People in huge numbers dressed as Santa Claus in Thrissur in Kerala
Thrissur, Kerala :
The archdiocese of Thrissur in Kerala on Saturday created a new Guinness World Record, when it assembled 18,112 Santa Clauses on the streets and broke the existing record set by Derry in Northern Ireland with 13,000.
The event, named “Boun Natale 2014”, was the brainchild of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, who had last year managed to parade 5,000 Santas.
Guinness officials were Saturday present to oversee the record-breaking event, and each and every Santa was bar-coded before they assembled, to make a scientific evaluation on the exact number.
Luciya, a Guinness representative from Britain, told the gathering that Saturday’s event will be registered in the Guinness World Records as the largest assembly of Santas.
The announcement was greeted with a huge applause by the Santas.
Even though the official figure was registered as 18,112, the organisers said there were more, but could not be documented.
The procession of Santas began at 1 pm and the announcement came after 4:30 pm.
“The Guinness team with the help of new technology did the counting and it was for that barcodes was used for each of the Santas. There was an application process that each Santa had to go through and it came from the various parishes attached to the archdiocese,” said Simon Joseph, an official of the Thrissur archdiocese.
Thrissur is often referred to as Kerala’s cultural capital, and through this award winning effort, yet another feather has been added to its cap.
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> South / by Indo-Asian News Service / December 27th, 2014
The statue of Chemban Kolumban, the Adivasi leader instrumental in the construction of Idukki dam, at Cheruthoni. Photo: Giji K Raman
Memorial of Kolumban, who identified the ideal spot for a dam at Idukki, renovated.
Chemban Kolumban, the Adivasi leader who discovered the site of the Idukki dam, is finally being remembered by the authorities with the renovation of the Kolumban Park, close to the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki Hydroelectric project here.
Kolumban had identified the ideal spot for a dam when he found the Periyar river flowing between the Kuravan and the Kurathi hills.
In 1922, Kolumban had joined a team of the Malankara Estate superintendent and his friend on a hunting trip in Idukki. They found it difficult to move as they reached Kuyilimala. It was while moving between the two hills that they found the spot. They thought of diverting the water to the low range of Malankara-Moolamattom for power generation. In 1932, the then superintendent of the Malankara Estate, W.J. John, submitted a project to the Travancore government regarding the possibility of constricting a dam connecting the two hills.
The Travancore government in 1947 entrusted Electrical engineer P. Joseph John with the task of conducting a feasibility study and a report was submitted to the Central Waterpower Commission which gave the nod for the construction of a dam in 1961. The construction was entrusted to a Canadian company in 1963 and it was commissioned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on February 12, 1976.
A sculptor Kunnuvila Murali made a statue of Kolumban near the Cheruthoni dam then as a tribute to him. For long, it was a forgotten chapter in the history of the dam with weeds growing over the statue.
The park was renovated as part of a major project taken up by the Department of Culture to renovate the Kolumban memorial on the roadside near here, where his body was cremated.
His grandchildren are living at the Kolumban colony and are the carriers of a rich legacy. According to Roshy Augustine, MLA, visitors to the dam would be interested in the history of the dam, of which Kolumban is an integral part.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Giji K. Raman / Cheruthoni (Idukki) – December 24th, 2014
Manju Shahul-Hameed, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, is the Mayor of Croydon in London.
When she left for Britain to join her husband Raffi in 1996, little did Manju Shahul-Hameed, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, dream of becoming anything more than a homemaker over there. Today, she is the Mayor of London Borough Croydon in South London.
She had left Kerala after completing her degree studies at the Sree Narayana College, Chempazhanthy. Having studied in local Malayalam medium schools, she could not even speak in English. “It was through my involvement in the community and voluntary organisations and my desire to make a difference in people’s lives that I entered politics. So I came into politics not as a political leader but as a community leader,” she said.
Her mother did not want her to be a mere homemaker after marriage. So Ms. Shahul-Hameed enrolled for Masters in Scientific and Engineering Software Technology at the University of Greenwich and joined the Labour Party in 1998. In 2000, she started working as a software engineer but continued her involvement in community building and volunteering. Her appeal in the community led to her election as a councillor in 2006 and her recent election as a Mayor from among 70 councillors of the council.
As a Mayor, she seeks to “celebrate the diversity and culture of Croydon and make it a great place to raise a family.” She also supports two charities — Age UK and Macmillan Cancer Support as part of her Mayoral duties.
Talking about her plans to open a charity to encourage home makers to volunteer, she said the spirit of volunteering in business and community organisations, needed to pick up in Kerala which was a great way of gaining experience. On how she overcame the language barrier, she said all that one needed to make a positive change was to have faith in one self.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by A Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – December 25th, 2014
In a novel attempt to ensure blood for pregnant women in the state, the Ernakulam district panchayat, in association with the All Kerala Blood Donors Association (AKBDA), has launched a novel project named ‘Save Mother Save Baby.’
Excise Minister K Babu inaugurated the project at Lakeshore Hospital here on Saturday.
“The project will benefit thousands of women who have come across issues in getting blood from the banks. We have witnessed such cases many a times and that has inspired us to initiate such a project,” said district panchayat president Eldhose Kunnappilly, while presiding over the function. To avail of the facilities of the project, people can register their names on the website: akbda.org/bloodforbaby mentioning the details of the pregnant woman including the blood group and its details, hospital to where she is going to get admitted etc. Likewise, they can register their names in a form available with the AKBDA.
“Based on the details, the AKBDA will store adequate amount of blood for the needy in the hospital before she get admitted to the hospital. Whenever the patient faces the urgency of blood, they can easily get it,” said Kunnappilly. For this, a vehicle facility with a seating capacity of 17 is also arranged for the patients and the hospital has donated `10 lakh from its CSR fund for the project.
source: http://www.newindianexpress. com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / December 14th, 2014
The house of S L Venkatachala Iyer, maternal uncle of V R Krishna Iyer, in Shekharipuram in Palakkad, which was donated to the ‘gramajana samooham’
Palakkad :
The ancestors of V R Krishna Iyer were ardent philanthropists and have their lineage rooted to the ‘agraharams’ in Palakkad. His maternal family in Shekharipuram had donated their house styled ‘Govinda’ to the ‘gramajana samooham’. The palatial house, a portion of which was rented out to meet the daily expense of the Lakshminarayana Swamy Temple in Shekharipuram– which now owns the property– was gifted by Iyer’s uncle, said Latha Ramanan, a neighbour. She said that Iyer’s uncle S L Venkatachala had donated the house before he left for Mumbai. The three sons of Venkatachala are no more, and one of his daughters is settled in Chennai. She said the grandchildren of Venkatachala had planned to construct a building in the compound of the house so that people could gather and recite vedic verses.
Iyer’s paternal family was from Vaidyanathapuram here. His nephew, Dr S V Ramachandran was a renowned surgeon, who stayed near Government Victoria College.
Jana Jagratha Samithi secretary Dr P S Panicker said Iyer was the president of the Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi, which spearheaded hundreds of protests on varied issues which affected the adivasis, DPEP to cases relating to land encroachments, and other issues affecting the underprivileged.
Dr Panicker reminisced how at the ‘pattaya mela’, by then LDF Government in Attappadi – in which then Chief Minister E K Nayanar participated– Justice Krishna Iyer had said the land distributed to the adivasis at the pattayamela was unfit for cultivation and they should be provided fertile land instead, causing much embarrassment to the hosts.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by A Satish / December 05th, 2014
Onlookers couldn’t help taking photos with their mobile phones when Manikyam, the shortest cow in the world, stood all decked up with a garland around her neck in front of Guinness Book of World Records officials on Saturday.
The five-member Guinness Book team comprising photo editor Michael Whitty, Ronald Mackechnie, Jackfillery, Mathew Musson and Sidharth Lama came all the way from London to photograph the Vechur cow in the presence of hundreds of locals at Velur.
Actor Pakru with Manikyam, the shortest cow in the world, at Velur in Kozhikode on Saturday | K Shijith
The six-year-old Manikyam, owned by farmer and environmentalist N V Balakrishnan, measurers 61.5 cm from the hoof to the withers. The current holder of the Guinness record for the shortest cow is Blaze who measures 69.07 cm from the hoof to the withers. Blaze is a nine-year-old miniature Zebu cow and owned by Steven DeMoor and Christian Agnew of Sanford in the US.
“We are sure this record will be interesting to a wide range of people. We came here to confirm the honour and take some interesting photographs of her,” said Whitty.
The Guinness Book will update its website conferring the honour on Manikyam only after the photo shoot, which will continue on Sunday, is over.
Balakrishnan claimed the record when veterinary surgeon Priya K Nair told him that the cow was unusually short despite having no deformity. Guinness record holders actor Pakru, Prajeesh Kannan and Job Pottas also attended the function that “crowned” Manikyam.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / November 23rd, 2014
Samuthirakani in a still from Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil, a biopic on P. Krishna Pillai.
Anil V. Nagendran’s film ‘Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil’ is on the life and times of P. Krishna Pillai who fought against injustice all his life.
Period films have a niche audience in Kerala. So Anil V. Nagendran was always puzzled why no filmmaker had seen it fit to make biopics on the early firebrand leaders of Kerala; political activists who had jumped into the struggle for freedom and human dignity without a thought for their future as individuals or politicians. Anil decided to make amends by making a series of After tasting success with a series of audio biographies on the stalwarts of the Left movement in Kerala, eminent leaders such as EMS, AKG and P. Krishna Pillai. With people like the late actor Murali and composers like P. Bhaskaran participating in his venture, Anil’s audio biographies were a run-away success. That gave him the confidence to turn director with a biopic on the eventful life of P. Krishna Pillai, Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil. The film is on the life and times of this indomitable organiser and activist who dedicated his life to fight against injustice.
The movie, starring Samuthirakani in the lead role of Krishna Pillai, reaches theatres today. Excerpts from an interview with Anil, the director, scriptwriter and producer of the film.
Anil V. Nagendran with P.K Medhin and Samuthhirakani. / by Special Arrangement
What was the motivation for making a film of this genre?
I did a lot of reading for my audio production on the late leader. During my research, I spoke to a number of senior leaders who worked with him and had interacted with this pioneer of the Communist movement in Kerala. It was a journey of discovery to learn about this relentless fighter and audacious activist who did not seem to have known the meaning of fear. While there were several films on doughty political activists from other countries, there was almost nothing on this brave Malayali who had lived all his life for the downtrodden.
What is the focus of your film?
Although I touch upon the socio-political background of the Kerala in the thirties, the film focusses on the major events in the forties in Kerala. Here was a man who had held the tricolour and kept it flying during a protest when Congress men defied the salt law in Malabar and braved the blows of the British police. Ringing in the changes that were to transform Kerala, he became the first non-Brahmin to ring the bell inside Guruvayur temple. He was also at the forefront of the Vaikom Satyagraha. This Gandhian and staunch Congressman went on to sow the seeds of the Left movement in Kerala. Later on, he became immersed in battling for the rights of the oppressed and labouring classes. When he died of snakebite at the age of 42, he was a hero of the working class in Kerala. My aim was to highlight the valour, determination and personality of this freedom fighter from Kerala. There is nothing overtly political about the film and I must admit that the film was shot with the help of people owing allegiance to different political parties. Their politics differed but not their admiration for the man who dreamt of a free and equal society.
The film was in the making for a long time
I was adamant that we would not make any comprises while making this film. Under the leadership of art director K. Krishnankutty, a set that we made in Kollam covered an area of six km. Since it was a period film, we had to ensure that there were no electric line, poles, lamp posts and so on. Effort and imagination were necessary to recreate the times in which I have told my story. Some of the events are fiction, which was necessary to aid the narrative. But the movie has not deviated from his life. We have used real footage of some of the milestones of the struggle for Independence. Since we were handling a slice of history, I wanted to spare no effort to get the facts right.
What is special about the 3,000 actors in the film is that many of them are actually labourers who we chose and trained to act in the film. KPAC Lalitha, Siddique, Mukesh, Devan, Sudheesh, V.K. Baiju, Shari, Surabhi, Bheeman Raghu, Rithesh and Tamil actor Bharani are some of the actors. Sudheesh plays EMS while Baiju acts as AKG. The star attraction, I feel, is octogenarian P.K. Medhini, who has acted, composed and sang in the film. It was an honour to work with this stalwart of the progressive movement in Kerala. This is award-wining cinematographer Kaviyarasu’s first work in Malayalam.
Another interesting aspect about the film is its music. Eight composers have scored the songs and this film happened to be the last work of Dakshinamoorthy Swami. M.K. Arjunan, Medhini, Perumbavoor Ravindranath, C.J. Kuttappan, James Vasanthan, A.R. Rehana and Anchal Udayakumar are the other composers. Twenty singers have sung the nine songs.
Why is it being released again after its first release in April this year?
The movie was released in March, when the State was on the eve of going to the polls. A complaint was filed with the Election Commission that the movie was to campaign for the Left. Since there was no intention like that, I decided to withdraw the film from theatres.
But please remember that this film is not about political parties and partisan politics. This movie is a tribute to a brave son of Kerala.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Saraswathy Nagarajan / Thiruvananthapuram – November 13th, 2014
Maria Rose, a resident of Kottarathil in Pala, who was cured of a medical condition after making an appeal through Father Chavara, and her family will go to Vatican to attend the function that will declare Father Chavara Kuriakose Elias as a saint. Maria will witness the canonisation along with her father Jose, mother Marykutty and brothers Ebin and Febin.
Curing Maria’s eyes was the miracle that was approved by the court in Vatican for the canonisation of blessed Father Chavara Kuriakose Elias. Maria was born on April 5, 2005, with squint. Jose, who is a driver in Pala, and his wife Marykutty sought the intercession of Father Chavara, and Maria was cured.
It was on October 9, 2007, that Marykutty went to Mannanam and appealed to Father Chavara to intercede. On October 12, she went with Maria and prayed at his tomb. Jose and Marykutty said Maria’s eyes were cured during evening prayer on October 16.
After it was reported that Maria’s squint was cured through prayer, a medical team conducted an inquiry and collected evidence. Later, a commission, including doctors assigned by the Bishop of Pala, conducted a study and submitted a report. A special commission from Vatican too conducted an inquiry and accepted the miraculous cure.
Maria is a student of class five at the St. Thomas TTI in Pala. She will leave with her family from Nedumbassery at 7am on the Nov 21. Her brother Ebin J. Kottaram is a student at the Kunnoth seminary in Thalassery. Her other brother Febin is a BBA student at Mar Augusthinose College in Ramapuram.
source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / On Manorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Manorama Correspondent / Sunday – November 16th, 2014
Jomy and Joffy Joseph with some of their restored vehicles / H. Vibhi / The Hindu
Brothers Jomy and Joffy Joseph restore old bikes and have a vintage collection
Looking at the shiny motorcycles parked in the yard of Jomy Joseph’s house in Kathrikkadavu, it’s hard to distinguish between the warring feelings of nostalgia and appreciation. A twin cylinder Jawa 350, 1986 and ’87 Rajdoot-Yamaha RD 350s and two Yezdi Roadkings, reminders of an age gone by, sit there proudly. But unlike the blackened, oil smeared, wheezing few still bravely plying our roads, these look even better than their original forms.
The twin cylinder Jawa 350 restored by the brothers / by Special Arrangement
Jomy and his brother Joffy run an automobile electrical shop near North Railway station, as did their father and grandfather before them. But it is not just the shop the brothers inherited from their father, but also a passion for automobiles and an uncanny flair for restoring them.
“Our father loved vehicles and used to take us on rides when we were young,” recalls Jomy, as Joffy pulls up some old images on his phone of their father and younger versions of themselves posing with a number of yesteryear vehicles.
“He bought me an ’87 Roadking in 1996, which I eventually sold. But when Joffy and I got into restoring vehicles, we tracked down all the vehicles that left our family and bought them back, including the Roadking,” says Jomy with barely concealed pride.
Proud he has reason to be, because the very same motorcycle is among the ones sitting in the yard, modified with a glider sourced cylinder and expansion chamber, a custom exhaust fabricated by the duo, and the front disc assembly from a Yamaha FZ. Decked out in green paint, with fat tyres and a damper to control the vibration levels, the motorcycle is an imposing presence, classic, yet modern.
“We started restoring vehicles in earnest ten years ago, but we had the good sense to buy lots of motorcycles back in the 90s when they cost anywhere between Rs. 5,000 to 7,000, along with enough spares to last us some time. Then people thought we were mad, but now getting your hands on even one of these is hard,” Jomy says, referring to the many vehicles they have collected and stored away for future restoration. The brothers love collecting things, and conversation is peppered with little anecdotes. Joffy pulls up more pictures: their grandfather standing next to a ’47 Hudson Commodore 8 and the brothers in a Chevrolet Bel Air convertible which they drove down from Bengaluru. They even purchased the horn from a dredger that sunk off Mattancherry, just for the sake of it.
The twin cylinder Jawa 350 restored by the brothers / By Special Arrangement / The Hindu
All their restored vehicles have ‘Vampire’ written on the bodywork in a simple stylised font. “Back in my father’s day, everyone would work on their vehicles and give them a name. There were others like ‘Venom’, for example. So we chose to continue the tradition. Once, when I went to Edappally church with a ’62 Volkswagen Beetle, the priest asked me what the word meant, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him,” laughs Jomy.
Despite having a sizable collection of vehicles to work on and restore to glory, the brothers have no intention of putting the motorcycles on permanent display or selling them. “This is our passion and we manage to find time for it despite our commitments at the shop. Our joy comes from rebuilding and maintaining them, and going for rides on them,” says Jomy, who started the first registered RD 350 club in Kochi.
What they do is not for everyone though. “Many people nowadays buy old vehicles for exorbitant prices and attempt to restore them, but don’t have the time or patience. It requires a lot of dedication, each vehicle takes us around three months to modify and we don’t take help from anyone else,” says Joffy.
The brothers are happy in their own world fuelled by the love for vehicles. A little restoration in the mornings and evenings, handling customers at their shop, and going on rides during their free time is all they want to do. “We occasionally help people procure vehicles but we don’t have time to work on other people’s vehicles. All we want is to continue as we do now. It’s a good thing our families are supportive,” says Jomy, indicating their daughters, who already seem poised to continue the family tradition, referring to the vehicles as mol and demanding rides from their indulging fathers.
A 1994 TVS Express Miniped restored by Jomy and Joffy / By Special Arrangement
With mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, and even the occasional car or two awaiting their turn under the skilful hands of the duo, the streets of the city may soon witness small slices of history again. Not blackened and oil smeared this time, but shiny and proud.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Features> MetroPlus / by Sooraj Rajmohan / Kochi – November 13th, 2014
J. Shahjahan, captain of the Kerala University Blind Cricket team. / The Hindu
Visually challenged student bags Young Achiever Award.
As far as fielding positions in cricket are concerned, J. Shahjahan prefers standing at ‘short.’ “You know, where Gautam Gambhir normally stands,” he said, a comparison he often draws to help those not so well-versed with cricket parlance. This is a place uncomfortably close to the batsman, one that even the fittest of players would not be too thrilled to serve. But this 26-year-old captain of the Kerala University Blind Cricket team is.
Mr. Shahjahan, whose indomitable spirit for the game has also found him a place in the State-level team for the visually challenged, is one of the five recipients in the country of this year’s Young Achiever Award instituted by the Amway Opportunity Foundation. The award was introduced in 2013 by the Corporate Social Responsibility wing of Amway India with the objective of identifying and supporting efforts of youth who are differently abled and belong to financially underprivileged backgrounds. He will receive the award at a function to be held in Chandigarh on November 8.
The National Association for the Blind in Kerala nominated his name for the award.
Born partially sighted, his condition worsened with age. But it has not been a deterrent to Mr. Shahjahan’s efforts to succeed. It is not just the joy of playing that gets this ‘all-rounder’ out on the cricket pitch at the university hostel here, but the fact that it has proven really uplifting for everyone in his team, nearly all of whom have had to deal with condescending, discriminatory treatment all their lives.
Even if they get to seriously practice only once a month, it is something they excel in. “If we could, we would get out on to the pitch everyday but any tournament we participate in or any practice we arrange has to be carried out using our own money. We have never had sponsors to support us,” said Mr. Shahjahan.
“It is not our physical capabilities that have frustrated us, it is the system,” he said. Mr. Shahjahan’s two role-models in the game are barely recognisable names — A. Manish and M.T. Manoj, who excelled in the national team for the Blind Cricket World Cup held in Islamabad in 2006.
Mr. Shahjahan is currently pursuing MA Malayalam at University College here.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Kaavya Pradeep Kumar / Thursday – November 05th, 2014
