Category Archives: Arts,Culture & Entertainment

Pre-paid Taxi Service to Pampa, Erumeli Launched

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel, World Opinion
Pilgrims climbing the holy steps of Lord Ayyappa temple | Shaji Vettipuram
Pilgrims climbing the holy steps of Lord Ayyappa temple | Shaji Vettipuram

Sabarimala  : 

A pre-paid taxi service from Chengannur railway station to Pampa and Erumeli for the convenience of the pilgrims has been launched.

The service has been introduced based on the order of the Devaswom Bench of Kerala High Court, comprising Justice T R Ramachandran Nair and Justice P V Asha on a report filed by special commissioner K Babu.

At the pre-paid taxi counter, functioning on the Chengannur railway station premises, pilgrims can rent vehicles of their choice and the fare will be based on the route which they prefer to take. Devaswom Commissioner P Venugopal said the quality of aravana prasadam will be ensured.He said the production of  aravana was halted on two occasion due to the supply of low quality ingredients by the contractor. The Commissioner said that adequate stock of aravana and appam have been stored in the Devaswom godowns to ensure availability at all times.

The Devaswom authorities has taken measures for setting up a health clinic on Swami Ayyappan Road at Charalmedu, the Commissioner said. The directive to set up clinic at Charalmedu was given by the Devaswom Bench of Kerala High Court on a report filed by Special Commissioner K Babu. The Devaswom authorities has sought the Forest Department’s help in setting up the health clinic, the he said.

The Devaswom has already allotted around `40 lakh to the Forest Department for the setting up of bio-toilets and other amenities for the pilgrims on the Swami Ayyappan Road.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / November 30th, 2014

Philately exhibition displaying world’s first, rare stamps draws crowd in Kochi

Arts,Culture & Entertainment

Kochi  (ANI ):

Some unique and rare collections of stamps ranging from world’s first ‘Penny Black’ to the oldest ones along with India’s heritage stamps were on display at a philately exhibition in Kerala.

The two-day exhibition called ‘Kochipex 2014′, which pulled sizeable crowd including school children to veteran philatelists, began on Thursday in Kochi.

Stamps depicting Jesus Christ’s life (birth to resurrection) and painter-sculptor Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitrovian Man’ were also on display at the exhibition.

The exhibition that started with a ceremonial function was a visual treat for the enthusiasts and stamp collectors. The exhibition also gave a chance to exhibit collection of coins and Indian rupee notes for the collectors.

Stamps carrying photos of India’s former politicians and greats like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi among others also attracted visitors.

M Venkateswarlu, Post Master-General, central region of India Post said that such exhibitions should be organised regularly across the country to encourage the hobby of collecting stamps, especially among students.

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/tv/philately-exhibition-displaying-worlds-first-rare-stamps-draws-crowd-in-kochi-27400

source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in / International Business Times / Home>  IBT Video / ANI / Kochi –  November 28th, 2014

GKSF: Unique Bid to Promote Straw Art

Arts,Culture & Entertainment

Kollam :

In a bid to promote straw art, the artists of Kerala State Institute of Design will design 14 showpieces and will display them at the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) scheduled to begin next month. The showpieces will be of historical and tourism icons of the 14 districts.

“The work on these showpieces will commence on December 1 and is expected to be completed by January 10. Each piece will be four feet long and 2.5 feet wide. They will be made by around 100 artists based at Anchalumoodu here who will be guided by 14 master craftsmen,” said K M Anil Muhammed, director, GKSF.

The major icons to be depicted are, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram, the 13 Arch Bridge at Aryankavu of Kollam, Padayani of Pathanamthitta, Nehru Trophy boat race of Alappuzha, arch dam of Idukki, a scene from Thekkady for Kottayam, the Cochin Shipyard from Ernakulam, Thrissur Pooram, paddy fields of Palakkad, Duffmuttu of Malappuram, Kalaripayattu of Kannur, for Kozhikode will be an image of M T Vasudevan Nair, Edakkal caves for Wayanad and the Maliq Dinar mosque for Kasargod.

The organisers said that the artists engaged in the work would be presented with certificates and a bonus and added that once the showpieces were displayed they would be auctioned.

The money gained this way will be used for a social cause, most preferably for palliative care initiatives in the district, said Anil Mohammad.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / November 24th, 2014

Passion for creative patterns

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education
B.S. Karthik’s intricate geometric designs create the illusion of depth. / Photo: special arrangement / The Hindu
B.S. Karthik’s intricate geometric designs create the illusion of depth. / Photo: special arrangement / The Hindu

There are a few rolls of chart-paper kept carefully wrapped in old newspapers in a locked cupboard in one of the classrooms at the Sree Chitra Poor Home Lower Primary School. On three of them are intricate geometric designs, so flawless that they create the illusion of depth and the impression of whorls and arcs when there are only straight lines. They were drawn by a nine-year-old.

The fact that a young child has drawn such complex patterns may not be remarkable in itself. Every year, at the School Science Mathematics Social Science and IT Fair, there are entries for the ‘geometric pattern’ competition that look professional. But, as with the State School arts fete, where the more privileged participants are able to spend a lot on training, costumes, and equipment, the Mathematics Fair too is populated by many such trained candidates.

This is why the achievements of children from the Sree Chitra Poor Home are significant and celebrated by staff and students alike. B.S Karthik, the artist behind the three patterns that are treasured at the school, qualified for the district-level Mathematics Fair and was awarded an ‘A’ grade in the competition recently. He won first place in the Thiruvananthapuram North sub-district contest.

“It took me two days to get these designs right myself. I showed it to him once, and he got it right in the first attempt,” said N. Reeja, one of the teachers. There are no art teachers at this school, where 32 children of the Poor Home are taught. Karthik retraced the steps he followed to draw the designs with only a ruler, pencil, and sketch pen. The competition allows only three hours for three patterns and so there is very little room for error, especially when it comes to filling in the right blocks with colour, said Ms. Reeja. If one angle or a line is out of place even by a fraction, the picture is spoilt. The 9-year-old’s strength lies in the ability to block out all distractions and devote absolute focus to his work.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Kaavya Pradeep Kumar / November 21st, 2014

Village commemorates 41 Wagon Tragedy victims on anniversary day

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Malappuram :

On the occasion of observing 93rd anniversary of Wagon Tragedy, the darkest chapter of Malabar rebellion during British period on Thursday, a village near Tirur commemorates 40 people hailing from the village, who were killed in the tragedy.

A total of 70 among the 90 odd Mappila rebels who were taken in an air-tight goods wagon from Tirur to Podanur were killed on November 20, 1921. The prisoners were taken into custody when the rebellion was in peak and almost 80 detained rebels were despatched in freight wagon from Tirur to Podanur in Tamilnadu. During the journey about 60 of the rebels suffocated to death in wagon.

It is believed that among the 41 persons from Kuruvambalam who were victims of the tragedy, majority were bachelors who left behind no progeny. “Even the historians and local people were not much aware of the role of the Kruvambalam people in the incident till couple of years ago. According to the elders in the village the youngsters here had played a major role in the struggle against the British during the rebellion and more studies have to be conducted to shed light on the contribution of tragedy victims”, said Salim Kuruvambalam, Malappuram district panachayat member, who took initiative for setting up a memorial for the Wagon Tragedy victims at Kuruvamabalam. The district panchayat president Zuhara Mampad will inaugurate the comemmoration programmes in the village.Historians will also attend the programme.

Talking about role of Kuruvambalam persons in the tragedy, the historian KKN Kurupp said that government should conduct a comprehensive study on the victims of Wagon tragedy and other related incidents of Malabar rebellion. ” As there was no such study held so far the state government should initiate action to start a detailed historical and cultural study on the various incidents during the rebellion period. We are going to observe 100th anniversaty of the rebellion in 2021. But still we have no clear data or official document regarding the incidents and the details of the persons who were killed in Wagon tragedy”, he pointed out.

The historian and scholar M Gangadharan has recently opined that the Wagon tragedy was not a cruellest act of the British oppression during the Malabar rebellion, as about 200 Mappila youngsters pulled out of their house and they were killed infront of their family in October of the same year.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / by T. P. Nijeesh, TNN /  November 20th, 2014

Social Thinker Bags Coveted Malcolm Prize

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, Records, All

Chennai :

Economic thinker and social scientist Pulapre Balakrishnan has been handed the 2014 Malcolm Adiseshaiah award for contribution to development studies. The award was instituted by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshaiah Trust, which runs the Madras Institute of Development Studies in Adyar.

An alumnus of Madras Christian College, Balakrishnan also studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Oxford and Cambridge. With a formidable academic training followed by research at prestigious institutions across the world, he is now professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

Delivering the Malcolm Adiseshaiah memorial lecture on the topic ‘Macroeconomic reversal in India,’ Balakrishnan said that macroeconomics was in riotous disarray.

“Some of the triumph that had accompanied the rise of the New Classical Economics has dissipated after the global financial crisis,” he pointed out.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 22nd, 2014

For the children of da Gama, language is now a memory

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Kochi :

“Patre nosso que estais Ceus, santificado seja ta nome; venha a nos o ta reino, seja feita a ta vontade…” (Our father in heaven, holy be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done …). The voices of elderly members of Nossa Senhora de Esperanca (Our Lady of Hope) ring aloud as the procession comes out from the church. The youngsters, dressed in their fashionable best, walk beside them, struggling to pronounce the Portuguese prayer.

For generations, the Anglo-Indian community has kept alive the traditions of their Portuguese forefathers. They faithfully adhere to the rituals of ‘thocha’ (the carrying of ornamental long silver candle sticks) and ‘cyrial’ (ornamental silver cross) wearing the ‘opa’ and ‘moosha’ (a long white cloak like garment and a brightly coloured collar or bib worn over it) while taking out the procession reciting the rosary in Portuguese.

These are one of the many dying rituals practiced solely at the church by 52 families who are members of the Anglo-Indian community in Vypeen. The dependents of Europeans are planning to record these prayers and hymns in Portuguese and Latin used in the church for posterity, led by the Anglo-Indian Association of Vypeen.

“Even if the young generation does not follow these rituals, these records will help to keep them aware of their cultural heritage,” said Lester Concesso, president of the association. “I have two little girls. It is important that they know what we’ve been practicing for centuries. We will explain the rituals, their relevance and how to practice them. We are the custodians of our culture and it is our responsibility for the future generations,” he added.

The community elders are not sure whether the new generation would practice these rituals and traditions. “I am the last survivor of my generation. These rituals were passed down by our forefathers. We cannot merely rely on an oral narrative as a means of passing on our traditions. So, we have decided to document hymns and prayers in Portuguese and Latin used in the church,” said 93-year-old Winnie D’Souza, a patriarch of the community.

The migration of community members and their assimilation into mainstream society are the main reasons why the younger generation have moved away from traditions. Anglo-Indians of Vypeen are no longer in the majority in the parish, leading the curtailment of their English services and festival masses. A festival which went on for a whole week is now limited to just three days.

Eric Hendricks, a youth familiar with the Portuguese traditions, says that each ritual and rite are intricate. “Many youngsters do not know rituals as simple as genuflecting (kneeling and bowing at the same time) at the altar before carrying the ‘thocha’ or that the bell has to be rung thrice while they pray the ‘devata’ (a ritual practiced during lent),” he says.

The lack of clergy, who are aware of these rituals and practices, has also hit the community hard. According to Anglo-Indian MP Charles Dias, unlike the Jews of Kochi, whose culture has been well documented by scholars, there have been hardly any initiative to document or preserve the practices and rites of Anglo-Indians.

“The Indo-Portuguese Cultural Centre and the Bishop’s House in Fort Kochi have taken initiative to teach Portuguese to those interested,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / TNN / November 18th, 2014

Social activist Gopalakrishnan passes away

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Kozhikode :

Body of N Gopalakrishnan, writer and social activist who died here on Wednesday morning, will be cremated at the Mavoor Road crematorium on Friday.

Gopalakrishnan (80) died at a private hospital here following a heart attack.

After his retirement as member of claims tribunal of Indian Railways in 1984, Gopalakrishnan was actively engaged in social and cultural activities in the city.

He had translated former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao’s autobiography into Malayalam and K P Ramanunni’s Sufi Paranja Katha into English.

He also translated M T Vasudevan Nair’s novel Varanasi into English. He won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation in 2006.

Gopalakrishnan was also an active member of the Kozhikode Pain and Palliative Society and was in the forefront of collecting fund for the Society.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / November 20th, 2014

Driven by Passion to Give Vintage Cars a Fresh Start

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Sports

GaneshanKERALA19nov2014

Thiruvananthapuram :

A classic Morris Minor or a Standard Herald gliding past you in today’s traffic will revive memories of the past.  Recreating the old world charm, K Ganeshan Asari of  Poozhikunnu, near Pappanamcode, is busy reworking on vintage and classic cars.

The ‘makeover versions’ of the classic cars are remodelled at his small workshop situated by the Museum-Nanthancode road in the city.

‘’I repair the body of any car that is brought to me and reworking on a vintage car gives me extra pleasure as it is something that has to be done artistically. It was in 1982 that I reworked and made a new car for the first time – a red 1980s model Toyota for Dr K M K Nair and it was launched on the road by Sundaram Nadar, the then Transport Minister,’’ recalls Ganeshan Asari. That was quite a news and people even from other districts who were interested in vintage editions began to approach him.

During October last year, Ganeshan Asari worked on a metallic blue Morris Minor for Chittur JRTO Anoop Varkey and right now he is repairing a 1956 model Fiat (Fiat 600) for him.   ‘’I am extra careful when I work on an old model because most of the customers who approach me want cars which  they can use daily and not to be displayed as showpieces. I don’t use any machines and I primarily use my hands for the work,’’ says Ganeshan Asari.

According to him, it is the trust that the customers place on him that brings satisfaction to his work.

‘’I started doing the remodeling  work with motorcycles and later my interest turned to cars and it has continued till this day,’’ he says.  Motorcycle enthusiasts in the city and other districts who could not afford a new model used to bring pictures and ask him to remodel their old vehicle into what was in the picture. For two customers from Kollam, he remodelled a Jawa and a Royal Enfield according to their wishes.  Ganeshan Asari, a primary school dropout, learnt the basics of automobile repair from his elder brother Appukkuttan Asari. It is surprising to note that this ‘makeover artiste’ of vintage cars does not own a car himself and says that driving has never been a passion for him. He has four children and two of them are following his footsteps.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by  Thejaswini Nair / November 17th, 2014

Goldsberry’s children back at Iravikulam

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, World Opinion
From left, Goldsberry's children Margaret, Alison and Joanne with family. Inset on top: J.C. Goldsberry
From left, Goldsberry’s children Margaret, Alison and Joanne with family. Inset on top: J.C. Goldsberry

Munnar:

Iravikulam national park has managed to preserve its natural beauty even as the face of Munnar has changed rapidly. Margaret, Joanne and Alison could not hide their glee at that. The three are the children of J.C. Goldsberry, the British planter who worked hard to make Iravikulam a national park. Goldsberry, a nature lover stayed in Munnar for 29 years, and left the place in December 1976.

Iravikulam was earlier part of a tea plantation. The forest department took over the place in 1972 after the Wildlife Act came into force. Goldsberry, who was the company manager at that time, started efforts to make it a national park when it became clear that the company would lose its lands following the enactment of the Land Reforms Act in the state.

It was declared a national park in 1975, and Goldsberry came to be known as its father. Although tea shrubs were planted till Pettimudi in Munnar, Goldsberry had taken care to keep Iravikulam’s beauty intact by avoiding plantations at the 8,841 feet high Anamudi and its surroundings. He never rode his bike over the grasslands as he believed that would disturb the wild animals.

Goldsberry died at the age of 87 in England in 2007. His wife Elizabeth had died in 1997.

The eight-member group that visited Munnar, comprised Goldsberry’s daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. They were here to see the national park that Goldsberry had helped make, and to share their childhood experiences. Margaret, Joanne and Alison are the fourth generation descendants of J.C.Abbot who came to Munnar in 1918 as a planter. Margaret’s husband Hamish Aldridge had also worked here as an assistant manager.

The group was given a warm welcome by Kannan Devan tea company and the Highrange Wildlife and Environmental Preservation Association (HRWEA). The tribal people from Lakkam and Kundala settlements also interacted with the group at the function held at KDH club.

National park

Iravikulam National Park extends between Vaguvarai and Nayamakkad tea estates on the Munnar-Marayoor route. Visitors are not allowed into the 92 square kilometer park, but the forest department has made arrangements to view the Nilgiri Tahrs at Rajamalai. Ninety-five percent of Iravikulam national park is grasslands and the rest are chola forests.

source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Manorama Correspondent / Sunday – November 16th, 2014