Monthly Archives: March 2016
Rare manuscripts unearthed from temple
Historians and conservationists will interpret the manuscripts dating back to the 11-18th century
A set of palm leaf manuscripts unearthed from the Subramania Swami Temple at Karikkad, near Manjeri, has brought together the State Archives Department, Calicut University’s history department, and National Research Laboratory for Conservation on a historical mission.
The departments have joined hands not only to interpret the manuscripts belonging to the 11-18th century, but also to conserve the rare documents of significant historical value. Apart from the palm leaf manuscripts, bundles of rare documents, bills and books were recovered from the temple premises.
‘‘All these documents are of immense historical value as they can throw light on the social history of the region during the British and pre-British regime,’’ said P. Sivadasan, head of department of history, Calicut University.
Historians who gathered at the temple as part of a three-day workshop on conservation of the documents said the manuscripts and other documents would have the potential for a re-reading of Kerala’s social history. ‘‘We have rare documents mentioning a lot about Tipu Sultan’s expeditions,’’ said Dr. Sivadasan.
Inaugurating the workshop, Calicut University Vice Chancellor K. Mohammed Basheer read out a few lines from an 1892 diary of Sankaran Namboothiri, a radical Brahmin who challenged the orthodoxy. The diary found from the temple storehouse, along with several others, was a reflection of the period the Namboothiri lived.
Archives Department Director J. Rejikumar and Archaeology Department Director G. Premkumar said that Karikkad, a well-known Namboothiri settlement in Kerala, would get the historical significance it deserved. It would be protected, they said.
The team of historians and researchers will prepare an index of the documents found at Karikkad and will script eight papers in the next two days. ‘‘We are encouraging our students to depend on the primary source of information to interpret history,’’ Dr. Sivadasan said.
He said that when professionals handle the documents and artefacts from yesteryear, the results would be fruitful and rich.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Abdul Latheef Naha / Malappuram – March 12th, 2016
11
10
09
An emerging centre of new discoveries
North Kerala is fast emerging as a site of relics of Stone Age cultures.
Belying 19th century British geo-archaeologist Robert Bruce Foote’s argument on prehistoric habitation in the State, north Kerala is fast emerging as the centre of new discoveries on Stone Age cultures.
Several reasons have been cited to make this possible, particularly the enthusiasm shown by a young archaeological-anthropologist N.K. Ramesh, who is a senior assistant, Museum Project, Cultural Heritage Department of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University at Tirur.
He has been credited with the discoveries of many Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Megalithic, and Neolithic tools and several Megalithic sites in North Kerala. Findings such as the typical Palaeolithic hand axe from Vanimel river basin (Kozhikode) and pointed choppers and side scarpers from Anakkayam and Cheerkkayam river basin of Chandragiri (Kasaragod) are some of the first-time evidence of Palaeolithic implements in these districts. This revealed that hand-axe fabrication technique in quartz raw material was also familiar among the prehistoric man in north Kerala. “In fact, archaeologist Killingworth Richard Utten Todd (KRU Todd) had discovered Mesolithic tools from Chevayur (Kozhikode), perhaps the first Stone Age evidence in Kerala during 1930-35.
But detailed studies then failed to take off,” says P. Rajendran, archaeologist, whose works since 1974 brought to light rich Palaeolithic evidence of myriad cultures in Kerala.
Giving the lie to Foote’s view
Dr. Rajendran said that Foote had argued that Kerala was unsuitable for prehistoric habitation citing primary causes such as the absence of quartzite raw material, thick forest and heavy rainfall in the State. “Today the situation is different with more people coming to the forefront in archaeology. But only a few succeed in identifying the implements of the prehistoric era,” he says.
Mr. Ramesh, who does research under Dr. Rajendran’s guidance, has discovered Mesolithic tools from Panom forest region, which lies 1,500 feet, above sea level, bordering Kozhikode-Wayanad districts. “It is a Mesolithic factory site as waste material and hammer stone were discovered near a stream inside the forest,” he said.
He has been certified for the discoveries of Megalithic sites at Valayam, Varikkoli, Chekkad, Kuitheri, Ummathur, Perumundacheri, Mullankunnu, Pannimukku, and Muippra. The evidence include black and red ware, eagle head-like figures made of clay, iron chopper and dagger, black ware, smoke pipe, iron knife, iron sickle and several iron ingots.
The well-polished symmetrical shaped Stone Adzes made of quartz showed the high expertise in quartz fabrication of Neolithic people in Kozhikode, Mr. Ramesh said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Biju Govind / Kozhikode – March 08th, 2016
Kochi techie takes challenge to Paris
Kiran Raphael’s diamond clean tech involves cleaning water using diamond micro electrodes
A young technopreneur from the city has bridged the gap between Kochi and Paris, hogging the limelight at the Paris French Tech Ticket entrepreneurship challenge announced by French President Francois Hollande in 2014 to attract technology start-ups from across the globe.
Kiran Raphael, 31, an alumnus of St. Aloysius School, Palluruthy, was among the 20 from across the globe and one of the three Indians selected from more than 1,300 entries in the technology challenge, which saw participants from Japan, China, Canada, Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, among others.
Mr. Raphael said from Paris on Sunday that he was invited to speak on behalf of the selected technopreneurs at the Elysee Palace on March 2.
No chemicals, no waste generation
Mr. Raphael, a bio-technology specialist, said the diamond clean tech he espoused involved cleaning water using diamond micro electrodes. “When cleaning water using diamond electrodes, we do not use any chemicals and there is no waste generation,” he said on Sunday describing the technology that would now receive funding from the French government.
He said his plan was to develop the technology company in France and then to expand it to India, where there was a big problem of water pollution. Industrial houses and urban authorities stood to gain from adopting the technology, he said. Boobesh Ramalingam and Mani Doraisamy from Bangalore, he said, were among the other successful technopreneurs from India in the Tech Challenge.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by K.A. Martin / Kochi – March 07th, 2016
Now, an all-woman e-tailer outlet in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram:
Forget delivery boys, a leading e-tailer has officially launched a women-only delivery station in Thiruvananthapuram, the first in the country. For over a month now, the ‘biker girls’ have been delivering around 40 packages daily to customers in the Technopark region on an experimental basis.
“We have built a new model, which will help us reach out to customers, at a time when transportation of products has become most challenging and expensive,” said Samuel Thomas, director (transportation), Amazon India. The company will next set up a similar station in Chennai, followed by one in Kochi by next month, he said. The plan is to have dedicated women delivery stations across India, to be completely managed by women service partners.
The station, with Divya Syam of Thiruvananthapuram as service partner, is based in Kulathur near Technopark. “With increasing popularity of e-commerce platforms and with support from our dedicated delivery associates, I am sure we will be able to grow in this male-dominated business,” she said.
The company has around 20 service partners in the state. “The women deliver packages on two-wheelers, covering a radius of 2-3km from the station. There are plans to train them in self-defence besides starting a helpline,” Thomas said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / March 03rd, 2016
Cholanaikkans in the wonderland of science
A 40-member team from Cholanaikkan community gets a first-hand feel of planetarium; experts look forward to learning a thing or two from the tribals’ knowledge of astronomy
For most of them, it was the first time venturing out of their natural habitat, the forest. Yet, it was wonder, curiosity and enthusiasm rather than discomfort that reflected on the faces of Cholanaikkans who visited the Regional Science Centre in Kozhikode on Thursday.
Cholanaikkans, who live in the deciduous forests of Nilambur, are the only surviving hunter gatherer tribe in the country and the only tribal community in Asia that lives in rock-cave shelters. Except for a few who have ventured out on their own in pursuit of education and jobs, most members of the tribe live 10 km into the forest from Nilambur and do not even accept accommodation provided by the government.
These people from the tribal colonies of Mancheeri, Poochappara, Mannala, Karimpuzha and Kuppam Mala still live on fruits, berries and meat and do not engage in farming.
For the expedition on Thursday, the 40-member team had to leave their hamlets early in the morning and walk up to 5 km to catch a vehicle. The Calicut International Airport was their first stop and later, the Regional Science Centre and Planetarium. At the science centre, a water-rocket launch demonstration welcomed them. After lunch, they had a good time exploring the exhibits at the science centre. They were later treated to a magic show by Pradeep Hudinho. This was followed by cultural programmes.
Interestingly, officials at the Science Centre had an “ulterior motive” in inviting Cholanaikkans to Kozhikode: they wanted to record the tribals’ knowledge about astronomy. In fact, Mayank Vahia from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, was here with the purpose of extending the horizon of his research on tribal astronomy by partaking in astronomical discussions with Cholanaikkans.
“I have studied the astronomy of tribals in central India. It is very different from our understanding of space. I guess Cholanaikkans have an entirely different understanding of it,” Mr. Vahia said, adding that he planned to record what they had to say when they were shown the constellations in the planetarium.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Aabha Anoop / Kozhikode – March 04th, 2016
Her space in a crowd
P.S. Jalaja is constantly fascinated by people, crowds in particular. The crowd as an organic entity forms the backbone of Jalaja’s repertoire. Some of her canvases have thousands of people in them. “Each person in a crowd has a different expression, mannerism, skin colour … yet beyond all that, they are just human,” says the artist, who is currently working on a series titled ‘Boat People’, which is a take on the plight of refugees.
Her preoccupation with people perhaps makes her a non-fastidious worker. “I don’t look for ideal conditions to work. For that matter, I don’t even have a ‘formal studio’,” she says. She works in the living room of her two-storey rented house at Kochupalli near Udayamperoor. Even that space, she says, is not her own. It is shared by her partner Jasinther Roke Feller, who is a sculptor and her sister, Jaya, an artist and sometimes, Jaya’s cats and dog, too. When friends visit, she works while talking to them.
Adjacent to the living room is the kitchen, where her aunt, who lives with them, cooks. “So, even as I work, there are people walking in and out, sounds and smells from the kitchen and the TV which is on most of the time. I work amidst all that.” As a practice, she works 10 to 15 hours a day. If she has undertaken a project, work could extend up to three days. Jalaja’s famed work, ‘Tug of War’, which was showcased at the first Kochi Muziris Biennale in 2012, was 30-foot-tall, four-and-a-half-foot wide.
The stress of spending long hours at work sometimes manifests as a nagging pain in the neck and as sinusitis, but Jalaja prefers to ignore them.
Jalaja is surrounded by art, even daily conversations revolve around art. “I see that as an advantage I have, being around people who understand “my language”. Though our styles are different, Jas, Jaya and I tend to agree on the basic artistic essence. I believe I benefit from my interactions with them.”
Having completed her Masters in Fine Art from RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura, Jalaja started working with dry pastels. For about three years, she worked with just dry pastels. “When you work in a medium continuously, it yields itself to you totally,” she says. Later, she moved on to watercolour, but she treated watercolour in an opaque manner. “An artist knows what medium can convey his/her idea best.”
As a child, Jalaja used to draw and paint. She credits her father, who was a carpenter, for sharpening her artistic instinct. As he worked, he would involve the children and assign them small tasks, which she believes, went a long way in developing her imagination. Growing up in a small village Keezhillam in Perumbavoor in the 80s, Jalaja says her father gave her and her three siblings a lot of freedom. He insisted she complete her studies and find a job. She completed her B.Com and only then went on to pursue art at RLV.
Her love for art deepened soon. While doing her BFA, Jalaja’s friends organised an informal show of her works titled ‘Ray’, which won her Lalit Kala Akademi’s “student award”. In 2008, she won the Honorable Mention Award in a State exhibition of art organised by the Akademi. The State award came her way in 2009. Jalaja has worked in BMB Gallery, Mumbai, from where she got a chance to participate in the Guangzhou art fair in 2010, where she displayed her work ‘Bittersweet History’, a 10×5 watercolour work depicting historically eminent personalities in a rally. Jalaja has showcased her work at the Prague biennale in 2011 (a watercolour on policemen from about 40 countries firing at a few ordinary people).
Her reading and travels serve as inspiration. She recalls her journey to Italy as part of a residency programme with fondness. “Journeys teach you so many things. The things and people you see add to your visual library and they come back to you in so many different ways,” she says. She carries a notepad and pencil wherever she goes.
Jalaja’s works are intricately layered with multiple images on a single canvas. “Even as a student, I was interested in human anatomy. Gradually, it developed into a desire to look at the human predicament through my works. Even as I paint a person, it is not just a portrait of him/her, it reveals his culture, history and identity. The being says it all without saying anything at all.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Anasuya Menon / Kochi – March 04th, 2016