‘Edakoodam’ is a word familiar to most Malayalis, which means ‘a puzzle which is difficult to solve’. However, not many people know about a curious toy similar to the Rubik’s cube. Made up of six wooden blocks, the ‘edakoodam’, once dismantled, can be assembled to its original position only with proper mathematical skills.
Art director and painter Rajasekharan Parameswaran popularly known as Marthandam Rajasekharan is attempting a world record by making a huge edakoodam. The blocks made of wood and metal frame, which is almost ready at Parasala, will be shifted to Raviz, Kollam, where it will be a permanent exhibit.
Currently, the Guinness record for the largest wood block-puzzle is held by a firm Foffa Conrad in Valchava, Switzerland.
The record winning puzzle is a Devil’s Knot, ( a puzzle similar to edakoodam’) has six pieces, each measuring 6m (19 ft 8 inch) x 40cm(1 feet 3 inch) x40cm (1 feet 3 inch). Rajasekharan said that his ‘edakoodam’ will have six pieces each having size 24 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet. “We have informed Guinness authorities about the plan to break the previous record,” he said.
Breaking a world record is nothing new for Rajasekharan who holds Guinness record for the largest easel painting, with his portrait of EMS Namboodiripad in 2008. The easel was 56.5 feet tall and 31 feet wide and held a 25 feet tall and 50 feet wide portrait of EMS.
Rajashekharan is also the recipient of the state award for art direction for Naalu Pennungal directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan in 2007. The film was his debut work as art director. When asked how he was drawn to ‘edakoodam’, he said that he knew about the toy from his childhood days. “Since I am a mathematics graduate, I know how to reassemble it. The structure is the blow-up version of the small ‘edakoodam’. You can play the game if you know mathematics,” he said.
The 53-year-old artist is from Marthadom in Kanyakumari district.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / TNN / December 19th, 2017
In its effort to provide assistive technology to people with motor disabilities, International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), an organization under state IT department, will collaborate with AsTeRICS Academy in Austria.
The European academy will support ICFOSS in developing its capabilities in a range of assistive tools to support individuals with motor disorders for using computers and other electronic equipment.
An Austrian group consisting of two technologists from the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien is currently in the city in connection with Swatantra 2017, the two-day triennial free software conference being organized by ICFOSS. The team will lead a workshop from Monday at ICFOSS in Technopark for assembling and production of various products they have developed.
“This will be a milestone in Kerala’s efforts in using assistive technology for the welfare of the masses, especially marginalized sections of the society,” said IT secretary M Shivasankar. “ICFOSS is poised to take a lead in this regard and it has already established a research facility jointly with College of Engineering Trivandrum,” he added.
One of such technologies is FlipMouse that acts as an alternative input device for challenged people who prefer or need other input variants than a standard computer mouse or keyboard. Using a FlipMouse, keyboard and mouse activities can be created via slightest finger or mouth interaction. This enables precise control of computer mouse or keyboard actions. Click activities can be created via sip and puff activities, or by attaching external switches to the device. This can be used to control wheelchairs, play games on computers and other activities.
“These technologies and products will be offered to ICFOSS as a do-it-yourself construction kit,” said ICFOSS director Jayashankar Prasad. “This will help us in the production of the equipment at very low cost,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India . News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / TNN / December 18th, 2017
Asked to point out some of his best works is probably the stupidest question one can pose to Narayana Bhattathiri, a name synonymous with Malayalam calligraphy. Rather than point out some his unforgettable drawings for the titles of novels ‘Randamoozham’ or ‘Neermathalam Pootha Kalam’, he gently prods you to look up his Facebook page ‘Bhattathiri Calligraphy’. Bhattathiri is that rare artist who draws energy from his work and not from society’s acceptance.
Meeting Bhattathiri a day after the announcement of the Jikji international award for the best calligraphy work instituted by the South Korean government in memory of their first printed book ‘Jikji’, he was, as usual, busy with his work at his office on the first floor of his house at Forest office lane, Vazhutacaud.
It was an employee of the Indian embassy in Seoul – Dinesh Moorakkal – who saw his works on Facebook and suggested to Bhattathiri to send some of them over. Last year, the Korean government included Bhattathiri’s three calligraphy works as a permanent exhibit at Cheongju culture centre in North Chungcheong.
This year, Bhattathiri collected and sent 27 works of around 14 calligraphy artists in the country to Seoul. Among those, Bhattathiri’s work on Jikji won the award. He will receive the award in Seoul on December 8.
A native of Pandalam, 59-year-old Bhattathiri started his career in Kala Kaumudi while doing his degree at Fine Arts College in Thiruvananthapuram. He also worked in Samakalika Malayalam. During his tenure in magazines, he drew titles for various novels such as O V Vijayan’s Pravachakante Vazhi, M Mukundan’s Daivathinte Vikrutikal, Malayatoor Ramakrishnan’s Aaram Viral to name a few. He also did titles for all the works of M T Vasudevan Nair when Malayala Manorama made a CD of the writer’s works. Though Bhattathiri could not recollect the exact number of films he worked for, the list includes most films of Padmarajan to latest films like ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’ and ‘Clint’.
The calligraphy style of Bhattathiri is that even a person who is unfamiliar with Malayalam script might get a feel of it. With a few strokes and some dots, he can write ‘Niram Marunna China’ resembling Chinese characters. His ambigrams are highly popular.
“Earlier, people used to hang quotes from the Bible on the wall, which were excellent calligraphic works. I wish such a culture would come back where people could hang calligraphic works on their walls,” Bhattatiri exclaims.
It was the exhibition ‘Ka cha ta tha pa’, that brought together a few of his innumerable works, organized on the pestering of his late friend Sundar Ramanatha Iyer in 2013, that made Bhattathiri popular.
The exhibition was an eye-opener to several artists. Orion Champadiyil, who is a senior art director at Maitri advertising, says that it was from the ‘ka cha ta tha pa’ that he started thinking about Malayalam calligraphy.
“Till then, my calligraphy experiments were limited to English. After learning about his works, I started asking myself why I didn’t try Malayalam calligraphy. I was more into typography and it was after getting inspired by him that I started doing Malayalam calligraphy,” he says.
Bhattathiri once saw a Gulf-based music band using his calligraphy as their logo which he had originally designed for a musical event of musician Ramesh Narayanan. Out of curiosity, he asked how they got it. They replied that it was from the internet. Of course, using his works without permission or credit was not a concern for Bhattathiri. When asked about recognition and money, he says it is up to the people who use his work to decide. “I already got my reward from the satisfaction of doing it,” he says.
While Malayalam is experiencing a dearth of Unicode fonts, Bhattathiri and free software developer Santhosh Thottingal, who is the designer of Malayalam Unicode fonts Chilanka and Manjari, have been planning to develop a new Unicode font for a while.
“With the support of Bhattathiri, we could create a unique Malayalam font. I am ready to provide all technical support for developing a new font,” Santosh says. “Among the present calligraphy artists, Bhattathiri is the greatest. He can be considered a continuation of the great lineage of Vasu Pradeep, C N Karunakaran and Bharathan.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / Jisha N / December 18th, 2017
Niyog who has been selected for the polar expedition | Photo Credit: NP
Niyog is first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, an expedition across the Arctic, in 2018
Niyog is all set for the adventure of a lifetime. This 26-year-old adventure traveller from Punalur in Kollam has just got through an online poll that will make him the first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, an expedition across the Arctic set to be held in April 2018.
Fjällräven Polar is a dream expedition of adventure travellers across the world. It is an annual expedition organised by the Swedish company Fjällräven since 1997. The participants will have to travel 300 km at minus 30 degrees Celsius through the Arctic wilderness in Norway and Sweden on sleighs pulled by eight Siberian Husky dogs.
As only around 20 aspirants get the chance to take part in the expedition, and with thousands of adventurers across the world aspiring for it, the competition is quite tough. Entries are invited from adventurers in 10 wide categories of countries, most of which are for people residing in the Arctic belt. Indians get to participate in the poll under the category ‘World’.
Only one person from each of the 10 categories is selected in the online poll. The rest are nominated by a jury. After physical tests and intense training to survive in the Arctic for almost a month, the team of 20 sets out for the expedition.
This year’s entries started pouring in from November 16. Niyog registered only on December 1, with bare minimum expectations. But his friends and followers took over the campaign requesting people to vote for him.
Within four days, Niyog emerged as the top competitor in all categories. When the polls concluded on Thursday, he scored 51,078 votes, around 10,000 more than his nearest competitor.
Niyog is used to travels and adventure since childhood. He had travelled solo to different parts of the Himalayas and believes it has conditioned him for adverse climatic conditions. He was in news just a few months ago for his nomadic journey across the country as a penniless hitch-hiker.
Niyog is excited about the polar expedition that starts on April 8 from Norway, yet a bit apprehensive. “More than the temperature, the sleighs thrill me. Managing the sleigh and the dogs is quite hard. Besides, we have to look out for thin ice, which only a trained eye can notice,” he told The Hindu.
Having won the poll, it’s now preparation time for Niyog.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Aabha Raveendran / Kozhikode – December 16th, 2017
Russian auteur draws comparison with law enforcers back home
Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov has had an uneasy relationship with power and the various organs which enforce it, even being summoned for an interrogation by the KGB at a point in his career. It has also fascinated him, as evident from his explorations of the personal lives of three powerful historical figures in the Men of Power trilogy.
When Sokurov landed in the city to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala, one of the first wishes he expressed to the organisers was to visit a police station, to study how differently the police force here worked, compared to his home country.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy officials fulfilled his wish. Sokurov, along with his personal assistant and interpreter, visited the Fort Janamithri police station, which is one of the ‘child-friendly’ stations in the city.
“One of the major things he was interested in was the type of crimes here. He talked about how Russian cities have organised crime networks and frequent instances of gang warfare. He was surprised that there is no gun culture here. He was also interested in the time the police took to solve a crime and the methods adopted, and whether the parties involved attempted to arrive at a compromise. He sought to know whether women were involved in criminal activity in large numbers,” said Fort Assistant Commissioner J.K. Dinil.
The filmmaker spent more than an hour at the station, walking around and interacting with the police personnel. He asked them about their appointment process, qualifications required, the hierarchies in the department, welfare measures initiated by the department, on the Student Police Cadet programme and even the kind of vehicles used to chase criminals. He did not have a high opinion of the police force back home though.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by S. R. Praveen / December 12th, 2017
The new Barco Lazer Projector installed at Nishagandhi theater which would be used to screen films during IFFK, in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday / Rakesh Nair
Thiruvananthapuram :
The 22nd edition of IFFK will create history by introducing laser projection for the first time in the state.
Nishagandhi Auditorium has been installed with the most advanced Barco laser cinema projector designed to provide a great viewing experience.
“Normally projectors use Xenon lamps, which can run only for 1,000 to 1,500 hours. Laser projection gives the purest white colour because the colour depth is so great resulting in stunning cinema viewing experience. Besides we don’t have to go for replacements as in Xenon lamps which need to be replaced after 1,000 hours. Laser projectors could run movies for as long as 30,000 hours,” explains Litto Tom, manager, technical services, at Qube Cinemas, who is in the city co-ordinating screening in theatres as part of IFFK.
The reduced operating expense and simplified operations have added to the growing popularity of laser projectors across the world “The brightness levels and image quality are going to be incomparable when we use laser projector. It not only does away with lamp-related expense but installation and operation are also easier,” says Noby P, senior engineer, Qube Cinemas.
Some major films, which have been critically acclaimed, are scheduled to be screened at Nishagandhi. The new laser projector will also add to the effects of the much anticipated midnight screening of the Indonesian horror film ‘Satan’s slave’ on the fourth day of the fest.
The projector room of Nishagandhi has been slightly decked up to welcome the prestigious new projector. The room has been fully air conditioned in addition to a pre-installed chiller that comes with laser projector. Aneesh Kumar, the projectionist who has been associated with IFFK for the last few years, can’t conceal his excitement. “It is one of the most advanced projectors. To operate it for our viewers and that too at an event like IFFK is really thrilling for any operator,” says Aneesh Kumar.
Meanwhile, an IFFK flex erected at Vazhuthacaud invited protest as it blocked traffic signals for commuters coming from the Bakery Junction side. Following protest, the traffic police removed the flex board.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / by Aswin J. Kumar / TNN / December 08th, 2017
The three-day national seminar on ‘Thiruvananthapuram Charithrathil’ which began at the University College here on Monday brought to light several unknown aspects of the history of the capital city.
Organized by the department of history, the seminar was inaugurated by Kerala Council for Historical Research chairman Michael Tharakan .
In his inaugural speech, Tharakan spoke about the history of the ancient and probably the very first church in Thiruvananthapuram, St. Anne’s Church of Pettah. “During Karthika Thirunal Maharaja’s regime, his courtiers were appointed based on their potential and not according to their religion.
Traders from far and wide used to come to Travancore for their business. One such trader was Thachchil Matthew Tharakan. He used to accompany the Maharaja in his rounds everywhere except to the temple. It is believed that the king learned about Christianity through Tharakan.
And so, way before the British rule was established here, St Anne’s church was built for the Christians just outside Pettah as people belonging to other religions and lower castes weren’t allowed into Pettah. The exact year of construction is still not known,” said Tharakan.
Around 16 experts will talk about various subjects in the seminar, which will conclude on Wednesday.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News> Schools & Colleges / TNN / December 05th, 2017
Santhi Sathyan has been undergoing memory training for seven years
There is a misconception that memory is an innate skill whereas it is a result of years of training and perseverance, says Santhi Sathyan, who holds a Guinness world record for the longest sequence of objects memorised in a minute.
The 28-year-old from Kadakkal needs just 60 seconds to save 45-odd objects to her memory, and after reshuffling, she can arrange them back in the same precise order in 2 minutes 57 seconds.
The previous record was held by Arpan Sharma of Nepal, whose record of 43 objects was easily broken by Santhi.
“There are many scientific methods to enhance memory. One of the main tricks is to convert the objects into visuals, something that will last longer in your memory,” she said at a press meet here on Wednesday.
Santhi has been undergoing memory training for the past seven years and started preparations to break the Guinness record a couple of years ago.
Her husband, Anith Soorya, an IT professional-turned-counsellor, is her coach.
From school days
“I have been practising this from my school days though I have never entered any competitions. Two years ago, a friend encouraged me to make an attempt to break the current record that had remained unbroken for two years,” she says.
The postgraduate student in psychology entered the Guinness Book of World Records at a programme held on May 28 at the Kadakkal panchayat conference hall in front of a panel approved by the Guinness World Records officials.
“I am grateful to the Kadakkal panchayat authorities, whose immense support helped me achieve this feat,” she says.
Gearing up for more
Santhi next wants to win the World Memory Championship.
“Many of us are not aware of memory training and its benefits. I want more and more children to come to this field and I am willing to train them,” she says.
A wish
Santhi is currently waiting for her Guinness World Record certificate, which has been shipped to Kerala, she says.
“Usually it’s handed over by a renowned personality and I wish I could receive it from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar,” she adds.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Kollam – December 06th, 2017
A doctor at the hospital said they performed the operation in four hours without removing the patient’s ovaries or uterus. The previous record was held by an Egyptian woman, who had 186 tumours removed from her body last December.
Mediapersons interview the medical team that conducted the surgical procedure. (HT Photo)
As many as 191 benign tumours were removed from the uterus of an Omani woman at a private hospital in Kozhikode, north Kerala, on Saturday.
Doctors at the city’s Starcare Hospital claimed this was a new world record. They said the previous one was held by an Egyptian woman, who had 186 tumours removed from her body last December.
Dr Abdul Rashid, the hospital’s chief gynaecologist, told Hindustan Times they performed the operation in four hours without removing the patient’s ovaries or uterus. “We blended keyhole and traditional mechanisms to do it. We were expecting 80-odd tumours, not so many,” he said, adding that the woman was now recuperating from the procedure.
The existing record in the country is 84 tumours.
Dr Rashid said the hospital will soon update Guinness World Records authorities on the development. “We did not operate on the 34-year-old woman to break any record. We had initially considered laparoscopic surgery, but decided against it when we realised that the tumour was really big,” he added.
A team of three doctors had performed the surgery.
The chief gynaecologist said a leading medical body has already confirmed that this was a unique case. “The woman seemed to be in an advanced stage of pregnancy when she first came here, but we were keen on protecting her ovaries and uterus. She can now lead a normal life, and even conceive after a couple of years,” he added.
According to Dr Rashid, there has been a significant rise in middle-eastern patients visiting super-specialty hospitals in the state lately. “Our facilities are economical when compared to hospitals in the West, while keeping with similar standards. Kerala has always been a leading tourist destination, but it may soon become a medical hub too,” he said.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Ramesh Babu – Hindustan Times, Thiruvananthapuram / November 19th, 2017
CM inaugrates Kritya International Poetry Festival on Thursday
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala stands out from other states in the country for its tradition, said poet and critic Ashok Vajpeyi. He was delivering the presidential address at the Kritya International Poetry Festival at Bharat Bhavan on Thursday.
“Kerala organizes international events like Biennale and short film and documentary festivals and here tradition, orthodoxy, innovation and boldness co-exist. It is important that the state maintains this tradition at a time when voices of dissent are being supressed,” said Vajpeyi, managing trustee, Raza Foundation.
Organized in association with Raza Foundation, New Delhi, the three-day festival was inaugurated by the CM. The eleventh edition of the festival pays tribute to late poet O N V Kurup.
Pinarayi Vijayan said that poetry was a torch during the dark ages. “Writers fall victim to religious fundamentalism even in this millennia. Secular values, scientific temper and rational thinking are threatened by communal forces and fascists. The attempt is to stifle dissenting voices, but we should reaffirm that we stand by secular values till our last breath. Progressive writers, poets and dramatists became the torch bearers of the great social and cultural renaissance of Kerala,” said Vijayan.
The function was attended by Turkish poet Ataol Behramoglu, Estonian poet Doris Kareva, managing director of Poetry International Rotterdam Bas Kwakman, poet Prabha Varma and member secretary of Bharat Bhavan Pramod Payyanur.
Poets from Estonia, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, Mongolia, South Africa, Botswana, Belgium and Wales and Indian poets will recite their poems in the festival. The festival will conclude on November 11.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / TNN / November 10th, 2017
