Thin girls Vs full-figured damsels (part I)
Published December 9, 2011 | 
The argument continues! A snappy survey in Karma Kerala office was held in a bid to know whether men prefer slim or curvaceous female frames. In this interesting game, the men grouped themselves into two teams, supporting and opposing this cause!
Times have changed ; however men’s outlook about feminine beauty hasn’t. Well at least that is what the result of this game revealed ! A sizable number of men preferred a femme fatale with ample curves in lieu of a very lean or famished figure.
The men who prefer full bodied figurines have their own justifications to back their point.
- Let us start in the reverse chronological order and go back to the olden times. Most of the Indian goddesses flaunt a full figure to die for, the masterpieces of many classic painters like Ravi Varma portray voluptuous ladies and these wall frames are grabbed for a fortune in auction halls even today!
- The Indian movie industry, the largest of its type in the world often has been the harbinger of the latest trends. It had set off a frenzy by introducing many actresses who are bestowed with the most desirable figures. It is not by chance that a majority of well known Indian heroines like Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Hema Malini , Sree vidya and Vidya Balan among many others are full bodied. The sensuous Shakeela whose mere screen presence could pump up heart beats of many men became a trend setter in Malayalam film industry, which in itself is a proof that men adore sensuality.
- The wedding snaps of the famous American actress, Kim Kardashian, well known for her sexy curves was sold for a staggering $1.5 Million, which shows that the curves are always in hot demand!
Let’s admit it, the genes in males are made to appreciate sensuous beauty.Smitten by their erotic charm, one of our Malayalam poets had even sang that gold and feminine beauty could give you a heart burn! 
Now coming back to the terra firma from epics and poems!
- When a man starts looking for a life partner, the first thing he insists is that the prospective bride should be full figured and not very lean. Whether you like it or not, even the TV ads of body enhancing tonics blare out that lean girls are NOT in demand in matrimonial circuits!
- Often well built body types are associated with fertility , health and sex appeal. After all who doesn’t want his wife to be a crowd puller in a gathering?
- Most of the Indian dresses are designed to accentuate the curves of a full feminine frame. The typical Kerala attire of set mundu is best carried off by full bodied females; and very often lean frames look miserable in most of the Indian costumes (Men say they will look like “ a stick dressed in a cloth ” ).
- Most men even have the opinion that if a lady has to wear traditional heavy jewelery, she should have a healthy body.
- These men unanimously say, if they have to balance the weight while travelling on a bike, a full figured wife is a must
Or else, if a strong wind wipes past, chances are that she might fly off and the rider can lose control. - Last but not the least , all men who support healthy , full bodied females say in chorus that only such girls can discharge their domestic chores easily and can be perfect home makers!
When the stories of cat walking skinny girls who collapsed on the ramp are going viral in the media, don’t you think that these men do have a strong point to their credit?
Kerala voted as the best holiday destination in Asia
Published September 2, 2010 | 
Kerala has been voted as the best Asian holiday destination ahead of even the blue chip tourist destinations like Bali, Phuket and Maldives. Kerala’s enviable coastline , the tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, misty mountains and diverse tropical fauna and flora has become a sure shot winning combo for Kerala in tourist circuits.
Kerala Tourism got a boost when a million strong users of the famous travel portal, SmartTravelAsia.com, placed the state as the best Asian holiday destination of their choice. The “Best in Travel poll 2010’ carried out by an independent online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia conducted between May and July in Asia (India, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and the Middle East), Europe and North America, saw the emergence of Kerala as the best Asian tourist destination.
The poll was mainly based on on ‘aspirational” brands and travel trends in the region.Bali and Phuket were voted as second and third most favourite holiday destinations in Asia and the only other India tourist places that made their way to the top 10 list were Rajasthan and Goa at eighth and tenth spot respectively.
“This is phenomenal recognition for the state and the people who are in the tourism sector, delivering an inspirational experience. Keralites should feel very proud of their contribution to this fantastic international achievement”, says Secretary, Kerala Tourism, V. Venu. The awards are unique because they single out not just popular places but truly exceptional places that enthrall travellers and keep them coming back, he added.
Travelers voted Kerala based on their travel experience and information they sourced from ads and PR apart from word of mouth publicity. Voters also polled in 12 categories including Asia’s best business hotels, luxury resorts, spas, destinations, business cities, shopping spots, and the world’s best airlines and airports.
So, in case you have not been to God’s own country.’ pack your bags and get ready for an out of the world holiday experience.
Miss Beautiful Kerala
Published August 10, 2010 | 
Nobody knew Indu Thambi few days ago. But now she is getting all the attention, guess what! She is the Miss Kerala 2010 held in Kochi. All the girls who took part in the pageant wanted to make it big in life, so the talking and demeanor on stage was not like any other Malayali girls and it was different.
On stage the girls were all blabbering about their dreams and aspirations, some wanna work for the poor and the downtrodden and the society at large à la Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai. The typical Malayali girls even seems to have practiced how to speak more convincingly when they talked about reaching the Stars, Moon and if possible a visit to the Sun for a change.
Thankfully the criteria wasn’t like you have to be born in Kerala, either one of the parents should have been born in some nook and corner of God’s own Country, so obviously the mother tongue was not a issue. But as a true Malayali most of the girls confessed in chaste Malayalam that they are pucca Malayali even though they are born and brought up outside Kerala. So, obviously when the love for mother tongue was discussed most girls may have wanted to run for cover.
Nevertheless getting back to Miss Kerala, 5 contestants made it to the final. But, before the final countdown all kind of entertainment was in place. The Bollywood rap singer Abbey Fizardo was belting out all kind of metal songs, but the poor Malayali audience even though looked and dressed like Gen-X refused to get up and sway to his music.
It’s time for the final tamasha, to choose one Malayalee damsel as the beauty of the state. Others don’t feel disheartened there are other awards too like; the best Miss Beautiful Hair, Smile, Skin, Photogenic face, Eyes, Teeth, Legs and last but not the least ‘Miss Voice’ (phew).
Finally Miss Kerala was announced and the crown goes to none other than God’s own daughter Miss Indu Thambi. The runners up as usual were waiting to steal the final show and giggled followed by hugging the winner. My god! Malayalee true spirit! It was a close contest I heard Indu Thambi impressed the jury by promptly answering the seven ingredients of the Kerala sadya. But if you take into account the Malayalee love for food it was an easy question.
Anyway the winner is announced and the show is over, most of the Malayalees had no clue and wanted to return to bed. Congrats to Indu Thambi to have won the pageant lets look forward to see you doing all the good work for the society like our previous beauties. Don’t want to sound ironic…and frankly the event represented the shifting face of the Malayali woman in terms of fashion and beauty, but as the new Miss Kerala pageant closed, I can’t help thinking – “Is Kerala missing somewhere?”
Yoga – The science of man
Published May 25, 2010 | 
To attain the extreme heights of peace within; Yoga, is an art of living a healthy, peaceful and contented life. In it’s wholeness, Yoga is integrated to certain principles, values, ideas, attitudes in a way for personal and social benefits. Based on the ancient Indian wisdom and culture, the science of man is designed to awaken the latent powers of mind and body, transforming the person to the sublime heights of divinity and powerful personality.
Designed for all age groups, Yoga is a ocean, but only few exercises and postures are handled by the many centres in kerala. Conceived by the great sages in earlier days it has come to be recognized during its long travails from the hermitages to the small cities and is one of the oldest forms of spiritual practice. Since Yoga has a fundamental therapeutic healing, it is practiced together with other drugs like Ayurveda and Ashtanga Yoga.
Many sides to yoga, it is a powerful healer for many diseases and is also an effective stress manager. A practice for spiritual awareness and an insight for a normal person, the power to control is derived from three sources.
- Control of the body via physical postures
- Control of the breath by breathing techniques
- Power of concentration by mental techniques
In Kerala it is practiced in a land that is surrounded by coconut grooves, lagoons, jungles, hills and the 44 tropical rivers. Focusing on the science of health, vitality, longevity and life, Kerala’s 5000 year old vedic culture calls on this spirit of well being for every individual to practice it for a better self.
In todays world of pollution, stress, unhygenic conditions, Yoga demands a greater position in every household. So anybody and everybody who feels like doing it, contact Karmakerala, where you can get all the information on Yoga and its benefits.
Leave us alone we need no roads to development: Kerala
Published May 10, 2010 | National Highway Authority of India is initiating the need to widen the roads of the country to international standards. This means our national highways will be 6-lane road and will have access on both sides, flyovers, pedestrians walkway and zebra crossings to name a few, it all sounds so wonderful. But, hold on! the politicians in Kerala are thinking something else. Strange, but all political parties in Kerala have united together (a rare sight) for a common cause and unanimously they say, ‘We need no roads..oops sorry no wide roads.
The politicians after having decided over a cup of tea that the state needs only 30 metre broad roads against the proposed 60-metre. All the good Samaritan (politicians) of the Kerala society have finally decided to meet the Prime Minister, and apprise him about this decision. And we know what the PM is going to say ”Who cares, if you want 30-45-60 meter roads, it is you who is going to suffer.
The narrow minded politicians aren’t thinking practically, what this decision means for the future generation who will be forced to squeeze themselves for space. As a literate state, is it not the duty of these politicians to come together with intellectuals and educate the people how much it will benefit. But sadly, none have really bothered to tell us what it is all about, and shamefully we all know what it is all about. Vote bank politics and we have rather become politicians slaves.
Why is that the people of Kerala are getting so laid back, I have seen them agitating everywhere and for everything, but when it comes to real issues there is no reaction. It takes more than 9-years to complete and still no where to build a railway-overhead-bridge on a busy NH-17 highway, Edapally, Kochi, but we rather prefer to adjust with the situation and suffer.
Remember we are living in world’s largest democracy, so no one to blame but ourselves. Leaders don’t build nations, its build by you and me. Had we realized the power we have, this state would have been a different place all together. Till then lets keep grumbling and complaining.
Thiruvathira – the festival of the womenfolk in Kerala
Published January 1, 2010 | 
While the city folks forsake their sleep for a night long of waltz, wine and dine, the womenfolk of the Kerala villages had a special reason to stay awake the whole night on the New Year eve. It was Thiruvathira, one of the most important festivals for the womenfolk of Kerala. Celebrated in the Malayalam month of Dhanu, this time, it fell on a blue moon, which added up to its charm. It is celebrated in commemoration of the death of Kamadevan, representing the annihilation of the vices and the passionate thoughts by keeping the mind stable. Kamadevan was burnt alive by the opening of the third eye of Lord Siva,one of the members of the Divine Trinity.
The festivities start very early in the morning when every female member of the family takes bath in the pond and very often girls from the neighbourhood assemble to make it a group affair. After the elaborate bathing ritual comprising of singing and splashing of water, they deck themselves up in the traditional dresses, darken their eyes with home made kajal and chew betel leaves to redden their lips. Huge swings will be put up for the women to enjoy.
On Thiruvaathira, the women folk abstain from taking rice and for the lunch a delicious arrow-root powder porridge or fruits are served. The women spend the whole night singing and dancing. Kaikottikkali is an exceptional dance form that is associated with this festival in which a group of women attired in traditional dresses dance in a circle around a lighted brass lamp.
At night, women eat eight different tubers roasted in the fire, which is known as Ettangadi chuduka’ . The night long music and dance is interspersed with a ceremony called Patirappoo choodal, after which, the dance and music continue till sunrise. The festivities conclude with an early morning bath and prayer at the nearby temple.
The Christmas and New Year celebrations in Karmakerala
Published December 19, 2009 | 
It was a dream come true for all of us. The 4th anniversary celebrations of Karmakerala coupled with the Christmas and New year festivities were celebrated on the 18th of December with much fun and fanfare. The office was decked up with decorations, balloons and festoons and the day started with a funny award distribution ceremony where awards like ‘loud speaker award’ ‘baby award’ and ‘Gandhiji’ award were distributed in recognition to some of the staff members for their personal attributes.
There were skits, carols and musical programmes to add variety. The party mood was very much in the air as music and dance lend an air of celebration to the milieu. The brief round up of the performance of HMGT in the year 2009 and the proposed plan of action for the year 2010 presented by our boss Mr. Tejal Vasudevan, was the most important item in the day’s itinerary.
The refreshments and a sumptuous luncheon ensured a welcome break in between the cultural activities and high decibel activities around. Everyone exchanged gifts with their respective Christmas friends and as every gift wrap was opened there were loud applause and cheer. Some of the other events included musical chair and funny competitions like drawing the moustache and putting the ‘bindi’ for girls and boys respectively.
It turned out to be an ideal bet to chuck out the work pressures and to keep the team in good spirit. As they say all good things must come to an end; and so did this well planned day. But at the end of the day, it turned out to be an enjoyable day and a perfect icebreaker that made us feel really special for being part of the enterprising HMGT family.
Making hay while the sun shines
Published January 31, 2009 | It is paradoxical that while many of the native Keralites go out to various parts of the country and abroad in search of lucrative jobs and heft pay packs, labourers from neighbouring States like Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal are enthusiastically stepping in to Kerala to fill this vacuum. These hard working labourers make a few fast bucks by doing an array of jobs especially in the construction sector.
They can be seen in busy junctions at the crack of the dawn waiting for a prospective employer. Though in the past, they were assigned manual jobs like clearing the bush, or cleaning up the sewage pits or waterlogged canals, now things have undergone a sea change. They have become experts in an array of well paid jobs like masonry, plumbing and landscaping among others, which would not just fetch them a higher pay but also offer convenient working hours.
There has been an marked increase in the quality of their living styles as well. Most of them stay in cozy, one room housing blocks, built by the locals, exclusively keeping the migrant labourers in mind.
Most of them reach their work places riding their stylish bikes and could be seen working merrily listening to their favourite Tamil songs from their mobile phones. Next time when you pass along any duplex apartment complex under construction, take a closer look at these sporty youngsters with their hallmark earphones popping out, giving finishing touches to the avant- garde edifices of contemporary Kerala.
Any time is party time
Published January 1, 2009 | As always, Kerala decked herself up in its finery to usher in a new year of hope and happiness. Hotels and tourism sector had come up with innovative New year programmes to pep up the milieu. There were variety entrainment programmes with a rich smattering of both contemporary and classic art forms, music, drama and pageants. The main alleyways were illuminated and hotels offered midnight bash, live music programmes and dinner feasts to draw the crowd.
In the past, festivals in Kerala were occasions to share the simple joys of life and share the virtues and cultural thoughts among the family members and to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate mortals. Nonetheless, with the onslaught of commercialisation, festivals have become more of ostentatious expressions of money and muscle power. and people make good use of it to hog the lime light and to grab a few eye balls in the society.
Men and women take time off to enjoy a make over in the leading spas and saloons of the city before heading to the super malls to cart away goodies to be distributed among friends during the bash. Eating out in a 5 star hotel followed by an outing in one of the popular holiday spots would almost always sign off the day in style. There would be also musical nights, fashion shows and pet shows to spice up the festive spirit. Food festivals are also popular ingredients of the festival calender of Kerala where men and women wait for hours together to carry home ‘payasams’ and other sweet dishes. It goes without saying that the new generation does not have the expertise to cook local delicacies and often depend on hotel to cater to their special needs during festival seasons.
However, the bottomline remains that even while indulging in fun and frolic, we should not forget simplicity and empathy for the less previleged people of the society.
A Jewish wedding in Kochi
Published December 30, 2008 | Kerala is fast catching up the fancy of prospective couples all over the world as a trendy overseas wedding destination. Many couples who come down to Keralaprefer to have an exceptional Kerala wedding where the bride and groom don the Kerala attire and dress up like any other Kerala couple. However this Jewish wedding that took place on Sunday belonged to a different genre altogether because the groom belonged to the Jewish community of Kerala.
At present only around 48 Jews remain in Kochi as the majority of them have migrated to their distant homeland after India’s independence. The Jews who had originally settled in the ancient port of Cranganore, were forced to flee to escape the Portuguese onslaught during the 14th century. It was then the Cochin Maharaja offered land in Mattancherry, where they constructed a synagogue in 1568.
This Jewish wedding brought back nostalgic memories for many Cochinites as the city woke up on Sunday to a long cherished Jewish wedding, which took place after almost two decades. In the Paradesi Synagogue in the old Jewish town in Mattancherry, Solomon and Susan were united in marriage on Sunday at 5.30 p.m. Only a select gathering of guests were allowed to witness this wedding, which was held behind closed doors amidst very tight security in the wake of the recent terror strikes in the Jewish installations in Mumbai.
The marriage was conducted as per the Jewish customs. Nine candles to denote the ninth day of the Jewish Hanukkah festival were lit and the blessing in Aramaic was read out, which is something exceptional to Kochi Jews. The guests applauded when the groom slipped the wine-soaked wedding ring on the bride’s finger, which was followed by the unique ritual of breaking a wineglass, which is followed by only Jews in Kerala to denote the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This wedding was also different from other Jewish weddings in that it was the chief warden , Samuel Hallegua, who read out the seven blessings in Hebrew and not the rabbi.