Category Archives: Records, All

Rubik’s cube is just child’s play for her

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Niah Sanjith  

Three-year-old Niah has set her sights on Guinness record

Come March 3, 2019, Niah Sanjith will be participating in a cubing competition organised by the World Cube Association in Thiruvananthapuram, where she hopes to do what she loves most — solving Rubik’s cube puzzle in record time. Niah, a 3-year-old cuber from Thathampally in Alappuzha can solve different variants of puzzle — 3×3, 2×2, and Pyraminx under two minutes. With her amazing skill to get uniform colours on all sides by spinning and rotating the cubes in a short time, the girl’s family is hoping to use the cubing competition to enter the Guinness World Records as the youngest cuber to solve three types of twisty puzzles/Rubik’s puzzle. “Niah is attentive and has a strong desire to learn things. She would watch older kids in our neighbourhood solving Rubik’s cube and play board games,” says her mother Tixy, a veterinary doctor. She can solve 2×2 and Pyraminx in under a minute, whereas she solves 3×3 variant in 1.45 minute. Dr. Tixy says that Niah has her own technique to solve the puzzles.

“Before Niah turned two, she used to bring the Rubik’s cube to me to solve it. I tried my best to teach her, but she couldn’t understand it. Later, she started to solve it by herself,” Dr. Tixy says.

Sensing the child genius, thecubicle.com, a leading online cube store has come forward to sponsor her. Niah is the first cuber from India to be sponsored by them. In a letter sent to Dr. Tixy, thecubicle.com noted this: “We are very excited to see Niah, having so much passion and interest in cubing. She is incredibly talented for her age, and we hope she can continue to solve puzzles and inspire young cubers.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Sam Paul A / Alappuzha – February 12th, 2019

124th Maramon Convention begins at Pampa

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

The Metropolitan announced that the evening session at Maramon Convention was rescheduled to 5 pm to 6.30 pm instead of 6 pm to 7.30 pm with the participation of all the faithful.

Pathanamthitta :

The eight-day Maramon Convention, billed as the largest Christian gathering in Asia, began on the sand bed of the Pampa at Maramon near Kozhenchery on Sunday. Delivering the inaugural address, Mar Thoma Church supremo Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan called on the faithful to see Christ as the human face of God.

Joseph Mar Thoma urged the faithful to follow the path of God with the principle of compassion and unconditional love for fellow-beings.“True love and compassion to the needy should be without any pre-condition and vested interests,” the Metropolitan said, adding people should try to see others through the eyes of Christ.

The Metropolitan announced that the evening session at Maramon Convention was rescheduled to 5 pm to 6.30 pm instead of 6 pm to 7.30 pm with the participation of all the faithful. Joseph Mar Thoma said environment protection and conservation are needed for the very survival of human being and other living creatures. Development programmes should be implemented scientifically, with an eye on the environment, he said.

Euyakim Mar Coorlios, president of the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association, which is organising the convention, presided over the meeting. York Archbishop John Tukker Mugabe Sentamu of the UK delivered the main speech.

Man-made flood

The Metropolitan said the mid-August flood was not natural. The disaster was due to the lapse on the part of the authorities concerned. He said the deluge caused destruction on all fronts and the river water-level even went up to six feet.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 11th, 2019

Experts visit excavation site at Edayaranmula

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Heritage: Noted curator M. L. Johny, inspecting a terracotta figurine unearthed from the Pampa river banks at Edayaranmula during his visit to the temporary museum set up by the Archaeology Department at Aranmula on Friday.  

Inspect terracotta pieces, including male and female figurines

Noted curator M. L. Johny, accompanied by Antony Kaaral from the Government Fine Arts College in Thiruvananthapuram, visited the excavation site of the Archaeology Department on the banks of river Pampa at Edayaranmula on Friday.

They also visited the temporary museum set up by the Kerala State Archaeology Department at Aranmula where the terracotta figurines unearthed from Edyaranmula have been kept.

Excavation

The Archaeology Department had launched excavation on the banks of river Pampa at Edayaranmula near Aranmula in December last, exploring traces of a vibrant ancient Pampa Valley civilization in the area following the sighting of a few terracotta artefacts there, earlier, in September.

Rajeev Puliyoor, Malayalam teacher at the Mahatma Gandhi University B.Ed Centre at Elanthoor who has been doing research on the ‘Pampa Valley Civilization,’ and K.P. Sreeranganathan, photographer turned historian, also accompanied the two artistes.

The unearthed terracotta pieces include male and female figurines, snake heads, bust of a man and a twin female terracotta statue.

Mr. Puliyoor said renowned historians M.R.Raghava Warrier and M.G.S.Narayanan, were of the view that the terracotta artefacts unearthed from the banks of river Pampa appeared to be centuries old. Prof Warrier had visited the site twice, earlier, he said.

Mr Puliyoor stressed the need for an exhaustive study and excavation in the Pampa river basin in the wake of the unearthing of ancient terracotta artefacts from the river banks.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Pathanathitta – February 08th, 2019

World’s oldest running steam loco to make heritage runs

Amazing Feats, Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Soon Keralites will get to see the world’s oldest running steam engine.


The 164-year-old EIR 21 steam loco will begin its herit age runs in the Thiruvananthapuram division from Thursday. The first runs will be from Nagercoil Junction to Kanyakumari and later on from Ernakulam Junction to Cochin Harbour Terminus

Kochi :

Soon Keralites will get to see the world’s oldest running steam engine. A sequence of heritage runs will be organised in the Thiruvananthapuram division from Thursday. The 164-year-old Express EIR 21 has been brought in from the Madurai division. According to Shirish Kumar Sinha, Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram Division, the inaugural run is charted from Nagercoil junction to Kanyakumari.

“It will make a few runs on the route and later on will be brought to Ernakulam. The runs will be made on Saturdays and Sundays. For the inaugural run, the train will chug out of Nagercoil Junction at 5 pm,” he said.

“The heritage runs in Ernakulam will happen from Ernakulam Junction to Cochin Harbour Terminus. However, only a few runs have been charted on this route. The timings are yet to be finalised but the days will be Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

According to him, the runs are being conducted as a part of the Southern Railway’s policy to acquaint people with the heritage of railways in India. “EIR 21 has only one coach and has been refurbished. The train will provide people with a chance to ride on it. The ticket rates are yet to be decided,” he said.

The name ‘EIR 21 Express’ was given to the loco by its creators, Kitson, Thompson & Hewitson of England, who built it in 1855. The loco was shipped to the Indian subcontinent to span high and low lands. It carried people and heavy cargo for over 55 years. It was refurbished in 2010. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / February 07th, 2019

Kerala girl Nikita Thomas crowned Miss South India

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

The 17th edition of the Miss South India beauty contest came to an emphatic end as Nikita Thomas, hailing from Kerala was crowned at the event held at Hotel Le-Meridien, Coimbatore. 

Kochi : 

The 17th edition of the Miss South India beauty contest came to an emphatic end as Nikita Thomas, hailing from Kerala was crowned at the event held at Hotel Le-Meridien, Coimbatore. 
The beauty pageant promoted by Manappuram Finance Limited as prime partner was hosted by Pegasus in association with Rotary Club of Coimbatore Texcity. Tarini Kalingarayar from Tamil Nadu and Deepa Thomas from Kerala was the first and second runner up respectively. Last year winner Lakshmi Menon crowned Nikita Thomas. V P Nandakumar, CEO of Manappuram Finance handed over the prizes to first and second runners up.


Miss South India Nikita Thomas with runners
up Tarini Kalingarayar and Deepa Thomas

24 beautiful women from five south Indian states competed for the coveted title. The grooming session for this competition, which had the prime rounds such as designer saree, red cocktail and black gown rounds, commenced from January 30 in SAJ Earth Resort convention centre, Kochi. A session handled by prominent personalities in the modelling sector aimed to impart the knowledge about yoga, meditation, personality development, beauty care, catwalk, photo shoot and talent search to the contestants. 

Eminent personalities from the film and fashion sectors such as Uma Riyas Khan, Siddhaanth Surryavanshi, Toshma Biju, Kuriyachan and Alesia Raut were part of the judging panel. Cash prizes worth `one lakh was given to the winner and the first runner-up was given `60,000. The second runner up received `40,000. In addition, the winners were crowned with the golden crowns designed by Parakkat Jewellers. 

The judging panel also selected the regional title winners and the sub-title winners like Miss Queen Andhra, Miss Queen Karnataka, Miss Queen Kerala, Miss Queen Telangana, Miss Tamil Nadu, Miss Beautiful Hair, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Beautiful Skin, Miss Beautiful Face, Miss Beautiful Eyes, Miss Congeniality, Miss Personality, Miss Cat walk, Miss Perfect Ten, Miss Talent, Miss Photogenic, Miss Viewers’ Choice, Miss Social Media, Miss Fitness, Miss ‘Humaneness.’

The contestants have been selected through foolproof audition sessions organised in Kochi, Bangalore, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad. DQUE watches, SAJ Earth resort and convention centre, Josco Jewellers and UT World.in were the co-partners of the event.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 05th, 2019

CMFRI opens doors to marine wonders for public

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel

Institute celebrating its 72nd Foundation Day; exhibition from tomorrow

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) will throw open its doors to the public on Tuesday as part of its 72nd Foundation Day celebrations. The public can view splendours of the marine world like precious pearls in the deep sea and the process of extracting them from farmed pearl oysters.

The exhibition will be a display of diverse marine aquatic species as well as a platform to understand the latest developments in marine research. The National Marine Biodiversity Museum at the CMFRI is rich with collections from a wide spectrum of niches ranging from estuaries to coastal and deeper waters of the Indian seas, various laboratories, newly-designed marine research aquarium, hatcheries and other facilities. The exhibition will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., said a press release here.

Whale shark, the largest fish, horse shoe crab, sea snakes, sea birds, pearl oyster, sea cow, dolphins, and sharks can be viewed. Antarctic krills, a favourite food of penguins and blue whales, is also available at the museum. The marine research aquarium showcases different marine ornamental varieties including bat fish and lion fish.

Those curious about the latest research developments in marine fisheries may visit various laboratories dedicated to bioprospecting, ocean acidification, fishery biology, environmental research, climate change and cell culture. The fish ageing laboratory will help uncover the secrets behind estimation of fish age which is a revolutionary step in marine fisheries research. Visitors can also acquire knowledge in the area of developing medicines from marine organisms for various diseases.


Among the research facilities of the CMFRI, the scanning electron microscope that produces images of a sample in higher resolution that is 10-lakh fold is expected to draw the attention of visitors.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – February 04th, 2019

Kole Fish Count records 82 species

Agriculture, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, Records, All

Participatory assessment: Scientists, students and nature enthusiasts participated in the survey that covered the Kole land habitats in Thrissur and Malappuram districts on Saturday.  

Survey, coinciding with Wetland Day, reveals six alien species

The Kole Fish Count, conducted on February 2 in connection with World Wetland Day across the Kole wetlands of central Kerala, recorded 82 aquatic species. These include 71 fish species (18 species of brackish water fish and 53 species of freshwater fish), five shrimp species, four crab and two mollusc species.

The participatory assessment, in which scientists, students and nature enthusiasts from the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, the Kerala Agricultural University’s College of Forestry and the Kole Birders Collective participated, covered the entire expanse of Kole habitats distributed across Thrissur and Malappuram districts. Among the major Kole regions, Ponnani had a higher diversity than Thrissur.

Maranchery in Ponnani Kole had the highest diversity (45 species) followed by Uppungal (also in Ponnani Kole) and Enamavu (Thrissur Kole) with 34 species each.

With just 18 species, Adat (Thrissur Kole) recorded the lowest diversity.

Some of the most common species encountered during the survey include the orange chromide (known as pallathi in Malayalam), the dwarf pufferfish, Malabar leaf fish, and pearl spot or karimeen.

Future threats

However, the teams also came across six non-native fish species, raising concerns on the sustainability of the fishery and aquaculture practices being followed in the Kole and vicinity.

The presence of six species of non-native fish in the Kole is of significant concern as these have the potential to compete with, and outnumber native species, said Rajeev Raghavan, assistant professor at KUFOS and the South Asia Coordinator of the IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group.

“Particularly alarming is the frequent catches of the Amazonian sucker catfish from various parts of the Kole,” he added.

The government needs to take immediate action to prevent illegal fishing practices carried out during the annual harvest of auctioned waterbodies that are part of the Kole wetlands, noted M. K. Sajeevan, Head, Department of Fisheries Resource Management, KUFOS.

In addition to aquatic biodiversity, the teams also collected samples to assess the health of the ecosystem through evaluation of key water quality parameters, results of which will be released soon.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / Kochi – February 03rd, 2019

Mannuthy ARS best research centre

Agriculture, Education, Records, All

Kerala agricultural varsity celebrates 48th Foundation Day

The Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Mannuthy, and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Malappuram, have been bestowed with the best research centre and best extension centre awards in the 48th Foundation Day celebrations of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) held at Vellanikkara recently.

While Haseena Bhaskar of College of Horticulture (CoH) was adjudged the best teacher, Miniraj of CoH and Sunil V.G. of Malappuram KVK were selected for the best researcher and the best extension scientist awards respectively. CoH, Vellanikkara, secured the best college award.

District Collector T.V. Anupama inaugurated the Foundation Day celebrations. The Collector called upon budding researchers to uphold the rich traditions of the university and be committed to the primary sector, which caters to the most fundamental need of living beings.

“As the Food Safety Commissioner and Alappuzha District Collector, I had occasions to acquaint myself with the vast potential and diverse activities of the KAU. Conversion of fertile land for non-agricultural purposes is a big challenge. The change in eating habits calls for change in cropping pattern and hence provides a new research opportunity. I am sure that the KAU, with its dynamic and diverse research network, will be able to address these challenges,” she said.

Rate of adoption high

KAU Vice Chancellor R. Chandra Babu, in his presidential address, pointed out that agricultural technologies had a much higher rate of adoption than other technologies. Roles played by agricultural universities were much different and much more diverse than conventional universities. The enhanced support for the KAU in the State Budget was gratefully acknowledged, he said.

Honoured

State Horticulture Mission director Justin Mohan; KAU executive committee members A. Anil Kumar; K. Aravindakshan, and T. Pradeep Kumar; and Registrar P.S. Geetha Kutty spoke.

Staff and labourers with thirty years’ unblemished service were also honoured at the function, which was followed by cultural programmes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thrissur – February 03rd, 2019

Theatre artiste Thuppettan passes away

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Eminent theatre person and artist Thuppettan (M. Subrahmanian Namboodiri) died at a hospital here on Friday. He was 90. He was ailing for sometime.

He had directed and wrote scripts for many plays. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for best play in 2003 for ‘Vannanthye Kanam’. Thanathu Lavanam and Mohana Sundara Palam are his other prominent works.

Born in Panjal in 1929, he had worked as an art teacher in many schools.

Minister for Culture A.K. Balan condoled the death of Thuppettan.

“He captured the attention of common man through rural plays and communicated serious issues from globalisation to corruption in his own simple style,” the Minister said

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thrissur – February 01st, 2019

Mohandas College of Engineering students find new way to disinfect water

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Here’s a solution to counter the lack in quality of packaged water distributed in the city.

Thiruvananthapuram : 

Here’s a solution to counter the lack in quality of packaged water distributed in the city. Even as concerns are being raised over the safe consumption of bottled water in the city, a group of students from Mohandas College of Engineering have come up with an innovative solution which helps in getting rid of the E-coli in the water and acting as a disinfectant. 

The project titled ‘Design of a water disinfection system using silver and copper nanoparticle impregnated coconut shell waste carbon’ was proposed by a team of students- Shilpa K Nayana, Akhila Krishnan C and Shilpa Raj S from Mohandas College of Engineering and Technology (MCET), Nedumangad. They were guided by their professors, K M Usha, the principal investigator and  S S Shijina, the co-investigator of the project.

“ The inspiration behind this project is the sense of responsibility towards society as citizens in general and biotechnologists in particular. After the floods, the presence of E- Coli had become a major concern with many packaged water bottles testing positive to the presence of the bacteria. This is why we thought of developing a project using raw materials which could not only help in purifying water but also act as a disinfectant which can kill 99 per cent of E Coli,” said  Shilpa K Nayana, one of the innovators.

Decontamination of drinking water by making use of the raw materials, which are available in abundance, is the prime objective of the project. The project envisages to set up a synergetic system capable of adsorption as well as destructing microbial organisms. This innovative attempt makes use of anti-bacterial property of nanoparticles and absorption. Silver and copper are synthesised and impregnated onto the coconut waste to provide disinfection against E Coli and other organisms. “Unlike the normal water purifiers that only help in purifying water but fail in disinfecting, our innovation has both the purifying and disinfecting facility,” said Shilpa. The students say the procedures are cheap and safer.  It also helps in recycling water thereby reducing the demand for fresh water. 

The team was also selected for funding by Kerala Technological University (KTU) Center for Engineering Research and Development (CERD) under the scheme ‘CERD Student Project 2018’. The team has also bagged the second position in idea presentation at ‘TheTech Conclave’, which is the flagship event of Drishti, the annual technical festival of College of Engineering, Trivandrum.  ‘Engineers for society’ was this year’s theme. This accomplishment has paved the way for direct entry to ‘Idea Day’ by Kerala Startup Mission.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Steni Simon / Express News Service / January 16th, 2019