A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.
“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.
Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.
Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.
The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.
The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.
The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014
First rank holder Rithul P and second rank holder Safeel A.K. (Photo: DC)
Thiruvananthapuram:
Boys outsmarted girls by winning the first 10 ranks in the engineering entrance exams. A total of 57,081 candidates have been included in the rank list of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, which was published on Sunday. Out of this, 25,551 are girls.
Rithul P. of Malappuram secured the first rank with a total score of 585.84 and Safeel A.K. of Malappuram stood second with 583.5100. Haradev G.S. of Kollam came third with 578.8808. Nitin M.Pai won the fourth rank, Vivek Jacob Mathai the fifth, Farzin .K the sixth, Alan Thelliyil Augustine, the seventh, Muhammed Ahsan K.V. the eighth, Pranav .S the ninth, and Anand U.R., the tenth rank.
In the SC category, Sidharth Ravi and Sarath B. secured the second rank. In the Schedule Tribe category, Raksha S. and Umesh K.U. won the first two ranks. The first two rank holders have been eyeing admissions to the IIT and prefer the mechanical stream.
For first rank holder Rithul P. it was his second attempt. For second rank holder Safeel A.K. too, it was the second time. However, it was the first attempt for third rank holder Haradev G.S. The Kerala Engineering Entrance Examination was conducted at 332 venues, in all the 14 revenue districts of the State, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ranchi and Dubai.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / June 16th, 2014
A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.
“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.
Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.
Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.
The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.
The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.
The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014
The biodiversity-rich Western Ghats have sprung yet another botanical surprise. A two-member team of researchers from the Calicut University has discovered a rare flowering plant species belonging to the Araceae family from the Western Ghats.
Researchers, K M Manudev, a PhD student of the botany department and his guide Santhosh Nampy, came upon the plant belonging to the Arisaema genus (commonly known as Cobra Lilly for its flowers resembling snakes ready to strike) during their scientific expedition to Oosimala Top in Valparai on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
The work was undertaken as part of a three-year project on revision of Arisaema in India. They have named the new plant species ‘Arisaema madhuanum’ after their teacher and mentor, P V Madhusoodanan, former professor and head of the department and presently professor emeritus at the Malabar Botanical Garden, Kozhikode.
The plant was found in the margins of evergreen forests situated at an elevation of 1,300 metres above sea level. The discovery has been published in the latest issue of the Edinburgh Journal of Botany, published by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
According to the report, Arisaema madhuanum, is a dioecious, perennial herb around 115cm tall. It differs from the other species in the same genus (Arisaema) in having a male spadix with subulate neuters, a wide-mouthed spathe tube and by the erect to arching limb with a narrow base.
The researchers found a cluster of 31 plants in the locality including two fruiting plants. The female plants were robust and larger than male plants. The flowering and fruiting has been observed during the onset of monsoon.
Manudev said that the plant like other Arisaema species has the potential to be developed as an ornamental plant due to its unique and intriguing flowers, with some varieties highly priced in European countries.
Nampy said that the discovery has once again highlighted the need for the protection and regeneration of the biological treasure trove of the Ghats. ”
The rare species found in undisturbed shola forests and that too above 1300 metres elevation could face habitat loss due to climate changes and human interference.
Of the total of 48 species of Arisaema found in India, 21 species are found only in the Western Ghats,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / K R Rajeev, TNN / June 18th, 2014
Eminent Malayalam scientist-turned-writer C Radhakrishnan has been selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 for his novel “Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram”.
The novel is a biographical account of Thunchat Ramaanujan Ezhuthachan, widely regarded as the father of Malayalam language.
The novel attempts to bring back to life the socio-cultural ambience of 15th century, according to a press release issued by Bharatiya Jnanpith which has instituted the award.
Radhakrishnan has also contributed to popular science and all branches of literature, mostly fiction.
Moortidevi Award carries a cash prize of Rs four lakh, a plaque and a statue of goddess Saraswati.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / PTI / June 13th, 2014
Profits from ‘Achani’ funded the Quilon public library, now a cultural hub
It is perhaps the only public library in the country which can boast a genesis linked to a movie. In July 1973, when the Malayalam movie Achani was released, the Kollam-based cashew industrialist K. Raveendranathan Nair who produced it declared that he would donate the entire profits from the venture to the construction of a public library in Kollam.
The movie was a box-office success, and Mr. Nair, who later earned the moniker ‘Achani Ravi,’ kept his word by donating his profit of nearly Rs.15 lakh (a big amount at that time) to the library.
It all began in early 1973 when the idea of a public library for Kollam city germinated in the minds of Mr. Nair, physician T. Kurien, and two journalists M.S. Sreedharan and Devanand. Together, they met the then District Collector M. Joseph, whose response was positive.
Society registered
Soon, an ad hoc conference was called by the Collector with all sections of people in Kollam. The discussion largely pertained to getting the government to allocate suitable land in the city to house the library. The meeting adjourned without identifying a property, but succeeded in registering a society, under the Travancore-Cochin Charitable Societies Act, named the Quilon Public Library and Research Centre (QPLRC).
The immediate task of the society was to identify land. Recalls Mr. Nair, “Fortunately at that time, Kollam had two dynamic ministers — T.K. Divakaran and Baby John — in the then C. Achutha Menon Cabinet. The society office-bearers met TK and put forth a suggestion for allocating some land from the Rest House complex at Chinnakada.”
Library complex
But the visionary that he was, “TK wanted the society leaders to think out of the box and plan a library that would go beyond mere lending of books and promoting reading.” His idea focussed on a library complex that would serve as a cultural hub to promote fine arts and performing arts. “I will discuss it with comrade Baby John,” he told them.
It was Baby John, Revenue and Excise Minister at that time, who suggested housing the library in the Excise Complex on YMCA Road, its current location. The complex was then a dumping space for material objects seized in connection with various excise-related offences.
But finding a suitable alternative accommodation for the Excise Complex was not an easy task. After a lot of effort, on New Year’s Day in 1975, as much as 2.5 acres of the Excise Complex was formally allocated by the government to the QPLRC. At a function held on April 23 that year, Baby John laid the foundation stone for the library building in the presence of Babu Divakaran.
Even as the construction was on, the QPLRC started functioning from a palm-frond-thatched shed in the compound on February 1, 1976.
The then Prime Minister Morarji Desai inaugurating the Kollam public library in January 1979. The then Governor Jyothi Venkatachalam, the then Chief Minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair, and the then Revenue Minister Baby John are also seen. / The Hindu
Building ready in 1978
The building was ready by November 1978, and on January 2, 1979, the QPLRC was inaugurated at a grand function by the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai, in the presence of the then Governor Jyothi Venkatachalam, Chief Minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair, and Baby John. Unfortunately, T.K. Divakaran had passed away in 1976.
Key resource
The QPLRC is today a treasure trove of information for all age groups. With a collection of more than one lakh books, the library is a key resource for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, visitors, and the community at large.
It contains separate research and reference sections, apart from a spacious reading room where all newspapers and magazines are available to readers, irrespective of whether they are members or not. Browsing the shelves of the library for a good read or an answer to a question can turn up unexpected pleasures.
A view of the children’s wing of the library. / Photo: C. Suresh Kumar / The Hindu
Membership
The membership has touched 50,000, and over 10,000 are very active. The QPLRC, which operates as a self-financing institution, is also a University Grants Commission-sanctioned research centre for Malayalam and Islamic history. Its archives contain all copies of The Hindu from 1980, bound and preserved on a monthly basis for reference.
Other institutions of the library include the Sopanam Kala Kendram auditorium, the Saraswathi hall, the Library hall, the Sopanam Kala Kshethram, and a children’s library with a membership of 5,000.
These are managed by a 23-member staff. The complex functions as the cultural hub of the city, hosting film shows, book festivals, performing arts, lectures, exhibitions, plays, and concerts.
Since the library’s inception, Mr. Ravi continues to be unanimously chosen by the 40-member governing body as the honorary secretary. The District Collector is the ex officio chairman. Mr. Ravi enriches the library collection through generous contributions.
Staff members say that taking into consideration the services rendered by the library, the government should support it through some funding.
This article has been corrected for a factual error.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Ignatius Pereira / Kollam – June 11th, 2014
Zamorin Manavikraman Raja was under treatment following old age-related ailments. He breathed his last around 2.55pm.
Manavikraman Raja was annointed the Zamorin after the death of the then Zamorin P K S Raja in March 2013.
Born in Thiruvannur Puthiya Kovilakom as the son of Kuttimbatti Thamburatti and Paderi Shakran Namboodirippad on May 10, 1920, Manavikraman Raja had his education at the Zamorin’s School and took his BSc degree from Annamalai University. He started his career as a schoolteacher at Zamorin’s High School and later joined the Union ministry of commerce in 1947. He then moved to the ministry of foreign affairs and retired from service in 1980 as third secretary from the Indian Embassy in erstwhile Czechoslovakia. He had also served in Canada, Lebanon, Phillipines and many other countries.
As Zamorin, he was the trustee of a number of temples in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad and active in the social and cultural realms.
People from various walks of life paid tributes at the Thiruvannur Puthan Kovilakom where the body was kept. The last rites would be performed at Thiruvannur Kovilakam around 8am on Wednesday.
K C Unnianujan Raja of Kottakkal Kizhakke Kovilakom will succeed Manavikraman Raja as the next Zamorin.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / April 30th, 2014
The book is full of interesting and less-known anecdotes about the Cochin Shipyard and the city. / The Hindu
‘Tale of Cochin Shipyard and of Kochi Too’ is a tiny tome that traces the origin and growth of India’s second shipbuilding yard in Kochi.
The English rendering of a book titled, ‘Cochin Shipyardinte Katha, Kochiyudeyum’ authored by Vadayar Sasi a.k.a A.M. Sasidharan, a former employee of the most successful public sector shipbuilding facility in India, the volume is an authentic account on the shipyard related in the form of emails exchanged between an engineering student to her younger cousin and is therefore simple, straightforward and readable.
The translation, however, leaves a lot to be desired. An upcoming creative writer in Malayalam, Mr. Sasi maintained notes on various developments pertaining to the yard during his 36-year-old stint with it, which helped him notch up a comprehensive account of its journey to excellence.
Mock ship launch
It has many interesting and less-known anecdotes, such as the one on the unique mock ship launch protest taken out by those evicted from their land to make way for the yard.
As the yard failed to take shape even years after it received the government nod, the evictees made a ship replica using bamboo and paper, named it ‘SS Cochin Rani’ and paraded it across the city before launching it from a site north of the Venduruthy Bridge.
Quirkier anecdotes like ‘hull shop’, a word unfamiliar to many then, being mistaken for ‘kallushop’ (toddy shop) by young engineering students add to the colour of the book, which contains rare black and white photographs from the archives.
‘Attractive’
The volume has its forward written by literary critic M.K. Sanoo, who calls it ‘attractive’ as a ‘storehouse of information’. Besides dwelling on the history of the yard, the author also takes significant detours to talk about the people who contributed to the growth of the city and the yard.
Published by the yard itself, the volume is priced at Rs. 150.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – May 31st, 2014
The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) has announced the awards instituted by it for Malayalees from the Latin Catholic community, who have excelled in their respective fields.
Veteran singer Pappukutty Bhagavathar will be honoured with the Gurushreshta Award. He is from the Kochi diocese. Tony Fernandes from the Varappuzha diocese will be honoured with the Samooha Nirmithi Award for his excellence in the field of eye care.
Sippy Pallipuram, writer of children’s literature, belonging to the Kottappuram diocese, has been chosen for the Sahitya award. Chacko Puthenpurackal, a professor at Carmel Giri seminary from the Vijayapuram diocese, will be honoured with the Vaigyanika Sahitya Award.
Journalist Ignatious Gonzalez and music composer Jerry Amal Dev, both from the the Varapuzha diocese, will be honoured with the Media award and the Kalaprathiba Award, respectively. Sister Dr Sussama from the Kollam diocese will be honoured with the Education and Science award.
Sports award will be given away to cricketer Sanju Samson and Samrambhaka Award to K J Tennis. They are from the Thiruvananthapuram and Alapuzha dioceses respectively. Anil Jose from the Neyattinkara dioceses has been selected for the Yuvatha Award.
The awards were decided by a jury consisting of George Onakkur, Cherian Kuniyanthodath, Thanuja Bhattaripad and Preemus Perinjery. The Gurushreshta Award carries a purse of `25,000 and a citation. A cash prize of `20,000 and a citation each will be given away to the rest of the awardees.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / May 17th, 2014
Basil Koshy Sajeev, Arun Ashokan and Abid Ali\ Khan who won the first three ranks respectively in the medical entrance examination. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Engineering rank list in three weeks after standardisation
Boys cornered the top three ranks in this year’s medical entrance examination as 83,460 of the 93,897 students who wrote these examinations found a place on the rank list.
While Basil Koshy Sajeev from Odakkali, Ernakulam, bagged the first rank with a total score of 954.8936, Arun Ashokan from Muvattupuzha secured the second rank with a total score of 950.
The third spot went to Abid Ali Khan from Pathanamthitta; his score was 949.8936. The medical entrance results and the score sheet of the engineering entrance examinations were announced here on Thursday by Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb.
Among Scheduled Caste candidates, S. Sneha from Pathanamthitta bagged the first rank with a score of 871.3617 and N. Naveen from Purakkad, Kozhikode, the second rank with a score of 865.5319.
Among Scheduled Tribe candidates, B.I. Prasitha from Kasaragod bagged the first rank with a score of 881.1702 while the second rank went to Bhavya from Wayanad who got a score of 822.9362. Among the first 1,000 rank-holders, 491 are from the State higher secondary stream, 471 from the CBSE stream and 30 from the ISCE stream. Based on the district of permanent residence, Kozhikode returned the higher number of candidates in the top 1,000 list: 146.
Malappuram with 144 candidates comes second and Thiruvananthapuram with 124, third. Among the top 100 rank-holders, 22 are from Thiruvananthapuram, 17 from Kozhikode, and 12 from Ernakulam.
Among the top 100 rank-holders, 64 are boys. On the top-100 list, 63 candidates had written the entrance a second time.
Engineering
Of the 1,03,398 candidates who appeared for the engineering entrance examinations 74,307 candidates qualified.
The engineering rank list would be published three weeks later after combining the score in the entrance and the scores of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in the qualifying examinations — on a 50:50 basis — and subjecting them to a standardisation process.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – May 16th, 2014
