AThe district now has a new machinery to replant paddy seedlings in Pokkali fields.
It is for the first time that such mechanisation process has been introduced in the scheme of Pokkali farming in the State.
The machine, costing about Rs.2 lakh, was launched by District Collector N. Padmakumar at the Koorichal Pokkali fields at Eramalloor in Cherthala on Saturday. The replanting machine was developed by the scientists of rice research centre of Kerala Agricultural University, in association with a private company.
Replanting of seedlings is a labour-intensive process and availability of workers has been one of the major challenges faced by farmers. Pokkali rice in Kerala is considered organic and has got Geographical Indication (GI) certification. Pokkali fileds stretch over the coastal areas of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts in the State. Pokkali farming area in Kerala has come down from 25,000 acres to 5,000 hectares within the last 15 years owing to various problems faced by farmers, Francis Kalathngal, a Pokkali farmer and convenor of coordinating committee of Pokkali farmers, told The Hindu .
Pokkali fields do not require inorganic fertilizers or irrigation facilities set up by the government. As such, the government needs to support the farmers through providing subsidy on the machine so that it could be widely used, he said. Subsidies under certain schemes such as Gram Vikas Yojna are available from the Union and State governments, but are generally not disbursed on time, he added. The machine is an innovation pioneered by the scientists of rice research station, Ernakulam, said V. Sreekumar, professor and head of the centre, told The Hindu . Three years of experimentation has proved that it could be deployed in Pokkali fields characterised by loose sand and mud. It would take only one to one and a half hours to conduct the replanting operations in one acre. The use of seeds could also be reduced by spreading the because of the optimum practices employed in replanting, he said.
Preparing the fields for the mechanized process is important, according to Mr. Kalathingal. Late arrival of monsoon is a problem confronting the farmer. Washing away the salt content in the field by the rains for a fortnight is important. The traditional way of ‘broadcasting’ for sowing the seeds involves wastage whereas mechanisation provides scope for optimum use of seeds. The distance between the plants could also be set conveniently for giving maximum harvest, he said.
It is for the first time that such mechanisation process has been introduced in the scheme of Pokkali farming in the State.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by R Ramabhadran Pillai / Lappuzha – June 22nd, 2015
The Thalassery Revenue Reference Library is a treasure trove of history. Thousands of important revenue records of the country and the state, especially Malabar, are stored here. But curiously enough, the government is yet to appoint a librarian to curate these documents.
It is the only reference library under the revenue department outside of the state capital. The valuable books and records here throw light on various historical events of North Malabar; some of the most important ones pertain to the British Raj of the 19th century.
Records not available elsewhere in the state or country are available at the Thalassery Revenue Reference Library. Among them are detailed records of the revenue department, which used to handle functions that are now handled by various departments. But the library, housed in a beautiful building in the Thalassery sub-collector office compound, is now no one’s baby.
Courtesy: Archaeology Department’s oversight
It is the interest in history that A.C. Mathew, a revenue divisional officer here in 1996-2001, had that led to the setting up of the library. Mathew and his colleagues went around revenue offices from Manjeri to Kasaragod on holidays to find these books and documents and bring them to Thalassery, with permission from the department.
In 1992, the archaeological department had collected thousands of documents from Thalassery sub-collector’s office. The documents stored at the library are those that escaped the scrutiny of archaeology officials. The RDO and other employees of the revenue department spent from their own pockets to preserve these documents in plastic covers. Later, following newspaper reports, then minister K.E.Ismail allotted Rs 1 lakh to have those books bounded.
The library building was built on a grant of Rs 3 lakh given as part of the central government’s project to strengthen the revenue department. In between, there was an attempt to move the books and documents to Thiruvananthapuram, but then chief minister E.K.Nayanar intervened and stopped it. The public was also allowed to refer these documents. There are many who have done research here for their doctoral degrees.
In 2010, then revenue minister K.P. Rajendran and home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan visited the library and gave the nod for the creation of a librarian’s post. But even after five years, the post is vacant. Apparently, the officials are still in a search for a revenue department staffer who is also qualified in library science!
From the collection:
There are many valuable documents here related to the freedom struggle, from leaders’ speeches to secret police reports to administrative procedures:
In 1922, those interned in Kannur central jail over the Mappila rebellion had attacked jail wardens with knives and other weapons procured from the jail kitchen. Several were killed in the shooting that followed. The reports on their post-mortems as well as information related to the rebellion not available elsewhere are in the Thalassery Revenue Reference Library.
The properties of those who were banished to Andamans over the rebellion were confiscated. The list goes like this: a sleeping mat, iron rimmed pestles for grounding rice, a red oxen with horns curved forward…
Another document is the order issued by William Logan, the sub-collector here in 1860, to shoot tigers that were terrorising travellers on the way to Ancharakandi.
Also available are documents on encounters with police at Morazha, Thalassery Jawaharghat and Mattannoor; and those about Gandhiji’s fast at Yarvada jail and the Agakhan Palace. Among the documents are the various orders issued by British officials on the steps to be taken if Gandhiji dies during his fast, such as not allowing black flags or even mourning processions.
There are also other interesting documents. Among them is a complaint by local people that a revenue official called Krishnan Nair refusing to accept property tax at the office and instead going to homes to collect it; also he had demanded bribe in the form of cow’s ghee and chicken eggs while visiting homes.
Another document shows that an Anglo-Indian in the service of the British army had entrusted the care of his mentally ill mother to the sub-collector as per the law. The official put her in the care of the Sacred Heart Convent. The letters that followed between the woman’s son, who served in the North-West Frontier Province, and the sub-collector and the convent authorities show the selfishness of man. The son writes to the sub-collector and the convent about how much he earns and asserts that despite saving as much as he could he cannot give more than Rs 2 per month for her care.
Among the thousands of priceless documents available here are Logan’s Malabar Manual, the work called Treaties and Engagement of British Affairs in Malabar published in 1870, the Manual of British Administration in Malabar Presidency published by the Madras government in 1882, a true copy of Magna Carta, the report on the commission that probed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Rowlatt Act.
Will the authorities wake up to ensure this history of north Malabar is preserved before it is claimed by time and neglect for ever?
source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Kerala / by V.K. Jayanthan / Sunday – June 21st, 2015
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off India’s first diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) train service with an air-conditioned coach here.
The Angamaly-Ernakulam-Tripunithura-Piravom train service is expected to help in reducing traffic congestion in the state’s fastest growing city.
“It is for the first time in a DEMU service, we have provided air conditioned service. We want to increase it further,” Prabhu said at a function in Ernakulam Junction.
Top Railway officials said the AC coach provides reclining type comfortable cushion seats for 73 passengers similar to air-conditioned chair car of inter-city express trains.
Other coaches of DEMU train are provided with bench type cushion seats and large windows with glass shutters.
The train is equipped with bio-toilets and fully vestibule for free movement of passengers between coaches.
Prabhu said the DEMU after the inaugural service would be withdrawn temporarily and replaced with MEMU (mainline electrical multiple unit) train till the completion of renovation work of Harbour Terminus and Old Railway Stations.
He assured that the DEMU launched today would itself be restored once the renovation work was completed.
Kerala Power Minister Aryadan Muhammed, K V Thomas, MP, and Hybi Eden, Congress MLA, were among those who attended the function.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> National / PTI / Kochi – June 21st, 2015
Ruler with a visionA painting of the erstwhile Maharaja of Cochin, Rama Varma XV, and right, his statue at Subhash Parkphotos: The Hindu
The statue of Rama Varma XV, the Maharaja of Cochin, that stands in Subhash Park, now marred by a dash of unimaginative gold paint, is a pointer to forgotten facts and fascinating tales beyond the sparse information on the plaque. A little digging leads to a fascinating phase of history.
The Maharaja, popularly called Rajarshi, and also the Abdicated Highness, ruled Cochin from 1895-1914. Well-versed in English and a Sanskrit scholar, he was a forward-looking ruler who turned Cochin into one of the most progressive of Indian states of the time. The seeds of modern Cochin were sowed during his reign as he initiated permanent reforms in Revenue and Accounts, introduced the Shoranur-Cochin railway line, established the Sanskrit College at Tripunithura, brought in the village panchayat bill and the Tenance Act were among the many innovative schemes he launched.
A booklet published sometime in the 1930s, which is available at Mahatma Library and Reading Room, Tripunithura, provides invaluable information about the construction of the statue. It records that a ‘largely attended public meeting’ held on October 23, 1912, at which representatives from all parts of the States were present it was resolved to celebrate the shashtipurthi or the 60th birthday of the Maharaja on December 25, 1912. It was also decided that the ‘unique event be celebrated everywhere in a fitting manner, that an address of congratulation should be presented to the Highness on that auspicious day and that a suitable memorial be raised in honour of the occasion.’
The birthday was celebrated with pomp and gaiety. The members of the committee, appointed at the public meeting, went to the Hill Palace and presented the Highness an address of congratulation inscribed in a silver book and enclosed in a casket. At a meeting on September 24, 1913, it was decided that a ‘permanent memorial should take the form of a bronze statue of the Highness to be erected on the foreshore of Ernakulam.’ Out of the subscriptions for the occasion a sufficient sum of money remained with the committee for the statue. The Diwan A.R. Banerji who was going to England ‘on furlough’ agreed to get the statue made. He advised the committee to entrust the work to Ernest G. Gillick of Chelsea, a noted British sculptor, whose statue of the Maharaja of Bikaner had impressed Banerji.
In October 1915 the committee entrusted the work to Gillick for 800 pounds. He was also asked to make six plaster of Paris life-size busts of the Highness at an aggregate cost of 100 pounds to be installed at the headquarters of the six Taluks of the State. The work was expected to be completed in a year but the dislocation to the work caused by the War and his assistants joining the army the preparation of the mould itself took a year. When the mould was ready there was a strict embargo laid on all private metal work and no metal casting could be done without the license from the Ministry of Munitions. When the embargo was removed Gillick requested for a revision of the original amount as costs had increased manifold. An additional sum of 500 pounds with a proportional enhanced amount for the busts was made. This entailed an extra expenditure of Rs. 1,000 for the committee.
The work was complete by June 1922 and the following December the statue was received in Cochin. Gillick expressed a wish that a pedestal for the statue be designed and furnished drawings for the same. This work was carried out in Pallavaram stone in Madras by the well-known engineering contractor Diwan Bahadur T. Namberumal Chettu Garu.
Gillick did not have the advantage of seeing the Highness in person and had to work on a few indifferent photographs with some personal instructions from Diwan J.W. Bhore, his wife, and I.N. Menon, the Maharaja’s son. Yet he was able to sculpt a remarkably good likeness of the Highness.
The statue was unveiled by Viscount Goschen of Hawkhurst, Governor of Madras on the afternoon of October 13, 1925 in the presence of Lady Goschen, her daughters, CWE Cotton, Agent to the Governor General, the Elaya Raja of Cochin, and an overflowing crowd of people from all parts of the State. It was the first statue in Cochin.
The entire cost for the statue was raised through public donations. The committee in the booklet published the complete receipts and expenditure incurred and the complete list of subscribers to the Memorial Fund. The total expenditure for the statue was Rs. 33,960, the remaining amount, it was decided, would be utilised for the maintenance of the ornamental garden surrounding the statue.
Interestingly, when the statue was unveiled Rama Varma XV was not the Maharaja. He had abdicated the throne in 1914 for reasons that are still not very clear. Some believe that he had differences with the British over his pro-German politics; others opine that he abdicated due to ill-health, while there are other stories that gained ground. But the abdication did certainly create a furore; it shocked his subjects as such an act was unheard of in the kingdom.
“There is this account that the Maharaja was forced to abdicate after he had hosted a party to the officers of a German cruiser. It is still believed by many that the ship was SMS Emden. This is wrong as Emden never came to Cochin. But there are records that reveal that the Maharaja did host a garden party to the officers of the German cruiser SMS Gneisenau in 1911. This had nothing to do with the abdication,” informs V.N. Venugopal, a history buff.
This was not a political act as the visit of the ship coincided with the arrival of the German crown prince Wilhem to India in December-January1911.Wilhem was a State guest at the Viceregal Lodge and Gneisenau was anchored at the Cochin harbour. The party held at Bolghatty Palace with the approval of the British. However, the detractors of the Highness attempted to hail this as a pro-German stance and use this against him later.
Others point out that there were other reasons, perhaps more serious, that forced the Highness to take this step. Perhaps the most plausible of theories that led to the abdication was a brewing hostility between the Highness and the British government on numerous issues. For instance, letters reveal that the government did not favour many of his requests. His requests to buy a house in Kodaikanal and to give an extension to Diwan P. Rajagopalachari with an enhanced salary were summarily turned down.
“His attempts to effect radical changes in social and religious matters, selling 14 gold caprisons of the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple and cutting the allowances of the princes to fund the Shoranur-Cochin railway, and effecting a cut in the rations to the royalty during the time of World War I, gave rise to severe criticism. It is said that the British managed to influence his brothers and relatives, declared that he was mentally and physically weak, forcing him to abdicate,” says Ramabhadran Thampuran, the sixth generation of the Maharaja’s thavazhi or lineage.
Interestingly, the Maharaja had in 1905 expressed his willingness to abdicate. This happened a month after the verdict to excommunicate and banish Kuriyedathu Thatri, in the caste inquisition or smartha vicharam . Most of those banished were rich, influential and well-connected. They spread rumours that the trial was stopped when Thathri was about to give away the name of the Highness. But the government refused to accept his ‘resignation.’ The Governor Lord Oliver Russell Ampthill wrote that there ‘is nobody at present who is fit to succeed you as Raja of Cochin and to govern the state without detriment to the interests of the people.’
But in 1914 there was no such reaction. The government accepted his letter without much fuss. He walked out of the palace with just one trunk containing his and his wife’s clothes. After abdication the Highness stayed on at Ernakulam for some months, while his palace at Thrissur was being built and then shifted to Merry Lodge Palace, the present Kerala Varma College, in 1915. The British also ensured that there was no mention of him in historical references other than a fleeting reference to the ‘king who abdicated.’
Rama Varma made just one parting request to the Government – an allowance for his maintenance during his retired life and a portion of the allowance, ‘not less than Rs. 100 a month’, may be continued after his lifetime to his wife and her children. The Maharaja passed away January 29, 1932. During a chakyarkoothu performance after his abdication, the chakyar while describing a moment when Rama leaves Sita, looked at the ex-Maharaja and asked, ‘ ozhinjatho , ozhippichatho ?’ (abdicated or removed). One never knows for sure.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by K. Pradeep / June 20th, 2015
Arun Surendran, Strategic Director, Trinity College of Engineering, Thiruvanananthapuram, (third from left) with students and faculty members of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Designed by students, it is expected to be ready by 2018
In line with the initiatives of a few Indian institutions and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the Trinity College of Engineering here has begun a student-driven project to put in place a satellite – Trinity Adrak Student Satellite (TASSAT).
Various departments and the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Lab of Trinity College will pool their expertise towards completing the satellite project by 2018.
“We visited Nanyang Technological University to have a complete understanding of such a project. They have a sustainable programme and have been continuously launching their satellites from India using ISRO’s launch vehicle PSLV. We would like to have a similar programme at the college,” Arun Surendran, Strategic Directory of Trinity, said in a release.
Sponsored by a Muscat-based firm, the satellite project is an estimation of space debris, a topic of discussion after the Oscar-winning Hollywood blockbuster Gravity .
Mary Matilda, principal in-charge of the college, said, “TASSAT will be a great boost for all the departments as it shall open the doors for students in exploring new areas and sharpening their engineering skills.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – June 20th, 2015
Kuttichetan with his collection of books, mainly novels, at his home in Valya Thovala in Idukki
Idukki :
For octogenarian Kuttichetan, as he is known in his village Valiya Thovala near Kattappana here, books have always been his companions. Till day, he has not let anything come between them, even the truth that he is a school dropout. He does not need a pair of spectacles even at this age to read them. What makes Kuttichetan different from other book lovers is that he has been sharing his vast collection of books at his home with his villagers to enrich their cultural life.
Kuttichetan, aka Mathew C Mutholy, was dismissed from school when he was in Class IV for participating in a strike against C P Ramaswamy Iyer.
However, that never stopped him from having a tryst with letters. He started writing for children’s literary magazines, the likes of ‘Kuttikalude Deepika’, after dropping out from school. His love for books made him a good friend of yesteryear writers, editors and publishers such as Muttathu Varkey, Veloor Krishnankutty, K M Mathew and DC Kizhakkemuri.
Kuttichetan has a publication of his own, ‘Hill Desh,’ the Malayalam fortnightly which he began to publish from Kottayam in 1972. It is still being brought out at his village and has a circulation of 5,000 copies.
Kuttichetan, who worked as a Merchant Navy seaman for years, has seen almost all the countries except China which was not in good terms with India at that time. He also follows many foreign languages viz Italian, Latin, Japanese and German.
“Through books, I got acquainted with many places where I could not go. I want others also to explore unknown things, places, even feelings with the help of books. I find happiness in sharing my books, the only asset of my life which I can share with all,” says Kuttichettan who has the wholehearted support of his 75-year-old wife Mary and eight children.
Kuttichetan is now trying to set up a library in his own panchayat. With his initiative, four libraries were set up at Elikulam, Meloram, Iratayar and Bathel in 1947, 1954, 1963 and 1969 respectively.
However, he feels youngsters refrain from reading books. “May be because they have other means to gain knowledge,” says Kuttichetan who does not watch TV. The man, who finds happiness in sharing his collection with others, is a tad sad as some never returned his precious books.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Sruthi Paruthikad / June 19th, 2015
The fab lab at the Startup Village in Kochi. — PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT / The Hindu
MIT’s digital fabrication laboratory makes its way to Kochi
Imagine this. What if there was a device that lets you record your emotional outbursts like screams and later release them in the same degree?
Well, a student from the University in Sunderland, despite her very little coding and engineering experience came up with an innovative portable device called scream body, which effectively allows one to record the scream and release it later.
The innovation was made possible by the digital fabrication laboratory, a concept developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The amazing world of fab lab, as it is globally known and, which has by now popularised the slogan ‘anyone can make anything’, has come to the city. Startup Village, the telecom incubator, has set up a fab lab spread over 2,600 sq.ft in its campus at Kalamassery through the Kerala Startup Mission (formerly T-TBI).
MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld, who pioneered the concept of fab lab, was in the city on Tuesday. A second such facility in the State has been proposed at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram.
“To put it very simply, fab lab is a mini factory of sorts where anyone can work on an idea and build a prototype, which would then help to figure out potential market for the product,” said Pranav Kumar Suresh, CEO, Startup Village. Experts from MIT will train a group of 10-12 selected hands for a week at Startup Village on the functioning of the fab lab.
The fab lab has already been equipped with a slew of equipment including shopbot (a do-all tool for precision cutting, carving, drilling or machining), laser cutter, milling machines, 3D printers moulding machines, mini furnaces, systems, desktops and relevant software.
Mr. Suresh said that though they propose to make the facility accessible to school students in the near future, the present focus is on college students and young startups. Hardware startups and even staff from smaller companies can also make use of the fab lab. “It’s not a complicated set up and involves a brief learning curve where after those interested can undergo online fab academy courses,” said Mr. Suresh. Since only 10 teams can work in the fab lab at a time, the Startup Village is planning to draw up a calendar to make the facility accessible to all.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Praveen / Kochi – June 18th, 2015
Forget crowd-funded movies made using professionals; this group of amateurs from a nondescript village in Punalur have made a crowd-funded film by themselves.
The 60-minute-long ‘Thrikonam-The Triangle’, which has been put together by a seemingly random set of people that includes a KSRTC employee, a hospital worker and a computer centre staff, will be screened at Chithranjali Studio at 2.30pm on Sunday.
According to its makers, most of the crew members had absolutely no experience in filmmaking. “We had actually planned to make a 20-minute-long movie, but ended up creating one that lasts an hour,” said Vijesh P Vijayan, the director of Thrigonam. Vijesh is also the scriptwriter of this film which has not even employed a cine-unit.
The making of the film cost around Rs 40,000 and it took around six months to complete the film. “This movie had been our dream for a long time. Despite financial restraints, we could complete it with the support of local residents,” Vijesh said, adding that for many in the crew, it was their first brush with the filmmaking process. The help of technicians was sought only for sound mixing and colouring.
The first show of ‘Thrikonam’, held in May at a Punalur theatre, was well received by the local audience. In fact, it was their encouragement which spurred the makers to take it to other places in the state.
‘Thrigonam’ is a tale on the importance of love and trust in family relationships and has been narrated in the backdrop of the village.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / June 14th, 2015
History stands still under the leaky roof of a single-storey building at Anjarakkandy, where the apprehensions of a British planter culminated in the country’s land registration system.
The tiled building, as such, is not part of history, though it has been enjoying a spot in history as the first sub-registrar office in India, opened in 1865.
Though the building now can’t boast of providing better shelter from the elements of nature, the registration department is planning to celebrate the office’s sesquicentennial anniversary.
“The department has decided to organize a gala function to commemorate the 150th year of the first land registration in the country, which led to the setting up of a separate department for the purpose,” O A Satheesh, district registrar in Kannur, said. Minister for registration and civil supplies Anoop Jacob would inaugurate the function on Friday.
The land registration was the culmination of the process of demarcating boundaries of lands of local residents by Murdoch Brown, remembers K Narayanan Nambiar, a land document writer.
“His act of demarcating boundaries led to the setting up of a department for land registration not only in India, but also in the whole of Asia,” he recollected his predecessors’ words.
Brown’s decision to demarcate land also has an interesting story.
When he bought land, he felt that if not clearly demarcated, there would be confusion over the ownership. He opened an office in his bungalow and started signing and giveing title-deeds to the owners of each plot.
The Englishman soon found that some landowners were manipulative and to avoid malpractices, he started keeping a copy of title-deeds in his office, thus beginning the formal registration of land.
Later on January 1, 1865, the British government, through an order dated December 5, 1864, approved the sub-registry office, which operated out of his bungalow, with Brown as deputy registrar. The office was shifted to the present building on March 11, 1877, in the land provided by Brown.
The present condition of the building has been pathetic as no effort was made to maintain the original architecture and old records.
A day after the inauguration of the sesquicentennial celebrations, Kerala might receive the first monsoon shower. The staff, as usual, would rush for plastic sheets to cover and protect shelves from water leaking through the roof.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / May 27th, 2015
Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), in the first phase of its efforts to spread vannamei shrimp farming in the State, will transfer farming technology to 30 farmers in Kerala.
Vannamei is an exotic white-leg shrimp, which is now widely farmed on the eastern coast of India.
A training programme for farmers selected from various parts of the State would be held at the Puthuvype fisheries station on Monday, said a press release from KUFOS here. KUFOS had started trial farming of vannamei shrimp, the first of its kind in Kerala, in March this year after getting permission from the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), Chennai.
The university has now decided to extend farming after a review of the trial, which has been a success in the brackish water ecosystem of the State.
KUFOS Vice Chancellor B. Madhusoodana Kurup will inaugurate the training programme, and Pro-Vice Chancellor K. Padmakumar will preside.
The training programme is aimed at educating the shrimp farmers in the State about the white leg exotic shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei, and precautions to be taken prior to farming in Kerala’s conditions.
The selected farmers will be trained in various aspects such as management, nutritional requirement, feed management and biology, and life cycle of the species.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – May 25th, 2015
