Joju John, who developed a wonderful English-Malayalam-English online dictionary at Mashithantu, has developed yet another cool tool. This new tool lets you play or create Malayalam Crosswords. So all you crossword junkies get on in there and start playing online.
In 2007, I wrote a blog post about Mohan Lal’s promotional ads of a liquor brand. Mohan Lal had formed a business alliance then, with the owners of the same brand, Original Choice. When the news became controversial the defenders were of the opinion that Mohan Lal was only promoting ‘evening snacks’ under the same brand name (just like how Vijay Mallya is selling only soda and mineral water under the brand name King Fisher). Die hard fans and Mohan Lal himself had also argued that there would not be any raise in the number of drunkards just because the actor was promoting it, considering the fact that Kerala has the highest alcohol consumption in the country. The opposition’s concern was that the actor has high influence on people in Kerala, particularly the youth who see Mohan Lal as an icon and role model.
Now let us just casually say that Mohan Lal’s celebrity influence on the youth of Kerala was not going to boost the sales of anything – be it gold, lungies or liquor (you might ask then why would the commercial brands use celebrities for promotion and pay them millions for that, but let us just put it aside for the time being). In the last week, Mohan Lal has been granted the Honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. This honor comes after Mohan Lal’s two successful Malayalam movies (Keerthichakra and Kurukshetra) in which he enacted the role of an Army Major. As per the Army Chief Deepak Kapoor, Mohan Lal will be yet another brand ambassador of the Territorial Army. Defense Minister A K Antony also said that, “this will be an inspiration for the younger generation to join the armed forces“. A CNN-IBN article on this says that, “Mohanlal’s role will be to inspire youth to join the armed forces“.
It is at this point that I have a question – As per the supporters of Mohan Lal during the time of Original Choice advertisement, his influence on the youth did not take any effect in boosting the sales of liquor. Has that changed all in a sudden? Now would Mohan Lal inspire the youth just because it is a good patriotic cause?
Skeptics say that youth is more prone to go under the bad influences first, than good ones.
PS: Some also say that considering the situation, Mammootty should be conferred an honorary position in CBI for his 4 successful movies as a CBI officer, or Suresh Gopi as an honorary Commissioner of Police for his numerous super hits as a highly ranked police officer. 😀
(Image source: Google Images)
Don’t believe it? Check out the front page of today’s Deshabhimani newspaper (click on the image below to see the full and enlarged version). It says a man ate 68 dogs in a competition organized in America as part of the independence day. And the second prize winner ate the flesh of 64.5 dogs. If you are just stunned at how a person could eat 68 “dogs” in just 10 minutes, check out this link.
As the Malayalam saying goes, “kaala pettu ennu kekkumbum kayar edukkaruthu“…
The famous Indian writer Kamala Suraiyya (formerly known as Kamala Das), who is also known as Madhavikutty in the Malayalam literature, has passed away in Pune at the age of 75. Her body will be brought to Kerala tomorrow. Kamala Suraiyya wrote poems in English and is famous for her stories in Malayalam with the pen name Madhavikutty. She was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature in 1984.
For most of the Malayalees, Madhavikutty was a porn writer. Ask the common public, who couldn’t see the truly original soul that she was, about Madhavikutty and they would say, “I know, I know… she is the one who wrote “Ente Katha” (My Story – her autobiography), right?”. Ente Katha must be the most widely read autobiography in Kerala for it’s references to the experience of love and lust. Madhavikutty was true to herself in writing that book. Unlike most of the so-called social/cultural/literary icons, she did not try to glorify herself in her autobiography. She was honest and wrote what she experienced and felt. Madhavikutty was not a writer who wrote something pretentious in her works and lived off a personal life completely different. She did not hide her weaknesses along with her strengths in her book. With Ente Katha and by showing herself open through her writings, she poked at the Malayali community (or for that matter, the conservative Indian society) and laughed at their pseudo-morality. And her writings about love and lust brought her so much criticism from the people.
Madhavikutty made news when she changed her faith to Islam. There were people who opposed and supported her on this decision. I also felt bad. Since every religion has the presence of God, what is the need of changing religion, I thought. Along with the other people, I also thought that it was a publicity stunt. But on another thought, I felt that I was wrong. If I had truly believed that every religion has the presence of God, why should I have any problem with changing the religion? There I concluded that I haven’t yet understood the concept of universal love that Madhavikutty had believed and practiced in her life.
But later on she said that her conversion to Islam was because of a Muslim man who promised to marry her but decieved her later. This man was said to be a young and famous Islamic scholar from Kerala. People had their eye-brows raised. Both Hindu and Muslim extremists were enraged. “The old woman still has not lost her desire for lust“, many people said, as if they were living a perfectly divine life, lust-free. Madhavikutty was a person who had so much of love in her that she spread around. And when she spoke of love, it was not just the sexual union that she referred to. She was known for her referrence to Krishna in her pre-Muslim writings and this has given her kind of a Meera figure. Look at the old poems she wrote:
Krishna, I am melting,
Melting, melting
Nothing remains
But you
or
“If love is a flower, lust is its fragrance. Without love, where is lust and without lust, can life be created?” Kamala Suraiyya quotes Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam. “I think of Radha and Krishna when I think of love. Life is all about various dimensions of love.” [via]
But the pseudo-moralistic Malayali society could not accept Madhavikutty for what she was. When she was awarded the Ezhuthachan Award by Kerala government, recognizing her outstanding contributions to the language and the literary world, the fundamentalists threatened to hijack the award ceremony. Their argument was that “she who writes on love and lust” does not deserve such prestigious recognition! The most interesting part of Madhavikutty as a writer is that she was never a part of the “Feminist writers” or did not prefer to call herself as a Feminist. She did not need the label of Feminism in her writings. However, she spoke about the crimes against women, child prostitution etc.
When I heard the news of her departure today in the morning, I felt sad because she wouldn’t be there anymore to speak of love – that four letter word that people hold on to dearly but fears to admit publicly. May her soul rest in peace…
(Photo courtesy: IndianExpress.com)
I just went to see the Pooram tonight with my friends. The city was still alive and filled with people. Families come to see the Pooram at night. There were small Poorams coming to the town from different Desams. We walked around, occassionally clicking the photos in our mobile phones. Here are the pictures that I took.
Panthal at Manikandanal (Kuruppam Road Junction)
Panthal at Naduvilal (M G Road Junction)
Panthal at Naikanal (Near Dhanalaxmi Bank)
Elephants passing by
Vadakkumnathan Temple at night
When the Goddesses of Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady meet in front of Vadakkumnathan, Thrissurians wake up to Thrissur Pooram, a festival filled with colors and music.
You have so much to see and hear in the two days of the festival. Start with the Panchavaadyam of Madathil Varavu. The heat would be so unbearable, but you would ignore it when you hear the legendary artists performing right in front of you (by the way, if you want to hear the best Melam artists performing, come to Thrissur Pooram). You will see many foreigners on the road but don’t be surprised if one of them told you that they came from BBC or a French or American television channel to cover the program. If you did not want to miss the Paandi Melam of Paramekkavu, walk past the cheering crowd to the Sreemoolasthaanam of Vadakkumnathan Temple. Pause a bit on the way to listen to a team performing Naadaswaram. Enjoy the music a little and if you are thirsty, have a glass of sambhaaram from the near by houses or stalls that supply it for free. Rush along to hear the Paandi Melam and on the way collect all the goodies you get for free – the newspaper, butter milk, a paper cap or a handheld paper fan to beat the heat. Watch around while you walk, you would see some of the famous elephants in Kerala (or perhaps in the whole of India). You might just want to stop and see their elegant look with all the ornaments.
Rush inside the Vadakkumnathan temple after you are done listening to the Paandi Melam at Sreemoolasthaanam. The Elanji tree awaits you to treat with the famous Elanjithara Melam. Sway along with the crowd and their waving hands in the air, cheer at the peak of pleasure that only music can bring. Then head on towards the Thekke Nada to watch Kudamaattam. Keep your heads up in the air, while you watch the beautiful umbrella exchange, or else you may not be able to breathe properly among the lakhs of people around you. Give a smile at the TV cameras in the area, your friends of family watching numerous TV channels which broadcast Pooram live may get to see you on TV.
It is not time to leave yet. There is a grand firework ceremony in the early morning next day which is a very famous part of Thrissur Pooram. So you can either hop over to a cinema theater nearby to watch a Pooram special midnight show or check out the Pooram Exhibition. I would suggest that you take a walk in the Swaraj Round though. To smell the pooram. The smell of Pooram consists of the Panthams (cloth lanterns) lit in the night and of the aana piNdam. 🙂 You would also get to see many small Poorams entering in the temple throughout the night. So don’t even think of sleeping at night. In the early morning, open your eyes and ears for the grand fireworks ceremony and then those of you who comes from outside Thrissur district may want to leave. Because the second day of Pooram is for Thrissurians to see.
People have different reasons to love Thrissur Pooram. Some people come to see the elephants (some would even call them by names. You will hear comments like “isn’t it Paramekkavu Rajasekharan?“, “Thiruvambadi Kannan looks elegant!“), some like the melams (orchestra), some people like the Kudamaattam, some prefer the fireworks etc. I love Pooram for the Melam part. And to see the strangers smiling at you and sharing what they saw in the festival city. That mixture of people from different parts of the world, celebrating pooram together is one thing that’s so special about Pooram.
PS: Take the necessary precautions like you would before going to any place in India were people gather in masses. Watchout for pick pocketers or eve-teasers and beware of sexual harassment (don’t even think about bringing your woman folk in to the crowd, unless you find a safe place to sit) .
(The photo at the top was taken in 2005)
[M Thankamani, who won accolades for her unique voice as a presenter and drama artiste at All India Radio (Akashvani), India’s national broadcaster, and as a film dubbing artiste, talks to KK Moidu during her first visit to Dubai.].
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award winner M Thankamani’s voice is familiar to listeners of the radio for more than three decades now. She is the presenter at Akashvani and those who have heard her voice once cannot forget the attractive and enticing tone. She has secured a place in the hearts of millions of listeners through the roles of numerous characters on radio dramas like Sooryakanthiye Snehicha Penkutty, Moodhevi, Theyyam, Indulekha etc. Her special talent for the vocalisation of people of all ages like old women, young ladies, college students or little girls, endeared her to audiences.
M Thankamani was born in Shoranur in Palghat district, Kerala, in a Namboothiri family. She is the third daughter of the great social reformer Mullamangalath Raman Bhattathirippadu aka MRB and Umadevi Antharjanam. Her father MRB was a playwright, poet and author of many books and made history by marrying a widow in the Namboothiri community.
Continue reading The Evergreen Voice – M Thankamani
Ever heard of a hospital for your Pen? And a doctor could help you heal your pen whenever it fell sick? Here is Honest Pen Hospital at Thrissur. If you are in Thrissur, walk through the historical Palace Road, and you will find it in the middle of thriving new shopping malls in the city. This hospital has become an integral part of Thrissur’s history. In the early days, this pen hospital used to help people when they refused to replace their favorite pens. I had an old Hero pen fixed at the place many years back. The doc in the Honest Pen Hospital knew how to fix them all and had the spare parts for surgery; even for the imported and expensive pens. And the doc’s favorites were fountain pens.
Times changed. Ball pens and computers came. People changed too. They no longer wanted to fix things. Pens, relationships or life in general. Or perhaps they have very little time to fix things and would rather find replacements. And in this new consumerist world, the pen hospital has no role to play.
When I walked past the pen hospital on Saturday, I found that it’s closed. I felt kind of sad and I don’t know why…
Update: Kuttan Menon has confirmed that the shop is not closed yet. It is still operating. So get your pens rolling there. 🙂
Check out this interview (courtesy: Asianet) with Prof. Rodney F Moag, who has been teaching at the University of Texas, Austin. See how he speaks Malayalam with ease, considering that he is a foreigner. Check out his profile at Kerala Tourism website. He is also a country music performer. See his music profile at his music website.
(Thanks to Uma for the link)
Today I asked an auto rickshaw driver in Trivandrum about his thoughts on the results of upcoming elections in Trivandrum constituency. It is really amazing to see the common man’s political awareness. This man (who must be in his mid 40s) predicted that Neelalohita Das will win from Trivandrum. He said everyone he talked to also said the same thing. He gave me the following reasons.
Neelan belongs to the Nadar community which is very strong in the rural areas of Trivandrum. Nadars were not given seats by both LDF and UDF. So regardless of their political affinity, this time they will make sure that a Nadar wins and that is going to benefit Neelan.
[ My thought: Seems right. This time Neelalohita Das is contesting from a BSP ticket, so some Dalit votes would also go in favor of him. ]
Trivandrum seat belongs to CPI. CPM has in-house issues with CPI in LDF. This internal split will show up in the voting. So there is a possibility that CPM voters might also vote for Neelan.
[ My thought: It is possible. CPM will not vote for Congress or BJP anyway, but they would need CPI to fail because of the internal conflicts. So the only possible candidate that they can vote for is Neelan as he is now in a different party. Not only that, this will also secure their interests in the national politics as it will ultimately benefit the Third Front where BSP and CPM are allies. ]
BJP will have their votes anyway. Their vote bank won’t split. But they will only come to a fourth position (after BSP, Congress and CPI).
[ My thought: Seems true ]
Shashi Tharoor will come to a close second. He has a great impression on educated people. So the youngsters and the educated urban class would vote for him.
[ My thought: I agree ]
Then I asked him if it matters to him that Mr. Tharoor does not have the local political experience and came all in a sudden from abroad. He answered:
It doesn’t matter whether he is from here or he is aware of the local politics. What have those local politicians done to solve any of the local issues? Nothing much. He is also educated and have international experience which would benefit us if he gets in to the ministry in the center.
[ My thought: I agree with this too ]
The kind of analytics that this person has presented really surprised me. Not only that, he actually spent time to talk to me during this busy evening, which shows how interested he is in the politics. And he did not take any sides too.