UK cabs ply with glimpses of Kerala
Published March 29, 2010 | 
Soon on the trails of the innovative marketing strategy of wrapping up the Rajdhani Express with the glimpses and captivating images of Kerala now it is the turn of the UK cabs to flaunt glimpses of Kerala. Kerala Tourism board has come up with this great idea in which the cabs of Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham will be sporting images that portray the culture and nature of Kerala.
This innovative scheme is to attract more tourists from the UK, which is one of the biggest foreign markets for Kerala tourism. In the year 2009, Kerala received over 7 lakh foreign tourists out of which 90 percent was from Europe , with UK being the biggest tourism market in Europe, followed by Germany, France and Italy.
Over 120 cabs with Kerala branding are plying on the streets of Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham to create more awareness about the tourist potential of Kerala. Manchester and Birmingham has 50 such cars with images of houseboats, elephants, ayurveda and Mohiniyattam dancers while Glasgow has 20 cabs. This branding exercise will be on till April 15th and after assessing the response, the scheme may be extended.
The ongoing branding exercise on UK cabs will not just help to bring in more tourists from the UK but also will help to promote superior quality tourist packages.
The state tourism director, Mr. Sivasankar said “ We have found that the average number of days that a foreign tourist is spending in Kerala has increased to around nine”.
In a bid to promote Kerala tourism in UK, road shows were also conducted in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham from March 15-18, which saw the participation of over 22 trade partners from the retail travel trade and the wholesale industry of Kerala. With the aggressive and innovative marketing techniques, Kerala tourism is well poised to make a big leap this tourist season.
Men (not) at work!
Published November 16, 2009 | The labour and trade unions of Kerala have always been any industrialist’s nightmare come true. Nowhere in India can you come across a labour class which is more aware and willing to fight hard for its ‘avakaashangal’ (rights) than that flourishing in here. Their demands are quite often out of this world, and would surely make even a saint lose his halo. Strange and unheard of labour practices are their stock-in-trade, the worst of which perhaps is the ‘nokkukooli’ or a levy in return for literally watching over some one else doing their job of loading or unloading of goods.
You can find the members of this ‘smart working class’ at almost very junction in any city of Kerala. A red (or blue or green or khaki) shirt, depending on their political affiliation is their trade mark; a carelessly wrapped colourful lungi completes their working clothes. Arrogance marks both their walk and talk. Smug in the security of their numbers, they personify the age old principle of co-operation: “One for all, all for one”.
And now, it is the turn of the All Kerala Elephant Workers Union to go on strike. Their demands are heavy – they want their job contracts to be reviewed and wages raised.
Keeping in view the ever-rising prices and cost of living in Kerala, one can hardly blame the guys, but on the other hand, there may be few amongst us who have not witnessed the wanton cruelty meted out to the animals that these men are entrusted with.
No wonder then that over the years, there have been umpteen instances of elephants turning on their ‘paappaans’ (mahouts) from sheer desperation.
Now, as these elephant handlers are all set to stop work (even to the extent of leaving their haples charges chained and hungry), shouldn’t the authorities take this opportunity to make these ‘aanathozilaalis’ (elephant caretakers) accountable for their actions and link their benefits to the proper care of the gentle animals they depend on for their livelihood?
Gadget to control elephant fury
Published May 5, 2008 | Kochi, May 5
Taking in to count the increasing cases of elephant fury in the state, Zachariah Mathew MD of Mumbai based Senzo Engineering has come up with a new device to rein jumbos. This innovative device is in the form of a nylon belt which has a remote control that can lock the legs of the elephant by the press of a button.
It is known that elephant getting violent is not an unusual scene for people of Kerala. This elephant fury has claimed many lives and huge loss of property so far. To make sure this series of elephant violence doesn’t continues so widely, Zachariah Mathew invented this unique device. The device will be placed at two sides of the elephant, with one of its legs connected to a belt. In case of animal turning violent the mammoth can activate the device with the help of the remote control.
As the remote is triggered the belt gets tightened around the legs of the elephant making it unable to move ahead. This visionary gadget can be operated from a distance of about 75 feet from the elephant. The new founding is still waiting for the day when it finally gets tested on the real jumbos.
Violent tusker claims three lives
Published April 24, 2008 | Kochi, April 24
Kerala the heavenly abode has fascinated all with its varied attraction from its past. This spiritual land showcases an array of rich traditions and customs in its variety of temple festivals. These temple festivities have kept this cultural state always buzzing with festivity and celebrations. One can’t even think of a temple festival without the inclusion of elephants, these jumbos have always been a part of all the celebration in Kerala. But its also fair to say that these elephants have also claimed many lives and loss of property in many occasions in recent past.
In one of such gruesome event three people lost their lives when an elephant ran amok during the annual temple festival of Irinjalakkuda Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur district of Kerala. This horrifying incident occurred on the fifth day of the festivity while the tusker Tiruvalla Unnikrishnan was taken out after the ‘siveli’. The reason for the elephant turning violent has not been yet confirmed but rumours are that, someone tried to grab the trunk of the jumbo which made the tusker turn violent.
It was nothing new for the keralites as such scenes have become frequent sights for people of Kerala during these festivals. Prior to this tragic incident many a times such incidents have occurred in which people were killed by the tuskers. In order to provide some relief to the victims family the temple devaswom announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the dependants of the deceased.
Panmana Pooram concludes
Published March 18, 2008 | 
Thiruvananthapuram: The famous Pooram festival of Sri Subramaniaswamy Temple at Panmana, popularly known as the ‘Pazhani of Kerala’ was celebrated with pomp and religious gaiety.
The best part of the festival is the impressive congregation of caparisoned elephants and the change of parasols, well complemented by stunning ensemble of an array of local musical instruments. Played by over 250 artists, this musical feat known in local parlance as Panchavadyam and Panchari melam, akin to the fabled Thrissur Pooram.
Panmana Pooram is a red letter day in the festive calendar of South Kerala. On the concluding day of the festival there will be a breathtaking elephant pageantry in which over twenty four caparisoned elephants would participate.
Getting there:
By Road: The nearest bus station of Karunagappally is at a distance of about 7 km.
Nearest Railway station: Karunagappally
Nearest Airport: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, (90 km)
Ranipuram- The Trekker’s paradise
Published February 20, 2008 | 
Kasargod: Ranipuram offers a heady slice of the natural spectacles of Kerala at its best. The mighty velvety green mountains of the Western Ghats, the emerald tinged shola woods and the rolling grass lands, this pretty strip pf land is famous for its enticing trekking trails. Its sprawling thick wooded forest lands merge with those in Karnataka and forms an elephant corridor between Kerala and Karnataka. Wild elephants can be seen roaming in the wilderness on mountain tops.
There are many convenient tourist cottages to cater to the accommodation of the tourists. Nestled at an altitude of 750m above sea level, Ranipuram is about 85 km from Kasaragod town. Jeep and bus services are available from Panathady and Kanhangad in Kasaragod town.
Getting there:
Nearest railway station: Kasaragod, about 85 km from Ranipuram, on the Kozhikode-Mangalore-Mumbai route.
Nearest airports: Mangalore, about 50 km from Kasaragod; Karipur International Airport, Kozhikode, about 200 km from Kasaragod.
Jumbo gets pampering treat
Published February 4, 2008 | Kochi, February 4
Massaging is a great way to relieve our stress and get a rejuvenating experience. You might have heard about massage treatments for women or men, but have you ever heard about a massage for animals. Well if no then this news will be an interesting thing to read for many of you animal lovers.
This woman believes that a gentle touch would make a world of difference for animals too, like it does for us humans. ‘Elke Riesterer’ is doing a study on the behavioural changes in Elephants of Kerala and Assam. To undertake her interesting study, the Wildlife Trust of India and one of the Elephant Care based in Kochi is supporting her to perform the massage therapy for the elephant. This researcher has come to Kochi, Kerala to do her research on the elephants.
The massage therapy of the elephant started with the hinds and forelegs of the elephant; afterwards she applied pressure on the upper parts of the body of the animal. She then continued the process of massage on the elephant and also offered the elephant something to eat in between and even shared her lemon juice with the jumbo. To measure the changes before and after the therapy, blood pressure and pulse rate of the elephant was verified. It was surprising to see that the elephant responded in a very positive way to the message therapy, which was evident from the body moments of the animal, the moment of eyelids and shifting of weight to legs, tail moments all indicated that the animals enjoyed this pampering treat.
Elke said, she is also willing to conduct a training programme for the elephant owners and mahouts and even veterinary doctors, so that they can treat and understand the elephant more closely. She said her aim is to make people understand the value of touch which can be useful even for the toughest animal like elephants.