Onam celebrations ..

Is Onam, malayali's most memorable festival celebrations getting commercialised ?

Onam, the famed harvest festival of the South Indian state of Kerala is known for it's simplicity and the fervour with which people cutting across age, social status, caste and religion take part in the colourful celebrations running for seven to ten days across the state from Kasargod in the North to Parassala in the south. There are many events forming part of this colourful celebration, the most impotant of them being the Pookkalam, onasadya, the pulikkali, thiruvaathira kali

Lore has it that King Mahabali, an Asura (demon) king, who once upon a time was ruling Kerala with great prosperity and peace was the focus of jealousy of the Gods. Aditi, the mother of Devas pleaded with Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali'sm powers, lest he be all powerful and his fame spread all over. Lord Vishnu decided to come to the earth and test the good nature of the King. Lord Vishnu came to the earth.in the form of Vamana, a Brahmin and asked the King for three feet of land. With the first and second feet, the Vamana took away the heaven and the earth and wanted the King to show him the place to keep his third feet. The King who realised that it was Lord Vishnu who had come to meet him, allowed Vamana to keep his third feet on his head and got himself pushed into hell.

But before going out, the King extracted a promise from Lord Vishnu that he be given an opportunity every year to visit his people. ( Another lore has it that it was Mahabali's ego which was given the treatment by Lord Vishnu). Anyway, whatever be the story, the boon granted to Mahabali released him from the recurrent cycle of birth and death and allowed him to visit his people once every year. It is this promise which is being fulfilled every year when the King visits his people in Kerala to enquire about their well being and prosperity.

It is usually observed that the malayali living outside the state, cutting across religion and social status, celebrates the festival with great fervour than the people within the state.

The colourful floral arrangement (called pookkalam) across the homes, offices, organisations and educational institutions of the state, the tiger dance (pulikali) in Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala and the boat races in the backwaters of South Central Kerala, people take part with great enthusiasm in the celebrations, making Onam, the harvest festival, a very memorable event in the minds of the people, coming year every year.


The traditional pookkalam, a treat to the eyes, used to be arranged by the children and womenfolk in the homes. During the holidays we find kids going around the country side collecting all types of colourful flowers which they can lay their hands on. At home, the womenfolk gather around and play the famedthiruvaathira dance while others arrange the pookkalam. Thiruvaathira is a dance where ladies with small sticks and dressed in traditional malayali attire, move around in circles with alternate members moving in opposite directions. A treat to watch, this dance requires lot of patience and practice and is thoroughly enjoyed by all age groups in the state. Newspapers and social organisations have come forward to organise pookkalam and thiruvaathira competitions which make the celebrations doubly memorable. Malayali samajams, the gathering place of malayalis outside the state to help preserve and continue the rich culture of the state, are the main catalysts which promote the onam celebrations.

Pulikkali is an intreresting pastime during onam time in the north part of Kerala, especially in the culturally rich areas around Trichur. Men in shorts, get their bodies painted or coloured with designs of the tiger and leopard and move about with very graceful movements of these felines, a virtuoso treat to the mind and eyes.

The onapudava, the traditional custom of new cloth or dresses being given to all members of the family by the elder is also a time of great enjoyment and revelry among the housefolk. The family elder making the purchases for the other members of the family, by itself gives a revival to the clothing and textile industry in the state. The state government and private establishments within the state give the traditional bonus to it's employees as a mark of the goodwill of the state towards the working class and this brings great joy to the people.

The snake boat (chundan vallom) race is another favourite pasttime of the menfolk. Of all the many boat races in Kerala during Onam, the most popular and best is the Nehru trophy boat race on the Punnamada kayal in Alapuzha district conducted on the second Saturday of August every year. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who visite Alapuzha (Aleppey) in 1952 was given a rousing reception in Alapuzha by the people in the presence of these snake boats. Nehru was very moved by this reception and after having gone through the tremendous excitement of saling in a snake boat, donated an ever-roling trophy to be given to the winner of the boat race. It is now called the Nehru trophy boat race. These 120 ft long boats, carrying from 90 to 110 sailors, made in Aanjili wood has also the record of being the longest boats used for sports purpose in the world.


Some of the more popular snake boats teams are Kaarichaal, Chambakulam, Paayipaadu, Kaavalam, Alapaatu, Aanari, Cheruthana, Aayaparambu, St.George, Jawahar thaayankari, Vallamkulangara, Sri.Ganesh, Paarthasarathy are the popular teams who participate in the Chundan Vallam category. Indira Gandhi boat race conducted in the backwaters of Kochi in the last week of December, to promote tourism, Champakulam boat race held in the pamba in the month of Midhunam, Aranmula, Payippad, Kumarakom are some of the other boat races in kerala.

There is a serious doubt whether the Onam celebrations have of late taken an unusual turn for the worst with crass commercialisation being observed in many parts of the state. Days before the main day of Thiruvonam, hotels had started their booking of the traditional lunch of Onasadya, a sumptuous lunch on banana palm leaf, with variety of vegetarian dishes, fried banana chips, sambhar, pappad, dal curry mixed with cow milk ghee, topping up everything finally with the payasams and paalada. Onam celebrations are incomplete without the Onasadya. Onasadya is thus an integral part of Onam where ever in the world it is being celebrated. Top hotels in the state charge anywhere from rupees 300 to 400 per lunch with the lower hotels charging from 75 to 100 rupees. Instead of having theonasadya at home, malayalis are packing themselves in hotels paying money for the sadya.

This is also the time when companies start their annual disposal plans of old, slow-moving inventory of cloth, electronic and white goods. The newspapers are galore with advertisements hailing the massive discounts being offered, some realistic and some not so. The common man is lured into these traps by the merchant class and big companies, with only profits as their motive and service the least, bringing in a consumerist culture in the minds of the people, wanting them to buy and collect more of electronic gadgetry and white goods at home, even though there is actually not much use of those goods in the ordinary malayali household.

Gone are the times when malayalis used to get together and take part in great numbers in the celebrations. Nowadays with nuclear families, with father, mother and one kid or at most two, it is selfish interests which count more than the camaraderie and the revelry associated with Onam and king Mahabali. Gone are the days when irrespective of the social status, people used help out the poor in the society by giving out in cash and in kind.

Let us hope that malayalis across the world realise the worth of this festival and preserve it's pristine qualities in the truest and natural form for posterity to be proud of.

George..

A dual timing system for India..

Right from Porbander in Gujarat to Guwahati in Assam we share the same time. Is it a wise thing to do..? Can we save energy by having dual time zones in our country, eventhough it is not as massive as the US where we have the Eastern time and Pacific time, 3 hours apart..

Or can we have a timing system which is 6 hrs away from GMT, integral hours diff with GMT (UTC)., which is better ??

Min in Kerala, T U Kuruvilla in deep shit ..

A disgrace for the whole Christian comunity in Kerala to have a cheat like Kuruvilla in the govt. Hope VS removes him son enough before the left image takes another beating..

george..
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Kuwait-based Kerala businessman accuses minister of cheating

By IANS
Wednesday August 22, 06:58 PM

Kochi (Kerala), Aug 22 (IANS) Kerala businessman K.G. Abraham, who is based in Kuwait, Wednesday accused the state's Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla of cheating him in a land transfer deal. The minister denied the charge.

Abraham said that Kuruvilla and his son-in-law Sudhip John, who was the general manager of Abraham's business in Kuwait, had struck a deal to sell to the businessman 50 acres of land in the picturesque hill station of Munnar in Idukki district.

Abraham said he was given to understand that the minister's three children owned the land.

'His son-in-law works with me and I decided to buy the land at Munnar because I thought I was dealing with close relatives of a Kerala minister. My aim was to build a resort on the land. I handed over Rs.6.75 crores (Rs.67.5 million) as advance,' Abraham told reporters here.

Trouble for Kuruvilla started last month when treasury bench legislator P.C. George alleged fraud in the deal and gave a written complaint to Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

When the matter came up in the assembly, Kuruvilla said his children own land in Tamil Nadu and the money was accepted because Abraham had bought their land in Tamil Nadu.

Abraham said: 'When this became an issue, the (minister's) son and son-in-law came and met me and said that since Kuruvilla is in trouble, they would transfer a quarry owned by them to me, which I flatly denied.

'I was interested only in setting up a hotel in Munnar and hence I paid the advance for the 50-acre plot. Later I came to know that the Munnar land was meant only for cardamom cultivation and a hotel cannot come up there.

'I never expected that a minister would cheat me,' said Abraham, adding he would initiate legal steps against the minister soon.

Meanwhile, following George's complaint, Achuthanandan asked Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran to look into the matter.

Rajendran Tuesday directed Idukki collector Raju Narayana Swamy to investigate. Swamy visited Munnar Wednesday to verify documents related to the land owned by Kuruvilla's children.

Rajendran told reporters here that he was awaiting a report on the matter.

On his part, Kuruvilla told reporters at Kannur that he was not at all involved in any deal with Abraham.

'It is my children who are involved in dealing with Abraham. I am not aware of what is happening and I have no role in it,' said Kuruvilla.

Abraham flatly denied that. 'I have dealt with Kuruvilla and not with his kin. Kuruvilla asked me to transfer the advance money to his children's name.'

Kuruvilla, a first-time legislator from Kothamangalam constituency in Ernakulam district, belongs to the Kerala Congress (Joseph) party.

He became a minister almost a year back when P.J. Joseph stepped down as minister after he was alleged to have misbehaved with a woman on board a flight from Chennai to Kochi.

Why is India wary of the US in the nuclear deal ??

India agreeing to the 123 act on Indo-US nuclear co-operation was based on the basic necessity of meeting our energy needs given the double digit economic growth forecast in the coming years. Either we develop indigenous R&D at such frenetic pace to meet the excess demand or team up with somebody who can provide us that energy. Since indigenous development was not practical, the only direction we could turn to others. Iran was ready with natural gas, constructing a gas pipeline connecting the two countries. Or we could enter into this treaty with US where they assure nuclear reactors, fuel and so on but with some catches. And US wanted to torpedo the gas treaty as it wanted to restrict Iranian clout in the world.

What followed was India and US signing the July 18,2005 Indo US nuclear act(also called the 123 act). Some of the objectionable clauses in the act were objected to by our PM and had been taken care of.

US on realising that they had conceded too much ground in the 123 act (out of its necessity to block Iran's economic clout), decided to gain lost ground by passing the Hyde Act in Dec 2006. It is the restrictive clauses listed in this Act which is the cause of concern in Indian political circles these days. Having already burnt it's fingers with US sanctions following the Pokhran explosion in 1974, India does not want to take chances this time. Also knowing fully well that this time we do not have much to lose, Indian politicians are busy debating and asking for time to dissect this treaty in detail.

Here is the objection raised by our nuclear scientists against the Hyde Act and reported in The Hindu newspaper.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/16/stories/2006121616171500.htm

Henry J. Hyde Act passed in Dec 2006, is applicable and supercedes any other act passed before it. Through the back door the act among other restrictions, can impose heavy penalties on India if it conducts any further nuclear test, necessary for it ensuring minimum deterrance. This point is being publicly debated in India. The US is thus 'indirectly' acting to block India from exercising it's sovereignity in deciding it's level of self-defence by bringing the Hyde Act which overrides all earlier legislation, discussions. It mandates on us to return all equipments, fuel received from US in case we explode a nuclear device.

Under the 123 Act, if India is denied US fuel supplies for the civilian nuclear reactors, supplies from alternative sources from NSG would be arranged, which is also denied by the Hyde Act.

US is also bringing in parts of nuclear non-proliferaton on US terms through the Hyde Act, by making it mandatory for US to report to US Congress on India's compliance with nuclear non-proliferation and co-operation with US efforts to restrict Iran and other countries from going nuclear. What India wanted instead was a non-proliferation treaty which was global and non-discriminatory. The Fissile material cutoff treaty, is non-discriminatory, multilaterally negotiated and internationally verifiable. That is being denied if we sign the 123 act in it's present form with the Hyde act in the background.

If perpetual fuel supplies are not granted, why should India import US reactors which will have to be returned, halting our efforts at nuclear power generation, incurring terrible economic costs which could cripple India's growth before indigenous R&D gets ready with alternate options ?

If we go ahead with the gas pipeline with Iran, though better conditions cannot be guaranteed, at least we are not bound with any crippling acts restraining our sovereignity to act to ensure minimum deterrance in the event of a necessity.

If US thinks it can bulldoze its way and hoodwink others into accepting conditions favouring it, it is completely wrong. With our earlier experiences when we were isolated in the international nuclear field by US blocking fuel supplies for the Tarapur plant, our scientists learned a bitter leason and are better prepared now. Our scientists and decision makers /parliamentarians are aware of the dirty cheap tricks up their sleeve which it would play on its allies / would-be allies, in order to retain it's supremacy and control over the world.

The Left parties need to be fully credited for creating an awareness among the Indian decision makers and the public at large regarding this. Let us utilise this time to deliberate on the conditons and implications of this treaty before committing to it in totality.

Better late than never at all.

George Easaw

History behind Aanakurissu, Kuttikanam, Peermade..

The legend of Aanakurissu, Kuttikanam, Peerumedu.

If one is moving from Kuttikanam towards Pallikunnu, enroute Kattapana, between Kuttikanam and Pallikunnu, you will come across a cross (kurissu in Malayalam) near a bridge, the aanappaalam (elephant bridge). On either side of the road, there are tea estates, some working and some closed. But there is greenery everywhere. Students and nuns from the nearby St Pius X School and Marian College frequent this place very often.

This cross has a very tragic history / legend behind it. Many years ago, on either side of the road, inside the estates, there were line houses. A line house is a typical cheap, one room accommodation provided to the estate employees, consisting of houses, usually seven or ten, in parallel. Each house consists of a verandah, a room and kitchen. The common bathroom shared by the inhabitants of these line houses. These line houses were built by the estate owners for their employees and families to stay. These line houses also gave enough security to the estates from encroachment by people and attacks by wild animals. Living together, the employees too were guarded against attacks from wild boars, wild elephants etc which were plenty in that area.

Diseases have always been a scourge of human beings and at a time when science and medicine had not advanced as much as today, most of the diseases were fatal. Small pox (vasoori in Malayalam) was one such disease which never had a medicine. There was no treatment available and the only precaution was to isolate the patients to prevent it spreading to other healthy people.

The surrounding areas of Aanakurissu was the place fifty years or so back, where people who contracted smallpox were brought for solitary confinement , away from the healthy population. (Like in the famous movie 'Island of Shadows', leprosy patients were isolated and were made to live in colonies inhabited by other leprosy patients). A care taker used to give food to these patients at regular intervals. People were scared to come to these places and the people who were brought here, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and close relatives, never got to see their relatives and friends again, as these people died a very sad and painful death here. Neglected and despised by the society, the local people never came to these places.

Legend has it that the dead souls of these people who died a painful death in the line houses were wandering these areas as ghosts and scaring travelers and people staying nearby. A cross was brought from Mattanchery, near Ernakulam to this place and erected by the catholic priests in this area. With frequent prayers at the cross, it is said that the scourge of wandering dead souls scaring people disappeared.

Motorist traveling long distances also make a stop at the cross these days to pray for a safe journey. Often the prayers are accompanied by some offerings which are collected by the Catholic church at Kuttikanam which looks after the maintenance of the place. Local people around here say that the prayers at these places also yield results which is evident by the large groups of people who come to this place every Friday for prayers and requests. If these prayers are repeated for five or seven weeks, called as niyogam by the local people, it is believed that the prayers are heard. These days, it is also seen that infertile couples have started tying small toy cradles on the cross for blessings of fertility, and  more often than not, it is granted.

If you are interested in offering prayers at this place, visit it on Friday at 5 PM for prayers there and place your wishes and requests. More often than not, it shall be granted.

George Easaw (As told to George Easaw by Jiji, of MBC College of Engg, Peermade on 17 Aug 07..)

The most promising event of modern India .. Digital and knowledge Revolution

We have heard many people /organisations talk of the different incidents that have helped make up the modern and developing country that is India. Instead of trying to dissect events in history, it will do an ocean of good if we were able to fix our sights on one event which is to hold terrific promise for the country and it's billion plus people in the coming days. Which is that event and who started it ?

It was in mid eighties after Ms Indira Gandhi's assasination that her son Rajiv Gandhi got elected and became the PM of India. Rajiv Gandhi had a terrific aura about him, even though he did not have anything to claim as his achievements except that he was born into the Nehru family and had sat on the lap of Jawaharlal Nehru many a time.

Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary. He got with him intellectuals and accomplished Indians from all walks of life from around the world to advise him on critical issues which were to affect India. The most important contribution of Rajiv Gandhi was picking up Sam Pitroda, the present Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission, to head the telecom revolution and establish the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT).

In no time, India could develop it's own telephone exchange which is helping run most of the rural telephone exchanges of BSNL now. It helped spread the reach of telecommunications to the common man in the remotest part of the country. Along with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), under his guidance, the work to launch India's telecommunications satellite also got started and we had telecommunications satellites in the sky. In combination with an indigenous telecomm knowhow and satellites in space, Public Call Offices were opened in different villages and towns in the country. Now it is easily possible for a villager in the remotest of Indian villages to make NSD and ISD calls.

India's leap into the digital world was thus spearheaded by Rajiv Gandhi. The initial steps to start the knowledge revolution, which now has metamorphosised to the National Knowledge Commision is a great step to harness the knoledge in different streams to help make the right decision and harness it for the country's growth.

Were it not for the right thinking at the right time, the penetration of computers would not have been much and Indians would have remained ignorant. Now we find a digital revolution across sections of scoiety, including politicians and it is leading to the total metamorphisation of the digital landscape of the country.

Companies like Infy, Wipro, TCS etc owe it to Rajiv Gandhi and the digital revolution as much to globalization and the technical, english speaking workforce.

Continuing to work at the same pace we can establish high quality R&D labs in the country and innovate for the rest of the world.

George Easaw..

Dr Manmohan Singh on India at 60 ..

Speech by Dr Manmohan Singh, PM, India. 14 August, 2007.

On the eve of an extraordinary historical event, Dr Manmohan Singh, the nation's 14th prime minister, assesses India@60:

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One of humankind's great and exciting adventures of the past century has been the transformation of India from a colonial, agrarian economy into a modern, industrialising, knowledge-based economy within the framework of a liberal and secular democracy. The commitment of the leaders of our national movement to the idea of an independent India as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-linguistic and multi-cultural democracy was one of the great acts of human faith in the 20th century that continues to give hope to humankind.

At a time when the world was battling ideologies of exclusion and divisiveness, the leaders of our freedom movement invested their hope in the ideology of inclusiveness. The idea of India, of unity in diversity, of openness and inclusiveness, has withstood the test of time and history and is our great contribution to humankind these past 60 years.

The success of the Indian experiment in pursuing economic development, social and political empowerment within the framework of a secular and democratic Constitution, with respect for the rule of law and for fundamental human rights has earned for our country a special place in the comity of nations.

In the past 60 years, we have built a firm foundation on which we can in fact redeem the pledge of the architects of modern India in full measure. The young people of today should remember that at Independence we inherited an economy weakened by years of colonial exploitation.

For half a century before Independence, the Indian economy registered virtually no growth at all. In the first three decades after Independence, we grew at 3.5 per cent per annum. In the second three decades our annual growth rate went up to nearly 6.0 per cent.

In the past few years the growth rate has been closer to 9.0 per cent per annum. This has been made possible by a rising rate of investment, now at around 35 per cent of national income, and rising productivity of labour and capital. If we can sustain these rates, and step up the productivity of land and labour, we should be able to attain double digit rates of growth in the near future.

India is on the move.

This steady acceleration of growth, however, averages the impressive performance of some regions and the inadequate performance of others. It has also been socially uneven. Hence, the challenge before us is to make the growth process more socially inclusive and regionally balanced. In the past decade, we have seen a further acceleration of growth, based on the impressive performance of certain sectors of our economy. But we have a long road to travel to realise the full potential of our people and fulfill the promises of the Father of our Nation and the Architect of Modern India [Get Quote].

India at 60 is a nation of young people. To realise our true potential, we must invest in the health and education of every child. We must create new employment opportunities for all, especially for the less privileged sections of society, and for those living in rural areas. We must eliminate the rural-urban divide in development indicators. We must also ensure that the process of industrialisation generates enough jobs for our youth, in urban, semi-urban and rural areas.

In the past 60 years, people moved to where work was available; in the next 60 years, work must move to where people live.

The government has an important role to play in not only sustaining higher rates of growth, but also in making the growth process more inclusive, socially and regionally. Governments must also play an active, creative and constructive role in providing and facilitating access to modern education and good health care.

I sincerely believe that the time has come for us to pay special attention to education and skill development. India cannot keep pace with the world unless every Indian is empowered by skills and capabilities that make every person a productive and creative citizen, capable of living a decent life.

As we mark the 60th anniversary of our Independence, we cannot afford to be complacent, either about our achievements or our ability to meet the extant challenges. We cannot afford a 'business-as-usual' approach to any aspect of life. The world is changing rapidly and we must learn to keep pace. We have to do more to increase the productivity of every Indian, the productivity of our land and of capital.

Each one of us must set our sights higher and aim to be the best in what we do. Our schools and colleges must aim to be the best in the world. So too our businesses and laboratories. So too our services and utilities. I despair of the 'chalta hai' attitude of so many of our people.

While our democracy is our great strength and a unifying force, we must not allow it to become an excuse for not working together in the larger national interest. We have to strengthen and revitalise our institutions of governance, policymaking and education so that we are able to harness the energies of our people better.

Indians have proved that individually they can excel and compete with the best in the world. We must be able to do so collectively too. We need to do more to unleash the full potential of our people's creativity and enterprise. We need better team work and the ability to build wider social and political consensus around the ideas of change and modernisation.

To overcome the many challenges we face -- developmental as well as social, domestic as well as external -- we require at least a minimal consensus on a national agenda. We must all be equally committed to the values and ideals of our Constitution, be it secularism or social justice. We must all join hands in the search for communal harmony and national integration. We must all stand together in the fight against terrorism and extremism of all kinds.

A nation of a billion people, as diverse as ours, cannot move forward unless we learn to work together for the common good and for the national interest. There must be a national consensus at least on a basic agenda of good governance, economic development and national security. No developing nation can make the required great leap forward without a basic consensus on a minimal agenda on such vital issues.

While there is much to be proud of in our record of the past 60 years, the unfinished agenda should make us humble and energise us to work together. The emerging challenges, at home and globally, should make us firm in our resolve to be united and to be cooperative. I do not see enough commitment to such a consensual agenda in our political parties, in our media, in our intelligentsia and in our social elite.

On this 60th anniversary of our Independence I call upon every Indian to think of India first and work to make India first.