D

BEYOND THE INTERNET

With thousands of people visiting TFMP every day, it was inevitable that the print media took notice of these developments. Articles on our very own TFMP have been published n various media both in Tamilnadu and in Malaysia. Aanandha Vikatan, Kumudham, Malay Mail and a few other publications have had articles featured on TFMP.

With this publicity, even celebrities were attracted to the TFMP! We now know of many celebrities who visit the TFMP regularly to gauge public opinion. Some of them have come out in the open and joined in the discussions. They include Ehsaan of Shankar Ehsaan & Loy, the singer of Aalavandhan and even actress Revathy has been seen in The Hub, the sister forum of TFMP. TFMP has also seen many discussants evolving to enter the industry itself. Notable are Venky, the producer of the Surya starrer, Nandha and Gopal, who is now a PA to Ilayaraja.

EFFECTS OF TFM PAGE

In conclusion, it can said that the TFMP has indeed left deep impressions on every single soul who had come into contact with it. Participants themselves readily admitted to the effects of the Pages, as can be seen from some of the discussions here.
http://tfmpage.com/forum/5169.14.00.09.html
http://tfmpage.com/forum/3515.20446.18:02:59.html

Ten years have passed since the advent of TFMP. Today, it has evolved into a complete new discussion forum properly categorized and with many regularly features and distinguished writers. In spite of all these changes, the Discussion Forum remains the backbone of this 10 year old child.

Here’s wishing many more years of happiness to all people associated with TFMP. Long live TFMP! Long live its discussants, past and present! Long live the impressions it continues to leave!

[tscii:a6384ee074][/tscii:a6384ee074]

sathyakabali
3rd October 2005, 09:11 PM
nice nostalgic trip!
brought back malarum ninaivugaL!!!
nAmellaam santhichchu 10 varushamAchchA! kaalam OdugiRathu!
You can bring out MIME in new format.

MADDY
3rd October 2005, 10:34 PM
By NOV

ILAYARAJA vs AR RAHMAN

The fiercest battles were fought between the fans of Ilayaraja and AR Rahman, a trend that contnues to this day. The neutral fan virtually had no chance amidst the battalion from both sides and usually ended up taking sides. :D

This unrelenting contest drove many participants to corners with many reacting with unmeasured lashbacks. We have seen the deterioration of the tolerance level, where even name calling and using obscenity became the order of the day, only saved by the patient moderators. This phenomenon even encouraged threads of its own, where sane people and others tried to understand the psychology behind such animosity. http://tfmpage.com/forum/25709.9.html
http://www.tfmpage.com/forum/7023.06.25.41.html
[tscii:5d91259305][/tscii:5d91259305]

my dad started reading the posts here after i insisted him to do so and he agreed with awe that the battle betn ARR and IR fans here is equal to MGR vs Shivaji fights of his days.... :D

great article NOVji, just loved reading every line of it,,,,,

jn
4th October 2005, 12:42 AM
NOv aNNaa:) pazhaiya naatkaLaip pasumaiyaagak kaN mun koNdu vandhu niRuththitteenga:) uRavugaL mime oru pakkamirukka, naamellaam yaar yaarukku eppadi uRavu enRu arattaip pakkaththil geetha paati enrum, Radha aaththaavagavum uruveduthta naatKaL inimaiyaanavai. naan ungaLai aNNanaagavum, Manovai appaagavaum thaththu eduththuk koNdEn:)

aNNaa: mime pakkaththil adhaRku ippadiyoru viLakkamum irukku:)
MIME stands for "Muththu Inge Maalai Enge". (People who went through enough 'trouble' solving the quiz refer to it as "Mandayil Iruntha Mudiyellaam Enge".)
MIME 36 il veRRi peRRa kuzhukkaL enge? Missing so many people in TFM page.
As Sk suggested, it would be nice if someone or some team volunteers for conducting next MIME.

rajeshkrv
4th October 2005, 02:09 AM
Gr8 job guys

Nov, elalvatrayum ninaivu koornahdamaikku nandri

NOV
4th October 2005, 12:09 PM
nice nostalgic trip!
brought back malarum ninaivugaL!!!
nAmellaam santhichchu 10 varushamAchchA! kaalam OdugiRathu!
You can bring out MIME in new format.aamaam 10 varusham thaan, aanaal ennavO life long relationship maadhiri thOnudhilla? :D

Interest in MIME waned long ago SK. I wonder whether anyone would still be interested. Even this magazine has its own quiz these days. Which reminds me, did you take part in it? :D

NOV
4th October 2005, 12:12 PM
my dad started reading the posts here after i insisted him to do so and he agreed with awe that the battle betn ARR and IR fans here is equal to MGR vs Shivaji fights of his days.... :D

great article NOVji, just loved reading every line of it,,,,,Thanks maddy, it was my pleasure.

Come to think of it, yes your dad is right. MGR/Sivaji fights were as inflammable. :lol:
You should ask him to join us here. After he gets introduced to the passionate people here, you may just have to go to the netcafe if you wanna use the net. :lol:

NOV
4th October 2005, 12:20 PM
MIME 36 il veRRi peRRa kuzhukkaL enge? Missing so many people in TFM page.
As Sk suggested, it would be nice if someone or some team volunteers for conducting next MIME.Hi thangaaaaaaiiii :D
aamaam, unmaiyilE idhu pasumai niraindha ninaivugalthaan. palarum pala dhisaiyil sendra pOdhilum, tholaikka mudiyaadha ondru ninaivalaigalE...

NOV
4th October 2005, 12:21 PM
Gr8 job guys
Nov, elalvatrayum ninaivu koornahdamaikku nandrinandri ayyaa. Ramki vadiththadhu pOl idhu namadhu "autograph" illaiyaa? :lol:

thumburu
10th October 2005, 05:31 PM
NOV, that was a nice sum up of the milestones in the TFMP history. Hope the lost TFM DFers get reunited at the 10th anniv

yvsmani
26th October 2005, 10:04 AM
NOV anna, jn akka :
unmaiyilae pasumai nirainthaa ninaivugal thaan. pazhaya DFers ellorum meendum vanthaal nandragha irukkum. If somebody has got their mail addresses, can u send them to visit tfmpage once again regularly ??