Kerala Piravi Dinam..........

There is no point in writing about this topic in English, but as this is the most read language all over the world and most of the Malayalees around the world can be reached by this language, please excuse me for using English to discuss about this topic.

It has been 53 years since the formation of Kerala state. The state has grown to be have a lot of laureates among the other states in these years. We were the first state to have a government lead by Communist party in 1957. Kerala was the first state in the country to have a 100% literacy. A large number of government projects that were implemented through out the country in the later years found their beginning in this small state on the southern tip of the country.

The state has been the home of many revolutionaries who has played a significant role in the building of the constitution and upholding the name of the country around the world. The literary works and the art forms of this state has attracted scholars from different continent surrounding the world. The people of this state were proud to speak and learn their language and the literary works produced in this language are still considered as world class classics around the world.

With globalization and rapid economic growth that is going on globally, their impact has also started shown reflections in this small state. The values, traditions and culture that has been followed by the malayalees are showing transformation or rather to be called mutation in genetic terms. It is not very hard to find a malayalee in Kerala who cannot read Malayalam. I can see that it is not too far away in this state to find people who cannot speak malayalam. The after effects of this is, one of the traditional language that has roots to the prehistoric times are slowly fading from this earth. It may not be a wonder that in the next 500 years, this language may not be existing. The same tragedy happened to Sanskrit or pali can also happen to this langage also and there will may no be anybody to worry about this.

Can each one of the proud citizens of India who live in Kerala think of upholding the value of their language and passing it on to the younger generation. If each one of us take an effort to teach their children the value of this language and encourage them to learn malayalam, this language will exist through the coming generations which will create them awareness regarding their rich heritage and tradition

What is the reason for these boat accidents?

In this year, Kerala has seen the worst boat accidents. Even though boats are not used a mode of transport as it was been used before, the role of water transport still plays a major role as one of the inland transport solutions for the population of the state. Vessels of different sizes and shapes have evolved as an important ingredient in the tourist industry and house boats have become famous than ever before in the past decade.
The standards that have to be followed by the boat manufacturers and the regulations that need to be followed by the boat owners have not been carried out in the appropriate way and that is the reason for the cause of these multiple accidents that ended up in massive death toll in the past few months.
These accidents need to be eradicated completely. The reasons for the cause of these tragedies should be investigated in a timely manner and the individuals who have been involved in causing these mishappenings should be punished effectively. Laws have to be modified and made so strict that the people may not even take a chance to risk the life of anybody.
It was very sad to see the people who have lost her life in Thekkady. The tragedy in Malappuram that followed was also shocking.
Let us all work together to prevent such tragedies in the days to come...........
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Rivers of Kerala.............

Kerala, which is otherwise known in the tourism industry as "Gods own Country" is blessed with rivers and backwaters even though some of them are going to disappear within this century. The state is also blessed with a long stretch of beaches extending through the west coast which is washed by the blue waters of Arabian sea. The proximity of this state to the sea has made this part of the country popular among the other continents centuries earlier and paved the way for St:Thomas the disciple of Christ to land here and Vasco da gama to land at the beach of Kappad in 1498. The rivers of Kerala were the prime routes for travel and business during the last century which made the towns of Alappuzha and Changanacherry, the elite business centres during the 1900's. The situation is different now. Rivers and backwaters of kerala have become the biggest tourist attractions of Kerala. It will be very rare for a tourist who come to see Kerala to miss a night in one of the house boats breezing through the nature blessed backwaters of Alleppy or Kottayam. I have always enjoyed watching the river, having a dip in a river than having a shower, and sitting watching my bait being eaten by the fish without getting them on my hook! Those are some of the good memoirs I still consider precious when thinking of my childhood days.
The situation is different now. Massive sand mining, water pollution and encroaching has reduced the size of the rivers and made them dangerous. It is very sad to see the river getting polluted because there are people who use the river as their prime resource of water and the people who pollute them are creating misery in their life.The water pollution has also affected the normal ecosystem that existed in many of the rivers whereby many common species of fishes are becoming extinct in the backwaters.
Can we do something to prevent this. if so, where do we need to start. As usual, it is easy to blame on others and be ourselves the saviors with doing nothing. my suggestion is each one of us has the responsibility to take care of our natural resources so that they can be enjoyed by the future generation. Our forefathers has preserved many for us to enjoy, can we do the same for the coming generations?
If each of take take te responsibility in preserving the rivers with the government, take appropriate steps for proper waste disposal, we can maintain the beauty and cleanliness of the rivers so that they can be great assets for the generations to come.

Onam again...........................

Onam days are one of the most common times during the year that gives me nostalgic feelings and home sickness. Even though I have spent enough days at home during the Onam, still I long towards being home and enjoying the home made dishes during these days.
Onam is becoming more popular with the Onam celebrations being organized by all the native organizations that are all over the world. Wherever there are Malayalees, the serene memories of Onam paves the stimulation for them to be together to compensate for the missing friends and family.
I appreciate the television channels for incorporating the Onam rituals during these days which helps to cherish those memories by watching the programs. It is sad to say that these festivals are giving a huge spur for marketing multinational products with attractive offers than creating awareness among the younger generation to revitalize the brotherhood and secularity which were hallmarks of this society during the olden days. This demeanor the whole meaning of this harvest festival where people are considered equal and same and everybody lived in happiness. The situation existing today, sky rocketing food prices, bogus relationships, rivalry and hatred in the name of race, religion, and status which exists in the society. Can we curtail these unhealthy practices? This happens only if each of us takes the initiative and works towards upholding the old traditions and values. Rather than making a festival to celebrate, let us make it an occasion to forget all our misunderstandings and inequalities and live in harmony and happiness. I wish all my blogger readers "Happy Onam"

Monsoon musings

Rains are back in Kerala.
I don't really understand why, at this time I am more passionate to write more about rains than anything else.
I was just immersed in thoughts about what to write and the two main concepts to write about were about my beloved departed cousins and monsoon and nothing else!
I have already written about monsoon and the activities which I was obsessive about during this time of the year and it is nothing but sleeping by hearing the sound of rain water trickling through the trees.
My mother's family house is near a reasonably big river called Manimala and she always use to tell us about the rains and floods there and how they enjoyed their childhood during monsoon. They can only travel from their house to the main road during that time on small boats which they call Kothumbu Vallam. They had a small boat which they used for the flooding season and it used to sit idle during the rest of the year off water. She use to show us something called Koodu which is a trap used to capture freshwater fish. They use it more often in monsoon season as the chances to capture huge fishes are more during this time
In Muttom, where my father's family house is, we had the opportunity to be there for two years during our childhood days and monsoon have left me with some memories over there too. We had a big pond in the property and during monsoon time, the pond gets full to the brink with water. The main fun associated with this was that the chorus of frogs starts their musical ensemble in the night and that creates a great symphony! My mother still hates this frog cry and she mentioned her irritation to this sound during our chat some weeks ago. We had a family who use to rear ducks and for the forthcoming months till September or October, we will have ducks in the pond enjoying their fresh baits. I also have remote memories of turtles being in this pond and I have seen them few times. It is sad to say that that pond was filled totally and that area has become the front yard for our new family home in Muttom. But still I think that it would have been more interesting to preserve that pond and have all these biological friends of ours to share their responsibilities in that pond during the monsoon days. As this place is a low lying area, the proximity of flooding was more and during monsoon season, wherever we dig, water use to slowly fill the pits and this was a fun to watch during our school days.
Please don't think that I am going to stop writing about monsoon and rains. This instinct about rains may start disturbing me again during next year and you may find something on rain for sure. Even if I am enjoying everything that I can in this century, these are some of the things which I miss and let me make it clear that nothing can replace those memoirs……

Our comrades in Sri Lanka,we are with you.

My heartfelt sorrow which is not tolerating keeping quiet amidst all the manmade disasters is the reason for this discussion.
I am a person who has personally enjoyed the hospitality and respect of the scores of Tamilians who have been relocated to various parts of Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka during the different periods of racial tensions and violence.
During my career as a registered nurse in Madras a metropolitan city in South India, I had the opportunity to be in a place called Anumanthai which is on the border of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry states on the East Coast Road which stretches between Madras and Pondicherry through the coastal line. We were served food by a refugee family who runs a small hotel or rather a makeshift canteen near this place. The first thing I liked with them is the language. They have a unique colloquial speech and there are many common words from Malayalam which is used often. The second feature is their reverence and hospitality. We may be late at times for food or request something which might not be available with them at that time, but the proprietor of the hotel and his wife would take special initiative to make sure that we will have the provisions during the next meal time. The taste of the food also requires special mention.
Another significant thing that increased my affection towards the Sri Lankan Tamilians was after watching “Kannathil Muthammittal”, a very touching movie by Mani Rathinam, a veteran Tamil movie director based on the story of a Tamil refuge from Sri Lanka.
The last thing which influenced me was my interactions with Sri Lankan Tamilians who have inhabited a considerable part of Eastham, a town on the east of London. This was my regular visiting place on my trips to London which used to be regular every month during my last year of stay in UK. Before leaving London, I make it a point that I will have a good vegetarian meal from one of the restaurants in Eastham where most of them were run by Sri Lankans.
I cannot stand the brutal genocide of Srilankan Tamilians that is happening by different other names right now. Let us all hold hands together to stop this inhuman violence and bring peace and harmony in this part of the world.

Election Frenzy......

The biggest democratic country in the world is going through the process of reelecting their leaders. One of the small states where I am from has already gone through the same and is impatiently waiting for the election results now. Much of the campaigning, canvassing and brain washing is over now and people are eagerly waiting for the newly elects.
What does India need or rather what does Indians need from their leaders? India has a history of creating world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. Why don't we have leaders like Mahatma Gandhi in this century?
Emerging as the global cyber power and man power we are in dire need for leaders who gives more insight into education, technology, research and agriculture. The economy of a country is based on these factors. Without the advancement in these fields, economic stability and modernization cannot be achieved. Let us hope that our people select the right leaders to steer our country in the right path.

Economic meltdown

The whole world is under the threat of a manmade disaster, the recession which is worst affecting the growing economies and the well developed countries identical. There is no point in blaming each other in this circumstance. I think each of us has a responsibility for this and careful analysis should be carried out so that this may not happen again. A progress of a country gets decelerated to a considerable level due to this reason.
When we have enough resources, I think the best way is to save some for the future when there is going to be a crisis. When you have a considerable reserve, there is no chance for you to fall into a crisis where the situation gets worsened.
So as proud citizens of the respective country, let us all think wise, act smart and alleviate crisis that can become obstacles in our long run.
God bless you.

Barackera..............

So United States of America has its 44th President and that has become history.
The first African-American President.
The son of an immigrant has become the President the first time.
A President who is very health conscious and works out 6 days a week.
A man of charisma
A person who embraces change.
Welcome to you.President Barack.H.Obama.
I was fortunate to be a resident of this country on this auspicious occasion.
Obama presidency is a motivation of young immigrants like me
"Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame."
These words reminded me of the old saying "Hard work means prosperity."
"Our challenges may be new," said Obama. "The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true."
I always believe that there is no short cuts or crooked ways to success without the values he mentioned in his first presidential speech.I respect and honor these words.
"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come," the President said.
These words are going to be in the history of this century.
I wish him all success to deliver the best of what he can do for the peace and prosperity of United States of America and the whole world.
Now it is the time for him to perform. Let us see how he does his job.All the Best President.

We need peace and harmony.

I was going through the horrifying pictures of Palestinian population who are having a terrible time with the Israeli attacks on the wake of this year.Eventhough this is not a pleasant topic to write as the fist blog in this year,I canna just close my eyes to the brutal genocide going over there.It is estimated that more than 100 children has lost their life during these attacks.The numbers of adult casualties are innumerable.
What has happened to the International community?I heard today that the UN is also planning to withdraw from the relief operations in the area.Who is going to help these ailing people and where is the assistance going to arrive for the hundreds of hospitalized ailing brothers and sisters.
When viewing from outside as a onlooker,I think the international organizations are giving a silent consent for the inhuman atrocities of Israel in this war torn part of the world.Is this right?I cannot substantiate this stand at any cost because people who are loosing lives are innocent children and people.The extremist targets that are aimed by the Israel military forces are still in large conducting massive destructions.The loss of 100 children from an area means a whole generation is been wiped out.What have they done to undergo this fate?Is it going to bring any difference to the militants in Gaza?
Children are the gifts of God.They are innocent.They are the proud citizens of tomorrow.The adults of today are supposed to be the role models for these budding flowers.These people who does these massacres cannot create even a single baby.No man in the world has the authority to execute anybody unlawfully .Let us voice together to eliminate the unholy and barbaric thoughts of the evil people on both sides who are the architects of this genocide and give the rest of the children of Palestine a brighter and peaceful world to live in