Kerala

Kerala finds a place in national artscape

Renu Ramanath

At last, Kerala has found a place in the contemporary art scene of India. For a State just stepping into the 50th year of its existence, getting that long-deserved place of honour in the national art circuit of the country is no mean task. Especially considering that for this national art circuit, which had been more or less Mumbai-centric or Delhi-centric all through the post-Independence years, art just did not exist even south of the Vindhyas for a long time. Not to speak of the western side of the Sahyadri.

For decades after the phenomenon of Raja Ravi Varma, Kerala was virtually the Dark Continent in India 's art map. At the same time, this was quite ironical. Since, this small land locked between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea had produced some of the most brilliant of India's visual artists - at all times.

The travelling group exhibition, 'Double Enders,' curated by the Mumbai-based Malayali artist Bose Krishnamachari came as a sharp jolt and an eye-opener to the country's art world. Though this show, which lined up 69 Malayali artists, drew mixed reactions, it revealed the sheer numerical strength of the top-ranking artists hailing from this small State.

During the past couple of decades, Malayali artists have been making a strong presence in the national art scene. Almost all of them were based in Mumbai, Delhi or Baroda, the major 'centres' of art. Down south, Chennai and Bangalore were also considered as 'centres.' But nowhere in Kerala was a 'centre.' So, it was natural for all the artists to migrate.Most of the artists who completed their studies in M.S. University, Baroda; Santiniketan and the J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai, stayed on there afterwards.However, these are all tales of the past. Right now, Kerala has turned out to be the preferred hunting ground of the gallerists from Mumbai and Delhi, and art collectors from almost all over India. The evolution of a professional art gallery such as Kashi Art Gallery based in Fort Kochi has played a major role in the development of Kerala's art scene. So, things are happening in the art scene in the State at different levels. The coming decades would prove significant for the visual arts of the State, which already boast of an established literary and serious film circuit.

(The Hindu, Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006)

Kerala - Kochi

Mastering the chemistry of acting

When C.K. Saneesh, a young chemist hailing from Chengamanad in Ernakulam district, stepped into the realms of Koodiyattom, the centuries old classical theatre form of Kerala.

He performed his arangettam in Koodiyattom last week at the Nepathya Centre for Excellence in Koodiyattom. Saneesh, who is working as a chemist at Travancore Cochin Chemicals Ltd., has been under the tutelage of Moozhikkulam Kochukuttan Chakyar and Margi Madhu at the centre for the past two years.

He become enamoured of the Sanskrit theatre form while working as a chemistry instructor at the Centre for Science in Society, the Cochin University of Science and Technology. Though Saneesh was selected for doing research at the Oxford, he could not go to the United Kingdom. He then decided to focus on the intricacies of Koodiyattom. Although he began learning the art form quite late in life, this artiste managed to pick up theacting techniques quickly.

The artiste, in keeping with the tradition, portrayed the role of the Suthradhara in Bhasa's 'Balacharitham.' The arangettam lasted for two days.The function had a special guest — Farley P. Richmond, a scholar in Koodiyattom, Professor, the Department of Drama and Theatre, and Director of the Centre for Asian Studies, the University of Georgia, Athens. The arangettam was performed in the koothambalam, the traditional space for performance within the precincts of the temple.
Renu Ramanath

(The Hindu, Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006)

Kerala - Kochi

Government to check unauthorised land deals

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: Steps will be taken to check unauthorised land deals in the State, especially in Ernakulam district, said Minister for Registration and Fisheries S. Sarma here on Saturday.

The Minister, who was participating in the District Development Committee meeting at the district panchayat office, said steps had been taken to implement clauses in the Union Registration Act, 2004 in the State.

District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish said the district administration had received complaints of extensive land filling from Angamaly and Koovapadi areas. Agricultural and revenue officials were asked to track reports regarding deals related to paddy fields.

M.M. Monayi and Jose Thettayil, MLAs, demanded making registered power of attorney compulsory for land deals. The Government recently released Rs. 1.7 crore for flood-relief works in the district. Efforts would be made to get the due amount, coming to around Rs. 7 crore, released.

The District Collector instructed effective use of the money released under a total sanitation scheme in all blocks. The foundation stone for the solid-waste management plant at Brahmapuram would be laid in November.

He asked for preparation of estimates at the earliest for maintenance works on small-scale irrigation projects.

Kerala Water Authority officials told the meeting that domestic connections had been given within Paravoor municipality area and neighbouring panchayat limits under the Chowara Water Supply Augmentation Scheme. The meeting was also told that the Kerala State Electricity Board gave OYC connections for those who had applied till September 18. The Collector asked to remove the electric posts obstructing traffic on roads at Elamakkara and repair the road dug up for laying pipes at Palarivattom.

Outpatient consultation up to 4 p.m., started for checking epidemics, would continue in all Government hospitals in the district. Allowing more buses on the Malyankara bridge would be considered. The Public Works Department officials said assistance had been sought from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, for repairing the Sree Sankara bridge at Kalady. Mr. Monayi and Saju Paul, MLA, demanded opening of the main canal of the Periyar Valley Project by mid-November.

(The Hindu, Sunday, October 29, 2006)

Kerala

150 artistes to be honoured on November 1

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, Thripunithura, is organising a percussion festival, 'Melotsavam,' on November 1, to mark the State formation day.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, programme general convener P. Vasudevan said the festival would begin with a `Kombu Pattu' in which 51 artistes would participate, to be held at Layam Ground at 3 p.m. It would be followed by `Pandi Melam' in which over 150 artistes would participate, a public meeting felicitating the artistes and major set `Panchavadyam' with more than 75 artistes. The meeting would be inaugurated by Sebastian Paul, MP. Kerala Kalamandalam vice-chairman A.S.N. Nambisan would deliver the keynote address.

Masters of percussion including Thevan Theradippurath, Velappaya Chandra Marar, Thripunitura Pappu Asan, Kadavalloor Thami, Unni Dayanandan, Thripunithura Thankappa Panicker, Pilakkattil Thami and Kottappadi Devan would be felicitated at the function.

The 'Kombu Pattu' would be led by Varavur Manikandan. Karukutty Sasi would lead the 'Pandi Melam' and Kalamandalam Chandran would lead the 'Panchavadyam.'

The festival aimed at promoting the rich tradition of percussion and questioning the conservative tendencies prevailing in the field. Honouring of artistes who belonged to marginalised sections of society was also an objective, the organisers said.

(The Hindu, Friday, October 27, 2006)

Kerala

Choondy scheme: obstacles removed
Staff Reporter
Row over road-cutting will be settled soon
Disagreement remains over compensation
NHAI, KWA engineers to visit all sites

KOCHI: The obstacles in the work for the Augmentation of Water Supply Scheme of Kerala Water Authority (KWA) to Thripunithura municipality and adjoining panchayats (Choondy scheme) are being removed slowly, with a solution to the disputes on road-cutting being worked out between various agencies.

According to K. Babu, MLA, a solution for cutting the road for laying pipes along National Highway-49 and the roads constructed under the Kerala State Transport Project was worked out at a high-level meeting convened in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Agreement was reached on cutting the 1.95 km stretch of road from Choondy Junction to Puthenkurissu in NH-49, the 750 m stretch from Karingachira to Puthiya Road Junction and the 6.49 km stretch from Karimukal to Puthiya Road Junction in the Chithrapuzha-Ponjassery Road, Mr. Babu said.

This was one of the major hurdles the Kerala Water Authority had to overcome while completing the Choondy scheme. There were reports that the work could be stalled in case permission from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD) was not received on time. There was also disagreement regarding the amount of compensation to be paid to the NHAI by the KWA.

The National Highway Executive Engineer and Kerala Water Authority Executive Engineer should conduct a joint inspection at all sites. The compensatory amount to be paid by the KWA to the NHAI and the PWD for cutting the roads would be fixed following this visit. It was also suggested that the KWA should take care to complete the work of laying the pipes on a daily basis, by filling the ditches the same day itself.

Public Works Department Minister T.U. Kuruvila, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, M.J. Jacob, MLA, K. Babu, MLA, Suresh Koilerian, Chief Engineer, National Highways, PWD Chief Engineer Baburaj, KWA technical member Suresh Babu and other officials took part in the meeting.

A stretch of 14 km of the pipeline would be laid along the road for this scheme, from Puthenkurissu to Karingachira.

This scheme, with an expected capacity of 46 MLD (million litres per day) water, was aimed at providing water for Thripunithura municipality and the adjoining panchayats including Chottanikkara, Thiruvankulam and Maradu. Some parts of Udayamperoor panchayat would also benefit from this scheme. The scheme would be completed in 2008.

(The Hindu - Friday, October 7, 2006)