Category Archives: Education

Meet the man who taught Malayalam script to computers

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Santosh Thottingal  

Santhosh Thottingal wins national recognition for the pioneering work

Until the middle of the past decade, typing Malayalam on the computer was not as easy as it is today. That was around the time when a group of technology and language enthusiasts got together under the banner of Swathanthra Malayalam Computing (SMC) with the aim of “my language for my computer”.

Within a few years, their efforts paid off, with the development of tools and fonts in the Unicode system, enabling a standardised Malayalam script in computers, which is now commonly used in everything from government orders to online newspapers to Internet memes.

Chosen for award

Santhosh Thottingal, a software engineer who played a key role in this transformation, has now been chosen for the Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman by the President in recognition of his contributions to Malayalam language. A principal software engineer with the language engineering team of Wikimedia Foundation, Mr. Thottingal is behind some of the most commonly used fonts like Manjari and Chilanka.

Free software

“I was active with the free software movement during my college days. The assumption then was that local languages are unsuitable for computers. That is when I came across the work done by a team of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) scientists to develop text-to-speech system for palm-held devices in Kannada. I tried to make something similar in Malayalam when I realised that we have to address the fundamental issues first — being able to type in a proper form in Malayalam. Our attempt through SMC was to build a foundation for Malayalam computing,” he says.

The technology for Malayalam fonts was much more complicated than for English. In Malayalam, the combined letters (Koottaksharam) and their shifting patterns had to be coded. He set aside his spare time for five years to perfect these.

History of the language

“We had to learn the core of Malayalam, how the language has been portrayed and the history of printing in Kerala. That is when we realised that the ‘old Malayalam lipi’ was much more scientific and beautiful. The ‘new lipi’ was developed around the 1980s, cutting down the number of letters and separating the combined letters, under the assumption that the old one could not be replicated on computers,” he says.

Following the work of SMC and the release of fonts in the ‘old lipi’, the Kerala government, in 2010, issued an order that all official communication online should shift to the old system.

Voluntary

“All of our work is voluntary and does not generate any revenue, although this work did secure me a job with Wikimedia,” says Santosh. Now he is about to finish an even more important project, to “teach Malayalam grammar to the computer”.

“Now, the computer understands Malayalam only as a sequence of bytes. It does not understand the language like it does English, which enables the working of devices like Alexa and Siri. For that, grammar has to be algorithmically represented and machine-translated. The work is almost over,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by S.R. Parveen / Thiruvananthapuram – August 18th, 2019

K R Namboothiri endowment award winner P N Das passes away

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

P N Das completed his college education at Sree Neelakanta Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, and wrote several articles in various periodicals, including the banned magazine ‘Prasakthi’. 

Writer and teacher P N Das (File Photo |EPS)

Kozhikode : 

Writer and teacher P N Das died at Government Medical College Hospital here on July 28. He was 72. Das was undergoing treatment for brain infection.

The writer who penned several books was a recipient of the K R Namboothiri endowment award, instituted by Kerala Sahitya Akademi, for the book ‘Oru Thullivelicham’ in 2014. ‘Bhodi Vrikshathinet Ilakal’, ‘Dyanapadangal’, ‘Jeevitha Ganam’, are among his other works. Das completed his college education at Sree Neelakanta Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, and wrote several articles in various periodicals, including the banned magazine ‘Prasakthi’. 

He was also detained during emergency. The body will be kept at his house in Thalakkulathur and at Town Hall for public homage on Monday, following which he will be cremated at 11 am.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / July 29th, 2019

A mission to aid autistic children bears fruit

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Five of them attend normal schools after training at autism centre

The Autism Care Centre in Thrissur, set up four years ago, has sent five children to normal schools after training them for three years. They joined Class I at various schools last year.

“This was possible because they were sent to the centre when they were three years old,” said Ravi A.S., president of Autism Society, Thrissur, and caretaker of the centre which is run by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Thrissur Corporation.

A survey conducted by Autism Society had found that there were as many as 110 autistic children in 86 schools in the district. The disorder varies from person to person, and each individual requires support in accordance with the needs. It comes under a spectrum of mental health disorders, and it can be managed only by keen observation of the child and understanding his/her needs, Mr. Ravi said.

While intermingling of children is crucial in the growing-up stage, autistic children cannot be trained along with those with other disabilities as they shy away from eye contact and social interaction. They prefer to sit alone and do not speak even if they hear someone calling out to them.

“It is these particular behaviours that we first need to decode in each child at a young age and prepare them to attend normal schools. Training them along with children with other disabilities will only make them go backward,” said Mr. Ravi. The aim of the centre is to make autistic children self-dependent, he added.

Besides toilet training and washing, the children are offered money management training too by taking them for shopping. “We have adults too [over 18 years] at the centre who come here for training. Other therapies like Yoga and meditation too are provided.”

“An important aspect of training is that parents should associate with the children as autism is incurable. However, it can be managed by minimising the disorder by up to 80%,” Mr. Ravi said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kerala / by Shyama Rajagopal / Kochi – April 02nd, 2019

Anayatha Kanal: Thiruvananthapuram school children publishes short story collection

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education

In the generation of social media and gaming, here are eleven girls and two boys from Pattom St Mary’s Higher Secondary school who are making a difference.


The students during the launch of their book’ Anayatha Kanal’

Thiruvananthapuram :

In the generation of social media and gaming, here are eleven girls and two boys from Pattom St Mary’s Higher Secondary school who are making a difference. They have come up with a book titled ‘Anayatha Kanal’, a look at various emotions. According to Binny Sahiti, editor and teacher, the book is a reminder on the need for benevolence. “Through their book, the children are raising questions relating to society,” said Binny.

He says there are several promising writers among the new generation. “Such opportunities will prompt them to write more,” he said.  ‘Anayatha Kanal’ is a collection of 15 short stories written by 13 children studying from class VIII to XII. School Arts club secretary Shifana’s short story in ‘Anayatha Kanal’ revolves around mothers’ love. Divya’s ‘Adaratha Sowhridham’ and Jyothi’s ‘Varikkapalvu’ and Alex’s ‘Jeevanulla Mutthu’ addressing relevant issues.

According to school principal Fr CC John, the book is the result of initiatives by the school encouraging children to write. “Literature comes from imagination. It comes through voracious reading. ‘Anayatha Kanal’ is the fourth book being published by children from the school. ‘Kannikoythu’, ‘Jalamarmaram’ and ‘Otta Maram Natta Penkutty’ are the other books which were published by students of the school,” he said. 

The book is a result of the ‘Ezhuthukootam’ initiative commenced in the school two years ago encouraging children to write. The Round Table Conference organised by State Public Relations Department for the children was also held. “In the round table conference, the senior writers encouraged students to write poem and short stories. Their exposure to this project provided them with the inspiration to write the book” said John.

According to Binny, ‘Anayatha Kanal’ is written from the small experiences of the children but their opinions have surprised the teachers. The book was released on Feb 21 on International Mother Tongue Day and published by Sahithi Thiruvananthapuram.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / March 06th, 2019

Her steel will, untouched by cerebral palsy

Amazing Feats, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

23-year-old Dhanya has penned 32 keerthanas and dreams of being an RJ

Dhanya has a disarming smile that even cerebral palsy could not rob her of.

The smile belying her age, however, is also deceptive of her steel will to reduce her physical state to a minor irritant. Her resilience found another manifestation when renowned playback singer K.S. Chitra released an audio CD of 32 keerthanas penned by her at Sharjah last month.

There is a doggedness about the way the 23-year-old pursues her passions — be it listening to music and mythological stories or penning stories and poems for children. But she’s largely dependant on her parents Ramanan and Sunitha for moving around.

Mr. Ramanan, originally from Thrissur and employed with Dubai municipality for the last 30 years, had initially toyed with the idea of sending his only daughter to special schools in Dubai. “But those schools mostly had mentally-challenged children while my daughter only suffered from restricted muscle movements. So we opted for home schooling and she is now doing Class 8,” he said.

Ms. Dhanya is mostly cheerful and active on social media with three Facebook pages to her credit. While she has published all her 32 keerthanas in PDF format in one page, another page dedicated to stories for children features eight small stories written by her. According to her father, she has so far written nearly 72 stories.

The youngster is now experimenting with poetry for children. Her latest Facebook page dedicated to poems features one of her three works.

For someone who loves to laugh, Ms. Dhanya dreams of becoming a radio jockey or a television anchor someday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Praveen / Kochi – March 08th, 2019

MG University Kalolsavam: It’s two in a row for Sacred Heart College,Thevara

Education, Records, All

Sacred Heart College bettered its last year’s tally of 102 points to assert its supremacy in the event


Sacred Heart College, champions of Mahatma Gandhi University Arts Festival, with the trophy (Photo | EPS)

Kottayam :

 In what can be termed as a fierce competition, Sacred Heart College (SHC), Thevara, trounced their rivals by a good margin to defend crown at the Mahatma Gandhi University Arts Festival, which concluded here on Monday. The champions scored 107 points to win the title. St Teresa’s College finished runner up with 91 points while RLV College of Music and Fine Arts came third with 63 points and Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, was placed at the fourth spot with 63 points. 

Sacred Heart College bettered its last year’s tally of 102 points to assert its supremacy in the event for the second consecutive year. Last year, the festival saw a major upset when SHC wrested the championship from St Teresa’s College, which has been reigning supreme for quite sometime. St Teresa’s could score only 53 points.

Though SHC clinched the title by maintaining clear domination since day one of the event, they were given a tough competition by St Teresa’s which banked on some tenacious performances on the penultimate and the final day to race past other colleges which have placed in the third and fourth position.
As in the previous year, colleges from Ernakulam clinched the first four positions in the championship table while the CMS College, Kottayam, which scored 33 points, was the only college outside the district to find a place among the top five colleges. 

Poornasree Haridas of SHC topped the list of individual performers, followed by Kavipriya B of St Thomas College, Pala, with 11 points. Meanwhile, the events staged on the last day of the festival evoked a huge public response. At the main venue where the ‘Oppana’ competition was held,  people were seen encouraging the performers with standing ovations.

Actor Rajisha Vijayan inaugurated the valedictory session of the event. MGU union chairman Nikhil S presided over the function while Sabu Thomas, Vice-Chancellor in-charge, MGU, delivered the keynote address.  Actor Vijay Babu and Sarjano Khalid were present. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / March 05th, 2019

NUALS to set up finishing school

Education, World Opinion

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kalamassery, will set up a finishing school and launch a foreign faculty programme at a cost of ₹10 lakh and ₹16 lakh respectively in the academic year 2019-20.

An executive council meet of the university held here on Tuesday decided to earmark the fund for these two initiatives in its budget for this fiscal.

The placement cell on the campus will get ₹5 lakh. K. C. Sunny, Vice Chancellor, said that ₹10 lakh would be allocated as part of encouraging students to present their papers at various international and national forums.

The finishing school will train law students in accordance with their skills in taking up varied professions such as law teachers, corporate lawyers, and judicial officers.

The placement cell will identify various job-providing sectors and fine-tune the skills of the students in keeping with the new trends in law education.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – February 26th, 2019

Rare experiment with sand art greeted with loud cheers

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education

Sand art presented by students of Vidyodaya School, Thevakkal, at the Krithi International Book Festival in the city on Friday.  

Visual interpretation of poem on Jhansi Rani presented on sand

As it is, creating an image on sand is a tough task. Setting it to the tune of poetry can be even a bigger challenge.

Seven girls from Vidyodaya School, Thevakkal, managed just that when they presented a visual interpretation of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s poem on the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai at the Krithi International Book Festival here on Friday.

“We wanted to break the popular notion that women always need to strive to be men’s equal and instead drive home the message that what is more important is to realise and fulfil one’s own potential. It was the students themselves who came up with the idea of sand art to put across that message,” said Rema K. Nair, a teacher from the school.

The performing team was made up of Theerdha, Gaddha, Arundhathi, Varsha, Nidhi, Shwetha, and Ardra from Standards 6, 7, and 8 with the support of the school staff.

They felt that creating images on sand would infuse more life into characters rather than simply painting them on paper.

They first wrote the script, designed the scenes, and finally practised it in tune with the poetry.

Because of the enthusiastic response from the crowd, the students did an encore.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / February 16th, 2019

A recyclable and reusable cast for arm fractures

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Marnu Prasad displaying his award winning invention, Uni-cast.  

Kerala student Manu Prasad bags design award for his ‘Uni-cast’, which he says addresses multiple hygiene issues

Innovation has always been the passion of Manu Prasad and his urge for invention has bagged the prestigious Lexus Design Award for him in the student category this year.

Mr. Prasad, 26, an electronics engineer, is presently pursuing an Advanced Product Design course at the Kerala State Institute of Design.

He is all smiles as he speaks to The Hindu about his invention — a resizable and recyclable cast for treating arm fractures.

He says that he has already filed an application to obtain patent for the universal cast, christened Uni-cast.

Research at hospitals

Mr. Prasad came up with the idea after a series of research work at various hospitals across the State.

According to him, this unique cast is a low-cost product and for that reason, accessible to every one.

Mr. Prasad said the Uni-cast can overcome several problems.

The product has been designed to address various problems associated with traditional casts, like sweating, itchiness, dry cell accumulation, bad odour, difficulty in keeping the cast dry, hygiene issues and neck pain, he said.

Unlike the conventional system, the Uni-cast is both light-weight and waterproof, Mr. Prasad said.

“The product is ergonomically designed so that it can be used for both hands. Uni-cast is recyclable and can even be remade, leaving zero waste behind,” he said.

Sporty look

Moreover, Mr. Prasad’s invention has got a sporty look, making it different from the traditional casts and braces.

The award was presented to Mr. Prasad at the Design Festival 2019 held in Pune a week ago.

P.B. Venugopal, president of Lexus India, said, “India possesses an incredible depth of design talent, and we wanted to give these designers an opportunity to exhibit their skills.”

With the theme ‘Design for a better tomorrow’, Lexus Design Award India (LDAI)-2019 was open to emerging designers, both professionals and students

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Health / by Radhakrishnan Kuttoor / Pathanamthitta – February 12th, 2019

Mannuthy ARS best research centre

Agriculture, Education, Records, All

Kerala agricultural varsity celebrates 48th Foundation Day

The Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Mannuthy, and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Malappuram, have been bestowed with the best research centre and best extension centre awards in the 48th Foundation Day celebrations of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) held at Vellanikkara recently.

While Haseena Bhaskar of College of Horticulture (CoH) was adjudged the best teacher, Miniraj of CoH and Sunil V.G. of Malappuram KVK were selected for the best researcher and the best extension scientist awards respectively. CoH, Vellanikkara, secured the best college award.

District Collector T.V. Anupama inaugurated the Foundation Day celebrations. The Collector called upon budding researchers to uphold the rich traditions of the university and be committed to the primary sector, which caters to the most fundamental need of living beings.

“As the Food Safety Commissioner and Alappuzha District Collector, I had occasions to acquaint myself with the vast potential and diverse activities of the KAU. Conversion of fertile land for non-agricultural purposes is a big challenge. The change in eating habits calls for change in cropping pattern and hence provides a new research opportunity. I am sure that the KAU, with its dynamic and diverse research network, will be able to address these challenges,” she said.

Rate of adoption high

KAU Vice Chancellor R. Chandra Babu, in his presidential address, pointed out that agricultural technologies had a much higher rate of adoption than other technologies. Roles played by agricultural universities were much different and much more diverse than conventional universities. The enhanced support for the KAU in the State Budget was gratefully acknowledged, he said.

Honoured

State Horticulture Mission director Justin Mohan; KAU executive committee members A. Anil Kumar; K. Aravindakshan, and T. Pradeep Kumar; and Registrar P.S. Geetha Kutty spoke.

Staff and labourers with thirty years’ unblemished service were also honoured at the function, which was followed by cultural programmes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thrissur – February 03rd, 2019