Praveesh Chandran’s work ‘Resurrection, a man with art’, which is being displayed at Durbar Hall Art Gallery, revolves around two themes, nature and a celebration of disability.
The thirty-year-old, who hails from Thrissur, has been battling against muscular dystrophy, a disorder that weakens a person’s muscles over time. But it has not stopped him from pursuing his passion.
“I was diagnosed with the condition when I was around 5 years. By the time I was in Class X, it became painful for me to walk around, and my parents decided not to send me to school any more,” said Praveesh. The genetic disorder has left Praveesh confined to a wheelchair.
“My hands areweak and hurt me when I try to do anything. But painting is one of the few things that gives me great joy, apart from my wife and daughter,” said Praveesh.
One of the paintings that has caught visitors’ attention is that of a bird’s eye view of earth with a wheelchair facing it in outer space. “People ask me how I paint bearing the pain. This is my way of telling them that disabled or not, if one puts his/her mind to it, then sky is the limit. Look at Stephen Hawking, even with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he continues his work as a theoretical physicist,” says Praveesh, who says that he will paint until he is completely incapacitated.
His paintings will be on display till Friday from 11am to 7pm.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Kochi / by Rochelle DSouza, TNN / July 26th, 2015
The first “China Ready” hotel in God’s Own country to cater to the needs of Chinese tourists is getting ready at Kundanoor in Kochi.
As much as 80 per cent the work mandatory for Chinese accreditation is over at the 267-room five star deluxe Crowne Plaza belonging to Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), Sanjay Kaushik, general manager of the property told The Hindu .
The hotel will have trained personnel who can communicate to the tourists in Chinese, UnionPay payment facility on the lines of RuPay, Mandarin speaking personnel on call 24×7.
Authentic Chinese breakfast, lunch and dinner will be offered in the restaurants attached to the hotel. The menu card will also be in Chinese language for the benefit of the guests. Television in the hotel rooms where the Chinese tourists will be put up will have access to Chinese channels.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – August 03rd, 2015
Infosys co-founder and former CEO SD Shibulal is joining the board of The Tamara, the hospitality venture set up by his daughter Shruti, as its chairman at a time when the company is planning at least one fresh acquisition in the German speaking region of Western Europe
Since he retired from Infosys last year, Shibulal has been making investments through his family office Innovations Investment Management.
Since he retired from Infosys last year, Shibulal has been making investments through his family office Innovations Investment Management, most notably in real estate and hospitality sectors.
“He (Shibulal) plans to use his years of experience on a professionally run board to bring the foremost standards of corporate governance to The Tamara,” said Senthil Kumar N, director and chief executive of The Tamara.
The Tamara, which operates under the umbrella of Shibulal’s family office, also helps manage properties owned by the Shibulal family across the world.
Real estate makes up over half the portfolio of Shibulal’s family office, which has several resorts and projects in India.
The company’s flagship property and brand is the Tamara Coorg – a pet project of Shruti Shibulal, who is currently spearheading the venture’s Thiruvananthapuram project as well as the acquisition being pursued in Europe.
Shruti, who holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and started her career with Merrill Lynch, has also been actively building the family’s real estate portfolio. She also runs several finedining restaurants, including Caperberry and Fava in Bengaluru’s upmarket UB City mall.
“Each one of our platforms (such as The Tamara) has a professional management and governance structure in place from the beginning. They develop their own medium and long-term plans based on various factors. For example, our decision to consider acquiring a hotel property in the German speaking part of Western Europe is part of our long-term strategy,” said Kumar, an IIM-Bangalore and BITS-Pilani graduate who joined the Shibulal family office in 2005.
The company has started construction for its upcoming projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kodai projects. It has also begun operating two new properties – Lilac in Bengaluru and Palma Laguna on the Kerala backwaters, Kumar said.
Shibulal’s family office currently manages the entire wealth of the family including any new funds added through dividends and share sales, and also helps build the philanthropic and business platforms which the family is interested in, Kumar said.
Since his retirement, Shibulal has also become an active investor in the startup ecosystem and even set up a venture capital and accelerator program called Axilor under the purview of his family office, roping in fellow Infosys co-founder S Gopalakrishnan as an investor.
ET had reported last year that Shibulal and his family own several hundreds of apartments and properties across the world. Shibulal and his family currently have about 1.97% of shareholding in Infosys, worth nearly $1 billion (about Rs 6,400 crore).
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> Tech> ITes / by Anirban Sen, ET Bureau / July 29th, 2015
Eloor, the 27-year-old city library, continues to ward-off competition from e-portals with a satisfied reader base of 17,000 members
Sixty three-year-old Meera Khanna comes to Bengaluru from her farm in Nandi Valley, Sultanpet Village in Andhra Pradesh once every two weeks — “to pick up a few books from Eloor Libraries” on the ground floor of Blue Cross Chambers on Infantry Road. In this world swamped by ebooks, online libraries and new-age libraries like JustBooks, “Eloor” as it’s known by everyone in Bangalore boasts of 17,000 members. This was the place where once you would find Girish Karnad or Ramachandran Guha standing with titled heads, reading quietly by the book shelves — Eloor has no reading room. There’s just a “private room” where “old books” are stored.
Khanna was introduced to Eloor by her son, who now lives in the US. “He became a member of the library when he was a teenager.” And why she crosses borders to borrow books? “There’s no better feeling than picking an old book with yellowed-pages.” And also Eloor has any book that she wants and “a very good layout”.
Eloor was first established in 1979 by Luiz John in Ernakulam, Kerala. According to their website it was because “the government libraries had not been able to satisfy the hunger for books; plenty of new titles were getting published, but there were only very few readers who could buy the books they wanted. Readers truly needed a library like Eloor”. The Bangalore branch was opened 1988. Its shelves stack rows of English books across various genres such as fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, biographies, thrillers, business and children books. In Bengaluru alone they have a collection of about 1.5 lakh books. They also have outlets in Chennai and New Delhi, and their most recent store was opened in Kolkata in 1994. The one-time refundable deposit of Rs 800 (and you can borrow books/magazines worth Rs.1200.The library charges its members a tenth of the price of the book as reading charges.) Of course they have a few “regular and faithful members” who borrow 30/40 books at a time. “We lend it to them based on trust,” says the N Gopal Rao, the library manager. Ideally, the book has to be returned in a span of two weeks, “but we don’t really insist because some people might take much longer to complete a book. They can simply call and extend the return-date,” says the genial Rao.
Priya Mohanraj (52) is intently flipping through the pages of Sufi by Idris Shah in the religious section at the Library. The books she has borrowed – Shamans Mystics and Doctors by Sudhir Kakar and Sufi – were suggested Rao who has worked at Eloor for the past 15 years. “The people here know the taste of every reader (member) and suggest books accordingly. This really spoils you. But it saves you a lot of time too. I like reading about religion, philosophy and psychology and they just seem to pick the right books for me,” says Mohanraj, a former economics professor and emotional counsellor for adolescents.
Rao himself was a voracious reader who enjoyed library hopping, when he signed on to be a librarian at Eloor in 2000. At the time, they had about 100-120 members coming in on a daily basis and the numbers would double during weekends. Today, however, the numbers have dwindled at about 40-60 people on weekdays and increases by 10-15 by weekend. Eloor had its hey days in the 90s when they saw a surge in membership. In 2000 they had 12,000 members. Between then and now they have only 5000 new members. Still, 27 years since its inception in Bengaluru, the library remains a hub for serious readers and continues to cater to different generations of its 17,000-odd members. “For someone who likes reading, there’s no better feeling than holding the book, feeling its weight and enjoying that ‘old book smell.’ Something e-commerce giants like Amazon or Flipkart cannot match,” says Rao (36).
Books have inspired serious competition here, he recounts. When the fifth book in the Harry Potter series – The Order of the Phoenix – released in 2003, there was about 100m long queue outside Eloor even before they had opened the store at 10am. The store had bought 20 copies from distributors and those on the waiting list were called when the book became available. But of course there is no such rush in the recent times, what with pre-ordering available on many online stores. “Members let us know much in advance what book they are looking to read and we place orders accordingly with the five distributors we have,” says Rao. Eloor adds books to their shelf every month when the distributors send the latest releases and Rao hand picks books based on their readers’ liking.
Krishna Murthy, at 83, is the oldest member here. The octogenarian loves reading thrillers, “and whenever he visits I ensure I give me the latest arrivals in that genre. Usually members tend to stick to the authors they like and don’t explore others so I recommend something is worth a read and is of their liking,” says Rao. The youngest include a bunch of six-year-olds who come in to borrow Marvel comics and superhero gen-next books. In fact, there are a few parents, mostly in their 30s, who bring their kids, as young as three, to read out children’s books to them. “They just want the kids to feel the library, you know,” says Rao with a smile.
It has been tough, he admits, surviving the onslaught of online stores. “The youngsters like to read on their Kindles, phones and rarely have the time to come visit a library.” But he is optimistic. “The advent of newer libraries such as Just Books and Easy books have not really dented our business, mainly because of the collection we have,” he adds. However, Eloor too will have to keep up with the times. “We will start an online portal soon where readers can select the books they want and we can home deliver them,” Rao says.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Nandini Kumar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / July 30th, 2015
Actor Rajinikanth paying homage to legendary musician MS Viswanathan on July 14. | EPS
Chennai :
After battling a kidney illness for what insiders say was almost a year, legendary composer ‘Mellisai Mannar’ M S Viswanathan passed away at 4.20 am at a private hospital in Chennai.
The composer had been admitted to Fortis Malar Hospital in Adyar after his kidneys started failing almost 34 days ago. He had been given dialysis and doctors there had been examining his condition in the hope of finding a solution, but at 87, the frail music director was not the best candidate for surgery – let alone a transplant.
Born in Kerala in the village of Elapuzhi in 1928, his penchant for musical performance pushed him to join yesteryear artist Bagavathar’s drama troupe at the age of 14.
It was at this time that he began his sojourns to Madras and had a glimpse of what Kodambakkam would eventually become.
MSV then joined the troupe of C R Subbarayan as a harmonium player.
This is where he met his compatriot Ramamoorthy and struck up a partnership that spanned over 695 films till the latter’s death.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Tamil / by Express News Service / July 14th, 2015
Beads of various hues, strewn into beautiful necklaces, chains, and earrings are on display at the Museum Art Gallery here. The exhibition is being organised by Koottam.com on behalf of Preetha Attingal, who is paralysed from waist down since her school days. This is the second expo of Koottam.com, founded as a social networking forum for Keralites by N.S. Jyothikumar and Jeyamohan.
Preetha writes for the Koottam blog under the name ‘Snehapravahini.’ Her deep interest in jewellery prompted her Koottam friends to set up a small business for her. Beads from Varanasi are procured by a Koottam friend who resides in Mumbai. Preetha crafts pretty necklaces and earrings out of them, coming up with her own designs and methods. The price ranges from Rs.125 to Rs.600. The profits obtained from the sale will be added to Preetha’s next venture.
Koottam reaches out to many more talented and needy members. Preetha has been trained to manage the business too, says Sujatha Vinod Shanker, a mural artist. Rani and Renu Mohan, members of Koottam, are overseeing the exhibition. The exhibition, open from 10 a.m. every day, will go on till July 9.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Kerala / by A Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – July 09th, 2015
Model of a kitchen at a Kerala home exhibited at the Museum of History and Heritage inThiruvananthapuram. — Photo: S. Gopakumar
Cooking vessels line the hearth; firewood adds to its authenticity. Nearby sits an uppu marava (salt container), and at right, in a corner, is an ennakudam (oil pot). There are also a few spice boxes, in varying shapes, a couple of mulanazhi and a marakkal used to measure cereals, and a rectangular wooden vessel for collecting strained rice gruel water. This is how a 150-year-old Kerala kitchen is recreated at the Keralam – Museum of History and Heritage at Park View, near the Corporation office, in the city.
The museum does not see a significant footfall, unlike the Napier Museum or the Natural History Museum. On some days, it receives fewer than 30 visitors, mostly domestic tourists and those from abroad who are drawn by its mention on the must-see list in the Lonely Planet travel guide book. Doordarshan has also telecast a documentary on the museum.
Not many are aware of the museum. It is in a prime location, but is easily missed owing to inadequate signage. The display boards are not prominent enough, it is pointed out.
Space constraint
“The museum faces space constraints. It does not have seating arrangements for families to relax during or after a tour,” says museum Executive Director S. Raimon.
Prem P. Mahesh, guide-lecturer at the museum, blames paucity of parking space. Vehicles have to be parked at the museum and zoo parking space opposite, or along the road to Nanthancode or Kanakakkunnu. A common ticket for both the zoo and the heritage museum will attract more visitors, it is pointed out.
“Museums usually have the concept of a cafe. This museum does not have one,” Mr. Raimon says. There is a Tourism Department canteen, but it is not exclusively for the museum’s visitors.
Night museum
Many suggested keeping the museum open till 8 p.m. “One finds such night museums in the West,” Mr. Raimon says.
The museum at present receives groups of schoolchildren towards the fag end of the year, courtesy visits by its authorities to schools.
Target groups
However, it is also looking at improved visibility among groups such as the Technopark staff.
It plans to reach out to them through online campaigns and exhibiting its photos and brochures. “We are planning to hold such an exhibition during Onam,” Mr. Raimon says.
The museum is keen on attracting more visitors. “This will address the issue of fund shortage, and the future of the museum as a self-sustaining unit will be secure,” Mr. Mahesh says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by R.K. Roshni / Thiruvananthapuram – July 10th, 2015
The legendary sword of Velu Thambi Dalawa, the ruler of erstwhile Travancore, which has drawn visitors in great numbers to Napier Museum will be returned to the National Museum, New Delhi. The museum officials have received a formal order to hand over the sword.
The archaeology department under ministry of culture had earlier received a communication from the Centre demanding that the sword be returned to National Museum.
G Premkumar, director of archaeology department, said that the order has already been issued. “The sword was brought to the state as loan from National Museum. We received a communication as per the direction from the President of India stating that the sword should be returned,” said Premkumar.
A team has been assigned by the National Museum to transport the sword from the state to New Delhi. B Joseph ,director of museum and zoos, said that the museum administration was entrusted with the task to conserve and display the sword and it will now be returned.
The sword had been in possession of Kilimanoor royal family till 1957 when it was handed over to the then President Rajendra Prasad and then taken to National Museum.
The state government had been renewing yearly insurance for the sword and the period expires on Thursday. As per the records, Dalawa who had been in hiding during the late 1800s, reached Kilimanoor Palace where he had supper at the oottupura. In return for the hospitality and refuge, Dalawa offered his sword with a condition that it shall never reach the hands of English East India Company. The palace members kept the word and hid the sword among the immense weaponry maintained at the palace. A few days after Dalawa took refuge in Kilimanoor palace he stabbed himself to death at the Bhagavathi temple at Mannadi near Adoor.
According to Shankunni Menon, the author of Aithihyamala, the Dalawa asked his brother to stab him, which his brother refused to, following which the Dalawa stabbed himself. Since the self-inflicted wound did not prove mortal, he cried out to his brother ‘cut my neck,’ and the brother in one stroke severed the neck from the body.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Aswin J.Kumar, TNN / July 08th, 2015
Pokku Moosa Maraykkar was a prosperous merchant of Poovar who had close links with the royals of erstwhile Travancore.
Pokku Moosa Maraykkar, a Muslim merchant who was instrumental in introducing young Kesava Pillai to Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma, is a name that is seldom remembered in popular history. Kesava Pillai began as an accountant in Pokku Moosa Maraykkar’s warehouse. Later, he became a trusted officer to the royals and rose to the position of Dewan. It is said that Raja Kesavadas, as he was later known, had a special place in his heart for his early mentor’s family.
Although Pokku Moosa Maraykkar’s name is often associated with Raja Kesavadas, it seems that Maraykkar was an important person who had sided with Marthanda Varma during one of the most turbulent phase in the history of erstwhile Travancore.
According to local lore, Pokku Moosa was a member of Valiya Kallaraikkal Veedu, a prominent family of traders who operated from Thengapattanam and Poovar. In 1918 A.D., Amshi K. Raman Pillai wrote about Raja Kesavadas and his association with Kallaraikkal Veedu.
Pillai is of the opinion that Maraykkar was the one who supplied goods to Valiya Kottaram in Thiruvananthapuram, and through this connection the merchant entered into the good books of the royals.
he existing wing of the old Kallaraikkal Veedu in Poovar./ Photo: Sharat Sunder Rajeev / The Hindu
Kallaraikkal Veedu, the ancient house of Pokku Moosa, was a landmark structure in Poovar. This structure has now been replaced by a concrete structure. However, local residents still associate the house with Marthanda Varma. It is said that when Marthanda Varma was hounded by the Ettuvettil Pillamar, he had once sought refuge at the Kallaraikkal Veedu in Poovar. Later, after he vanquished his enemies, Marthanda Varma bestowed the family with honours. The patriarchs of the family were granted the title of ‘Maraykkar’, and thereafter they were considered as nobles in their community.
Kallaraikkal family had a branch in Thengapattanam, where an old well, supposedly dug following the order of Raja Kesavadas, was spotted by Amshi K. Raman Pillai.
The ancient buildings associated with the family, unfortunately, fell prey to modernisation.
In Poovar, a stone’s throw away from the site of the Valiya Kallaraikkal Veedu is located a house of a family member who is struggling to keep up with the changing times.
“This house is more than 150 years old,” says Hassan Kannu who occupies the house. According to Hassan Kannu, in olden days the Kallaraikkal family owned many edifices in the locality and his house is perhaps one of the last to survive.
“This house had seen better days when my ancestors had enjoyed royal patronage,” says Hassan, “I still remember my elder brother’s nikâh, when a horse adorned with silver ornaments was sent from the royal stable to take the groom for the procession,” he adds. This tradition has been recorded by Raman Pillai in an article.
Pillared verandah opening to the inner yard of the existing wing of the old Kallaraikkal Veedu in Poovar /. Photo: Sharat Sunder Rajeev / The Hindu
The old house, Hassan explains, still retains some traces of its glorious past. The main entrance, a thick wooden door, opens to a spacious yard, with wide verandahs on either side. “Only a small fraction of the house still exists, the padippura, the nalakam, the courtyard wing, and other associated structures have been demolished to make way for new constructions,” says Hassan.
“I don’t know for how long I will be able to maintain the house, but I will do my best,” he adds with a smile.
[The author is a conservation architect and history buff]
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Hidden Histories / by Sharat Sunder Rajeev / Thiruvananthapuram – July 03rd, 2015
The book ‘Kadalarivukalum Neranubhavangalum’, authored by marine researcher Robert Panipillai, can be regarded a treasure trove of information on the fishing community and the vast traditional knowledge they possess.
Many mysteries of the Thiruvananthapuram coast are unravelled in the 155-page book through extensive research that was undertaken by the author over a period of around 15 years. Particularly engaging is the chapter that has findings on the Dutch ship that sank off the Varkala coast in 1754.
A team led by Mr. Panipillai, which included two divers, conducted the expedition from Anchuthengu (or Anjengo) earlier this year to find the wreckage of the ship, nearly 9.7 km northwest of Anchuthengu at a depth of 43 metres.
The ship was later identified as ‘Wimmenum’ (named after a place in Holland) of the Dutch East India Company, as per information obtained by the researcher through archived documents in the Netherlands. The ship had been built in the Amsterdam wharf in 1752. It sank after being attacked by ‘Angrians’, believed to have been a group of pirates, in the Malabar coast, as per the Dutch archives. The ship had a crew of 356 members.
Visuals that were obtained by Mr. Panipillai during the expedition found the wreck to be home to a large number of varieties of marine species. It had a length of around 8 metres, while the archived documents showed that the ship had a length of 42.25 metres and weighed 1,150 tonnes.
The book also traces the link that ship had with the ‘Dutch Bell’, made of brass, at the Janardhana Swamy Temple in Varkala.
The bell, which has been found to have been made from Wimmenum, has the inscriptions of Michael Everhard, who was a soldier aboard the ‘Wimmenum’ ship, and of Pieter van Belson, a person who hailed from Middelburg in the Netherlands and had manufactured the bell.
“Several facts that have been obtained for the preparation of the book were from local fishermen. It was a matter of shame that the traditional knowledge of the community remained largely ignored by scientists and others in positions of authority. I hope the book serves to ensure that the authorities regard fishermen in an entirely new light and appreciate the vast knowledge they possessed regarding marine life,” Mr. Panipillai told The Hindu .
The book, which has been published by Current Books, was jointly released by Thomas, a fishermen, and Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop M. Soosa Pakiam, here on Saturday. Among the other attractive features of the book are the images of marine species and also those that reflect upon the lives of fishermen.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Sarath Babu George / Thiruvananthapuram – July 05th, 2015
