Thol Thiruma and Ivan Pavlov
What is the common factor between Thol Thiruma valavan and Ivan Pavlov ? This rhetoric might seem silly at first but dig deep and you will realize that there is indeed a common factor - the immense power of association and conditioning.
Thiruma’s posters in Chennai is usually associated with LTTE, V Prabhakaran in identical laughing poses, next to each other. Below that will be the lines ‘Thennaatu Prabhakaran’. There is also a ‘Che Guevera’ variant doing the rounds.
Our local politicians may be uneducated but they are shrewd enough to adopt a Russian’s scientific genius before the average educated Kumars and Rahuls even become aware of it. However, here comes another twist. None of this LTTE association was depicted in the posters that I saw in Madurai, I think it has been downplayed intentionally in areas where there is a risk of the tactic backfiring. Only the community angle is projected in Madurai hoardings as far as I could see. Talk about localizations and adaptations of brand strategy!
What if, say 25 years down the line, Thiruma gets to be a bigger force to reckon in TN? I bet most would associate him with LTTE as naturally and effortlessly as one would associate saliva with tasty food. And 100 years down the line, some one might read volumes on how the ‘Thennaatu Prabhakaran’ fearlessly fought for tamil eelam.
I am sure Pavlov would have done a complete anga pradhakshinam in his grave if only he had heard about hack implementations of his principles like ‘Thenagathu Gandhi’, ‘Karuppu MGR’, Thennagathu Arasar of Madurai (post independence era).
