A friend of mine drew attention to a 2010 British film “Chatroom” which seems to have depicted Gandhi in an insulting manner. By the way, I am not a hardcore Gandhi fan so you know that is not the reason I am posting this here. I would not have bothered if it was some creative criticism on Gandhi but this seems to be pure sleaze which is totally uncalled for (and let me add, I have not seen the film, but just the clip, and I also hear from those who have seen the film that this has nothing to do with the story line).
Back to school
There is this small convent school just to the back of our house where all of us in our family went to from 1st to 4th standard. Those were the days when people had so many kids at home and could not afford to send them out to fancy schools with a fee. Those who could afford the fees and an English medium school sent their children to another flashy convent school near by. This little lower primary school of ours is called Pope John L. P. School (in Kuriachira, Thrissur) and even though it is in the next street, I have never gone back there ever since I was 10. I went there as I had a chance yesterday and it brought back some old memories.
The school has not produced any famous people that I know of (but certainly some good people), but there is one journalist who works with Mathrubhumi Weekly who was my batch mate back then. The building and even the class rooms remain the same way as it was 20 years back except for some ceiling fans which seems to be a new thing. I heard that the school now has very few children and like in the old days almost all of them are from poor families in the area.
(All photos shot with my Sony Ericsson P1i)
A quote from Albert Einstein is written on a blackboard that says the power of thought is more valuable than the power of intellect (I don’t really get that though).
A class room frozen in time. Only the wall paint has changed.
A small chapel to the end of the main corridor.
That is a blackboard but what you see in there is not a map.
Lessons of math written on wooden desk. 🙂
First lessons of art, again on a desk.
First lessons of love.
A peek from the corridor.
Glorious visions
From Miwa Matreyek. Happy Deepavali, everyone!
R.I.P. A Ayyappan
Thank you for the poetry Ayyappan. Your poetry will continue to live when the celebrations and orbituaries come to an end. The pure human you were will remain even after those who ridiculed and glorified you would put their pens to rest.
Rest in peace now, dear poet…
Mazhanrutham
Singer Pradip Somasundaran has ventured into music direction with the album titled “Mazhanrutham”. The songs for this album where penned by movie director Sohan Lal (he also did the video for the title song). Singers include actor Manoj K Jayan, Pradip Somasundaran, Gayatri, Shahbaz Aman, Franco and Bhavyalakshmi. Here is the music video of the song “Mazhayil nin mizhikal” featuring Manoj K Jayan and Maithili (Paleri Manikyam fame).
Mallakhamb
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I didn’t know that there is such a sport called “Mallakhamb” (pole gymnastics) in India. Only when I got an email with the subject line “Amazing Indian Gymnastics” that I learned about it. See the amazing pole gymnasts performing “Mallakhamb”.
Mallakhamb or Malkhamb is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole or rope. Mallakhamb also refers to the pole used in the sport.
The word “Mallakhamb” is composed of malla which denotes a gymnast or a man of strength and khamb which means a pole. Mallakhamb can therefore be translated to English as pole gymnastics.
What about them?
Here is a real opportunity for India to prove in front of the world that we are indeed a developing nation. And it does not need a penny to be wasted on exhibitions. All it needs is a will and an action. Governments here and abroad are watching India’s stand on endosulfan at the sixth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) of Stockholm Convention that began in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. – says The Hindu.
Oh, and you should read this too, from the same news article – “While most of the governments represented at the Stockholm Convention are taking stands in favour of global ban on endosulfan, India was opposing it.”
Aha!
To those who don’t know what this is all about, go here to read about the Endosulfan tragedy in northern Kerala.
For 26 long years, the government-owned Plantation Corporation of Kerala aerially sprayed endosulfan in an area of nearly 4,700 acres in Kasaragod. Endosulfan is a deadly pesticide banned in many parts of the world. The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies Endosulphan as a highly hazardous pesticide. But in Kerala it was sprayed for years in government-owned plantations. Today, villagers who lived close to the plantation are paying the price, despite an indefinite ban on the substance. Many of them got paralyzed or are seriously ill. Swarga and other areas like Padre, Muliyar and Bellur in Kasaragod district of Kerala have become living examples of how the poison in pesticides could be lethal to our health when used excessively and carelessly. The area is dotted with tragedy struck families battling physical deformities, cancers and disorders of the central nervous system. [India Together – The Living Dead]
And also see these pictures:
[Photos courtesy: Endosulphanvictims.org]
Linkaholic
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Beat of India is a website that popularizes the traditional folk music of India. They cover a vast variety of regions in India. A wonderful effort indeed.
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Here is an inspiring story of a laborer boy passing the entrance exam for IIT. Don’t know how the elitists of the institution would treat him, but let us hope for the best and cheer for him.
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And a spot-on ad for the new season of Kaun Banega Crorepathi. 🙂
The Common Health Games
As we easily forget all the wealth games of the Common Wealth Games as India wins more Gold medals each day, we have such wonderful news to accompany. Be proud, my fellow countrymen!
“India dropped two ranks to 67th among 84 developing countries in the International Food Policy Research Institute’s annual ” Global Hunger Index” for 2010. Even Sudan, North Korea and Pakistan rank higher than India.” – says TOI.
“The policymakers in India, who are are still fighting over the need to have an expansive National Food Security Act, should look at the following data more closely: in 2005-06, about 44% of Indian children — below five years — were underweight, and nearly half — 48% — were stunted.“
“Notes from a beautiful city”
More from a game that cost 90,000 crores to a country that has more than 70% of it’s population below poverty line, with not even 10 percent in return for the money spent, made us look ridiculous during it’s final preparation stage, took out the right of the city’s inhabitants to live in the city and hid it’s own citizens behind huge posters.
Shame on you, austerity wallahs!