Beat the space constrains with simple housing options
Published July 16, 2010 | 
Kerala , being a state with one of the highest population densities is facing the problem of space constraints more than any other place in the country. While man has already encroached the pristine forests, the backwaters and the wetlands that are so very crucial in ensuring a balanced ecosystem there are not many options left for him.
The most sensible option on hand would be to go back to the joint family system where everyone will be living under the same roof, leaving enough space for the kids to play hide and seek and to monkey around on the guava and mango trees in the backyard or to soak up the fun of the first rain in the family pond. This would greatly decrease the pressure on land as every member need not build a home of his own! Multistoried apartments where families live in different floors is another trend in cities and our family doctor is living with her six siblings in a 6 storey flat. Detachable homes and caravans when they reach the coasts of Kerala would have many takers for sure as these offer the convenience of living wherever the inmates choose to. On the beach side in summer or in the hill ranges during the rains. It could be a good option for those wishing to lead a nomadic life style and would particularly suit the retired as they have no job commitments to pin them down in any particular area.
Most of the people own multiple homes and properties as lucrative investment options; so a law that prevents people from owning more than one property or home would reduce the over exploitation of land resources. We are badly in need of a welcome change in how we use the precious land resources. The landscapes of Kerala is fast losing its green cover and is becoming a concrete jungle littered with dust and debris. So make your choices sensibly and ensure that the burden on the fertile land is reduced so that it can still grow our crops and replenish the water sources. A concrete home will only ensure a roof over your head but you might still need to return to nature for food , water and air, the basic essentials for the sustenance of life on earth! The count down has already started and it is indeed a race against the clock that too without many options on offer!
Expansion plans on the anvil for Periyar Tiger Reserve
Published July 15, 2010 | 
Periyar tiger Reserve in Thekkady, Kerala is one of the best managed tiger reserves in India that needs no formal introduction as a popular tourist destination for nature enthusiasts. The rich bio diversity and wild life and the pristine beauty of the area, which spreads over an area of 777 sq km attracts scores of visitors to Thekkady. Now Periyar is all set to undergo a massive expansion which would make it a hot contender for the position of the best eco tourist spot in Kerala, a distinction held by Gavi in Munnar for long.
Under this plan, 148 Sq KM of forest land that extends up to the Kakki hydel project at the east and the Annathode colony to the North, which belongs to the Kerala forest development corporation will become part of the Periyar tiger reserve. With this the tiger reserve will have a total area of 925 sq. km , which will go a long way in the tiger conservation efforts as well. With this, Gavi and the pachakkanam areas also will become part of the reserve though the eco tourist spot of Gavi might be excluded from the reserve.
The expansion of Periyar Tiger reserve will give further impetus to the tiger conservation efforts to make it one of the most successful stories in nature conservation. As per the latest figures, only 3000 tigers are left in the wild and it is indeed a race gainst the clock. If we need to protect this magnificient beast we have to oput in our best NOW as there will never be a second chance!
The changing rain spectacles
Published July 13, 2010 | 
Gone are the days when the croaking sounds of frogs were always associated with the rains in Kerala , simply because these days we hardly see any frogs around. Rains and frogs share a close relation. An amphibian, which also breathes through its moist skin, frog needs water for its survival and this could be the reason why frogs wait for the rain clouds. Even today, in many villages in North India, frog marriages are held to appease the rain gods. However, with the change in the climatic conditions and the destruction of wetlands, frogs are facing a serious threat. I was surprised to note that for the last many years not even a single frog was spotted in a pond near my house, which was once the spawning ground of bright yellow frogs. Till the recent past, we could hear the loud croaking calls in various intensities all night and the whole pond would take in an yellow hue!
Things are equally bad for snakes as well. A poet of yesteryear had sung that ‘snakes have burrows, birds have skies and man alone does not have a place to live‘ in one of the most popular songs of a Malayalam movie. However, now the lyrics of the song has lost its meaning as man has invaded the whole of ground, sky, water and even space as his home, leaving all other animals homeless and distressed. As the pressure on land increases by the day, conflict between man and animals is assuming alarming proportions. Last week a fully grown viper got into the sitting room of a posh villa, luckily the inmates found it in time so a tragedy was averted. The residents are now using poisonous chemicals to keep off the snakes , knowing fully well that these highly poisonous chemicals could be carcinogenic if used continuously.
In the olden days, every homestead had a sacred serpent grove where these slithering creatures were revered. I still remember my vacations which I used to spend in my village in Trichur district. A visit to temple was something that we all cherished as kids. A stroll along the embankments of the paddy fields at dusk, often under the guidance of our grand mother was fun. Very often we’ll come across snakes in the paddy fields and the bushes nearby.
A long snake with a pale yellow tinge that seems to be in no hurry to reach its home- it is a harmless , ‘chera, it wont do anything’ grandma would whisper as we walk past. She used to make sure that the kids are well acquainted with the different types of snakes so that they can distinguish between the poisonous and the nonpoisonous varieties. The slender, medium sized snakes that swoosh past the water in the brooks and paddy fields are also non venomous snakes. But watch out for the short and stout snakes with dark bands over it. These could be highly poisonous viper or cobra and it is better not to mess up with these- she would add hastily. Not even once she urged us to kill the snakes the moment we spot it! This sharing and caring attitude is missing now and this could be the root cause for all problems. So it is high time that we lend an ear to the age old sayings and practices of our forefathers to make sure that we ensure a fair chance to live in this universe for the future generations!
Care for animals -the story of the street dogs and a few kind souls
Published July 12, 2010 | 
This is a story of a street dog, which lives in our residential colony. We call him coco for his tan felt and he responds to the name by fiercely wagging his tail. Sustaining itself on the food scraps and bread crumbs from the houses, he used to spend the rainy days under a huge truck which always remains parked on the road. One day, the residents were shocked to see him lying bleeding on the road in an apparent hit and run accident. As it was a stray dog nobody dared to go near him and to inspect what went wrong. It spend many days under the safety of the truck and one day it came back to the open limping. Its forearm was badly mutilated, making it useless for its normal functions. Still we were all happy that he inched back to life.
However, we still feel that had we then known about care animals, a voluntary organization set up by a few veterinary doctors exclusively for the rehabilitation of street dogs, Coco would have run a better chance of saving his limb. This organization set up in the year 2007 has five well-experienced Veterinary Surgeons, one New Zealand trained Veterinary Nurse, two U.K trained Animal Behavioral specialists with 30-year experience and dedicated volunteers from various walks of life. Some of the programmes they carry put include free Vaccination cum medical camps, Animal Birth Control surgery camps, Rehabilitation and adoption of stray/ orphan animals, Awareness programmes etc.
So in case you wish to do something for these hapless animals on the streets, extend a helping hand for the noble causes of care animals. Those who are interested to sponsor any of these activities or adopt a dog can also contact them. Many well known citizens of this city have adopted dogs from care animals. Though mongrels are not pedigree dogs, these are highly intelligent, have no health issues and above all are well suited for the tropical climate of Kerala. The resilience and bravery of these dogs have earned them a place even Chennai Airport Bomb Detection Squad. A study has shown that mongrels are better than pedigree dogs in respect of spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities. Dr David Smith of the Department of Animal Sciences, Aberdeen University, describes the study results as indicating that crossbred dogs are better suited as working dogs!
So, next time when you spot a distressed stray dog, call care animals instead of pelting a stone, which is something that comes naturally to all of us at Kerala, infamous for its appalling records on animal cruelty. Remember, dogs are the oldest and the most faithful friends of man , which would even shed their lives to save their master!
Care animals can be contacted at http://www.care4animals.in/index.html or 0484 6562672, 9847135759
'Aye autokaari'- A slice of new Kerala life!
Published July 9, 2010 | 
This afternoon on my way home for lunch I was pleasantly surprised when I waved towards an autorickshaw. Out popped a smiling face, bindi and all wearing Khaki uniform over her kurta-salwar. I was immediately curious about her life as an auto driver in Kochi and she assured me things were going very well!
Meet Sumitra, part of a growing band of women foraying into male bastions in Kochi. She owns her own autorickshaw and has been cruising the streets for over a month now. And the best part is that she lives close to our Karmakerala office. Sumitra’s husband owns a goods carrier autorickshaw which is called a petti-auto in Kerala. Great to see women out earning their living in petrol filling stations, mall parking lots and driving autoricks for hire.
Catch Sumitra during the day on Kochi roads, she heads home by 6 PM. I hope to run into her again as I dash in and out of the office.
World cup fever grips Kerala as the final draws near
Published July 9, 2010 | 
The soccer crazy folks of Kerala is waiting with bated breath for the final match that will be held in a few hours from now. Live TV coverage, hartal induced holidays and heavy monsoon rains that forced people to remain indoors have set the perfect backdrop for the people on Kerala to discuss their favorite topic of football all these days. It goes without saying that the northern districts like Malapuram and Kozhikode follow this game more passionately than their counterparts in other parts of Kerala. It is interesting to note that in Malappuram, the names of certain villages have been re-christened as Brazil Nagar and Argentina Nagar, though these titans had an early exit from the world cup. Though Brazil started off as all-time favourites, they crashed out of the match fairly early resulting in quite a few heart burns among the Brazil soccer fan community.
With a rather unexpected Dutch Vs Spain world cup final on the cards, the equations have changed rapidly and the loyalties shifted! From painting their vehicles in the colors of the national flags of these teams to donning the orange and red jerseys representing the Dutch and the Spain respectively, everything speak of their unconditional love for this sport. World cup finals have boosted the sales of LCD TVs even in smaller towns thanks to the live coverage by the ESPN sports channels. The younger generation could be seen introducing some of their favorite players to the elder members in the family to build up the fun and the excitement in the family living rooms during the telecast of live matches.
It is interesting to note that even IT companies have come up with innovative ideas to keep tab on the latest scores of their favorite teams. Innoz Technologies based at Technopark has created a software, which will let you know live scores through SMS.
Hotels like Udaya Samudra in Kovalam is organising a food festival till the World Cup ends and its staff would be dressed in football jerseys. It is interesting to note that they have added quite a few soccer themed specialties to their menu as well to celebrate the ongoing soccer mood. You can have French grills or Ronaldo Strawberry Margarita while enjoying the game on the big screen TVs in the hotel lobby. The count down has started and the entire Kerala is in the grip of soccer fever that has transcended the barriers of time and space to take the soccer crazy populace of Kerala into a frenzy.
Meanwhile Paul, the octopus has predicted that Spain will win the Fifa world Cup 2010 Final on 11th July! So it is going to be a nail biting finish for sure! Be there to catch it all live on the screens:)
Hartals alias extended weekends!!
Published July 8, 2010 | 
Kerala recently made a dubious distinction by holding two hartals for a single cause that too in a week! It is intriguing that the political parties almost always make sure to choose Fridays or Mondays as hartal days. May be this could be a ploy to make it more people friendly by offering sops in the form of extended weekends and more holidays to the people. Whatever be the cause, it is a fact that the majority of the population have started accepting political parties’ decision to conduct hartal without any major opposition.
The bus stands and railway stations were jam packed with holiday revelers as people from other cities planned a home coming to enjoy the unexpected leave they got from the second hartal on Monday. While the general public chose to leave the price hike issues to the political parties, people preferred to enjoy the time with their friends and families. Most of them chose to make use of the extended weekends to catch up with the latest movies in their home theatre or to soak up the charm of the monsoons in the hill stations!
How many of us had even bothered to think about those hapless people who were left out in the middle of the road all day or those countless patients who suffered for want of medical aid on the so called hartal day. In a way are we compromising with the political parties’ decision?
The psychologists opine that people were only trying to take a break from their busy schedules on hartal day though it might make it look like they are actually favoring hartals. The recent shift in the behaviour of the people suggest that holidays in any disguise are welcome in God’s own country. However, this easy go lucky attitude of the jovial malayalis would give a long stick to the political parties to get along with their frequent hartal calls. Most of the antihartal proponents think that if there was a strong public opposition to the frequent hartals, things would have been much better in Kerala; however the happenings around us suggest that malayalees are enjoying the hartals and the unexpected holidays that they bring!
Kerala football fever and err… Communism
Published July 7, 2010 | Kerala and West Bengal, the football crazy states of India are having a great time with the FIFA world cup getting to its final stages. Even the hilarious ‘Laka Laka’ Mallu song on YouTube has caught the national spotlight! The state rooted for Brazil and Argentina with fan clubs watching it here like they are cheering for India. Somehow with football Kerala gets more affected than even cricket, the national religion.
Coming from Calicut, I remember watching Nehru Trophy matches at the Stadium Ground. The ruckus they created, the collective groans and cheers are to be seen to be believed. Malabar people come out with vigour when they watch football and everyone’s an expert, I have heard shouts like, ‘attack the goalie’, or ‘poke his eyes out’, ‘change that guy‘ – rants’ being made with murderous looks. Ha ha!
Sitting in Kochi now I miss the spectacle being played out at the numerous cafes, clubs, and reading rooms in Calicut. They know all the details of scores of yore, lost chances and tactics and argue at the drop of a hat and even place bets. Scuffles were also common among friends during matches of opposing teams. Such drama hardly happens for cricket matches in Kerala, though with IPL Kochi team in the fray now, there is scope for similar stuff.
However, taking up causes far, far away has not been new for Kerala; Communism has seen Keralites and Bengalis shouting slogans for Cuba, Korea, Russia and even China. Even President Bush had been a popular effigy being burnt on the Kerala coast. Strange are the dynamics of this connection but then like football, we also tend to obsess about certain ideologies even if they don’t seem feasible these days. Keralites with communist leanings will speak of the life and times of Che Guevera, Karl Marx, Lenin, Castro and the like with ease.
So, here I’m left wondering did the football craze come years ago through Communism to the state. Hmm! If you are living in Kerala, there comes a time when you think- ‘Am I communist?‘ Nowadays it’s a mere thought, though it probably was a phase in a person’s life decades ago and a way of life much earlier. Like the Latin American countries with their Communism and their football craze, did football come to us in Kerala the communist way? Whatever be the reason for the football craze, even if communism doesn’t stay football is too deep-rooted in Kerala to fizzle out.
This Sunday like most people, I too am ready for the match on the big screen with a lot of crazy football fans. Food and drinks to flow; along with agonies and ecstasies. Though Brazil and Argentina have been routed out, the state seems to be coming together for Spain and The Netherlands. There is a delightful polarizing happening, bets being placed and Twitter tweets all playing a part to build up the excitement. Did I mention the number of LCD TVs being bought? Sony had a unique free World Cup replica football offer on. Paul, the Oracle octopus, is being discussed at length as well!
Kerala is ready, and nothing beats the joy of a sport, it’s a pure joy that’s frankly like no other! So, who are you supporting? 
Kerala Eying Movie Spot Tourism!
Published July 7, 2010 | Kerala is famous worldwide with tourists who are looking for a serene beautiful place to enjoy their holidays. But now Kerala is eying ‘Movie-spot tourism‘.
With the recent release of the multilingual movie ‘Ravan‘ in Hindi,Tamil(Ravanan) and Telugu(‘Villain’) by the famous film director Mani Ratnam casting Abhishek Bachan, Aiswarya Rai Bachan and Vikram, the location have caught the attention of movie loving audience throughout India. And, almost all are taken up by the well done cinematography and the backdrop of the entire movie. People who know little about Kerala and haven’t visited the state before, have started to ask where was the movie shot from? Even Malayalees won’t believe that the movie was shot near Athirappally and Vazhachal waterfalls and from the forest here.
Kerala Tourism department has now stuck on the idea to make a campaign with the film ‘Ravana’. There are many films from other languages that have shot from Kerala’s different scenic locations. Hollywood movie ‘Nishabdh‘ casting Amitabh Bachan and Jiya Khan was partially shot from Munnar, since then Munnar is famous among all the Hindiwallahs. So are the movies ‘Bombay’(Song-Uyire ..uyire from Bakel Fort-Kasargod),’Dilse‘ from Alappuzha, Vinnei Thandi Varuvaya (partially from Kuttanad-Alappuzha) and many more movies that I forget.
Anyway, Kerala Tourism Department is thinking for various ways to improve its tourism and the inflow of tourists to the state. The countries like Switzerland, New Zealand and Malaysia have started the trend called ‘movie spot tourism’ long back. Movie Spot Tourism is enlisting some major locations as shooting locations where the shooting set will get all the facilities without any difficulties. It will in turn make those locations famous and in a way tourism campaign through the movie.
In Kerala, it needs to cross many barriers and face restrictions if anyone needs to shoot in forests or in other protected areas. So, Kerala Tourism is also planning to start up such a trend called ‘Movie Spot Tourism’, where they will make a list of major locations that needs attention and then the movie sets are allowed entry by paying a certain amount as fee.
A date with a cool Kerala cuisine!
Published July 6, 2010 | 
Each part of Kerala has their own unique cuisine and as anywhere else in the world, the Kerala cuisine is influenced by the traditions, culture and the changing lifestyles of its people. Attracting the tourists with its culinary specialties, Kerala offers one of the tastiest foods on earth. However if you need to really appreciate Kerala cuisines, then you need to have a taste for chillies- hot and spicy.
A typical Kerala breakfast can be anything from Puttu( steamed rice with coconut scrapings, due to abundance of coconuts) and bananas or peas, Appam, Idlis and Dosas. Lucnh and dinner is mainly rice with either veg: Thoran( chopped vegetables and grated coconut), Avial( a mix of all vegetables), Pachadi(different types: papaya, pineapple or lady’s finger) or rice with meat: usually chicken or beef.
Talking about Kerala cuisines, i encountered a different experience when i was on my way to Bolgatty Palace. After a long day with my cousins who had met for a family get together, we thought of taking a stroll outside and enjoy a quiet evening. On our way to Boat jetty, Kochi, back of Marine Drive, we came across a small push cart that had a vendor selling one of the most tastiest “sarbath” i had ever had!
I was so smitten by the taste, that i wanted to know more details about the shop, how he made and what was his luck factor. Meeting with Shaji ekka(the owner), he had lots to say about his small business. This small way side outlet had come a long 21 years with the bees that surrounded the shop as his lady luck. Besides selling, he was a very friendly person and informed us that once the ice that topped the juice was over, he packs up for the day. Needless to say, my cousins said that it was one of the most crowded places and best known in Kochi when it comes to a chilling “sarbath”.