Women entrepreneurs under Kudumbashree in the city are all set to extend their successful entrepreneurship forays to a new level by venturing into the fast-growing fitness industry.
A group of five Kudumbashree members in Kozhikode corporation have decided to try their luck in the fitness segment by starting a health club at Eranhipalam exclusively for women, which they planning to develop as a one-stop fitness solution for women of all ages, in the long run.
Community development society (CDS) of the Kudumbashree, attached to the corporation, has decided to explore the potential in the fitness market after observing the interest of women in the ‘feel and look good’ factor.
The centre was set up with an estimated cost of Rs 9 lakh. Of the 9 lakh, Rs 3 lakh is the subsidy of the corporation provided to the beneficiaries.
The centre, which commenced its operation here on Tuesday, has a ladies gym and day care centre. The day care centre will function from 8.30am to 6pm while the gym will be operational from 7am to 7pm. Also, classes in cooking and tailoring will be offered. M Divya, a resident of Karaparamba, said that nowadays women are very keen in maintaining their fitness. “The day care centre attached to the gym will be a blessing for many women especially those who are worried about becoming overweight after pregnancy,” she said.
S Salina, one among the five member group of the Meta Lady Health Club, said that the centre has already started receiving registrations for the day care and gym.
“The gym has a trainer -cum-dietician and steam bath facility.Children above the age of six months will be enrolled at the day care centre,” she said. “We have started with a small venture in the initial phase which will be expanded to include a ladies’ beauty parlour and spa in the long run on the basis of acceptance from the public,” she said.
Meanwhile, Shija Vinod, chairperson of south CDS said that Kudumbashree will set up similar ventures in other parts of the corporation area on the basis of public response. “We are planning to set up similar establishments in other location and identification of suitable locations has already commenced,” she said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / February 04th, 2015
Paving the way for a fillip in ‘polyhouse’ cucumber cultivation, the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has developed a seedless hybrid cucumber variety, ideal for polyhouse cultivation.
This is the first such hybrid developed by a public sector research team in South India, according to reports on Friday.
At present, multinationals have monopolised in ‘parthenocarpic’ variety of cucumber hybrids used in poly house farming which have the ability of producing fruits without pollination.
Farmers have to depend now on corporate sector for such variety of hybrids, and they have to pay in the range of Rs 5 to 7 per seed. The development of parthenocarpic hybrid by KAU offers availability of indigenously developed hybrid seeds to Kerala farmers.
Field tests in university farms have proved that a 10-cent polyhouse can yield five tons of fruits in three months. Dark green fruits, weighing 220 gm with a length of 24 cm and 15 cm width, can be stored up to one week at room temperature without any loss in quality.
The Southern Zone Research Extension Advisory Council of KAU, held at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, recommended this hybrid for multi-locational testing across selected polyhouses in all districts, said Dr Pradeepkumar T, associate professor, Department of Olericulture, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, who led the research team.
The team, according to reports, developed the hybrid variety by inculcating parthenocarpic trait into plant types with only female flowers through complex breeding programme.
The team had also developed earlier seedless hybrids of watermelon successfully. It has now followed with the technique of F1 hybrid seed production in parthenocarpic cucumber.
The state government has accorded high priority to polyhouse cultivation in the state by providing subsidy for polyhouse construction in 1000-odd panchayats.
Polyhouse cultivation requires specific cultivars in each crop, and farmers now depend on the seed produced from Korea, Thailand, imported and marketed by multinational companies.
KAU vice-chancellor Dr P Rajendran said cucumber is an ideal vegetable variety for polyhouse cultivation as the fruit is harvested in immature stage. The vertical height of the polyhouse structure can also be exploited for producing more number of fruiting nodes.
F1 hybrids have a very important role in boosting vegetable production in the state. Development of parthenocarpic cucumber is a great beginning in this direction. Time bound action for making available this technology to farming community is the next step, he said.
Normal cucumber types produce both male and female flowers and require pollination for fruit development, said Dr T R Gopalkrishnan, KAU director of Research. Development of fruit without pollination is a tricky trait in cucumber and naturally seedless fruits in this hybrid make the commercial production of seeds a cumbersome task, he added.
Seeds of the new hybrid cucumber are expected to reach the farming community within a year.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 28th, 2015
Mary Shahina receives a modified scooter from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday.— Photo: Thulasi Kakkat
Fate always tried its best to shatter her spirit; but failed every time.
Restricted to the bed with a body paralysed from the waist down since birth, Mary Shahina hailing from Maradu made it a habit to fight the odds and kept her spirits up writing poems.
That determination shone through in the smile the 25-year-old had on her face when she received a modified gearless scooter from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the district revenue adalat held in the city on Friday.
The vehicle is nothing but a godsend to her. Having passed her SSLC examinations 10 years ago and despite being good at academics, Shahina had to stop studying due to restricted movement. But never one to say never, the youngster cleared the Plus Two studying from home a couple of years ago.
The scooter will now help her pursue B.Com at a private college at Kumbalam. “I want to secure a bank job after completing my graduation,” she said looking at her prized possession.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Praveen / Kochi – February 28th, 2015
Thotta Tharani as Swami Chinmayananda. Photo: Special Arrangement
The movie, ‘On a Quest’ made on the life and vision of Swami Chinmayananda is worth watching. It is not a propaganda film but a story about transformation, seeking truth and interpreting life.
Who says commercial films starring superstars like Rajnikanth or Shahrukh Khan alone can have punch lines?
Sample this: “India is free, but are Indians free?”; “God is like the petrol in a car. Without the petrol, the car cannot run. But it is the driver who determines where the car goes.”; “Without the touch of life (read God), a sinner cannot sin neither can a monk meditate”.
These are powerful words not penned by any scriptwriter but uttered by men of high knowledge and wisdom that appeal equally to the atheist and the divine. Many more such meaningful dialogues generated applauds, evoked emotions and accentuated the wow factor of ‘On a Quest’ — a period film on Swami Chinmayananda’s journey from a freedom fighter and a non-believer to a teacher of Vedanta.
The two hour biopic in English was screened for the second time on popular demand in Madurai and the people who filled up the Mookambika theatre on Sunday morning got their money’s worth.
Made by the Chinmaya Mission to mark the birth centenary celebrations of Swami Chinmayananda, this is the first ever documentation of the fiery young revolutionary’s transformation into a missionary. It is a beautifully woven and enacted story which unlike the stories about most other gurus, does not push Swami Chinmayananda’s lectures, achievements or books to the forefront.
Rather, director R.S.Prasanna of “Kalyana Samayal Saadham” fame convincingly and touchingly tells the story of a man who never made claims of being a god or a godman and offered miracles. He simply interpreted the Bhagavad Gita for the masses. No matter, if there weren’t enough people to listen to him or even if the most educated came to him to understand the meaning of life. The multi-linguist Swami simply shared his knowledge without a fee and alluring promises.
THE MAN BEHIND: Director Prasanna with Sandeep Hebber in the role of young Swami Chinmayananda. Photo: Special Arrangement
Obviously Swami Chinmayananda is not his real name. He was born Balakrishna Menon in 1916 in Ernakulam. As a student of Lucknow University, he briefly joined the nationalist movement and was jailed by the British in 1941. When he is tortured and left to die by the British, he is nursed back to life from the throes of death by a friend’s family. But when the same friend dies unexpectedly in the prime of his youth, it sets Balan thinking about life, its meaning and uncertainties. He joins The National Herald as a reporter and in a short time establishes a fan following with his articles. The subjects he chooses and his style of writing sets the paper’s circulation to a new high.
But deep within Balan is unable to fathom many things that touch his life. If a cobbler’s life humbles him, he wonders why the rich argue with a poor rickshaw puller and pay him only 30 paise for a ride with no regard for his labour and with much ease offer a sadhu five rupees to seek his blessings.
He plans to expose what he calls the racket of religion and the myth of sadhus and goes off to Rishikesh to meet Swami Sivananda. He stays on for six months to see things firsthand at the ashram. While the rationalist in him refuses to believe in the existence of God, the journalist in him questions meaningless rituals and the seeker in him sets about experiencing everything.
Eventually he gives up his name and profession and gets his orange robe and the name of Chinmayananda. Then he goes further North and learns the Shastras for 10 years from the well know sage, Swami Tapovan. It is this ardent quest for the truth that sees Swami Chinmayananda reaching out to the world in a way it understands best. It is a spectacular transformation from an unconventional seeker to a revered master, who inspired the establishment of missions all over the world and embraced an ever-expanding network of devotees and students.
The film has created a lot of buzz with 75 plus screenings across the country. Except art director Thota Tharrani who plays the older Chinmayananda, all others on the screen are amateurs. Together with technicians from KSS, the film has succeeded in matching international quality because all the people who have been associated with the film in any which way have done it with the purity of their heart.
Madurai is the only city in Tamil Nadu to have screened the film twice and is planning a third one soon. “We have received good response from the people,” says Swami Sivayogananda, Acharya of Madurai Centre, “but want more children and youths to watch it for the inspirational and invaluable lessons that can be drawn from Guruji’s life”.
If you feel inclined to watch, don’t miss it the next time. It could make a difference to your lives. Or at least watch it for the effort that has gone into it.
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail soma.basu@thehindu.co.in to tell her about someone you know who is making a difference)
After making his debut as a cinematographer in 1953, Vincent shot into prominence in the very next year with the acclaimed Malayalam film, Neela Kuyil that won awards at the national level. Vincent then went on to man the camera for over 250 films and directed about 50, in languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi over the years.
Born in Kerala in 1928, Vincent landed in Chennai, then Madras, the capital of the presidency, to begin his career in films as an assistant cameraman. Here in Chennai, he assisted the legendary cinematographer, Marcus Bartley, who introduced what is called Hollywood style camera work in regional language film industry.
His noted works as cameraman include Amar Deep (Hindi, 1958), Uthama Puthiran (Tamil, 1958), Nenjil Oru Aalayam (Tamil, 1961), Sumaithaangi (Tamil, 1962), Kadhalikka Neramillai (Tamil, 1964), Enga Veettu Pillai (Tamil, 1965), Vasantha Maligai (Tamil,1973) among others.
His directorial debut was in Malayalam with Bhargavi Nilayam in 1964. The first film in Malayalam to feature a ghost, this was a runaway hit, establishing Vincent as a director. He went on to make several popular and critically-acclaimed films, often choosing scripts based on works by renowned writers.
Family members said Vincent’s funeral mass will be held on Thursday at St Joseph Church in Nungambakkam, and the burial will be at the Quibble Island Cemetery.
Jaya offers condolences
Chennai: AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday condoled Vincent’s demise. “His demise is a huge loss to the film industry. I convey my deepest condolences to his family members and pray that his soul rest in peace,” she said. He had directed Tirumaangalyam, in which she had acted .
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 26th, 2015
In a unique project launched with financial aid from district panchayath, a sports Ayurveda clinic will be launched at the district hospital here. The programme will be officially inaugurated on Thursday at 2.30pm by sports Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
The office of the deputy director of education will be providing a list of students who are eligible to avail the facility from the clinic. The list would include students who have already participated in athletic meets and tournaments as well as trainees. “The list will be screened and finalised,” said Rathi B Unnithan, Ayurveda DMO. The clinic will deal with sports injuries and general health improvement of the students, she added.
According to Dr Sreejith SP, coordinator of the project, the clinic will help students manage their injuries and also help enhance performance.
The Panchayath is providing Rs 5 lakhs for the project in its launching year. “This is a positive step towards promoting sports in the district,” said Anita Shaji, welfare committee chairman of the Panchayath and principal of CKMHSS Koruthodu. “I know many talented students who gave up sports due to continuous injuries. Now, this clinic will help such sportspersons manage their injuries better,” she said.
Initially, the clinic will open special OP clinics on Tuesdays and Saturdays. A possibility of starting an outdoor unit to assist sportspersons in athletic meets and tournaments in the district is also under consideration.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / TNN / February 19th, 2015
Students of Natyaveda College of Performing Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, have secured the first three ranks in BA (Honours) Bharatanatyam and the first rank in the Hindustani Vocal (Diploma) examinations conducted by the Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya of Chhattisgarh.
According to a statement from the Natyaveda College of Performing Arts issued here on Sunday, Parvathy Kurup secured the first rank in Bharatanatyam. P. Saritha and Deepthi Unnikrishnan won the second and third ranks respectively. Sreekanth Hariharan won the first rank in Hindustani Vocal (diploma). – Special Correspondent
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thursday – Februry 23rd, 2015
K Bibish, a Class X student of Sree Ramavarma (SRV) Government High School, Pallimukku, Kochi, has made the city proud. The unassuming boy has won the bronze medal at this year’s National Games.
“Many of our students are into sports from football to fencing. We knew Bibish was interested in sports but had no idea that he had so much potential,” said T G Vilasini, headmistress of SRV High School.
Bibish, who hails from Kanyakumari has been living in the city and training at the Regional Sports Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra for the past three years. “We have eight students all of whom are into fencing. From the day he was selected we have done whatever we can to make sure that the boy achieves his dreams,” said Padman P K, sports teacher at SRV.
“Bibish and I stay together at the sports centre and we have a strict regimen of training and studies. He has always utilized every moment of his spare time either training or practicing. Fencing truly is his first love,” said his friend Nithin Surdhi J D. “He’s a reserved person and rarely speaks. But his actions speak louder than his words, especially when he is fencing.”
The school supported Bibish by utilizing their PTA funds to ensure that he had the best fencing uniform and gear for the Games. Though he missed his classes owing to the Games, his teachers assured that they would help him after school hours to ensure that he does well in his board exams.
“We are extremely proud of him and he deserves to be felicitated. We are awaiting his arrival to do the same.” said Vilasini.
The school has put up a flex of the boy’s achievement outside its main gate.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / TNN / February 12th, 2015
In a quarter of a century, Kerala has leapfrogged from being a fully literate state to a state with total primary education.
The government would declare the new status on April 18, said Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb. The status means almost 100 per cent of its eligible citizens have passed class IV examination or its equivalent.
As a next target, he said, the government plans to achieve total higher secondary education or its equivalent in the state in the next three years.
“Under the equivalency programme, age is not bar for studying,” the minister said at a meeting held at a Literacy Mission function meeting held at the District Planning Committee hall, here. Abdu Rabb said that the government would help anyone interested in joining the programme.
“Those who do not speak Malayalam can also join the equivalency programme,” he said and added that workers from the state were able to get promotions in West Asian countries because of the programme.
Special Syllabus
The education minister said the government was working a new curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities.
“It will be introduced in the next academic year,” he said. The government has cleared a proposal to set up centres for persons with intellectual disabilities in Kasargod and Parappanangadi in Malappuram district. Abdu Rabb said that the government would consider a proposal to start institutes in northern districts to impart language proficiency among English teachers.
The minister felicitated athlete T K Jyoti Prasad, who won gold at the national and state school games this academic year.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 23rd, 2015
Mili says she loves the way the jazz musicians broke free from format, yet stayed rooted to the core.
A host of film songs, jazz gigs and independent music later, Mili Nair stands on the cusp of another milestone: her debut album as singer and songwriter, writes Esther Elias
Mili Nair’s moment of epiphany dawned in the darkness of a vocal booth in Kodambakkam. She’d just written down Vairamuthu’s lyrics, and learnt its simple tune, when A.R. Rahman and Mani Ratnam walked in. As they sat down and listened to her render ‘Keda Kari’ for their film Raavanan, a dream reel scrolled in Mili’s head of all the magic the two had woven together… Roja, Bombay, Alaipayuthey, Guru… “I couldn’t believe that I, at 24, was standing in that room, singing for them! That moment gave me my calling; I knew I was here for a reason.” Five years and a host of film songs, jazz gigs and independent music later, Mili stands on the cusp of another milestone: her debut album as singer and songwriter.
Born to Keralite parents and raised in Pune, Mili grew up a single child with music as her companion. “I was a late talker, so I was humming before I could say words,” she laughs. Like all “good South Indian children”, she was sent for Carnatic music classes, but secretly built an ear for her mother’s collection of English music, everything from Abba and The Beatles to Christopher Cross. Her mornings began with choir rehearsals and after school, she’d hop next door to her music classes in a little cottage full of upright pianos left behind by English nuns. “I knew quite early on that music would be my life,” says Mili, but for a short while, as a teenager, when that dream almost didn’t come true for a lack of resources, her heart fell. “When music did return, I realised anew just how precious what I’d taken for granted was.”
It was only in Bangalore as a student of journalism at Mount Carmel, did Mili find jazz. All the while training in Trinity School of London and Royal School of Music’s classical music syllabi, a friend lent her a Chet Baker instrumental CD, and it was love at first listen. “I loved the way the musicians broke free from format, yet stayed rooted to the core. It instantly changed my thinking as a singer. I started seeing my voice just like an instrument, capable of all that freedom of improvisation!” Mili went on to sing covers of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Dee Dee Bridgewater alongside her usual repertoire of rock and pop at gigs across Bangalore, until one day renown bassist Keith Peters, heard her sing and offered to back her. “I was stunned, but went along with it, and learnt more about exploring my voice with Keith, than ever before.”
In the thick of making life as a jazz musician, Mili never quite foresaw Rahman knocking at her door. She still doesn’t know how he found her, but that window of opportunity with him opened numerous doors into playback singing. From ‘Ippadiye’ for Yuvan Shankar Raja in Poojai, to ‘Nee Sunno New Mono’ for Harris Jayaraj in Nanbenda, ‘Oh Penne Penne’ for Anirudh Ravichander in Vanakkam Chennai, ‘Parakka Seivai’ again for Rahman in Ambikapathy, and the song she’s best known for, ‘Meethi Boliyaan’ for Amit Trivedi in Kai Po Che, Mili is thrilled with the music that’s come her way. She’s also just finished recording the title track of Mr. X, a Bollywood film with Jeet Ganguly as music director, where she’s sung a duet with director Mahesh Bhatt (“What a rockstar!”). “I’ve been blessed to have music directors who understand my voice,” says Mili, “They call me for that particular sensibility of a jazz singer, and allow me to be me.”
Alongside film music also arrived the offer of a Coke Studio session with Amit, where the vocal powerhouse in Mili came forth in all its glory in ‘Badri Badariyan’ and ‘Yatra’. “Singing with him is the sort of work that fulfils your soul. The calibre of musicianship that plays with Amit is that splendid,” she says. For a year now, she’s been gigging with Amit and the band across the country, at college events and music festivals like NH7, one of the latest venues being in Pune. “The energy there was just insane! People were screaming song requests, and climbing over barricades to reach us. For me, that was a homecoming of sorts.” In the midst of the whirlwind that Mili’s life had been the last couple of years, she found herself one evening at a concert in Bangalore listening to a drummer named Hamesh. They got talking, about music, of course, and are today married and settled in Chennai with a home full of music and their earnings spent on buying even more music. “Music is the marriage,” smiles Mili.
At home, one day three years ago, resting between shows and studio sessions, Mili picked up a small keyboard lying around at home and fiddled a melody that popped into her head. She explored the musical idea a little further and gradually, it blossomed into a full-fledged song. “I found music come to me in most unexpected moments this way. And it doesn’t come with lyrics first because I feel far better through music than words; a bass line or guitar phrase will drop by and I’d have to follow it around for a while, nurture it into fullness.” Over these years, Mili’s stacked up a collection of songs that range from jazz to blues, rock and pop, rarely performing them live, but running them by musician friends for “that magic that happens in collaboration”. All of life thus far has shaped this album, says Mili. From Bollywood, she’s learnt of how the music industry works, and from independent jazz performances, she’s honed that maturity of feeding off fellow musicians’ creative flights. Her work enters studios soon and will reach the world later this year. “Doing music where you can be yourself, truly is divine,” she says.
