ashapnair

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

KHADIII SALES

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Khadi is seeing good times, finally. Reasons may vary from the wear-khadi-on-Saturday campaign to the changing fashion fads, but it has been adorning more wardrobes recently. The Kerala Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi (KGSN) has decided to cash in on the trend and take khadi to those heights where it belongs.
 The KGSN has branded its khadi ready-made wears and launched special kids, adults and ladies clothings in khadi woven out of its own manufacturing units. The kids khadi has been named ‘Sheetal,’ the men’s wear ‘Sarvodaya’ and the ladies wear, specially churidhars and salwars, ‘Surabhi.’
 The branded ready-made clothings were launched as part of its diamond jubilee celebrations and are available at the Gandhi Bhavan’s ongoing Khadi fest. The fabrics in pure khadi are eco-friendly, cool to wear and elegant.
 The khadi cloth woven in its manufacturing unit in Parassala is sent to Uttar Pradesh or Andhra Pradesh and printed or dyed to bring out the ready-made items. There are embroidered, hand-painted and pattern works spread over the ladies clothing that are exquisite and simply adorable.
 ‘‘Our khadi is pure, since its made exactly how Gandhiji wanted it to be. Since ready-mades have more takers now, we have decided to join with the changing trends and launch our ready-made clothings. Though we have been producing shirts earlier, it’s the first time we have branded them. The kids wear and ready-made salwar sets are being brought out by us for the first time,’’ said M.Shivashankaran, Joint Secretary of KGSN, who takes care of the khadi section.
 The Sheetal clothing starts at a price range of ` 200 -300 but as of now are limited in production. The men’s wear starts from ` 700 and goes up to ` 3,000-4,000. Surabhi clothings are available from ` 750 to ` 3,000.
 The ready-made stitching is done at Nidhi Garments, which is KGSN’s own garment manufacturing unit that works on the Gandhi Bhavan compound. There are nearly eight ladies here working to bring out the branded products. ‘‘More people are yet to know about them, but once they realise its elegance, they would go for it always,’’ said Sherifa, who does the Surabhi products.
 Now, if you drop in at the Khadi fest and gets won over by a khadi material,  Sherifa and the team would stitch it for you. The new varieties in khadi has been winning it more loyal fans, they say. Apart from the branded items, there are of course the wide variety of sarees starting from ` 1,250.
 Though Nidhi garments have been working for two years now, KGSN’s khadi products are yet to receive its fair share of takers. For once, Gandhiji’s followers have realised that marketing the products are important too.
They are keeping their fingers crossed, wishing the branded ones would bring their khadi more success.
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

ATHULYAM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Filomi is past 55, she could be seen selling fish in the nearby market early in the day. Her two daughters are no more and she has six grandchildren to look after. But nothing stops her from taking her lessons these days. As the clock strikes two, she would be present at the  ‘Athulyam’ class organised by LEAP Kerala Mission, which aims to achieve cent percent primary education literacy in the State. Until four, when the church bells ring, she would struggle with Malayalam and Mathematics.
 Filomi is just one of the many fisherwomen who are giving ‘Athulyam’ a unique dimension in Pulluvila, a coastal neighbourhood in Karinkulam panchayat. One of the many places across the State where the programme is evolving into a second literacy drive.
 Thresia’s daughter is just four months old, but she carries her child with her to the class. Mary goes for daily labour but makes it to the class regularly. Like Filomi, like Usha and Maria and many others here, it is something they never thought would happen in their lives. ‘’My children who are in school remind me of the homework and coax me to join them when they study at night. I can’t be a bad student,’’ Usha laughs out loudly.
 Latha, the Panchayat Co-ordinator of the programme and Athiyanoor nodal ‘prerak’, says this is the same story with many women in the coastal area. ‘’Though we aim at fourth equivalency, this is one place where we are starting from the very beginning. It’s brush-up for some, those who were part of  the ‘Saksharatha’ movement. Some others had gone to schools, but never completed and some have not had the fortune to study. The response in coastal areas towards Athulyam has been tremendous,’’ she says. Soshamma, the class coordinator, seconds her opinion.
 In Pulluvila itself, there are more than nine centres working in close distance. Everywhere, we met the same excited and enthused faces. More women than men; in fact, in most classes, we met only women. Where there is no electricity, we saw them on the beachside, late in the evening, under a chimney lamp. But some of them do not hide their disappointment.
‘’This is my son’s book, we need books and pens. We have no money to spend on our education, when our children are in school,’’ says one of them.
 Karinkulam panchayat ‘prerak’ Vimala says since it is the end of the Plan year for the panchayat, the local body is finding it hard to find money and has promised to help during the start of the next fiscal year. Until then, the LEAP Mission would have to find its own sources. ‘’We have planned it as a three-month campaign. But going by the response, we have focused all our attention on it. All efforts are being taken to see to it that the adult learners are supported in their motivation to learn,’’ says Prabhakar Pazhassi, LEAP Mission Director.
 By the end of March, the classes are to finish and the ‘students’ have to sit for examination on April 18. It sounds a Herculean task as many are yet to go beyond the ‘swaraksharam’. But the class coordinators are hopeful.  
‘’They are able to work wonders, for they are real people who know how to handle everything,’’ Pushpam, a class coordinator, says. They have three textbooks and a special curriculum which is designed for adult learners.
 Though many were not aware why their exams have been set for April 18, one LEAP Mission official disclosed the secret. ‘’It was the day when Kerala was declared cent percent literate 20 years back.’’ The women know it’s their turn now.
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

SAINIK WELFARE

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A generation which idles away time on mobile phones or in chat rooms, how willing would they be to wrack their brains over their future? The officials of Higher Secondary and Sainik Welfare Directorates seem to have found out. Their joint initiative ‘Love India, Save Future’, an innovative project to introduce the umpteen opportunities in the field of defence services for youngsters in higher secondary schools in the state, has created much waves.
Under the project, officials of the Sainik Welfare Department will address a select group of 250 boys and girls from various higher secondary schools in a district and enlighten them on the various opportunities in the uniformed profession. They are told how defence service is not just about warfare but also covers various disciplines such as engineering, medicine, technology and other professions mingling with it. And about the scores of vacancies awaiting them. According to officials, the unexpected part of the sessions have been the flood of queries from the side of girls, who seem to receive the idea with more open minds.
“We have covered two districts - Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam - under the project and how the students responded! More so, the girls, who evinced more interest in the sessions and approached us for more details. Our objective was to make boys and girls realise that India’s defence sector holds magical opportunities for young minds like them. And now is the age to make the decision, says Dr S Naseeb, State Co-ordinator of the Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling cell under HSD.
The age group of 17 to 24 is the best period to think of joining defence, says K K Govindan Nair, Director of Directorate of Sainik Welfare, Kerala. “There is so much of conflict in the society over religion, against women and other things. Our effort is to help turn the attention of the young minds to better avenues. Defence is a disciplined service which makes one’s life disciplined too. We don’t expect all of them to join armed forces, but at least they will put their thoughts in that direction, Govindan Nair says.
According to him, defence is not male-dominated profession as it is assumed to be. Except maybe in the fighting front, women have found their way to all male-bastions. Earlier, it was nursing field where women joined in large numbers in the armed forces. But there are many other superior posts and supporting jobs that women could take up and all this are detailed during the sessions in schools, Nair said.
The project would soon make its way to other schools in the remaining districts and buoyed by the response it has received initially, the Higher Secondary Directorate has plans to take it to more girls’ schools too.

SATHEESH RAMACHANDRAN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He was the man chosen by master musician Devarajan to lead his choir, Shakthigadha. At 33, Satheesh Ramachandran is living up to the expectations of his Guru and has earned for himself a bunch of students who are setting stages on fire in the field of music.
We met him at Benson Creations in the city, where he was joined by five of his students on the occasion of Navaratri. Time for music, gubshub and lots of blessings.
From inside the studio, we could hear Vidhu’s voice in tune with a beautiful melody. Vidhu Pratap is one of Satheesh’s earlier students who was sent to him for training by Devarajan master himself.
Krishnanunni, who has sung in Thakarachenda and in the forthcoming movie Pazhassi Raja, Nayana, who is a contestant in Star Singer aired in Asianet, Kamal, who had received great appreciation for his performance in the reality show ‘Voice of Kerala’ and Haritha, who is the state first in school light music competition- everyone had gathered to greet their Guru.
‘‘I used to go houses to take music classes. One day Master told me ‘you stop going houses, I will give you two students’. Vidhu was one among the first set of students that Master handed over to me. He was in his teens then and singing for Shakthigadha,’’ Satheesh recollects.
‘‘Satheeshettan had helped me grow with my music. The days at Shakthigadha with him had been enriching,’’ Vidhu says. At his young age, Satheesh began donning the role of a Guru.
Krishnanunni had come to Satheesh for music classes at the age of nine. He is the grand-son of M.Krishnan Nair, filmmaker. ‘‘I have got quite a few beatings from him for making mistakes in rendering. Maybe that’s what laid my foundation,’’ says Krishnanunni, who anchors Sing-n-win live musical show in Kairali TV.
Nayana, Haritha and Kamal are recent additions to Satheesh’s students’ gang, but they are excited to have found a great teacher in him. ‘‘His theory classes have helped me a lot in building up knowledge in music,’’ Nayana says. Durga Vishwanath, the winner of Star Singer two seasons back and now a playback singer, Anitha, the Chandamama fame, and the highly talented Madhusree who is Ramesh Narayanan’s daughter are all his students. He has a set of elderly students too, including a 70-year old granny.
It was Vaiyankara Madhusoodhan who trained Satheesh in Carnatic music, at the age of 17. But his talent was spotted by Devarajan master during an interview he held for selecting singers to Shakthigadha. ‘‘An interview which was more difficult than my interview to Music College,’’ he says.
In a few days, Satheesh was singing for Shakthigadha in a programme in Paravoor, Master’s own place. The bond was then cemented and continued for nine long years till Devarajan’s death three years back.
Satheesh has done 13 albums so far and is currently working on a project with singer Hariharan. If things go well, this singer-composer might soon be setting music for a couple of films too.
Satheesh is now Music Manager at Best FM, which means 24X7 into music. There is no missing the latest songs, new comers and hiphop trends happening. But this young Guru is all for the old times, when music was ‘real music for ears’ and not noise.
‘‘Master was a perfectionist, maybe it’s his training that has given this Guru status for me at such a young age. The way Master treated, taught and groomed me, I believe I am doing much the same with them too,’’ Satheesh says. His music classes are only on the weekends when he turns Guru from six in the morning to night. ‘‘I make sure it’s just not a class where they learn to sing, but they get to know all about music. On certain days, I simply talk to them about a raga or on the making of a song or my experiences under Devarajan master so that the student has an idea that there goes so much behind a simple song,’’ Satheesh says.
Haritha is the first student he begins his day with. Very shy but serious when it comes to music. On Navaratri day, she not only make sure she visits her Guru but renders her heart out in front of the Devi idol for blessings.
For Vidhu, this Navaratri is equally pious. He will be singing bhajans at Chottanikara temple. Krishnanunni and Nayana have their hands full with the shows. And for Satheesh, it’s the time when he becomes a student himself. ‘‘I had missed out on a couple of Navaratri keerthans, so now I am learning them,’’ he says. And adds that he is still a student which brings smiles to the faces of his own students.
anil.asha@gmail.com

TAX THRU POST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Post offices would soon turn saviours for tax payers in the capital. The City Corporation has decided to join hands with the Department of Posts, Southern Region, which covers the postal operations in Thiruvananthapuram, to introduce e-payment facility for tax-collection. So, queuing up before the Janasevana Kendram office or at the Corporation office would hopefully be a thing of the past.
It’s as part of the e-governance project of the City Corporation that the e-payment facility is being introduced. The Corporation Council,  which met on March 23, had given the go-ahead for the project and had laid the onus of preparing the software for the new facility on the Information Kerala Mission (IKM). “Almost all major post offices in the city would be covered under the project. Taxes, including property tax, shall be received at the post offices once this is through,’’ said Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash.
The IKM has already prepared softwares like ‘Saankhya’ and ‘Sanchaya’ for e-governance projects of the Corporation. However, for the new facility, the post offices would be given a user login facility in the main website of the Corporation through which they would be able to manage the proceedings while being connected with the main server at the Corporation office.
Said an official with the Department of Posts, “It’s a web-based package, a page-designing method. IKM will customize the page for our use and will create user logins. The tax-collection wing would be like a franchise in the department. Tax recovery would be immediately updated in the site and the Corporation can make use of the data without any delay. It would enable the quickest updating of tax figures.’’
The introduction of e-payment facility was a long-pending demand of the city and the local body has been receiving quite a number of pleas in this regard. With the e-payment facility on, a techie at Technopark or a government servant at the Collectorate would not have to travel to the main city to the pay taxes. The nearby post offices where internet facilities are installed would be enough. With the merging of five more panchayats to the Corporation on the cards, the facility has been viewed as a boon. Or else, the Corporation tax collection department would have met with the biggest headache ever. The Corporation is also holding talks with various banks to facilitate such a move for tax collection. Though the official agreement has not been penned so far, the tie-up with post offices would not take much time, Corporation officials hinted.
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

BLOGSPOT

 Tharoor, hailed as the ‘e-minister’, has been a favourite with bloggers, ever since he decided to contest from Thiruvananthapuram. Though, initially, there was a commotion in the blogs over his eligibility to fight an election from Kerala, Tharoor tided over the situation in his own e-style. Bloggers seem to have gotten over the past, and so does Tharoor. And he has been using the blogosphere to remain in the good books of the citizens ever since.
 Brijesh, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, had published a post on May 28, ‘Monsoon Time is Disease Time in Kerala’, with apt photos attached.
 The post can be read at Brijesh’s blog www.sonyvellayani.com under the masthead, ‘Scaling new heights, my thoughts about India and Kerala’. The post reads that the pollution in the capital, mainly pointing its fingers at Amayizhanjan canal and Parvathy Puthanar, is the reason why epidemics re-visit the city every monsoon.
 Under the picture of a polluted canal, Brijesh writes, “Thiruvallam- where Karamana River meets another stream Parvathy Puthanar - is a holy place for the Hindus as it is on its bank the temple dedicated to Parasurama, the creator of Keralam, is situated. This is the exact location where during ‘Karkadaka Vavu’ thousands of people do ‘bali’ in memory of their ancestors. It is the place I have taken holy dip so many times. This was the place thousands of kids used to learn swimming. All these have become a thing of the past.’’
 Lately, Brijesh received a reply from Tharoor’s team member Praveen Ram, saying Tharoor had wanted him to reply to Brijesh’s post, seeking solutions to a few matters raised in the post.
 The reply, in capsule, agrees with Brijesh’s concerns of environmental pollution and concludes saying that the new sewerage treatment plant proposed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation under the JNNURM will go a long way in addressing the issue.
 “The Rs 526-crore Central government-funded City Development Plan of TVM under JNNURM has provisions for sewage, waste management and canal waste management, which when implemented would solve the above issues. Dr Shashi Tharoor is following up the implementation of this scheme by Corporation of TVM,’’ the reply says.
 The post has led to discussions too, as to how the capital must learn from Singapore or the US, where they know litters will end up in canals. And how strict laws must be put in place to check the issue.
 Whatever be the case of the polluted canals, it’s a relief that a politician does have quality time for his citizens’ grievances. Mails, blogs or twitters, Tharoor and his team seem to put new age communication tools to the best use.

DOORDARSHAN TURNS 25

FOR a few nostalgic minds at Doordarshan Kendra, Friday was not just the birth of a new year. Instead, 25 long years were reborn before them as they stood witness to a historic moment at the DD Kendra at Kudappanakkunnu, where the first transmission had happened exactly 25 years ago.
On Friday, they got together to send a news bulletin on air with the same producer and newscaster of their first bulletin. Only the technology had changed.
There’s no exaggeration in calling them comrades-in-arms. T. Chamiyar, John Samuel, Baiju Chandran, Dileep, Shiva Gurunathan and Kannan, who relived their 1985 moments for ‘Expresso’, had joined Thiruvananthapuram DD when its pillars were only coming up at Kudappanakkunnu.
The first transmission from Thiruvananthapuram DD Kendra was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran on January 1, 1985. The first bulletin, which was aired from 7.30 p.m. to 7.40 p.m.,  was read by Kannan and produced by Baiju Chandran. On Friday, the two of them, in the presence of many from the first batch of DD, took the same seats for the 7 p.m. bulletin.
“We began when the language of visual media was not even written, there were only alphabets,’’ Dileep’s words conveyed the scene in raw. They were a bunch of fresh hands in journalism, some straight out of studies and some who had come dumping their old jobs. They were thrown together at FTI Pune for five months of intensive training. Then without models and mentors sent to Thiruvananthapuram to begin from scratch.
This when black and white television sets counted more and Kudappanakkunnu was only beginning to lose its virginity. “Remember,  we had no stocked files, no prepared documentaries, only a dismantled camera from Jalandhar which used to shut eyes in between the shoots, giving us a jolt. We, as a team, gave a shape to DD to make what it is today,’’ says Baiju Chandran, who is now Assistant Station Director.
It was a selection panel headed by filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan who had chosen the team and further content. More than 10,000 applications had flooded the Kendra at that time, for the post of newscasters. Ravi Vallathol, former MET Director Santhosh and a few from AIR had tried their hands in newsreading then.
The first full-fledged live telecast of Thiruvananthapuram DD were the semi-finals and final of Nehru Cup Football, towards the end of 1985. With no OB vans or DSNGs, it was physical and mental will that many a time came to their rescue.
“When P.T. Usha and Shiny Wilson were accorded a public reception at Central Stadium, the traffic was jammed all over the city. We sent the first visuals to the studio in the hands of a minister’s gunman,’’ John Samuel, who is now producer, recollects.
It was how the whole thing worked, with lots of outside support, Chamiyar says. He, who travelled the length and breadth of Kerala to shoot for DD, located people, spotted trains or buses and took the help of police personnel to send the video tapes safely to DD Kendra. Chamiyar is now the Programme Head and Executive Producer at DD.
They can count lots of errors, small and big happenings, where their skills were put to test. When recorders did not work, cameras blinked throughout or news visuals reached late. Chamiyar, however, ranks the episode of Perumon train mishap at the top, when the visuals had not arrived until weather report was read. The gravity of the tragedy mixed with professional stress had made it a day, he remembers.
But one thing the team remembers with gratitude is the support of common people. `Sorry for Interruption’ board somehow never made them indifferent, the team says.
Times have changed, mostly technology. The team, which was shuffled to other centres in between, got together (with the exception of C.K. Thomas who is still in Thrissur) in the capital five years ago.
Looking back, they agree that being in a government media has its own flaws. Being the first batch also has its drawbacks. “Lack of a real guide with a vision was the main handicap, though. We made through those days all by ourselves, learning from our mistakes and making our own decisions,’’ Baiju Chandran says.
However, the whole sentiment was summed up in Chamiyar’s words, “History of DD Malayalam is our story too.’’
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

ashapnair

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

KHADIII SALES

Khadi seeing good times

ATHULYAM

A second literacy drive underway

SAINIK WELFARE

Initiative to woo youths to defence a big draw

SATHEESH RAMACHANDRAN

His Master’s favourite

TAX THRU POST

‘Post’ your taxes to City Corporation

BLOGSPOT

When the MP replied to his post

DOORDARSHAN TURNS 25

The pioneers