A documentary film on music composer M K Arjunan titled ‘Sangeethan: M K Arjunan’ and produced by Trivandrum Music Fraternity will be premiered at Kalabhavan Theatre here from 8.30 am on Monday.
The documentary directed by Sajeev Pazhoor portrays the life and work of Arjunan who has composed music for over 160 movies and will remind the viewers that the maestro is yet to be recognised with a state or national award, the makers of the film said. G Ashok Kumar is the executive producer of the documentary which has been completed in 10 schedules.
The Trivandrum Music Fraternity is a Thiruvananthapuram-based community for musicians that functions state wide. “The film will act as a medium to transfer the works and achievements of Arjunan master to the younger generation,” said Trivandrum Music Fraternity secretary O V Rapel.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / December 22nd, 2014
Various organisations, including Citizens for Sustainable Alternatives, Tree Walk and the Attakulangara School Samrakshana Samiti, have demanded that the Attakulangara school and Chala market be declared as Unesco heritage sites.
“The Attakulangara school was started more than 134 years ago and it has a long traditional relevance in history. It has trained many eminent personalities,” said veteran journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar, addressing a press conference here on Monday.
Though the Centre had declared similar initiatives for several schools of repute, there was no positive response from the State government even after filing many petitions on behalf of the Attakulangara school.
As for the Chala market, the Trivandrum Development Authority (TRIDA) had announced plans to transform the area into a shopping mall. This conversion of Chala would not benefit the traders in any manner, who were asking for a proper drainage system, waste disposal, fire safety measures, good bus stops and parking spaces, the organisations said.
Minister, VS petitioned
A petition containing 3,000 signatures had been handed over to Cultural Affairs Minister K.C Joseph and Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan earlier this month, they said, adding that the Director of Archaeology had been requested to study the entire Fort area along with the Arts and Heritage Commission so as to declare it as a heritage zone.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by A Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – December 06th, 2014
Remains of the old fort at Manjaly near Kochi / The Hindu
You might not spot it between a cluster of newly constructed houses and thick, wild shrubbery. Only a part of what was once a strategic fort now remains visible. There are no protection measures or notifications. The craggy ruins, the last of a historic fort, stands set to irreparable damage.
Manjaly on the Athani-North Paravur road, on the banks of the Periyar, was once a flourishing trade centre. Till recently, till the bridge that connected it to the mainland was constructed, Manjaly remained largely cut off. The main road forks away at Manjaly junction. A narrow, tarred road bends and climbs up a gentle steep. This was the path that once led to the famous Manjaly market and now the one that leads to the Latin Catholic Church and the mosque. It is on this road, on the top of the steep, that the remains of the fort stand.
“The first time I came across this fort was in 2001. Then it was not all this bad. The whole structure could be seen, there were no houses around, and one could climb up and see the place. It resembled the Palippuram Fort, built in typical Portuguese architectural style. There was a big room and two ante-rooms. What stood out was a tall tower, this must have also served as a flagstaff. The walls had holes where canons must have been placed. Three years later, when I visited this site, the dilapidation had begun. A couple of houses had sprouted near by, the walls were damaged, plants and roots had come up. I tried bringing it to the attention of people concerned but nothing seems to have happened,” informs Varghese Angamaly, a retired bank manager and local historian.
Research reveals that this fort must be the one mentioned in V. Nagam Aiya’s Travancore State Manual(TSM) Volume I. In the chapter on Archaeology where a list of forts in Travancore are recorded there is a mention of Parasuraman Kotta (fort). TSM states in detail that this fort was located in Alangad Taluk, as property of the Aiyrur Swarupam, on the banks of the Periyar. The manual gives measurements and architectural specifications that match the ruined one at Manjaly. “TSM records that the fort was built of laterite stone and chunnambu (limestone) and divided into two parts one 53×14 and the other 27×22 feet in width and nine feet in height and built on a hillock. The walls were built with a thickness of five feet. The Manjaly fort fits these specifications to a T,” avers Varghese.
Some of the elders at Manjaly recall how this fort was visible from the banks of the river, a tributary of Periyar, that flows close by. In fact, they say that this was a landmark, though no one really thought of protecting it. The woodwork, the rafters are all gone, and the fort has now turned into a sort of compound wall for some of the newly built houses. They also talk of a tunnel from the fort that led to the ferry where huge laterite blocks in the water shut, what they believe, the opening of one end of the tunnel.
The fort was used as a storage place for essential commodities, firearms and gun powder. “Trade, as we know, was what brought all the foreign powers to our State. Conflicts and war were a natural outcome. Being placed ideally along the important water route, Manjaly was a very important trade centre. Sometime in the 1700s Travancore annexed Alangad Taluk, of which Manjaly formed a part, from Cochin, because of its importance in trade, especially pepper, tobacco, and salt. In 1801 Velu Thampi Dalawa established a market here. He did this to end the Thachil Mathu Tharakan’s monopoly over trade. Dalawa must also have used this fort. The market extended to the ferry, almost a kilometre long. Later, communal clashes forced the shifting of this market to Paravur.”
This shifting of the market dealt a death knell to the importance of Manjaly. “There are many historical records that show that Manjaly soon became a den of anti-socials, there were regular conflicts, sometime flaring up into communal clashes. For long Manjaly bore this reputation. This fort, a structure that dates back to 1503, the same time as some of the other forts in and around Kochi, was left to rot.”
Today, the ruins stand as a metaphor of what Manjaly once was. The remains are a reminder of history of this place where every power wanted to stake a claim. There is so much more to glean from a thorough exploration of the fort, which has perhaps never been done. Close to the Muziris project, the archaeological department can at least make a preliminary survey of this fort and preserve what remains of it before it goes to seed.
And who knows what historical treasures lie wrapped inside the layers of mud piled up in the fort.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features > MetroPlus> Society / by K. Pradeep / December 12th, 2014
P K Pradeep Kumar in front of his house ‘Woodnil’ | t p sooraj
Kozhikode :
When working with the Centre for Water Resources Development Management (CWRDM), P K Pradeep Kumar took on the role of principal investigator for the project ‘Impact of Deforestation on Hydrological Parameters.’ The project threw light on what happens to the environment when even one tree is cut down. After the project, the team recommended that maximum effort should be put to try not to cut down a tree for any developmental project. Once the recommendation was given, it dawned on Pradeep Kumar to try this out himself.
“It is easier for people to preach. I decided to make a practical move on the recommendation and when I started building my house, I made it a point not to use a single piece of wood anywhere in the house,” says Pradeep Kumar, whose house is aptly named ‘Woodnil.’ Nowhere in the house can you see any piece of wood. Everything, from the window sill and doors, to the tables and cots, nothing is made of wood. The construction of the 2311 sq ft house began in 2002 and was completed in 2006. After a letter detailing the extraordinary woodless house was sent to the Central Government, it was appreciated by the Ministry of Environment. He currently holds the Limca Book of Records for constructing a house without a single piece of timber. Pradeep Kumar, who retired from the CWRDM last month, says that building a house without wood has plenty of positive sides. “When it comes to the financial figures, I had a gain of 30 per cent in building this house. It saved a lot of labour charges and time as well. I only took time to finish the house as I had official duties in Lakhshadweep. Once I entered the Limca Book of Records, plenty of people visited the house and many of them are seen trying to reduce the usage of wood in constructing houses.”
‘Woodnil,’ a book giving the details of the house, the construction techniques with illustration and photographs written by Pradeep Kumar, was released on his retirement day. It was published by Poorna Publications. Residing with his family at ‘Woodnil’ near Pavangad, Pradeep Kumar says, “I am not against the usage of wood, but we should try not to cut down trees as much as possible.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Deepthi Sreenivasan / December 12th, 2014
It is a unique post office, and one of its main tasks is to deliver letters to God.
Located near the famed Hindu temple at the Sabarimala hills, the post office may perhaps be the only one in the country which doesn’t work round the year. It comes alive when the peak pilgrimage season of the Ayyappa shrine begins on the first day of the Malayalam month in November, and the period ends towards the middle of January.
The post office is also open for 10 days during the Vishu season.
Functioning six days a week from 8 in the morning to 8 at night, the six employees, led by 23-year-old Sai G. Prakash, have a lot to do.
Prakash is happy to be here, and says he was a devotee of Lord Ayyappa.
“Our post office mostly gets invitation cards for weddings and shop openings addressed to Lord Ayyappa, obviously to seek divine blessings,” Prakash told IANS.
Most such mail come from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said.
But the three letter boxes kept in the temple complex get more than post cards and envelopes. Every morning, the staff find scores of identity cards and wallets too in them.
“We make it a point to mail these cards to the individuals concerned,” Prakash said. The employees often spend their own money to do this.
“Since this season began, I have posted close to 20 PAN cards to the income tax office.”
Police say all this is the work of pickpockets who operate in the temple town — crowded during the pilgrimage season.
The criminals pocket the money from the wallets and dump the cards — and wallets — in the post boxes.
Situated in the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats at 914 metres above sea level, the Sabarimala temple is four kilometres uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district, around 100 km from Thiruvananthapuram.
The temple is accessible only on foot from Pamba.
During the last pilgrimage season, more than 4.5 million devotees visited the shrine. This season the authorities expect a 10 percent increase.
A feature of the post office is the special pictorial cancellation stamp of the 18 steps that led to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
“Some devotees come and buy covers or cards and write their own address and post them here,” said Prakash. “This is their souvenir.”
The post office helps pilgrims to post ‘appom’ and ‘aravana’ (the temple prasad). It also sells mobile recharge coupons.
Of the six employees, three walk down the hill daily carrying the outgoing mail on their heads. When they walk up, they carry bags of mail — mostly addressed to Lord Ayyappa.
“Overall we enjoy what we do here,” said Prakash. “We are very happy we got this posting.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by IANS / December 11th, 2014
An artist paints on a wall at Fort Kochi ahead of the opening of the Biennale. Photo: Vipin Chandran
The event brought in its wake a new ecosystem for art in Kerala
Keralites debated artist A. Ramachandran’s oeuvre for decades before they got to see his work exhibited for the first time in the State last year, courtesy the Kochi Muziris Biennale.
The ripple effect of India’s first biennale in Kochi in 2012 swept over moribund systems, bringing in its wake a whole new ecosystem for art in Kerala, and the rest of the country by extension.
“It was a watershed and nothing has remained the same,” observes veteran artist Paris Viswanathan, who is on his way to Kochi to see the Biennale. The internationally-renowned artist was a robust presence in the first edition in which he exhibited his film series based on the ‘Elements’.
“While any cultural change permeates the society in a slow, inconspicuous manner, the experiential nature of the biennale has been an awakening. The fact that mediocrity was getting erased was in itself a big achievement,” says artist Bose Krishnamachari, Kochi Biennale Foundation co-founder.
The first biennale, which closed the lid on controversies relating to art being commercialised, made contemporary art tremendously popular, expanded the horizons of Kochi in the world of art and engaged international artists of stature in a dialogue with Kerala.
“Our Biennale might have been simplistic when it comes to monetary figures, but we have been able to grab the eyeballs of the art world and the model is now being hailed as one of the best. It was emotionally more touching than any other art event, people say.”
What started off on 12/12/12 did not pull a stop even after three months as a series of research programmes, art residencies, experimental events like the ‘arts and medicine programme’, several art talks, collateral events and cultural programmes gave momentum to the new wave.
“Look at the current edition and you have some 20 finely-curated collateral events going with it,” adds Mr. Krishnamachari. Thanks to the Biennale, something like Art*Ry, an art commune of some 45 Keralites, was born in Dubai. It is now organising a collateral event, an exhibition of the late artist C.N. Karunakaran’s works, alongside KMB-14.
The Tourism Department in Kerala owes to the Biennale — whose first edition saw some four lakh footfalls— for its hop-on-hop-off boat service along the Muziris heritage route as the boats and the taxis are painted with works by Kerala-based Biennale artists. “The script, ‘Welcome to the art capital’ inscribed on them makes us proud,” he says. The tourism potential of the Biennale is well-known. Culture accounts for 35 per cent of the United Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP). “But we need infrastructure and the renovation of the Durbar Hall (using Rs. 5 crore government grant) was a step in that right direction.”
On the education front, new vistas have been thrown open to students and culture enthusiasts. The students’ biennale being curated by 15 young artists for instance, connects them umbilically with an event that showcases the best in the practice in the world, he says. Like last time, art enthusiasts around the globe and students from all over the country are preparing
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by S. Anandan / Kochi – December 10th, 2014
The 18 edition of the Kochi International Book Festival began at the Ernakulathappan Grounds here on Saturday evening.
Readers flocked to the venue of the annual festival soon after the inauguration. The festival was inaugurated by Minister for Culture K.C. Joseph and writer Sethu, who is also the chairman of the National Book Trust.
About 240 publishers are taking part in the exhibition, organised by the Antharashtra Pusthakotsava Samithi.
The fete, which began with a dance programme soon after the inauguration, will include several book releases, children’s competitions, talks and discussions by writers, and cultural programmes. Jnanpith Award winners Kedarnath Singh and M.T. Vasudevan Nair are among the few writers scheduled to speak at the festival in the coming days.
Bestselling books, classic titles, children’s literature, and works of writers from all over the world are on display at the fete.
The festival concludes on December 8.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / Kochi – November 30th, 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
Writer C Radhakrishnan and poet S Rameshan Nair have bagged the children’s literature awards instituted by the State Institute of Children’s Literature.
Academy director Nedumudi Harikumar told mediapersons here on Monday that the winning entries were ‘Ammathottil’ and ‘Panchamritham’ in the story and poetry sections respectively. ‘Neelakurinji – Oru Vyazhavattathile Vasantham’ penned by Dr Raju Narayana Swamy and ‘Kuttikazhchakal @ Lakshadeweep’ by S Anitha won the honours in the science and knowledge categories respectively.
The other winners are: Biography: Dr R Satyajith (Sahodaran Ayyappan); drama: Sudhan Nanmanda (Avasanathe Chithram); translation: P Madhavan Pillai and Sreedevi S Kartha; design: N T Rajeev; picture book: N T Rajeev; production: State Institute of Children’s Literature.
Each award consists of a cash prize of Rs 10,000, a citation and plaque.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / December 02nd, 2014
The darshan time at Sabarimala is likely to be increased to handle the rush of Ayyappa devotees to the hill shrine.
Speaking at Sabarimala on the auspicious Vrishchikam 1 (according to the Malayalam calendar) that marked the beginning of the two-month Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, Devaswom minister V S Sivakumar said all preparations have been made to ensure a smooth pilgrimage season.
The ritualistic installation of E N Krishnadas Namboodiri of Paanjal Ezhikode Mana as the new Sabarimala melsanthi, or head priest, was performed on Sunday evening. The morning rituals began with Ashtadravya Ganapati Homam, performed by the new melsanthi. S Kesavan Namboodiri of Mavelikkara was also installed as the new melsanthi of the Malikappuram Devi temple.
About 10,000 devotees reached Pampa on Sunday. Monday witnessed a long queue from Pampa to Sannidhanam, and pilgrims took almost six hours to reach the temple.
The 41-day mandalam festival will conclude on December 27. The temple will reopen for Makaravilakku festival on the afternoon of December 30. The Makaravilakku festival is on January 14.
As many as five lakh pilgrims have already applied for the virtual queue, and they will be given passes at Pampa. Police have deployed 350 personnel at Pampa and 600 men at Sannidhanam. Once Makaravilakku festival begins, police will deploy 2,000 personnel each at Pampa and Sannidhanam.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / November 18th, 2014
