The Government LPS Tholikkode in Punalur, has already earned the title of a bag-less school as students don’t have to carry their textbooks to school.
Kollam:
Vishnu, Arya, Augustine, Syam and their friends are more than happy to go to school every day as they are the luckiest of school-goers in their locality. Their school does not put the “burden” of learning on their backs!
The Govt LPS Tholikkode in Punalur, has already earned the title of a bag-less school as students don’t have to carry their textbooks to school. The kids have two set of books. One, for the school, and the other, for studies at home. “One set is given for free by the Government and the other is contributed by the PTA. For scribbling notes, 40-page books without hard covers are given, that too according to the units in an academic year,” said K.G.Abraham, Headmaster. The students are also given weightless cloth bags to carry their pens, pencils and notebooks.
The school has 349 students including those from pre-primary classes. The PTA received the honour for the best association of its kind in Kollam last year. “We are on our way to setting up cupboards in each classroom for which we will get Rs 3 lakh from the MP’s fund. The parents are happy to see their children walking free to schools,” said V.Rajan Pillai, PTA president.
The PTA also is special in that it is the first association in the State which assembles close to students’ houses so as to ensure maximum parent participation. The students are also provided filtered water and free meals at school. The school also teaches the basics of farming. Fifty cents of land near the school was donated by a former student for this purpose. Bananas cultivated here contributed to the side dishes of ‘Onam sadya’ at the school. The excess bananas from the farm were sold off at the local market.
The school which was set up in 1956, has also trained its 11 teachers to identify symptoms of diseases among students under the ‘disease-free childhood’ programme. The headmaster says: “It’s the class teacher who understands the child far better than the parents”.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Education / DC / Sham Mohammed / September 18th, 2014
A view of the main block of CDS / Photo: Jayesh S. Pillai / The Hindu
The book Masterpiece of a Master Architect: CDS unveils how Centre for Development Studies showcases the architectural concepts of Laurie Baker
The picturesque nine-acre campus of Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in the capital city is a masterpiece of Laurie Baker. It beautifully complements the architectural concepts of Laurie Baker, who devoted his life to design cost-effective and environment-friendly buildings. Paying homage to this critically-acclaimed work of Laurie Baker is the book Masterpiece of a Master Architect: CDS. Through sketches and photographs the book captures the magnificence and simplicity of this structure. Designed and edited by architect, visual designer and filmmaker Jayesh S. Pillai, the book is the first documentation of a work by Baker. In an interview with MetroPlus, Jayesh talks about working on the project.
Jayesh S. Pillai / The Hindu
Coming on board the project
Though a draft of the book was presented in 2004 to Laurie Baker, on his 87th birthday, it was not carried forward. It was then titled ‘CDS: The Vision of a New Architecture’. But he suggested that his effort was never ‘new’, but an extension of the vernacular techniques deep-rooted in the architectural practices in Kerala.
Baker passed away in 2007. In mid-2008 I came to Thiruvananthapuram after completing my masters from IIT Kanpur. I came to know that the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD)was looking for someone to take over this particular documentation. My friends suggested my name to P.B. Sajan, joint director of the centre. Thus I started working on it in February 2009 and finished it in seven months.
The process
Though the draft was well thought about, a lot had to be crosschecked, updated and added, especially because the campus was still evolving with the addition of new buildings. We had to digitise the original drawings as most of the early ones were made on paper.
Also, we had to match them in quality with the digitally-prepared ones. I had full access to the campus for documentation work and to photograph the campus and its structures at different times of the day in which I was helped by Aravind Ramachandran and Avirat Inamdar.
There are a whole lot of others who helped with the drawings, editing the text and giving necessary inputs. It took five years for the book to get published though.
A whole lot of people had helped me in the project, including my wife, Rutu Panchal, R.D. Padmakumar, Shailaja Nair, Prahlad Gopakumar and Shyamkumar Puravankara who edited the texts and Tilak Baker, Baker’s son.
What are your favourite aspects about CDS?
The campus brings together brick structures following the contours of the terrain, stairs winding around trees, circular and organic-shaped courtyards and roof terraces, a network of creative walkways, an exceptional seven-storied library tower and numerous interesting architectural structures.
The spaces are well designed with great concern for the natural landscape that Baker seamlessly blended with the structures that came up on the campus as the institute grew. And the jali wall patterns don’t just create a delightful play of light and shadow, they also provide well-ventilated spaces within the buildings.
Jali wall patterns at CDS create a delightful play of light and shadow /Photo: Jayesh S. Pillai / The Hindu
Jali wall patterns at CDS create a delightful play of light and shadow / Photo: Jayesh S. Pillai / The Hindu
Why is it considered one of the landmark structures of Baker?
It was perhaps the perfect chance for him to display his ideas and philosophy to a larger community. The campus not just demonstrates Baker’s love for nature-friendly and cost-effective architecture, but also illustrates his artistic genius. The campus stands testament to sustainable approach in architectural practices, still inspiring architects and students around the globe.
However, why hasn’t Baker’s architecture gained wide acceptance?
He has left behind a legacy with his bold and distinctive attitude towards the style that he developed (or adapted, as he would say). Even though many architects within and outside India try to adopt his philosophy, unfortunately, many still have misconceptions about the ‘Baker Style’, especially in failing to understand that he advocated cost-effective (and energy-efficient) and not simply low-cost architectural practices. As I understand, one of the focal points in his philosophy would be that an architect should not blindly adopt these techniques and practices, but adapt them to the prevailing environmental and social conditions, and their context.
In retrospection
This is the first published work that I have designed entirely. So it was a learning process for me.
I had gone through many of Baker’s drawings, paintings and sketches during the time I spent at COSTFORD. So I was able to incorporate certain visual elements in the book as a homage to him, especially the recurring mango patterns that is noticeable in his works.
The book has been published by COSTFORD and Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies (LBC).
Wordsmith and artist
Jayesh S. Pillai, who hails from the capital city, is an assistant professor in Design Discipline at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur. An alumnus of Sainik School and College of Engineering Trivandrum, he did his masters from IIT Kanpur. He has a doctorate in virtual reality from Arts et Métiers ParisTech, France. Jayesh, a registered architect, is a short filmmaker as well. While his films have been selected for short films festivals in Kerala and outside, the work Beyond was selected to the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner 2011.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Athira M / Thiruvananthapuram – September 17th, 2014
Participants of a workshop on radio-controlled aircraft with the models made by them, in Thiruvananthapuram recently. Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Around 100 students and teachers were taken through the nuances of aircraft’s functioning and design, concepts and basics of aerodynamics with its applications.
A two-day workshop on radio-controlled (RC) aircraft turned out to be more than just a learning experience for the participants, bringing in fun and entertainment as well.
The event, held for students and the faculty from various colleges in the State and held at the Trinity College of Engineering here, was organised by Aerotrix, a division of Skyfi Education Labs, founded by the alumni of IIT, Kanpur. Around 100 students and teachers were taken through the nuances of aircraft’s functioning and design, concepts and basics of aerodynamics with its applications, mechanics of flight and structural configurations of a plane.
The participants were then given the opportunity to design, build and test their own RC aircraft from scratch through introduction to the design algorithm of an aircraft and hands-on experience on the electronic and electrical instrumentation of an RC aircraft. After the workshop, the participants-17 teams of students and three teams of faculty-developed 20 aircraft and tested them by flying them on the campus.
“We have been conducting similar workshops with the intention of improving skills and employability of engineering students. We use aero-modelling workshops as a means to deliver exciting and fun-based training to the students and to expose them to the multi-disciplinary demands of the industry,” Adarsh Hariprasad, faculty of Aerotrix, said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – August 22nd, 2014
The crowded registration counter at the Orthodox Student centre is a proof that old ‘aasan pallikoodam’ is still a sought after education centre.
When film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan inaugurated ‘Malayalam Pallikoodam’ on Sunday it was a different beginning for the Malayalam New Year for the city. Addressing the crowd, Adoor said that the endeavour is a privilege to the young generation at a time where the culture and traditional values are fading out. He said the project will help the kids to get know the tradition of Malayalam language through the formulated learning pattern developed by poet V Madhusoodhanan Nair.
Adoor distributed wooden slates, which were used as props for one of his films, to nine students who enrolled first as students of Malayalam Pallikoodam.
Pallikoodam offers a package of grandma stories, poems, sand writing and word puzzles to learn the language. “The registration has exceeded the calculated limit of 50 students. Now we are planning to add more batches in the project considering the demand,” said Arun Varghese, programme co- coordinator. Kids aged between 4 and 6 got enrolled at the school.
The idea of “Malayalam Pallikoodam” was put forward by prominent poet and writer Prof. V.Madhusoodhanan Nair. The poet introduced the reincarnation of “Aashan Kalari” to the audience by point outing that the kid who plays by making his own toys will develop managing ability and will start learning things by him.
The “Malayalam Pallikoodam” draws the kids in the city to experience the culture and purity of the Malayalam language through different workshops, games and poems. The kids are provided a two-hour Malayalam learning class on every Sunday which is free from home works, baggage of books, exams etc. “The young generation should know the culture of Malayalam and must be good to pronounce his or her mother tongue clearly. We are now living in a ‘Manglish’ society. Through Malayalam Pallikoodam, we wish to make our young society develop love for the mother tongue and uphold its values,” says Jessy Narayan, Convenor of the project.
Students will be taught under Kolencheri Gopalakrishnan Aasan , who used to teach students in sand writing. The classes will be on every Sunday from 10am to 12pm with fees of Rs 500 per month. It functions at Orthodox Students Centre, opposite AKG Centre.
Renowned literary scholars and poets including Perumbadavam Sreedharan, Prabha Varma, Rose Mary, artist Narayana Bhattatiri also spoke to kids on the first day of Pallikkoodam.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City / by Jisha Surya, TNN / August 18th, 2014
The list of teachers, who have won the national awards, was announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on Wednesday. As many as 14 teachers from the state, seven each from primary school section and secondary school section have been selected.
There are no candidates from the higher secondary section, reportedly over some confusion in the department. Higher Secondary Director K N Satheesh said that the list was cleared from the directorate four months ago.
The teachers who bagged the award are:
From Primary school
1. V Venukumaran Nair, headmaster, Govt UPS Njaraneeli Kani, Elanchiyam Peringammala, Thiruvananthapuram 2. G Sivaprasad, UP School Assistant, SN UP School, Maruthoorkulangara, Karunagappally, Kollam 3. Usha Kumari P, Headmistress, Govt LPS Ayroor, Ayroor, Pathanamthitta 4. P O Chacko, Head Master, Sr Alphonsa UPS Nedumanny, Karukachal, Kottayam 5. P V Mohanan, assistant teacher, AUP School, Mannazhi, Chengottur, Kottakkal, Malappuram 6. Narayanan Aariyamvalli, P D teacher, Govt HSS Kottila, Ezhome, Kannur 7. V Rajesh, assistant teacher, Kanad LP School, Edayannur, Kannur
From Secondary School
1. George A V, headmaster, Mar Thoma Girls High School, Pulamon, Kottarakkara, Kollam 2. Susan Issac, HSA (English), MGD High School, Puthusserry South, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta 3. Joseph John, headmaster, St Joseph’s HSS Karimannoor, Thodupuzha, Idukki
4. Varghese T M, HSA, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, Puthencruz Ernakulam 5. Peethambaran M, HSA, St Sebastian’s High School Mannamangalam, Thrissur 6. Dr Harikumar K, Teacher Educator, Gandhi Seva Sadanam Teachers Training Institute, Perur, Palakkad 7. Manoj K T, HSA, CB HSS Vallikkunnu, Malappuram.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / August 21st, 2014
Sandeepani Vidya Niketan School, Thrissur, with 38 points emerged the overall champions in the ICSE section, leaving St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram, with 23 points at the second place. Photo: Special Arrangement / / The Hindu
The two-day State cultural fest of the ICSE and ISC schools came to a close at Mar Thoma Residential School in Thiruvalla on Wednesday.
Sandeepani Vidya Niketan School, Thrissur, with 38 points emerged the overall champions in the ICSE section, leaving St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram, with 23 points at the second place.
In the ISC section, Hari Sree Vidya Nidhi School, Thrissur, with 46 points bagged the overall championship.
St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram, with 34 points was the runner-up.
Zacharias Mar Theophilus Saffragan, Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church, delivered the valedictory message. Blessy, film-maker, delivered the keynote address. The Metropolitan and Mr. Blessy presented trophies to the winners. Fr. Silvie Antony, Kerala region president of the Association of Schools for Indian School Certificate; Fr. George Mathew Karoor, association general secretary; Prof. Bijoy Varghese, MTRS principal; and Anitha Susan John, vice-principal, spoke. The prize winners from the district in various competitions on Wednesday are:
ISC section
Light music – Male (Malayalam): Sanjai Santhjosh Cherian of St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram.
Light music – Male (Malayalam): Anjali Vijay, St. Thomas Residential School.
ICSE section
Group song (Western): St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram.
Volunteers of Helping Hands Organisation (H2O) along with the children whom the organisation is supporting. / The Hindu
Charity sets up physiotherapy unit for the poor
A physiotherapy unit that would support differently abled children and the elderly belonging to financially backward families was launched by Helping Hands Organisation (H2O) at Karyavattom here on Monday.
The unit will be set up at the H2O Rehabilitation and Facilitation Centre launched in 2013, primarily to screen children below the age of 10 for autism and to provide check-up and treatment facilities for them.
The unit will initially cater to 64 elderly persons and 54 children who have already registered with the organisation, besides physically challenged persons in and around Karyavattom.
Earlier this year, H2O had organised an event for them at the Museum grounds. The event, ‘Pratheeksha – Ray of Hope,’ saw the distribution of stationary and other study material to over 100 children.
The new unit will strive to rehabilitate the children. Toys, play area and other material have been provided at the unit to coax the best out of the autistic children.
This is in addition to medical care being provided by the centre.
The inauguration of the physiotherapy unit coincides with the launch of Safe Physio, a software developed by Technopark-based company Safesource Systems and Data Services (SDS). Described as a management tool for physiotherapists, this single digital platform will cover details about the patient, clinical treatment and financial management.
SDS is handing over the software free of cost to H2O, who will be able to keep track of the increasing number of patients affiliated to them more efficiently.
Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar inaugurated the unit.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Kaavya Pradeep Kumar / Thiruvananthapuram – August 12th, 2014
The silver jubilee batch of National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), formerly known as Regional Engineering College, will conduct their silver jubilee reunion on August 15 and 16.
Sreekumar K. Iyer, one of the organisers, said that the two-day event, titled, RECollection’89, would be held on the NIT-C campus and in the city. Around 200 former students, who passed out in 1989, would take part in the event. A souvenir would be published at Hyson Heritage in the city to mark the occasion.
NIT-C Director M.N. Bandyopadhyay would inaugurate the programme at the college auditorium. A session, ‘Guruvandanam,’ to honour teachers who taught at the college during the 1985-89 period, would be held on Saturday.
A family gathering would be held at Malabar Palace on Saturday. The reunion celebrations would conclude with cultural activities and a musical night, Mr. Iyer said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / Special Correspondent / Kozhikode – August 15th, 2014
This just might be the good news the playback singers, actors, anchors, teacher, lawyers and politicians, who earn their livelihood through their voice, in the state have long been waiting for.
In a development that will cheer thousands of voice professionals and voice patients who have developed various voice disorders, the Calicut University has come out with a unique graduate programme in Vocology, the science and practice of voice habilitation and rehabilitation, in collaboration with Chetana National Institute of Vocology, Thrissur.
This is the first time in the country that an Indian university is offering a course in vocology with an aim of producing vocologists who habilitate vocal behaviour – a speech-language pathologist, otolaryngologist, vocalist trainer, or voice coach.
Based on the proposal submitted by the National Institute of Vocology, the University gas given permission (U.O No6304/2014/admn) to the Vocology institute to frame the syllabus and other things related to the launching of the course, said Dr Musthafa, director of SDE, Calicut University.
There are hardly a dozen major vocology institutes across the world mainly in developed countries like NCVS Summer Vocology Institute in USA and institutes in Finland, Japan, Turkey, and UK. “There is a huge dearth of trained vocologists in the country since vocology is not widely taught in academic institutions in the country as an independent discipline. Celebrity voice professionals, including film stars and vocalists, are used to confront with voice disorders and seek rehabilitation and the return of their operational voice or to benefit professionally from vocal habilitation by learning to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of their speaking voices,” said Fr Paul Poovathingal, the first vocologist in the country and the principal of National Institute of Vocology. “This six-semester course will equip a batch of 20 candidates to deal with all kinds of voice professionals and voice patients suffering from puberphonia (male having female sound), vocal cord paralysis, vocal nodule, phonatry gap, patients with wrong voice production, breathing techniques and poor lung pressure, and other voice disorders,” said Poovathingal. “Actor Mohanlal and even the late Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, who had lost his functional voice suddenly at the peak of a concert, have confronted with voice disorders at one point of time in their careers. Some of the eminent professionals have even vanished from their field for ever after voice disorders developed,” said George S Paul, an academician and a physicist.
The high-level of pollution in lifestyle and surroundings is taking a toll on the voice professionals and they often need the help of professional to overcome the difficulties in their voice production and to discipline their voice. So vocology being a new branch of knowledge, there is great scope for job in this sector, he added.
The syllabus for the course is being prepared by Fr Paul Poovathingal, George S Paul, Dr R Jayakumar, famed laryngologist who performed surgery on Mohanlal, V R Prabodhachandran Nair, a linguist, in consultation with Dr Ingo Titz of USA, who is considered as the father of Vocology.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Dhinesh Kallungal – ENS / August 11th, 2014
Students of Holy Angels’ Convent greeting K. E. Mammen on his 94th birthday in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Photo: Special arrangement / The Hindu
Despite being under treatment at a private hospital here for the past six months, freedom fighter and Gandhian K.E. Mammen’s 94th birthday celebration was a colourful affair attended by students of Holy Angels’ Convent on Thursday.
Despite being under treatment at a private hospital here for the past six months, freedom fighter and Gandhian K.E. Mammen’s 94th birthday celebration was a colourful affair attended by students of Holy Angels’ Convent on Thursday.
The Chief Minister’s wife, Mariamma Oommen; former Minister M. Vijayakumar; and NIMS Medicity managing director M.S. Faizal Khan were present at the function organised by the Centre for Gandhian Studies under the University of Kerala. The students sang patriotic songs and presented him with a Gandhi cap.
They presented him a traditional drape.
He cut a birthday cake. Centre for Gandhian Studies Coordinator J.M. Rahim and social activists R. Narayanan Thampi, and R. Raghu were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – August 01st, 2014
