shyama menon
Cochin Twestival 2010 – Tweeples swooping down on Kochi!
Published March 25, 2010 | The Twitter bug has overtaken Kochi today with tweeples from all over Kerala swooping into Somewhere Else Cafe in Kadavanthara, this evening, the 25th of March 2010. So if you’re an avid tweeter you should make it to Cochin Twestival and have a Tweetup which is a festival with a DJ and even a stand-up comedy act to enjoy.
Twestival is a one-of-a-kind charity event which will help raise funds and create awareness for supporting the education of underprivileged children across the globe, including India in 2010.
The Cochin Twestival has its heart in the right place and the profit from the sale of T-shirts will go to Concern Worldwide, an international nonprofit and humanitarian organization supporting education projects for underprivileged and neglected children. This what the organisers have to say on the website:
Cochin Twestival has grown from just an idea to something more in the past few days. From just a handful of volunteers, the people of Kerala have joined in to volunteer help and make it a huge success.
The enterprising team of Cochin Twestival include Kenney Jacob(@kenneyjacob), Andrine Mendez @Andrine_Mendez), Binny VA(@binnyva), Ivin Gancius,( @ivan457), Thariq CP (@thariqcp ), Jayadeep Gilroy(@jAyaDEEpGiLrOY), Ranjith K Avarachan, aka @zeqox , Arun Sadanand, (@sadu_arun), Ashwin, (@4sHwiN), Cijo Abraham Mani( @cijoaj2003) Sharat Sreenivas-(I_Sharat) Nitin @hollowmaniac and Sajan Mani ( @vmsajan).
Archana Kavi of Neelathamara fame is the celebrity guest slated for the Twestival and the venue, Somewhere Else Cafe is the only free Wi-fi cafe in all of Kochi and has provided free welcome drinks.
From our team at KarmaKerala.com we wish Cochin Twestival all the best and hope that this becomes a regular event and more and more tweeples join in and help make a difference. With education let there be light and let’s help educate a new generation of people with this effort.
For your own Cochin Twestival T-shirt, visit Myntra and follow this link to donate to Concern Worldwide.
Happy tweeting and enjoy your Twestival and make a difference.
What's ailing Malayalam Cinema? A film lover's angst!
Published March 12, 2010 | What ails Malayalam cinema these days has perhaps come to light mostly with the Thilakan issue. I speak from a movie lover’s perspective and without too much knowledge of factions, Federations, Associations etc. that seem to have cropped up in the industry.
To name the ones I know – AMMA, FEFKA, MACTA and the numerous Superstar Fans Associations all seem to be big players in the whole issue. If you try to read up about this in the media you realise there is not much of reporting going on about this problem.
A few questions: Why is the media seeming tied down? Why doesn’t someone report who is doing the arm-twisting here? Why are great actors like Thilakan having to walk out of good roles because of AMMA? Why should an Association decide who acts in what movie and why?
Movie artist associations are, I presume, formed to help co-actors in the field… so why are they the deciders in an actor’s call-sheet? Why is an association seemingly punishing members and interfering in the business of filmmaking? Why did Thilakan now get a compensation?
A request to the film fraternity, fans and people like you and me who lament the death of great Malayalam cinema – let’s all examine why great movies are not being made.
Also a special request to our superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal, both already producers as well, to produce all kinds of films and help new talent come in.
Finally to Malayalis everywhere:
What has happened to our sensibilities as film lovers why are we lapping up slap-stick comedies and mannerisms one after the other for years now?
Why don’t we go out to watch smaller films and encourage new talent?
Why are, we, as fans and Fans Associations hampering good cinema?
What can we do? Let’s free art, let’s dismantle power-wielding Associations, Federations and Fans Associations and let’s not patronise movies made to make money alone. Stop laughing at oft-repeated comedy genre movies that seems to be ruling the roost.
I hope I have ruffled a few feathers in case this post gets picked up by the film world and please know that I’m only voicing the angst of a large, a very large number of Malayalis everywhere who took pride in our films.
This post is nothing but a humble protest …but make no mistake, a protest indeed this is.
Conclusion: Let me end by hoping all our Malayalam actors, who by the way are so talented that you can’t actually think of a bad actor in Kerala films, will see that such Associations and Federations are only straight-jacketing art.
And whenever art is not free it is freedom that is being curtailed and this should never happen! Save Malayalam cinema, free art, and foster talent should be our only mantra.
Kerala Tourism News- Sea Planes, Big B and more!
Published March 9, 2010 | 
Kerala Tourism studying feasibility of sea plane service considering the state’s backwaters, rivers and coasts. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Tourism Minister had this to say…
Considering the distinctive environment condition of state’s backwaters and inland-waterways, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has been asked to conduct the study on the possibility of ‘sea plane services.
However, the government has no plans to conduct the service directly. It would only provide necessary logistic support to private sector which come forward with proposals, he added.
They are taking into consideration the environmental factors and pollution issues that may crop up with such a project, the minister has assured.
In other tourism news, Kerala is following Gujarat and has asked Amitabh Bachchan to be the brand ambassador for tourism in Kerala. Star power to boost tourism is indeed a great idea.
After the Kerala Motif Rajdhani Express and Big B’s mundu appearance, looks like Kerala Tourism is going all out to woo domestic tourists.
Personally as advertisements go the Incredible India ad for Madhya Pradesh was not only creative, it captured the folk side of the region and is aesthetically a delight to watch again and again! Don’t you agree?
For now let’s hope sea planes and Big B can bring in more tourists to our state.
Kerala stops Montblanc from selling pricey Mahatma Gandhi pens
Published February 24, 2010 | 
Montblanc known for its famous pens the world over is used to bringing out collector’s pens in the name of famous people and celebrities. However, when they came out with a pricey Mahatma Gandhi pen, The Centre for Consumer Education in Kerala filed a lawsuit.
This lawsuit was an ideological one, for Gandhiji was a man of austerity and this was hardly the way to honour him, according to the opponents.
This was despite the fact that Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi had endorsed the idea. His charitable foundation has already received a donation of $145,000 from Montblanc and will receive between $200 and $1,000 for each pen sold. The BBC had this to report:
Just 241 of the handmade pens will be sold, reflecting the number of miles Gandhi walked in his famous march against salt taxes in 1930.
Each pen comes with an eight-metre golden thread that can be wound around the pen, representing the spindle and cotton Gandhi used to weave simple cloth.
So what is the price of the Mahatma Gandhi pen you may be wondering – ONLY $24,000 (£16,000) or roughly 12,00,000 rupees!! The gold and silver limited edition pen includes an engraving of Gandhiji.
Now if this is beyond your reach there are the much cheaper ball point ones for $3000 or a measly 1,50,000 rupees and there are only 3000 of them made!!
This is just an example of the stuff the rich and famous lap up to amuse themselves and I’m left wondering what would Gandhiji have said about this whole issue? “Hey Ram”, perhaps? 
The Tiger – A magnificent animal needs your help!
Published February 17, 2010 | 
The country is being urged to support the magnificent tiger our national animal which is now just 1411 in number. A dismal number when once the jungles of India were full of them, sending shivers down a human’s spine if he were to go to the jungle for firewood.
Yes the Tiger was the lord of the jungle and the fear kept humans away from the forests. The beautiful, ferocious animal was in fact helping to conserve nature from human encroachment – one of nature’s own conservationists!
But we are to blame, human encroachment led to tigers being called man-eaters. In the book “Man-eaters of Kumaon” Jim Corbett had this to say about the tiger -
Human beings are not the natural prey of tigers, and it is only when tigers have been incapacitated through wounds or old age that, in order to survive, they are compelled to take to a diet of human flesh.
A tiger on a fresh kill, or a wounded tiger, or a tigress with small cubs, will occasionally kill human beings who disturb them; but these tigers cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be called man-eaters,though they are often so called.
Like always ignorance, fear and superstition in our minds have been the cause for the tiger being endangered today.
Last year I had the chance to see a magnificent Bengal tiger in a zoo in Malaysia. There were no cages, it was an enclosure with a pond and a few trees, and a moat to prevent the tiger from getting at the visitors. While all animals there seemed to have lost their spirit and seemed tame, the tiger was definitely a wild one- he kept pacing up and down making growls. He was a sight to behold, all other animals paled in comparison including the lazy African lion.
From the Shere Khan of Jungle Book by Kipling to being the pet of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala, the tiger has always been a fascination to us all. The Tiger is our national animal because it is a great symbol of India’s glorious past.
Every state in the country except Gujarat has a tiger reserve and the government is today making a change in this. Join the cause, do your bit, blog, Tweet or join clubs to help save the tiger. We cannot let such a beautiful animal, so much a part of our history and national identity, go extinct!
Big B's take on the airconditioned 'Mundu' after he visits Kerala
Published February 9, 2010 | 
Amitabh Bachchan was in Kochi to inaugurate Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty’s foundation to help the poor. The Big B not only made a donation but also seemed to have enjoyed himself in Kerala. He seemed to have taken a fancy to the Kerala attire ‘mundu’ and has waxed lyrical on his blog. Here’s the bit about the mundu.
“Keeping in tune with the phrase ‘do in Rome as the Romans do’, I order some extraordinary crafted dhoti and sari to be worn at the evening formal function. The sari of course for the ladies in the house. Typical Kerala designed motifs on them through gold and silver threads.
So, I wear the dhoti or munda as it is more colloquially known for the evening and I think there is an appreciation of it.
The ‘dhoti’ in all its pristine glamour, tied up around the waist by shear will power and some dextrous use of the stomach muscle, else it slips down and opens up !! It is just a piece of cloth, no buttons, no belts, no clips nothing. Simple elegant convenient and with its own characteristic charm and above all – air conditioned at all times !! The fall of the main design as a strip down the front to be positioned on the right hip and just around the right knee. Rules of culture!”
He goes on further about Kerala, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali in his blog and even met with our superstars Mammooty and Mohanlal. There are rumours of an Amitabh appearance in a Malayalam flick any time now.
Yes, we do appreciate the fact that you did wear the traditional attire and looked the part and it sure was fun reading your take on the mundu experience.
By the way, Mr Bachchan its Mundu and not Munda... oh well actually its neither only south Indians can pronounce it right!
Sarpakkavu – Nature groves in Kerala homes
Published January 31, 2010 | 
I miss the Kerala where Sarpakkavu or sacred groves were present in most houses with land. My grandparents’ house, I am told, had one where the lamp was lit every evening and where sacred rituals were done. There was a general fear of the little piece of jungle in the grounds and people kept away.
These sacred groves usually were next to a pond as green as can be with lots of medicinal plants and trees of great value. They not only prevented soil erosion but also gave shelter to snakes, squirrels, birds and other small creatures and the soil was pure with no chemicals or sewage polluting it. In those olden days of joint families these Sarpakkavus (abode of the snake Gods) had not only religious significance but were also a treasure trove of medicinal plants for Ayurveda. M.S. Swaminathan, Agricultural Scientist, once said:
Unlike, a botanical garden where a wide range of trees and plants are collected and cultivated for the purpose of education and enjoyment, the sacred groves are one method of expressing the gratitude of human families to the trees which sustain and support life under a given agro-ecological condition.
Now that fear and superstition is behind us and even as we go behind antique architecture and curios why can’t we rebuild a sacred grove for nature? Why can’t every Keralite with land leave a little portion of his or her land to nature and plant trees and encourage wild grass and traditional flora to thrive?
The blockbuster Avatar has tried to convey what we as a nation in India have for years been practicing – being frugal and being one with nature. However most of city dwellers in Kochi including yours truly have been buying into the consumerism of the West. I admit I am a supermarket shopper purely out of convenience and lack of awareness about the impact of my small actions in the larger picture of man’s impact on nature.
The more I learn about what environmentalists are saying I understand more and have now promised to give my money more to the roadside vendor selling fruits, vegetables and fish than a big supermarket.
And one day I hope to have a piece of land with no manicured lawns but a garden with a spirit of its own, wild and free to ramble, where frogs croak, crickets chirp, birds and animals nest without fear.
For more details on Sarpakkavu visit the Kerala Forest website.
Pics: Source Wiki.
Rajdhani Express painted with Kerala Scenery
Published January 18, 2010 | 
Kerala tourism is going all out, making a bold statement and wooing tourists from all over India to Kerala by getting the Rajdhani train painted in Kerala colours. With the tag “Go Kerala” or “Chalo Kerala“ beckoning tourists into the lush green state.
It’s not just one or two coaches, but the entire train, all 17 coaches of the air conditioned Rajdhani Express are now painted with colourful images of Kerala. Painting the Rajdhani Express is like having a giant moving billboard that goes through Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka on its way to Thiruvananthapuram and back. Think of the number of people who will be seeing the splendour of far-off Kerala!
Promoting domestic tourism is the motive here and when the summer months begin in the north of India the train with its beaches, backwaters and green landscape should lure people to the state.
I’m thinking of the effect it will have in dry Rajasthan and busy Maharashtra - the dreams it will weave of holidays in Kerala in the people who see the train. I think all trains could do with a splash of colour, a reminder of how beautiful the country is, and we could all do away with those red coloured trains which look dusty even after the coaches have had a wash.
According to the data available with Kerala Tourism, domestic tourist arrivals to Kerala last year touched 75 lakh (against 7.5 lakh international tourists), reports The Hindu.
Can’t wait to see the train roll in, in all its fresh hues and bring from within thousands of tourists to our (singing) shyama sundara kera kedaara bhoomi (Kerala). 
Pics source: The Hindu
MV Aquamarine cruises to go in for a temporary break
Published January 14, 2010 | It was six weeks ago that Louis Sea Cruises began operations, taking tourists on enchanting trips to Maldives and Colombo. The cruise programmes, which began with much fanfare, was like a whiff of fresh air as far as Kerala tourism was concerned. The news created quite a buzz everywhere and the response was overwhelming. An estimated 12,000 people were attracted to the luxury cruise on board the cruise-liner MV Aquamarine.
Now, when the cruise programme is going full-swing, here comes news that has dampened spirits of people who were making plans to be part of it all. Louis Sea Cruises beats a temporary retreat from the shores of Kerala, upsetting thousands of people who were planning family events and parties on board the luxury cruise-liner. But this retreat, happening on January 17th, will be a temporary one, with Louis Cruises planning to make a comeback in October this year.
Anyway, before bidding adieu to the shores of Kerala, Louis Luxury Cruises operates something special, a cruise that will enable tourists to experience the solar eclipse from the sea, slated for this week.
The Louis Cruises, for the people of Kerala, has turned out to be the case of experiencing the best of things in the briefest time possible. People of Kerala had welcomed cruise tourism with open arms and even the earlier post that I had made on this blog had received a good response. Experts opine that this much publicised, high-profile thing had done good to Kerala tourism, adding real big impetus to the industry as a whole.
Here’s hoping MV Aquamarine cruises back homeward bound into Kochi waters from wherever she docks till October.
Kerala brides – grooms come calling from far-off lands
Published January 12, 2010 | I read this great article in Economic Times about Malayali women and how they could soon be getting “bride money” instead of giving dowry. How can this happen you may wonder, but this was an article in the Economic Times, so money has to play a part right? And so it does…
Kerala women to men ratio has always been amazing when you compare to the rest of India. It is 1058 women to every 1000 men in our little state and I did the Whoop Whoop for women power after reading this! This figure is in stark contrast to other states that grapple with the effects of female infanticide and abortions. It’s all finally catching up in states like Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and they are now turning to Kerala women for brides.
Women of Kerala have lots of great traits, they are educated, good with languages and are known for their adaptability. Payyanur in North Kerala has married away quite a few of its daughters to far off Punjab and Haryana and the ladies have reported that they are very happy with their husbands and the in-laws.
But, now there are more grooms on the horizon according to the ET article from far-off China no less! In the next 10 years, 24 million Chinese would find it difficult to find a bride all thanks to gender specific abortions there.
From Chinese fishing nets to Communism, common grounds aplenty in this Kerala-China marriage situation. And if hefty sums for brides come calling the adaptable Malayali is sure to think of the economics of it all and at the same time make sure his daughter is married off well. You see finally it is all the economics and fewer local men available! Interesting, right?