‘India can develop its global ambitions with UN cooperation ’

Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, World Opinion

Thiruvananthapuram  :

India has a powerful opportunity to develop its global ambitions through cooperation with the United Nations, said Kiran Mehra Kerpelman, director of United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan. She was inaugurating an international conference conducted to commemorate the 70th anniversary of United Nations here on Saturday.

Quoting United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, Kiran said, “These are the reflections of India’s increasing influence on the international stage. At this moment of time and space, India has a powerful opportunity to develop its global ambitions through cooperation with the UN.”

The conference on ‘Global Partnership towards Peace, Development and Human Rights: India and the UN’ organized by United Nations Information Centre, India and Bhutan in association with department of political science, University of Kerala and V K Krishna Menon Study Centre for International Relations was held at senate chamber.

“Indian and the UN have a long standing and far reaching relationships from the early days of leadership, on racial discrimination and decolonisation. As the successful initiatives like institutionalising equality, end poverty and fighting hunger the world over, we must fight together the threat of terrorism. The incessant rain at Chennai, floods in Uttarakhand and unseasonal heat waves at Andhra Pradesh and at rest of the country all are climate related. It is high time we realized the effects of climate change,” said Kiran.

Mentioning the COP 21 (Paris Climate Conference), an international political response to climate change, to be held Paris from Monday, she said that the 70th anniversary of the UN entails a certain amount of reflection in the past and plan for the future, which will decided at COP21.

Kerala University vice-chancellor P K Radhakrishnan, who presided over the event, spoke about the need for more focus in the conservation of environment and also on the need for peace and tolerance, while Rajiv Chandran, national information officer at United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan urged the students to join the district organization of United Nations Associations and update themselves about the decisions of the UN and also share their ideas.

A book on ‘The Changing Dimensions of Security: India’s Security Policy Options’ edited by Suresh R, director of V K Krishna Menon Study Centre for International Relations, was also released by Kiran Mehra Kerpelman by handing over the first copy to P K Radhakrishnan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / December 06th, 2015

Unesco award presented to Vadakkunnathan temple

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

First time that the Award of Excellence is reaching a South Indian State

Unesco representative Moe Chiba with the Unesco Asia Pacific Award of Excellence at the Sree Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur on Friday.— PHOTO: K.K. Najeeb
Unesco representative Moe Chiba with the Unesco Asia Pacific Award of Excellence at the Sree Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur on Friday.— PHOTO: K.K. Najeeb

The Unesco Asia Pacific Award of Excellence was presented to Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple here on Friday.

Unesco representative Moe Chiba presented the award to Cochin Devaswom Board president M.P. Bhaskaran Nair.

“The holistic restoration of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple represents a milestone achievement in reviving a living religious heritage site using a combination of indigenous knowledge of vernacular building techniques and contemporary conservation practice,” Ms. Moe Chiba noted.

Even with inappropriate minor repairs and a century of exposure to monsoon rains, the project skilfully stabilised the wooden complex for use by local devotees and restored significant decorative works including murals, she noted.

Addressing the function, Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar noted that the Award of Excellence for the conservation efforts of the majestic Vadakkunnathan temple was an honour for the State’s authentic style of architecture. Three hundred artisans worked for a decade for the conservation work.

The award comprises a brass plaque. ‘Award of Excellence’ certificates were presented to important stakeholders, master craftsmen and contributors to the project. The Unesco established Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation to promote conservation of heritage in Asia and the Pacific in 2000.

The award recognises private efforts and also public private initiatives in conserving structures of heritage value.

Since the inception of the awards, India has received the Award of Excellence four times till date.

The honour for Vadakkunnathan temple conservation is the first time that the ‘Award of Excellence’ is reaching a south Indian State.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had been working on the conservation of the temple kitchen, the murals, the wood carvings and the south and west gopurams (gateways) since 1997.

In 2005, the Director General, ASI Delhi, gave permission to Venugopalaswamy Kainkaryam Trust (VGKT), Chennai, the donors, for its overall conservation, as per ASI norms.

“Hindu temples are designed and renovated in such a way that the temple is considered a human body, with life and energy.

“The complex systems of vasthu and tantrasastra are followed to restore and revive the energy and life of the temple lost due to age. Thus the conservation process involved both physical and metaphysical efforts,” said architect M.M. Vinod Kumar, who coordinated the conservation work.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / Staff Reporter / Thrissur – December 05th, 2015

Israeli academic hails Kerala’s multiculturalism

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Says the system preserves the identity of every community

Kerala’s traditional multiculturalism has much to offer to the policy and decision makers in modern times, says Ophira Gamliel from the University of Ruhr, the Israeli academic who has been closely associated with Kerala studies.

Ophira Gamliel says the traditional festivals and performing arts in Kerala are highly structured so as to ensure the collaboration of the various communities at different levels.
Ophira Gamliel says the traditional festivals and performing arts in Kerala are highly structured so as to ensure the collaboration of the various communities at different levels.

Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the third International Kerala History Conference here on Friday, Prof. Gamliel says a closer look at the multiculturalism inherited by the State would point to a dynamic system which preserves the identity of every community, even as it provides space for each of them to integrate into one system.

“You don’t lose your identity. Even small communities do not get swallowed. Your literature, culture, everything are well preserved. Instead of getting integrated at the personal level, you are integrated at the community level,” she says.

Prof. Gamliel says the roots of this unique system, still preserved, could be traced to the ancient long-distance trade exchanges which were exceptionally different in character from the modern global trade. “Unlike the modern global trade, which is marked by brutal expropriation of resources and labour, the ancient trade between the western coast of India and west Asia was marked by a great amount of cultural and knowledge exchanges at the community level,” she adds.

Documents

The more-than-1,000-year-old Cairo Documents (referring to deals between west Asian traders and those from Kerala) and the 9th century Tharisapalli plates (referring to a grant issued to Syriac Christians of Kerala) are rich evidences to this multiculturalism. “In fact, the Tharisapalli plates are signed in three languages: Persian (in Hebrew script), Pahlavi, and Cufic Arabic,” she says pointing to the efforts taken to preserve the identity of the different trading organisations.

Even the traditional festivals and performing arts here are highly structured so as to ensure the collaboration of the various communities at different levels. Beyond the complexity of what happens on the stage, this underlying structure assured collaboration at the communal level even in performing art forms, she says.

This unique system of multiculturalism should be subject of in-depth research, especially at a time when traditional communities are under threat of being swallowed up in the wave of globalisation, leading to tensions and conflicts at the community and societal level, she adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by George Jacob / Kottayam – November 29th, 2015

55-cr wedding for NRI’s daughter in Kerala

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's

Thiruvananthapuram  :

A Rs 55 crore wedding extravaganza, capable of surpassing even the most spectacular Bollywood sets, will unveil at the Asramam ground in Kollam on Thursday where NRI business magnate Ravi Pillai’s daughter, Dr Arathi, will wed Dr Adithya Vishnu of Kochi.

Work in progress at the venue of Ravi Pillai's daughter's wedding at Kollam. (TOI)
Work in progress at the venue of Ravi Pillai’s daughter’s wedding at Kollam. (TOI)

With a net worth of $2.8 billion, Ravi Pillai was ranked first among the richest Keralites in a survey conducted by TOI in June. Pillai’s RP Group has a strong presence in Gulf in construction, infrastructure development, mining and education, and has over 80,000 employees across 26 companies.

Though wrapped in secrecy, sources associated with the wedding plans told ToI that the festivities, planned by the production designer of the multi-lingual top-grosser ‘Bahubali’, will showcase dance performances by Malayalam film actresses Manju Warrier and Sobhana, with a musical show conducted by Stephen Devassy before 30,000 guests inside a 350,000 sq ft pandal modelled along Rajasthan royal palaces.

The main entrance of the pandal (TOI Photo)
The main entrance of the pandal (TOI Photo)

The splurge on the wedding will also include Rs 10-crore worth charity initiatives planned in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts in connection with the wedding.

A virtual who’s who of the Gulf and several European countries are expected. The guest list starts with 42 global leaders including country heads, CEOs, government reps, politicians, film-stars, technocrats and diplomats.

T P Seetharaman, ambassador of India to the UAE; Sheikh Khalifa Bin Daij Al Khalifa, president, Crown Prince Office, Bahrain; Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalid H A Al Thani, Royal Family of Qatar; Dr Essam Abdullah, Saudi Royal Family; and, Lebanese ambassador Michel El Khoury have confirmed attendance.

Sources at Thiruvananthapuram airport said two chartered flights are expected on Thursday. “But we can accommodate more as we only need a three-hour alert to prepare for landing and handling of special flights,” sources said.

The wedding set, spread over eight acres, has cost more than Rs 20 crore. The pandal was made by a team of 200 professionals led by film art director Sabu Cyril.

“The design is unique for this event. But it’s largely modelled on the royal palaces of Rajasthan,” said Cyril, who was the production designer for ‘Bahubali’.

He said that the wedding set is larger than the one he had made for ‘Bahubali’. “The palace in the film was set up on five acres but this set will cover 40,000 sqft spread over eight acres,” Cyril told TOI.

While Cyril had to work for two-and-half years for building the ‘Bahubali’ set, it took him close to 75 days to create the Rajasthani ambience in Kollam.

“Various parts for this set were first moulded in clay in Mumbai, and then it was cast in plaster of Paris. It took us about 40 days to assemble the pre-fabricated structures here,” he said. “And it will take us a fortnight to dismantle it and clear the ground back to its original form,” Cyril said.

Chartered flights carrying Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Bahrain royal family landed on Wednesday. An elaborate security blanket has been thrown over Kollam. Apart from 250 cops, the services of 350 private security personnel have been hired.w.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / November 26th, 2015

Kannur girl wins laurels

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Sub Lieutenant Darshita Babu wins two gold medals at the passing-out parade.

The cynosure of all eyes at the passing-out parade of cadets at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) here on Thursday was a Kannur girl, who completed her primary course as a Naval officer and won medals for meritorious performance as a trainee.

Sub Lieutenant Darshita Babu, a mechanical engineering graduate, who won the Chief of the Naval Staff gold medal for best cadet in overall order of merit for the Naval Orientation (Regular) Course and also the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (South) gold medal for the best woman trainee of the course in the Autumn Term 2015 at the passing out parade, is a native of Ulikkal near Iritty here.

“It is a matter of great pride that the woman cadet who got two awards at the passing-out parade is a Kannur girl, from the local community,” said Navy Chief Admiral R.K. Dhowan during his interaction with the press after the parade.

Daughter of Dinesh Babu, who is an employee at Ulikkal Government Higher Secondary School, and Lissy Babu, Darshita will be going to Visakhapatnam for a sub course. She is specialising in naval architecture.

“What inspired me to join the Navy was my association with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) during my school days,” she said adding that her training at the INA was a challenge.

She said that the training gives the cadets mental and physical stamina that brings about positive changes in their personality.

A graduate from T.K.M. Engineering College in Kollam, she said that she had the total support of her parents.

She is a Karate black belt holder and during her college days she was a player in the Kerala University women’s football team.

She has also been trained in classical music and dance.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Ezhimala (Kannur) – November 27th, 2015