usha123
Has Gandhism become just T Shirt slogans in Kerala
Published March 2, 2012 | 
It’s paradoxical to note that Keralites, who have blatantly shunned Gandhiji’s policies of prohibition, have wholeheartedly endorsed Gandhism in the form of T shirt slogans! Kerala might hold the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita alcohol consumption, but it has not deterred the youth form sporting Gandhiji T shirts. A current fashion rage, these T shirts on the lines of the revolutionary Che Guevara T-shirts have become an indispensable item in the wardrobes of the Gen-X in cities like Cochin.
Foreign tourists too make it a point to pick up these T shirts on their trip to Kerala. Priced around Rs, 400, these T shirts have become runaway hits among the stylish youth of the city. Curiously these T shirts with the image of our father of nation is being supplied by a company in Thailand! The T-shirts have the snapshot of Gandhiji on the front and his famous quotes imprinted on the back. The Kerala youth set an example by popularizing the principles of Gandhi who guided India to freedom through nonviolent protests. However, abstaining from liquor would have been a more meaningful tribute to the father of the nation, who advocated prohibition as a public policy way back in the 1930s. From the earlier trend of featuring of football icons, sports personalities and music bands including Metalica and Guns & Rose among others, the fashion trends have come a full circle by portraying Gandhji as the fashion icon among the youth.
Get ready to flag down the Chinese autos on Kochi roads
Published February 24, 2012 | After petrol, diesel and CNG autorickshaws, it is the turn of the Chinese electric autos to hit Kerala roads for the first time. The Chinese Romai Electric Vehicles based in Shanghai, China has test driven tricycles that are well suited for Kerala roads. The launch of products in Cochin, the maiden market for this range of products is expected to be within two months. As electric bicycles are already available in Kerala, the company plans to concentrate on the tri cycle segment according to the International Trade Department official of the Romai Electric Vehicle.
The biggest attraction of the electric tricycles will be its low price tag at the range of Rs. 40,000 to Rs.50,000. The electric tricycle gives a mileage of 80 km once charged and the tricycles are available in 60 volt–1000 watts for carrying passengers. The tricycles can be altered with roof to be operated like auto rickshaws. The company has plans to launch vehicles of 200 watts and more in the state. The necessary spare parts will also be made available for the customers.
Auto rickshaw, fondly called tuk tuk, is not only a rage among tourists but also among the local travelers as a handy and cheap travel option over short distances. A handy transportation for daily errands, autos are way cheaper than taxis and a great option to navigate through the narrow and crowded streets of Cochin. So, for all those in Kerala who are accustomed to the noisy and polluting vehicles of conventional autos, these sleeks and silent vehicles will be a pleasant change for sure!
Monkeys to don the role of coconut pluckers in Kerala
Published February 21, 2012 | You can soon see monkeys plucking coconuts in Kerala as they do in Sri Lanka or South East Asia. This innovative proposal will be presented to the government by Agriculture deputy director K. R. Vijayakumar and principal agriculture officer V.K. Raju . Though the coconut development board had initiated many novel ideals like mechanised coconut climbing and collective workforce to ensure the timely harvest of coconuts, the severe dearth of pluckers still remains a cause of concern for the coconut farmers all over the state. Measures like the introduction of mechanised climbing equipments including robots for plucking coconuts and setting up a college for training coconut climbers have not been of much effect in solving the manpower shortage.
In the recent past, many exceptional crops of Kerala like coconut and paddy have declined drastically mainly due to escalating costs of cultivation and the shortage of farm hands, which prompted the farmers to turn to less labour intensive crops like banana and rubber.
As the state continues to reel under severe shortage of coconut tree climbers, only innovative plans like these can help the farmers in the profitable cultivation of coconut. As per this proposal monkeys will be trained to carry out the task of plucking coconuts. There is also a proposal to set up a training centre for monkeys where these smart animals will be trained by trainers from Indonesia and Thailand.
The training will make the monkeys competent enough in plucking the ripe ones and collecting these from the ground and loading them to the trucks thus eliminating the need of manual intervention. A trained monkey can climb up to 500 coconut trees a day, while a human can do no more than 40-50, which makes it a better option. So from now on to get the coconuts plucked on time , all you need to do is to call in these smart monkeys for whom tree climbing is just part of monkey business!
Savour homely food in 5 star hotel menus
Published February 15, 2012 | 
It might sound paradoxical that home cooked menu is drawing huge crowds in five star hotels although most of the diners go to hotels to sample something different from the ordinary homely meals! Grandma’s recipes and some of the traditional delicacies that were on the verge of extinction are making a glorious comeback through these star hotel menu books.
Home cooked food have become a big trend these days among health watchers as these are low in fat, free from additives and artificial colors and above all are easy to cook . Many star hotels like the ITC group of hotels have included home-cooked food in their signature ‘Welcome Meal’ menu where the guests can choose from dal, rotis, rice, salad, vegetarian or vegetarian curry, salad and dessert.
Homemakers who are experts in cooking are on the payroll of many star hotels like the Taj Gateway Hotels. They are recruited on a monthly contract and work for 4-5 hours a day and would contribute 6-8 varieties of home-cooked dishes, which are included into a special menu known as Home-Style Regional Food. The menu that keeps changing every month has already turned out to be a big hit. The home style menu is more in demand during dinner and hence homemakers work on a late afternoon to evening shift.
In Taj Gateway, Ernakulam, Kerala there are three homemakers who cook every day including an exclusive cook to handle the breakfast menu. These homemakers are not familiar with the state of the art cooking technologies and gadgets and hence are provided regular utensils that are in use in any ordinary home kitchen. Home cooked menu is particularly preferred by high-paying guests at 5-star hotels who want to try out the simple and lip smacking flavors and the goodness of home cooked menu. On the other hand, homemakers prefer 5-star gourmet food at home and to cater to their needs, the Taj Group of hotels also plan to start a 10-week cooking and baking course for homemakers who fancy a star hotel fare at home. So, pamper your taste buds with the natural goodness of these home cooked delicacies and you will surely complement the ladies at your home, whose efforts were never recognized all these days!
‘Thattukadas’ to get a green and hygienic makeover
Published February 10, 2012 | 
Thattukadas in cities like Cochin have always been the favorite eateries of not only budget diners or bachelors who live far way from their homes but also for those who love to savour the exceptional delicacies of Kerala. Families in cars and mobikes, back from work stop by for take aways or find a cozy corner near these make shift eateries to savour the piping hot food.
These nondescript ‘thattukadas’ in ramshackle sheds offer a lip smacking menu including fried beef, chicken and some of the local delicacies like paruppu vada and paratta. Anyone who has sampled the freshly-made thattu dosa or chiratta puttu with the fiery meat curry, well complemented by a cup of frothy, piping hot tea, would vouch for its lingering taste and easy prices. These food joints perched long the dusty roads or leaking drains often compromise on hygiene, triggering health concerns.
However, thattukadas are all set to have a stylish makeover in a few months time as Kochi corporation is planning to distribute over 100 modern thattukadas to the food vendors. Each food joint will cost around 70,000 rupees and will have solar heaters, purified water, stoves for cooking, and stainless steel platform. These neat and gleaming tattukadas will be a welcome change for the residents who can now enjoy their favorite food items without having to be put off by the stink, filth and dirt around!
This project is being carried out as part of an elaborate scheme to rehabilitate street food vendors with financial assistance from Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project. So the die hard fans of the Kerals’s own eateries of thattukadas can continue to satiate their palates with local flavors of Kerala, cooked and served in a hygienic setting.
Indian missionaries head to the West
Published February 7, 2012 | 
Christianity came to the Indian shores due to the missionary activities of the Europeans. Many decades down the line, now India sees itself on the other side of the table and is sending the largest contingent of Catholic nuns and priests to the West to carry out missionary activities there.
India, which has been traditionally considered as a country which received missionaries from the West, is now sending the largest number of missionaries abroad,” said Fr Mani Mekkunnel of CRI.This interesting information came up at the recently held National Consultation on Indian missionaries to other countries, which was organised by Catholic Bishops Council of India and Conference of Religious India.
At present Indian clergy is active in around 166 nations as the rest of the world copes with a severe shortage of missionaries. There are over 6,543 religious sisters, 226 diocesan priests, 1,940 religious priests and 159 religious brothers from different parts of the country including Kerala working in various foreign countries. Apart from missionary activities, they serve as priests in local churches while others run charitable institutions and hospitals.
Kerala to get a high speed railway corridor
Published February 3, 2012 | 
Kerala is well poised to get India’s first high-speed railway corridor project, which will extend all through the length of the State linking the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasargode in the North extending right up to Mangalore in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
The proposed project is being taken up with the Central government financial aid with Japanese funding. The high speed rail corridor spanning a distance of 580 km will reduce the running time by over 3 hours. The proposed project that is expected to cost Rs. One lakh crore will be a boon for tourists and business travelers by being a convenient interstate transit option.
The green signal to this ambitious high speed rail project that has come soon after the Metro rail has indeed brought cheers to the State of Kerala as it will have a positive impact in the state economy and infrastructure .
Kerala to be the home of BrahMos, India’s supersonic cruise missile
Published January 31, 2012 | 
The Kerala state capital of Thiruvananathapuram is all set to be one of the most prestigious addresses in Indian defense sector in the days ahead, when it becomes the home for India’s supersonic-stealth cruise missile, BrahMos. The BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) in Chakkai, near Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will roll out BrahMos, one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world, which can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. The name BrahMos is derived from the names of two rivers in India and Russia – the Brahmaputra and the Moskva respectively. The missile that travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0 is three times faster than the USA’s subsonic Harpoon cruise missile and Tomahawk missile. An Air launched missile is also expected to come out in 2012, which will make India the only country with supersonic missiles in all the defence forces.
BATL is a joint venture between Republic of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia. This much anticipated project will give an impetus in the space research programmes in Kerala and will make it a focus for many defense projects in the near future.
A low key bhoomi puja was conducted last week, which was attended by many key officials of BATL including the BrahMos Aerospace CEO, A Sivathanu Pillai. BATL has acquired the Air Force Complex land for this massive project and Vishal Infrastructure Ltd that has carried out many mega projects including Thiruvananthapuram airport will be carrying out the work. The basic infrastructure of the Missile Integration Complex (MIC) will be ready in one year and the project, which will have a total outlay of 20,000 sq ft area, will be completed in BATL Phase-II expansion plans.
Image source: MSN News
Poojapura Chappathis – the latest buzz word in the culinary world
Published January 24, 2012 | 
The poojapura central jail in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, which houses some of the hard core criminals convicted in various criminal offenses is grabbing headlines for all the good reasons these days. The commercial chappathi making unit in the jail premises, which started functioning recently has already become a huge hit and a profitable venture.
The prison inmates of Poojapural jail are engaged in making soft and tasty chappathis in hygienic conditions, which are sold through the outlets at the Poojappura central jail premises and Attakulangara jail premises. Priced only at Rs. 2 per piece Poojappura Chappathi is sold out in no time as there is a huge demand for these tasty chappathis that are delivered fresh off the pan at unbeatable prices. At present over hundred inmates are involved in chappathi making and they are overwhelmed by the positive response from the customers.
Chappathi making is turning out to be a profitable venture like its gardening and horticulture activities, which had been tried out successfully in the jail premises earlier. Everyday about 16,000 chappathis are made daily and they have already made a profit of three lakh in a span of only a few months.Encouraged by the tremendous response for the chappathis, the prison authorities are planning to launch vegetable curries too in the market. By directing the prisoner’s time and effort in a constructive manner, the jail has become a trend setter in tapping the tremendous man power potential.
Everyone is born good; villains emerge due to the environmental influences and their upbringing and it is never too late for them to come back to goodness as this success story of Poojapura jail inmates would prove!
Hamsa Koya- the name behind Indian goal post nets for over two decades
Published January 20, 2012 | 
The name of Hamsa koya and Indian football go hand in hand. He is not an yesteryear player nor a referee but he holds the rare distinction of being the maker of goal post nets for over 20 years! Hailing from Malapuram, in North Kerala where football continues to be the passion of the local populace even today, Koya has been making high quality nets to the envy of many international brands.
His goal post nets have been used in many international football tournaments including the SAF cup and the Nehru Cup apart from countless league matches that are held every year in the country including the I-League championships, which are currently on. The special twines made from nylon and rope, traditionally used for making the fishing nets make the nets sturdy and he claims that these last for over a decade.
Koya keeps on his pursuit for excellence though the same level of enthusiasm seems to be to lacking for the Indian football team that has been in the news for its appalling levels of performance!