Toms, till his last breath, held on to the temperament of a rustic Kuttanadan farmer

That one page embodied entertainment for Malayalis for more than one generation. It was an age sans TV, comedy shows, mimicry or the new media, and no surprise, Bobanum Moliyum which appeared on the last page of Malayala Manorama Weekly became the weekly entertainment slot for the family. And Toms, the creator of the cartoon siblings, earned for himself a niche slot among the cartoonists.

“It was pure comedy though at times it slipped to slapstick variety,” says Raju Nair, cartoonist. However, he will be remembered for the creation of a peculiar structure for the cartoons, which has been copied several times,” he said.

At one level, the cartoon talked about the escapades of the two siblings. However, there was another layer where the supporting characters talked about and commented on concerns of middleclass social realities, providing a continuum for the strip.

Toms, alias V.T. Thomas, till his death, held on to the temperament of a rustic Kuttanadan farmer. And so were his characters, most whom he collected from real life. The two siblings were from his neighbour’s house in Kuttanad. Their father, a ‘non-practicing’ advocate, was modelled on a personal friend of his, who later left Kerala in search of a job only to return. The henpecked panchayat president and his imperious wife too were real life characters he picked up from his own village while the nameless political leader, a later addition, was a composite character.

Then there was Appy Hippy, his take on the rebel youth of the sixties and seventies. The person who provoked Toms for that character still lives in the town.

Says Sebastian Paul, who appeared for Toms in his legal battle with the management over copyright of the cartoons: “Toms was not a political cartoonist, but his cartoons were perfect political cartoons where he brought out the underlying politics of the social realities against the backdrop of the contemporary social milieu.”

He was the man who taught Malyalis the art of ‘reverse reading’ ‘(reading the weeklies from the last page to the first), Mr. Paul said. According to him, it was this underlying political satire in his cartoons which prompted the highly politicised Malyali reader to go first to the last page.

Says Mr. Nair: “Every new weekly started in the height of the “Ma Publication” spree wanted one cartoon strip modelled on the original. But now it is a new generation with a different perspective and temperament and a whole lot of new media the cartoon has to cater to. Only a new generation cartoonists and story providers will be needed to take these characters forward,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home>  National> Kerala / by George Jacob / Kottayam – April 29th, 2016

As maestros performed with abandon, the lay listeners celebrated in unison

When the percussion was in full flow, its high voltage rhythm sent the crowd into raptures. Panchavadyam and Pandi Melam artistes delighted thousands of people who assembled at the Madathil Varavu and Ilanjithara Melam ceremonies in connection with the Thrissur Pooram on Sunday.

The Pooram presents the best of the percussion ensembles in the State. People from across the country come to Thrissur just to soak up the energy.

The Madathil Varavu ceremony, in which the ‘thidambu’ (idol) of the Thiruvambadi Bhagavathy is taken out in a procession from the Thiruvambadi temple to Naduvil Madom at Pazhaya Nadakkavu, began at 7:30 a.m. With master thimila player Annamanada Parameswara Marar at the helm, Panchavadyam began at Naduvil Madom at 11.30 a.m., drumming up ample excitement. At the Pooram, percussionists try many innovations, but by keeping the basics intact.

Performing at the Pooram stimulates a pleasurable tension, Mr. Parameswara Marar says. Percussionists consider it a privilege to perform here. Not a single musician goes off-rhythm. Thimila, maddalam, kombu, kuzhal, and ilathalam are the instruments in Panchavadyam, which begins with the ‘Thimila Pramani’ striking the first beat.

Pandi Melam ensemble, led by maestro Kizhakoottu Aniyan Marar, replaced Panchavadyam as the procession bearing the idol (thidambu) of the Thiruvambady Bhagavathy reached the ‘Sreemoola Sthanam’ of the Vadakkunatha temple.

Thousands witnessed the Ilanjithara Melam, the well-known Pandimelam performance.

Hordes of people, from lay listeners to connoisseurs, relished the treat as 250 instrumentalists led by Peruvanam Kuttan Marar performed the Pandi Melam. Ilanjithara Melam derives its name from the Ilanji tree on the Sree Vadakkunnathan temple premises under which the melam is performed.

In technical 0perfection and instrumental discipline, Ilanjithara Melam known as ‘Great Symphony,’ is the best example of Pandi Melam. As the orchestrated sequence of chenda and elathalam beats reached a crescendo, the excitement was palpable.

The heat, though unbearable, failed to dissuade the die-hard fans.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / Staff Reporter / Thrissur – April 18th, 2016

Deshathinte Jathakam , a novel by K.R.Vishwanathan, has bagged the Poorna Uroob award for the best novel.

Mr. Vishwanathan is a government school teacher from Malappuram district. Harish V. of the School of Drama bagged the first prize in the short-story competition held for students through his work Oru Kalpanikkarante Charithram Kunhamma Parayunnu .

Tino Grace Thomas of Sanskrit University, Kaladi bagged the second prize in the category for his work Kadal Ganitham .

source:  http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – April 16th, 2016