Monthly Archives: October 2019

Koodathai action heroes get recognition

Records, All

Good Service Entry awarded to 15 policemen team led by Koz Rural SP.

Kozhikode : 

The mystery behind the Koodathai serial murders was cracked by a team of 15 policemen who worked behind the scenes for over two months and brought to book the main culprit Jolly Joseph and her two accomplices. Their dedicated efforts have won them due recognition with Kozhikode Rural SP K.G. Simon announcing ‘Good service entries’ to them.

They include Rural special branch DySP K. Ismayil,  additional SP T.K. Subramanyan, Crime Branch DySP R. Haridasan and sub-inspector Jeevan George.

The way they went ahead with the investigation reads like a thriller. Jolly tried to mislead them but in the face of clinching evidence, she gave up.

The under-cover policemen sporting long beards secretly scanned Kattappana, the native place of Jolly, and also the Ponnamattam house at Koodathai where the majority of murders had taken place.

None knew their identity till the tombs of the victims were opened. Those who visited Kattappana were given language training to suit the local style as the Malabar slang would have exposed them. They also visited NIT Calicut, where Jolly claimed to have worked.

At one point when the police wanted to conduct a polygraph test on Jolly, she insisted on discussing it with her father Joseph. She called a person claiming to be her father, but a policeman who already knew him said the person at the other end of the phone was not her father. Jolly was stunned. Sub-inspector Jeevan George had found that Jolly was not employed in NIT. Her presence at the time of all the deaths in the family was also revealed by the policemen.

According to SP Simon, the investigation team sacrificed a lot to book the culprits.  Even the police driver, who proved his mettle, has been honoured, he said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Deccan Chronicle / October 27th, 2019

Secretariat turns 150, anniversary to be celebrated in style

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the celebrations at 4.30pm on Friday.

Thiruvananthapuram : 

The state government is all set to celebrate the 150th year of the Secretariat. In connection with the occasion, a gamut of programmes will be organised in the Secretariat from November 1 to 7. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the celebrations at 4.30pm on Friday.

The inauguration function to be held near the South Sandwich block will be presided over by speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. Cultural programmes will begin at 5.30pm. The Archives Department will organise an exhibition of archeology documents while the Information and Public Relations Department will organise an exhibition of photographs depicting historically significant event. 

Painting competition for children, documentaries highlighting the history of the Secretariat and seminars will also be organised. The public can visit the old Assembly Hall and exhibitions during the period.

The Secretariat was inaugurated by Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma, then ruler of the erstwhile Travancore princely state, on July 8, 1869. The structure was built infusing Roman and Dutch architecture styles and was designed by William Barton under the supervision of Dewan T Madhava Rao. The building became operational on August 23.

The initial estimate for the construction was C1.7 lakh. However, the official documents show that C3 lakh was spent on the work that lasted four years. Barton had designed the central structure comprising the darbar and the adjacent buildings were later added to it.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Thiruvananthapuram / Express News Service / October 31st, 2019

A set of diaries trace Idukki’s settlement life

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
A diary written by Mathai Joseph in the 1930s. 

Retired college teacher has preserved his father’s diaries dating back to the 1930s

A diary written in ink, in the Malayalam of the 1930s, could be a bit difficult to read as many words are not in use now. However, for Poovathunkal K.J. Kurien, an 83-year-old retired college teacher, it is familiar terrain. He holds a collection of diaries written by his father Mathai Joseph from the age of 14 till his death in 2006 at the age of 107.

A printed diary of the 1930s, under the erstwhile Travancore kingdom, had a vastly different feel. Its initial pages had details of rules such as Nair Regulation Act, Ezhava Regulation Act, and Christian Regulation Acts, in addition to the charges of Anchal posts.

A diary printed by K.G. Parameswaran Pillai at Sri Rama Vilas Press, Kollam, has a black and white photo of the Travancore ruler and has Malayalam year and dates. Another one printed by K. Narayanan Vidyarambham Press, Mullackal, Alappuzha in 1951 is priced at ₹2.

Not just personal

Mr. Kurien has preserved the diaries at his ancestral house at Thudanganadu, near Muttom, in Idukki. When his father was bedridden, he had left a few pages of the diaries blank, in the hope of filling them later.

The diaries are not just personal accounts. They contain vivid portrayals of the social life of those times. Muttom was the earliest area of settlement in the low range of Idukki district. It was from here that people migrated to the the high ranges via Adimaly. The second route was through Kuttikanam to Upputhara.

Madambi link

Mr. Joseph’s connection to the then local ruler ‘Madambi’ at Ramapuram under the Travancore ruler is evident in the diaries. They have descriptions of the loans taken from the Madambi and repaid after the harvest season.

“Alappuzha was the main business centre then and the diaries have descriptions of his travel to Athirampuzha and Alappuzha in country boats via the Meenachil river,” says Mr. Kurien. Mr. Joseph had sold spices there and purchased rice from Alappuzha. He was instrumental in bringing many others to Thudanganadu and setting up a church and a school there. The diaries say that the first settlement in the district was on a hill as wild animals, including elephants, roamed the low-lying areas. His diaries unfold the stories of this settlement.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Gigi K Raman / Idukki – October 30th, 2019

Kerala’s very own spice girl

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Latha K, Chef Di Cuisine of Malabar Cafe, speaks about helming the cafe which recently won an award for the Best South Indian Restaurant

Kochi :

It is easy to take Latha K for an unassuming neighbourhood homemaker when she is not donning her professional garb. With her modest low bun and unpretentious round pottu, Latha does not really exude a hot-shot chef vibe at the outset. But with over three decades of experience in the culinary sphere, the Chef Di Cuisine of Malabar Cafe at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty has won the hotel the distinction of housing the Best South Indian Restaurant by Travel + Leisure India Magazine & South Asia’s Delicious Food Awards this year.

“This is the first national award the restaurant has won and it is a notable achievement,” says Latha. Her culinary ethos harps on serving authentic delicacies of Kerala for which she uses fresh spices ground by hand using mortar and pestle.

Born in a small village in Kozhikode, Latha’s resolve to become a chef developed early. She made her first dish, Kerala fish curry and rice, at age nine and was rewarded with compliments. Having honed her skills by observing her mother and grandmothers cooking in the kitchen, Latha took hotel management and that was where she came across her first hurdle. From being denied admission because she would be the only girl student in a batch of 27 boys to having to move to Chennai to complete her internship because no restaurant in Kozhikode would take her, Latha broke many glass ceilings to become Kerala’s first female chef.

“Women bring warmth and affection to the table, something that evokes nostalgia to the food we make. As the only south Indian live kitchen to have a sizeable number of women chefs, we are looking forward to adding more to the team,” says Latha, whose team of female chefs are piquantly referred to as the ‘spice girls’ at Hyatt. “In the last decade or so, a significant number of woman chefs have come to the forefront of the hospitality industry. Establishing oneself as a chef has become increasingly easier. This is a welcome development,” she adds.

Although well-versed in Thai, continental and middle-eastern cuisines, Latha says south Indian food is closest to her heart. “Kappad kaya curry, a chicken preparation, reminds me of my childhood. It is popular with fisherfolk and is prepared at the time of a festival. The dish is on the menu at Malabar Cafe and I relish cooking it,” says the chef.

Latha has gathered a treasure trove of more than 3,000 recipes over the years. She is currently working on a historical cookbook that will feature 350 traditional recipes from different parts of Kerala. “The book will also outline the cultural fabric Kerala cuisine is rooted in. The research for it has been expansive and exhaustive,” she concludes.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Swetha Kadiyala / Express News Service / October 26th, 2019