The district administration has been awarded for taking steps to reduce plastic waste. Sujith Karun, district co-ordinator of Haritha Keralam Mission, received the award from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on behalf of the district collector in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
At the function, awards were given to 21 institutions from Ernakulam district for activities aimed at reducing plastic. The office of the Panchayat Deputy Director, Thiruvairanikulam temple committee, SCMS Engineering College, NSS technical cell, Thurithikkara Urja Nirmala Harithagramam, and the Society for Teresians for Environment Protection, were among the institutions that won the award.
The festival at Thiruvairanikulam temple, Malayattoor pilgrimage, Aluva Sivarathri, Edappally church festival, and Moothakunnam festival were among those that followed the green protocol. Biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste were segregated during these festivals and plastics were sent for recycling.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / Kochi – June 07th, 2018
When the piece of a broken sword turned out to be a vital clue in the murder of Conolly
(A weekly column on the region’s past culled from historical documents.)
The photograph of a painting of H.V. Conolly at the Teak Museum in Nilambur. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Henry Valentine Conolly’s murder marks a bloody chapter in the history of Malabar. Killing a Collector was unheard of and the instance became a much-debated one, spurring research, speculation and analysis. We will spare the causes, political and social, which led to the event. Instead, through two letters find the state of the British administration in the immediate aftermath of the murder. The British predictably were rattled by the act and the letters depict their search for the culprits. The investigation here is centered on a sword which turns out to be a vital piece of evidence.
The first letter which mentions the murderis written in the wee hours of September 12, 1855, by S. B. Tod, the Assistant Collector of Malabar to C. Collett, the Sub Collector. Written at 1 a.m., he breaks the news of Conolly’s death. “This is my melancholy duty to inform that Mr Conolly, the Collector of the district was barbarously murdered this evening by three moplahs,” he writes. Collett is expected to arrive at Calicut as soon as possible.
After this cryptic message, Tod writes a detailed letter to the T. Pycroft, Chief Secretary, Ootacamund, two days after the murder. The focus has shifted to the investigation and the search is on for the murderers. Tod narrates his experiences on visiting Conolly’s residence after the death. Though he took depositions from the employees at the bungalow, no concrete evidence seems to have emerged. “I took depositions from the servants, peons and who were in the house when the murder was committed but regret to say that very little could be brought to light,” he writes.
The workers were scattered across the house and while all came running hearing Conolly’s cries, none seem to have been in state to nab or identify the attackers. “Our servant and peon who came before the ruffians escaped were severely wounded by them.”
Tod quickly comes to the matter of the evidence. “The most important evidence as yet procured is the discovery on the floor of the room in which the murder took place of a piece of a sword of the kind that is used in the jail and supposed to have been used by one of the prisoners who escaped from the Calicut jail about a month ago,” he writes. Tracing the sword piece to the jail, he says the sword was among the weapons which included pistols that were taken from the guard by the fleeing prisoners.
Simultaneously, the British also receive intelligence on 12 moplahs who wounded a Namboodiri Brahmin in the Koduvally taluk. While one Vasoodevan Namboodiri was injured, the attackers later took up the house of his brother who is also the amshom adhikari, writes Tod. The official writes on the need to gear up a force to tackle the insurgency. This attack proves a distraction to the British and while a force proceeds to the Namboodiri’s house they receive their next intelligence message saying the moplahs have left the house in the night. Since the direction undertaken by them is unclear, Tod writes that the troop is instructed to march back to Calicut.
On the morning of September 14 when he writes the letter, Tod mentions getting other linking clues. It follows the visit of the tahsildhar to the Namboodiri household. The attackers had apparently carried off “382 rupees in jewels and money and two swords, bow and arrows.” He comes to the point soon. They “had left behind a sword with an end broken off and some clothes covered with blood stains but that it was not known in what direction they had gone.” The British immediately piece together the facts. The attackers of Conolly had ventured into the Namboodiri’s house after killing the Collector.
“The fact of the broken sword being discovered … is a strong and importance piece of evidence,” writes Tod. The peculiarity of the sword makes identification easier, according to him. “The shape of the weapon being a peculiar one, not generally in use except by the government servants. The clothes had been washed as if with the intention to efface the stains of blood with which they were covered,” says Tod.
Consequently, the search is accelerated, but Tod warns that the task is not easy. “I have little doubt that the insurgents will ere long be put an end to.” But it is the social impact of the incident that will be hard to erase, he believes. “The dread these men have inspired is so great that I am anything but sanguine of them being captured alive by civil powers.”
Tod also discusses the reward for informers. “I have referred of 1,000 rupees for such information,” he writes. In the file is also a notice to the people of the region. It says “that any person of persons who may give any aid, assistance, information or shelter to the four escaped prisoners who are suspected of the murder of the late Collector and their comrades are if convicted of the same liable to be punished with death.” They are warned against admitting strangers into their house. It does not take the British more than couple of days to get to the men. That of course, makes for another story.
(Source: Regional Archives Kozhikode)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Past Continuous> History & Culture / by P. anima / Kozhikode – June 07th, 2013
The government has initiated measures to establish a tribal anthropological research centre in Wayanad with a field station at Attappady.
The project, to be implemented in association with the Kolkata-based Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), seeks to make a detailed study of tribal communities in Kerala. The field station will study the incidence of sickle cell anaemia and other genetic diseases among them.
AnSI Director Srivastava Vinay, Deputy Director Sasikumar, and Senior Human Ecologist Umeshkumar called on Minister for Tribal Welfare A.K. Balan here on Saturday and discussed the modalities of the proposal. The team later left for Wayanad.
The campus of the Institute of Tribal Studies and Research Centre at Sulthan Bathery is one of the possible locations for the project. Institute Director Pushpalatha informed the team that the proposal would be taken up with Calicut University.
The researchers later visited the Manthanam Adiya colony at Thirunelly and interacted with the residents. It was decided to take up a study of the tribe immediately. The incidence of sickle anemia among tribespeople in Wayanad would also be given priority.
A press note issued here said a seminar on the anthropology of tribespeople in the State would be held in August.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – May 19th, 2018
Raju E Raphael and Jose Punnamparambil on shoot of the documentary film in a convent in Asbag, Germany.
Ariyapedatha Jeevithangal deals with large-scale migration of Catholic girls to Germany in the 70s
A 40-minute documentary Ariyapedatha Jeevithangal (The Unknown Lives) has opened up the controversy on migration of Catholic girls from Kerala to Germany that had rocked the Syro-Malabar Church and the Catholic Church in Germany in the 1970s.
The documentary made by expatriate writer Jose Punnamparambil, documentary-maker Raju E. Raphael, and media activist and researcher K. Rajagopal is in final stages of production and will be screened in Germany and Keralain June this year.
There was a mass recruitment to West Germany from Kerala in the 1960s and 70s of Malayali Catholic girls, who completed matriculation or were studying in senior secondary classes.
The recruitment was to fill vacancies of nuns in convents in Germany as there was severe shortage of nuns there due to lack of ‘vocation’ (the divine call to become nuns).
The recruitment began in 1962 and the first batch of girls sailed to Europe from the then Bombay in January 1963. Following this, many more groups of Catholic girls migrated to West Germany and the figure crossed 800 by 1972.
In 1972, European and American newspapers broke the story, terming it “human trafficking.” The allegation was that Kerala Catholic girls were used as ‘slaves’ in German convents and hospitals and forced to work as cleaners and labourers. Reports even alleged that some were forced into prostitution.
The reports shocked the country, with national and regional media carrying the news.
Churches under cloud
It brought the Syro-Malabar Church and the Catholic Church in Germany under a cloud as bishops of these two Churches were involved in the recruitment.
Their initiative was based on the decisions of the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church in 1962. The Second Vatican Council advocated the necessity for the stronger sections of the Church to help the weaker ones.
Fr. Werner Chakkalakkal of the CMI congregation was one of the priests in India entrusted with the recruitment while Sister Ludgardis of the congregation of John the Baptist based in Leutesdorf was one of the coordinators in Germany for the recruitment and migration of Kerala girls.
“We joined hands about a year ago as part of a mission to gather information about the controversy. Punnamparambil and I travelled across Germany and visited many convents that received Kerala girls. Not all convents were ready to discuss the issue but some were cooperative. Our aim was to meet, talk, and understand what happened to the Kerala girls brought to the convents,” said Mr. Raphael.
“It was not an easy task as most of them were leading a retired life, a few in other parts of the world. But our team managed to meet Sister Ludgardis at a convent near Koblenz,” said Mr. Punnamparambil.
About 70% of the migrants continued to live in Germany, mostly as nurses, teachers, and caretakers in old-age homes and orphanages and the rest returned to India for missionary and charity works in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Some had even left for Africa.
The documentary depicts the life of Malayali migrant nuns in Germany and will be a valuable source of information for researchers, said the Thrissur-born Jose Punnamparambil, who had migrated to Germany and bagged the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for lifetime achievement in literature recently.
The documentary makers also travelled extensively in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra to document the nuns.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Mini Muringatheri / Thrissur – May 04th, 2018
The district adminstration with the help of local self-government department will organise four-day district-level programmes from April 24 to 27 to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Kerala state legislative assembly.
Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan will inaugurate the district-level programmes at a function to be held at Tagore centenary hall on April 24. Labour and excise minister T P Ramakrishnan will deliver keynote address on the occasion.
Former additional chief secretary to the government of Kerala Dr D Babu Paul will deliver C K Muhammed Koya commemoration speech during the C H Muhammed Koya commemoration meeting to be held on the day.
A history exhibition will be held at Town hall on April 25 and 26. C K Nanu MLA will inaugurate the exhibition on April 25. Health minister K K Shylaja will inaugurate the seminar on comprehensive health policy – challenges and apprehensions at Town hall on April 27.
Chief minister Pianarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the valedictory function to be held on April 27 evening. Dr M K Muneer MLA will preside over the function.
A proclamation rally was held from stadium premises to Kozhikode beach here on Monday evening to mark the commencement of district-level programmes of diamond jubilee celebrations of the Kerala state legislative assembly. Mayor Thottathil Raveendran, deputy mayor Meera Darshak, ADM T Jenil Kumar, Kudumbashree district coordinator Kavitha and others led by the proclamation rally.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kozhikode News / by Sreedevi Chitharanjan / TNN / April 27th, 2018
Percussion ensembles pounded out hypnotic rhythms. Majestic elephants roamed all over the city. The sky was lit up in a riot of colour. And the much popular and revered Thrissur Pooram was celebrated in all its grandeur on Wednesday.
Thousands converged at Thekkinkadu Maidan to soak in the festival spirit. It was fun, with roaring crowds, loud music, and plenty of eating and drinking. Unique in its festivities, rituals, and spectacle, Thrissur Pooram is a splendid assortment of ceremonies, traditional ensembles, caparisoned elephants, and fireworks.
Believed to have started in the late 18th century, the festival has evolved into a socio-religious event involving all sections of society over the years. It is a cultural experience without parallel.
The meticulously planned 36-hour celebrations kept its promise to be picture perfect. The cloud of confusion over the fireworks too got cleared by night.The festivities started with the arrival of Kanimangalam Sastha early in the morning.
It was followed by other ‘cheru poorams’ from participating temples of Karumukku Bhagavathy, Panamukkumpilly Sastha, Chembukkavu Bhagavathy, Choorakkottukavu Bhagavathy, Lalur Bhagavathy, Ayyanthole Bhagavathy, and Naithilakkavu Bhagavathy.
Madathil Varavu, in which the ‘thidambu’ (idol) of Thiruvambadi Bhagavathy is taken from the Thiruvambadi temple to Naduvil Madom at Pazhayanadakkavu, was one of the main events in the morning. The procession of Paramekkavu Bhagavathy began around 12.30 p.m.
Sultry weather, sweat, and dust notwithstanding, large masses of devotees and spectators from across the world poured in to the city from early morning. Unlike earlier years, families, especially young women, attended the festival in large numbers. There was a separate section for women at the main venue.
The pooram offered something for everyone. More than 70 elephants held sway, moving their ears vigorously in tune with drumbeats.
Percussion lovers enjoyed the choicest rhythms of chendamelam, pandimelam, and panchavadyam, led by maestros Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, Kongad Madhu, Kizhakkoot Aniyan Marar, and Paraikkad Thankappan Marar. Panchavadyam during the Madathil Varavu of Thiruvambadi and Melam under the Ilanji tree by Paramekkavu were the highlights.
The mood became hysteric with the colourful Kudamattom, in which hundreds of parasols were displayed atop elephants in a friendly competition by the Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi Devaswoms. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was present. Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar and former Speaker K. Radhakrishnan accompanied him.
The latecomers will be pampered with a recap. All that rolls from dawn to dusk will be repeated at night. Next is the wait for the early morning fireworks, fighting sleep. Fireworks fans are keeping their fingers crossed as there have been mild showers for the last few days in the city.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Mini Muringatheri / April 25th, 2018
Chief Editor of Kerala Kaumudi M.S. Ravi, 68, died here on Friday. He collapsed at his house in the afternoon and was rushed to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead at 3 p.m.
Mr. Ravi was the fourth son of Kerala Kaumudi founder editor K. Sukumaran and Madhavi Sukumaran. He succeeded his elder brother M.S. Mani as chief editor. Mr. Ravi was an energetic presence in the State’s social and cultural circuit. He was also a recipient of several awards.
His wife Shailaja; his brother M.S. Mani; and sons Deepu Ravi, Editor, Kerala Kaumudi; and Darshan Ravi, director-marketing; survive him. His brothers M.S. Madhusoodhanan and M.S. Sreenivasan had passed away earlier.
Governor P. Sathasivam said the untimely demise of Mr. Ravi had saddened him deeply. He described Mr. Ravi as a socially-committed editor who had an abiding concern for the welfare of the weaker sections of society. Mr. Ravi always upheld the high standards of journalistic conduct.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described Mr. Ravi as yet another strong link in the line of determined and forceful editors who had steered Kerala Kaumudi through the years.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala described Mr. Ravi as an editor who always faced the world with an endearing smile. Under him, Kerala Kaumudi had reached greater heights and forayed into the new media.
Cremation today
The mortal remains of Mr. Ravi will be cremated with full State honours on the newspaper’s precincts on Saturday.
A press release by Kerala Kaumudi said the cremation would take place near the resting place of the newspaper’s founder-editor M. Sukumaran at 4 p.m. Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran on Friday laid a floral wreath on the body on behalf of the State government.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent – Thiruvananthapuram / April 20th, 2018
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
Historian M.G.S. Narayanan has donated the reference documents in his possession to the history department of the University of Calicut. The History Library at the university will now have an ‘MGS Collection’ comprising the Kozhikode-based historian’s entire collection.
The reference documents were collected by Mr. Narayanan during his historical pursuit stretched over five decades.
Pivotal role
He had played a pivotal role in the setting up of the university’s history department in 1963 at the Zamorin’s Guruvayoorappan College, Kozhikode.
When Calicut University was formed in 1968, the department was further expanded.
Reference section
A large number of documents on ancient Indian history, archaeology and Kerala history are part of the reference section donated by Mr. Narayanan.
Among them are historical records of great value such as Travancore Archaeological Series, Ramavarma Research Bulletin, Indian History Congress papers, documents collected by historians of Japan, China and Europe, and compilations of T.V. Mahalingam and Noboru Karashima.
Mr. Narayanan also handed over several records of the British government throwing light on modern history and several reports of the Indian National Congress meetings.
A team of historians from Calicut University led by head of the history department P. Sivadasan accepted the collections from Mr. Narayanan at his house in Kozhikode.
Dr. Sivadasan said that the MGS Collection would be a great motivation for potential researchers in history.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Malappuram – April 18th, 2018
Suffragan Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar Geevarghese Mar Athanaseus passed away at a private hospital in Kochi at 4.40 a.m. on Wednesday. He was 74.
The Suffragan Metropolitan was keeping indifferent health for some time and was undergoing treatment for liver and kidney ailments at the Kochi hospital for the past two weeks.
The mortal remains of Mar Athanaseus were brought to the Church headquarters at the Syrian Christian Seminary Hills in Thiruvalla in the afternoon, after being kept at the Elamkulam Mar Thoma Church in Kochi till 11 a.m. for the public to pay tributes to the departed bishop.
He joined the services of the Church as a deacon in 1969 and served as vicar at various parishes, including those of Palakkad, Nelliampathy, Attappady, Kuzhalmandom, Mumbai, Dadar, Toronto (Canada), Venmony, Kottayam-Jerusalem, and Chennai-Chettodu. He became an Episcopa (bishop) in 1989 and first served as Episcopa of the Mumbai-Delhi diocese of the Church.
He was the Episcopa of the Kottayam-Kochi diocese during 1993-2001. He had been serving as head of the Ranni-Nilackal diocese since 2001.
Elevated in 2015
Mar Athanaseus was elevated to the post of Suffragan Metropolitan on October 2, 2015.
His mortal remains will be kept at the Church headquarters for the public to pay homage till Friday and the funeral will be held at the SC Seminary Hills the same day, according to sources.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Pathanamthitta , April 19th, 2018
