Creative Smart Waste Bin Fetches her Accolades

Education, Green Initiatives & Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kochi :

Rakshanya Sekar, a confident youngster,is on cloud nine. The student of KV Pattom is the only one from the state to receive the Bio Asia Young Minds award 2015.

The class XII student got the award for her science project, ‘Smart disposal bin’, which she presented at the Bio Asia 2015, a national convention held recently at Hyderabad. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a citation.

Rakshanya presented a basic working model of the bin at the Bio Asia conference.

RakshanyaKERALA07mar2015

With enthusiasm, the teen elaborates on the working of her ‘Smart Disposal’ apparatus. She says,“The bin is divided into two compartments- the plastic waste unit and the food disposal unit. The food waste unit consists of a food dehydrator, hot air blower and a wire mesh through which the waste reaches the bottom chamber of the food unit. The dehydrator and the hot air blower helps to take out the moisture content from the waste, which can then be used as manure or even animal fodder.”

The empty plastic bottles put in the other unit are crushed and shredded into small pellets by horizontal blades present in the compartment. “These horizontal concave blades work alternatively, and the plastic pellets are collected in the bottom chamber of the unit.”

The 16-year-old sees it as a solution for the waste disposal problem faced by the Railways. She said, “Managing waste, especially plastic, is a huge problem, with plastic bottles lying on the tracks.

The Smart Disposal Bin helps by reducing the volume of the bottle, making it easier to transport. One can utilise the plastic collected in this way, for using in innovative projects.”

The biotechnology student used zinc sheets to make the body of the model, which also has additional boxes to collect powdered waste. Rakshanya,who is passionate about science, says, “I like innovating and coming up with new ideas, and wish to contribute to society through science.” She will be representing KV from her region, along with a few other students in the upcoming Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Varsha Mohan / March 07th, 2015

Tourism ‘Oscar’ for State campaign

Records, All, Travel, World Opinion
Tourism Secretary G. Kamala Vardhana Raoand Suman Billa, Joint Secretary in the UnionTourism Ministry, receiving the silver prize for Kerala Tourism at the Golden Gate awards in Berlin on Thursday./ The Hindu
Tourism Secretary G. Kamala Vardhana Raoand Suman Billa, Joint Secretary in the UnionTourism Ministry, receiving the silver prize for Kerala Tourism at the Golden Gate awards in Berlin on Thursday./ The Hindu

‘The Great Backwaters’ campaign of Kerala Tourism has bagged the silver prize at the Golden Gate awards at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) – 2015, the world’s leading travel trade event.

The silver prize at the Das Golden Stadttor (Golden Gate) awards in the multimedia campaign category was presented to Kerala Tourism at the German capital on Thursday. Tourism Secretary G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, who is leading the delegation, and Suman Billa, Joint Secretary in Union Tourism Ministry, received the prize.

Presented every year at the ITB-Berlin for the last 14 years, the Golden Gate awards, dubbed the Oscar in tourism communication, are considered the ultimate recognition in the field.

Conceptualised by Kerala Tourism’s creative and marketing agency Stark Communications, the campaign won the Golden Gate Gold Prize in the print category at the ITB-Berlin last year. The campaign was noted for its use of aerial photography on a wider scale covering the backwaters as a single destination.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – March 07th, 2015

CMS College gets back its 2 years frozen in time

Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
CMS College, Kottayam
CMS College, Kottayam

Kottayam:

The 200th anniversary celebrations of CMS College begin on March 17 as new-found records prove that the oldest existing college in India was started in 1815, two years earlier than previously thought.

The early years of the college came to light after a study of documents in the Bangalore United Theological College Museum and the Missionary Register in the CMS College library as well as the Church Missionary Proceedings.

Dr Babu Cherian, the head of the college’s Malayalam department, stumbled on the piece of history during the research for his book, ‘Towards Modernity: The Story of the First College of India’. The college management has approved the change in the birth date.

The bicentennial celebration is also aimed at modernising all the departments of the college and raising the quality of education, principal Dr Roy Sam Daniel said.

The college, then called The College, Cotym, was started by Colonel John Munro, a British statesman who was a political resident and later Diwan of the princely state of Travancore. He started the college on 16 acres at Chungam near Kottayam.

The recently discovered records show that construction of the building was started as early as 1813 and classes were started with 25 students in 1815. Colonel Munro received the support of Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Regent of Travancore.

Munro entrusted the management of the college to Pulikkottil Ittoop Ramban (Joseph Mar Divannasios) of the Malankara Church.

Munro wrote to the Church Mission Society (CMS) headquarters in Britain in 1813 asking for two missionaries to teach in the new college, the records collected by Dr Cherian shows. The letter was received in Britain after six months.

Thomas Norton, a missionary from Britain, came to Kottayam in May 1816 to take charge of the college. He stayed in Alappuzha, then a bigger and busier town than Kottayam.

Munro’s insistence on a resident head for the college led to the arrival of the legendary Benjamin Bailey in 1817, which was traditionally known as the founding year of CMS College. CMS College calendar recorded 1815 as the year the college was started.

The college’s phenomenal growth started with Bailey, who laid the foundation for English education in Kerala.

The original building where classes were started in March 1815 was later turned into a seminary when the college was shifted to its present location on a hillock in 1837.

source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Manorama Correspondent / Saturday – March 07th, 2015

Cultivating organic spices in the backyard

Agriculture, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Nature
An expert demonstrates how to prepare organic fertilizers during a training programme organised by the National Horticulture Mission on the CWRDM campus at Kunnamangalam in the city. / The Hindu
An expert demonstrates how to prepare organic fertilizers during a training programme organised by the National Horticulture Mission on the CWRDM campus at Kunnamangalam in the city. / The Hindu

Along with vegetables, spices also need to be cultivated organically, say experts.

Spreading awareness among people about the importance of producing toxin-free spices through organic cultivation was the main thrust of a training programme in homestead water management and organic spice cultivation organised by the National Horticulture Mission in collaboration with the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) on its campus at Kunnamangalam here.

Around 60 housewives, who are members of the farmers club aided by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), participated in the two-day training programme, which was inaugurated by the Kunnamangalam MLA P.T.A. Raheem on Monday.

Water resources

In various sessions, scientists as well as experts from the centre and the Agricultural Department spoke on how to go about managing the available water resources in a common household for the cultivation of essential spices including ginger, turmeric and pepper.

E. Abdul Hameed, Technical officer of CWRDM, talked about the things to be done while cultivating spices in the backyard.

While CWRDM scientist Dinesh Kumar spoke about the role of spices in the protection of health, K.R Prasannakumar, another expert from the centre, spoke on the role of soil fertility and use of organic fertilizers for spices cultivation.

P. Vikraman, former Principal Agricultural Officer, demonstrated on how to prepare organic fertilizers and pesticides.

The scientists also clarified various doubts raised by the participants during the programme.

One kg of ginger and turmeric rhizomes each as well as five saplings of pepper were distributed free to the participants at the end of the session. CWRDM executive director N.B. Narasimha Prasad presided over the function. CWRDM Training Education and Extension Division (TEED) head Kamalam Joseph and NABARD District Development manager K.P. Padmakumar among others spoke. Details about organic spices cultivation can be had from the organisers. Ph: 9447276177.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Jabir Musthari / Kozhikode – March 04th, 2015

Now, Saraswathi Amma scripts the golden era of AIR

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Thiruvananthapuram :

“I still remember the day when I heard about the murder of Gandhiji in the radio. My mother broke down hearing that,” said poet and social activist Sugathakumari”, while narrating her childhood memories when radio made its entry to the state. “For today’s youth addicted to television, all these stories will sound like a fairytale,” she said.

Sugathakumari was releasing the book ‘Aakaashathile Nakshathrangal, Memories at Akashavani’ written by S Saraswathi Amma, by handing over the first copy to Kudumbashree Mission director K B Valsala Kumari at a function held at Press Club on Monday.

Saraswathi Amma, who retired as assistant station director of All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, is well known for the women centric programme, ‘Mahilalayam’, she had produced for several years. She is known as ‘chechi’ among listeners and her advices were hugely popular among homemakers.

It is a blend of history, memories, observation and 25 years of service at AIR which she has narrated in simple language in her book. The book also describes the artists who worked with her at Akashavani. “The book is my gratitude to my AIR family,” said Saraswathi Amma.

Mentioning legends such as G Sankara Kurup, T N Gopinathan Nair, Nagavally R S Kurup and Jagathy N K Achary, who had once ruled the Akashavani Thiruvananthapuram station, Sugathakumari said, “It was through them we learned the language and its pronunciation properly. No doubt, it was the golden era of radio”.

The book contains interesting anecdotes about the stalwarts and like her programmes Saraswathy Amma has presented them in a manner that is appealing to the masses.

Kerala Sahithya Academy president Perumbadavam Sreedharan and others spoke.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / March 03rd, 2015

Turning the lens on the lensman

Arts,Culture & Entertainment
Artist Namboodiri will script a documentary on auteur-cinematographer Shaji N. Karun.
Artist Namboodiri will script a documentary on auteur-cinematographer Shaji N. Karun.

Veteran artist Namboodiri will script a short documentary film on auteur-cinematographer Shaji N. Karun. Their close association lasting several decades is what has inspired the master artist, known for his fluid sketches, to swap the brush for the pen this time around.

Artist Namboodiri will script a documentary on auteur-cinematographer Shaji N. Karun (above).
Artist Namboodiri will script a documentary on auteur-cinematographer Shaji N. Karun (above).

“It’s no doubt an honour for me that a visual artist of Namboodiri’s stature has decided to script the film. I have always believed that a filmmaker’s biography comes through his filmography. A creative artist is a bundle of nerves, so a synthetic approach to his works would not work. But when nonagenarian artist Namboodiri visualises it using his tremendous sense of imagery, architecture and visual sensibility, it gets a whole new dimension. It makes me proud that he’s writing the script of this bio,” says Shaji N. Karun.

“Nearly 70 per cent of the script is ready and the shoot is beginning very soon,” says Binuraj Kalapeetom, director of the documentary titled ‘Frames of a Light Bender’.

Binuraj, who has previously taken critically-acclaimed documentaries on literary critic M.K. Sanoo, jurist V.R. Krishna Iyer and artist Namboodiri (whose sequel is being canned at the moment), says the 45-minute long documentary will focus on Shaji the cinematographer.

“While we all see him as a filmmaker making artistic cinema, he’s primarily a cinematographer who handled the camera for the aesthetic films of G. Aravindan and several market-oriented films. In fact, he worked behind the camera for nearly 40 flicks,” says Mr. Binuraj. Which is why the documentary is being planned as a motion picture without any static shot. “Given that Shaji sir is known for using available natural light for shooting, we will be doing the same for the documentary, too,” he says. The film will have no interviews. The film is being made just when Shaji is busy carrying out final editing of his documentary on artist Namboodiri.

Art direction for the documentary is by Namboodiri’s son Devan. Produced by L. Santhosh under the banner of Universal Entertainers, switch-on for the film will be done by Namboodiri himself at BTH, near Rajendra Maidan on March 6 at 6 p.m.

Critic Sanoo master will preside and artist T. Kaladharan will light the lamp.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – March 02nd, 2015

Reigning Queen of Kerala Honeypots

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature
Aleyamma Siby |Ratheesh Sundaram
Aleyamma Siby |Ratheesh Sundaram

It is 9 pm. Outside their house at Panathady in Kasaragod district in Kerala, Aleyamma and her husband Siby are hurriedly placing beehives inside a van. Later, they climb in and the van sets out towards the Coorg district in Karnataka, which is only 30 km away. Once there, they quickly place the hives in three-foot-high stands, below trees, at a distance of three metres. “We have to do this before the sun comes up,” says Aleyamma. “Because at sunbreak, the bees would want to come out in search of nectar and pollen. And if we keep the hives shut they will die of asphyxiation.”

Aleyamma is a breeder who practices migratory beekeeping. Once the honey is harvested at all the hives placed near her house from January to March, she sets off to Coorg and does bee farming there. “Somehow, the quality of the honey is far better there,” she says.

But there is a reason for that. In Kerala, the major source of nectar is from the leaves of the rubber tree. “This is called unifloral honey,” says Dr Stephen Devanesan, principal scientist, All India Coordinated Research Project on Honeybees and Pollinators, Kerala Agricultural University. “But in Coorg, the hives are placed in forests where there is diverse flora. So, the quality of this multi-floral honey is much better.”

However, the collection of honey is not an easy process. First the bees have to be warded off using smoke. Then the honeycombs are removed from the hive. With the help of a honey extractor, the honey is taken out of the cells and stored in containers. All this has to happen in less than an hour, before the bees start stinging the person.

“In the beginning, the stings used to hurt a lot and there would be swelling as well,” says Aleyamma. “But now, though there is pain, there is no swelling. This is my bread and butter, so I have learnt to tolerate the aches,” she adds.

The biggest problem with honey is that it crystallises and ferments. To avoid this, Aleyamma uses the double-boiling method. In this technique, she pours water into a large container. Then she places a smaller bowl, which contains honey, inside it, resting on three bricks. The bottom container is heated, so that the temperature inside the smaller bowl reaches 45 degrees centigrade. Then the honey is taken out, and put through a sieve, to get rid of wax particles, dust and pollen. Following this, it is reheated to 65 degrees centigrade for about 10 minutes. “After the honey cools, it is filtered,” says Aleyamma. “Once this is done, the honey will last for years, without going bad.”

Interestingly, Aleyamma is the only woman beekeeper in Kerala. Last year, she produced 40 tonne of honey, thanks to the 5,000 colonies of Indian and Italian bees that she has.

And thanks to this high productivity, Aleyamma was recently conferred the Stephen Memorial Award for the best beekeeper of 2014 by state Agriculture Minister KP Mohanan. This award has been instituted by the Federation of Indigenous Apiculturists.

To get a high productivity, Aleyamma depends a lot on the Tamil workers, who are experts at bee collection. “They are sincere, hard-working and not afraid of being stung,” she says.

Aleyamma also credits her success to a workshop which she attended. This was conducted by Devanesan, along with Dr K Prathapan, director of the State Horticulture Mission. Devanesan says: “I have imparted training to Aleyamma and other breeders on how to maintain the health of the bees, manage colonies, and do high-tech apiculture. Today, they are all doing well.”

Like most good things in life, Aleyamma came to bee breeding by accident. When she got married and went to stay at her in-laws’ home in Thodupuzha, she saw beehives for the first time in the backyard. In the mid-1990s, she and Siby decided to move to north Kerala to improve their economic prospects. They tried pepper farming and rubber cultivation.

“It did not do well,” she says. “That was when I thought about bee farming. And now, here I am, the only woman in Kerala doing this work.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com  / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Shevlin Sebastian / February 28th, 2015

Rare cochlear implantation performed

Science & Technology
Abin John Ninan with his grandfather John Babu Panackamattom and doctor Vivek Saseendran.
Abin John Ninan with his grandfather John Babu Panackamattom and doctor Vivek Saseendran.

A three-year-old boy, tuned his ears to the first sound he had ever heard when his grandpa clapped from behind

Abin John Ninan, a three-year-old boy, tuned his ears to the first sound he had ever heard when his grandpa clapped from behind at a demonstration room of the ENT Department at Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PIMSR) in Thiruvalla on Thursday.

The boy screamed aloud, hearing the sound. Incidentally, it was also his third birthday.

ENT specialist at PIMSR Vivek Saseendran, and P.A. Jacob, anaesthetist, conducted a successful cochlear implantation on him on January 17.

Abin, son of Cyriac Ninan and Lizy Mary Ninan, of Kattappurathu House in the Upper Kuttanad village of Mepral, had been suffering from a series of health problems associated with Congenital Rubella Syndrome, said Dr. Saseendran. He had undergone surgery for congenital cardiac ailment, and bilateral congenital cataract too, earlier. It took six hours for the successful completion of the cochlear implantation on both ears of the child.

The hospital authorities had made the switching on of the implant on Thursday a grand celebration at PIMSR as it was the boy’s third birthday. Fr Shaji Vazhayil, Pushpagiri chairman, inaugurated the function. Suresh David, PIMSR medical superintendent, presided. Mathew Punakkulam, Pushpagiri director, and Dr. Vivek spoke.

According to John Babu Panackamattom, grandfather of Abin who has been looking after the child all these years, the boy with delayed developmental milestones is now very much active The hospital authorities said that the boy would be given speech therapy at the specially designed centre with state-of-the-art facility at Pushpagiri.

Dr. Vivek said the boy was suffering from Bilateral Sensory Neural Deafness, which was associated with his Congenital Rubella Syndrome. The total cost of the two implants was Rs. 10.16 lakh, besides surgical expenses of Rs. 1 lakh, hospital sources said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by  RadhaKrishnan Kuttoor / Pathanamthitta – February 06th, 2015

The idly-dosa man of Bengaluru

Business & Economy
Success story: Musthafa believes it was team work all the way that helped.
Success story: Musthafa believes it was team work all the way that helped.

Musthafa P.C, a school dropout who went on to study at IIMB, quit his software job to start an enterprise that sold idly-dosa batter. His is a success story that has trickled down to his 600 –odd rural employees too

A young techie who could just about make himself daal, rice and papad in his bachelor days now runs a company with a 70 crore turnover that provides almost five lakh idlis a day to hungry Bengalureans. Most young working people in the city in a rush, simply fish out the now-famous “iD Fresh” readymade idly/dosa batter from their refrigerator for their quick breakfast fix.

While Bengaluru is where all this began for techie-turned-entrepreneur Musthafa P.C, his idlis and dosas find a place on the breakfast tables in households in Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and even Dubai! And it’s not limited to idlys and dosas anymore. Their oeuvre now includes parotas, chapattis and chutneys too, all made without chemicals and preservatives, Musthafa is quick to add.

It started in a small corner of the city’s Thippasandra locality where Musthafa’s cousins ran a grocery store. “This was eight years ago, and a local supplier would sell idly/dosa batter in an unbranded plain plastic bag tied up with a rubberband, on weekends. There was a great demand, but they couldn’t keep up the quality. That’s when I felt there was a gap in the market,” says the 42-year-old Musthafa, CEO of iD Fresh Food, one of the new-age food startups in the city.

And then, one can conclude, the Malayali business instinct kicked in!

The enterprising cousins set up a 50 square foot kitchen — “our so-called factory” laughs Musthafa, and started a trial in 10 stores in and around Indiranagar. “In a year’s time we were selling 100 packets of batter a day.” During that time, Musthafa had quit his plum job to study his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B). “I did a proper survey and found that Bangalore then had a production requirement of 5,000 kg of batter a day.” The sales and the survey gave them the confidence to set up a 600 square foot kitchen in Kaggadasapura, where Musthafa pumped in six lakh from his savings. They were still using regular household grinders to make the batter. “I had a high-profile job in Dubai. I had worked with Motorola, Citibank, had lived in the U.K., and then later even worked with Intel. But I wanted to come back to India to pursue higher studies, spend time with my parents, and give something back to society,” says Musthafa of making the proverbial switch.

It is with this intent that Musthafa is very particular that they identify “smart guys from rural areas who are unemployed” and provide them opportunities in their company. Today they employ 650 such people from the eight regions they work in across India. “I come from a life of poverty in Wayanad (Kerala) where my dad was a coolie, and breakfast was a luxury. I was a school dropout after I failed my sixth standard. The teacher persuaded me to repeat the class and continue my studies.”

No one supported his decision to quit the IT industry; it was a job that had brought stability to the family, helped him build a home and marry off siblings. Even his wife’s family was upset that he was becoming a “rice merchant”.

But by 2008, his company had expanded into a proper factory in Hoskote, with the help of the Karnataka State Industrial Development Council (KSIDC). Custom-made grinders were brought in from America. “With Indian grinders, cleaning is the most difficult task. Moreover the small grinders would take an hour to grind a kilo of dal. So we had to import these large, modified grinders that self-sterilise at the touch of a button.” Musthafa swears the actual batter making process is “the same that your mom uses at home, starting with the soaking”. “We are only professional assistants to the homemaker. Our products will always be ready to cook, not ready to eat. So they don’t reach the dining table; they first go into the kitchen. If the idli is good, the homemaker gets the credit; if the idli turns out bad, iD takes the credit!” All the products, he says, are first tested on his children aged 12, nine, and five.

Business is of course growing phenomenally with venture capital (VC) firms wanting to invest in them; 60 companies evinced interest in pumping money; mostly American. Finally Helion Venture invested Rs. 35 crore in their expansion plans. “We are targeting expansion to 10 Middle-Eastern cities over the next five years. As well as expanding into north India, especially Delhi.” While initially a friend named it iD for “idly-dosa”, Musthafa says it now stands for their “identity”.

Every employee in the company is an entrepeneur like he is, believes Musthafa.
Every employee in the company is an entrepeneur like he is, believes Musthafa.

Musthafa makes it a point to stress on the fact that it has been team work all along the way; first his cousins came on board, then his engineering classmates and then family friends, to start the operation in various cities. “We don’t work on an employment basis; there is no fixed pay. Every employee is a micro-entrepreneur. For example, each area sales team is given a vehicle and “they have to maintain their own profit and loss account,” explains Musthafa. Whitefield, Jayanagar, Indiranagar and Koramangala is where they do their best business, he says. They have a SAP-based backend platform so that they have a zero inventory model – 90 per cent of the products are sold on the same day; a mobile app keeps track of sales patterns in each store.

Musthafa’s personal favourite from his company is the wheat parota. “We eat our idli and dosa once a week at home, then three days of wheat parota,” he breaks into a boyish grin.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Bhumika .K / February 26th, 2015

The Palakkad lad who will take on Team India for UAE

Nri's / Pio's, Sports
Krishna Chandran at the hotel lobby in Perth. Manorama.
Krishna Chandran at the hotel lobby in Perth. Manorama.

Perth:

In 2011, when India hosted the ICC World Cup, Krishna Chandran was in Dubai and like any ardent Indian fan he was glued to TV rooting for his favourite team. Not even in his wildest dreams did he think of watching a World Cup match in the stadium, let alone play in one. By quirk of fate, Krishna Chandran, who hails from Kollengode in Palakkad, will pad up against the country of his birth when UAE plays India in Perth on Saturday.

Krishna Chandran, who has already become a part of cricket history by becoming the first cricketer from Kerala to score runs and take wickets in the World Cup, spoke to Manorama. Excerpts:

You have become a big star back home in Kerala and your life is full of ironies. How do you react to the this?

Yes my life is full of ironies. I was born into a family of farmers. My parents sent me to St.John’s international school in Chennai for my studies. Initially, I was thrilled but when my father put me in hostel and left, I began to feel terribly homesick. I even wrote a letter to my parents threatening suicide if they don’t bring me back home. I started playing cricket to overcome my homesickness. I started off as a bowler but within one year I progressed to become a top-order batsman. I continued to play cricket even after I finished my school studies. I got selected for the district under-19 team and from there I made my way up to the state under-19, under-22 and under-25 teams.

I had played three one-day and two T20 matches for the senior Kerala team. Though I was among probables for the Ranji Trophy squad I wasn’t selected. At that time getting a permanent job was a priority. I tried to get employment in Railways and SBT but nothing worked out. I had a friend in Dubai who worked in a shipping company and in desperation I wrote to him and he arranged a job for me in that company. In Dubai, I continued to play club cricket and in 2012-13 playing for Umma al-Quwain Emirates I was chosen as the best cricketer for that season. But I had to wait for four years to get permanent residency which I got last year. It enabled me to play for UAE. But playing in the World Cup was still beyond my dreams.

What were the thoughts in you mind when you first played against Zimbabwe?

I was tense, but I became confident after I scored my first run. I was middling the ball well and was thinking about scoring a fifty when I was dismissed for 34. I was able to take a wicket with the ball. I think I didn’t do that badly in my first match and it gives me great satisfaction.

How about playing in the pitches in Australia? 

Krishna Chandran. Facebook page
Krishna Chandran. Facebook page

Look, I was part of the Kerala Cricket Association’s development squad of 25 players and had spent 45 days training in Brisbane. At the same time India A was touring Australia and and were playing against Australia A in Brisbane. I was among the five players who were selected to be the net bowlers for the Australian A team.

Everyday a short man would pick us up from out hotel and he would drive us to the stadium. We just called him the driver. One day we found this man padding up to play in the nets. Next year he went on to play for Australia. I was stunned when I saw him live on TV. He was David Warner.

Who do you expect to win in tomorrow’s match between India and UAE?

We don’t have big dreams. But we want to beat at least one big team in the tournament. I want India to retain the World Cup and will pray for that. But I want UAE to win tomorrow. I want to score a fifty and take three wickets and it is my dream.

source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / On Manorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Anish Nair / Friday – February 27th, 2015