Category Archives: Records, All

First woman DCC president dead

Saraswathy Kunjukrishnan

Saraswathy Kunjukrishnan, senior Congress leader and the first woman District Congress Committee (DCC) president in the State, passed away at her house here early Monday. She was 92.

She had been ailing owing to age-related problems. The body has been kept in the mortuary of a private hospital here and will be taken to the Kollam DCC office at 4 p.m. on Tuesday for the people to pay their last respects. The body will then be taken to her house where it will be kept till Wednesday. The funeral rites will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the Mulangadakam public crematorium.

Saraswathy Kunjukrishnan is the widow of the two-time MLA and former Kollam DCC president Kulangara Kunjukrishnan. She was elected KPCC general secretary in 1978 and served as Kollam DCC president from 1982 to 1986.

She is survived by a son and two daughters. Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran and Congress leaders A.K Antony, Vayalar Ravi, V.M. Sudheeran, Oommen Chandy, C.V. Padmarajan, Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, and Sooranad Rajashekaran condoled her death.

The president and members of the Travancore Devaswom Board too condoled the death of Saraswathy Kunjukrishnan. A holiday has been declared for all offices under the board on January 4. She had served as a member of the board for 10 years.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Kollam – January 02nd, 2017

Indian-American child prodigy drops debut album in 6 languages

When I grow up, I want to be a soprano opera classical singer: Tiara Abraham (Image: facebook/sopranoTiara)

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Tiara Abraham, 10, has released her first album titled ‘Winter Nightingale’
  • The album contains her renditions of some classic carols and holiday songs, sung in English, Spanish, Italian, German, Latin and French
  • Tiara got enrolled at the American River College in Sacramento at the age of 7
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Houston :

Indian American child prodigy Tiara Thankam Abraham has released her first album, a collection of nine world holiday songs, in six languages.

Tiara, 10, who entered college at the age of seven, is the younger sister of Tanishq Abraham+ , a contestant on the Lifetime reality show “Child Genius”.

The album titled ‘Winter Nightingale’, contains her renditions of some classic carols and holiday songs, sung in English, Spanish, Italian, German, Latin and French.

The Abrahams are second generation immigrants from Kerala, India. Their grandparents came to the United States when they were children.

Tiara is enrolled at the American River College in Sacramento, California — the same school where her brother graduated in May 2015. Currently a junior, she has big plans after school. “When I grow up, I want to be a soprano opera classical singer,” she said.

source:  http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> NRI> US & Canada News / PTI / December 18th, 2016

Cartoon historian Sundar passes away

Kannur :

Sundar Ramanathaiyer (63) who exhaustively documented and archived the history of Indian cartoons, passed away in Sydney, Australia on Saturday. It was Sundar’s “Tragic Idiom: O V Vijayan’s Cartoons & Notes on India,” which made the world sit up and take notice of the cartooning genius of the post-modernist writer.

“Though Vijayan was acclaimed as a leading writer, his first passion, cartoons, was never duly acknowledged till Sundar’s book came out,” said cartoonist E P Unny.

Sundar, born in Thiruvananthapuram, began his career as a development researcher, and his MPhil thesis, “Social Development in Kerala, India: Illusion or Reality?,” published by the University of Hong Kong, is considered a seminal work in the studies on the Kerala model of development.

Sundar was a researcher who loved cartoons even more than the practitioners, said Unny. “Sundar used to say that his exposure to cartoons sharpened his research methodology, giving him a certain ability to look at things obliquely,” he said.

Apart from writing short stories, columns and curating art and calligraphy shows, Sundar also promoted the cause of people with learning disabilities.

His work on the poor conditions at the Mental Health Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, led to the establishment of Abhaya, an organization to care for the destitute 30 years ago, said poet Sugathakumari, who now runs it.

“In 1985, after Sundar published a report on the horrid conditions in the government mental hospital in Oolanpara, I personally visited the place and saw the horrible fate of those admitted there,” she said, adding, “We at Abhaya owe it a lot to Sundar though he later parted ways with the organization.” It was while doing researches on the social development in Kerala that Sundar got attracted to the cartoons of O V Vijayan, said cartoonist and researcher Gokul Gopalakrishnan.

 Sundar leaves behind his wife Girija Krishnaswamy and son Tige Sundarrajan.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / TNN / November 13th, 2016

Colourful tribute to 60 years of State formation

Participants of Soorya’s international painting exhibition at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan in the city on Friday. Photo: S. Mahinsha
Participants of Soorya’s international painting exhibition at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan in the city on Friday. Photo: S. Mahinsha

Painting expo as part of Soorya’s 11-day annual festival

The works of as many as 60 artists are on display at an international exhibition organised by Soorya at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan to mark 60 years of Kerala Piravi (State formation).

Being held as part of Soorya’s 11-day annual festival, it has paintings by 40 artists from within the country, and 20 by those from countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, the U.S., Austria, Kenya, Switzerland, Malaysia, Romania, and Uganda at the Lalithakala Akademi art gallery at the Bhavan till November 20.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Minister for Electricity Kadakampally Surendran on Friday. Dedicated to T.K. Padmini and Krishnakumar, the expo has been curated by Manilal Sabrimala. “We want to continue this, probably by including 61 paintings next year,” said Soorya Stage and Film Society founder Soorya Krishnamurthy.

The photography exhibition from December 11 to 20 will also be given similar importance, he said

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – November 12th, 2016

Governor to inaugurate Arya Vaidya Sala centenary fete

Kozhikode :

The three-day long centenary celebrations of the Kozhikode branch of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala at Kallayi will be held at the Tagore Centenary Hall here from November 18- 20.

P Sathasivam
P Sathasivam

Governor P Sathasivam will inaugurate the celebrations at 4 pm on November 18, P M Warrier, additional chief physician of the Arya Vaidya Sala  said at a news conference here.

The governor will declare open the new building of the branch constructed at the Kallayi road.

A dance programme by dancers Sreekanth and Ashwati will be staged in the evening.

The cultural conference will be inaugurated by film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan at 10 am on November 19.

The 53rd Ayurveda Seminar will be inaugurated by M K Raghavan MP at 9.30 am on November 20. State health minister K K Shailaja will inaugurate the valedictory meeting of the centenary celebrations at 5 pm. TNN

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Kozhikode / TNN / November 10th, 2016

First molecular diagnostic lab in private sector in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram  :

Gone are the days we used to send blood samples to Virology Institute in Pune and wait for the results to confirm the infectious diseases. Now the tests can be done at your door step that too at affordable rates.

NIMS Medicity has set up the state’s first Molecular Diagnostic Lab in the private sector. “Several diseases are going undetected since we are not having proper diagnostic facilities. Many of the infectious diseases have become seasonal in Kerala and we are not worried why it has become endemic here. Hence there is a need for proper evaluation of the blood samples we collect. This lab would be catering to this need of the patients,” said Dr P S Shareek, Infectious Disease Consultant at NIMS Medicity.

The lab has been set up with molecular diagnostic facilities DNA sequencing based technologies, and gene therapy facility. This advanced biotechnology centre will also provide platform for doctors and researchers to work on their novel concepts and innovative ideas that can be immediately implemented.

The academic wing of the biotechnology wing will coordinate with doctors and researchers to support them with wet lab and computation work to materialise the innovative concepts. “It has been found that 99% of the fever cases reported in the private sector are tabbed as viral fever. However, there is no effort from us to find out what the exact virus was behind the fever and whether any mutation has occurred over the years for this virus. A comprehensive diagnosis can help in finding the exact behaviour of the virus and how it is acting on the patients. This lab has been equipped to find the root cause of the behaviour of the virus,” said Dr Shareek.

Even though the research is the main focus of this centre, the NIMS Medicity is also planning to conduct tests for the patients at affordable rates to confirm their disease. “If it costs Rs 25000 to test a blood sample , we are planning to introduce it here at much affordable rate such that the test result can be made available on the same day for the patient,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Chennai News> Thiruvananthapuram / Rajiv G / TNN / October 24th, 2016

4th Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology convocation: 572 students awarded degrees

Thiruvananthapuram  :

As many as 572 students who passed out from IIST (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology) in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 were awarded certifications at the fourth IIST convocation convened here on Saturday.
Among the students 378 were BTech graduates, 178 MTech graduates and 16 PhD holders.

The chairman’s gold medal for best academic performer was bagged by Mr. Mithun Neelakandan, Mr.S. Sajin and Mr. Mohit Singh Malik for the year 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The director’s gold medal was presented to Priyanka Natani, Gaurav Harsha and Aditya Duhan  for the respective years.

“First degree is like a learner’s licence which allows you to practice as a professional engineer and technologist. Acquiring wisdom is a moral duty and it is not something you do to advance your life,” said V K Aartre, director general of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who was the chief guest in his convocation address.

“The intimate interweaving and mutual enhancement of science and technology in the past century accounts for the ever escalating pace of both,” he said. IIST Chancellor Prof UR Rao presided over.

IIST under the ISRO is the first institution of its kind in India to offer education in the bachelors, masters, doctoral and post- doctoral levels in areas with special focus on space sciences, space technology and space applications.

The institute conducts its own admission examination, ISAT, based on which students get admission to various UG programmes. The institute also has the MoU with Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and California Institute of Technology  in USA.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Thiruvananthapuram / October 16th, 2016

Where tea production is a lasting legacy

teafactorykerala15oct2016

The factory was set up by Britishers in 1935 and production is still on the equipment installed then

 Acclaimed as the highest altitude tea plantation in the world, Kolukkumalai, near Munnar, has the unique feature of preserving the British heritage in tea-making at the factory here.

Located at an altitude of 7,130 ft. above sea level, the factory is housed in a two-storey wooden structure set up by the Britishers in 1935 and the method of tea production is still on the equipment installed at that time.

The equipment still in use at the Kolukkumalai tea factory in Idukki are those installed by the Britishers
The equipment still in use at the Kolukkumalai tea factory in Idukki are those installed by the Britishers

Tea is made here through a process of withering. Manual labour is an integral part of the process, from hand-plucking to the final stage of making tea dust. The factory is set in the ambience of green tea plants on the mountain stretch bordering Tamil Nadu.

Though Kolukkumalai is in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, it is 32 km from Munnar. The story of Kolukkumalai is linked to the tea plantation era of the British Raj in Munnar.

Leased land

The visit of British resident of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom, John Daniel Munro, to Munnar in 1870s paved the way for tea plantation. He leased the land in 1877 from Poonjar Koikal Rohini Thirunal Kerala Varma and started cultivation of various crops under the North Travancore Land Planting and Agricultural Society. However, it was A.H. Sharp, a European resident who started tea cultivation on 50 acres of land in Munnar in the 1880s.

The tea plantations later extended to the nearby hills, reaching the present border areas of Tamil Nadu. Though tea production in the Kanan Devan Hills is still done in the factories set up by the Britishers, the process and the equipment underwent a lot of change under the modernisation process

An official at the Kolukkumalai factory said the organic method of production is followed here. Since the plantation is located on a peak, the attack of pests is minimum and the natural elements in the soil are preserved. Kolukkumalai also provides a bird’s-eye view of land extending up to Kodaikanal and it is also a natural habitat of bird species that are seen in the high altitude ranges.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / Idukki – October 15th, 2016

Whipping up a record with a mammoth salad

EGGCELENCE ON DISPLAY:The salad that was prepared using 7,000 eggs and vegetables in the city on Sunday, as part of World Egg Day observance.— Photo: Thulasi Kakkat
EGGCELENCE ON DISPLAY:The salad that was prepared using 7,000 eggs and vegetables in the city on Sunday, as part of World Egg Day observance.— Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

One hundred-and-forty students from St. Teresa’s College, ten staff members and 43 professional chefs came together to prepare a mammoth egg salad to mark the World Egg Day celebrations in the city.

A statement issued by the Indian Farmers’ Association said the event was organised as part of the ongoing ‘Harithotsavam’, based on farming and allied activities.

The egg salad was prepared using 7,000 eggs and vegetables. When laid out, it measured 814.5 feet, the organisers said.

They also claimed that the egg salad had created a record for its length.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – October 10th, 2016

Back to glorious days of the veena

Veena music festival draws music connoisseurs in city

The veena, said to be the ‘Queen of instruments’ in Carnatic music, was once indispensable to classical vocalists as a melodic accompaniment.

This changed with the arrival of the western violin, which began to replace the veena on concert stages. However, a group of veena aficionados decided to form a collective to bring the ancient instrument back into the mainstream.

Thus, the Veena Sangeetha Sangh was born on September 27, 2004, the 90th birth anniversary of the renowned veena exponent K. S. Narayana Swamy. The members of the group, such as P. S. Sunil, a well-known manufacturer of musical instruments and T. N. Sreekumaran Thampi, a teacher at the Department of Music, Kerala University, aim to carry on Narayana Swamy’s legacy through restoring the old glory of the veena and by encouraging classical music among youngsters.

To achieve this, the group has been regularly organising veena music festivals at colleges, including the Chembai Memorial Government Music College, Palakkad, S. N. College, Kollam and N.S.S. College, Thiruvananthapuram. They have also held programmes in Mumbai and Delhi.

Apart from stage programmes, the group also holds informal gatherings of classical music connoisseurs on a regular basis.

Performances by youngsters are particularly encouraged, though the group refrains from holding competitions, as they believe it goes against the spirit of music.

Ongoing Festival 

The latest in the line of such events is the K. S. Narayana Swamy Memorial Veena Music Festival being held in the capital city, in association with the the Department of Music, University of Kerala, and the Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram.

The festival, which began on Monday, is a celebration of the 102nd birth anniversary of Narayana Swamy, as well as of the 12th anniversary of the Veena Sangeetha Sangh.

Dr. K. Omanakkutty, a disciple of Narayana Swamy and the first Head of the Department of Music, Kerala University, inaugurated the festival at the Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi Auditorium, Vazhuthacaud. The ceremony was followed by a lecture-demonstration of the veena by artist Bhagyalekshmi Chandrasekhar, and Mridangam and Ghatom recitals by Dr. Aneesh Krishna and R. Rajesh respectively. The festival will conclude on Tuesday with the presentation of the ‘Veena Sangeetha Retna Puraskar’, to be held at the Muthayya Bhagavathar Auditorium, Vazhuthacaud.

Performances by youngsters are particularly encouraged by the group

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Sreelakshmi Sivaraman / September 27th, 2016