Daily Archives: April 9, 2018

Sopana Sangeetham exponent Padmanabaha Marar passes away at 113

Arts,Culture & Entertainment

Kottayam :

Renowned exponent of Sopana Sangeetham  Padmanabha Marar, 113, passed away at Ramapuram  in Kottayam district on Wednesday.

Marar used to play Edakka and sing at the Sreerama Swamy temple in Ramapuram near Pala for over 100 years. For last few years he was leading a retired life at his residence in Ramapuram. Funeral will be held at his residential premises at 3pm on Thursday.

Marar began singing at the temple at the age of eight. He first came to the temple in the year 1905 and continued to sing and play edakka till the age of 110. The state Sangeetha Nataka Akademi had honoured him with Gurupooja for his contribution and expertise in the music form. He was a regular at various temples in the district with his music.

His father was his first guru in sopana sangeetham. Later he went to Puthussery Narayana Marar and Thirumaradi Sankara Kurup for further studies.

For several decades he used to wake up at the brahma muhurtham and his day would begin with a dip in the temple pond. By 3.30 am, he would whistle the conch and later played edakka for the various poojas during the day. For the past few years, his sons have been helping him by taking turns.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kozhikode News / Jaikrishnan Nair / TNN / April 04th, 2018

‘Thottara Rice’ brand to hit the shelves soon

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, Records, All

Harvest of paddy to be inaugurated on April 10

The Thottara organic rice brand harvested from Thottara Puncha, a vast expanse of paddy field spread over Amballoor and Edakkattuvayal in Ernakulam district, will hit the market by the end of this month.

Come April 10, and the inauguration of this year’s harvest of paddy cultivated in nearly 550 acres will take place amid a gathering of hundreds of farmers, elected representatives, and officials.

“We plan to brand nearly 40 tonnes of organic rice as Thottara Rice and market it through the existing network of the Agriculture Department. In the next phase, larger quantities of the produce will be taken up for branding,” said Sujith Karun, Ernakulam district co-ordinator of the Haritha Keralam Mission. The organisers are hoping to harvest around 1,500 metric tonnes of paddy from Thottara Puncha, which extends to around 1,200 acres at Amballur and Edakkattuvayal in Ernakulam district and Vellur panchayat in Kottayam district.

Farmers affiliated to nine Padashekhara Samitis are engaged in paddy cultivation. It is expected that around 300 tonnes of rice can be produced from 1,500 metric tonnes of paddy cultivated in the 550-acre area. The Agriculture Department has the capacity to market nearly 40 tonnes of Thottara brand rice in the first phase. And, farmers can sell the remaining rice to private mills.

Mill at Amballoor

Mr. Sujith said that the Kudumbasree Mission had agreed to set up a mill at Amballoor. It will also provide ₹40 lakh for the realisation of the project.

Interestingly, District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla had taken the lead in bringing the maximum available cultivable land under Thottara Puncha for paddy cultivation. Farming in the barren land began in 2015.

Major preparatory works like the cleaning up of 11 km of main canals by the Minor Irrigation Department to de-water the paddy fields, land preparatory work in padashekharams, field survey for installation of 12 submersible pumps, consultations with stakeholders, and field visits to padashekharams were completed as part of the initiative.

The district administration had increased the acreage of Thottara Puncha over the last couple of years starting with 150 acres in 2015-16 followed by 350 acres in 2016-17.

The district administration’s efforts to revive the rice bowl of Ernakulam were ably assisted by the agriculture and irrigation departments, KLDC, KSEB, local bodies, land owners, Padashekhara Samitis, and the local community at large. The Agriculture Technology Management Agency had offered training to farmers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – April 09th, 2018