Daily Archives: June 19, 2014

Narrating the tale of Kottiyoor temple

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

Kozhikode :

A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.

“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.

Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.

Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.

The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.

The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.

The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City>  Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014

Boys bag top 10 in Engineering Entrance Examination

Education, Records, All
First rank holder Rithul P and second rank holder Safeel A.K. (Photo: DC)
First rank holder Rithul P and second rank holder Safeel A.K. (Photo: DC)

Thiruvananthapuram:

Boys outsmarted girls by winning the first 10 ranks in the engineering entrance exams. A total of 57,081 candidates have been included in the rank list of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, which was published on Sunday. Out of this, 25,551 are girls.

Rithul P. of Malappuram secured the first rank with a total score of 585.84 and Safeel A.K. of Malappuram stood second with 583.5100. Haradev G.S. of Kollam came third with 578.8808. Nitin M.Pai won the fourth rank, Vivek Jacob Mathai the fifth, Farzin .K the sixth, Alan Thelliyil Augustine, the seventh, Muhammed Ahsan K.V. the eighth, Pranav .S the ninth, and Anand U.R., the tenth rank.

In the SC category, Sidharth Ravi and Sarath B. secured the second rank. In the Schedule Tribe category, Raksha S. and Umesh K.U. won the first two ranks. The first two rank holders have been eyeing admissions to the IIT and prefer the mechanical stream.

For first rank holder Rithul P. it was his second attempt. For second rank holder Safeel A.K. too, it was the second time. However, it was the first attempt for third rank holder Haradev G.S. The Kerala Engineering Entrance Examination was conducted at 332 venues, in all the 14 revenue districts of the State, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ranchi and Dubai.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / June 16th, 2014

First super specialty vet hospital in Ernakulam

Agriculture, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Nature
Picture for representational purpose (Photo: DC)
Picture for representational purpose (Photo: DC)

Kochi:

 The Ernakulam District Panchayat is set to establish the first super specialty veterinary hospital in the state at Puthencruz in the eastern part of the district with the support of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).

The hospital costing Rs 5 crore will be set up on an 83 acre plot and will have a sub-centre of the KVASU to give training to personnel. The district panchayat would mop up Rs 4 crore from various local self-government institutions including the Kochi Corporation and municipalities to set up the hospital while the KVASU would contribute Rs 1 crore for it, said Eldhose Kunnappilly, district panchayat president.

He said that the KVASU had been entrusted with the task of preparing the plan for the building of the hospital. “A team from the district panchayat will visit the Wayanad and Thrissur veterinary hospitals to study the facilities there by July end and I have already spoken to the KVASU Vice-Chancellor Dr B Ashok in this regard to proceed with the work which is expected to start in four months,” said Eldhose.

There will be an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a newborn care centre, labour room and also wards to admit animals for treating them. The hospital will have an ambulance. An Animal Birth Control (ABC) wing also will function to bring stray animals and sterilize them and then return them to the place from where they were brought.

Eldhose said that an animal protection bhavan too would be opened at Maradu to co-ordinate animal protection activities of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals (SPCA).

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / Vinod Nedumundy / June 15th, 2014

Narrating the tale of Kottiyoor temple

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

Kozhikode :

A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.

“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.

Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.

Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.

The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.

The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.

The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014

New flowering plant species discovered

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Kozhikode :

The biodiversity-rich Western Ghats have sprung yet another botanical surprise. A two-member team of researchers from the Calicut University has discovered a rare flowering plant species belonging to the Araceae family from the Western Ghats.

Researchers, K M Manudev, a PhD student of the botany department and his guide Santhosh Nampy, came upon the plant belonging to the Arisaema genus (commonly known as Cobra Lilly for its flowers resembling snakes ready to strike) during their scientific expedition to Oosimala Top in Valparai on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

The work was undertaken as part of a three-year project on revision of Arisaema in India. They have named the new plant species ‘Arisaema madhuanum’ after their teacher and mentor, P V Madhusoodanan, former professor and head of the department and presently professor emeritus at the Malabar Botanical Garden, Kozhikode.

The plant was found in the margins of evergreen forests situated at an elevation of 1,300 metres above sea level. The discovery has been published in the latest issue of the Edinburgh Journal of Botany, published by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

According to the report, Arisaema madhuanum, is a dioecious, perennial herb around 115cm tall. It differs from the other species in the same genus (Arisaema) in having a male spadix with subulate neuters, a wide-mouthed spathe tube and by the erect to arching limb with a narrow base.

The researchers found a cluster of 31 plants in the locality including two fruiting plants. The female plants were robust and larger than male plants. The flowering and fruiting has been observed during the onset of monsoon.

Manudev said that the plant like other Arisaema species has the potential to be developed as an ornamental plant due to its unique and intriguing flowers, with some varieties highly priced in European countries.

Nampy said that the discovery has once again highlighted the need for the protection and regeneration of the biological treasure trove of the Ghats. ”

The rare species found in undisturbed shola forests and that too above 1300 metres elevation could face habitat loss due to climate changes and human interference.

Of the total of 48 species of Arisaema found in India, 21 species are found only in the Western Ghats,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /  K R Rajeev, TNN / June 18th, 2014