I didn’t know that there is such a sport called “Mallakhamb” (pole gymnastics) in India. Only when I got an email with the subject line “Amazing Indian Gymnastics” that I learned about it. See the amazing pole gymnasts performing “Mallakhamb”.
Mallakhamb or Malkhamb is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole or rope. Mallakhamb also refers to the pole used in the sport.
The word “Mallakhamb” is composed of malla which denotes a gymnast or a man of strength and khamb which means a pole. Mallakhamb can therefore be translated to English as pole gymnastics.
Beat of India is a website that popularizes the traditional folk music of India. They cover a vast variety of regions in India. A wonderful effort indeed.
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Here is an inspiring story of a laborer boy passing the entrance exam for IIT. Don’t know how the elitists of the institution would treat him, but let us hope for the best and cheer for him.
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And a spot-on ad for the new season of Kaun Banega Crorepathi. 🙂
More from a game that cost 90,000 crores to a country that has more than 70% of it’s population below poverty line, with not even 10 percent in return for the money spent, made us look ridiculous during it’s final preparation stage, took out the right of the city’s inhabitants to live in the city and hid it’s own citizens behind huge posters.
Don’t take me wrong. I enjoy humour and I did laugh a bit when I first heard him saying “dick-shit” but then this real Dick-Shit fellow took the news time to ridicule an Indian chief minister in the most demeaning manner. The Ministry of External Affairs has registered the protest with New Zealand authorities against the show’s host Paul Henry.
The new Kerala Tourism advt is the talk of the web now. The new video, created for an international tourism campaign, is exotic and sensuous. The whole presentation is different from the traditional ads about Kerala. The overused and cliched imagery of Kathakali is presented in a different way. And that same scene highlights the new strategy of Kerala Tousism of promoting rural tourism. Theyyam is featured and that scene is just amazing! The backwater scene sends out a message of finding oneself within the beauty of Kerala. The well-being element of Ayurveda is promptly highlighted. The grove scene is yet another breath-taking shot. Then it concludes beautifully with the final scene of wildlife with an Asian elephant.
I am not sure what is Kerala Tourism targeting with this advt though. If they are after the people in the west who have a mystical passion about Africa and want to get them here, I think they will succeed. This advertisement video, being as sensual and exotic it is, establishes itself as an alternative destination to Africa (is that why there are too many African elements in this movie including the music?). One thing I don’t understand is why they had to bring in a Senagalese singer to lend voice to this video that markets Kerala. They should have included some Kerala elements in the music. And the first scene doesn’t convey anything about the movie (Is that eerily looking human figure a ghost, an old man with a walking stick or a fisherman?). Okay, we know the place is Thekkady but since this is an international ad, I don’t think anybody would understand what this is about in the beginning scene of the video. Except for these couple of points, I loved this fresh new approach.
Shot at Thekkady, Munnar, Thalassery and Kannur in 11 days, this video is directed by Prakash Varma (of Vodafone Zoo-Zoo fame) and is produced by Stark Communications.
“..but more importantly, while the governments in the west agonize over what to do about nutrition for kids, India has actually gone ahead and done something about it.” (From the docu film “India’s Free Lunch“.
As Madhukar Shukla said in Facebook while sharing this video link – “mostly noted when a report of a lizard comes in news, the funds get diverted, or scam hits the scheme, India’s Mid-Day Meal scheme has gone largely unnoticed for the positive impact it has made to many young lives.”
Those of you who frequent to this blog have heard the song “Iniyethra Naal” in this blog before. To those who are new here, I composed this song for a short film directed by a friend. You can read more about the song by clicking this link.
The short film, titled “Aa Kathukal Parayaathirunnathu“, was previewed on February 12th at St Thomas College, Thrissur, in the presence of national award winning director Priyanandanan. You can see the song video below, which will hit the Malayalam TV channels hopefully soon. You can also download the MP3 file of this song by clicking here.
Credits:
Lyrics: Ratheesh Music: Joseph Thomas (Jo) Singer:Divya S Menon Orchestration: Rajith George Cinematography & Direction: Pavithran Short film: Aa Kathukal Parayaathirunnuathu
Dan Reed’s documentary on 26/11 terrorist attacks on Mumbai has been aired on Britain’s Channel 4 just a few days ago. The documentary has original CCTV footage, survivors and police accounts, telephonic conversations between the terrorists and their masterminds, and Kasab’s testimony.
“This is just a trailer,” the controller in Pakistan warns. “Wait till you see the rest of the film…”