3316 KB - Kerala

Transcription

3316 KB - Kerala

CoverStory
Knowing
Murkot Ramunny
W
Proverbialy speaking,
every long journey
begins with a single step.
This dictum is explicit,
if not necessarily
explained,
in all great biographies.
An earnest beginning with
hard work can play
wonders for a life.
Here, Kerala Calling shares
the slices of experience of
a few of the eminent.
Some are in first person
narration and others heard.
6
hile preparing for the civil
services examination, I was
bitten by the “flying bug”.
My father encouraged me
to join the Indian Air Force. I joined. I was
being changed. Trainees from all over India
living together and training together
changed my attitude towards life.
My initial career lines intermingles with
memories of war. Taking part in the Second
World War against the Japanese, I found
that the war brings about the worst in
human beings. But during the war the best
in human beings come out. Bombing
Hiroshima was the worst human being
could do. For those who took part in war
there has no selfishness; there was no ‘I’ or
‘mine’. It was all sacrifice for others. My
friend and roommate sacrificed his life in
trying to save mine. I returned from war
totally changed.
After war I was posted to Air
Headquarters as Staff Officer helping the
Nationalisation Committee and later
Partition Committee. Being present in the
midnight of August 14/15, I experienced
the historic moments with awe.
I was preparing the agenda and papers,
attending the meeting of the Defence
Committee of the Cabinet, writing the
minutes and taking follow up action. It was
a great opportunity for me.
Within weeks communal riots had
broken in Delhi. Twenty four hour curfew
was imposed and shoot to kill orders were
given. Even in those days, Sardar Patel
would be seen going for his early morning
walk alone. Nehru in his car with not even
an escort, drove to Connaught Place where
looting was going on. He himself saved two
children who were stranded on a terrace.
These were some instances to see how
difficult problems were tackled by our
leaders immediately after independence.
Regarding my career, many occasions
come to my mind. I was sent as the first
July 2005 z KERALA CALLING
g the minds of the great
Chief Instructor at the Ntional Defence Why they had taken up arms for
Academy where cadets of the three armed independence. After getting our reply, he
forces were trained together for three years. issued the following policy statement. The
I had the responsibility of formulating Army will answer those who have taken up
policies for the development of character arms, but not a single innocent Naga will
and personality leading to leadership in each be hurt. Those who give up violence and
cadet. We had the finest set of officers from accept that Naga Hills was part of India,
the Armed Forces and
civilian professors from
Universities. The finest
Indian soldier of all times,
General Thimmayya was
the Commandant. Thus in
their company one initiated
the work of the one and
only combined Academy of
that time in the world.
It was in 1953 that
Prime Minister Nehru
called for volunteers from
all services, civil, police,
armed forces, universities
etc. to serve in the North
East frontier tribal areas.
Thousands applied. After
elimination, Nehru himself
interviewed the final batch
and gave the first lessons in
tribal administration. I was
fortunate that I was one
among the ten senior
officers who were selected.
Nehru’s policy known as
“Tribal Panchasheel” has
been acclaimed all over the
world.
The main criteria of the
policy was that officers and DESIROUS TO SERVE was his moto
moto:: Murkoth
staff sent to serve in difficult Ramunni during his service in Indinan Air Force
areas have to be volunteers,
not unwanted officers pushed out to those can meet him and he will discuss any
places.
political settlement with them. Finally, he
During my career, tackling the Naga said, “go all out for development of the
insurgency was a great challenge. Before villages, but according to the desire of the
taking over as Deputy Commissioner people. Nothing should be imposed on
(District Collector) of Kohima, Nehru’s them. There will be no problem of finance.”
order was that in one month he wanted to Armed with this policy, we went out and
know “Why they did and what they did.” we are proud to say that we were able to
KERALA CALLING z July 2005
I feel that the
relationship between
political leadership and
officers has to be
absolutely correct.
Officers are there to
obey the orders of the
political leadership. But if
they find that the orders
are against the
Constitution, and against
the interests of the
people and the country,
they should bring it to
the notice of the leaders.
Even if the objections in
writing are overruled,
the officers have to carry
it out. But if the result is
going to be disastrous,
and against one’s
conscience, only thing
left is to resign and go.
7
CoverStory
win over the large portion of the Naga
people. A small minority continued in the
jungles with arms.
Once educated Naga youngsters
understood the policy of Nehru. They
organised a Naga Peoples Convention
which requested that the Naga Hills District
of Assam and Tuensang Division of NEFA
be combined to form a centrally
administered unit. Nehru immediately
agreed, and within a month the unit was
formed. The next Convention passed the
sixteen point resolution of which the first
one was that Nagaland would be a State
within the Indian Union. This was rejected
by the Governor and the Secretaries to the
Government.
Before Prime Minister saw the Naga
leaders, he wanted to discuss with the officer
on the spot. That is where I got the
opportunity. I was then Commissioner of
the centrally administered unit. Nehru
asked for my personal opinion. I explained
that what they are asking for is that whatever
money Centre would allot for the
development and administration of the area,
would be spent by their elected leaders, and
that they would not have to come to an
Under Secretary at Delhi for sanction.
Next day Nehru met the Naga leaders
and within one minute said, Nagaland
would be a State within the Indian Union.
I felt this as my greatest achievement but it
was due to the attitude of the political
leadership which was prepared to listen to
the officer in the field and decide against
the recommendations of Secretaries and the
Governor.
I was posted to Laccadive islands as the
Administrator. Nehru had said that I should
give them in three years what they did not
get in three hundred years. But with full
freedom to work, financial support of the
Central Government., hardworking honest
and united team of officers, and the
complete cooperation of the islanders, in
three years it was possible to achieve the
Prime Minister’s target.
While taking over as Director of the Aid
Mission in Nepal, Shastriji, who was then
Prime Minsiter had told me, “You are now
a Nepali. What Nepal wants, you ask us.
We will try our best to help you.” Here
again, a sympathetic, cooperative
ambassador Shriman Narayan and his
8
Majesty King Mahendra’s support, it was
possible in four years to give water supply
and electricity to Kathmandu, a
University, Postal system, roads and many
other developments. We had selected
officers who worked ceaselessly and
unitedly for the development of Nepal.
When I was leaving, King Mahendra
awarded the greatest civilian award me
that was given to any non-Nepali, the
Thri Sakthi Patta. His last words still ring
in my ears: “I thank you on behalf of my
country.”
Another opportunity was in Bangla
Desh, immediately after the war. Here
again the policy of Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi was clear and concise: Give them
back their administration. Indians should
not take over the administration at any
level. Help them restore their
communications. You are being given all
technical help from India. Give them all
necessities of life, food or any other item
that they require from India. Finally take
back one-and-a-half crore of refugees who
were taking shelter in India. An initial
advance of twenty five crores of rupees
were allotted to us. Success was due to
the co-ordinated effort of the officers –
civil and army – who were deputed there.
Mujib Rehman was released from
Pakistan and after he arrived things
became very easy. After four months we
said we would return, even though Mujib
Rehman wanted us to stay on. India’s
policy in resettling a war ravaged country
was outstanding and an object lesson to
the world even these days.
While retiring after four years of
extension in service, I look back on the
direction of those great people under
whom I worked, and the co-operation of
the common people I served. I feel that
the relationship between political
leadership and officers have to be
absolutely correct. Officers are there to
obey the orders of the political leadership.
But if they find that the orders are against
the Constitution, and against the
interests of the people and the country,
they should bring it to the notice of the
leaders. Even if the objections in writing
are overruled, the officers have to carry it
out. But if the result is going to be
disastrous, and against one’s conscience,
only thing left is to resign and go.
Of a co
N.K. Smitha
K
.P Fabian, the name itself
suggests one of the most able
diplomats of India. More
precisely saying, Fabian is
synonymous with Indian diplomacy. He is
also a role model for all aspiring students
who are dreaming about IFS. “Nothing is
impossible. If you have a strong aspiration
and a mind for hard work you also can do
wonders”, says the polite diplomat. Fabian,
hailing from Ernakulam District, joined the
Indian Foreign Service in 1964 and his first
post was as Third Secretary in the -Embassy
of India in Madagascar. He had only the
ambassador, thirty years older, to report to.
After he was transferred, the new
ambassador came only two years later. Thus,
at 26/27 Fabian was acting as ambassador.
“It was indeed exciting for me to go
round the big island meeting with our
compatriots, mainly Gujarathis. I remember
speaking first in Hindi to the older members
of the gathering and then in French to the
younger ones. I vividly remember
celebrating the centenary of Mahatma
Gandhi’. I delivered a speech in French at
the Charles de Gaul University in the
capital”, he shared his sweet memories. His
next posting was in Vienna and there also
Fabian was the second in the embassy. “I
remember getting involved with public
demonstrations by young people in support
of the freedom struggle of Bangladeshis. I
recall meeting Emilie Schenkel, wife of
Subash Chandra Bose, and Mira Behn. I
found our work with the International
Atomic Energy Agency much exciting”,
recalled Fabian.
He had a stint in Delhi after Vienna
before he went to Tehran where the Shah
was at the height of his glory and power in
1976. Fabian witnessed his rapid decline.
From Tehran it was Colombo. Three years
CoverStory
win over the large portion of the Naga
people. A small minority continued in the
jungles with arms.
Once educated Naga youngsters
understood the policy of Nehru. They
organised a Naga Peoples Convention
which requested that the Naga Hills District
of Assam and Tuensang Division of NEFA
be combined to form a centrally
administered unit. Nehru immediately
agreed, and within a month the unit was
formed. The next Convention passed the
sixteen point resolution of which the first
one was that Nagaland would be a State
within the Indian Union. This was rejected
by the Governor and the Secretaries to the
Government.
Before Prime Minister saw the Naga
leaders, he wanted to discuss with the officer
on the spot. That is where I got the
opportunity. I was then Commissioner of
the centrally administered unit. Nehru
asked for my personal opinion. I explained
that what they are asking for is that whatever
money Centre would allot for the
development and administration of the area,
would be spent by their elected leaders, and
that they would not have to come to an
Under Secretary at Delhi for sanction.
Next day Nehru met the Naga leaders
and within one minute said, Nagaland
would be a State within the Indian Union.
I felt this as my greatest achievement but it
was due to the attitude of the political
leadership which was prepared to listen to
the officer in the field and decide against
the recommendations of Secretaries and the
Governor.
I was posted to Laccadive islands as the
Administrator. Nehru had said that I should
give them in three years what they did not
get in three hundred years. But with full
freedom to work, financial support of the
Central Government., hardworking honest
and united team of officers, and the
complete cooperation of the islanders, in
three years it was possible to achieve the
Prime Minister’s target.
While taking over as Director of the Aid
Mission in Nepal, Shastriji, who was then
Prime Minsiter had told me, “You are now
a Nepali. What Nepal wants, you ask us.
We will try our best to help you.” Here
again, a sympathetic, cooperative
ambassador Shriman Narayan and his
8
Majesty King Mahendra’s support, it was
possible in four years to give water supply
and electricity to Kathmandu, a
University, Postal system, roads and many
other developments. We had selected
officers who worked ceaselessly and
unitedly for the development of Nepal.
When I was leaving, King Mahendra
awarded the greatest civilian award me
that was given to any non-Nepali, the
Thri Sakthi Patta. His last words still ring
in my ears: “I thank you on behalf of my
country.”
Another opportunity was in Bangla
Desh, immediately after the war. Here
again the policy of Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi was clear and concise: Give them
back their administration. Indians should
not take over the administration at any
level. Help them restore their
communications. You are being given all
technical help from India. Give them all
necessities of life, food or any other item
that they require from India. Finally take
back one-and-a-half crore of refugees who
were taking shelter in India. An initial
advance of twenty five crores of rupees
were allotted to us. Success was due to
the co-ordinated effort of the officers –
civil and army – who were deputed there.
Mujib Rehman was released from
Pakistan and after he arrived things
became very easy. After four months we
said we would return, even though Mujib
Rehman wanted us to stay on. India’s
policy in resettling a war ravaged country
was outstanding and an object lesson to
the world even these days.
While retiring after four years of
extension in service, I look back on the
direction of those great people under
whom I worked, and the co-operation of
the common people I served. I feel that
the relationship between political
leadership and officers have to be
absolutely correct. Officers are there to
obey the orders of the political leadership.
But if they find that the orders are against
the Constitution, and against the
interests of the people and the country,
they should bring it to the notice of the
leaders. Even if the objections in writing
are overruled, the officers have to carry it
out. But if the result is going to be
disastrous, and against one’s conscience,
only thing left is to resign and go.
Of a co
N.K. Smitha
K
.P Fabian, the name itself
suggests one of the most able
diplomats of India. More
precisely saying, Fabian is
synonymous with Indian diplomacy. He is
also a role model for all aspiring students
who are dreaming about IFS. “Nothing is
impossible. If you have a strong aspiration
and a mind for hard work you also can do
wonders”, says the polite diplomat. Fabian,
hailing from Ernakulam District, joined the
Indian Foreign Service in 1964 and his first
post was as Third Secretary in the -Embassy
of India in Madagascar. He had only the
ambassador, thirty years older, to report to.
After he was transferred, the new
ambassador came only two years later. Thus,
at 26/27 Fabian was acting as ambassador.
“It was indeed exciting for me to go
round the big island meeting with our
compatriots, mainly Gujarathis. I remember
speaking first in Hindi to the older members
of the gathering and then in French to the
younger ones. I vividly remember
celebrating the centenary of Mahatma
Gandhi’. I delivered a speech in French at
the Charles de Gaul University in the
capital”, he shared his sweet memories. His
next posting was in Vienna and there also
Fabian was the second in the embassy. “I
remember getting involved with public
demonstrations by young people in support
of the freedom struggle of Bangladeshis. I
recall meeting Emilie Schenkel, wife of
Subash Chandra Bose, and Mira Behn. I
found our work with the International
Atomic Energy Agency much exciting”,
recalled Fabian.
He had a stint in Delhi after Vienna
before he went to Tehran where the Shah
was at the height of his glory and power in
1976. Fabian witnessed his rapid decline.
From Tehran it was Colombo. Three years
lourful flying career
of challenge as the Indian High
Commission has a high profile in Sri Lanka.
Fabian witnessed the beginnings of the split
between the Sinhalese and the Tamils
moving in the direction of separatism. From
Colombo he shifted to Ottawa, Canada.
The Khalistan agitation was at its height.
BRIDGING PEOPLE AND
N ATIONS w
as not so easy
was
easy:
K.P. Fabian in his residence in Kochi
He had the protection of the highest
category, the same as the one they had
arranged for the Pope on his visit to Canada.
Though Fabian had been attacked by a few
Sikh separatists in Winnipeg, he made good
use of it to project Government of India’s
case. An indicator of an able diplomat’s
greatness, isn’t it?
Fabian remembers getting a call of
condolences from the Prime Minister of
Canada as soon as he knew of Indira
Gandhi’s assassination by her bodyguards.
Still after the assassination of Indiraji and
the widespread anger against Sikhs, he
continued to keep his Sikh driver to the
dismay of many of his friends.
Fabian’s next posting was as ambassador
to Finland. “I remember going all the way
to Rome and meeting with a vigorous John
Paul the second. Went to Moscow and
witnessed the signs of the revolution in the
making. Also went to Poland and met with
Solidarity, then a forum fighting for Poland’s
liberation from communism”, he
remembered the golden days. After a series
of foreign assignments, he came back to
Delhi in charge of the Gulf including
Kuwait and Iraq. Fabian had been to
Kuwait before and during its occupation
by Iraq. During those days of fury and
struggle, he took maximum efforts for the
evacuation of Indian nationals, a vast
number of them Malayalees, from Kuwait
and Iraq. The collection of compensation
payments also was his focal point. Though
India did not join the American-led
coalition to liberate Kuwait, within a year
of Kuwait’s liberation the number of
Indians virtually doubled. His next move
was as ambassador to Qatar. He recalls that
the intense interaction with the Indian
community was much enjoyable in Qatar.
The great Indian diplomat’s last posting
was in Rome .Apart from being ambassador
to Italy; he was also the Permanent
Representative to FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization). “Italy’s beauty
and rich history made the posting there
most memorable. The then Chief Minister
of Kerala, the late Nayanar had come on a
visit”, recalls Fabian. The diplomat with a
rich experience has something to say to the
young generation. “I should like to ask the
young to consider as an option a career in
the civil service. It can prove to be
exceptionally rewarding in more ways than
one. Whatever be one’s final choice, it is
good to think through the question of the
career when one is 18 or 19. It will make
sense to consult with a sympathetic teacher
or a career counsellor before deciding on a
career. If at any time you feel that you have
taken a wrong decision, do not hesitate to
correct yourself”.
I should like to ask the
young to consider as
an option a career in
the civil service. It can
prove to be
exceptionally
rewarding in more
ways than one.
Whatever be one’s
final choice, it is good
to think through the
question of the career
when one is 18 or 19.
It will make sense to
consult with a
sympathetic teacher or
a career counsellor
before deciding on a
career. If at any time
you feel that you have
taken a wrong
decision, do not
hesitate to correct
yourself.
9
CoverStory
For the soul of the country
Uma Maheswari S.
T
he illustrious son of an illustrious
father, KPS Menon Jr. Our
former Foreign Secretary entered
the IFS in 1961. He chose to
follow the foot steps of his scholarly father
KPS Menon Sr. He was the first ambassador
of independent India to China. For nine
long years, he was our foreign secretary.
In an interview KPS Menon Jr. talks
about his career, the glamour it had and the
advantages of IAS over IFS. He expressed his
concern about the capriciousness of the younger
generation and the deep rooted corruption,
eating the soul of India.
rhythm. Now the IFS official can educate
their children abroad. Conditions have
much improved.”
Regarding changing job tastes KPS Jr.
said “My feeling is, things depend on the
income group. The average man prefer
government jobs which are pensionable.
Life is secured. The affluent in those days
ventured into business and technical fields.
One saddest thing is we are not at all giving
due importance to the teaching profession.
It is our fundamental need to have good
teachers.” he lamented.
According to him youngsters are
capricious. They are always on the look out
for more payment. If a company offers a
“I held various positions in different
parts of the world and served as Ambassador
to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China, before I
became the Foreign Secretary during Rajiv
Gandhi’s period. He was an interesting
person full of ideas and charm.” said KPS
Menon. “In those days, in our
neighbouring countries, the facilities were
not entitling,” Menon added.
Decades ago, the toppers in the
competitive exam always opted for IFS.
“What a glamour the officials had. Working
with Nehru was considered a privilege.
During that period India was not financially
sound. Most of the postings were in Europe
K.S. RAVIKUMAR
“One saddest thing is we
are not at all giving due
importance to the
teaching profession. It is
our fundamental need to
have good teachers.”
FOR THE NATION, he thought and did: K.P.S. Menon Junior is worried at the
growing menace of corruption
“I joined IFS in 1961. The interesting
part of my career is the district training.
District training was being introduced for
the first time. My training was in the district
of West Bengal in Bihar. I had the
opportunity to work under Sachin Dutt
an efficient collector. Then I was appointed
as the private secretary to our Ambassador
Mr. Parekh in Paris. He was a marvelous
man to work with. Also, he was courageous
and to a junior officer, he was a strict
disciplinarian.”
10
and America. So the Diplomats could lead
a comfortable and luxurious life.”
Presently, as a result of globalization,
foreign goods including cars are available
here.
“IAS is preferred to IFS because, IAS
officials have power and patronage. It is a
tough time for the family of IFS officials.
Wives and children may complain. Often
you’re transferred from one country to
another, upsetting even the biological
few hundreds more, without a second
thinking, they quit the existing job. His
advice is:
“Fight against corruption. It’s eating the
soul of our country. Recently, I heard an
official talking high on India’s progress. I
agree. But at the same time, corruption and
inefficiency have become the hallmark. It
takes weeks to get even the simplest job
done. I wish the youngster never succumb
to such qualities”.
CoverStory
Looking back at life’s teatime
D. Babu Paul
T
was internally known. A lot of time was
spent on the verandah smoking “Scissors”
cigarettes, walking to and from the canteen,
and in my case reading TIME and
NEWSWEEK in the Public Library.
We were not gazetted officers, but we
drew our salary ourselves. I do not remember
who prepared the bill, but I do remember
hat was long ago, 43 years to
the month. July 15, 1962. A
civil engineering graduate did
not have to wait for a job. All
that one required before walking to the Chief
Engineer’s office was a note from the
Principal saying one had
passed. The results were
declared on June 22 and
it probably got
communicated to the
college a few days later.
I am from Ernakulam
district, and my
grandmother had just
passed away; otherwise,
may be, I could have
joined even earlier!
I was not a
particularly bright
student in the College
of Engineering. Those
four years were a period
of frustration. I overcame
the frustration by active
union-life. That was
why I landed in PWD.
The best started
teaching in the college
straightaway, a grade the
rest of us could hope to
reach many years later.
The second best those ADDED LIFE TO ADMINISTRATION, wherever he
days joined the had been: D. Babu Paul with C.A. Chaly, former DGP, Kerala
and C.S. Rengachari, former Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh in
Electricity Board and 1962
went to Sabarigiri project
area where they had extra allowances to the face of the dark guy with a bald head,
compensate the arduous project life. The who used to bring it for signatures and who
third lot joined what was then the PHED, later brought the pay packet, in appropriate
predecessor to present KWA. And we the denominations to ensure his baksheesh.
The scale of the Junior Engineer, as the
unwanted landed in the PWD.
The Chief Engineer was Kuttiyamu, a designation then was, brought us Rs.210in
great soul now resting in peace. I worked all to begin with.The calculation went like
under two Executive Engineers during my this. Basic pay Rs.150 + Special increment
one year in PWD, both have crossed the for graduates Rs.30 +Dearness Allowance
Jordan, may their souls rest in peace too. Rs.30 = Rs.210.
That was a handsome pay those days. I
There was very little work for all of us in
the Chief Office, as the PWD headquarters paid Rs.25 for a single room in Chandragiri
Lodge, the most expensive among such
places in the capital in 1962. We were all
engineers or doctors there besides a few
senior bank officials. I used to have my lunch
at a newly opened vegetarian place which
was called “lodge” though there was only
board there. Midway between my lodge
and office the Aruna Lodge located next to
I remember that I sent my
father a cheque for Rs.25/
-from the first month’s
salary, and I discovered
while searching his files in
1987 after he passed away
that it was never sent for
collection; my parents
had kept it as a souvenir
with a note “Sent by Babu
from his first pay”.
VJT Hall was convenient. On working days
I would take the Sasthamangalam Double
decker to go, and walk back first to the
Public Library, and after some reading but
more siesta on to the office almost in time
for tea and jilebi. On holidays I could cut
through the Tutors’ Lane. They used to have
a thick yellow card worth Rs.25 which
entitled the bearer for 30 lunches! I
remember that I sent my father a cheque
for Rs.25 from the first month’s salary, and
I discovered while searching his files in 1987
11
CoverStory
after he passed away that it was never
sent for collection; my parents had kept
it as a souvenir with a note “Sent by
Babu from his first pay”.
I did not last long in the PWD. I
went on deputation as Lecturer to TKM
College of Engineering as soon as the
IAS examination was over. That was a
jump from 210 to 360, the salary of the
then AE(now AExe). Hardly had I
settled down to teaching when I was
appointed to the IAS, another jump of
Rs.40/=
Thereafter it was the same route
which any regular recruit to IAS would
take. Ups and downs. Limelight and
sidelines. Bright valleys and dark alleys.
Sub Collector and Collector, PSU Chief,
Secretary to Government, Member of
the Revenue Board et al until reaching
the Chief Secretary’s grade when
superannuation was a long five years
away. With more than a year to go for
retirement I was made to become
Ombudsman. Later, that office was
abolished and I became a free bird once
again, when I was six months into my
61st year on Mother Earth.
On the whole there is no reason to
complain. There is no examination
under the sun like the IAS etc. exam, as
it was known then, where a single
examination makes a sea change in your
life. There are people who fall by the
wayside, either due to inertia or due to
ill luck, but for the most part civil service
is good, when it is not so good it is still
sort of okay!
Kerala Calling wants me to
enumerate my achievements. I have no
intention to oblige. The editor also wants
me to give some advice to the new
generation. I am not aware of any better
way to make enemies than to give advice
unsolicited. All I can say is that civil
service is a rewarding career, which can
give you tremendous satisfaction,
provided you are not enamored of any
particular chair and you keep your hands
clean. You must ensure that your
backbone does not suffer from
osteoporosis, you must also ensure that
you do not bend backwards to exhibit
the strength of the backbone. Depend
on God. And the brain he has created
you with. Pray you must, but keep the
gunpowder dry you should, as good old
Oliver Cromwell said long ago.
12
Some ado a
By fluke he says; By pluck they feel: N. Gopalakrishnan gave unparalleled service
to Indian Railway
N. Gopalakrishnan
L
ooking back I feel that I have
breezed through life. An
important, though not the
principal, factor in my life has
been fluke. Born in Kottayam in
comfortable circumstances as the fourth
child of a scholarly father and a beautiful
mother I grew up among loving sisters and
brothers. There is an order and natural
sequence even in the date of birth - 1-2-
34. The date however got mixed up in the
school records and became 1-2-33 and
right through I carried the burden of an
extra year that was no part of my life. After
passing the B.A. (Hons.)/M.A Examination
in Economics from the University College,
Trivandrum in 1955, I worked for a short
period in a tutorial college in Kottayam
teaching subjects on which my knowledge
was limited to what could be acquired by
reading on the evening before each class.
After a few months of such merry
irresponsibility, I wandered off to Delhi.
CoverStory
after he passed away that it was never
sent for collection; my parents had kept
it as a souvenir with a note “Sent by
Babu from his first pay”.
I did not last long in the PWD. I
went on deputation as Lecturer to TKM
College of Engineering as soon as the
IAS examination was over. That was a
jump from 210 to 360, the salary of the
then AE(now AExe). Hardly had I
settled down to teaching when I was
appointed to the IAS, another jump of
Rs.40/=
Thereafter it was the same route
which any regular recruit to IAS would
take. Ups and downs. Limelight and
sidelines. Bright valleys and dark alleys.
Sub Collector and Collector, PSU Chief,
Secretary to Government, Member of
the Revenue Board et al until reaching
the Chief Secretary’s grade when
superannuation was a long five years
away. With more than a year to go for
retirement I was made to become
Ombudsman. Later, that office was
abolished and I became a free bird once
again, when I was six months into my
61st year on Mother Earth.
On the whole there is no reason to
complain. There is no examination
under the sun like the IAS etc. exam, as
it was known then, where a single
examination makes a sea change in your
life. There are people who fall by the
wayside, either due to inertia or due to
ill luck, but for the most part civil service
is good, when it is not so good it is still
sort of okay!
Kerala Calling wants me to
enumerate my achievements. I have no
intention to oblige. The editor also wants
me to give some advice to the new
generation. I am not aware of any better
way to make enemies than to give advice
unsolicited. All I can say is that civil
service is a rewarding career, which can
give you tremendous satisfaction,
provided you are not enamored of any
particular chair and you keep your hands
clean. You must ensure that your
backbone does not suffer from
osteoporosis, you must also ensure that
you do not bend backwards to exhibit
the strength of the backbone. Depend
on God. And the brain he has created
you with. Pray you must, but keep the
gunpowder dry you should, as good old
Oliver Cromwell said long ago.
12
Some ado a
By fluke he says; By pluck they feel: N. Gopalakrishnan gave unparalleled service
to Indian Railway
N. Gopalakrishnan
L
ooking back I feel that I have
breezed through life. An
important, though not the
principal, factor in my life has
been fluke. Born in Kottayam in
comfortable circumstances as the fourth
child of a scholarly father and a beautiful
mother I grew up among loving sisters and
brothers. There is an order and natural
sequence even in the date of birth - 1-2-
34. The date however got mixed up in the
school records and became 1-2-33 and
right through I carried the burden of an
extra year that was no part of my life. After
passing the B.A. (Hons.)/M.A Examination
in Economics from the University College,
Trivandrum in 1955, I worked for a short
period in a tutorial college in Kottayam
teaching subjects on which my knowledge
was limited to what could be acquired by
reading on the evening before each class.
After a few months of such merry
irresponsibility, I wandered off to Delhi.
bout nothing
Without much difficulty I landed in a job
in the news room of the All India Radio.
This gave me the opportunity to come into
contact with eminent personalities in the
field of journalism like Pran Chopra,
Amalendu Dasgupta and M. Sivaram. They
treated me with great consideration and
kindness allowing and often persuading me
to participate in their discussions as an equal.
Among my colleagues was Ranganathan,
who later became famous as a cartoonist
under the name Ranga.
Life in the school and college days was
happy and often hilarious. I played football,
basket ball and tennis and represented the
school or the college in all the games. I am
still in close touch with my friends from
the high school days. I am still in love with
a few hundred girls whom I happened to
see during those days though, unlike the
boy friends, they wouldn’t know me today
if I stood in front of them. Of course there
was the vaguely understood, but intensely
experienced, thrill and excitement of the
struggle for the country’s independence
and its eventual liberation.
I passed the Civil Service Examination
of 1956 and joined the Indian Railway
Accounts Service in November 1957. My
first posting was to the South Eastern
Railway in Calcutta. In the Staff College at
Baroda, I was thrilled when I heard the
Principal saying that as Class 1 officers we
were born with silver spoons in our mouths.
Now I recall with amusement that as time
passed, I realised that the spoon was not
made of silver. There were also times when
I doubted whether its entry point was
indeed the mouth.
My first posting was as Assistant
Financial Adviser. Though I was often
frightened by the huge sums of money that
I was dealing with. I got along fairly smooth
since I was not particularly timid by nature.
I got my regular promotions and at the end
of a decade found myself the deputy head
of the department. Prior to this I had been
posted in a construction unit in Madhya
Pradesh. It was a small village in the midst
of forests. There were just half a dozen
officers and about a hundred other staff.
We lived in temporary houses not far from
the banks of one of the tributaries of the
Sone River.
Surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful
hills and valleys, regaled by the singing and
chirping of a vast variety of birds and with
occasional exciting sightings of tigers we
soon forgot the urban civilization that we
had left behind. The evenings were spent
playing tennis on a makeshift court that we
erected in the forest. When it rained we
gathered in one of the houses to play cards.
We played for small stakes. Soon I found
that the same coins were circulating. I could
recognise most of them like people whom I
sued to pass every day on my way to school.
Some of us could sing and play musical
instruments and once in a way we had
musical sessions. This, I am glad to say, did
not lead to a mass migration of the fauna or
a withering of the flora. It was during this
period that I married Suma. Again a fluke,
because I cannot think of anyone else who
could have stuck to me for so long and made
such substantial contribution to my well
being and contentment.
After I put in some years as Deputy
Chief I was promoted and posted as
Divisional Railway Manager. It was for the
first time on the Indian Railways that an
officer from the Accounts Service was being
promoted and posted as Divisional Railway
Manager in the cadre of general
management. I was not in turn for
promotion. I couldn’t quite see why I was
being promoted. There were many who
were as good as myself if not better and
senior to me. Anyway, I joined the Khurda
Division in Orissa and spent close to three
wonderful years in the land of Jagannath. I
got through two long strikes and a couple
of riots without serious damage. One of the
riots was started by a rumor that in one of
the godforsaken comers of the division, a
woman had been raped. I went to the place
and found that no such thing had
happened. It had all started from a quarrel
between two groups among the customers
of some merry girls who ran a regular racket
in one of the railway houses. The trouble
subsided and I reported to my boss that no
rape could have taken place in that house
because of the absence of the primary
Ants are animals. But a
big ant is not a big animal.
This, I think is true about
jobs too. A big job is not a
big thing. I remember
reading the obituary that
appeared in the
Statesman when Ustad
Allaudin Khan passed
away. It ran into one and a
half pages. At the bottom
of the last column was a
report on the death of an
ICS officer who had
retired as the Cabinet
Secretary. The obituary of
the man who retired from
the highest job in the
Government of India was
less than three
centimeters in length.
Implicit in the lengths of
the two obituaries was a
thoroughly sound
13
When you play tennis
there is just one ball that
you can hit. That is the
ball in the air. Play the ball
as well as you can. And
remember that all that it
ultimately adds up to is
just a game. I went on
doing the work that came
up to the best of my
abilities. Early in life I had
learned to take my sport
seriously and my life
sportingly.
requisite for a rape, namely an unwilling
woman.
During this period I had the good
fortune to cultivate the friendship of many
eminent writers. Mr. Ramakant Rath, who
was the Chief Secretary and Mr. Stiakanta
Mahapatra who was the Home Secretary
are both eminent poets. I also got a chance
to work closely with Mr. Madhu Dandavate
who was the Railway Minister. He was
keenly interested in the development of
Orissa and with his help I was able to pilot
the project for the construction of the 140
kilometer railway line from Talcher to
Sambalpur.
Mr. Dandavate was an exceptionally
good administrator and a thoroughly decent
human being. I don’t think that apart from
Mr. Madhava Rao Scindia I have ever
worked with so competent a superior.
At the end of the period I was transferred
to Nagpur in the same capacity. This is the
southern most point in India where I have
worked.
The last thing I did in Khurda Division
was to dispose of a file that had been put
up to me with a proposal to fix a marble
slab with my name on it on the wall of the
Central School building that was
14
constructed on my initiative. I didn’t like
the pompous idea. So I wrote on the file, “I
have no desire to borrow immortality from
the local mason.”
Time passed and I became the principal
head of the Finance Department on the
South Eastern Railway. One thing that I
remember about the time that I spent on
this job is the enormous time and energy
that I spent - fruitfully, thank God - on
initiating and establishing a procedure
which made it possible to pay Railway men
their pension and retirement benefits on
the very day of retirement. This procedure
was later adopted by the Government of
India for all departments.
In 1989 I opted for a quasi judicial
posting as a member of the Railway Claims
Tribunal. I chose this as a means for soft
landing into retirement. Aftet retirement
in November 1994, like a good husband I
settled down in my wife’s home town,
Calicut. Lakshmi, our only child lives in
Seattle, USA with her husband. They both
work for Microsoft.
I enjoyed my working career. I had
opportunities to travel all over the world
on official work as well as on a UN
fellowship. I did courses of studies in many
foreign universities. During the thirty seven
years of service I lived in Bengal, Bihar,
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
and made good friends in all the states.
During spells of deputation I worked in
public sector undertakings in the higher
echelons and learned something about their
work culture. Work never interfered with
my reading. I made full use of the libraries
and bought books within the limitations
of my income. I always lived within my
income and pretty early in my career
became adept at concealing poverty. Not
even once in my life have I made a
representation or application for a posting
or transfer. I would see my posting order
and just move on to the new place. I have
worked under good bosses as well as bad
ones. It made no difference. I took no
interest in the cliques and gossip gangs of
the official world and kept a measured
distance from the bosses, both political and
bureaucratic. When you play tennis there
is just one ball that you can hit. That is the
ball in the air. Play the ball as well as you
can. And remember that all that it ultimately
adds up to is just a game. I went on doing
the work that came up to the best of my
abilities. Early in life I had learned to take
my sport seriously and my life sportingly.
Most of the time things clicked. That is
what I call fluke. I could never believe that
the chap sitting behind the big desk
dressed in a three piece suit with a mock
serious expression was really me. I often
wondered what on earth I was doing in a
place like that.
Ants are animals. But a big ant is not a
big animal. This, I think is true about jobs
too. A big job is not a big thing. I remember
reading the obituary that appeared in the
Statesman when Ustad Allaudin Khan
passed away. It ran into one and a half pages.
At the bottom of the last column was a
report on the death of an ICS officer who
had retired as the Cabinet Secretary. The
obituary of the man who retired from the
highest job in the Government of India
was less than three centimeters in length.
Implicit in the lengths of the two obituaries
was a thoroughly sound assessment of the
worth of the two lives. It may appear that I
was not ambitious. This is not true. My
achievements in retrospect appear to be no
less than those of people known for their
ambitious nature. Now they look like
children’s toys. Nothing is wrong with the
toys. It is only that I am no longer a child.
Yes! I had an ambition. That was to get
home in the evening of life and regain the
innocence of the morning that was lost in
the heat and labour of the noon. I seem to
have made it - almost!
When I started living in Calicut someone
asked me what I planned to do to pass time.
I asked him whether time wouldn’t pass if I
didn’t do anything.
After retirement I took to writing in
Malayalam. This too seems to have clicked
in a moderate way. Some people seem to
read what I write. My books haven’t done
too badly. They are two collections of
articles, a Malayalam translation of former
Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s novel The
Insider, an English translation of K.P.
Ramanunni’s novel Sufi Paranja Katha (in
collaboration with Dr. R.E. Asher) a
Malayalam translation of Ramakanth Rath’s
Oriya classic “Sri Radha” (with Mr. P.M.
Narayanan) and a biography of the social
activist and eminent publisher D.C.
Kizhakkemuri.
I have gone through bad times too. But
they have not left any deep impression on
me. In fact nothing has. What is good about
bad times and what is bad about good
times is that they both pass.
CoverStory
A thrilling turning
point in life
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
The next day when I
looked at the Indian
Express there was the
story with my photo,
headlined “Sitting Pretty
at the Post Office
Counter”. It was a very
well-written story and
inspired me to take up
journalism.
CAREER A CRUCADE: Leela Menon wanted to carry on persistent efforts to bring
women’s issues to the media
Leela Menon
M
ine is not exactly a rags to
riches story but one with a
message that nothing is
impossible if one wants it,
wills it and works for it.
When I look back, though, I feel that
the decisive moment in my life came when
Prema Viswanathan came to interview me
for the Indian Express on that fateful day
at the Cochin MG Road Post office . She
opened the doors of and to journalism for
me...
I was born in a scenic green oasis of a
place called Vengola into a typical traditional
Nair family. Landowners , but not tillers, as
Nairs were in those days and hence cashKERALA CALLING z July 2005
strapped. I had a glorious childhood, with
no pressures to excel, reveling in nature, in
the joys and games of childhood. Indeed, I
did have a childhood to cherish,unlike
children of today.
I had my education in the local primary
school and passed my SSLC from the
Perumbavoor Government High School,
walking five kilometers to school and back
barefooted. I remember even now how I
wore my first pair of chappals when I went
to Hyderabad for a job. We had bought
the pair from Moor Market in Madras.
My father who had became paralysed
when I was two, died when I was seven. I
had a widowed sister with a son. I could
not go to college as I had to work to sustain
my family and educate my nephew. I got
my first job in Hyderabad as a clerk in the
post office through my cousins who were
settled there. .I was 17 but my certificate
showed that I was 18 and eligible for a job.
Buzzling Hyderabad was a revelation for a
villager and desk job a torture for the footfree. But a job was a job. Because I hungered
for education I joined the Evening College
of Osmania University. I passed out as a
merit scholar.I still remember that my first
pay was Rs.120/- out of which I used to
send Rs.40/-home for my nephew.
I returned to Kerala. I did not fit
comfortably into the traditional mould of a
clerk and decided to become a telegraphist.
In those days there were no women
telegraphist in the postal side. I was the first
to opt for telegraphy . I went to Madras for
15
a six-month course and then to Bangalore
Central Telegraph Office for training as a
telegraphist. I returned to Ernakulam as a
telegraphist at the Menaka post office on
Shanmugham Road. Knowledge of
telegraphy equipped me to become a
postmaster.
Meanwhile I met and married Major
Bhaskara Menon. I used to take leave to
join him in his postings but never resigned
my job. Never quit a Government job is
wisdom that still holds good. I stayed with
my in-laws and was working at the MG
Road post office as a telegraphist when
Prema came to interview me for the Indian
Express. Interviewing a woman telegraphist
was a story with a difference!
The next day when I looked at the
Indian Express there was the story with my
photo, headlined “Sitting Pretty at the Post
Office Counter”. It was a very well-written
story and inspired me to take up
journalism.. That was the turning point in
my life. She had taken her PG diploma from
Bharatheeya Vidyabhavan and I decided
to do the same. That it was an evening
course suited me. I won the All-India gold
medal for journalism that year, much like
Prema before me and I was taken by Indian
Express, just like Prema, who was also a
gold medallist.
To work in the Indian Express in Delhi
was my dream, and I requested for a Delhi
posting. I joined as a sub editor but I always
wanted to be a reporter. I remember writing
my first piece and taking it to
Mr.Mulgaonkar, our Editor-in-Chief.
When I addressed him as “Sir”, he told me:
“Leela, in our profession there are no Sirs.
You call me Mr.Mulgaonkar”. After reading
my article on dowry deaths, becoming
rampant in Delhi then, he corrected: “In
journalism there are only women, not
ladies!” and asked me to make my writing
simple. Which I do to this day. Journalism
thrilled me then; it thrills me now. I can still
recall the joy of seeing my first headline in
print, and my first byline.
From Vengola to Delhi Indian Express
was a formidable career route for a woman
in those days. And I was fortunate to come
back to Kerala as the first woman reporter.
It was my coverage of the Vypeen liquor
tragedy, in which 80 people died, with
interviews and graphic descriptions that was
sent nationally to all Indian Express editions
that made me acceptable as a reporter to
the very conservative editor, S.K.
Anantharaman. Women worked only as
16
subeditors then, as reporting was viewed
as risky, with erratic timings and hence
unsuitable. I had worked into the night
covering the Vypeen story, breaking the
taboo on women covering stories at night.
I had struck a daring trail, doing
investigative stories and scoops from
Kottayam, where I was posted as the first
woman Bureau Chief, landing the place
on the national map of Indian Express.
Covering not only Kottayam but also
Idukki,Alapuzha,Kollam
and
Pathanamthitta. My scoops had made
making newspaper history. Like the Nun
Running Story where a priest was taking
poor girls to Europe promising them jobs
as nurses and making them nuns instead.
It had stopped nun-running as it was then
known in Kerala. I had climbed up the high
ranges to track Ganja story and drug story.
I had interviewed Amitabh Bachan at
Sabarimala, He had refused to meet the
press but had agreed when I as a woman
reporter requested him. I had covered the
visit of the Pope, and had interviewed the
President of the World Council of
Churches who invited me to East Germany
for a seminar.
I had concentrated on Women’s issues,
human rights issues and other human
interest stories. In fact I can say proudly
that it was I who actually made women’s
issue a media issue. As a reporter in
Kottayam I covered election tours and did
political analysis, then considered beyond
women.
I had been struck by cancer while I was
working in Kottayam which was
pronounced terminal but I had survived. I
joined Ernakulam afterwards as my hill
climbing days were over. And it was during
my convalescence that I did the
Aruvakkode story, of women potters who
were stranded in prostitution after pottery
lost its market. This had led NGOs to
Aruvakkode, off Nilambur, rescuing the
community from prostitution and
upgrading their skills. Today Aruvakkode
pottery commands the export market. For
me journalism was a crusade. I had always
wanted to leave my footprints in time, not
through fame but through social
commitment, help to people on the fringes,
women and the community.
As I said in the beginning I am a
message. If I, a village girl, could do it then,
girls with wider horizons can do better. If
they believe in themselves..
CoverStory
Campus Recruitments
in b-schools
PROOVING METTLE: Bright candidates are being handpicked prior to their final exam. A writter test as part of a campus selection in progress.
Prof. B. Unnikrishnan
T
he sole purpose of education in
our country is to get a secure job.
Before choosing a professional
course and an institution for
studies, today, a student would like to
consider the possibilities it would offer for
a good placement through campus
recruitment.
According to available information,
there has been a boom in management
education in our country in the recent past,
and it continues to be on the growth track.
No doubt, the prospects for those who take
up management education in reputed
business schools appear to be brighter than
ever, looking at the heavy pay packages and
other offers they are able to attract. To quote
an example, IIM Ahmedabad recorded the
highest ever pay package during this year.
One of their students, 26-year old
R.Singhvi, smashed all previous records
notching up an unprecedented overseas
annual salary of $1,52,000 (approximately
Rs.67 lakhs).
Since corporate India seems to have
developed good faith in our leading
b.schools, they are vying with each other to
pick up the best students, offering mindboggling salaries. Probably it might be a
phenomenon resulting from the increased
growth rate of our national economy and
the present good performance of the
corporate sector. Whatever it may be,
management students and b.schools should
look forward to a brighter future, in the
years to come.
The campus recruitment in Kerala takes
place usually during the months of January
and February every year. Somewhere
around from November onwards the
campuses become lively, discussing
questions like ‘What sort of company I
should work for ?’, ‘What sort of salary I
must ask for?’, ‘What sort of job I must look
for? etc.
Unfortunately, the State of Kerala is not
able to take advantage of the very favourable
climate emerging in our country for
obvious reasons. Kerala has a built-in
disadvantage that none of the major
recruiters has its corporate headquarters in
Kerala, despite the fact that almost all of
them have their presence and business
operations in Kerala. It is only but natural
that the corporate HR heads from Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai etc.
would not find it convenient for them to
travel all the way to Kerala for recruitment,
especially when there are good institutions
in their immediate vicinity.
Kerala’s own backward nature in
industrial development is a major handicap
experienced by our management students
as well as business schools in this connection.
Consequently, b.schools in Kerala are
destined to work very hard to rope in
employers from Mumbai, Bangalore,
Chennai etc. to come down all the way to
17
CAMPUS CREATION: Great careers are woven out a good campus
Kerala spending more time and money.
Majority of recruiters who had come
down to Cochin this year were from
Insurance and Banking sectors as could be
seen from the list of recruiters such as ICICI
Bank, ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz,
Metlife India, Birla Sunlife, Centurion
Bank, ABN Amro, Berger Paints, Asian
Paints, Intimate Fashions, Ingersoll Rand,
Allianz Cornhill, India Bulls Security,
Group M, McCann Erickson, BPL Mobile,
Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, TCS etc. Job
opportunities were mostly in marketing and
marketing related areas of operation.
Opportunities are open to male and female
candidates without any discrimination
provided both are willing to work hard.
Those who prefer to work a strictly 9-5
schedule are not preferred at all by the
recruiters.
One important criterion, all of them
look for selection, is a consistent good
academic performance from the SSLC level
onwards. The second most important
quality they insist on is the communication
skill and the body language of the
candidate. Some of the other qualities they
generally look for among the candidates
include their self confidence, positive
18
attitude, adaptability, willingness to learn,
interpersonal skill, ability to work in a team,
leadership skills etc. General knowledge is
one area where many of the students fair
poorly The selection process is mostly based
on group discussion and interviews.
Wherever the number of candidates is
more, say more than thirty or so, a written
test is also conducted in the beginning as a
means for short listing.
One of the emerging recent trends in
campus placements is the increased
industry-institute cooperation, by way of
providing customized education to the
prospective candidates. The industry is
now prepared to give more involvement in
curriculum designing with a view to meet
its own specific skill development
requirements. For example, the ICICI Bank
has entered into a tie-up with SCMS
b.School to train the students to meet their
specific industry standards, of course, with
an involvement and commitment from the
industry. I think, in future, there may be
more and more customized educational
programmes planned and executed for the
benefit of the industry, the institution and
the students.
The MBA students of the University
streams is facing a serious problem in campus
placements on account
of the uncertainties
prevailing in the conduct
of the final examinations
and announcement of
the results in time. As a
matter of practice, the
universities are not able
to
conduct
the
examinations early in
time to suit to the needs
of the recruiters.
Announcement of
results are delayed
inordinately. With the
result, the students, even
after getting selected,
and appointment orders
issued, are not able to
join duty within the
stipulated time and they
are at loss.
Mr.Pramod
P.Thevannoor, Director
in charge of Placements
at SCMS B.school
narrated this distressing
incident. Out of 32
students selected by ICICI from SCMS
Group this year, 27 students under the
PGDM stream (not affiliated to any
university) had joined duty on June 1st after
completing all formalities and have already
drawn their first month’s salary. At the same
time the remaining five students selected
from SSTM, a separate b.school under
SCMS Group following the MG university
stream, have not even been able to appear
for the final examinations because the exams
are not yet scheduled. The placement they
have secured continues to remain under
dark clouds. None can expect the employer
to wait indefinitely, it is a fact we have to
admit.
The future of management education
in our country is brighter than ever before.
Excellent career opportunities are awaiting
those who are willing to get qualified and
grab it. Unfortunately we the so-called
literate state is still stuck with our petty
problems and preferences. The significant
question is whether we are willing to open
our eyes, see the reality and change our own
mind set, for the future of our younger
generation.
The writer is Professor of Mass
Communication in SCMS b.School, Kochi.
CoverStory
New trends in recruitments
Krishna Prasad
I
magine converting the register of
prospective job seekers in
employment exchanges into a digital
database that could be accessed from
any part of the world. To those familiar with
the pre-occupation of our ruling elite this
may sound as wishful as the lines of the
famous John Lennon song Imagine. Before
moving ahead it would be appropriate to
state that the purpose of this is not to offer
any kind of tehcnotopia for the greatest
problem facing most societies in the
contemporary world; unemployment. The
severity of the problem could be illustrated
by the simple fact
that any discussions
on development
these days are
permeated with
the phenomena
called ‘jobless
growth’.
This is also not
an attempt to
peddle the cause of
‘virtual reality’,
described by many
as the ultimate
fantasy of those
addicted to the
belief that life is
nothing but a pure
t e l e m a t i c
experience. Let
them live in their OKAY: Foreign avenues
own dream zones
surrounded by electronic frontiers. In any
case, they are unlikely to venture in to the
mundane world of the employment
exchanges filled with dilapidated and dusty
registers.
But can technology be used to
transform these huge numbers bandied
about by all and sundry into something
meaningful and of useful value? If the
successful models of online job recruitment
agencies are of any indication the answer is
yes. The Monster Dotcoms of the world
(one of the biggest online recruitment
agencies in the world based in the US. They
have an Indian outfit) has brought a
fundamental change into the process of job
recruitment. Leaving apart the senior level
positions, most of the entry-level jobs are
being filled through these agencies. Even
at the senior level, these days the first contact
is often made through online agencies. As
is the case with many other facets of the
digital world the possibilities of having a
‘virtual resume’ seems to be limited to those
having access to the technology. The
students pursuing various courses in the
innumerable digital diploma mills that have
sprang up all over the country may be able
to tap the windows of opportunities opened
up by the online recruitment agencies.
What about others? This is where the
are always open to exceptionally brilliant ones
employment exchanges can do some
innovative thinking and transform
themselves into active job consultants than
remaining a passive registry for job seekers.
An authentic and varied database of the
qualified people is the first requirement of
an online job agency. The employment
exchange with nearly four million names is
the best readily available source to develop
such as database. The challenge is to classify
this into a digital ready-to-refer database
providing educational, technical
qualifications and skill sets of each person.
Given the number of people with data
entry skills, this is not going to be a major
problem. After completion of this process
the exchange should develop linkages and
interfaces with various public\private
agencies so that the database of prospective
employees could be supplied to them. The
exchange could even think of levying user
fee for its services.
Before getting late it should be
mentioned very clearly that this is not
suggested as a solution to the problem of
unemployment. The problem of
unemployment has got wider ramifications
linked with the social and economic aspects
of a given society. Unfortunately there is an
increasing tendency amongst many persons
to project technology in itself as a solution.
Technology in itself is not a solution; it is
only an enabler to find
solutions. Technology
in itself would not
resolve any problems.
But it would help to
resolve problems if
used in the right sense
and perspective. If we
fail to keep this in
mind we may fall into
the traps of those
advocating digital
nirvana to resolve all
the issues facing the
world.
As Arthur Kroker
and Michael A
Weinstein put rightly
in Data Trash that is a
“cold world where
bodies get prepped for
downloading into
data, where seeing means artificial optics,
where hearing is listening to the high-speed
world of sampler culture, where travelling
becomes a nomadic journey across the
MUD (Multiple User Dungeons) and
where communication disappears in to the
high-speed fibre ‘backbone” of the
Internet.”
The suggestion to digitise employment
exchanges is not to reduce the unemployed
into ‘electronic nomads’ struggling through
the unreality virtual space. The purpose of
this suggestion is to explore the possibilities
of linking her\him with new opportunities
in a world that has become increasingly
difficult to distinguish between the virtual
and the real.
19
CoverStory
A.K. Ramachandran
L
ike legislature and judiciary, Public
Service Commissions are also the
creation of Indian Constitution.
“It shall be the duty of the Union
and the State Public Service Commissions
to conduct examinations for appointments
to the services of the Union and the services
of the State respectively”, so says the
Constitution in Article 320 (l) viz.,
‘Functions of Public Service Commissions’.
It was in 1935, the then Maharajah of
erstwhile Travancore appointed G.D.
Noakes, Bar at Law, a British Judicial officer,
as the Public Service Commissioner to select
officials from various religions and
communities for government service. The
formation of Travancore - Cochin and the
subsequent integration of British Malabar
with Kerala in 1947 transformed PSC to
its present stature.
Unlike UPSC or any State PSCs, the
KPSC receives the highest number of
applications every year. It is, undoubtedly,
the major hurdle before KPSC in
revamping its recruitment system. During
1997 the number of pending applications
were 95 lakhs. A concerted and intensive
arrear clearance drive has been made by the
then Commission to lessen this huge
number. Now the backlog has been cleared
and the figure has come down to 50 lakhs.
Considering the yearly input of 30 lakhs,
only 20 lakhs are now pending.
Commission has evolved a method to
plug the leakage of question papers. When
the matric level posts were notified, the
inflow of applications were unprecedented.
The number of applications for LDC is
nearly 13 lakhs and the first leg of this
examination in Pathanamthitta, Idukki and
Kasaragod districts were held on 2nd July,
2005 from 2 to 3.15 pm. Earlier question
papers for the written test were sent to the
faraway examination centres well in
advance. This led to the leakage of question
papers and other malpractices. In order to
overcome the foul play, the question papers
are now being supplied to the examination
centres on the test day morning only, so
that the test could be conducted smoothly
in the afternoon.
The OMR (Optical Mark Reader)
valuation of answer scripts and
computerization in selection process help
the revamping endeavour in a big way.
There was stiff resistance from everywhere
20
against the computerization. Now, those
feats are allayed and the KPSC is in a
position to publish the ranked lists within
two years of the receipt of the applications.
Earlier publication of certain ranked lists
were delayed inordinately owing to
litigations. Publication of ranked lists within
one year of the receipt of applications
should be the motto of KPSC.
real mark in the written test. The ultimate
result is that the request for rechecking of
answer scripts have decreased considerably,
so also the cases filed against KPSC.
The timely renewal of special rules is
the need of the hour. Almost all special rules
formulated by the state government
departments decades ago are outdated. Lots
of educational institutions are imparting
Revamping
PSC Recruitments
TRY A CHANCE: The number of candidates appear for a PSC examination is enormous. An
examination goes on in a school in Thiruvananthapuram.
Transparency in the selection process of
KPSC is on the anvil. Introduction of
website and publication of cut off marks
for written tests is the novel idea in this
regard. The searching of website namely
www.keralapsc.org helps the candidates to
find out the relevant information on all
aspects of the functioning of KPSC. The
publication of cut off marks in this portal
has helped the candidates to know their
training and issuing certificates for technical
and scientific non-conventional courses.
There is no mentioning about these courses
in the special rules. The recruitment rule
for assistant engineers in PWD and
Irrigation departments says that intending
candidates should have obtained a bachelor’s
degree in engineering from Engineering
College, Guindy, Madras. Now we have
23,196 seats for engineering in Kerala
DAVIS
DAVIS
PREPARATION FINAL: A candidate updates his homework before a PSC exam hall
(4,076 for government colleges and 19,120
for self financing colleges). Likewise for
some technical courses (National Trade
Certificate - NTC- level) the qualification
should have obtained from City and
Guilds, London. These are all outdated and
irrelevant. Some reference books prescribed
for departmental tests especially for
divisional accountants posts are also
outdated. Now those books are not
available in the market. The government
should take immediate steps to correct this
lacunae.
Improving the quality of selection
deserves special mention. Lakhs of
candidates are applying for a single vacancy.
Hence, elimination test and interview will
become unavoidable. The recent
controversy regarding introduction of
interview for the post of Assistant Grade-II
should be viewed in this background. After
the objective type preliminary and
descriptive type final examinations, the
interview will certainly help the civil services
with the finest of candidates.
The Commission could take some
initiatives suo motu to improve its
functioning. When it was widely reported
in the press that SSLC students fear the
most, English and mathematics papers for
their final examination, the KPSC decided
in consultation with the Principal Secretary
(General Education) and DPI to recruit
English teachers from among the graduates
of English language and literature to teach
the high school students. Till then English
was taught by social science, natural science,
physical science and mathematics teachers.
The publication of unified ranked lists
for similar posts will help KPSC to shed its
workload considerably. The MBBS doctors,
whether in Health Services department or
Employees’ Insurance Scheme doing the
same work. So as the case with civil or
electrical engineers. The civil engineers in
PWD, Irrigation departments, KSE Board
or Kerala Water Authority are doing the
same work. The LDV or HDV drivers are
doing the same work in government
departments or PSUs. The present practice
of publishing each notifications for these
posts for several government departments,
boards and corporations and for each
districts are time consuming, expensive and
delaying the selections considerably. The
differences in pay scales and qualifications
are modified amicably, then these selections
can be completed with single selection and
ranked list. Now there is a provision for
candidates to opt the service they desire to
join. In districts like Palakkad and Kollam,
certain local self governments are managing
high schools and appointment to the posts
of HSAs are made from the ranked lists of
those districts.
Strengthening of KPSC is also of vital
importance. It is the widespread demand
that more and more recruitments should
be entrusted with PSC e.g., appointments
to aided colleges and schools, universities,
subordinate judiciary (munsiff magistrate)
etc. Salary to lecturers and teachers of aided
colleges and schools are paid from the coffers
of state financial exchequer.
Where there is a will there is a way, so
goes the adage. If somebody in the high
echelons of power so desires, the hurdles in
revamping KPSC recruitment system could
be overcome without delay.
The writer is former member, Kerala Public
Service Commission.
21
CoverStory
Rajendran N.P.
W
ith the changes in
technology
and
modernisation in all
aspects of life and also
with an ever increasing number of job
seekers, the governmental agencies
entrusted with the task of finding of capable
men for public service, need to move in
tandem with the times and trends. But no
serious attempt has been made to make
selection to vacancies in public service foolproof, scientific and relevantly modernised.
This apathetic attitude on the part of the
authorities has begun to tell upon the
quality of the public service. Added to these
problems, is the mammoth size of many of
our public service examinations. Their sheer
vastness is often an impediment to
conducting those exams in a manner which
can be called infallible.
seldom analytical and more often than not
quizzical in nature and selected at random.
The written tests which are the basis for
the whole recruiting process are often so
flawed and inadequate that they signally
fail to serve their purpose. For example, for
ease for valuation, the Commission has
conducted memory-based one time
multiple choice test even for teaching posts.
The boom in buzar guides for competitive
exams is mainly due to the mnemonic
nature of such Public Service Commission
exams. The resourcefulness of the
candidates, the most desirable quality in a
job aspirant, is rarely touched. Addition of
marks given in a subjective interview - and
that too without any provision for aptitude
test - to the marks gained by a candidate in
a multiple choice test will have an altogether
adverse effect. The prolonging recruitment
process itself invalidates any good
Of eliminating,
filtering and handpicking
Need for modernising PSCs
In reality, PSC in government is what
HR Department is to the companies and
firms in private sector. The condition of
other recruitment bodies in public sector is
also, by and large, the same. The single most
malady facing these public bodies is lack of
professionalism.
Incidentally,
professionalism invariably implies
commitment, accuracy, capability and
innovation. But, unfortunately, these are
the very same qualities our Public Service
Commission is yet to fully acquire.
Currently, the Public Service
Commission in Kerala recruits the
candidates through written examinations
and also through interviews wherever
applicable. In the case of some posts,
physical ability test and practical test too
are conducted. For some posts, just for
elimination purpose, preliminary and main
exams are held. In principle, these are
enough to handpick candidate, suitable for
public service. But, in actuality, it is not so.
Neither the written tests nor the questions
in the interviews are standardised. They are
22
characteristics the current recruiting process
may have.
The mushrooming of publishers
churningout career guides has muddled up
things more. With mainstream media
joining the melee, the job prospect, which
is often limited, is given unnecessary hype .
Many a job seeker is put to avoidable stress
and disappointment. This media hype
ultimately benefits bazaar guides and
coaching centres. The conventionality and
repeatability of Public Service Commission
examinations are what the guides and
coaching centres exploit to the hilt. The
basic qualities of a candidate to be checked
in a selection process in a competitive
manner are; 1) knowledge, 2) skill 3)
aptitude, 4) resourcefulness, 5) innovation
and 6) personality. How present day Public
Service Commission exams and interviews
live upto the above ideals is anybody’s guess.
Evaluation has been the most dismal factor
in our educational system. Our competitive
exams too are following the suit. Our
competitive exams, which should be a
judicious combination of elimination and
achievement tests, are, proverbially
incapable of measuring the knowledge
level, born and acquired skills, personal traits
and aptitude of the candidates, let alone
the resourcefulness and innovative quality
of the candidates.
Besides, the inadequacy of the question
papers, the mode of examination itself is
often not scientific. For example, for some
posts, the Public Service Commission
conducts a main test after a preliminary test.
But, the main tests often resemble
achievement tests, whereas the number of
candidates to be eliminated should be
determined through an achievement test
in the preliminary exam itself. The main
examination should be equipped with
features to determine the competency of
the candidates.
In other words, the public service
selection process has to go through three
steps namely, elimination, filtering and
handpicking. For a serious selection process,
VIDEO ON RECORD: A job interview is being recorded in video in Arcansas, USA. The
new changes are eagerly awaited here.
DAVIS
often a gift from improper
objective type question
papers.
The main examination
should be the filtering
process. The exam should be
relevantly comprehensive and
maximally objective. The
questions should be subjectcentred and aptitudeascertaining. Peripheral and
marginal knowledge of the
target subject also should be
checked. How much a
PSC
candidate is good at a thing is
more important than what a
student can remember about it.
The third step in the selection process
is handpicking, in which interview can, if
properly conducted, play a role. The
number of short-listed candidates should
not be either too bulky or too slim. The
pruning of the shortlists should be realistic.
The interview is the process through which
FINAL BROWSE: Candidates appearing for a
Exam refreshing themselves with market guides
the number of candidates competing for
vacancies has to be controllable. The
candidates appearing for the exam are
controlled through a judicious preliminary
test in such a way that only those students
with serious competitive ability can be
retained for the main exam. This will largely
do away with chanceful success, which is
resourcefulness, innovative thinking,
aptitude, skill, mental make-up and health
of a candidate are to be determined. It
should be poised to handpick the best from
the good. Needless to say that the present
day hurried and quizzical type of interviews
are a mockery of the term. Interview should
be a phased process conducted in a larger
context during which the candidates should
be subjected to psychological and aptitude
tests, group discussion and, finally,
interaction with the board members. The
total marks for the interview should be
equally divided for the above process. It
will minimise human error and
manipulation.
If we want to achieve the desired results
in selection process for public service, first
of all, we have to change our mental
chemistry. We should understand that
beaten paths are not always the best ones.
Without modernising the selection process,
there is no meaning in effecting
modernisation at administrative level. The
recent developments in psychological and
aptitude tests and in computer-aided
teaching and learning process, can help us
a lot to evolve a fool-proof, efficient and
scientific selection method. It will also, to a
great extent, do away with the complaints
of the candidates, both genuine and unreal.
A selection process is finally a question of
evaluation. Inadequate evolution is
something which we inherited from our
academic exams. The most important
advantage of application of modern
technique to the selection process for public
jobs is the maximisation of objective
evaluation. For example, if a meeting with
a candidate is videographed scientifically
and later played before a competent
selection committee, the performance of the
candidate can be evaluated more
objectively than in the interview process
itself. The technique is modern, but the
dictum is old. Viewers can view a game
more dispassionately than the players
themselves.
It is high time that the government and
its recruiting agencies like the Public Service
Commission evolved a scientific,
modernised and updated selection process.
For it, they need to rope in the help of the
best minds from every walk of life. To settle
for the mediocre in Public Service will be
both a paradox and self-forgetfulness on
the part of those involved in the selection
process.
23
VISIT GAIN
K.S. RAVIKUMAR
A ready-to-do CM visits NDDB to sort out the issues of our diary sector
ODYSSEY FRUITFUL:
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
express by NDDB over the prudent
financial management in the co-operative
sector and assured that the legal issues cited
could be examined by Government at an
early date. The Chief Minister agreed that
the sector issues need to be studied in detail
by a multi disciplinary team of experts
comprising of senior professionals from
National Dairy Development Board,
Centre for Development Studies, Indian
Institute of Management etc. to be
constituted by the Government in a time
bound manner. There was agreement to the
NDDB Chairperson’s suggestion that the
livestock production potential of the state
needs to be studied in relation to its crop
production plan. It was also decided to
persue steps to strengthen the Vetenary
Biological Institute, Palode as a premier
institution. The possibility of strengthening
the Kerala Livestock Development Board’s
potential to that of a national level player
also will be examined.
The National Dairy Development
Board offered to provide and assist the
implementation of diet balancing software
it has developed in the Animal Husbandry
Department, Kerala. Improper, inadequate
feeding and underfeeding are undermining
the productivity of the improved genetic
potential. It will supply one tank load of by
–pass protein feed of Kerala to conduct a
field trial. Based on the results the
establishment of new bypass protein plant
in the existing feed plant will be examined.
It was also agreed that the Government
of Kerala would strengthen the Animal
Disease Control Project being implemented
with NDDB assistance in the State by
deploying adequate staff. The Chief
Minister sought NDDB and Government
Headquarters of NDDB
of India assistance in upgrading the
veterinary and animal sciences education
sector of Kerala to an autonomous status, if
necessary by establishing a separate
university. While agreeing with the concept
National Dairy Development Board and
Government of India suggested that the
incremental benefits out of such an
institution and its viability are to be
submitted in further detail before a final
decision is taken. It was decided to entrust
this task to the expert committee.
The Chief Minister took time out of
his busy schedule and spared two days to
study and present problems in the sector
before the apex decision-makers. He also
found time to visit the Sabarmati Ashram
Gosala, Bedaj, which is the largest bull
station possibly in Asia and the Bio
Technology Laboratories of the NDDB.
The Chief Minister’s visit helped
strengthen a long cherished relationship
with National Dairy Development Board
and rekindled spirit of a strong partnership
which will help the state achieve greater
heights in the years to come. The Chief
Minister visit was reason for celebration in
Anand , since he literarily brought the rains
with him. The showers, which descended
upon Anand, symbolized the new seeds of
a fruitful association, which has the
potential to leave a lasting impression in
Kerala’s Animal Husbandry sector.
The writer is Director, Animal Husbandry
and Diary Development
5
Photo feature
If the rain comes
If the rain comes Bakel Fort will carry us to a celestial world. The
lens dislikes the water-fogs. PRAVEEN M.V. waits for a break
to peep into 500 years of Bakel’s raptures.
24
25
Communication
Mobilizing co
D. Damodar Prasad
R
ecently, the renowned
Netherlands based mobilehandset giant, NOKIA has
come out with a plan to start a
production facility in South India. The
decision perhaps is enabled by the fact that
the mobile penetration is relatively wide in
the South Indian states. According to
Geneva based International Telecommunications Union forecasts more than 50
percent of all mobile- phone users will be
in the Asia Pacific Region (ITU
www.itu.int/home/). Now with the
emergence of mobile internet, the
technology is destined to be the main driver
of knowledge economy. The mobile
internet is a wireless loop between mobile
device capabilities, connectivity, packet
networks and effective user interaction. It
is not a substitute for fixed-line PC-based
internet connection. Nevertheless, e-mail
and multimedia are two killer applications
with news and business information
gradually picking up this route. The mobile
is handy and easy to use in terms of
communication and connectivity.
Interestingly, the penetration of mobile
phones was not effected by a concerted
action nor it does require special training
on its usability. In terms of technological
literacy, the user-friendliness is embedded
in the device. Deliberating on the e-trends,
technologists say that the “Mobile internet
26
is something new, because of the wireless
technologies’ capacity to bathe the world
in bandwidth and liberate people and
devices from the constraints of fixed
locations. Just as water, gas and electricity
are ubiquitous, always-on utilities in most
of the developed world, wireless technology
promises to do the same for information,
by making the internet as pervasive as we
breathe”. Analogically, it is akin to “horseless
carriage or automobile of the 19th century”.
The absence of horse is only considered as
horseless stage as we still needs reference to
older previous technologies.
Mobile is the medium
It is with the emergence of 3G systems,
the mobile phones rapidly altered the scene.
The 3G systems are designed to handle the
data effectively and communicate
instantaneously. The mobile phones were
originally seen as a technology enabling
voice data transfer or in other words it was
merely like a telephone, “a speaking
telegraph”. In fact, the telegraph was
revolutionary communication device. As in
the case of internet, the telegraph also
required skills in operation. But the
telephone made the technology accessible
to a large public. Similar the case of mobile
technology. As the E-TREND writers say:
“The mobile phone thus promises to do
for the internet what the telephone did for
the telegraph: to make it a truly mainstream
technology.”
Internet refers to the network of network
and how does the mobile form part of this
network. The mobile internet consists of
overlapping and interconnected devices.
Besides, the mainstreaming of technology
becomes possible as the mobile device can
be connected to a variety of access devices
including laptop and the old PC
The quintessential difference that
makes mobile, perhaps the best interactive
medium at least at this point of
technological history is its ability to function
as very personal device in respect to other
technologies. The mobile phone will only
be used by a single person. Only consider
the difference between e-mails, which
directly go to a machine sitting on a desk
and SMS that is received by the personal
device. Of course there are obvious
drawbacks. The limited screens and
keyboards of PC are few cited things. The
emergence and spread of computermediated communication and telecom has
now distinct history and the process in not
linear although we are discussing the same
in the context of convergence.
Transcending the fixed nature of
previous technologies and also enabling an
intimate relationship with the user and
aiding him/her in his daily businesses, the
mobile medium has also brought in a
spiritual dimension to the technology. The
Economist report that, “Now the purveyors
of faith the world over are using mobile
phones to give believers a call in as more
literal sense.” For instance, Catholics can
sign up for spiritual text message from
Vatican daily and the Muslims globally use
customized handset to remind them of their
prayer timings.
Nevertheless, the diffusion of mobile
phones is of special interest and it has to be
critically evaluated rather than sheer
idolization of the new technology. The
critical perspective is inclusive of the
evaluation of the promise of new technology
to democratize politics and culture and it
would generate an understanding of the
current state of information society. It needs
also to focus on the audience-public
reaction to the substantial, direct and even
passive effect of the technology on society.
The mobile phone as was in the case of
The digital inclusion
The editorial of the Economist
magazine thus says: “Rather than trying to
close the divide for the sake of it, the more
sensible goal is to determine how best to
use the technology to promote bottom-up
development. And the answer to that
question turns out to be remarkably clear:
by promoting the spread of PC’s and the
internet, but of mobile phones.”
In addressing the question of inequality
in access to digital technologies, the choice
of technology is the key. The penetration
of mobile phone is far deeper than any other
previous technologies. Its obvious
connection to telephone, perhaps remove
considering this. In terms of cost, the mobile
phones can be easily procured by anyone.
Configuration, high-end knowledge etc are
not essential in case of the purchase of a
handset. The connection is relatively costeffective. It does not rely on electricity and
considering the cost-benefit analysis, the
mobile phones gain has a supreme
advantage. On the development front,
there are a number of evidences to prove
that the mobile connections were effective
in ringing considerable change. The use of
mobile phones by deep sea fishermen of
Vizhinjam for fixing prices and enabling
deals is a case in point from our proximity.
It is not the portability alone that makes
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
mmunication
WIRELESS FRENZY: Youths are more captured by the wireless world. A scene from Kochi
personal computer now offers as the symbol
and touch stone of the information society.
As most often “new media rely on old media
to present position and legitimate an
unfamiliar technology to the public acting
and consumers and citizens”. Let us look at
the immediate reaction of the new
technology to the effect of the previous one.
the mental block for people to adopt this
technology. The handy nature of the
technology is another thing that impressed
upon the people to use the medium. Here
the question is not whether mobiles replace
PC’s as a computing solution but the point
is on the communication capabilities of the
device. And technological literacy is minimal
this technology the valiant medium of our
times. Sumit Roy summarizes the advantage
in terms of economic efficiency:
1)Full-size business communication tools
independent from traditional
telecommunications and power
infrastructure
2)Tool to connect to digital network at a
27
No. of
variants
(as of
April 6)
Virus
How it's spread
What it does
How to remove it
Cabir
Spreads via Bluetooth to
nearby devices that are in
"discoverable" mode. User has
to accept the download and
installation of the infected
application.
No permanent damage, but can
drain battery as worm seeks out
new Bluetooth-enabled targets.
Removal tools are available from
anti-virus vendors.
21
Commwarrior
Spreads via Bluetooth and
MMS messages, claiming to
be an important application
or Symbian OS security
update. User still has to
accept file transfer and install.
No permanent damage. It can
drain battery as it sends MMS
messages to contacts in the
device's address book and looks
for targets via Bluetooth.
anti-virus vendors.
1
Drever
User downloads/installs
malicious "antivirus.sis" file.
It disables Simworks and
Kaspersky anti-virus software for
Symbian. Needs to be reinstalled.
Use Application Manager to
uninstall "antivirus.sis."
3
Fontal
Malicious SIS file that user
downloads from peer-to-peer
or other site.
Installs a corrupted application
on Nokia Series 60 phones,
causing them to lock.
Restore phone to original settings,
erasing all data.
1
Locknut
Another malicious SIS file
that a user has to download
and install.
Virus can cause problems with
Symbian ROM, making phone
lock.
anti-virus vendors.
2
Mabir
A new version of Cabir that
spreads by sending a SIS file
via Bluetooth and MMS;
virus replies to incoming
messages.
No permanent damage, but
could drain battery.
anti-virus vendors.
1
Skulls
User downloads a malicious
SIS file. File looks like a
theme manager or some other
handy application.
Replaces application icons with
skull and crossbones; hinders
access to applications.
anti-virus vendors
fraction of the cost of the conventional
personal computer enabling them to do
new business, to access new business
opportunities.
3)Promote their own business and provide
the scope of Small and Medium
enterprises (SMEs) to even in remote and
rural areas to get connected to the global
market;
4)Information architecture and permit
SMEs to participate in national and
international supply chains;
5)Enable SME manufacturers more easily
to adapt new process and product
technologies
The facilitation of commerce by mobile
technology is aptly termed by m-commerce
and similar to this we may have also to
engage with the enabling of mobile in
governance (m-governance). At least in the
G2C sector, the mobile is aiding as an
interface in grievance submission and even
28
for follow-up procedures. However, a lot
more concerted action is needed in case of
the diffusion of this technology. Rather
than the direct intervention of government,
the private sector can play a key role in the
dissemination. The penetration of TV
technology was effectively done by the cable
operators is a case in point.
mobile shopping. The online bookstore like
Amazon would in near future have a mobile
extension. One of the draw back of relatively
slow start of the m-commerce is the userfriendly mobile interface environment.
Mobile marketing is already in place in
India. For instance, Mobile-adver games
were launched for HDFC, Electrolux,
M-Commerce
The Cellular idea
It simply means the use of mobile
devices in carrying out economic
transactions. For instance, m-commerce
facilities such as convenience for booking
and paying for tickets, stock trading, mobile
banking, and interactive information
exchange for commercial purpose is already
available. It is estimated that the mobile
financial services will be the next major
component of m-commerce. Related to this
is the mobile money transfer and mobile
micro money payments, which would
eventually credit/debit card based
transactions. M-commerce also relates to
It was D.H.Ring who first put on paper
the idea of cellular communications (1947).
It is like this. Imagine a map of
Thiruvananthapuram city and imagine a
clear plastic sheet rule with a grid of
hexagons, placed over it. Now, imagine a
car with a radio telephone driving through
the streets, passing from one hexagon to
another. Ring suggested that each hexagon
had a radio transmitter and receiver, and
then the radio telephone in the car could
correspond with this ‘base station’. The idea
is to allocate seven frequencies to a pattern
of seven hexagons (a-g) and repeat this
Some terms explained
1G
First generation system
2G
Second generation system, digital with voice and data (e.g. SMS)
2.5G
Evolving second generation system, not yet fully multimedia
3G
Fourth generation system, seamless integration of all wireless networks.
Speeds of 54mbps, expected to be feasible after 2010
TDMA
Time Division Multiple Access. Digital cellular technology divides
transmission into time slots. Dominant in 2G era
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access. Digital transmission technology based on
spread spectrum and coding techniques. Dominant in 3G era
GSM
Global system for mobile communications. European developed digital
mobile standard. 9.6 kbps
EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM evolution. 384-473 Kbps
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service. Packet-switched data enhancement
for GSM- based 2G networks. Up to 115 kbps.
Wi-Fi
IEEE 802.16 wireless internet standard transmitting
at 11mbps in the 2.4 GHz spectrum
SIM
Subscriber Identity Module Card
Wi-Max
IEEE 802.16 wireless internet standard, transmitting at 70 mbps
in excess of 45 KM radius
Blue-Tooth Short range radio technology for personal area networks
(PAN) 781 Kbps,
to a ange of 10 metres
Source: Madanmohan Rao, Wireless Tsunami: An Asia Pacific Phenomena*
pattern across the map. The driver started
by speaking on frequency a in the first
hexagon, then with the g, then c, then back
to a again. If the first and last hexagon were
far enough apart so that the two did not
interfere then a radio conversation could
take place without interference, so long as
no one else was in your small hexagon, on
your frequency at the same time. If the
repeated pattern of hexagons spread over
the entire map, then the whole city could
be covered. If hexagons are small enough
many more mobile phones could be
crammed into a big city and only a scarce
frequency would be needed.
Mobile virus
They’re coming to mobile phones - those
nasty viruses, worms and Trojan horses that
have, on more than one occasion, crippled
PCs. No doubt about that. The question
is: Will they be as bad?
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
SCREENAGERS ON RISE: To know everything from the screen becomes a trend
There are several mobile phone viruses
in the wild at the moment, including Skulls,
Cabir and Fontal. And, like many PC-based
viruses, each has its own set of variants aimed
at keeping users and security vendors on
their toes
Skulls spreads by hiding in what looks
like a harmless application for your mobile
phone, be it a “theme” manager application
or simple game. It replaces system icons with
a picture of skull and cross bones and makes
it difficult to access phone functions. Cabir
variants - there are roughly 20 - use
Bluetooth wireless technology to spread
between phones in close proximity.
Commwarrior uses the Multimedia
Message Service (MMS) to send infected
files that look to be important security
updates between devices. Commwarrior
also will reset the device on the 14th day of
the month, thus deleting all settings and
data, if the virus is not removed in time.
The current slate of viruses all target
the Nokia Series 60 smartphones running
the Symbian operating system . A
smartphone combines phone and PDA
functions into one device. Symbian holds
the biggest share of the smartphone
operating system market, with 13.65
million units shipped in 2004. Other
operating systems such as palmOne and
Windows Mobile accounted for another
6.6 million units.
How a cell phone virus
spreads
A phone infected with the Cabir
virus uses Bluetooth to continuously
search within a 32-foot range for other
devices to target. It attempts to send
infected SIS files to the first Bluetoothenabled device it can find.
The worm arrives at the target
device, which must be running the
Symbian OS and have Bluetooth turned
on in “discoverable” mode. The targeted
device will prompt its user to receive a
message from the infected device.
If the user chooses to accept the
message, her phone will issue a security
warning. Disregarding the warning, she
opts to proceed.
The user then will be prompted to
install the virus, which also goes by the
alias “caribe.” The user chooses yes.
The Cabir infection takes hold. The
cycle repeats when the worm in the
original phone and newly infected device
start looking for new devices to infect
via Bluetooth.
29
Agriculture
Prof. K.V. Peter
& Dr. GSLHV Prasada Rao
K
erala Agricultural University
(KAU) provides human
resources and technology for
agricultural
activities
comprising crop production, livestock
husbandry, forestry and fishery through
education, research and extension. This
function of KAU matches with the
integrated agri-horti-silvi-pisi-pastural
farming system of Kerala - popularly known
as homesteads or home gardens.
Homesteads are hallmark of staggered
settlement pattern in Kerala and are the
most valuable heritage that influences the
unique living standards, cultural identity
and other socio-economic features. Within
the homesteads, the farmers have their
house, grow a variety of crops with
dominance of perennials (corresponding to
the valleys, slopes and hill tops), raise a
combination of animals, birds and fish and
run their agribusiness enterprises (mostly
managed by women), all in marginal to small
holdings.
The system is practiced in 75% of the
cropped area (the rest being plantation
sector of high ranges comprising tea, coffee,
cardamom) and 84% of operational
holdings are below 0.5 ha, covering 30%
of the total cultivable area. Homesteads
yield a basket of products and the aim of
the farmer is to maximize income from the
available land, utilizing their own skill and
the services at his approach.
The evolution of homesteads is
attributed to the unique natural resource
endowments of this tiny strip of land
(38864 km i.e. 1.18% of national land
area) on the west of Western Ghats. Located
in humid tropics (8° to 12° N), Kerala State
is one of the unique regions in the world
that enjoys high solar radiation and warm
temperature round the year, rightly named
“Gods own country” and “Gateway of
monsoon in India”. The high rainfall (ma:
3000mm) with uni and bimodal
distribution, undulating topography,
mosaic of soil types (38 soil family
associations at 1 :250,000 scale) and sharp
changes in physiography (5m bmsl to
2500m amsl within 120 kIn breadth of
the state), together with 44 small rivers,
many fresh water lakes and estuarine
backwaters engender contrasting agroecological units (13 units under 6 NARP
30
HOMESTEAD FARMING
in the warm humid
The socio-economic and cultural fabric of farm families
are characterized by inheritance of rich indigenous
traditional knowledge, high literacy and skill, high
population density, access to credits, services and
markets, political awareness and urban nature of living.
The high rate of transnational migration of Keralites has
resulted in socio economic transformations leading to
issues like acute scarcity of labour and high cost of farm
labour, high land value, and reluctance of youth to farming.
zones) congenial for high biological activity,
manifested in rich biodiversity.
Combinations of these resource
endowments multiply into innumerable
resource configurations that enable
variegated production systems within the
70lakh small holdings. The surface wells
and ponds provide most of the water
sources to homesteads. Homestead gardens
are found in all densely populated, tropical
and sub-tropical countries such as
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Mexico
tropics of Kerala
with structural variations to match the local
agro-ecology.
The farm families are predominantly
nuclear and about 15% are women headed.
Both men and women take part in decisionmaking, farm operations and farm business.
The socio-economic and cultural fabric of
farm families are characterized by inheritance
of rich indigenous traditional knowledge,
high literacy and skill, high population
density, access to credits, services and
markets, political awareness and urban
nature of living. The high rate of
transnational migration of Keralites has
resulted in socio economic transformations
leading to issues like acute scarcity of labour
and high cost of farm labour, high land
value, and reluctance of youth to farming.
Nevertheless, homesteads are operated
mainly through family labour with active
participation of women, and remain the
source of livelihood for a large majority.
Even for those employed in other sectors,
homestead farming is a source of
subsistence, food security and family income
in addition to non-farm incomes.
Consolidation of homesteads to get the
benefit of scale for production, processing,
value addition and marketing is achieved
through the co-operative sector. Also, the
watersheds (44 river basins, 151 subwatersheds, 960 milli watersheds and unestimated number of micro and mini
watersheds) provide an organic linkage
between individual farmsteads wherein
common facilities and services are organized
for soil and moisture conservation, water
harvesting and irrigation structures. Public
investments on agricultural services like
credit, fertilizers, plant protection
equipment and chemicals, machinery,
market facilities and road networks are
planned and facilitated at the three tier
Panchayati Raj system in Kerala.
The KAU has pioneered homestead
farming system research in India. Several
studies were completed on characterization
of the structure and functional dynamics
of homestead systems in different agroc1imatic units and on identification and
refinement of compatible components so
as to judiciously link the ecological security
of the natural resources and livelihood
security of the local population. This is
achieved through teaching, research and
extension units (36 campuses, distributed
in all agro-ecological units) as well as
specialized centres on plant biotechnology
and molecular biology, informatics and
ICT, meat technology, poultry science,
gender studies, land resource management,
etc. Currently, the University implements
a NATP on “Analysis and development of
homestead farms” among other projects. A
virtual University on Agricultural Trades has
also been established.
The University has already
accomplished location specific resource
integration models such as rice-cum-fish in
wet lands and model homesteads in garden
lands involving horticultural crops in
conjunction with fodder, cattle, poultry,
piggery and fish/prawn. Improved varieties,
new management practices, new crops,
new technologies (Azolla as cattle feed,
Trichoderma for disease management) and
farm tools from KAU that resulted in
positive growth rates, reduced cost of
production, facilitated agricultural
production in resource poor and marginal
areas and lured more farmers and
unemployed youth to farming and
agribusiness. The high gross income per unit
of land (the highest in the nation Rs.11650, 23836 and 31468 per hectare
during the years 1990-91,94-95 and 9697 respectively, compared to national
average of Rs.6851, 13581, and 14178
per hectare respectively) reflects the
technological advancements made by KAU
that boosted productivity of homesteads.
Agricultural income in the state has been
rising at the rate of 2.01,2.00,0.80,3.82
and 2.20% over previous year for 199596,96-97,97-98,98-99 and 99-2000
respectively (base year 1993-94). The per
cent contribution of agriculture sector to
state income was 24.24, 23.78, 23.00 and
31
22.40 respectively during the above years.
A recent study on the impact of KAUNATP Technology on the homesteads of
Kollam, Kottayam and Thrissur districts
revealed that adoption of our technology
resulted in substantial increase of Net
Present Value (NPV) and Benefit-Cost
Ratio (BCR) in banana, tapioca, ginger,
vegetables and black pepper. Technological
excellence of KAU, achieved through
location specific and problem solving
research, that boosted the production,
productivity, profitability and sustainability
of the diverse homesteads of the state are
briefly listed:
Technologies for conserving genetic and
physical resources of the state, which
include collection, maintenance and
evaluation of germplasm of numerous crop
plants and other flora, cattle (Vechur cows,
Malabari goats etc.) and endemic fish fauna
of the Western Ghats were evolved.
Genetic improvement (in yield and
stress tolerance/resistance) and induction of
variability was achieved in several species
through conventional and biotechnological
approach.
Released a large number of new varieties
of crops, fishes, and breeds of farm animals
and birds including world’s first hybrid
varieties of coconut and black pepper, first
hybrid rice in India, hybrids in orchids that
are well accepted within homesteads.
Methods for manipulating tree crowns
and root systems to avoid ecological
competition and top working to rejuvenate
unproductive perennials in homesteads
were standardized.
Standardised micro-propagation
protocols for cashew, mango, nutmeg,
banana, pineapple, Dendrobium,
Phalaenopsis, anthurium, gladiolus,
tuberose, Schefflera, Philodendron,
Dracaena and Bougainvillea.
Developed homestead designs to
include new components like ornamentals
and used linear programming technique to
optimize crop choices interactively.
Developed eco-friendly technologies
leading to INM, organic farming, and
IPDM for homesteads like vermicomposting, use of resistant / tolerant
varieties, natural enemies, biocontrol agents,
botanical pesticides, soil solarisation and
cultural methods.
Developed sub-surface dyke system to
conserve water resources, and underground
drainage system for reclamation of problem
soils.
Over 20 labour saving, user friendly and
drudgery relieving equipments designed by
KAU scientists facilitate mechanization of
homesteads. Popillar among them are
Coconut husking tool, jack fruit harvester,
Fruit plucker, Cardamom polisher, Bicycle
operated pump, Pineapple pealer-corercum-slicer, Black pepper cleaner cum grader,
Arecanut husker, Tree basin lister and Palm
climber.
Trainings from KAU on our
technologies enabled innovative youth and
housewives, to establish homestead based
enterprises and production programmes like
bee keeping, mushroom production,
nursery management, vegetable cultivation,
kitchen gardening, post harvest
biotechnology, fruit, vegetable and spices
processing and value addition, clean milk
production, goat rearing, soap making,
bakery products preparation, chocolate
preparation, vermi compo sting,
horticultural therapy, ornamental fisheries,
commercial floriculture, sericulture etc.
KAU undertakes large scale production
and distribution of quality planting
materials of high yielding elite genotypes,
and other inputs in the form of seeds and
seedlings, grafts and layers, clonal
propagules, mushroom spawn, fish seed,
vermi-compost, coir pith compost, biofertilisers, bio control agents, and KAU
publications through the ATICs, well
acclaimed as role-model for the nation.
Farm management technologies
Range of crops grown in Kerala homesteads include
rice, vegetables, banana, tubers, coconut, areca nut,
cocoa, black pepper and other spices, major and
minor fruit trees, medicinal plants, ornamentals,
rubber & cashew. Livestock include cow, buffalo, goat
or pig, backyard poultry, and inland fisheries
32
emanating from KAU are evaluated jointly
with stakeholders and published as Package
of Practices Recommendations recognized
as the most authentic agricultural R&D
output in Kerala. In addition, KAU
provides agro-met advisory services and
organizes diagnostic clinics as per needs at
local level.
Homesteads of Kerala have proven to
be most productive units that ensure
conservation of tropical biodiversity,
resource recycling, water and energy use
efficiency, maximum solar energy
harvesting, ecological sustainability,
economic viability, social acceptability and
gender equity through optimal integration
of natural, human and infrastructural
resources. Glaring success stories of
homesteads include many best farmer
award winners.
Since small holdings are inevitable in
densely populated developing countries,
fine tuning and diversification of homestead
farming system, integrating new high value
crops and breeds, as well as alternate input
and management options, together with
small-scale agribusiness would be the
appropriate strategy. This strategy can
trigger a process of change that makes
farming more organic and lucrative ensuring
employment generation and economic
resurgence in the agricultural sector of
similarly endowed regions or nations,
especially in the era of market globalization.
Kerala Agricultural University can be a
inodel in that endeavour.
Range of crops grown in Kerala
homesteads include rice, vegetables, banana,
tubers, coconut, areca nut, cocoa, black
pepper and other spices, major and minor
fruit trees, medicinal plants, ornamentals,
rubber & cashew. Livestock include cow,
buffalo, goat or pig, backyard poultry, and
inland fisheries
Commercial floriculture, mushroom
production, nursery, hardening units of
tissue culture seedlings, vermil compo sting,
rabbittary, fruits and vegetable processing,
broiler, poultry, diary, azolla culture, apiary,
vanilla production, commercial medicinal
plant production, aqua culture, ornamental
fishery, pet animals, etc.
Food grains, vegetables, spices, fruits and
cash crops, egg, milk, meat and fish, fuel
wood, fodder and even timber.
Prof. K.V. Peter is the Vice Chancellor, Kerala
Agricultural University, and Dr. GSLHV Prasada
Rao is Associated Dean with the university.
Tourism
‘Vazhiyoram’
An Inno
v ati
ve Initia
ti
ve of K
er
ala
Innov
tiv
Initiati
tiv
Ker
erala
Tourism ffor
or the De
velopment of
Dev
Quality Wayside Facilities
U.V. Jose
T
he newly announced scheme of
Department of Tourism,
‘Vazhiyoram’, has already
evoked overwhelming response
from the small and medium entrepreneurs.
On the first day of registration about 1500
investors registered their Expression of
Interest and the Department is now
confident on the success of the project and
achieving the target of 250 Vazhiyoram
units in next 2 years. The concern now is
shifted from finding out investors to that
of identifying the best investors in ideal
locations.
Vazhiyoram scheme envisages creation
of quality wayside facilities
along the highways and
major roads leading to
tourist destinations
having facilities such as
high quality toilets,
restaurant, souvenir shop,
multipurpose stall which
can be used as A TM
counter, internet cafe etc
with sufficient parking
facilities and landscaped
surroundings.
A
minimum distance of 10
kms will be ensured
between 2 Vazhiyoram
units. The project
originated from the felt need of having
quality toilet facilities along the roads and
the other facilities are attached to make the
unit a financially viable proposition.
The uniqueness of the scheme is that it
is a perfect model of public-private
partnership where government act only as
a facilitator. The project is designed in such
a way that any potential investor who owns
a minimum of 10 cents of land by the side
of highways and major roads leading to
tourist destination can participate in the
scheme. Department has already frozen the
design elements of the Vazhiyoram unit and
it is mandatory that only this design can be
adopted for the building, compound wall,
etc to use the power of branding.
In the role of facilitator, Department of
Tourism have already tied up with financial
institutions to provide loans with the easiest
terms and conditions and the lowest interest
rate. State Bank of India have agreed for
loans to the selected Vazhiyoram investors
with 8.75% interest. While the
responsibility of construction, selection of
staff, operation of the units etc are entirely
with the private investor, government will
device mechanism for ensuring quality of
facilities and services, giving essential training
to the staff and ensuring continuing
investor support. Government will also
facilitate in procurement by way of
arranging a national level exhibition of the
entire items such as building materials,
kitchen equipments, cutleries and crockery,
furniture and furnishings etc so that the
Vazhiyoram investors and others in the field
of hotel and restaurant industry can avail
the best materials at the best prizes. The
advantage of volume purchasing also can
be used through the exhibition.
The ‘Vazhiyoram’ units will be
provided with 25% of the cost of
construction as incentive from the
Government subject to a maximum of
Rs.5.00 lakhs. An additional incentive will
be given in adopting pollution control
facilities and equipments such as solid/liquid
waste management equipments for
recycling of waste water and bio-gas
production, captive power generation
(Generators), water harvesting etc at 25%
subject to a separate ceiling of Rs.2.00 lakhs.
Vazhiyoram units will be in three
hierarchies based on the facilities. The
investment required for Class I, Class II and
Class III units are in the order of Rs.25 lakhs,
Rs. 17.5 lakhs and Rs.12.5 lakhs
respectively. There is also a
possibility for co-branding
if the same investor wants
to go for a chain of units.
Selection of the
entrepreneurs who apply
for participating in the
scheme will be done by a
committee appointed by
Government for the
purpose, based on the
criteria such as location of
the proposed unit,
availability of freehold land,
entrepreneurial
background of the applicant, professional
qualification and experience in the field of
hospitality industry and capacity for
investments.
The Vazhiyoram scheme is a major step
towards enhancing the basic infrastructure
necessary for the development of tourism
in the State which would ensure a hassle
free travel through the length and breadth
of the State. It is also considered as a role
model of ‘Government as a facilitator.’
The writer is Planning Officer, Department
of Tourism, Government of Kerala
33
Health
S. Manu Vaidyar
When the first leaf of the
first grass sprouted up aadi
muni Agasthyar was there on the
earth! Karuka, the first plant
to spring up on the earth bowed
before the muni and enunciated
it’s properties to him.
Likewise, each plant, each
animal, each element and each
non-living thing of the universe
briefed Agasthyar on their
innate properties and medicinal
values. With the vast knowledge
so collected the muni wrote a
comprehensive thesis by the name
Gunavakadam (Book of
Properties).
It’s only one among the many popular
stories woven around Agasthyar, the great
Dravidian guru who is believed to be the
father of Siddha Vaidyam, one of the most
ancient medical wisdom of mankind.
Agasthyar and the school of medical science
codified by him have always been entangled
with myths and mysteries. ‘Disbelief’ would
be the initial feeling one may succumb to
when one tries to understand Siddha
Vaidyam from close quarters. Soon disbelief
would give way to pure adoration and deeprooted faith! Yes, Siddha Vaidyam is a vast
ocean of scientific knowledge and every drop
of it is divine and true. Agasthyar, the
immortal being (according to Siddha
scriptures Agasthyar is a Chiranjeevi - one
with eternal life) , may be a timeless symbol
of reassuring medical wisdom.
TREADING HERITAGE: An image of the Sage Agasthiyar
Siddha Vaidyam
The resurging medical heritage of Sage Agasthyar
When things become complex, only the
tough system can deliver on par with
expectations. Asthma, psoriasis, hyper
tension, rheumatic diseases like arthritis,
spondilitis etc, diabetes, cancer, sexual
weakness, sexual diseases, epilepsy, ulcer,
piles, migraine, tonsillitis, sinusitis, goiter,
varicose vein, male and female infertility,
uterine growth, gynaec disorders - popular
medical sciences, including modern
34
medicine may wilt and turn ineffective before some of the so called incurable and grave
diseases. By administering appropriate neettu marunnu in less than homeopathic dose, a
seasoned Siddha practitioner may salvage people from even the clutches of killer diseases.
What is Siddha Vaidyam?
Siddha Vaidyam has it’s roots in the rich Dravidian culture and Siva cult which
flourished in Indian sub-continent before the advent of Aryans. One of the popular
slokams of Aadi Nool (the first scripture) goes like this:
Mangala ulakam pottum vaidyanathan thanpal
Sankari ketta saram Shanmughan thelinthu pinpal
Thanka Agathyarkku othacharthulla cheedar thannal
Ingithamake chonnar epparum Aadi Noolae
The Tamil slokam (Tamil is the language of Siddha Vaidyam) unequivocally proclaims
that Siddha wisdom had originated from Lord Paramasiva himself.
Historians opine that Siddha Vaidyam is the collective wisdom of several generations of
Siddhars, a sect of ancient Dravidians who dedicated their lives for research and acquisition
of knowledge. Agasthyar and his eighteen disciples might have been the most prominent
clan of ancient time Siddhars.
It would be sacrilegious to confine such an elaborate and divine medical science having
several dimensions and levels to it like Siddha Vaidyam within the framework of a puny
definition. However, for the sake of brevity Siddha Vaidyam can be defined as a
comprehensive and scientific system of medicine which accurately diagnose all types of
human ailments by gauging the pulses of dasa nadis (ten principal nerves) and curing the
diseases by administering a wide range of elixir like medicines prepared out of medicinal
plants, herbs and other ingredients. Neetumarunnukal- medicines prepared from navalohas
(nine metals) like mercury, gold, silver, copper etc. and 64 types of poisonous substances
(64 pashanas) - give extra curing edge to Siddha system. Panchabhoota and Thridosha
theories had been first pro- pounded by ancient Siddhars. Fully developed Marma Sasthra
(science of vulnerable points) is one of the unique features of Siddha Vaidyam. Siddha
system believes that every individual is unique. Hence Siddha practitioners always try to
treat the patient, not the disease.
Siddha wisdom doesn’t confine to medical knowledge alone. Astrology, Astronomy,
Lakshanasasthra, Nadeesasthra, Mrigarogasasthra, Mukhalakshanasasthra, Mantravada,
Magic, Metallurgy, Psychology, Architecture, Necromancy etc were also favourite subjects
of Siddhars. The depth, vastness, accu-racy and authenticity of the medical knowledge
embedded in thousands and thousands of scriptures written in Kodum Tamil like
Naramamisa Nool- 4000, Panchavitha Pathivadangal, Marmasoothiram, Siddha Vaidya
Thirattu, Oosi Mukam - 300, Agasthyar Paripoornam, Adukkunilai Bodham, Amrithakalai
Njanam etc are simply astonishing. Most of the modem time medical systems like Ayurveda,
Unani, aturopathy, Magnetic Therapy and even Allopathy owe a great deal to Siddha
Vaiydam (Siddha Vaidyam is popularly known as the Thai Vaidyam - the Mother Science).
Scope and Relevance
Siddha Vaidyam offers effective treatment for all the 4440 types of ailments, ranging
from trivial ones like common cold and cough to killer diseases like cancer and diabetes.
Now even the Modem Medical science acknowledges the unique potential of Siddha
Vaidyam to combat dreaded diseases like asthma, psoriasis, diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy,
ulcer, piles, kidney stone, bladder stone, uterine growths, gynaec disorders, hypertension,
nephrological disorders etc. Persisting pests like migraine, sinusitis, tonsillitis etc also surrender
in no time before Siddha System. Results of the Siddha treatment for male and female
infertility have always been encouraging.
This range, this unparalleled curative power, make Siddha System relevant in all ages.
Nevertheless, owing to historic and racial reasons. This divine medical science was in a state
of partial dormancy for many centuries. But now this curative science codified by Agasthyar
and his disciples is fast gaining popularity all over the world as an alternate system of
medicine.
Diseases and Siddha Vaidyam
Siddha system classifies diesases - stages of diseases to be exact - into three catagories.
According to Siddha scriptures around 80% of human ailments fall into the first category,
saddhayam. Saddhyam category diseases are the ones, which can easily be cured within a
short span of time. One mandalam (41 days) is the usual duration of the treatment for
saddhyam category of diseases.
Those diseases, which are difficult to cure, but curable fall into klishta saddhyam
category. Around 17% of the diseases belong to this group. One to three years is required
to cure klishta saddhyam category of diseases. Three per cent diseases fall into the third
category, assadhyam. It is impossible to cure
assadhyam category of diseases. But Siddha
treatement will certainly improve the
condition of patients affected with
assaddhyam group of diseases.
Most of the diseases which are incurable
ones to other medical sciences are only either
saddhyam or klishta saddhyam diseases to
Siddha Vaidyam. If Siddha medicines are
consumed for diseases like uterine growths,
gynaec disorders, piles, tonsillitis, bladder
and kidney stone, gangrene, goiter etc
surgeries can be avoided. Siddha medicines
are highly effective for heart blocks too.
Siddha medicines cause no side effect
at all. Siddha treatment for all types of
diseases invariably enhances the general
health and immunity power of patients.
Siddha Vaidyam doesn’t advocate life long
treatment and medication for any disease.
‘Marundrum virundrum moontrunal’ - the
saying reflects the spirit of the opinion of
sage Agasthya regarding the duration of
treatments.
Efforts to Propagate
Siddha wisdom has always been the
monopoly of a few traditional Siddha
houses of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Ever since
the Aryan invasion and their attempt to
capture Siddha scriptures, Siddha houses
have been hoarding their sacred knowledge
and the secrets of preparing medicines like
vigilant serpents guarding manikyam. Only
from generation to generation - from father
to sons they would pass on this rich legacy.
But when Siddha knowledge became a
closely guarded secret of a few traditional
houses it’s popularity waned even in South
India.
When things become complex, only the
tough system can deliver on par with
expectations. Popular medical sciences,
including modem medicine may wilt and
turn ineffective before some of the so called
incurable and grave diseases like Asthma,
psoriasis, hyper tension, rheumatic diseases
arthritis, spondilitis etc. By administering
appropriate neettu marunnu in less than
homeopathic dose a seasoned Siddha
practitioner may salvage people from even
the clutches of killer diseases. The
miraculous curing potential of Siddha
Vaidyam is now a hot topic of discussion
among medical fraternity.
35
PAUL BATHERY
Cinema
DOWN TO THE REAL: A scene from the film, Kazhcha. The film set to be offered a break in silverscreen in Kerala
Malayalam cinema
at the crossroads
C. S. Venkiteswaran
F
or the last few decades, Malayalam
cinema has been reported to be in
a perpetual crisis. According to
industry sources, only a handful
of films manage to break even. Even fewer
films manage to become a ‘hit’. Yet the
production figures have not plummeted.
Films are still being made in Malayalam
though their technical quality is much
below that of films from other languages.
Exactly why films from Tamil and Hindi
are able to swamp the Kerala market. For
instance, new multi-crore film from Tamil,
Shankar’s ‘Annyan’ has been released in
more than 30 centres in Kerala! Something
36
only major productions in Malayalam can
afford to. Obviously there is a huge market
for films from outside. Why is it so? How
come Malayalam cinema is not able to tap
this market to resurrect the industry?
One crucial aspect, as we mentioned
above, is technology. In a globalised media
situation, only the state-of-the-art films
from other languages are able to live up to
and cater to the brand-conscious
malayalee’s demand for products that are
the technically (and aesthetically)
contemporary. It is this new youth market
which is increasingly gaining a global
character that the local industry is finding
difficult to address and satisfy. Check the
list of films playing in theatres in any major
town in Kerala, and you will find that
majority of them are non-Malayalam films.
This technological lag owes to the economies
of scale in Malayalam film industry, which
has a small and limited market compared to
Tamil and Hindi. Having no international
market like the other two, Malayalam
cinema is forced to work within limited
budgets (and vision). This low economy of
scale naturally reflects upon all the areas of
film industry right from production patterns
and organisation, to selection of themes
artists and technicians. (From a television
interview with Kamal Hasan, Question:
“You made you’re your name in Malayalam
Book Review
films. But why don’t you act in Malayalam films nowadays?” Answer: “Malayalam
cinema of now can’t afford me.” That says it all)
If that is the threat from outside, there is also erosion from within. With the
advent of cable television and umpteen number of channels, films also face a
huge problem with regard to themes. Its hitherto favourite terrain - that of
melodrama - has been usurped by the plethora of television serials that dominate
our television scene. So, having lost its natural constituency and unable to
combat non-Malayalam films technically, Malayalam cinema of the last decade
took a brief recourse to the two options available to it – imitation, and churning
out of indigenous varieties of slapstick and soft porn. Interestingly, in these
times of globalised entertainment, the two areas where swadeshi products really
work (its last vestiges where competition becomes difficult or irrelevant) are
humour and pornography. The security-conscious industry and increasing
costs of production saw to it that most of the films stuck to the beaten tracks.
But it would be unjust to write off Malayalam film industry like that. Two
significant facts stand out. One very interesting feature of Malayalam film
industry is the success of films is that films which have dared to take up
different themes and adopt innovative treatment modes have made it good in
the box office. It has not been the presence of super stars or the extravaganza of
production that mark recent successes like ‘Kazhcha’ (debut film of Blessey) or
‘Udayananu Tharam’ (by another youngster Roshan Andrews). Both the films
succeeded to work their way through the ‘mainstream’ and create popular
successes. Obviously, these films show the way.
Another significant aspect is the existence of independent productions in
malayalam. Even while ‘art’ cinema has met with a natural end in other parts of
the country with the withdrawal of state agencies like the NFDC and the
INDUSTRIAL STORY LINE: Mohanlal and Sreenivasan in Udayananu Tharam
support of public broadcasting systems like the Doordarshan, it has managed to
live on in Malayalam. Year after year one finds new filmmakers working outside
the industry entering the field with small budget films. Filmmakers like MP
Sukumaran Nair, Suma Josson, Subramanian Santhakumar, Rajiv Vijayaraghavan
etc have struggled to make films that try to speak a different language. Another
body of films has been created by the non-resident Keralites like Liji Pullapilly,
Sanjeev Nambiar, Satish Menon etc who have made some very intense films
about the seamy side of malayalee life.
Maybe the answer is blowing in the wind.
For consumers,
in a nut shell
P.A. Surendran’s handbook “Consumer is
not a leisure time talk” is a laurel for the
consumer education. The book gives a
thorough insight in consumer’s right. The
development in the trade and commerce in the
backdrop of industrialisation and globalisation
makes the consumer the king. But the lack of
knowledge making
them poorer. This book
reveals the importance
of consumer education
in the wake of the
growing consumer
exploitation.
The book is aimed
at the student
community. The
author successfully
filled the essence of the
topic within the space limit of 32 pages. He
carefully handled all the aspects of consumer
awareness. The use of apt examples will help
the reader to grasp the theme easily. The duties
and responsibilities of the consumer is
explained at the end of the book, using simple
sketches and illustrations.
The book contains four chapters. The first
chapter gives an idea about the Consumer
Protection Act 1986 and explains the
terminology related to the topic such as
hallmark, BIS, guarantee and warranty etc. It
gives a detailed information about the
hallmarked gold. Second chapter speaks about
the landmark judgements related to consumers.
The third chapter is about the newly
constituted judicial machineries for the
common man. And, the final chapter discusses
the importance of consumer clubs, consumer
education, the present status of the consumer
courts etc.
The presentation and style of the book is
simple and attractive. As the title reflects, the
book proves that consumer is not a leisure time
talk. Still, consumers are unorganised and
subjected to the ever growing exploitation.
Consumer awareness and educational
programmes can insulate consumer
exploitation. I hope that this book will help its
readers to be more aware about the consumers
rights and responsibilities. Though the author
proclaims that “a handbook for students,’ it is
worth to mention that this book is for
everybody.
37
Book Review
films. But why don’t you act in Malayalam films nowadays?” Answer: “Malayalam
cinema of now can’t afford me.” That says it all)
If that is the threat from outside, there is also erosion from within. With the
advent of cable television and umpteen number of channels, films also face a
huge problem with regard to themes. Its hitherto favourite terrain - that of
melodrama - has been usurped by the plethora of television serials that dominate
our television scene. So, having lost its natural constituency and unable to
combat non-Malayalam films technically, Malayalam cinema of the last decade
took a brief recourse to the two options available to it – imitation, and churning
out of indigenous varieties of slapstick and soft porn. Interestingly, in these
times of globalised entertainment, the two areas where swadeshi products really
work (its last vestiges where competition becomes difficult or irrelevant) are
humour and pornography. The security-conscious industry and increasing
costs of production saw to it that most of the films stuck to the beaten tracks.
But it would be unjust to write off Malayalam film industry like that. Two
significant facts stand out. One very interesting feature of Malayalam film
industry is the success of films is that films which have dared to take up
different themes and adopt innovative treatment modes have made it good in
the box office. It has not been the presence of super stars or the extravaganza of
production that mark recent successes like ‘Kazhcha’ (debut film of Blessey) or
‘Udayananu Tharam’ (by another youngster Roshan Andrews). Both the films
succeeded to work their way through the ‘mainstream’ and create popular
successes. Obviously, these films show the way.
Another significant aspect is the existence of independent productions in
malayalam. Even while ‘art’ cinema has met with a natural end in other parts of
the country with the withdrawal of state agencies like the NFDC and the
INDUSTRIAL STORY LINE: Mohanlal and Sreenivasan in Udayananu Tharam
support of public broadcasting systems like the Doordarshan, it has managed to
live on in Malayalam. Year after year one finds new filmmakers working outside
the industry entering the field with small budget films. Filmmakers like MP
Sukumaran Nair, Suma Josson, Subramanian Santhakumar, Rajiv Vijayaraghavan
etc have struggled to make films that try to speak a different language. Another
body of films has been created by the non-resident Keralites like Liji Pullapilly,
Sanjeev Nambiar, Satish Menon etc who have made some very intense films
about the seamy side of malayalee life.
Maybe the answer is blowing in the wind.
For consumers,
in a nut shell
P.A. Surendran’s handbook “Consumer is
not a leisure time talk” is a laurel for the
consumer education. The book gives a
thorough insight in consumer’s right. The
development in the trade and commerce in the
backdrop of industrialisation and globalisation
makes the consumer the king. But the lack of
knowledge making
them poorer. This book
reveals the importance
of consumer education
in the wake of the
growing consumer
exploitation.
The book is aimed
at the student
community. The
author successfully
filled the essence of the
topic within the space limit of 32 pages. He
carefully handled all the aspects of consumer
awareness. The use of apt examples will help
the reader to grasp the theme easily. The duties
and responsibilities of the consumer is
explained at the end of the book, using simple
sketches and illustrations.
The book contains four chapters. The first
chapter gives an idea about the Consumer
Protection Act 1986 and explains the
terminology related to the topic such as
hallmark, BIS, guarantee and warranty etc. It
gives a detailed information about the
hallmarked gold. Second chapter speaks about
the landmark judgements related to consumers.
The third chapter is about the newly
constituted judicial machineries for the
common man. And, the final chapter discusses
the importance of consumer clubs, consumer
education, the present status of the consumer
courts etc.
The presentation and style of the book is
simple and attractive. As the title reflects, the
book proves that consumer is not a leisure time
talk. Still, consumers are unorganised and
subjected to the ever growing exploitation.
Consumer awareness and educational
programmes can insulate consumer
exploitation. I hope that this book will help its
readers to be more aware about the consumers
rights and responsibilities. Though the author
proclaims that “a handbook for students,’ it is
worth to mention that this book is for
everybody.
37
Milestone
K.S. RAVIKUMAR
Two hundred years of
State Bank of India
BICENTENARY PRIDE: The regional headquarters of State Bank of India in Thiruvananthapuram
Dr. K. Devadas
T
he State Bank of India - the
county’s NO. 1 Bank and a
premier player in the diversified
financial services market, is now
celebrating their bicentennial birth day year.
It was established in June 2, 1806 and is
older than 1he regulator of banks- the RBI,
which was set up in 1934. Not many
institutions in the country have such along
history.
It was born as Bank of Calcutta on June
2, 1806 and later became the imperial Bank
of India in 1921. Then again it was became
the State Bank of India under the Act of
Parliament on July 11, 1955.
In 1970s keeping with the changes in
38
the market, SBI reorganized itself. In 1986
the merchant banking division – the SBI
Capital Market Ltd was established,
followed closely by SBI Mutual Fund in
1987. In 1990s the first ATM was installed.
The bank set up Card Company in
collaboration with G.E. Capital. It also
entered in the field of bancassurance with a
global partner Cardiff S.A., a subsidiary of
BNP Paribas. Besides this, SBI is the chief
promoter of Discount and Finance House
of India, Credit Information Bureau India
Ltd, Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. Etc.
SBI Fund Management is a joint venture
with Soecite General Asset Management,
France.
The SBI is a major player among the
Self Help Groups (SHG). SAHAYOG
NIWAS – an innovative scheme for
facilitating housing for SHG members is
popular now.
The first international bank was set up
way back in 1867 at Colombo under the
aegis of Bank of Madras. The journey
continues even today. The Bank has 54
foreign offices spread over 31 countries. It
has presence in Dhaka, Bhutan, Mali,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo,
Osaka, Sydney, Manila etc.
Today SBI has 9104 domestic branches
reaching every nook and corner of the
country and 5217 ATMs. SBI is the largest
bank in the country with an asset base of
126 million dollar and profit in excess of 1
billion dollar (Rs.4345 crores). The bank
enjoys the status of a universal bank offering
Cuisine
Bitter Guard Theeyal Curry
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
an array of financial products and services
under a single umbrella.
It has 7 associate banks of which State
Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Bikaner
and State Bank of Mysore are doing better
than SBI.
SBIT Life Insurance has shown a
growth of 166% in premium income at
Rs.600 crore for financial year 2004-05
against Rs.275 crore in the earlier year.
Bancassurance contributed 67% of the
income. The companies total new business
sum assured for financial year 2004-05 is
Rs.17285.1 crore. It now manages a
portfolio of 29 lakhs lives.
SBI, which is the second largest lender
to diamond industry ( after ABN Amro
Bank), in India plan to increase its exposure
from Rs.2600 crore last year to Rs.3000
crore this year.
There is 16.94% jump in net profit at
Rs.4304.52 crore in 2004-05 from
Rs.3683 crore in 2003-04. A 15.04% rise
in its opening profit from Rs.9663.46 crore
to Rs.10990.23 crore.
The SBI joins the race to tap Micro
Cooperates, so it started MICRO
CORPERATION GROUP and is presently
operational out of 27 branches across the
country. The idea behind starting the MCG
was to focus on companies with a turnover
of Rs.25 crore and Rs.300 crore.
The net NPA of the bank stood at
Rs.5442 crore in 2004, compared to
Rs.6810 crore in 2002 and Rs.6183 crore
in 2003. The Capital Adequacy Ration of
the bank is 13.5% with a market
capitalization of Rs.34483 crore compared
to 14.8% and Rs.11817 crore of Punjab
National Bank and 9.2% and Rs.6534 crore
of Oriental Bank of Commerce – the second
and the third leading PSBs in the country.
In the fast changing banking scenario,
the SBI should be given more powers to
compete with private banks such as ICICI
Bank – the largest second bank in the
country, HDFC, UTI Bank etc. For SBI to
be effective machinery, the RBI has to shed
at least 20% of its 56% equity stake in
favour of the public. That will need
amendments to the SBI Act. This does not
look feasible in the immediate Future.
At this juncture we may wish a HAPPY
BIRTH DAY for SBI and hope to realize
the Finance Ministers own words that he
waned to see the SBI logo in every capital
of the world.
Ingredients
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chopped Bitter guard
Pieces (1" length) grated coconut
Chopped small onion
Green chilli chopped length wise
Tamarind juice
-
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Chilli powder
Corriander powder
Turmuric powder
Chopped Big onion
Coconut oil / Any other oil
Curry leaves
Salt
For seasoning
-
200 gm
1½ cup
1½ tablespoon
2
2 lemon shaped
ball (put it into 1½
cup of water)
1½ tablespoon
1½ teaspoon
½ teaspoon
¾ cup
3 tablespoon
¼ cup
to taste
2-3 small onion
chopped
Method
1. Roast the grated coconut, chopped small onion, turmeric powder till it
becomes brown colour. (Put one table spoon of oil for quick roasting).
Grind it very firmly and keep aside.
2. Cook the bitter guard pieces with chopped big onion; green chilli and
tamarind juices till the pieces becomes tender. Add the salt.
3. Add grinded roasted coconut paste and boil it. Add water if necessary to
bring up in to the curry consistency.
4. When the curry is ready, seasoned it with chopped onion and curry leaves
and serve it.
By Achamma Mammen
39
Cuisine
Bitter Gourd Theeyal Curry
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
an array of financial products and services
under a single umbrella.
It has 7 associate banks of which State
Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Bikaner
and State Bank of Mysore are doing better
than SBI.
SBIT Life Insurance has shown a
growth of 166% in premium income at
Rs.600 crore for financial year 2004-05
against Rs.275 crore in the earlier year.
Bancassurance contributed 67% of the
income. The companies total new business
sum assured for financial year 2004-05 is
Rs.17285.1 crore. It now manages a
portfolio of 29 lakhs lives.
SBI, which is the second largest lender
to diamond industry ( after ABN Amro
Bank), in India plan to increase its exposure
from Rs.2600 crore last year to Rs.3000
crore this year.
There is 16.94% jump in net profit at
Rs.4304.52 crore in 2004-05 from
Rs.3683 crore in 2003-04. A 15.04% rise
in its opening profit from Rs.9663.46 crore
to Rs.10990.23 crore.
The SBI joins the race to tap Micro
Cooperates, so it started MICRO
CORPERATION GROUP and is presently
operational out of 27 branches across the
country. The idea behind starting the MCG
was to focus on companies with a turnover
of Rs.25 crore and Rs.300 crore.
The net NPA of the bank stood at
Rs.5442 crore in 2004, compared to
Rs.6810 crore in 2002 and Rs.6183 crore
in 2003. The Capital Adequacy Ration of
the bank is 13.5% with a market
capitalization of Rs.34483 crore compared
to 14.8% and Rs.11817 crore of Punjab
National Bank and 9.2% and Rs.6534 crore
of Oriental Bank of Commerce – the second
and the third leading PSBs in the country.
In the fast changing banking scenario,
the SBI should be given more powers to
compete with private banks such as ICICI
Bank – the largest second bank in the
country, HDFC, UTI Bank etc. For SBI to
be effective machinery, the RBI has to shed
at least 20% of its 56% equity stake in
favour of the public. That will need
amendments to the SBI Act. This does not
look feasible in the immediate Future.
At this juncture we may wish a HAPPY
BIRTH DAY for SBI and hope to realize
the Finance Ministers own words that he
waned to see the SBI logo in every capital
of the world.
Ingredients
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chopped Bitter gourd
Pieces (1" length) grated coconut
Chopped small onion
Green chilli chopped length wise
Tamarind juice
-
-
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Chilli powder
Corriander powder
Turmuric powder
Chopped Big onion
Coconut oil / Any other oil
Curry leaves
Salt
For seasoning
-
200 gm
1½ cup
1½ tablespoon
2
2 lemon shaped
ball (put it into 1½
cup of water)
1½ tablespoon
1½ teaspoon
½ teaspoon
¾ cup
3 tablespoon
¼ cup
to taste
2-3 small onion
chopped
Method
1. Roast the grated coconut, chopped small onion, turmeric powder till it
becomes brown colour. (Put one table spoon of oil for quick roasting).
Grind it very firmly and keep aside.
2. Cook the bitter gourd pieces with chopped big onion; green chilli and
tamarind juices till the pieces becomes tender. Add the salt.
3. Add grinded roasted coconut paste and boil it. Add water if necessary to
bring up in to the curry consistency.
4. When the curry is ready, seasoned it with chopped onion and curry leaves
and serve it.
By Achamma Mammen
39
Men in Blue & Kerala
JOSHY MANJUMMEL
Sports
NO BOUNDARIES: A scene from a cricket match in Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Kochi
K.J.Abraham
O
ccasion: Inauguration of ticket
sales for the Indo-Pak onedayer at Kochi and in his
speech, chief guest and movie
star Mammotty has one wish. He wants to
make friends with the Indian cricketers like
his counterparts in Kollywood and
Bollywood. The easiest way for this is to
have Kerala players making it to the Indian
cricket team, points out Mammootty. Well
this is one dream which has been played
out numerous times by cricket lovers across
the state.
As the ‘Men in Blue’ gears up for
another gruelling season under the new
Australian coach Greg Chappell, there is a
silver lining as far as Kerala cricket is
concerned. S. Sreeshanth’s selection to the
pace bowlers camp of 16 was indeed a short
in the arm for Kerala cricket. But the chances
of Sreeshanth breaking into the Indian
squad looks remote with the likes of
40
Lakshmipathy Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Irfan
Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar
battling it out for the pace bowler’s slots. At
21, age is on Sri’s side and hopefully the
Kochiite will don the Indian blazer rather
soon. This brings us to the vital question:
Why can’t Kerala produce quality cricketers
who can do the country proud at the
international level? So far only Tinu
Youhannan has represented the country
and that too for a rather short stint of 3
Test matches and 3 ODIs. Tinu has been
struggling of late and his performance in
last season’s Ranji Trophy Plate Division left
a lot to be desired.
Times have changed and so is the Indian
cricket scenario. Gone are the days of quota
system and favouritism. The modern Indian
cricketer is an epitome of professionalism.
With players from relatively non-cricketing
centres like Mohammed Kaif (Allahabad
in Uttar Pradesh), Mahendra Singh Dhoni
(Jharkhand), Parthiv Patel (Gujarat) etc
carving out niches for themselves in the
Indian cricket arena, can Kerala cricketers
be far behind?
No doubt we have talented players like
Rohan Prem (who made it to the Indian
U-19 ODI squad against England last
season), Raiphy Vincent Gomes, K.X.
Manoj, Jagadeesh (all batters), Sreeshanth
and Prasanth Parameswaran (pace bowlers)
in our ranks. In fact at the junior level we
are as good as the rest in the national scene.
However, the transition from junior level
to senior level requires lot of dedication,
discipline and mental toughness. One gets
the impression that the Kerala cricketers fail
in this aspect, especially on the
temperamental front. One or two good
seasons may not be enough to earn the
Indian cap and one needs to sustain his
performance for a longer duration to stake
his claims. This can be gauged from the
fact that even a player of V.V.S.
Laxman’s class was given a raw deal by
the selectors during the initial stages of his
career. V.V.S. was constantly in and out of
the side and only a splendid domestic season
in 2000-01 saw him clawing his way back
to the Indian dressing room.
Rather than feel pessimistic about their
chances by pointing out the rather
unfortunate
case
of
K.N.
Anathapadmanabhan, Kerala cricketers
need to focus their attention on players
such as Irfan Pathan (Baroda), Y. Venugopala
Rao (Andhra) etc. While Irfan is the
emerging star of Indian cricket, Rao is on
the verge of breaking into the Indian side
thanks to his staggering performance in the
domestic season and for India A in the last
couple of years. Those who still crib about
Ananthan not going on to play for India
should bear in mind the fact that his career
ran parallel with that of India’s greatest
match-winner Anil Kumble. Indeed
Anathan’s was a sad case similar to that of
Kanwaljit Singh (Hyderabad) and his
Kerala team-mate B. Ramprakash (Tamil
Nadu). Just like Anathan, the two couldn’t
force their way to the Indian team. The
only difference being Kanwaljit and
Ramprakash being offies compared to
Anathan who was a class leggie.
Now with Greg Chappell at the helm,
talent and commitment alone will win the
Indian cap. The good news is that he is
keen to have a strong second line taking
guard and the good performances in the
domestic circuit will definitely catch his
attention. The recent law changes suggested
by the International Cricket Council,
paving the way for substitutes in one-dayers
has made the role of fielders even more
important. Bits and piece cricketers who
can move around with agility on the field
will have a crucial role in the outcome of
ODIs and this is where some one like
Sreekumar Nair has a great chance. The
Kerala skipper is a decent bat who can roll
over his left-arm spin effectively and is a
brilliant fielder too. Sreekumar had a terrific
2004 and this year could just be the turning
point in his career.
As uncertainty prevails regarding who
will lead India in the tri-series in Sri Lanka,
one thing is for sure. With Sourav Ganguly
struggling for form, Sachin Tendulkar out
with an injury and the Indian middle order
not looking as solid as in the previous years,
places are up for grabs. It’s up to the aspirants
to find a way through.
Can Anju repeate
the Paris magic?
The last World Athletics
Championship in Paris in 2003 was a
truly memorable one for India with Anju
Bobby George becoming the first Indian
to win a medal in the prestigious
championship. As Helsinki World
Championship draws near, onus is on
the ace long jumper to bring laurels to
the country once again on the world
stage. Can she deliver?
If Anju’s performance in the season
openers are anything, the chances of her
regaining the glory of Paris 2003 seems a
long way. Anju, the defending
champion, finished fourth in the Doha
Grand Prix with a jump of 6.42 metres
and could clear only 6.35 metres in the
Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, in US,
where she finished sixth.
After giving the Asian Grand Prix
Series in June a miss, Anju was back on
track in the National Inter-state Athletics
Championship held in Bangalore
recently. Though she won the gold, Anju
could manage only 6.09 metres, a far cry
form her personal best of 6.83 metres set
during the much awaited Athens 2004
finals. Anju however attributed her poor
performance to the rainy conditions as
well as a niggling knee injury.
One comforting factor for Anju and
her supporters is that she has produced
her best in the top competitions abroad;
whether it be the Paris bronze medal
clinching 6.70 metre effort or bettering
her personal best in Athens. Compared
to the Olympics, pressure will be less in
Helsinki and the 28-year-old Kerala
woman could spring a surprise this time
around too.
-KJA
MOMENTS OF GLORY: Anju Bobby George making strides on track
41
the selectors during the initial stages of his
career. V.V.S. was constantly in and out of
the side and only a splendid domestic season
in 2000-01 saw him clawing his way back
to the Indian dressing room.
Rather than feel pessimistic about their
chances by pointing out the rather
unfortunate
case
of
K.N.
Anathapadmanabhan, Kerala cricketers
need to focus their attention on players
such as Irfan Pathan (Baroda), Y. Venugopala
Rao (Andhra) etc. While Irfan is the
emerging star of Indian cricket, Rao is on
the verge of breaking into the Indian side
thanks to his staggering performance in the
domestic season and for India A in the last
couple of years. Those who still crib about
Ananthan not going on to play for India
should bear in mind the fact that his career
ran parallel with that of India’s greatest
match-winner Anil Kumble. Indeed
Anathan’s was a sad case similar to that of
Kanwaljit Singh (Hyderabad) and his
Kerala team-mate B. Ramprakash (Tamil
Nadu). Just like Anathan, the two couldn’t
force their way to the Indian team. The
only difference being Kanwaljit and
Ramprakash being offies compared to
Anathan who was a class leggie.
Now with Greg Chappell at the helm,
talent and commitment alone will win the
Indian cap. The good news is that he is
keen to have a strong second line taking
guard and the good performances in the
domestic circuit will definitely catch his
attention. The recent law changes suggested
by the International Cricket Council,
paving the way for substitutes in one-dayers
has made the role of fielders even more
important. Bits and piece cricketers who
can move around with agility on the field
will have a crucial role in the outcome of
ODIs and this is where some one like
Sreekumar Nair has a great chance. The
Kerala skipper is a decent bat who can roll
over his left-arm spin effectively and is a
brilliant fielder too. Sreekumar had a terrific
2004 and this year could just be the turning
point in his career.
As uncertainty prevails regarding who
will lead India in the tri-series in Sri Lanka,
one thing is for sure. With Sourav Ganguly
struggling for form, Sachin Tendulkar out
with an injury and the Indian middle order
not looking as solid as in the previous years,
places are up for grabs. It’s up to the aspirants
to find a way through.
Can Anju repeat
the Paris magic?
The last World Athletics
Championship in Paris in 2003 was a
truly memorable one for India with Anju
Bobby George becoming the first Indian
to win a medal in the prestigious
championship. As Helsinki World
Championship draws near, onus is on
the ace long jumper to bring laurels to
the country once again on the world
stage. Can she deliver?
If Anju’s performance in the season
openers are anything, the chances of her
regaining the glory of Paris 2003 seems a
long way. Anju, the defending
champion, finished fourth in the Doha
Grand Prix with a jump of 6.42 metres
and could clear only 6.35 metres in the
Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, in US,
where she finished sixth.
After giving the Asian Grand Prix
Series in June a miss, Anju was back on
track in the National Inter-state Athletics
Championship held in Bangalore
recently. Though she won the gold, Anju
could manage only 6.09 metres, a far cry
form her personal best of 6.83 metres set
during the much awaited Athens 2004
finals. Anju however attributed her poor
performance to the rainy conditions as
well as a niggling knee injury.
One comforting factor for Anju and
her supporters is that she has produced
her best in the top competitions abroad;
whether it be the Paris bronze medal
clinching 6.70 metre effort or bettering
her personal best in Athens. Compared
to the Olympics, pressure will be less in
Helsinki and the 28-year-old Kerala
woman could spring a surprise this time
around too.
-KJA
MOMENTS OF GLORY: Anju Bobby George making strides on track
41
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Direct Speech on Developing Kerala
42
Vaikom Madhu
W
e take a commercial break
now; will be back in a
moment; please don’t go
away. The anchor, a dainty
dame, withdraws throwing a commercial
smile at you. And in comes chugging the
gravy train of Monsoon…into the
telly…into your living room.
Monsoon offers excellent commercial
break for Kerala, right ? Bring your ware,
anything, just anything, and go back with
a grin and bag full of 500s.
Monsoon is Market is Money. Monsoon
is more lucre than water around.
Umbrella is the best draw of Monsoon.
Look at the Box, it is not just another
Umbrella, the Baby Model reminds you.
She kids you. It is high tech, gravitational,
favourite star crashes down onto the Screen
accompanied by high decibel jingle,
smarting a multi-coloured gizmo of an
Umbrella.’ First time, Nano-technology
driven Umbrella, it upstages our
competitors!’ - babbles our Super star. We
are dumbfounded. Nano-technology ? For
Umbrella ? May be true ! But Kerala is
known for its brainy buffs. Unrivalled
technology though, Umbrellas come
cheaper. Mind you, only for few days…
Hurrrrryyyyyyyyy…… By the way what
is our Umbrella literacy ? May be around
90%. Shine or Rain Umbrella is the mascot
of Malayali. Must for mallu.
School bags, Rain coats, Anti-cough
drugs, Cold Balms, Back-pain Oil, FrontPain Ointment, Side-pain Rub, Anti-Skid
Chappals, Marundu Kanji Powder,
Pizhichil, Uzhichil, Arishtams, Syrups,
Please
don’t go away
geocentric, head centric, eco-friendly,
degradable (the buzzword!), heritage,
homely, genetically modified, thunderproof, lightweight and lo, rain proof too!
Not to be left behind, the competitor
dashes a pure Vegetarian Umbrella. Not
heard any before? Never mind, here is an
opportunity for you to see it, before you
scramble for one. It is not just Vegetarian. It
is Fat Free, Sugar free, and fibrous, soycoated, degradable frame, UV-resistant
cloth, all parts imported, computer-tested,
GPS enabled…
Listen, a tap tap jingle in the Box. A
Serial Star enters twirling a coloured
umbrella. First time launch in Kerala, a
cloned Umbrella ! Wah! All the features of
Dolly and more. It is the first Airconditioned umbrella of International
Standard at dirt-cheap price in Kerala. Assal
foreign.
Before I can take a whiff of breath, our
Anti-bacterial Soap, Anti-fungal, Waterborne disease resistant, Health drinks,
Health Booster, Seeds, Seedseedling….Wow, ‘in a moment reprieve’
promised by the Anchor plays havoc with
our patience. ‘A moment’s commercial
break’ opens up the entire trinket market of
Kerala before you. Any chalks and cheese
can be painstakingly related to Monsoon
and showcased in the Monsoon driven
commercial freak, sorry, break.
But this time round, the high profile
Monsoon hoodwinked and flew
northwards with a wink at the forecasters.
How dare they bypass the home turf! Come
mid June (when I write this) Kerala is
sweltering tip to toe. Wonder why. Day after
day we are feasted on wonder after wonder.
Many wonders past come the turn of
monsoon, the magic wand. Call it ‘vagaries
of monsoon’ if you are comfortable in
weathermen’s league. Monsoon cannot be
so ungrateful to skip Kerala as Njattuvela
did to our self-esteemed Samorin of Calicut.
Very many Monsoons ago, when all the
Black Pepper was looted and shipped off
by the Portuguese Merchants, the
benevolent king of Calicut, unruffled,
snapply remarked : “ Let them; but can
they relieve us of our Njattuvela.” History
writers went to town, page after page on
his quick-wit. But Nature had her history
readied to give him a short shrift. Njattuvela
it for his book ‘Chasing the Monsoon’. He
had done some icing with fictional fizz to
tickle western palate. The book however is
readable, though questions begging.
Needless to say it stirred up the west to
hurriedly backpack for Kovalam. In droves.
Monsoon thus offered a god-send kitty for
the Tourists starved State, otherwise
infamous for its labour unrest and openended agitations. Monsoons were here since
eons ago, long before ‘Alexander the Frater’
ended up as a declared absconder and
Interpole sounded a Red Alert to track her
down. She is as elusive as Bin Laden and
nearer home as lifetime elusive as our action
hero Sukumara Kurup.
Our vaunted Scoop Scouts of
mainstream media, have finally tracked
Monsoon down in up-States. Their startling
expose has the Chief Ministers of nearby
states run for cover. It has created a history
of sort, ‘Cloud Hijacking.’! Heard before?
No? Then perk up your ears for full story.
The burst of Monsoon in Kerala and later
its northward course was tom-tomed by
western Media, beginning with BBC, and
beamed in trans-world channels as an
unusual atmospheric phenomenon staged
nowhere, nowhere except in the land of
God. All the hullabaloo was kicked up by
Alexander Frater who had trailed the sky
show journeying up country to document
got on his high horse. Temperature is
measured in Celsius after the eponymous
Italian Scientist Celsius, so why not our
Monsoon after the New Zealander ‘Monsoon Frater.’ Mull over chums during
Harthal days, when you are cooped up.
Since the Frater battered days,
Monsoon clouds (Patent pending) are big
draw in Kerala (statistics, statistics!). National
Geographic went an extra mile to put out
Kerala as the Poster Boy of getaway
destinations. With Ayruveda, (euphemism
for… you know what), heritage, house
boating, Thekkady, Munnar and what have
you, Kerala thunderstormed to overstrectch
the tag line ‘Gods Own Country’ to ‘Gods
Only Country’.
Enough is enough, the neighbouring
States cannot put up with our Cloud-Nine
wallowing for long. Is it clear now, who
cloud over our newly found fortune and
who tries to steal our thunder. Another story
doing the round is that everybody, every
Newspaper, is about rain harvesting and
every one is busy with water-bound seminar
of some sort with no body to wait upon the
hither-to hallowed VIP a ka Monsoon.
Dejected, heart-broken, our forlorn
Monsoon gave a slip to cagey weathermen
and fled northwards for good, I am told.
But I for one wont buy the story.
Don’t know what Alexandar Frater will
do now. The awe struck BBC buffs who
gazed with wide-eyed wonder the gathering
of Black cloud over Kovalam are now left
clueless as what to report back to Studio.
Nothing reliable is happening in the third
world. They reassured themselves.
International lenders may dither to fund
our Projects as we are yet to come out with
a failsafe devise to rein in our public sector
clouds.
We must appreciate their genuine
misgivings. As an alternative we can well
think of fencing the clouds. What if we
ban the movements of celestial water tanks
as we did to Monsoon trawling. Examples
galore. Our resolution to fence the
Sandalwood Forests at Marayoor off the
poachers is greeted with kudos, what if we
locked the stable door after the horses are
bolted. Goods things done should not go
unnoticed. Equally and overly laudable is
the brainwork of some enthusiastic leaders
to put up masonry wall along the coast to
balk the furious waves. The shoreward spin
of the waves will be tripped, the moment
they notice the Government mascot on the
wall prohibiting entry. Sad, such brainy
ideas often go waste in this land of many
wonders. The wayward behaviour of our
clouds must be dealt with iron hands, which
includes fencing, erecting cloud walls and
what not, you name it.
Clouds’ behavioural pattern were a tad
different when the other Front was in power,
it is strongly held. No way to vouchsafe it.
I go by how scientists view it. Monsoon is a
spoilt brat, too much prattled by foreign
media and courted by their Indian
counterparts who woke up late. It was
marketed by foxy tour operators in tandem
with Hoteliers who were hard hit by the
down season when most Keralites keep
indoors unless forced out. Monsoon
tourism, the Manna for many to pick up
some fast bucks, was promoted to keep the
tourism sector abuzz year round, to milch
the cow till dry.
43
Li
f e &C a r e e r
Perf
or
ming a pr
of
ession
erfor
orming
prof
ofession
Leenus L K
A
ccording to psychologists the
multiple intelligence that a
human being possess can be
divided into eight types. They
have several technical words to define all of
them; But for a layperson they can be
termed as Word smart, Music smart, Logic
smart, People smart, Self smart, Nature
smart, Body smart and Picture smart. By
nature or nurture a man ends up being good
in one or several of these faculties. It is up to
him to find out those skills he is good at
and make choice of life and career that uses
those faculties.
One of the careers or the choices in life
44
EXPRESSION: Acting calls for inner talents
that is available to a person who is body
smart is acting. Acting whether for Film,
TV or Theatre requires a person to be highly
skillful in the use of his body for
communication. Acting is about
communication. Not only between actor
and an audience but also between actors
themselves. Indeed the whole life of an actor
is continuous job of communication. Acting
in ancient India was an integrated art in
which body, voice, costume, make up and
emotions blended seamlessly together. Five
chapters of Natyasastra are devoted to the
body suggesting that its every aspect from
feet to the head especially the hands, eyes,
and facial expressions were considered
important. “Unlike the writer, painter or
the sculptor the actor has no paper, canvas
or object to look at when his job is finished.
As an actor a person is his own raw material.
He uses his body, voice, feelings, emotion,
and imagination. An actor uses his body
like an instrument.” Says Manu Jose a trained
professional actor.
Manu is a trained actor. He started his
acting education at the School of Drama,
Trichur. And did his Masters in Drama &
Theatre Arts from Pondichery Central
University with specialization in acting. And
in his more than a decade old career has
seen it all.
Starting his work in theatre he has acted
in more than 55 theatre productions and
worked under famous theatre personalities
like B.V. Karanth, Kavalam Narayana
Panicker, S. Ramanujam, Indira
Parthasarathy, Alak Nanda Samarth and
Maya Tangburg. From theatre he moved
to Film working in pictures like Pavithram.
And then to Television where he anchored
‘Chirakukal’ the most popular children’s
programme. This show was aimed at
teaching children Malayalam language
through stories, songs, puppetry,
animation, mime etc. This show won many
awards for the Best Children’s Programme
including Kerala State Television Award
and Onida Pinnacle Award. He has also
done many other shows including
‘Changathikoottam’ - another children’s
show, which won the Kerala State Television
Award for the best children’s programme.
It was while working for ‘Chirakukal’
that story telling entered his mind. Ms
Radhika Menon the producer of the show
found in him a special talent for interacting
with Children. And inspired him to take
up the ancient art of story telling.
Story telling is cited as an important
source of theatre. From time immemorial
storytellers have impersonated characters
and concretized details to a remarkable
extent. Using call and response patterns
they involve an audience in the histrionic
process through its verbal participation as a
group. In some instance the narrator’s song
or speech is also enacted in dance or mime
by assistants or may be interrupted and
embellished by the physical participation
of individual members of the audience. In
today’s modern age it is emerging as a
rediscovered art form.
In story telling the actor relates directly
to the audience. He or she may play several
roles, but it is the task of telling the story
that is most important. There is no
Courses &
Institutions
PG Diploma in
Fashion Designing
Institute of Handloom and Textile
Technology, Thottada and Kannur
University conducts two year (Four
semester) PG Diploma in Fashion
designing programme. Eligibility – BA /
BSc / BCom. Number of Seats – 20.
Semester fee – 15,000. Contact address
– Director, IHTT, Thottada, Kizhanna
(PO), PIN – 670 007. Phone: 0497 –
2835390
IHRD
IHRD Puthupalli, Thodupuzha,
Kattappana Applied Science Colleges
invite application for MSc Computer
Science / Electronics. Application forms
at Rs.300/- at colleges. Rs.150/- for SC /
ST candidates. Application forms and
details at www.ihrdkerala.org
Certificate course
Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies
conducts certificate courses. (a)
Airfare Ticketing and Travel agency
Management. Eligibility – Degree. Fee –
theatrical, unity of form. But there is
narrative unity. This style of acting requires
flexibility, a range of technical skills and great
facility for relating directly to the audience.
The actor may play several roles .The telling
of the story is important. . “It is not only in
Film or TV that acting is employed. Acting
has been a profession from the ancient days
when performers regaled the members of
their tribes by imitating animals and other
tribe members. And from this followed
story telling.” Says Manu Jose.
Today Manu works as a storyteller. The
only professionally trained storyteller of
Kerala.
“Story telling for children has its own
7500. (b) Cambridge International
Diploma in Travel & Tourism. Eligibility
– Degree. Fee – 15,000. Contact address
– Director, KITS Residency, Thycaud,
Thiruvananthapuram – 14. - w w w ;
kittstour.org. (c)
Press Academy
conducts PG Diploma courses in
Journalism & Communication, Public
Relations & Advertising
Duration – 11
months
Training in Script writing,
production of news reels. Editing, DTP,
Photoshop, Internet are also part of the
course. Hostel available for boys.
Eligibility – Degree. Age bar – 27 years.
5 years concession for SC / ST students.
Selection based on written test and
interview. Form and details available at
Rs.200/- Rs.100/- for SC / ST
candidates. Forms available at Press
Academy, Near Civil Station,
Kakkanadu, Ernakulam. Those who
need application forms by post must send
money order of Rs.42/- with a self
addressed cover to The Secretary, Kerala
Press Academy, Kakkanadu, Kochi – 682
030. Specify on the money order for
which courses in applying. For further
details contact 0484 – 2422275 /
2422088
challenges. I had thought any person with
acting skills would be capable of
entertaining them. But that is not so. One
needs that special skill for interaction”.
Along with his friend Martin, a
musician he has formed a touring company
“MeandYou”and travels from place to place
regaling children with his performances.
“Acting as a profession is bound to grow.
Not just in films and TV but spreading to
many new areas of performance art which
are themselves evolving. What today’s’
actors need is an ability to mould their skills.
An acute sense of innovation to make their
skill applicable for today’s world” Manu says
of acting profession.
45
the sculptor the actor has no paper, canvas
or object to look at when his job is finished.
As an actor a person is his own raw material.
He uses his body, voice, feelings, emotion,
and imagination. An actor uses his body
like an instrument.” Says Manu Jose a trained
professional actor.
Manu is a trained actor. He started his
acting education at the School of Drama,
Trichur. And did his Masters in Drama &
Theatre Arts from Pondichery Central
University with specialization in acting. And
in his more than a decade old career has
seen it all.
Starting his work in theatre he has acted
in more than 55 theatre productions and
worked under famous theatre personalities
like B.V. Karanth, Kavalam Narayana
Panicker, S. Ramanujam, Indira
Parthasarathy, Alak Nanda Samarth and
Maya Tangburg. From theatre he moved
to Film working in pictures like Pavithram.
And then to Television where he anchored
‘Chirakukal’ the most popular children’s
programme. This show was aimed at
teaching children Malayalam language
through stories, songs, puppetry,
animation, mime etc. This show won many
awards for the Best Children’s Programme
including Kerala State Television Award
and Onida Pinnacle Award. He has also
done many other shows including
‘Changathikoottam’ - another children’s
show, which won the Kerala State Television
Award for the best children’s programme.
It was while working for ‘Chirakukal’
that story telling entered his mind. Ms
Radhika Menon the producer of the show
found in him a special talent for interacting
with Children. And inspired him to take
up the ancient art of story telling.
Story telling is cited as an important
source of theatre. From time immemorial
storytellers have impersonated characters
and concretized details to a remarkable
extent. Using call and response patterns
they involve an audience in the histrionic
process through its verbal participation as a
group. In some instance the narrator’s song
or speech is also enacted in dance or mime
by assistants or may be interrupted and
embellished by the physical participation
of individual members of the audience. In
today’s modern age it is emerging as a
rediscovered art form.
In story telling the actor relates directly
to the audience. He or she may play several
roles, but it is the task of telling the story
that is most important. There is no
Courses &
Institutions
PG Diploma in
Fashion Designing
Institute of Handloom and Textile
Technology, Thottada and Kannur
University conducts two year (Four
semester) PG Diploma in Fashion
designing programme. Eligibility – BA /
BSc / BCom. Number of Seats – 20.
Semester fee – 15,000. Contact address
– Director, IHTT, Thottada, Kizhanna
(PO), PIN – 670 007. Phone: 0497 –
2835390
IHRD
IHRD Puthupalli, Thodupuzha,
Kattappana Applied Science Colleges
invite application for MSc Computer
Science / Electronics. Application forms
at Rs.300/- at colleges. Rs.150/- for SC /
ST candidates. Application forms and
details at www.ihrdkerala.org
Certificate course
Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies
conducts certificate courses. (a)
Airfare Ticketing and Travel agency
Management. Eligibility – Degree. Fee –
theatrical, unity of form. But there is
narrative unity. This style of acting requires
flexibility, a range of technical skills and great
facility for relating directly to the audience.
The actor may play several roles .The telling
of the story is important. . “It is not only in
Film or TV that acting is employed. Acting
has been a profession from the ancient days
when performers regaled the members of
their tribes by imitating animals and other
tribe members. And from this followed
story telling.” Says Manu Jose.
Today Manu works as a storyteller. The
only professionally trained storyteller of
Kerala.
“Story telling for children has its own
7500. (b) Cambridge International
Diploma in Travel & Tourism. Eligibility
– Degree. Fee – 15,000. Contact address
– Director, KITS Residency, Thycaud,
Thiruvananthapuram – 14. - w w w ;
kittstour.org. (c)
Press Academy
conducts PG Diploma courses in
Journalism & Communication, Public
Relations & Advertising
Duration – 11
months
Training in Script writing,
production of news reels. Editing, DTP,
Photoshop, Internet are also part of the
course. Hostel available for boys.
Eligibility – Degree. Age bar – 27 years.
5 years concession for SC / ST students.
Selection based on written test and
interview. Form and details available at
Rs.200/- Rs.100/- for SC / ST
candidates. Forms available at Press
Academy, Near Civil Station,
Kakkanadu, Ernakulam. Those who
need application forms by post must send
money order of Rs.42/- with a self
addressed cover to The Secretary, Kerala
Press Academy, Kakkanadu, Kochi – 682
030. Specify on the money order for
which courses in applying. For further
details contact 0484 – 2422275 /
2422088
challenges. I had thought any person with
acting skills would be capable of
entertaining them. But that is not so. One
needs that special skill for interaction”.
Along with his friend Martin, a
musician he has formed a touring company
“MeandYou”and travels from place to place
regaling children with his performances.
“Acting as a profession is bound to grow.
Not just in films and TV but spreading to
many new areas of performance art which
are themselves evolving. What today’s’
actors need is an ability to mould their skills.
An acute sense of innovation to make their
skill applicable for today’s world” Manu says
of acting profession.
45
Scheme
Kiosk with a difference
Sudha S. Namboothiry
P
ost Tsunami witnessed people
giving like never before to the
needy. The Central Institute for
Fisheries Technology, Cochin
chipped in its share but in a different way.
The people of the Azhikkal hamlet, Vypeen
in Kerala got a fish kiosk as a New Year gift
from Central Institute of Fisheries
Technology .The Institute had been
working in this village with eighty
fishermen families for the past two years. In
this venture eight women chosen by
Kumarananda Yogam Mahila Samajam were
associated. This is only one of its kind as
nowhere else in the country such a kiosk is
opened in cooperation with a fisheries
institute.
CIFT provided a specially designed
Kiosk which is made of marine quality
plywood with space for storage, display and
service. The serving trays are bio degradable.
No cigarettes, pan masala and soft drinks
are to be served here. What’s more, the
Institute has given the women a chance to
make the best use of the technology they
had learnt from the Institute in hygienically
drying fishes, fish pickles and making fish
chutney etc. The women also sell these in
hygienically packed pouches for those who
want to carry them.
The members of Mahilasamajam are
happy that the Kiosk is a timely help from
CIFT as they were facing the after effects
of Tsunami and also in a time were rumours
about Zulican virus and safety of fish eating
were spreading. At such a juncture with an
aim to show fish was safe to eat this Fishery
Institute took the responsibility and opened
the Kiosk.
Why Azhikkal? Azhikkal has traditional
fishermen community which depends on
stake nets for their livelihood. These stake
nets are placed in the ocean or backwaters
at sunset. About mid-night these are
brought back to the shore and the women
sort out different varieties of fishes and
marine resources. This type of fishing is done
for a period of eight days at a given time
based on the lunar cycle. As the stake nets
cause depletion in the marine resources, the
46
government has given license to very few fishermen to use stake nets. This had made the
men to either move out as assistants to other fishermen or wait for jobs which in turn had
reduced the earning. “Usually the stake net catch was dried in sun and the waste was
thrown in the back water and sea which settle back on the shore giving stench, said Dr. K.
Devadasan, Director, CIFT. The Institute provided the fisherwomen the technology to
dry fish hygienically and also to make tasty cutlets with them. The Institute also had a
technique to effectively utilize the fish waste. The waste when mixed in a proportion with
formic acid liquefies and loses the stink. This liquid could be mixed with rice barn and
dried. Later this can be used for making feed for pigs and poultry. This technique help to
convert stinking fish waste into a product with acceptable smell of economic value”, he
added.
No doubt both the Centre and the State Governments have been working for
community development for all round growth of women and backward classes. According
to Dr. Krishna Srinath, Principal Scientist of the Institute and Leader of the programme,
village adoption is a very effective method of technology transfer by Research Institutes
where the community can be effectively involved in the demonstration of technologies
and then implement them for capacity building. As the Kiosk was opened, the Indian Oil
Corporation provided them with gas connection and big lawn umbrellas and Sea Food
Exporters’ Association provided support for untensils. The women had planned to keep
the kiosk open from break fast time to tea time in the evening. But on public demand now
they have to open it from 5.30 am for bed tea till 9.00pm. But these women decked in
floral aprons and head gear have no regrets. The fisher community in Azhikkal had not lost
their homes and dear ones in Tsunami like many other fishing communities elsewhere but
their stake nets were destroyed and their spirits were all time low. “CIFT has given us a new
lease of life, we have found a new meaning and new means for livelihood. We plan to stick
The people of the Azhikkal hamlet, Vypeen in
Kerala got a fish kiosk as a New Year gift from
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology .The
Institute had been working in this village with
eighty fishermen families for the past two years.
In this venture eight women chosen by
Kumarananda Yogam Mahila Samajam were
associated. This is only one of its kind as nowhere
else in the country such a kiosk is opened in
cooperation with a fisheries institute.
on to this till the end,” says Smt. Vanaja, the leader of self help group. For Shri Suresh , a
fisherman , this kiosk will be a regular stop over after his struggle with the sea. He will have
his fill and carry a parcel along with the hard earned booty.
Yes! It will be a matter of time when these children of sea will once again venture in the
deep sea and their women using technologies and support from the Institute will bring
their share home. Impressed by this venture, the ICAR plans to install such kiosk in
different states too. Isn’t this the best example of prompt intervention of technology and
technology reaching to grass roots?
News
An export chilli from Kerala
Suresh Muthukulam
T
he long chilly pods with a stout
broad base, shrunken side lobes
and glossy appearance is on the
take off for export from the
interior villages of Kerala. This export star is
the Mali-Mulaku which is a new addition
to the long array of chilly varieties, an
indispensable condiment of every Indian
cuisine. Mali mulaku is otherwise called
Karanampotti due to its peculiar highest
degree of pungency. It is also called
Neymulaku and Palmulaku due to the
special aroma of milk products when the
chilly is dried. Mali mulaku is a popular
chilly variety cultivated in some areas of
Kerala like the high ranges of Idukki viz.
Santhanpara, Chinnar, Murikkassery,
Chemmannur, Lalar, Mundiyeruma,
Mavadi, Bethal etc.
The variety which is reported to have
come from Aryankavu of Kollam district is
also cultivated in isolated places of
Trivandrum like Nedumangadu,
Pothencode etc. Malimulaku is a perennial
type of plant which grows to a height of 1
to 1½ metres and has got 4-8 branches and
spreads over 120 cm. in diameter. The pods
are light green with nearly six ribs (which
may not be prominent always). The pod is
of 4-5 cm length and width. The pods have
a tapering end like the parrot’s beak. The
fruit grows pointed downwards and turns
red when ripened.
Apart from being a rich source of
vitamin A, C and E, the red type
Malimulaku has high content of
‘capsanthin, the pigment responsible for the
red colour of the chilly. The yellow type is
rich in capsaicin (0.69%), which is the
alkaloid responsible for pungency of the
chilly.
Apart from being grown as among crop.
Malimulaku is successfully intercropped
with pepper, coffee, cocoa, cashew and
rubber in its early years. Due to the attractive
colour of the fruits and foliage, it can also
be grown as an ornamental plant in
homestead gardens. The high pungency as
well as the peculiar aroma paved way for
entry of Malimulaku into the export market.
About 95% of the crop is exported to
Maldives and hence it is given the name
Malimulaku.
The crop which is planted in June-July
will be ready for harvest in October. The
peak harvest season after maturity is
September to January. Malimulaku is not
allowed to ripen and is harvested when the
pods are green, as green pods are preferred
for export. Harvesting can be done at 1015 days interval. About 6-8 kg of chillies
can be plucked from a plant yearly. Per
hectare yield of the variety is 9 to 10 tons of
chilly. Profitable yield can be expected upto
1½ years, after which it has to be replanted
since the size of the pods will be reduced.
Another peculiarity of Malimulaku is
its quick response to organic farming. Cow
dung, bone meal, neem cake etc. are its
favourite organic meals. Compared to other
chilli varieties the cost of cultivation of
Malimulaku is very low.
In local market, two grades of Malimulaku
are available and are named ‘Bolt’ and
‘Thirivu’ locally. The bolt type gets premium
price in the market and are exported. ‘Thirivu’
is used as vegetable in domestic market. The
price has a wide range of variation form Rs.30
to Rs.250 per kg. in season. The main market
is the Maldives where it is of very great demand
during the Muslim festive seasons like
‘Ramzan.’ Hence it fetches high price during
this season. The Maldives this chilly is used in
the preparation of a special type of fish curry.
Since the demand for Malimulaku is highly
unpredictable there is high price fluctuation
also. Considering the ever increasing export
potential of Malimulaku there is enough
scope o extent the cultivation of this to a large
area on a much more commercial basis.
47
Memories of humble days
O
ne day, when I was in the fourth
form, my mathematics teacher,
Ramakrishna Iyer, was teaching another
class. Inadvertently, I wandered into that
classroom and in the manner of an oldfashioned despot, Ramakrishna Iyer
caught me by the neck and caned me in
front of the whole class. Many months
later, when I scored full marks in
mathematics, he narrated the incident
to the entire school at morning assembly.
“Whomsoever I cane becomes a great
man! Take my word, this boy is going
to bring glory to his school and to his
teachers.” His praise quite made up for
the earlier humiliation!
....
In 1950, I arrived at St. Joseph’s
College, Trichi, to study for the
intermediate examination. I was not a
bright student in terms of examination
Life & Line
48
grades but, thanks to my two buddies
back in Rameswaram, I had acquired a
practical bent of mind.
Whenever I returned to
Rameswaram from Schwartz, my elder
brother Mustafa Mamal, who ran a
provision store on the railway station
road, would call me in to give him a
little help and then vanish for hours
together leaving the shop in my charge.
I sold oil, onions, rice and everything
else. The fastest moving items, I found,
were cigarettes and bidis. I used to
wonder what made poor people smoke
away their hard-earned money. When
spared my Mustafa, I would be put in
charge of his kiosk by my younger
brother, Kasim Mohammed. There I
sold novelties made of seashells.
From Wings of Fire An Autobiography
by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
P.V. Krishnan
Memories of humble days
O
ne day, when I was in the fourth
form, my mathematics teacher,
Ramakrishna Iyer, was teaching another
class. Inadvertently, I wandered into that
classroom and in the manner of an oldfashioned despot, Ramakrishna Iyer
caught me by the neck and caned me in
front of the whole class. Many months
later, when I scored full marks in
mathematics, he narrated the incident
to the entire school at morning assembly.
“Whomsoever I cane becomes a great
man! Take my word, this boy is going
to bring glory to his school and to his
teachers.” His praise quite made up for
the earlier humiliation!
....
In 1950, I arrived at St. Joseph’s
College, Trichi, to study for the
intermediate examination. I was not a
bright student in terms of examination
Life & Line
48
grades but, thanks to my two buddies
back in Rameswaram, I had acquired a
practical bent of mind.
Whenever I returned to
Rameswaram from Schwartz, my elder
brother Mustafa Mamal, who ran a
provision store on the railway station
road, would call me in to give him a
little help and then vanish for hours
together leaving the shop in my charge.
I sold oil, onions, rice and everything
else. The fastest moving items, I found,
were cigarettes and bidis. I used to
wonder what made poor people smoke
away their hard-earned money. When
spared my Mustafa, I would be put in
charge of his kiosk by my younger
brother, Kasim Mohammed. There I
sold novelties made of seashells.
From Wings of Fire An Autobiography
by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
P.V. Krishnan

3316 KB - Kerala

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