Category Archives: Science & Technology

Indian born scientist wins prestigious US award

Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

 

Thomas J. Colacot. File photo. / The Hindu
Thomas J. Colacot. File photo. / The Hindu

India-born scientist Dr. Thomas John Colacot has won the  American Chemical Society’s  ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry , one of the top honours in the field.

He studied at St. Berchman’s College, Changanacherry, Kerala and IIT, Chennai, and is the first Indian to get the award in industrial chemistry. He also holds an MBA degree and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The award is sponsored by the ACS Division of Business Development and Management and the ACS Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.

Currently Global R&D manager in the homogenous catalysis area at Johnson Matthey, a specialty chemicals company, Mr. Colacot directs research in US, UK and in Indian labs.

“The ACS is proud to recognize your outstanding contributions to the development and commercialization of ligands and precatalysts for metal-catalyzed organic synthesis, particularly cross-couplings, for industrial and academic use and applications,” a letter from Tom Barton, president of ACS noted.

The 2015 national awards recipients will be honoured at the awards ceremony in conjunction with the 249th ACS national meeting in Denver, Colorado in March next year.

Mr. Colacot had received Royal Society of Chemistry’s RSC Applied Catalysis Award in 2012 for his contributions to the area of catalysis. His work on ‘cross-coupling’ is particularly acclaimed.

Mr. Colacot joined Johnson Matthey, USA in 1995 and started working in the area of palladium catalyzed cross-coupling.

The catalysts developed in his labs are currently used to make new drugs for Hepatitis C, a deadly disease with no cure, one pill per week for type II diabetics, and many hypertension drugs.

His work involves developing and commercializing ligands and catalysts for applications in metal-catalyzed synthetic organic chemistry.

His book on ‘New Trends in Cross-Coupling: Theory and Applications’ is scheduled to be published in October, 2014 by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He is also PhD thesis examiner to many IITs and visiting faculty at Rutgers University.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S&T> Science / by IANS / Washington – September 03rd, 2014

Kochi doctors perform Kerala’s first pancreas transplant

Records, All, Science & Technology

PancreasKERALA31aug2014

Kochi :

A hospital here has successfully conducted Kerala’s first combined pancreas-kidney transplant, the third such in India.

The highly complex surgery was conducted on 35-year-old S. Syed Yunus Shahir, an engineer from Palakkad. The donor was a brain-dead 38-year-old patient.

Thanks to the transplant, Shahir is now eating ice cream at will and is all set to return home after a nearly two-week stay at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS).

Ramachandran N. Menon, the surgical gastro transplant surgeon, told IANS that this patient first came to them about two months back and after a series of tests he was cleared for the surgery and then the wait for a donor began.

He said as per the rules of organ transplant and donation, the Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS), the state government’s nodal agency for organ retrieval and sharing, played a key role in facilitating the smooth transfer of pancreas and one kidney from a brain dead person.

“We got the call from the KNOS informing us of the availability of the pancreas and a kidney and we immediately asked Shahir to get admitted and the surgery was performed Aug 17,” said Menon.

Elaborating on the condition of Shahir, Menon said he was suffering from type 1 diabetes for the past 19 years and developed diabetes-related complications like retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy and end stage kidney failure over the past two years.

Despite using an insulin pump, he had erratic control of the blood sugar which was preventing from effectively doing his work.

“Today, Shahir is on normal diet, his kidneys are functioning normally and is not on insulin. He is having his favourite ice creams, which were taboo for him. He is rearing to go home,” he said.

The first simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant was done in 1966 in the US.

source: http://www.english.manormaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Agencies / Saturday – August 30th, 2014

Figuring out radio-controlled aircraft in Thiruvananthapuram

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology, Sports
Participants of a workshop on radio-controlled aircraft with the models made by them, in Thiruvananthapuram recently. Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
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

Building a multi-million venture from a small town in Kerala: Corporate360 story

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Corporate360 offers SaaS based Marketing Data & Analytics software for B2B marketers. Headquartered in Singapore with subsidiary offices in the US, the UK, Philippines and India, the company offers innovative marketing data & sales analytics solutions for global markets through a disruptive, low cost Data-as-a-Service model.

“The idea behind launching this was to innovate data solutions help B2B marketers identify best-fit target audience for sales & marketing campaigns,” says Varun Chandran, Founder, Corporate360.

The idea for Corporate360 was born when Varun was working for a large technology company in Singapore. He was working in a sales role where his ex-boss and a colleague initiated the idea of developing a sales intelligence and analytics data platform to help them sell better.

Corporate360KERALA25aug2014

Varun took the lead on getting the idea off the ground and startup while the other two colleagues decided to continue with their full time jobs due to security reasons. With their encouragement, Varun bootstrapped and launched Corporate360 with a couple of hundred dollars from his bed room.

Building global venture from a small town in Kerala

Corporate360 is the first international startup in India to start operations in a tier-3 town in Kerala, employing 20 engineers thereby creating jobs in rural India. The company is also a big supporter of women empowerment campaign, 75% of the present workforce of Corporate360 is women.

The company’s Founder Varun started from a humble background. Born in a small farming village in Kerala, he was a national footballer, captained Kerala University and Youth football teams. A college dropout, he went on to work for some of the world’s largest tech companies such as SAP, Oracle, and Dell in 3 countries before  founding Corporate360.

For the first three quarters, he was a one-man company and generated $250k in revenue. He re-invested the revenue back into the business to hire and build teams in Singapore, Manila and India. “At first it was challenging to attract talent especially in Kerala, when he bought his own company building and started the operations instead of renting a space in an IT park. People were hesitant because the company was a non-funded -startup and was not very famously operating out of any technology park,” adds Varun.

Differentiators and USPs

The B2B marketplace is crowded with legacy data re-sellers. There is a huge gap of BigData innovations in this space corresponding to lack of relevancy, accuracy, analytics and data maintenance in the old fashioned model. “Companies end up spending millions of dollars repeatedly to source data sets for their marketing campaigns from expensive, generic data re-sellers. B2B marketers are increasingly looking for insight driven marketing campaigns and switching from the legacy model of generic marketing blast approach,” points out Varun.

Corporate360 solutions are designed to leverage BigData to provide insight driven campaign data and sales analytics. The company is the first in Asia to offer a SaaS based B2B marketing data platform for global markets.

It offers a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind and the most complete marketing data software suite available today. The platform covers company profile, contact intelligence, organisation charts, tech install info, competitive intelligence, predictive analytics, sales triggers & social data through a low cost Data-as-a-Service model. Corporate360 DaaS model is unique and innovative delivering high value for customers, ensuring highest level of data accuracy, ongoing data maintenance and real-time updates.

How Corporate360 works for startups?

B2B marketers and agencies use Corporate360 solutions to access insight driven campaign data such as target companies, contacts, social intelligence, competitive intelligence & sales triggers. They use our platform to retrieve actionable data to design targeted campaigns with tailored messaging.

At present, the company has 900 plus clients ranging from startups to ‘Forbes’ listed corporations. A large portion of revenue comes from international markets such as the US & Europe. Corporate360 clients include HP, Dell, Oracle, and Google etc. The company offers exclusive, low-cost data subscription plans for B2B startups to get them started on their marketing campaigns.

Corporate360 is gaining good traction in global markets with their data driven & structured knowledge discovery solutions for B2B sales and marketers.

Journey from zero to multi-million dollar venture in three years

Corporate360 grew into a multi-million dollar business within three years as a bootstrapped venture. The company is profitable with operations in 5 countries with a team size of 29 executives. Profitable from inception, the company grew from revenue (first year) of $250k to a million dollar mark in just three years, presently forecasted to cross multi-million in revenue this year.

Plans for scaling up

The company is scaling up its offerings with innovative data solutions for marketers. The company is scheduled to formally launch three new cool data applications to their SaaS platform like:

PeeP: A social profiling widget of target audience to help learn more about the background of target prospects.

DataStudio – A comprehensive data service model to refresh & maintain internal data accuracy, leverage external data sets, create predictive data modelling, run accurate sales analytics, and integrate into CRM tools.

SmartWorker – A crowdsource data platform leveraging millions of online workers to perform data tasks at any scale to deliver real-time data updates.

By 2015, the company is aiming to cover 90% of total addressable enterprise market coverage in their data platform.

Road ahead

Corporate360 is expanding with local sales offices in the US, the UK and Singapore. The company is launching new data driven products for B2B marketers and has filed for four patents. “We are also in discussions with some prominent VCs to explore capital raising to accelerate our sales and marketing expansions in global markets,” says Varun.

Acquisition on the card

Corporate360 is in final discussions with a BigData startup company from India for a potential acquisition. The total team size is expected to grow from 29 to 50 this year, primarily expanding Data Scientist teams in India and Sales team in the US.

Website : Corporate360

source: http://www.yourstory.com / Your Story / by Jai Vardhan / August 25th, 2014

Manorama’s free heart surgery programme begins

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology
Representative image
Representative image

Kottayam: 

The first medical check up camp organized by Malayala Manorama as part if its free heart surgery programme, Hridayapoorvam, for 100 needy persons began on Sunday.

The medical examination for people from districts of Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam is taking place at a specially arranged camp at Malayala Mnorama office premises here.

More than fifty children with heart-related ailments has already arrived for a check up organised by Malayala Manorama in association with Madras Medical Mission.

The medical camp is conducted by a team of doctors led by Dr. Ajith Mullassery, Director of cardiology department, Madras Medical Mission. Dr. K Shivakumar, head of pediatric cardiology division, Dr. V.M. Kurien, consultant, cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Sreeja Pavithran, Dr. Bharath and Dr. P. Balaji are other team members.

The check up is being conducted in a mobile diagnostic clinic (MDC) with complete diagnostic facilities.

source: http://www.beta.english.manoramaonline.com / Manorama Online / Home> News> Kerala / by Manorama’s Correspondent / Sunday – August 24th, 2014

Kochi defence scientist bags top honour

Records, All, Science & Technology

S. Anantha Narayanan, the Director of the city-based Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), the only institution under the Defence Research and Development Organisation in Kerala, has been selected for DRDO’s coveted ‘Technology Leadership Award’ for the year 2013.

The award, carrying Rs 2 lakh and a citation, will be presented by the Prime Minister at a function in Delhi on August 20.

Under Mr. Narayanan’s stewardship, NPOL harnessed critical technologies to develop underwater communication and surveillance systems for the Navy.  All frontline ships of the Navy are fitted with NPOL-developed sonars.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by  Special Correspondent / Kochi – August 19th, 2014

Twinning Tale Delivers More Wonders

Amazing Feats, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Mallappuram : 

Less than a week ago, gynaecologist Laila Beegum supervised the birthing of a set of identical twins to a couple from Kodinhi village, now known globally for the high number of multiple births. The twin babies born on August 7 this year took the total number of such deliveries witnessed by her to 452.

Though the total number of twins in the village has now crossed 500, the mystery behind the phenomenon is yet to be unravelled.

Located close to Tirurangadi town in Malappuram district, Kodinhi village, with its high twinning rate, garnered global media attention around six years ago. At Kodinhi, twins account for 42 per 1,000 live births while the global average of twinning is reportedly around six per 1,000.

Brazil’s Candido Godoi and Nigeria’s Igbo-Ora have witnessed similar birth phenomenon. Attempts by several scientists and organisations to find the secret behind the high twinning rate have failed to bear fruit.

Recently, Dr N K Sribiju, public health consultant, Taluk Hospital, Tirurangadi, approached the state government seeking permission to conduct a genetic study on the local populace.

“Surely, there would be a scientific reason behind the birth of a huge number of twins in such a small area. But, the secret can be revealed only through a detailed genetic and environment study. We are awaiting permission from the ethical committee of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology at Thiruvananthapuram for the same,” said Dr Sribiju.

Significantly, more than 90 per cent of the couples from Kodinhi who reported twin births conceived normally. “Hence, IVF treatment cannot be considered as a reason for the high rate of twinning in Kodinhi,” Dr Biju said.

Dr Laila, who runs Laila’s Hospital, Chemmad, said multiple births are not just being reported by persons born and brought up here.

“Many women who came to Kodinhi after marrying someone here have also experienced twin birth. So, it could be due to some mysterious element of nature.

“Earlier, we conducted a water test but the results were not conclusive,” Dr Laila added.

Twins and Kins Association (TAKA) of Kodinhi believes that their village has the most density of twins in the world and is planning to approach officials of the Guinness Book to claim a record.

Get-together

“There are families having three pairs of twins and triplets at home. A 90-year-old man here is the eldest among the twins who are alive,” said Bhaskaran Pullani, president, Twins and Kins Association, which is planning to organise a get-together of all Kodinhi twins.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Santosh Christy / August 17th, 2014

[Techie Tuesdays] Indian DIY hacker Arvind Sanjeev, the inventor of ‘desi’ Google Glass

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

As a child, Arvind Sanjeev loved breaking new toys. That was his way of playing with them.  He has continued his hacking habit and is now a do-it-yourself hard coder. He was recently in the news for creating his own open-source Google Glass clone.

ArvindKERALA13aug2014

A hardcode electronics and mechatronics fan, he completed his engineering in Electronics and Communication in 2013. He was involved in developing functional prototypes while in college.

He has completed 15 projects  and numerous hacks which include following:

1. RideSmart – It is a remote Vehicle Activation System using SmartPhones (Android, Blackberry 10, Nokia) and he has filed for a patent (pending) for this project.

2. Smart Cap – It is the open source Glass clone which he developed mounting the display over the cap.

3. Fin – The Wearable Smart Finger Ring controller for SmartTVs, Smartphones, etc.

4. He has developed Internet of Things based home automation system.

5. You might have probably heard of (Android) SmartPhone Application Controlled Robot. Arvind has developed (Android) SmartPhone Application Controlled Honda Scooter.

6. He has manufactured the remote control of quad-rotor helicopter which has auto stabilization in it.

7. He has made a hovercraft with GPS which can be controlled by a wearable hand glove.

8. He has designed a smart and an interactive offline voice response system for home automation.

9. At times, two wheelers are just too easy to steal. Hence, he designed Gspeed, an anti-theft and navigation system for two wheelers.

10. He went on to make a portable GPS navigation module for explorers.

11. He has earned recognition from Kerala Power Minister and Electricity Board for developing home power and internet logger.

12. We have lighted a rocket using normal ignition. Arvind went a step ahead and designed an electric ignition based rocket using self-made solid fuel mixture.

He tells us that he used to refer to YouTube, StackOverflow, etc, to learn more about technologies around Android and other open source hardware like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.

Commenting on the present education system, he says that the ultimate aim of any academic course should be to equip the student with the ability to apply the working knowledge gained through practical applications. He adds that there is an urgent need to revamp the outdated academic curriculum.

Arvind2KERALA13aug2014

Arvind feels that India lacks proper resources and a conducive breeding ground for the hardware industry to prosper. At present, there is a boom of 3D printers and rapid prototyping, and hardware is going to become nearly as scalable as software. Arvind says that India should equip itself with the latest technologies in the market, and only then will we be able to start the race from the same starting line as our counterparts abroad. “Even today, many people, including developers, etc are skeptical about developing a hardware product,” he says.

Wearable market is another rat race which everyone is venturing into, be it smart watches, glasses, arm bands and even rings have entered the fray.  According to Arvind Sanjeev, the quintessential use for it in our daily life still deserves contemplation. He mentions that affordable augmented reality displays running on artificial intelligence that can be controlled using our brain waves or thoughts, sound promising.

He started a platform called DIY Hacking to serve as a medium to tutor students, hobbyists, etc about the latest technology development. It consists of detailed step by step instructions on how to do several projects centered on modern technology, and has tutorials ranging from $ 80 per head, which include mounted displays, Internet of Things and smartphone controlled robots.

Arvind says that the support he got from his parents — Dr.Sanjeev S (Principal Scientist, CIFT) and Dr. Usha Sanjeev (Technical Officer, CIFT) — has helped him in all his endeavors. They have helped him in funding several of his projects and continue to provide him with several resources. He also credits Startup Village, Cochin, for the support and guidance.  He also mentions that Sijo Kuruvilla George, Founding CEO of Startup Village, has guided him and several others in all their endeavors and is a true source of motivation.

source: http://www.yourstory.com / Your Story / Home> Techie Tuesdays / by Shreyansh Singhal / August 12th, 2014

Calicut University’s Course in Vocology to Bring Your Silky Voice Back

Education, Science & Technology

Thrissur :  

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

Tenets of an ancient science

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nature, Science & Technology
Exhibits at the stall of Department of Kaumarabhrithya (Paediatrics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram Photo: S. Mahinsha / The Hindu
Exhibits at the stall of Department of Kaumarabhrithya (Paediatrics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram Photo: S. Mahinsha / The Hindu

Explore the world of Ayurveda at an exhibition on the premises of Government Ayurveda College

It is a journey through facets of wellness and good health that is practised and advocated by an ancient system of treatment. ‘Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014’, a mega exhibition currently on at Government Ayurveda College to mark the 125th anniversary celebrations of the college, gives a wealth of information about this indigenous system of healing. From baby food and kits for the new born, the exhibition is a delightful discovery of methods and medicines that were once used by our ancestors to take care of their health and well-being.

“Each of the 14 departments of the college has set up separate stalls, explaining their area of study and work,” says Jayan Damodaran, associate professor and an office-bearer of the expo.

Through charts, models and posters, a stall put up by the Department of Prasoothitantra and Sthreeroga (Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) has explained various aspects related to pregnancy and child birth, breast-feeding techniques and so on.

Exhibits at the stall of Department of Agadatantra Vyavaharaayurveda and Vidhivaidyaka (Forensic Science, Toxicology and Dermatology) at Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: Athira M.
Exhibits at the stall of Department of Agadatantra Vyavaharaayurveda and Vidhivaidyaka (Forensic Science, Toxicology and Dermatology) at Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: Athira M.

A highlight of the stall is a model of Soothikagaram or a separate house constructed for a pregnant woman for delivery and post-pregnancy care during the seventh century BC. “This house used to be constructed when the woman was in her ninth month of pregnancy. She would stay there till her delivery,” says Dr. Prajitha.

Department of Kaumarabhrithya (Paediatrics) has showcased different aspects related to child care, including baby food, home remedies, and toys for different stages of growth.

Exhibits at the stall of Department of Rasa Sastra and Baishajya Kalpana (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: Athira M. / The Hindu
Exhibits at the stall of Department of Rasa Sastra and Baishajya Kalpana (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: Athira M. / The Hindu

An Ayurveda baby care kit has skin powder, massage oil, kaajal, and medicinal drops, all of which have been manufactured in the department. At a separate counter, visitors get to know and taste nutritious food for infants. No more tinned stuff for your little one. Check out Sriratna Modaka (made of dates, banana, ghee, honey and cardamom), mango syrup, sandal syrup, tulsi halwa, date syrup, cucumber halwa, healthy cutlets and soups. Recipes are happily shared with curious parents who want their little one to have organic food.

If you thought Ayurveda was all about herbs and plants with medicinal values, think again. The college has an open snake park under its Department of Agadatantra Vyavaharaayurveda and Vidhivaidyaka (Forensic Science, Toxicology and Dermatology) on its campus at Poojappura. The department has showcased specimens of poisonous and non-poisonous reptiles, besides giving exhaustive information about the kind of toxic substances found in households and toxic minerals and plants which also has medicinal properties. There is even a stall on forensic science.

Department of Salyatantra (Surgery and Orthopaedic) has arranged video documentation of successful stories of marma treatment, and exhibited ancient surgical instruments, bandage techniques and suturing methods.

While Department of Shalakya Tantra (ENT and Ophthalmology) has focussed on dealing with refractive errors, Department of Panchakarma tells about various treatment modalities along with pre and post operatory regiments for various diseases.

Department of Sanskritha Sidhantha and Samhitha, besides explaining the basic tenets of Ayurveda, has also stocked its various publications, some of which are rare books and palm leaf manuscripts.

Department of Swasthavritha (Social and Preventive Medicine) stresses on the Ayurveda nutrition and dietetics, with reference to various seasonal changes. A naturopathy food counter has also been put up by the students, where visitors get information on carrot tea, beetroot sweet and various other naturopathic food items.

Department of Kayachikitsa (General medicine) has set up the model of a ‘Rasayana griham’, that is a house where the patient would stay for months taking treatment, cut out from the outside world.

Ancient utensils used to make medicines exhibited at the stall of Department of Rasa Sastra and Baishajya Kalpana (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram Photo: Athira M. / The Hindu
Ancient utensils used to make medicines exhibited at the stall of Department of Rasa Sastra and Baishajya Kalpana (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics) at the Ashtanga Ayurveda Expo 2014 organised as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram Photo: Athira M. / The Hindu

The stall of Department of Rasa Sastra and Baishajya Kalpana (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics) stands out from the rest in that the department has traced the evolution of the medicine with matching interiors. Ancient utensils in which the medicines were prepared, which include a century-old huge vessel handed over by the royal family of erstwhile Travancore when the hospital was opened, different steps of preparing medicines, fermentation process and other activities of the department have been showcased.

The expo ends on August 12. Time: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by  Athira M. / Thiruvananthapuram – August 07th, 2014