Category Archives: Business & Economy

Kozhikode to get its first multi-level parking facility

Business & Economy, Travel

Kozhikode :

The corporation is all set to welcome it’s first multi-level parking slot at Railway Station Link Road. The project is likely to be materialized in two years. The Calicut development authority has taken all the steps to commence the construction of the parking slot at the earliest. The CDA will take up the work on Built Operate Transfer (BoT) basis with the private firm with whom the civic body had earlier entered an agreement with after the dissolution in 2007.

Though the city corporation authorities laid the foundation stone for the proposed scheme on the land owned by the CDA in 2010, it failed to take off due to various technical reasons.

The CDA has already had talks and finalized discussions with the representatives of the firm ‘Yennavees’ to ink an agreement. The company will transfer the parking plaza to the CDA after a period of 33 years.

The Rs 9 crore project is bound to set up a seven storey multi-level parking plaza on the proposed 23 cents.

The project aims to set up parking slot to park 100 four wheelers and around 25 two wheelers in the initial phase. The project will be completed within two years from the day of the commencement and a portion of the building will also host the office of the CDA.

At present, vehicle owners are being forced to park on road sides and in parking slots set up by private players and malls in the city. Though the civic body had set up a parking space near Arayidathupalam, the space is insufficient to meet the increasing requirements of the public. Traffic snarls have become a routine affair in the city due to the limited parking space.

“We have held numerous rounds of talks with the company representatives and made slight changes in the agreements. They have agreed to increase the number of car parking slots from 63 to 100.

The CDA will begin the construction works once the plan is approved by the corporation post Onam” he said. “We wish to commission the parking plaza within the set time frame of two years as it is one of the priority projects listed by the CDA. The construction work will be commenced at the earliest most probably within a month,” he said.

A M Jayan, CDA secretary said that the parking slot will help put an end to the existing issues to an extend. “The public has been finding it difficult to park, and move around. This scheme will be a great relief to this city once it is realised” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / September 04th, 2014

Rural wares reach the urban space

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Wide array:Products on display at the IRDP Mela at the Manjalikulam SMV School grounds in Thiruvananthapuram.— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar / The Hindu
Wide array:Products on display at the IRDP Mela at the Manjalikulam SMV School grounds in Thiruvananthapuram.— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar / The Hindu

Products at Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) mela range from food to décor to jewellery

Entrepreneurship with a warm and homely rural touch —that is what the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) Mela that began at the Manjalikulam SMV School grounds here on Monday is all about.

Organised by the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat and the District Poverty Alleviation Unit, the event, inaugurated by Deputy Speaker N. Shaktan is slated to continue till September 5. The mela has rural products from 11 block panchayats of Thiruvananthapuram, mostly results of self-employment projects initiated via Kudumbasree. The products range from food to home décor and from garments to jewellery. Special focus was given to handlooms and handicrafts, the organisers said. “They may be the last generation to make such handicraft products. The handicrafts are on the way to extinction,” said George Jacob, Project Director, Poverty Alleviation Unit.

The food products include coconut oil, wine made from gooseberry and ginger, wild honey, sweet and sour chips made with jackfruit and garlic, various spices, tamarind, jaggery, tea powder, pickles, and boiled tapioca and fish curry.

The home décor and decorative items are mostly made of clay and steel with a variety of bamboo products too on display.

Bamboo jewellery

Jewellery made of paper and bamboo too are being sold at affordable prices.

The garments section has handloom saris from Balaramapuram and khadi shirts and dress material apart from a host of readymade dresses. Kitchen utensils, household items including cane and bamboo furniture, washing soaps, cleaning lotions, candles and incense sticks are also available.

Saplings, including those of medicinal plants, organic vegetables, a stall of the Department of Dairy Development where the quality of milk can be tested, a Prakriti Biotech stall where bio-pesticides and fertilizers are available, and a stall of the palliative care unit too are among those that are attracting visitors on day one. G. Mohan, an entrepreneur at the event, said he had found the mela a “profit making opportunity,” which was why he came every year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Anasooya Sakthidharan / Thursday – September 02nd, 2014

‘Onakodi’ and the revival of Handloom sectors

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Sarees, woven of high quality yarn ensures superior comfort. File photo: Manorama
Sarees, woven of high quality yarn ensures superior comfort. File photo: Manorama

With Onam being just around the corner, a number of Co-operative societies are getting ready with their traditional weaves to meet the popular demand for variety Onakodis. The sarees and other handloom products of Chendamanagalam received the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) registration tag and the sale of the same usually happens between February and May. The sarees, woven of high quality yarn by employing traditional methods are also made, by taking into consideration the climatic changes during these months, thus ensuring superior comfort.

The Chendamangalam handloom weaves are expected to have a sale of above 3 Crores during this festival season. The Chendamangalam double Mundu is priced between Rs.475 – Rs. 1350, the handloom sarees can cost anywhere between Rs.800 and Rs.4000. While the traditional Mundu-Neriyathu comes in the range of Rs.800 – Rs. 2850. Handloom bedsheets are priced between Rs.415 – Rs. 770. Cotton shirt pieces sell at Rs.190 – Rs.220 per metre. The sale of Chendamangalam handloom happens through their exclusive outlets set up in major centres or through Onam exhibitions or sales. The production is mostly concentrated in areas like Chendamangalam, Kuriappilly, and Vypinkara. Major handloom centres in the state like Hantex and Hanveev started sourcing the weaves from the production places around two months back. These are again sold through various textile showrooms or through seasonal exhibitions.

All of the materials sold are of 100 percent cotton and of good quality. The sarees are sold at reasonable rates from Rs. 275 to Rs.1600. The Kasavu sarees of Hantex are priced between Rs.750 to Rs. 16,000. The Kasavu or the plain double Mundu can come up to Rs.400 to Rs.2000 and the shirt pieces are priced between Rs.120 to Rs.320. Bedsheets that come in cotton or satin can cost from Rs.750 – Rs.2080. The Balaramapuram white single Mundu priced from Rs.160 to Rs.200 are much in demand and cotton shirts and matching Mundu in the same pattern is a popular trend now.

The Khadi Gramudyog Bhavan in every Indian state showcases handloom sarees and other weaves from Kerala. The Khadi showrooms will also have textile exhibitions from across the country during Onam. There are sarees ranging from Rs.1000 to Rs.10,000, Mundu in the price range of Rs.500 to Rs.2000, and shirt materials costing from Rs. 120 to Rs.500 at such sales exhibitions. A great variety of silks and cottons are their speciality.

There are a collection of sarees like Sambalpuri, Kosa silk, Rose silk, Jute, Printed appliqué work. Sarees also happen to be the top selling item in fairs.

source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> In-depth> Onam / by Manorama Correspondent / Monday – September 01st, 2014

A village’s own white revolution

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

T.P. William Rajan, a traditional dairy farmer in Peerumade, Idukki, is trying to make an entire village free of packet milk.
T.P. William Rajan, a traditional dairy farmer in Peerumade, Idukki, is trying to make an entire village free of packet milk.

A traditional dairy farmer in Peermade is trying to make an entire village free of packet milk.

T.P. William Rajan, a traditional dairy farmer, is the milk-delivery man for almost the whole of the Peerumade grama panchayat.

His cowshed has 12 cows of different varieties. He is trying to revive and an old system of milk delivery. His cows graze on the nearby grasslands during the day and return by evening. The milk has not been ‘branded’ but it is already a brand in itself.

“Now, I supply 45 litres of milk and the milking is done two times daily,” he says. His wife, Philomina, supports him in the endeavour.

The cowshed has Holstein Friesian, Jersey, and other varieties and the selection is done through a ‘trial-and-error method.’ “Local milk delivery is an old system which was prevalent here. I supply milk in bottles, half litre and above, to restaurants and houses,” he says. The average yield is low as far as the total production is concerned.

“This is because the cows and their calves are allowed free grazing and they eat natural grass alone. We provide pure water to our animals,” he says. His dog Pakru herds the cows and leads them back to the cowshed in the evening. “The cows give us a regular income and we get a price higher than the market rate. This is because the milk is farm fresh and delivered at the doorstep,” he says. His work begins at 5 a.m. with the cleaning of the cattle and milking. The work ends by 9 a.m. and the cowshed is opened for Pakru to lead the cattle out. Santhosh, a customer, says the delivery is prompt and the product fresh and pure.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Giji K. Raman / Peermade (Idukki District) – September 01st, 2014

Building a multi-million venture from a small town in Kerala: Corporate360 story

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Corporate360 offers SaaS based Marketing Data & Analytics software for B2B marketers. Headquartered in Singapore with subsidiary offices in the US, the UK, Philippines and India, the company offers innovative marketing data & sales analytics solutions for global markets through a disruptive, low cost Data-as-a-Service model.

“The idea behind launching this was to innovate data solutions help B2B marketers identify best-fit target audience for sales & marketing campaigns,” says Varun Chandran, Founder, Corporate360.

The idea for Corporate360 was born when Varun was working for a large technology company in Singapore. He was working in a sales role where his ex-boss and a colleague initiated the idea of developing a sales intelligence and analytics data platform to help them sell better.

Corporate360KERALA25aug2014

Varun took the lead on getting the idea off the ground and startup while the other two colleagues decided to continue with their full time jobs due to security reasons. With their encouragement, Varun bootstrapped and launched Corporate360 with a couple of hundred dollars from his bed room.

Building global venture from a small town in Kerala

Corporate360 is the first international startup in India to start operations in a tier-3 town in Kerala, employing 20 engineers thereby creating jobs in rural India. The company is also a big supporter of women empowerment campaign, 75% of the present workforce of Corporate360 is women.

The company’s Founder Varun started from a humble background. Born in a small farming village in Kerala, he was a national footballer, captained Kerala University and Youth football teams. A college dropout, he went on to work for some of the world’s largest tech companies such as SAP, Oracle, and Dell in 3 countries before  founding Corporate360.

For the first three quarters, he was a one-man company and generated $250k in revenue. He re-invested the revenue back into the business to hire and build teams in Singapore, Manila and India. “At first it was challenging to attract talent especially in Kerala, when he bought his own company building and started the operations instead of renting a space in an IT park. People were hesitant because the company was a non-funded -startup and was not very famously operating out of any technology park,” adds Varun.

Differentiators and USPs

The B2B marketplace is crowded with legacy data re-sellers. There is a huge gap of BigData innovations in this space corresponding to lack of relevancy, accuracy, analytics and data maintenance in the old fashioned model. “Companies end up spending millions of dollars repeatedly to source data sets for their marketing campaigns from expensive, generic data re-sellers. B2B marketers are increasingly looking for insight driven marketing campaigns and switching from the legacy model of generic marketing blast approach,” points out Varun.

Corporate360 solutions are designed to leverage BigData to provide insight driven campaign data and sales analytics. The company is the first in Asia to offer a SaaS based B2B marketing data platform for global markets.

It offers a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind and the most complete marketing data software suite available today. The platform covers company profile, contact intelligence, organisation charts, tech install info, competitive intelligence, predictive analytics, sales triggers & social data through a low cost Data-as-a-Service model. Corporate360 DaaS model is unique and innovative delivering high value for customers, ensuring highest level of data accuracy, ongoing data maintenance and real-time updates.

How Corporate360 works for startups?

B2B marketers and agencies use Corporate360 solutions to access insight driven campaign data such as target companies, contacts, social intelligence, competitive intelligence & sales triggers. They use our platform to retrieve actionable data to design targeted campaigns with tailored messaging.

At present, the company has 900 plus clients ranging from startups to ‘Forbes’ listed corporations. A large portion of revenue comes from international markets such as the US & Europe. Corporate360 clients include HP, Dell, Oracle, and Google etc. The company offers exclusive, low-cost data subscription plans for B2B startups to get them started on their marketing campaigns.

Corporate360 is gaining good traction in global markets with their data driven & structured knowledge discovery solutions for B2B sales and marketers.

Journey from zero to multi-million dollar venture in three years

Corporate360 grew into a multi-million dollar business within three years as a bootstrapped venture. The company is profitable with operations in 5 countries with a team size of 29 executives. Profitable from inception, the company grew from revenue (first year) of $250k to a million dollar mark in just three years, presently forecasted to cross multi-million in revenue this year.

Plans for scaling up

The company is scaling up its offerings with innovative data solutions for marketers. The company is scheduled to formally launch three new cool data applications to their SaaS platform like:

PeeP: A social profiling widget of target audience to help learn more about the background of target prospects.

DataStudio – A comprehensive data service model to refresh & maintain internal data accuracy, leverage external data sets, create predictive data modelling, run accurate sales analytics, and integrate into CRM tools.

SmartWorker – A crowdsource data platform leveraging millions of online workers to perform data tasks at any scale to deliver real-time data updates.

By 2015, the company is aiming to cover 90% of total addressable enterprise market coverage in their data platform.

Road ahead

Corporate360 is expanding with local sales offices in the US, the UK and Singapore. The company is launching new data driven products for B2B marketers and has filed for four patents. “We are also in discussions with some prominent VCs to explore capital raising to accelerate our sales and marketing expansions in global markets,” says Varun.

Acquisition on the card

Corporate360 is in final discussions with a BigData startup company from India for a potential acquisition. The total team size is expected to grow from 29 to 50 this year, primarily expanding Data Scientist teams in India and Sales team in the US.

Website : Corporate360

source: http://www.yourstory.com / Your Story / by Jai Vardhan / August 25th, 2014

Kick-starting ‘Lady Freedom’

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

On Sunday, brand new scooters will be delivered to 1,000 women under a ‘mass bank loan’ scheme of the Calicut City Service Cooperative Bank. The initiative, titled ‘Lady Freedom,’ is part of a ‘women empowerment’ programme conceived in connection with the Independence Day celebrations,

The loan scheme with a reduced interest rate (11 per cent) was introduced by the bank in collaboration with the authorised dealer of a major two-wheeler company in the city, said bank chairman C.N. Vijayakrishnan at a press meet here on Thursday. “A sum of up to Rs.50,000 is being given as credit by the bank which will be repaid by the borrowers in 30 monthly instalments,” said Mr. Vijayakrishnan.

The borrowers had made a down payment of Rs.2,225 and produced one person as guarantor. The vehicles will be distributed at a public function at the Zamorin School grounds at Chalappuram in the city at 10 a.m. on August 17. Mayor A.K. Premajam will inaugurate the programme.

District panchayat president K. Jameela will inaugurate the distribution of free helmets to all the women. Cooperative Society registrar S. Lalithambika will hand over the first key. Mr. Vijayakrishnan said around 15,000 women had registered for the loan scheme. “The scheme will be made available to the rest of the applicants as well in the coming weeks,” he said.

Following the “overwhelming” response to the scheme, the bank had decided to launch a car loan scheme for women in the coming days, said the bank chairman. “Up to Rs.5 lakh will be given in loan as per the scheme,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode  / Staff Reporter / Kozhikode  – August 15th, 2014

[Techie Tuesdays] Indian DIY hacker Arvind Sanjeev, the inventor of ‘desi’ Google Glass

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

As a child, Arvind Sanjeev loved breaking new toys. That was his way of playing with them.  He has continued his hacking habit and is now a do-it-yourself hard coder. He was recently in the news for creating his own open-source Google Glass clone.

ArvindKERALA13aug2014

A hardcode electronics and mechatronics fan, he completed his engineering in Electronics and Communication in 2013. He was involved in developing functional prototypes while in college.

He has completed 15 projects  and numerous hacks which include following:

1. RideSmart – It is a remote Vehicle Activation System using SmartPhones (Android, Blackberry 10, Nokia) and he has filed for a patent (pending) for this project.

2. Smart Cap – It is the open source Glass clone which he developed mounting the display over the cap.

3. Fin – The Wearable Smart Finger Ring controller for SmartTVs, Smartphones, etc.

4. He has developed Internet of Things based home automation system.

5. You might have probably heard of (Android) SmartPhone Application Controlled Robot. Arvind has developed (Android) SmartPhone Application Controlled Honda Scooter.

6. He has manufactured the remote control of quad-rotor helicopter which has auto stabilization in it.

7. He has made a hovercraft with GPS which can be controlled by a wearable hand glove.

8. He has designed a smart and an interactive offline voice response system for home automation.

9. At times, two wheelers are just too easy to steal. Hence, he designed Gspeed, an anti-theft and navigation system for two wheelers.

10. He went on to make a portable GPS navigation module for explorers.

11. He has earned recognition from Kerala Power Minister and Electricity Board for developing home power and internet logger.

12. We have lighted a rocket using normal ignition. Arvind went a step ahead and designed an electric ignition based rocket using self-made solid fuel mixture.

He tells us that he used to refer to YouTube, StackOverflow, etc, to learn more about technologies around Android and other open source hardware like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.

Commenting on the present education system, he says that the ultimate aim of any academic course should be to equip the student with the ability to apply the working knowledge gained through practical applications. He adds that there is an urgent need to revamp the outdated academic curriculum.

Arvind2KERALA13aug2014

Arvind feels that India lacks proper resources and a conducive breeding ground for the hardware industry to prosper. At present, there is a boom of 3D printers and rapid prototyping, and hardware is going to become nearly as scalable as software. Arvind says that India should equip itself with the latest technologies in the market, and only then will we be able to start the race from the same starting line as our counterparts abroad. “Even today, many people, including developers, etc are skeptical about developing a hardware product,” he says.

Wearable market is another rat race which everyone is venturing into, be it smart watches, glasses, arm bands and even rings have entered the fray.  According to Arvind Sanjeev, the quintessential use for it in our daily life still deserves contemplation. He mentions that affordable augmented reality displays running on artificial intelligence that can be controlled using our brain waves or thoughts, sound promising.

He started a platform called DIY Hacking to serve as a medium to tutor students, hobbyists, etc about the latest technology development. It consists of detailed step by step instructions on how to do several projects centered on modern technology, and has tutorials ranging from $ 80 per head, which include mounted displays, Internet of Things and smartphone controlled robots.

Arvind says that the support he got from his parents — Dr.Sanjeev S (Principal Scientist, CIFT) and Dr. Usha Sanjeev (Technical Officer, CIFT) — has helped him in all his endeavors. They have helped him in funding several of his projects and continue to provide him with several resources. He also credits Startup Village, Cochin, for the support and guidance.  He also mentions that Sijo Kuruvilla George, Founding CEO of Startup Village, has guided him and several others in all their endeavors and is a true source of motivation.

source: http://www.yourstory.com / Your Story / Home> Techie Tuesdays / by Shreyansh Singhal / August 12th, 2014

Nine Ships in Nine Months: Record Delivery for CSL

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The protocol of delivery and acceptance of the seventh fast patrol vessel being exchanged by Capt R S Sundar, Director of Operations, on behalf of the CSL to Commanding Officer (designate) of the vessel Cmdt Nitin M Rathore of the Indian Coast Guard
The protocol of delivery and acceptance of the seventh fast patrol vessel being exchanged by Capt R S Sundar, Director of Operations, on behalf of the CSL to Commanding Officer (designate) of the vessel Cmdt Nitin M Rathore of the Indian Coast Guard

Kochi :

The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has set a record by delivering nine ships in nine months, on average one vessel in a month.

The seventh of the series of 20 fast patrol vessels being  built for the Indian Coast Guard was delivered today.

The nine ships consisted of 7 fast patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard, and two platform supply ships for international owners.

The ship that was delivered prior to today’s delivery was ICGS Agrim. It was delivered to the Indian Coast Guard on May 30, 2014. The company has delivered the next ship within one-and-half month, compared to the contractual requirement of delivery in every three months. The Coast Guard expressed satisfaction over the quality of the ship delivered by the Shipyard.

The Protocol of delivery and acceptance was signed by Capt R S Sundar, Director of operations, on behalf of the CSL, and Commanding Officer (designate) of the vessel Cmdt Nitin M Rathore of the Indian Coast Guard.

Cmde K Subramaniam; Vivek Vajpayee, principal director (materials) of Indian Coast

Guard; DIG T P Sadanandan (Kochi); Paul Ranjan, director of finance at the CSL; and Sunny Thomas, technical director at the CSL were present on the occasion.  The vessel that was delivered today is named ‘ICGS AMAL’, which will be operated by the Coast Guard station in Goa.

The Cochin Shipyard had signed the contract for the construction of the 20 fast patrol vessels (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard on October 20, 2010.

Like its sister ships, ‘ICGS AMAL’ is a fast patrol vessel, with a speed of 33 knots. The vessel will be very effective in supporting the Coast Guard in its anti-smuggling operations, anti-piracy operations, as well as in the monitoring and protection of fisheries. As the speed of the vessel is crucial in coastal security operations, the superstructure of fast patrol vessels are made of aluminium.A considerable amount of innovation was brought in in the welding and fabrication techniques by the CSL to achieve a very high quality product.

The ship is propelled by water jets powered by three main engines, each with a capacity of 2720 KW, and built to the dual classification requirements of ABS and IRS.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / July 19th, 2014

Cochin airport declares 18 percent dividend

Business & Economy

Cochin International Airport declares 18 percent dividend. File photo
Cochin International Airport declares 18 percent dividend. File photo

Kochi: 

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), India’s first greenfield airport under the public-private-partnership model, has declared an 18 percent divided for the last fiscal, one per cent more than what was given during 2011-12.

In a statement here after its board meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, CIAL said it has posted a record profit (after tax) of Rs.124.42 crore during the 2013-14 financial year, 11.68 percent up over the previous fiscal.

The company’s net profit stood at Rs.157.46 crore with total revenues touching Rs.361.39 crore.

CIAL has been showing consistent growth since its inception and paying dividend since 2003-04.

CIAL has an investor base of 11,000 individual investors from 30 countries and the total paid up capital of Rs.306.06 crore, of which the Kerala government has invested Rs.98 crore.

source : http://www.beta.english.manoramaonline.com / Manorama Online / Home> Business> News / by Agencies / Saturday – June 08th, 2014

The glass palace

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion

In a rare honour, stained glass artist Prabhakaran’s works were featured in this year’s magazine issue of ‘International Contemporary Artists’ | EPS
In a rare honour, stained glass artist Prabhakaran’s works were featured in this year’s magazine issue of ‘International Contemporary Artists’ | EPS

He creates wonders on glass-ancestral Islamic designs, cathedral works, etchings, three-dimensional art works. Stained glass artist Prabhakaran Kanichar has carved a niche for himself in the art scene by mastering and propagating an art that is less known in India. The artist who has introduced the European classical art to Kerala, owns another credit. His works have found a place in this year’s issue of ‘International Contemporary Artists’, a globally renowned magazine. Prabhakaran is the first stained glass artist from the Indian subcontinent to get this rare honour.

Glass, in its unalloyed and transparent form has always enticed Prabhakaran. The artist who has diligently dedicated his life to glass art since the past 25 years, whose works adorn the walls of mosques, churches and government buildings in many Gulf countries says, “Stained glass art is an ancient art form, that has been around even before the reformation period. Many of the ecclesiastic designs found in the European cathedrals are drawn on stained glass.”

The artist who was born in a remote village, Kanichar, in Kannur has come a long way from his humble beginnings. After his formal art education from Chennai, he worked as an art director in several ad agencies in Chennai, Mumbai and Kochi after which he went to Oman. “The beauty of the intrinsic glass works beckoned me. I learned the Arabian art from there.”

“Outside India, the status of stained glass art has grown a lot from being only a Biblical art. While earlier only ecclesiastic designs were made, now the art has entered the drawing rooms of homes. It has become more secular. Now there is demand for custom based designs, as well,” he says.

However Prabhakaran rues that in India the art is yet to pick up. “Here the status of this art is degenerated to the level of glass painting which is not actually an art by itself. While there are professional courses on this art abroad, here people are not even aware what it is.”

The artist who runs his gallery, ‘Fantasies on Glass’ near Cherthala says, “It is not an easy task to create these glass pieces. The hand made coloured glass that are antique pieces have to be cut and fabricated, which is a strenuous process.”

His long-cherished dream is to create a ‘glass art museum’ in New Delhi. “The glass museum will reflect the historical events of the country, its achievements in art, literature, science and technology.” Prabhakaran has already received the copyright for the project, and hopes he will soon get permission to begin the work.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Parvathy Nambidi / August 20th, 2012