Category Archives: Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Eco-friendly solution to mosquito menace

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

Aravind Gopal engaged in research work at a mini-laboratory set up in his residential courtyard.

Researchers find insecticidal properties in extracts of plants

Now, an eco-friendly solution to mosquito menace. Aravind Gopal, a 40-year-old postgraduate in Biochemistry, and P.J. Benny, Professor of Zoology at Pala St. Thomas College, have found good insecticidal properties in the extracts of as many as 20 commonly found plants in Kerala.

Talking to The Hindu , they said extracts of two commonly found weeds,Merremia vitifolia or Manja kolambivalli or grape-leaf wood rose, and Mikania scandens, also known as climbing hemp weed, have shown very good insecticidal properties, with more than 90% insect repellent property.

Mr. Aravind has set up a mini-laboratory in his residential courtyard at Puthusserry-bhagom, near Adoor, to conduct field trials.

Dr. Benny said local bodies and government agencies could use even the crude extracts of these commonly found weeds as safe mosquito reduction agents in areas affected by mosquito-borne viral diseases. A present, various official agencies are learnt to be using hazardous chemical-based insecticides in mosquito eradication drives.

U.N. findings

Mr. Aravind said a report published by the United Nations in January, 2017 had put the average human casualty due to toxic exposure of pesticides across the world at 2,00,000 a year.

Reliance on hazardous pesticides is a short-term solution and the U.N. report lists an array of serious ailments such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, hormone disruption, birth defects, etc., as having suspected links to pesticides.

Pesticide-poisoning exceeds even fatalities from infectious diseases in some countries, he said.

Mosquito destroyers

Mr. Aravind said backswimmers, dragonfly and its larvae, damselflies and its larvae, diving beetles, frog and tadpole, native fishes, etc., were natural enemies of mosquito. Terrestrial and aquatic plants can provide healthy air that nourishes life.

Hence a social forest-cum-pond like that of the sacred grove (sarpa-kavu) of yore can preserve the biodiversity, provide fresh air and shelter to the predators of these pests, he said.

Mr. Aravind said while controlling pests, which form less than 1% of the insects, pesticides destroy the biodiversity and environment by killing or adversely affecting various other life forms, including more than 99% of the insects which are more integral to maintenance of the ecosystem.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Radhakrishnan Kuttoor / June 13th, 2018

Energy Management Centre, Kerala, a green, energetic building

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Energy Management Centre, Kerala | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The main campus of Energy Management Centre, Kerala is a global star in the campaign for energy efficiency

After riding for half an hour in the blazing sun, entering the new building of Energy Management Centre, Kerala(EMC), near Chavadimukku, is, literally, a cool experience. The 43,000 square foot office building inside Sree Krishna Nagar was one of the six in the world and the only project listed from India in UN’s ‘Global Status Report 2017: Towards a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient buildings and construction sector’ released in May 2017.

For a long time EMC, an autonomous institution under the Government of Kerala, was operating out of a rented building near Thycaud. “It was in 2006, when I got to visit the Confederation of Indian Industry – Sohrabji Godrej Green Businesss Centre, that I set my mind on building something similar for EMC in Thiruvananthapuram. Although a plan was on paper by 2011, it took another five years for getting the required funds, administrative sanction and construction,” says K.M. Dhareshan Unnithan, director of EMC-Kerala. The building was inaugurated in 22 February, 2016.

Built on a hillside, the building is designed to be in tune with the terrain to avoid landscaping and tampering with the natural slope of the land. Offices, auditoriums and laboratories are all set around a central green courtyard, which slants from one end to the other. “This helps in draining of rain water from the top to the other end where they are diverted to two ponds that we have in this compound,” says Dinesh Kumar A.N., an energy technologist working at EMC, while showing me around the office.

Also, the building is oriented in such a way as to get maximum sunlight on the roof, where the solar panels are located, while the spaces inside it are designed for maximum availability of natural light. On a bright day, most of the spaces inside the building is lit completely by natural light, while artificial lights inside the building are all LED lamps and that is another way of saving energy. “At the same time most of the windows face north and south directions, which means they never face direct sunlight and that brings down the heat entering the buildings in a huge manner. It has contributed a lot to the energy efficiency of the building as we didn’t have to spend a lot on cooling,” Dhareshan adds. The cross ventilation and turbo vents too help in avoiding things from getting heated up inside the EMC office while solar reflectance index coating and high-albedo painting aids in insulation.

The entire campus is powered by 30 kilowatt grid-connected solar capacity. “We are only using a portion of what we are producing and the rest is being diverted to the grid and that makes us an energy positive structure,” says Dhareshan. All this has made the EMC building four times more energy-efficient than the highly energy efficient five-star rated buildings.

Green buildings, EMC scientists say, are the way to future. Although it might cost the common man a bit more than constructing a regular house, going for the green option would mean saving money in a big manner in future. Dhareshan adds, “There are already powerful wall-mounted batteries in the market that can be charged using solar panels. They don’t come cheap, but anything extra you spend on setting such a system would be retrieved within a time period while saving you a lot of money which would otherwise be used for paying energy bills.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Environment / by Aswin V.N. / Thiruvananthapuram – June 01st, 2018

This IAS officer built her future with a clear vision

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

Maharashtra native Pranjal Patil, who had lost her vision at the age of eight, took charge as Ernakulam Assistant Collector today

Kochi :

Pranjal Patil, who lost her vision at the age of eight, has braved all odds to become an IAS officer. On Monday, she took charge as the assistant collector of Ernakulam district.

Pranjal from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra had cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in 2016 and secured 733rd rank in her first attempt. Since, Pranjal always wanted to become an IAS officer, she decided to give it a second try and went on to secure 124th rank in 2017.

Pranjal said that she is excited about her posting as the assistant collector of Ernakulam.

“This is my first major assignment. I completed my nine-month training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand, two weeks ago. Here I am undergoing further training to become a collector. So, this is like a practical exam for me. At present, I am considering areas that need my contribution, the areas I need to improve and what positive changes I can bring for the overall development of the district as a whole,” said Pranjal, who is looking forward to learn more about the city by interacting with people here.

For civil service aspirants, she said, “Have faith in yourself. Don’t listen to any negative comments but please be open to criticism. However, don’t get bogged down by criticism. Things may take time to get the desired outcome but we shouldn’t give up.”

According to her parents, L B Patil and Jyothi Patil, Pranjal lost her vision when a student in her class poked one of her eyes with a pencil which eventually led to retinal detachment and as a result she lost the vision of her left eye. Doctors warned her parents that she might soon lose vision in the other eye too and unfortunately, the warning proved to be right and she lost the vision in her other eye within a year.

However, Pranjal’s parents never let blindness come in the way of her education. Her parents said that Pranjal has been good at studies right from her childhood. They sent Pranjal to Kamla Mehta School for Blind in Dadar, Mumbai,. She did her graduation in Political Science from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai and later earned a master’s degree in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

“People who always look for excuses for their failures should learn from my daughter,” said L B Patil, Pranjal’s father.

Pranjal said that technology played an important role in her education. “I have learnt Braille. Now there is a screen reader software installed on my laptop which would read out chapters from various books for me. This software will scan the pages of the book or material I want to read and the software reads it out to me. The screen reader software also helps in carrying out various activities related with my work. Once you know how to use technology things will be easier,” she said.

Regarding whether cracking UPSC exams was a challenging one, Pranjal said that it was challenging for everyone not just her. “Challenge is in the sense of getting the right material and its accessibility. For me, finding a trustworthy scribe to write my exam was also a challenge. But things fell in the right place for me,” said Pranjal.

Pranjal said that her aim is to learn as many Malayalam words within a short span. “Malayalam is a language which is completely different from other languages that I know. So, it will need a lot of effort. But I strongly believe I can master it once I put in all the effort in right direction,” said Pranjal.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kochi News / TNN / May 30th, 2018

Farmer awarded, gives Governor a gift that grows

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

Tuber Man’s ‘seed pen’ germinates into tree after pen is disposed of

Shaji N.M., a farmer who was conferred the Biodiversity Award under special mention category by the National Biodiversity Authority, attracted many eyeballs during the award ceremony on Tuesday.

After receiving the award, he presented seed pens as return gift to the dignitaries, including Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan from whom he received the prize. “It is made of paper. You can use it as a normal disposable pen, and when the ink is exhausted, you can just throw it away. It contains a seed, which will give birth to a tree in future,” he explained.

Making seed pens is more like a hobby for Mr. Shaji, whose major occupation is conserving tuber species.

Started 20 years ago as a response to the drought conditions in Wayanad district where he lives, his passion has taken him places across the country, in search of newer tuber species. “I have a collection of 200 edible tuber species, including the rarest ones, besides herbs and medicinal plants on my four-acre land,” he says proudly.

He has shared the germplasm of the tubers with institutions such as Central Tuber Crop Research Institute and Kerala University.

Recipient of many awards, including National Plant Genome Saviour Award, Mr. Shaji’s conservation efforts are not limited to tubers; they extend to rice. He grows 17 traditional varieties of rice on the meagre plot, besides dabbling in fish farming, bee keeping and horticulture.

There were nine winners and 13 special mentions in total at the biodiversity award ceremony, among whom two were from Telangana.

Sangham Women Farmers Group from Medak won the award for ‘Sustainable use of Biological Resources’ for its efforts in traditional and organic methods of seed processing.

The Biodiversity Management Committee of Modi (Jheri) village of Kerameri mandal in Asifabad district won under special mention category, for conserving 26 native varieties of pulses and cereals. Among them, two varieties ‘Erra Machala Kandulu’ (a variety of pigeon pea) and ‘Vayunowka Jonna’ (a variety of sorghum) have been registered with the Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Authority of India, while the recognition of another variety, ‘Balintha Pesalu’, is under way.

Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve Management Committee from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh won the award for protecting the community reserve, while Lemsachenlok Organization ( Y.NukuluPhom), Longleng, Nagaland, received it in the Institutions category.

Awards were also given under Special Mention category to corporates such as Godrej & Boyce, Mumbai, and Coromandel International, Kakinada. Coringa BMC of East Godavari too won under this category.

There were five categories of awards — conservation of wild species, conservation of domesticated species, sustainable use of biological resources, replicable mechanisms for access and benefit sharing, and best biodiversity management committees.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Swathi Vadlamudi / Hyderabad – May 24th, 2018

Blown away by the biting Arctic charms

Amazing Feats, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel, World Opinion

Niyog traversed the Arctic with 19 adventurers from across the globe. | Photo Credit: HAND OUT

Niyog, the first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, recounts the expedition’s high points

The extreme cold was expected. Niyog had prepared himself for it by spending some days in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, in winter. But, the 26-year-old from Punalur, the first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, a dream expedition of adventure travellers, found that no preparation was good enough to face the wild Arctic wind. “The wind was such that we couldn’t stand on the ground. We had to build ice walls around our tents so that they wouldn’t be blown away. Breathing was tough at some point,” Niyog recalled his journey across the Arctic with 19 selected adventurers from all over the world.

Fjällräven Polar is an annual expedition being organised by the Swedish company Fjällräven since 1997. The participants, selected through an online poll, travelled 300 km in -30° Celsius through the Arctic wilderness in Norway and Sweden on sleighs pulled by six Siberian Husky dogs.

The participants had to adopt different methods to make fire as it was an integral part of survival in the Arctic. “We were provided stoves to cook food, that worked on Super Fuel. We used magnesium coils to make fire and then brought them to compressive mode. On another day we collected fibres from the bark of a tree to make fire,” Niyog said.

Danger in sweating

Cooking using melted ice for water and sleeping in a sleeping bag inside a trench, when the snow could bury them any time, were part of the adventure.

“We had to be careful about sweating, as sweat turning into ice could be very dangerous. The ice settled anywhere in 10 seconds and the wind made the situation worse,” he said.

Niyog found controlling the dogs easier than expected as the animals were trained to follow the well defined path. But he had a hard time balancing the sleigh in the unpredictable terrain and was thrown off many a time.

The trip over, Niyog cherishes watching the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) and enjoying the hospitality of the Sami tribe that served the adventurers with reindeer meat dishes. It took several baths alternatively in steam and ice cold water besides dipping in an ice hole to acclimatise. Now, back home, the young man who is always driven by adventure finds himself unfit for more — for at least a few weeks.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Aabha Raveendran / Kozhikode – April 20th, 2018

Kannur native has a ‘brush’ with stardom

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Kannur :

Nostalgia. That sentimental longing for his homeland made Sijesh Poyil pack his bags and come back to Kannur. From Dubai. Five years ago. Nostalgia again played its part in turning him into a successful entrepreneur fortunate enough to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On April 11, Sijesh became an overnight hero as a tweet from the PMO named him and mentioned his achievement as an entrepreneur.

The PMO’s tweet said, “Mr P Sijesh from Kannur in Kerala is running a successful unit where herbal tooth powder is made. He presented his product to the Prime Minister during the interaction with various Mudra beneficiaries.”

An excited Sijesh said over phone from New Delhi: “I just cannot believe my luck. How can an ordinary man like me from a village in Kannur think about meeting the Prime Minister and spending around two-and-a-half hours with him?”

The meeting held at the PM’s residence was arranged to felicitate around 100 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana who have shown extraordinary commitment in scripting successful stories of entrepreneurship. Of the 110 people selected for the meeting, only four were from Kerala. The other three were Sreelal from Koyilandy, Vinod of Kozhikode and Venu of Wayanad. Sijesh had expanded his tooth powder after receiving a Mudra loan of Rs 8.5 lakh.

The financial situation at home having forced him to try his luck in Dubai, where he worked for three years as a security officer with Emirates Airlines, Sijesh flew back home in 2013.“The modern world and its added facilities have never been my priority in life,” said the 32-year-old.“My heart ached for the things I had left at home. The rain, rivers, temple festivals… I realised  I’m not made for a life outside my place.”

Like every Gulf returnee, Sijesh too wanted to start a of his own. Though he had continued with his pharmacy job, which he had left before going to Dubai, he was looking for something new.

“I used to clean my teeth with rice husk ash (Umikkari). But what was available in the market was not up to standards. So I decided to make a product of my own. After researching on it for sometime, I developed it and distributed it among my family members and friends. As they all appreciated the quality of the product, I decided to move ahead,” he said.

As the stuff he made with husk ash, clove, pepper and salt received appreciation, he had decided to produce it on a large scale. At this stage, the Positive Commune Entrepreneurship Club (PC) — a WhatsApp group for young entrepreneurs — stepped in. The association with PC changed Sijesh’s fortunes, for the people at PC helped him redesign the brand logo.

Armed with the group’s valuable inputs and the experience received by participating in the ‘Vijayi Bhava’ training camp conducted by Kochouseph Chittilappilly, Sijesh was out to reap more from his . By that time, he had given a name to his product — Shanthiz husk ash — which he had earlier sold without a name in a plain bottle.“Shanthi is the name of my mother-in-law,” he chuckled.

With a designer look and a brand name, Shanthiz husk ash has become a much sought after product. From a nameless, label-less product, Shanthiz now sells around 5,000-6,000 bottles in Kannur district alone. The price per 25 gm bottle is Rs 30 and Sijesh is keen on expanding to other districts as well.

Along with his family members, especially brother Dhanesh, sister Dhanya and wife Sajina, there are five women helping Sijesh make Shanthiz. He has a three-year old son, Sreehari.
Two years after the first bottle was produced, Shanthiz has now reached the hands of the Prime Minister too. Because Sijesh presented 10 bottles of Shanthiz to him during the interaction.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by M.A. Rajeev Kumar / Express News Service / April 13th, 2018

Canonisation process of Mary Celine begins

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

The canonisation process of Mother Mary Celine, former Superior General of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel headquartered at Thaikkattukara, has been initiated.

She experienced the depth and holiness of God experience, said Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church here at the ceremonies organised to declare Mother Mary Celine Servant of God.

Members of the tribunal, which will work on the process of declaring her a saint, took their oaths at the ceremony here on Monday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / April 10th, 2018

Housing project to be showcased at UN meet

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma

Part of Kundara constituency development project

A low-cost housing project envisaged as part of the constituency development initiative at Kundara will be showcased as a model housing scheme at a UN international conference to be held in New York on April 10, Minister for Fisheries J. Mercykutty Amma said here on Friday.

The project, a joint effort by the State government and TKM Engineering College, will be presented at the Skills and Technology Achieving Rapid Transformation (START), international conference.

The conference is being organised by the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), a UN initiative to align institutions of higher education, scholarship, and research with the UN.

The low-cost housing project was initiated as part of the Kundara Assembly constituency development project, named ‘Idam, which envisages local development projects with technical assistance and expertise from various sectors.

Pre-cast concrete

The low-cost housing scheme envisages a 400 sq ft house using pre-cast concrete funicular shells at ₹4 lakh.

The project had been developed as a student project of the UNAI chapter at TKM Engineering College to prove how technology can be utilised to improve the life of the common man.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – April 07th, 2018

A life lived less ordinary

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

Philanthropist V Damodar faced vicissitudes bravely and came out trumps on his terms

Sharjah, 1975: From a settlement with small palm-frond ‘arish’ houses hugging the creeks, the region, no more than a village-like city, was slowly moving towards development. That is when V Damodar landed there. In the 11 years he worked there, Damodar saw the Emirate grow into a centre of culture and industry, a growth in which he had a significant role.

“The Indian population, mostly Malayalis, in Sharjah was hardly 20,000. Only one restaurant there dished out Indian fare, which forced many like me to go to Dubai for lunch every Friday. There were just a few tarred roads and a couple of multi-storied buildings. I had to make adjustments to cope after having relocated from Bombay, a huge city even then,” says Damodar, who rose from humble beginnings to become the vice-president of GGP Group of Companies, one of the major business groups in the UAE.

This was a roller-coaster phase in Damodar’s life – along with success, fame and fortune, he slid down the road to desperation, forcing him to leave the Emirate, destroyed but not defeated.

Like his autobiography titled Fortitude, thoughts flow, unbroken, when Damodar talks. Shorn of political correctness and hypocrisy he allows memories to tumble. “Writing about my life was something I had not dreamed of. If it were planned I would have kept a diary. It was impulsive, the contents purely based on memories, and available records like photographs. There’s no attempt to edit my thoughts,” says Damodar, whose signal contributions include founding the Sharjah Indian School and Indian Association Sharjah.

As Finance Manager of the company, Damodar had to oversee numerous capital projects in keeping with the developments in Sharjah. “Almost simultaneously we were working on the construction of a modern airport and over a dozen high-rise buildings to be called Rolla Square. We had new divisions within the company and our Sheikh, who was the brother of the Ruler, was building a 11-storey tower for himself. Our organisation was also growing, diversifying into transport, aluminium, carpentry and also a travel agency, Sharjah National Travel and Tourist Agency (SNTTA). And all of them prospered.”

Founding the Indian Association Sharjah in April 1979 as a service organisation for the welfare of the community especially in Sharjah and establishing the Sharjah Indian School remain Damodar’s enduring contributions to the Indians in particular and the Emirate in general.

For the people

“We started the school on September 3, 1979 with 346 students and had classes from nursery to the fifth standard. We upgraded it to eighth standard the next year. In four years time the first batch wrote the public examination successfully. We constructed our own building on the land provided to us by the Ruler. The school has progressed steadily and presently has about 15,000 students. The Indian Association Sharjah, as a community organisation, owns and manages the school.”

Getting Air India to commence operations to and from Sharjah in 1981 was possible only through Damodar’s persistence. “It began when I was snubbed by the then regional director of Air India who termed my idea as ‘ridiculous’. I decided to pursue it. Meeting Ravindra Varma, then Minister of Labour and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, was the turning point. I managed to convince him to visit Sharjah and took the Minister and his entourage to the airport and met the Director General of Civil Aviation. I also showed him the correspondence I had with the Air India Chairman. The Minister returned to Delhi and did not forget his promise. And soon things fell in place and in March 1981 the first Air India flight landed in Sharjah. It was an unexpected but gratifying moment.”

These were ‘happy moments’ in a life that was punctuated by long phases of struggle and gloom. Like some passages in the book where the prose becomes intimate, Damodar’s eyes well-up, his voice breaks, when he speaks of his life’s struggles.

Damodar relives past events with insightful intent. His writing appears like a soul-cleansing exercise.

“Looking back at my life, it sometimes appears unbelievable considering where I began. Kaipuram, in Palakkad district, was an extremely undeveloped village. I had to walk nearly 15 kilometres every day to school. Childhood was a mix of fun and the constant worry of trying to meet basic needs. Perhaps this made me responsible even as a child encouraging me to do odd jobs to supplement the family’s income. Though I completed my Secondary School Leaving Certificate exam with high marks I could not continue my education.”

After a short stint at a typewriting and shorthand institute, Damodar left for Bombay looking for a job. “When I left home in 1960 the whole world was open before me. And it opened unexpectedly. Bombay shaped my career. I found a job as a typist with a meagre salary, studied part-time, took a diploma in secretarial practice, gained a university degree, Associateship from the Corporation of Secretaries, London and Fellowship from Institute of Company Secretaries of India.”

Joining Nagpal Ambadi Petro-Chem Refining Limited as Company Secretary, Damodar worked from its inception to public issue of share capital and arranging of institutional financing. He then moved on to another major group before moving to Sharjah.

Hard times

“In Sharjah I knew that I was surrounded by people who were envious of my growth. The Sheikh himself had warned me many times that ‘my own people,’ the same people I had employed nurtured, had approached him with complaints against me. A Palestinian/Jordanian and a Pakistani also joined them. They managed to sway the Sheikh’s opinions. When I realised that he seemed to have lost confidence in me , I resigned. I was vice-president of the group but left without getting a penny as the Sheikh refused to settle my accounts.”

Undeterred, but having decided not to work as an employee for anyone again, Damodar set up businesses in the UAE, India, Botswana and Zimbabwe. “The soft drinks company in India collapsed owing to misappropriations. In Botswana, I was part of a business but had to quit owing to ethical differences. I founded the Afroworld Group that grew into five active member companies; started a similar venture in Zimbabwe but had to leave, disillusioned and disgusted, owing to politically motivated difficulties. Right through I was let down by people I considered close to me.”

Damodar is now settled in Coimbatore, where he lives with wife Thankam. Their son Sumod who is the chief of Afroworld Group in Botswana, is an avid cricketer and administrator. He played for Botswana, holds various administrative posts with Botswana Cricket Association and Africa Cricket Association. Last year Sumod was elected to the Chief Executive Committee of the International Cricket Council.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by K. Pradeep / March 19th, 2018

Kerala Dalit woman’s struggles to be Bollywood fare

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, World Opinion

Fraser Scott with Chitralekha and her husband Sreekanth. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Briton writes script based on auto driver Chitralekha from Kannur

He was googling to get preliminary details about Dalit millionaires in India as part of a film project he was entertaining in his mind. That search finally led him to E. Chitralekha, a Dalit autorickshaw driver from Edat, near Payynnur here, who had been in the news since she was allegedly attacked by local Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers and her struggle highlighting the plight of her family.

Fraser Scott, script writer and art seller from the United Kingdom, has now put on hold his curiosity about Dalit millionaires as he is busy writing the script of a story based on Chitralekha for a Bollywood film.

The idea of writing the script based on the life of a poor but resolute Dalit woman has got an impetus when his announcement of the plan in his Instagram account drew the attention of filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor, his family friend. Mr. Kapoor found the story of Chitralekha, who has been earning a livelihood by driving her autorickshaw, amazing.

He commented that Chitralekha’s is a “story of courage no less than that of Bandit Queen.” The reference was to his own 1994 film on Phoolan Devi.

“I visited Kannur recently to interview Chitralekha and will visit her again next week for another round of meeting before the script is ready,” Mr. Scott told The Hindu over phone from Mumbai.

The script would be completed in a month, he said adding that four Bollywood production companies had already shown interest in making a film on the story.

Mr. Scott in his Instagram page says that Chitralekha “fought against unbearable hardship to drive an autorikshaw” referring to the alleged attack on her and the torching of her vehicle.

Roopesh Kumar, an activist who is working in the film field, served as Mr. Scott’s local link to connect to Chitralekha and her family.

“I never thought that my life can be the story of a film,” said Chitralekha who is excited about the project. The film would be a recognition of my struggle, she said.

She is currently living with her husband in a rented house at Kattampally here and the construction of her house on a five-cent plot granted by the previous United Democratic Front government is in progress.

She had left her home at Edat as she found it hard to live there. “Local CPI(M) workers are not allowing me to live there,” she said. The previous UDF government’s decision to rehabilitate her followed her sit-in agitation in front of the Collectorate here for 122 days in 2015.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Kannur – March 30th, 2018