A Barbaric Custom

I just saw a really barbaric custom in television today. Called the Jallikkattu, which culminates the harvest festival of Pongal, in Tamilnadu, it involves trying to clamber upon a fiery ox, which is allowed to run amok. The bull is ruthlessly starved for a few days, and fed with rice mixed with a local liquor, and then a bag of coins is tied to it’s horns. A huge noise is made and the frightened creature, in it’s bid for escape, runs wild with fury, with a dozen young men running behind it, and the unmanageable, enthusiastic crowd gathered around, cheers this disgusting spectacle. In this mayhem, obviously, lots of people get injured, and the less said about the animal, the better. No one ever speaks of that part.

It seems that in the Jallikkattu conducted in a village in Madurai yesterday, about eight people have been seriously injured. Due to widespread protests, especially among the animal enthusiasts, the court had previously tried to interfere and put an end to it, but it seems, in respect to the people’s religious sentiments(!), the Supreme Court had waved the green flag! And look at the consequences….

There must be thousands of such meaningless customs around, like the parade of the naked sanyasis some place in North India, mindless animal sacrifice in the name of religion, or the practice of piercing the cheeks and tounge to appease God. I really feel, such traditions ought to be reviewed seriously. After all, I am sure God doesn’t want to see his devotees hurt and injured.. Least of all, poor, dumb, animals at that!

School Youth Festivals

Kollam is a very busy place these days. Hosting the state school youth festival has never been an easy task, as has been proved time and again, and this time too, the various cultural events are being conducted admist mixed reactions.

Though it brings up a lot of young talents, the youth festival these days, is considered to be a ‘harvest time’ for most dance and music teachers, with most of them charging hefty amounts to teach a single ‘item’, worthy of winning the prize. More than the inborn talents of the students, it is the money power of the parents which are often at display, dazzling the eyes of the common man. This is true especially among the dance items like Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kathakali, Keralanadanam, etc.

Though the school youth festival started with the noble intention of familiarizing the upcoming generation with the art and culture of the state, I think it has reached a very sorry state, what with the unhealthy competition among the participants, supported wholeheartedly by their families and respective schools. Every year, we get to hear of accusations regarding the credibility of the judges, many of who have been judging the same items regularly, for more than a decade!

It is doubtful if this grand school gala serves its intended purpose in any way. The only aim of the participants or their parents, seem to be the momentary glory and fame, after a victory, and obviously, the extra 30 marks, which every winner gets in their board examinations, courtesy the Kerala State Education Department. For some of the female candidates, a victory may also mean an easy ticket to filmdom, as can be seen from examples like Manju Warriar, Kavya Madhavan, Navya Nair, etc, (popularMalayalam actresses of today) who entered the arena of films after excelling in the State school youth festivals. Otherwise, just how many of these winners follow their artistic pursuits seriously???

Yesterday, during a group performance, one of the dancers fainted and fell down unconscious. If you thought that the other group members immediately came to her aid, you are wrong. The others continued without her! No one , including the eminent judges, paid any heed to that poor girl’s plight for a few minutes. It was only after a considerable time had elapsed that people came to help her out. Today again, a Kathakali performer, in the midst of her performance, had to discontinue it, due to a near fainting spell. Forget about first aid kits, they didn’t even have drinking water nearby to give the breathless girl!

Psychologists say that the number of students getting treatment for stress related problems, growing from inability to cope up with failure, is on the rise. Many of them are not able to come to terms with disappointments, and react in unpredictable manners.

I think it is the parents and teachers who ought to get psychiatric help. Why are we subjecting our children to such atrocities? Why don’t we let them develop their talents as per their will, and guide them accordingly, instead of pushing them into this mindless stream of competitions???

It is definitely time we started thinking of alternate means to promote our art and culture! Is anybody listening???

Kudos to Kerala Police!

Interestingly enough, Kerala Police seems to be in the limelight for all the good reasons... They have managed to strategically place our own Palakkad in the world map, and that too, for a prestegious reason.

It might interest you to know that the palakkad town south police station has been adjudged the best Police station in India in a survey done by the Netherlands based Altus Global, an accredited agency working for the UN...

That's not all folks, The palakkad town south police station has also been ranked as the second best police station in the whole of South East Asia, in a test conducted by the same agency! It seems they were tested in Professionalism, physical condition, community orientation, equal treatment of the general public, and transperancy and accountability in their detention centers... and guess what?? They emerged with a cool 85 marks out of 100, in these tests! Now, isn't that impressive?

The police, these days, especially after this rare honour, seems to be getting down from their high horses, to mingle with the common people on the road in an extremely friendly manner. They go to resedential colonies for this purpose, and meet the residents, giving them friendly tips to remain alert and ward off theft and other activities, and also request them to remain alert to what happens in their neighbourhood. Patrolling is done throughout the night, enhancing the security measures. The residents are encouraged to call in 100, the police help line, if they encounter any problems and they are also invited to the police station to get themselves familiar with the faces in the rouges gallery, so that they can inform the police if they spot them anyplace. The police station itself seems to have undergone a change, with the incorporation of a reception area and seperate sections for women, children, and the aged. This Policestation infact boasts of a library too! any takers for that???

Moreover, it seems 47 closed circuit cameras are going to be installed in prime localities, so that these places can be monitored closely 24 hours a day. One of them have already been installed in the IMA junction, a popular place for nefarious activities in the dark.

The town south police station, recognising the merits of education, is placing emphasis on enrolling educated policemen and women in their rolls, and it seems, the present sub inspector, Mr. Unnikrishnan, is actually a highly qualified computer engineer, who is enthusiastically into technology. Let us hope that his qualifications are utilised in the best possible manner...

Nano, The new car model from TATA

Come monsoons, and the most common sight on the road would be that of whole families, complete with the husband, wife and two or more small kids, squeezed together in a motorbike or scooter, trying to ward off the torrents by means of a raincoat or umbrella, wavering dangerously in the wind! With the state of the roads these days, it is a marvel that they all get home in one piece!

well.. looks like such scenes will soon be coming to an end, because, of the arrival of NANO, the new family car model from the house of the TATA's. It is supposed to be a five seater, with the engine positioned at the back. Tata claims it has a mileage of 20 km/ltr, which is indeed great, in Indian roads. Since it's unveiling a couple of days back at the international auto expo at New Delhi, The Nano has been the main talk of the town, primarily due to it's low pricing of Rs. One Lakh! Guess the common man's prayers have been answered...Let us wait and watch out for this tiny wonder.

A costly drink???

Looks like calcium intake for the average malayalee is going to be a costly affair... Milk prices have been steadily on the rise since for some time now, and it was just a couple of months back that MILMA, had increased their prices to Rs. 17 per litre.

But it seems the director board has against appealed to the government to allow them to raise the prices to Rs. 20/- per litre.... A sum which is way beyond the reach of the common man!

Milk has been in short supply in the state for quite some time now. Gods own country is depending on it's neighbour, Karnataka, to satisfy it's requirements, what with Tamilnadu and Maharashtra turning down the request. If Karnataka too stops supplying milk, Malayalees are going to be in real trouble...

Inflation has already made the life of the common man difficult in many ways than one. Infact, when asked about the drastically increasing rice prices, one 'responsible' minister had a comment akin to the one made by the erstwhile French queen Mary Antoniette.... he said " Why should keralites be eating rice? It is high time we changed our food habits to chicken and eggs ...."

Howzzzzzaaaaattt????

Coconut tales...

A few days back, there was a picture of a coconut tree laden with almost 2000 coconuts, in a local newspaper. Coconuts were hanging down very impressively, and it certainly left many a mouths agape... coconuts are verymuch considered a symbol of wealth and status, even though the farmers find it tough to get a fair price for their produce.

I think the one problem which has affected the coconut industry is the notion that both the kernel and the oil are bad for the heart. Most keralites, who used to swear by coconut oil in the past, have switched over to more heart-healthy sunflower oil and refined vegetable oils. Doctors too play a major role in this choice.

But looks as if the humble coconut has atlast proved it's stance! It seems all these bad publicity about it's negative effects have no ground, and scientists recently unearthed the fact that Coconut oil, infact may help to reduce harmful cholestrol and the like. It is very safe to consume. Newspapers like the Mathrubhoome brought it out in their front page itself! Let's hope that this bit of information gives a new lease of life to this evergreen nut. After all, What would kerala be without it's 'kera'???

Coconut tree climbers are in great demand in the state. Their numbers are fast dwindling, with the younger generation showing little interest in this profession. Technology has caught up with them too, and it seems there is a coconut climbing machine which can be easily handled even by enterprising ladies!

speaking of technology, most climbers these days have their own mobile phones, and can be contacted easily. It is another fact that you may be forced to cool your heels, till they find a convenient date to make their appearance. I know of a person who took leave from his office, in order to wait for the coconut climber, who had promised to come on a specific day... It may be amusing, but if coconuts are not plucked at the right time, they may just dry up and fall, and if some unlucky person or a vehicle happens to be below it, then the consequences may not be that funny!

It acutally happened to me once.. As i was driving past a house, i was shocked to hear something hit the side of the car and roll off. A passerby who had witnessed the incident confirmed the fact that it was actually a coconut that had chosen to fall at that time, that hit my car. Ofcourse, i had to shell out a handsome sum to get the dent repaired...I was just thankful that it didn't hit the windshield.. otherwise, it would have been a different scene!

Rhythmic Malayalee

Let me wish the whole lot of you over there an extremely happy and prosperous New year! I guess i should be adding in 'healthy' too as an adjective of New year because, without proper health, i don't think anybody would be happy... right? So may you have a healthy, happy, and prosperous New year!

Since i am essentially a homebody, this new year's eve too was not very different from the others. I did look forward to watching something interesting on tv, though. But unfortunately, it was the same song and dance routine, which they dish out every other day.

Songs have always played a major part in the life of the average Keralite. But the way we enjoyed them was different from the people in other parts of our country. Till about a year or two back, we malayalees, always kept our dance and song apart. Dance was purely an affair where you danced to recorded music..Where as, singing was of a solemn nature, with the singer maintaining utmost seriousness and minimum possible expressions.

The audience to had a behavioural code... even if it was a popular disco number belted out by none other than Usha Uthup, the maximum they would do was to sit straight on their seats and clap along with the beats! We malayalees never used to be comfortable, expressing our emotions through any rhythmical movements.

But just have a look at today's 'reality' world.. the participants of the various reality shows aired on tv these days must be really finding it tough. They are expected to dance rhythmically and in tune to the music, to be properly expressive, to reach out to the audience's minds, to bring proper feel to the song, to emote properly, and lastly, to sing perfectly keeping in mind all the sruthis and pitches and landing notes and what not! The audience too encourages the singers a lot these days. They respond to the beats and rhythm, and generally make stage shows a lively affair ... The malayalee is atlast learning to let their hair down... so watch out, everybody! WE are here to stay!