Monday, November 12, 2012

GIRISH PULIYUR

Carrying forward the legacy

Poets are mysterious, they hide a sea of emotions in a single word. But though he appears in no mood to hide his feelings behind a cloud of poetry, Girish Puliyoor still mystifies you. The reason why we sat talking at the lush green lawns of Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan was to unravel this face which belongs to that of a poet the whole world knows and of an Ayurvedic medic that few have got to know.
Girish Puliyoor, poet, lyricist, TV anchor and commentator, also has Ayurveda in his veins. Born into the Puliyoor ‘vaidya’ family tracing its roots back to two centuries, steeped in the traditional medical practice, Girish simply could not resist the pull. When his father, Ayurvedic physician L.Sreedharan Nair breathed his last, he left it upon his son to infuse life into the family tradition.
Now, almost 10 years after he took up the mantle of Puliyoor Herbal Centre at Panaikode, near Nedumangad, Girish has turned an entrepreneur who best knows his selling points.
But on this day, it was to Girish Puliyoor’s new venture in writing that we steered our talks to. It is the best a physician-poet could think of. Girish has compiled his memories of being born and brought up in a family following Ayurveda, of learning by watching his father at work, of getting to know the Nature and its inhabitants around, of calling each plant by its name and realising its goodness and of all those times when poetry and Ayurveda dug its nail deep into his being. The work titled ‘Ore Oru Adhyayam’ (Only One Chapter) would soon be out which is also his first step to an autobiography.
“If I don’t put it down now, I might forget them. For, my village is fast changing, my house has undergone changes, the aesthetics of Malayalis has changed and the society
itself is changing. New things are coming like a tide into our lives. I thought it’s time I put down the first 15 years of my life which are also my first encounters with Ayurveda,’’ Girish reasons.
The man is nurturing hopes to start a treatment centre in the city where he could take his product- a medicated herbal hair oil- to more people.
At the Nedumangad centre he has a manufacturing unit which has two Ayurveda doctors, pharmacists and workers who make the oil as per demand.
Of  late, Girish has started packing six bottles together instead of selling loose bottles.
“The theory is however hard you may try, there would be changes when you make a product one day and the next day. The proportion might change. So, we pack the oil made on a single day into six bottles for the user to get better results,’’ Girish says.
The oil is made out of 18 herbs and Girish could tell you the name of each one and its qualities. In fact, he can tell you the good things of ‘chembarathy’ and ‘muringayila’ in the same pace as he recites a poem. The good thing about Ayurveda is that you get to know the plants by its identity, he says.
Then why did  he not choose his father’s profession and become a physician? “For that you have to be available at one place for the patients. I lead a wayward life. I roam about, I travel, I do many things with my time. I am holding on to Ayurveda because there are efforts to tamper with its goodness, to market it for the sole purpose of money. I want to do my bit to preserve its purity,’’ Girish rues.
This coming from a man who has penned lyrics for 60 Malayalam serials, including the hits like ‘Peythozhiyathe’ and ‘Ente Manasa Putri’, leaves one baffled. Currently, four serials are on air whose title songs have been written by him.
He is a familiar face in major channels, either judging the reality show participants or reciting poems to audience. He has six poetry collections to his credit and a short story for children.
He lives at Gourishapattom in the city with wife Smitha Murali, the daughter of  Left leader and theatre person Pirappancode Murali, and daughter Akshara. When asked, if one could get his oil from other shops, Girish yells ‘No’.
“It’s like Ayyappan’s
‘aravana’, you have to go to Sabarimala to get hold of it,’’ he bursts out into a laugh.
Girish can be reached at puliyoorherbalcentre@
gmail.com or ring up 9447388170.

MSK GIRLS


Girls who overcame their circumstances

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There were eleven of them, looking elated and at the same time humble, as people came up to them to heap praise for the play they had just staged. In the play, the girls had talked about the ill-effects of substance abuse, how it destroys a healthy life. Not even for a moment could one imagine that the girls had come from the most disadvantaged circumstances. Rescued and rehabilitated, the children seemed to have long forgotten their nightmares and on Tuesday appeared all spruced up to begin their new academic year in schools.
The girls are inmates at the Mahila Shikshan Kendra (MSK), Kariavattom, run by the Kerala State Mahila Samakhya Society (KSMSS). They are from disadvantaged circumstances, suffering the unfathomable for girls of their age. But time has healed them to the extent that they can now adorn any stage, stand beside Ministers and dignitaries and astound one and all with their confidence. On Tuesday, they displayed it by staging a play at the Achutha Menon Centre at Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology.
Hafsath is from Malappuram, Shafna and Rehna (sisters) are from Kannur, Harishma belongs to Ernakulam and Divya to  Kollam. Twin sisters Shanti K S and Sandhya K S are from Keezhathingal. The others are Vidya, Athira S, Athira T K and Ajitha S. At the MSK, which is their home now, they are all related through their experiences.
"When they arrived here, they were broken. But look at them now, they have emerged strong,’’ said Sreeja, Junior Resource Person of KSMSS. Initially, the girls were provided with the support and care they needed, brought back to studies slowly. They attended classes run by MSK. Now, almost all of them go to regular schools. They have made friends and participate in the extra-curricular activities in their respective schools.
"This is our second play on substance abuse. We have staged plays on the theme of dowry and child labour,’’ says Hafsath proudly. She is a plus-two student at a government school in Pattom.
The other girls are attending other schools in and around Kariavattom. Their uniforms are ready, books all neatly bound, they tell us. But ask if they love to study at MSK or the other schools, most of them prefer their teachers at MSK, who have been teacher-mother-friend bundled into one for them.
"They take a little time to accept anyone or anything. But they have special capabilities, which is why they could take on life’s bitter experiences. Most of them are brilliant, and only need that extra push to get going,’’ says Ragini, a teacher at MSK. In Thiruvananthapuram alone, there are four MSK centres, while there are seven in Idukki and one in Nilambur. However, it is at the Thiruvananthapuram centres that children rescued from disadvantaged circumstances are lodged.
"Our objective is to provide the children with opportunities of schooling and to bring them back to mainstream education. They are children who need special care and attention. Healthy discussions, art, music and theatre help them to recover and return to normal life,’’ says Seema Bhaskar, State Coordinator of KSMSS.
On Wednesday, another academic life will begin for them. The girls tell us they are really looking forward to it.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

POLLS

Thiruvananthapuram

Civic polls: An uncertain mood in the city

29th September 2010 01:16 AM
The best part of an election is always its element of uncertainty. Nearly a month to go for the local body polls, Thiruvananthapuram seems to have worn this irresolute mood, waiting in patience to steer its mind to a person or party.
True, the LDF has been at the helm of matters for too long here; ruling the Corporation, district panchayat, four municipalities and 58 grama panchayats with absolute majority. It has been quick to identify the candidates and launch the campaign this time. And make the entire scenario look favourable to it. But, also true is the fact that the UDF has been gifted with a fair shake, unlike last time. The DIC which had been in the LDF lineup no more exists, many of the members are now in the Congress. The splits in the Janata Dal and the Kerala Congress(J) have made them stronger and the incumbency factor might come to their aid.
It was the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, which is being ruled by the Left for the last three decades, that gave a heavy blow in the face of the UDF in 2005. Out of the 86 wards, 76 had gone to the LDF. However, when the Council ended, the UDF numbers had risen from 10 to 19 with half the DIC and the Socialist Janata party members joining them. This time, the number of wards has gone up to 100.
The LDF has a potpourri of projects, eligible to be showcased. From the breakfast and noon meal projects in schools and the sanitation project to the BSUP slum development scheme. If the headaches caused by the Vilappilsala treatment plant, the menace of unauthorised buildings in the city and the corruption in some departments like the Town Planning are set side, things look better for them. The active role of Kudumbashree is also a boost to the party.
UDF’s focal points
The UDF banks on the political climate which appears inclined to them, which reflected in the Lok Sabha polls. That the local bodies failed to implement Centre-sponsored projects like the JNNURM and the ADB-assisted KSUDP project would be projected by them. The utter failure of the much-hyped EMS Housing Scheme in the corporation area will come to their benefit and so will be the non-spending of the tsunami fund in the coastal areas. They also invest a lot of hopes in the newly added panchayats, including Vizhinjam, Vattiyurkavu and Kazhakootam.
“The people will react to the anti-public and corruption-filled rule of the government in power through the polls. This being the capital will reflect the mood more clearly. The women’s reservation which we introduced and which the LDF now claims as its own, will also do us wonders,” says DCC president V S Sivakumar.
Confident-looking CPM
The picture is that of a confident-looking CPM in the district panchayat also. Anavoor Nagappan and his team rely heavily on the EMS project that reaped goodwill in the grama panchayats, the umpteen agricultural projects, including the Samagra which was adopted by a South African local body, and the implementation of the NREGS. Out of the 28 divisions, 22 had gone to the LDF last time, with the Congress and the Muslim League sharing the remaining six seats. This time, elections are being held in 26 divisions (after delimitation) and the LDF has pinned hopes on not less than 20 seats.
“The distribution of rice at `2 a kg and the giving away of welfare pensions are significant steps that we undertook. Political issues will sure be a matter of campaign. The mess that they made of the Commonwealth Games and the way they are appeasing religious sentiments for votes will be recognised by the people,” says Anavoor Nagappan.

LEAPP

Equipping Lives With the Light of Letters

08th August 2011 06:51 AM


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as uncertainty hangs over the future of Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) with its conversion to LEAP Mission going over the rocks, it continues to touch the lives of hundreds of tribals in the forest settlements of Attappady promising them a bright future.
More than 500 people in the 85 tribal settlements there are being initiated into the world of letters and they are preparing to sit for an examination in September, most of them for the first time in their lives.
It is in collaboration with the Attappady Hills Area Development Society (AHADS) that the Literacy Mission started the novel venture, ‘paristhithi saksharatha’ in 2004.
  So far, more than 2,200 tribals have been initiated into the world of letters by the Mission.
However, only half of them have shown the vigour to sit for exams or to continue studies through the equivalency programme of the Mission. This time, however, out of the 520 adult learners in these settlements, 300 are sitting for the examination which will be held on September 3 and 4.
Being one of the most ambitious projects run by it, the Mission shares half the credit with AHADS which gives remuneration for the instructors engaged in teaching the tribals.
‘’The instructors have been chosen from among the tribal settlements. They are either Plus-II or SSLC passed. Most of the adult learners in the settlements are women, who after their day’s work gather at sunset and find time to learn and write. This is our third batch, but the efforts of our seven years are actually bearing fruits now. Because more people want to join for fourth, seventh and tenth equivalency courses and they really study instead of learning just to read and write their names,’’ said K Ayyappan Nair, assistant director of KSLMA.
Many of the women who were similarly initiated into learning by the Mission have shed their inhibitions, sought jobs outside and is leading better lives. The Mission points out the example of Eswari Reshan, once an illiterate tribal woman and now the District Panchayat member from Attappady.
Those belonging to the ‘Muthuka’, ‘Irula’ and ‘Kurumbar’ communities are being offered the possibilities of education at present. Among them, the ‘Kurumbars’ have shown less inclination to write the exams, the Mission officials said.
The future of KSLMA is not announced by the new government and it is yet to have a new director. With the future of AHADS hanging in balance with the UDF Government yet to take a decision on the previous LDF Government’s proposal to wind up the organisation, the future of tribal literacy is rather bleak.
According to KSLMA officials, if the ST Department would show the enthusiasm and spare funds to teach the tribals, there is still hope.
According to sources, officials have already held talks with ST Minister P K Jayalakshmi in this regard.

CLEANWELL

Lone men’s unit facing neglect

09th August 2011 12:12 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Manikuttan has a time-worn allergy eating into his skin’s pores. On a fine morning a year back, it had dug a deep hole in his thumb that ran to his wrist, which took more than a week to heal, throwing him out of a job for all that long. But otherwise, for the last fourteen years, this man has turned up, without miss,  at the hundreds of houses in the Sasthamangalam-Vellayambalam stretch to collect garbage.
The spotless look that this street usually wears owes a lot to him and his friends, who remain the only male group in the city to be doing the work of garbage-collectors among the 85 Kudumbashree Cleanwell women units.
  But all is not well with this men’s gang. Manikuttan’s allergy remain a tiny case. They stand proof of the fact that to be  ‘minority’ is to be on the wrong side, be it men or women. The left side of the road from Sasthamangalam to Vellayambalam is handled by a women Cleanwell unit and the right side by the all-men group.
The garbage from the rows of shops and residents’ associations here are collected by them.
However, while the women enjoy all attention from the Corporation and the Kudumbashree, the men are hardly cared for.  
 ‘’We are not given any gloves, boots or precautions for handling the garbage. We are not allowed any loans or subsidies. No new vehicles or cartons make its way to us from the Corporation. The ‘shree’ in Kudumbashree denotes ‘prosperity’ and not ‘woman’ as in ‘sthree’. Then, why this discrimination? We have asked the Corporation officials many a time but they treat us below the women. Though we do the same work,’’ says Manikuttan, who is also the president of this all-man gang which has registered under the banner Mythri Purusha Swayam Sahaya Sangham. Even his allergy is a result of this neglect, he swears.
  Until a year back, there were 14 men engaged in collecting garbage in the city. One of them, S Ani, died a year ago, owing to diseases that developed due to the nature of his job. ‘’He worked when he was ill; he was given no help. He died and his family was given no financial assistance. Though the women have an active insurance scheme, we have none. They collected Rs 90 each from us for the scheme, but it’s been two years and we have not been added to it,’’ says Balu, one among the group.
  They have been in this job for the last 14 years. ‘’That time, we used to collect garbage and stock it at a place from where the Corporation vans used to pick them up. Six years back, when Corporation started Capital City Clean City project, we were not made part of it. It was the then Kudumbashree Director who showed the heart to include us. Reluctantly, the Corporation officials then issued the identity cards for us. But the divide still continues,’’ says Murukan, another member.
  At the Health Inspector office at Sasthamangalam, there are several cartons arranged in rows, but not used by the units. ‘’We are running so short of cartons. The one we have is leaking, but they won’t replace it with one of those, even if they are lying unused,’’ says Balu.
  The group, which also has Santhoshkumar, Stanley, M S Ani, Sunilkumar, K Sadan, T Chandran, Ajikumar, George and Joy, hails from Rajaji Nagar Colony. For years now, they have been running from pillar to post to get their issues noticed by the officials. Presently, they are in a mood to rebel. They refuse to be part of dharnas and agitations organised by the Corporation. ‘’Onam is around the corner. The Corporation will not give us a penny, but the residents do. We can’t let them down, but if the Corporation does not change its attitude, we will be forced to change our decision too,’’ Manikuttan appears rigid.
  For all the scavenging work they do, a little care and support would not be too much to ask for. It’s time the Corporation gave them their due.

FORTS

Thiruvananthapuram forts may be redeemed soon

15th August 2011 01:00 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lord Padmanabha is the richest deity in the country, his temple the most talked about these days. But the forts (‘kota vathilukal’) that guard the entrances to the temple neighbourhood from four points have long lost their glory. Now, with the temple and its historical existence attracting global attention, the forts might finally get a redemption.
The Archaeology Department has decided to take up the renovation of the forts and has directed the City Corporation to first undertake a cleaning exercise on the premises. Though the Department is yet to have a Director to head its activities, the present in-charge of the Department J Rejikumar says that the restoration of the forts has been given due importance and the primary steps have been initiated.
"At the foot of the forts’ pillars, there are overgrown plants, garbage dumped and bricks that have come out of the structures. We have asked the Corporation to take up a cleaning of the forts and the premises first. We have drawn up a restoration plan, which will be implemented without delay,’’ Rejikumar says.
However, the local people here are fed up with promises and demand concrete action. East Fort Poura Samithi, which has been leading protests against the neglect shown to the archeological structures, is not convinced.
"Many a time, officials have visited the forts, made plans and everything has remained on paper. The Fort area has suddenly gained international attention and if one of the forts like the ‘Vettimuricha kotta’ comes down one fine day, it will be a national shame,’’ says T K S Raj, Poura Samithi representative.
Among the forts - East Fort (directly opposite to the main entrance of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple), Ganapathy Fort (‘Vadakke kotta’), Vettimuricha kotta, West Fort and Thekke kotta (which is a miniature fort) - it is the Vettimuricha kotta that needs immediate attention. The huge carrier lorries (bringing cars from other states) that make a turn from the sides of this fort have caused much damage to the structure. Every time a big lorry makes a turn, it brings down a few bricks on the sides.
Earlier, the Archeological Department used to conduct night patrolling in the area. It used to carry out regular maintenance of the structures too. However, for the last two years, the forts have been served only neglect and according to local people, it would not be long before they crumble down to earth. Except the East Fort (Kizhakke kotta), the other forts are in urgent need of a restoration, they say.
The newfound glory of the Lord might finally spare a little fortune for the dying forts too; let’s hope.

ARCHIVES

School clubs to help preserve rare documents

16th August 2011 02:39 AM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For years now, the Archives Department has been trying out different ways to make the public, part with the historical documents in their possession for conservation.
 However, few have relented. But school children belonging to various heritage clubs across the state have been more successful in convincing the private parties in this regard.Making use of this, the Archives Department has now kicked off a programme wherein the historical documents in  possession of school heritage clubs would be collected, preserved and if necessary conserved in schools itself.
  The first school to be part of this unique programme will be GHSS Peruvallur, Malappuram. The school’s heritage club had carried out a survey in the immediate neighbourhood and collected many documents and artefacts of archival and archeological  importance.
Two significant documents among them, one a ‘mulakarana’ (which is a document written using bamboo) and a title deed dating back to 1902 which was connected to the then Zamorin of Calicut, were handed over to the Archives Department the other day.
  The department has deployed a team in Kozhikode Central Archives who will conserve the documents and preserve them at the school’s heritage club. However, in case of schools which are not able to spare space, it will be taken over by the Archives department.  The public are reluctant to hand over documents to the department. They are more comfortable sharing them with the nearby school. It might be this psychology that is working because many of them say they could at least drop in and see it preserved there,’’ says Remani teacher, who is in charge of the heritage club in GHSS Peruvallur.
  The heritage clubs in schools across the state have conducted surveys in their localities and collected archival documents. “It was a programme we kicked off to promote the study of local history and preservation of local yet historical documents. It is as the second phase of the programme that we are collecting the documents and helping schools preserve them.,’’ says Archives Director J Rejikumar.

KILA UNI

KILA to be made a Deemed University

08th April 2012 02:46 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Efforts have begun to transform the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) into a Deemed University, probably the first in the country to come up with money from local governments. An Academic Committee, to be constituted in a few weeks, will prepare a detailed proposal for courses to be offered in the university to be submitted to the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The government has asked all local bodies in the state to chip in to KILA’s corpus fund to realise the dream of transforming it into a Deemed University.
From a mere training institute in local governance, KILA wants itself to excel in professional qualitative training in decentralisation and also offer research courses in the subject.
The idea is to help local governments in local planning and development and come up with alternative technologies for strengthening local economy and offer specialised training in it. “During our talks with the UGC officials, we came to know that it is probably the first in the country to come up with people’s money.
Decentralisation is a concept that many countries want to learn from us and we could teach a great deal in the matter banking on our experiences in the area. For that we need to emerge  as professionals and improve our quality in training,” said P P Balan, KILA Director, who will also be the special officer for the University until it gets running in three years.
As part of the changes, KILA will organise a World Meet of Local Governments in Ernakulam from November 30 to December 2. This will be followed by an international conference on people’s participation.

MATHS BLOG

Mathematics School revisited

29th January 2010 12:46 AM


It’s the best anniversary gift a blog can expect or ever dream of.
Mathematics School, a mathematics blog for higher secondary teachers and students, born exactly a year ago, is turning into a book.
The puzzles and mathematics solutions which were posted in the blog (www.mathematicsschool.
blogspot.com) over the last months have been compiled and are being brought out as ‘Math Puzzles’ by Umesh P N, a US based Malayali who works with Google.
The e-copy of the book was received by the developers of Mathematics School the other day. In the preface, Umesh says it’s a living document and will be updated over time. Harikumar K J and V K Nissar, who worked on the concept of a blog for mathematics teachers across Kerala and gave birth to Mathematics School, are two proud souls now.
“It was during a cluster meeting of mathematics teachers at Ernakulam that the IT@School co-ordinator there suggested the creation of a blog. The next day, Nissar and I came out with this and it was well received by teachers.
We developed the content and it’s now visited by at least 1,500 people a day,” says Harikumar, teacher at a school at Edavanakad.
The blog is an attempt to make mathematics learning fun. It applies platforms like FOSS (free and open source software) to make it easy. It has the participation and whole-hearted support of mathematics teachers across the state and the right push from IT@School project. Teachers and some of the best brains in maths, publish puzzles or mathematics solutions, which are sometimes attempted by people outside the school community as well. “It is interesting to note that the puzzles posted are not always answered by teachers. IT professionals and even students chip in with their solutions, which is exciting,” Hari says.
Right now, the SSLC revision modules are being updated in the post which in itself is a great effort. Every Sunday, the blog takes to discussing problems of academic interest or puzzles.
Every two days, new content is added, and as Hari rightly puts it, the blog is growing into a website.
The maths blog team has mathematics teachers and FOSS programmers including John P A, Vijayan N M, Muraleekrishnan, Muraleedharan, Sankaran Keloth, Sreenath, Satyabhama V S and Lalitha S as its members.

ENGLISH BELL

Giant bell, desks give moments of concern too

01st June 2011 12:00 AM

THIRUVANANATHAPURAM: "The giant bell at SMV High School in Thiruvananthapuram resonates in a way that is unheard of anywhere else," says Bharathanoor C Vasantha Kumaran, who is the Staff Council secretary.
Though he is one person who can throw light on the history of the school, having compiled it for the school magazine once, even he cannot tell you how much the bell weighs. It is there since 1943, nobody has removed it, he says. "What is heard is that it took at least three people to move it around," he adds.
The bell has a few scribbling on its sides, which reads Gillett and Johnston, Croydon. Also written is 1920 Vanjiour school, which suggests that it must have been shipped here when the school was functioning at Vanchiyoor (present court premises). It is an alloy material, nothing more is known about its composition too.
The school also possess dualdesks with German iron rods which were also shipped to Travancore when the school began functioning on the present premises. The SMV school itself has a history which is intertwined with the history of Travancore. According to school records, it started during the time of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. It also has a temple inside the school compound, a rare sight these days.Though there are moments of pride for them, the bell and the desks give moments of concern too for the school authorities.

VISMAYAS

Vismayas student makes the ‘right’ click

09th May 2012 01:50 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Razeem Rafeeq needs to have no more regrets on his decision. He had dumped a career in engineering for a roller-coaster ride in animation. And joined ace actor Mohanlal’s animation studio Vismayas Max animations in the city. Three years after he joined Vismayas as a student, Razeem has made his studio pride by bagging one of the two awards for Vismayas at the CG Animation festival held in Delhi last week. The other went to ‘Romeo Spikes’, a professional film done on a script by British author Joanne Reay.
 Razeem’s 30 second-long 2G animation film is, in fact, a promotional clipping for Vismayas’s iPhone applications. Named ‘Stoneage Doodles’, the clipping has a cave man proposing a cave woman and ending up a botch. The film won the award in the student category, while ‘Romeo Spikes’ won the best animation film in the professional category. ‘Stoneage Doodles’ had also been to the China Sichuan TV Festival and  competed till the last round.
 It took six months for Razeem to finish his short film. And the hard times were mostly at the dubbing table.
 ‘’After B Tech, I wanted to pursue my passion. My family was not convinced, but I had the conviction,’’ he says.
The characters of the cave woman and the cave man are interesting and for them Razeem sang for the first time. The lyrics were jointly written by Deepak Sivarajan, the pre-production head of Vismayas, and Razeem.
‘’Deepak made me sing for the animation film and it was a first for me. I thought it would not work, but everything fell into place finally,’’ he beams.
 According to Pramod Nilambur, head of marketing at Vismayas, all the students in the team are made to do short films at the end of their course. The Team Vismayas had created applications for Facebook which were a great hit. The students are asked to create iPhone applications and Razeem’s was one of them.
‘’We sent them to different festivals across the globe so that the students get the confidence and exposure they need. Razeem can now be cent-per cent sure about the path he has chosen,’’ Pramod says.
 Razeem was helped out by Jibin Surendran, Praveen M S, Bipin Krishna and Nirmala Paul Das at Vismayas with the production of the clip. He has now been absorbed into the pre-production team of Vismayas.
 The professional team of Vismayas, who are behind the production of ‘Romeo Spikes’, are also overjoyed. Directed by K D Shybu, who is also the creative head of Vismayas, the film was inspired from the life and mysterious death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. It was also the first attempt by Vismayas in animated book trailers and was launched at the London Book Fair, receiving wide response.

MAYOR

Mamma Mia

14th May 2012 08:02 AM
 Until two years back, they were like any other mother and son. They caught up with the latest flicks in town, drove to shopping malls, beaches and eateries together and talked about everything under the sun. And then like a fairy-tale, the mother becomes the first lady of Thiruvananthapuram. The world changes its colour for the two, since then.
On the occasion of Mothers’ Day, Mayor K Chandrika and her son Anoop Ramesh took time off their busy schedules to tell us how. “We miss our outings together. Every small and big thing, whether it is to buy a book or to watch a film, we used to go out together. She taught me driving, encouraged me to read and finally allowed me to take my own path without any sentimental drama,’’ Anoop beams.
Anoop has chosen his destiny - films. He is the associate of director Shyamaprasad and has been part of his films since ‘Ritu’ to the latest ‘Arike’. After a degree in Computer Science, Anoop had made clear that he wanted to be in the film industry. And K Chandrika, who was then an official with KSEB, had no intention of stopping him either.
“He was born five years after our marriage, much-awaited and precious. He is still so attached to me that when he is home after a shoot, gets up in the morning and plants a kiss on my cheek before starting his day. There is no way I can come against his path. If cinema is his passion, let that be ,’’ Chandrika is a far cry from the stubborn administrator that she is when Anoop is near.
He cannot even remember the last time she hit him. “When I was too small I walked to the neighbour’s house without telling her. She was frantic and searched for me here and there and finally when she saw me she let loose her anger and pain,’’ Anoop says.
Whether it was his liking for gadgets, interest in driving, love for cinema or the crazy ideas he came up with at times, Chandrika has never shown a red signal. So, how does he feel when the media or her opponents in politics bash her up for the rude and bold mannerisms she often displays? “From what I know of her, she has exact ideas of how things should be, and often she is right. I see her as a bold, assertive leader who is doing things for the city. Let me remind you that only those who work receive the bashing,’’ Anoop chips in.
He is aware of her mother’s politics but has no idea where she dumps all the tension she loads up each day. Especially, since the Vilappilsala garbage issue has deepened. “However busy I am or however far he is, we call up once in a day and catch up with each other’s lives,’’ Chandrika says.
Anoop had begun with ad movies, then moved on to films. He began with a film by Murali Nagavally which was later shelved, then moved on to Shaji Kailas film ‘Red Chillies’ and then joined Shyamaprasad where he says he has found the right kind of movies he wants to be part of. He worked for ‘Ritu’, ‘Elektra’, ‘Kerala Cafe’ and ‘Arike’. He was also part of ‘T D Dasan, Std 6 B’ and wants to direct his own movie someday.
“The last movie we saw together was ‘Ritu’. One of his friends who is part of the movie ‘Ordinary’ has been asking me to watch the movie. But I am not able to find time,’’ Chandrika says.
Though they both miss life’s everyday routines they did together earlier, if there is one loss that they mourn equally, it is the death of Anoop’s grandmother and Chandrika’s mother-in-law, Ammini Amma. She had passed away 20 days after Chandrika was sworn in the Mayor.
While Anoop says his mother is a bad cook, he longs for the ‘sambar’ and curries his grandmother used to cook for him. “For somebody who appears this bold, my mother was my grandmom’s favourite. It was not the relationship that in-laws usually share,’’ Anoop says. His father M R Ramesh is a retired official from the Food Corporation of India.
In a few days, Anoop would be back to the sets of a new film and his mother would start missing him again. But one of these days, they plan to spend some quality time together, away from the din of films and politics, just like older times.

Friday, November 9, 2012

ENERGY AUDIT

Energy audit Soon

26th May 2012 07:34 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When it is the biggest Corporation in the State that functions in two buildings stretched over more than 100 rooms with double the number of computers, there is bound to be wastage of electricity. But once the City Corporation sees its e-governance project in place, a change could set in. For, the Rs 16.47-crore project also envisages an energy audit which would keep in check the consumption of electricity in the Corporation office.
Wipro, which has been entrusted with the e-governance project, is set to undertake a study on the energy use in the office. As of now, the connected load in each building and the approved load are in two boats. Among the numerous electronic appliances, including the air-conditioners and printers in use in the Corporation office, some were added only recently. The main building with an outdated wiring network often chooses to strike work, reducing the age of many of the appliances.
‘’Energy auditing is one component under the e-governance project which comes under office modernisation. We included it in the DPR because it is one aspect we cannot overlook. When you are speaking about computerisation and modernisation, you probably can’t fix your computers to old wiring systems or networks. The study will be done by the Wipro team and completed in three months,’’ said an official connected with the project.
 The study will look into the energy use in the local body, how it could be minimised and how it could be updated to the energy needs of the new project. If not full automation, at the end of the project, at least a couple of appliances could be turned computer-operated, officials say.
Once the study is completed, the Corporation will call tenders for necessary changes in the office modernisation. Energy routing will be given more importance. ‘’As of now, people leave their computers on or the lights and fans working when they leave their seats. The old wiring produces more heat and there is energy loss,’’ said a Corporation official.
The Corporation has been allotted Rs 13.47 crore for the e-governance project and an additional Rs 3 crore for the infrastructure development, including installation of kiosks, web casting, site preparation and modernisation. Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is piloting the project in the State in the current year.

FARMING 2012

Sharing a treasure trove of farming wisdom

10th November 2012 09:16 AM
There was a time when farmers enjoyed a telepathy with nature: when clouds foretold the nature of yield and rain never thought of cheating the crops.
Men and women who have been out in the farms then would have a treasure of knowledge to share with the present generation.
Such a sharing, where farmers of old days will reveal their close bonding with the nature and the secrets of good yield, will take place in every panchayat in the state this November.
The Agriculture Department has asked the agricultural officers in all the districts to organise such “farmers’ gatherings” as part of the 30-point development programme undertaken by the department.
Inspired by the ‘nattukoottam’ programme initiated by the department three years ago where similar farmers’ gatherings were arranged in select panchayats, it is fanning out the idea to all panchayats this time.
“It is for the first time that we have planned it so extensively in every panchayat. It is not just a step to promote and strengthen agriculture in the rural areas, but also a means to address the labour issue that is looming large over the sector.
When krishi bhavans organise the programme in a panchayat, naturally the problems being faced by the farmers will be highlighted. Lack of manpower to undertake agricultural work will be an issue that the panchayat officials will have to address too,” said R Ajithkumar, director, Directorate of Agriculture.He said that this time the Agriculture Department is toying with the idea of documenting the experience-sharing episodes in panchayats. The home-made fertilisers that guarantee results, the easy way to tackle certain seasonal pests that pose danger to crops and many such titbits in farming once followed rigorously by a generation, is worth documenting, he said. According to officials, the gatherings will also be the venue to discuss the specific agricultural issues in the area and to formulate an action plan to tackle them. The department will launch follow-up activities of the action plan thereafter on a panchayat basis.

MUTATHARA

Land acquisition issue hits project work

30th May 2012 07:34 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the City Corporation is all set to commission the sewerage treatment plant at Muttathara this June, land acquisition blues continue to haunt the construction of pumping stations for the plant. Even when the city has an outdated sewage network, dating back to pre-independence times, the need for renovating the sewerage network has been caught up in controversies and red tape.
 While tenders were called for two pumping stations and work taken up by a firm, the delay in giving technical clearance has cast a  shadow of uncertainty over the project. The Corporation had identified four sites of 40 cents each for laying the new pipes for the networking of the sewerage system, but with the locals moving Court, that move has been caught in legal tangles. The Corporation’s demand for a land acquisition team exclusively for the project has also fallen on deaf ears.
 As of now, the new plant has a capacity of 107 mld (million litres per day), but as things stand, the plant would have to work for 40 mld only since that is the amount of sewage generated from the city presently. That too, the sewage generated from 50 wards; the rest  having no sewage system at all.
 ‘’Two pumping stations marked B and C in the project needed no land acquisition. We had identified government land for the pumping stations. In October 2010, the plan was placed before the Empowered Committee and was passed on to a three-member committee for technical clearance. The tenders were called and a firm had taken up the project. The final clearance should have been given by February 28. Since it was not given by the government, the firm is now demanding tender excess and the project is in a limbo,’’ said Mayor K Chandrika.
 According to KSUDP officials, 11 pumping stations need to come up and pipelines have to be laid across 30 acres of land (in length). The project envisages gravity flow method of the septic waste through pipes to the treatment plant, where it would be turned to drinking water making use of advanced technologies. However, with half the wards having no sewerage system, the networking needs to be strengthened.
 The Corporation had identified four sites -Ulloor, Akkulam, Santinagar and Karimanal (both in Attipra ward) for pipe-laying. However, the land acquisition here is now caught in legal issues.
 ‘’A revenue team exclusively for the land-acquisition is needed. Without which it is impossible to make any headway,’’ said a KSUDP official.
 Sources said that at many places like Punchakari, the local resistance is high since the public has less knowledge about the need for septage treatment. In low-lying areas where the ground water begins from 3 metre depth, septic tanks are impractical. However, the Corporation has been unable to convince the public at many places with the Vilappilsala crisis staring right at their face. The term ‘plant’, whether it is garbage or sewerage, is bound to raise alarm among the public.
 Meanwhile, the Corporation is planning to commission the treatment plant in the second week of June. A total of ` 336 crore was assigned for the project, of which ` 215 crore was released in the first phase. The plant has been set up spending ` 80 crore.

WOMEN SERIES 3

Less corrupt, more committed than male members

23rd September 2010 02:14 AM
KERALA: There is a large section in society which believes that administration and corruption go handing love, but they also believe that women can make a change. For the simple reason that a sizeable number of women are out there for their panchayats and not for politics.

If anyone was skeptical at anytime about the administrative prowess of women, it was corrected after the first fiveyear term itself, as early as 2000.

"During our interaction with women leaders during the People's Plan campaign, we found women display an inclination to learn things, to get trained and do things meticulously. There are exceptions, as in all cases, but a majority of them took pains to understand things and think about the larger interests of their panchayats," T N Seema MP said. It could be used to exploit women, too, as J Devika, Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), put it.

"At the panchayat level, there are a lot of norms and rules to be studied. Parties find it safe in the hands of women. They would be engaged in learning the trade while men can go on with their practical politics."

It is another thing that a few women panchayat heads could actually see to it that women component projects are implemented. "Take, for instance, the setting up of jagratha samitis in local bodies. There are only 35 active panchayats run by women where samitis have been set up for them. Which means, they have shed their initial inhibition and gained confidence, but that is yet to reflect itself as projects for the women population," says Eliyamma Vijayan, director of Sakhi Women's Resource Centre, who was actively involved in the work of the People's Plan cell.

Many women are aware that if they fall behind in grasping the administrative lessons, they will be exploited by bureaucrats and the male members alike. It is also a fact that, by the time they learn to rule, they are out of power. Unlike men, only if they prove themselves do they get a second chance, woman members say.

However, there is a brighter side to this. "There is a huge difference in the way men and women approach projects. A woman would stand for common issues like tackling alcoholism or use of drugs or domestic violence, instead of thinking of the distribution of funds among the wards," Eliyamma says.

The growth of the Kudumbashree has contributed a lot to developing the administrative skills of women. It is to be recalled that it was the 'Gramasree,' a womenparticipatory model implemented in Madikai panchayat as early as 1996, that inspired the formation of the Kudumbasree later.

Baby Balakrishnan, who was thethen president of the Madikai panchayat says that the Kudumbasree has opened the doors to women to get a feel of public life. "At least five community development scheme members from every panchayat now have the capacity to contest in the elections," says Baby, who is also the Kudumbashree state governing body member. True, there have been allegations of corruption against women in many panchayats. Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram is a glaring example, but that does not take faith away from the larger numbers ready to flow in.

(Tomorrow: The struggle to blend family with politics)

WOMEN SERIES 4

At home with civic duties

24th September 2010 01:32 AM


In the middle of 1999, the People's Plan cell under the Planning Board compiled the experiences of woman panchayat representatives in the state.

It found that many women had ventured out of the kitchens braving physical violence, mental harassment and family restraints. There were discords in the family, divorces were many and women were despised for their adventure. Fifty or sixty, reservation or not, society cradles a hypocrisy that is hard to deal with, women say.

"No changes have come in the family equations. What is the ultimate objective if it fails to raise women as the decisionmaker within the family? The irony in gender relations is an obstacle to women to shed their traditional roles. It, in turn, is reflected in parties and governments. There is a reluctance to women's leadership which is yet to be done away with completely," says T N Seema MP, who was a member of the People's Plan cell.

Umpteen woman panchayat members disclose that they still bear the burden of family expectations. Whenever their child fails in an examination, husband falls ill or a sudden crisis occurs in the family, accusing fingers naturally point to the woman. "There are a couple of woman members who told they were quitting because it was only adding to their burden, not bringing in a change in their status," says O Sudhadevi, Vizhinjam grama panchayat president.

Women themselves are their biggest enemies, says Baby Balakrishnan, who is the block panchayat president at Madikai. "We set up a gender resource centre in our panchayat and took classes for women where we found they were willing to improve their abilities at any cost but not willing to assert their identity and rights. They are willing to fight the injustice outside, but not within their homes," she says.

And, that exactly is the biggest concern of woman representatives in the state. That women come out of their homes for five years and return to their old spaces without complaints. There is no upward mobility for women in politics. "In the past 15 years, how many women have come to the limelight and shared political spaces with prominence? They limit themselves to the panchayats and are satisfied with it," says Eliamma Vijayan of Sakhi. Margaret Thomas, former block panchayat president of Mananthavadi reasons why.

"Most of the women lack a political perspective, except those who have a political background. They are fielded by a party, they learn the norms, take up their duties and impress people. After one or two terms they are neglected for fresh faces. It is time women developed a political outlook, or they will remain mere puppets in the hands of parties ," she points out.

Experience in public life, participation in social issues and a genuine interest in people's issues are a must to a step back to square one.

In 1999 and again in 2001, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, the architect of decentralisation, had done a panel study on the impact of decentralisation on woman leaders. It found that women acquired the knowledge easily by learning the norms and rules, and had the capacity to organise public rallies and prepare reports.

"It saw the emergence of a new generation of grassrootslevel woman leaders. It would not have happened otherwise," says Isaac. True, but it is also true that they remain grassrootslevel leaders. "That points to the need for democratic decentralisation. The need is heightened by the Kerala experience," Isaac says.

The entry of thousands of women into a socialbuilding process that was until now handled by a few hundreds is a matter of concern to some.

"When you are in a minority, you have the urge to prove and make worthy of the opportunity, but when you are in a majority, it may lead to taking things lightly," says Mukkam panchayat president Kalyanikutty.

When spouses become dummy candidates, the objective is thwarted, she says. There are others who brush aside the argument and see it only as the biggest opportunity ever that has come to them. It is only a matter of time before either of the arguments win or die.

(Concluded)

WOMEN SERIES 2

Doing a trapeze act to make both ends meet

22nd September 2010 03:46 AM

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: If empowerment has any element of money blended with its meaning, then hundreds of women panchayat members are yet to savour it. Where MPs and MLAs, for whom grassroots life is not more than a landscape outside their windows, earn wages in five and six digits, a meagre `1,500 is what a panchayat member is entitled to. For a woman member, it's courting big trouble.

''If you are a housewife, you can always stretch hands before your husband to make both ends meet. But a woman in power can't ask her man at home to give money for social work,'' P P Indira Devi, president of Thiruvegapura panchayat, says. There are two women members in her panchayat council who are beneficiaries of the Ashraya project which is meant for the deprived. As president, she receives `5,000 as monthly remuneration.

''You have to attend every marriage, funeral and festival in your panchayat. People expect a president to give handsome donations too,'' says K V M Ayesha, president of Anakayam panchayat in Malappuram. It is one of the reasons that Ayesha has decided to quit after a fiveyear tryst with power.

Mobility is one major crisis. ''They need to reach the length and breadth of the panchayat. But if she shares a vehicle with a male member that is enough material to slander her character. But then how do they find money to match the demands of their job? It often leads to conflicting situation in their lives, '' says T N Seema MP, who was a member of the People's Plan Campaign Cell in its infant days.

There are several panchayat presidents who seek parallel jobs and find themselves incapable of multitasking. A member might make it work, though.

''I went for an interview to the post of a teacher in a nearby school. But they were rather taken aback. 'How can we give you, who is a known figure, such a small job?' they asked me,'' recollects Baby Balakrishnan, Block Panchayat president of Madikai, Kasargod. She became the president of her panchayat at the age of 21, just after graduation. Only after all these years could she find time to seek an outside job, that too in vain. Her panchayat had bagged the state awards twice, in 1999 and 2001, for the best panchayat.

But what amuses one is not the situation, but the way women handle it. ''Why do you look for a whitecollar job, there are Governmentapproved agency works. Or you can take tuition. If you desire to be selfsufficient, there are ways. Women were invisible, now we are visible. Isn't it more than enough?,'' asks Shanta Babu, President of Valakom panchayat. Her argument is seconded by Margaret Thomas, Block Panchayat former president, Mananthavady. ''This is social work and a sacrifice. I work in a community radio to make my ends meet. There is financial crisis, but if women resort to ways to make money like men do, then what difference do we make?'' she asks. She is now the project coordinator of Awamiga (Association of Women Members in Governance) in Wayanad. What once had been a 300member association has weakened in figures recently. She admits that lack of funds for women panchayat members to travel to attend meetings of the association as one reason. ''There are some panchayat presidents who are in debt after their five or 10year terms. They would have left a job, a selfemployment unit or higher studies to contest elections. After two terms they are dropped by the parties for fresh faces and they find themselves incapable of pursuing their lost vocations and fall in debt. A far cry from financial independence,'' says J Devika, associate professor at CDS. It may be an irony that the members of Kudumbashree and beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) or for that matter a last grade staff in Corporation earn lot more than a panchayat member or even a president.

(Tomorrow: How the women at the helm fare in administrative front?)
 

WOMEN SERIES 1

Moving tales of state's women in power

21st September 2010 04:39 AM


KERALA: There was a time Kerala stared at the face of women empowerment like a pariah who had suddenly attained divinity. It was the mid 90s and one-third of the local bodies were to be ruled by women. Politics, which was till then a male bastion, was forced to accommodate new partners. Fifteen years down the lane, the tenants are to become the owners. But the key remains hidden.
Handling power was not a smooth affair for hundreds of women across the gram panchayats in the state.
But they have readied a stage for another hundreds to take over.
‘’Hundreds of women in Kerala have been in power for the last 10 years or more out of sheer determination and perseverance. They have been going through mental and physical harassment. But the urge to do something useful for society and themselves has kept them going,’’ says J Devika, associate professor, Centre for Development Studies (CDS).
Devika is currently doing research on ‘Women in Politics and Governance in Contemporary Kerala.’ She has interviewed one-fifth of the women heads. ‘’Easy acceptance is often proportional to caste, creed, political background and financial status,’’ she says.
To be the first is always to be the sinner. So, when retired teachers and housewives became panchayat presidents and members, they made errors. ‘’It took months of patient learning to assert my power. Even after being in active local politics and being backed by a party, things were not easy. A woman at the helm irked many,’’ says P P Indira Devi, panchayat president, Thiruvegapura, Palakkad. Today, she has completed her third term and made her presence in the panchayat inevitable.
Mukkam (Kozhikode) panchayat president A Kalyanikutty, widowed at 19, entered politics in her 20s and experienced what real resistance is.
‘’One of the major issues in our panchayat was illegal sand mining.
Once I went to the spot at midnight and called the police for help.
Strangely, no help came. I was abused by the sand-miners. The male panchayat members turned a deaf ear to my plight. At one point, I had to slap one of the men. It was then that the police entered the scene,’’ she says.
Valakom (in Ernakulam) panchayat president Shanta Babu, who hails from a conservative Christian family, entered politics when she was 27. Being a fellow traveller of the Left was enough disgrace. ‘’We had ideological differences at home.
I am 49 now. The differences have subsided for now,’’ she says.

FORT SCHOOL

School with hoary past determined to survive

04th June 2012 10:27 AM
Never mind its dingy passages and worn-out look. At one glance, you could tell that the school has seen better days. Once the residence of Travancore Dewans, including Madhava Rao, the majestic past has done nothing to redeem Fort UP School from the chasm of neglect it faces. But the school itself is an inspiring chapter on survival.
 On Monday, it will again open its doors to poor children from the nearby slums, with English medium in pre-primary - just another means to keep going.
 Every new academic year is a time of uncertainty for the school authorities at Fort UPS. ‘’Most of the children are from the nearby slums. Many of them, belonging to families from Tamil Nadu. Their parents collect scrap or move around finding jobs. They come and join only when the school starts. So, right now, we do not know how many will join class I,’’ says headmistress Pushkalakumari.
 But she is sure that around ten students would join the pre-primary, which is restarting English medium after a long gap. ‘’That’s the last effort to avoid a closure of the school. Parents want to send their wards to English medium, even if they have no idea what the language is all about,’’ she says. After much hard work, the teaching staff - three teachers, including the HM, had visited the nearby slums and offered everything from uniform to bags - have arranged the ten new admissions.
 All this a far cry from the glorious days it once had. In the voluminous book brought out by the District Panchayat some years back on schools in the district, there is an interesting leaf on Fort UPS and why it is often referred to as ‘Sathram School.’
 History says the place where the school stands now was once a pond used by Brahmins. They had come to this place from Thanjavur to serve the king, Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Perumal.
 The pond was later filled up and ‘agraharams’ came up. The Nampoorthiris from Payyanoor and the Tamil Brahmins who came for ‘murajapam’ at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple used to stay in these agraharams. Later, the  building which now houses the school was built as the abode of Travancore Dewan Madhava Rao.
 Later, two other administrative heads also lived there. Gradually, it became an inn. The ‘acharyas’ from the four Sankaracharya ‘madoms’ in India used to be put up here during their visits. So the name ‘sathram.’
 Initially, when the school was started, it was one of the best around. More than Malayali students, Tamil students filled up the roll. But the glory soon faded and the school lost in the race.
 ‘’The architecture of the building dates back to the olden days and is typical of the style that is found in old palaces and residences. However, it is crumbling with passing years,’’ the headmistress says.
 The Corporation has granted a considerable amount for renovation this time and maintenance of the classrooms has been done. The SSA has also built a building to the back of the school which functions as its autism centre.
 Last year, the school had just 160 students studying there and this year the teachers hope to gain more with the introduction of English medium. The determination of the school to survive is infectious. If only there was more support from the authorities, it could see brighter days again

LEAP

A leap to literacy

08th December 2009 01:45 AM
The non-formal education policy approved by the State Government has given a new direction to the literacy programmes, which will now be headed by the state under a new banner - LEAP (Life Long Education and Awareness Programme) Kerala Mission.
The Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) which was facing uncertainty regarding its future, after the Centre cut all communication with it regarding the implementation of the literacy programmes quoting over-qualification of the state, can now heave a sigh of relief.The basic aim under this will be upgrading the concept from initiating people into the world of letters to equipping them to find space in a tech-driven and information-surplus society, says Asha P Nair
FEATURES
* According to the concept of LEAP, the Class 1V equivalency programme will be made sort of mandatory primary education for illiterates.
* Steps will be taken to see that the person who completes fourth sits for the seventh and tenth equivalency examinations without hitches.
* The programme will target mostly adivasis, Dalits, coastal people, minorities and other social communities who need a helping hand.
* One important aspect of LEAP will be the focus on vocational training. Development of traditional and modern income-generating skills will be stressed with the help of outside agencies having expertise.
* The non-formal education policy underlines the need for exploring and utilising information technology tools for the uplift of illiterates and neo-literates. LEAP envisages the implementation of computer literacy programme and language learning skills as part of non-formal education.
* Learning of Hindi and English will be given prominence in LEAP, along with due importance to the mother tongue.
* The preraks and literacy volunteers will be equipped to meet the changing responsibilities under LEAP. The programme will be coordinated with the help of local bodies.

LSG ELECTION

Can’t keep a good woman down

13th November 2010 04:43 AM
Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult,” Canadian feminist Charlotte Whitton once said. The words are decades old, but the truth in them refuses to turn grey. Hundreds of women representatives in local bodies across Kerala would endorse that.
Fifty per cent reservation in local bodies was a raw deal. But they have clasped the opportunity with much vigour as the just concluded local body elections in Kerala have proved. Women now head 489 grama panchayats in the state out of the total 978. They are the bosses in 76 block panchayats (out of 152), 31 municipalities (out of 60), seven district panchayats (out of 14) and three Corporations (out of five). And where they are not at the top, they are the second big figures, adorning the posts of Vice Chairpersons or Deputy Mayors. Out of the 21,682 wards to which elections were held, women contested from more than half, as several women candidates were fielded from general seats as well.
If this is women empowerment at its best, then the change would now set in. But the direction is unpredictable. Though there is no denying that it has opened doors to a holistic empowerment for women, promising them everything that men enjoy in the public sphere. Whether it truly encompasses an empowerment that is social, economic and political — all at the same time — will
be doubtful.
If you scan the list of elected women representatives, you will find most of the names are new. Some fresh out of campuses, some crossing the threshold of their households for the first time, wives or sisters of high profile male leaders and some pure dummies for the sake of seat-filling. Easily prone to the wrong trends in power, with a predominant male society to mislead, that might see their downfall in five years, paving way for the entry of fresh faces again. Many see this as a blow to the gradual yet meaningful pro-women changes in the grassroots, that had begun way back in 1997 with decentralisation and then the 33 per cent reservation and continued with the emergence of the Kudumbasree movement.
The next five years will test the very idea of ‘empowerment through reservation’. Change is possible, only if intense training is given on their new roles and clarity brought in about their power-holds. “It also depends on how the gender relationships in this male-dominated society change with the coming of so many women in power. It would not be a sudden empowerment as many consider it to be, it would be a long process. Maybe, it would take years, but the presence of women in decision-making areas would herald a change, sooner or later.” Rajya Sabha MP T N Seema is confident. She was involved with the working of the People’s Plan Cell after the introduction of decentralisation in the state in 1995.
According to Seema, only when the political parties accept the presence of women, without the pressure of the Constitution, would the real change begin. “There are no women at the decision-making tables within parties. That is because fewer women make it to the active political circles. They revolve around the smaller spaces they have been granted, that too by the Constitution. But if you see it positively, then this is an entry point. A chance to be visible, which is important. Those women who are really bitten by the political bug and empowered in the true sense would remain visible,” she says.
Studies in this direction have shown that women position tend to position economic empowerment much lower on the list of priorities — individual freedom usually features at the head of the list. The chance to go out of their houses, to taste public life, to feel that “I am a useful being in this world” is often the intoxicating factor for many. Maybe that’s why even after finding themselves in debt, unable to make ends meet with the meagre remuneration as an elected representative, they do not whimper.
So, does that leave only social empowerment in the offing for women entering politics through local bodies? “A holistic empowerment happens only when there is socio-political-economic and even cultural upliftment. Cultural, because the male-centered society needs to accommodate these women into their decision-making circles without Constitution-backing, sans any mandatory clauses pressuring them,” says Gregory Placid, Director of Sahayi, an NGO that has been conducting studies about women in local governance. Sahayi has also been offering training programmes to elected women in administration.
Putting it in perspective, Gregory says that the experiences of the last 15 years have shown that women, however reluctantly and crudely they enter politics, are transformed beings at the end of five years. There are attitudinal changes happening, confidence is built, there is role clarity — a social
empowerment is certainly happening. Sample the women from Kudumbasree units who covered more than half the reserved seats this time, he says.
Often, that is all. At the end of five years, new people come in. Women return to where they began. But that does not take the sheen away from the revolution that has already happened. Kerala has been forced to reckon with women power, men have been taught to share. It’s now up to the women to prove that the impossible can easily be overcome.
                                                                        — asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

Profiles of political power
K Chandrika, Mayor, Thiruvananthapuram
K Chandrika, the Thiruvananthapuram Mayor will be leading a Council that has gifted a simple majority, of just one seat, to her political front — the LDF. But, Chandrika appears unruffled, as if nothing can take the hard-earned seat away from her. Born in Thiruvalla, Chandrika made Thiruvananthapuram her home after her marriage. She was practicing as a junior advocate till a job at the Kerala State Electricity Board came calling. In 2005, with a year left for her retirement, she took voluntary retirement to contest as councillor from the Muttada ward in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. She won and presented a term that was seemingly flawless. It was the close relations she had maintained in her ward and the goodwill she had earned that brought her name to the forefront when the top post was being considered this time. That the party decided to field their Mayor candidate in a general seat was telling of the high levels of confidence they had in her. She beat UDF’s Silvi Mathew, also a former councillor, again from Muttada. The new Mayor has already spoken about her priorities. Sanitation, cultivating civic sense, motorable roads, drinking water — everything has been listed.
— Asha P Nair