As they say, in every crisis there is cash and  traders have come up with novel ideas to beat the heat. Umbrella makers who have been sending lots of white umbrella exclusively to the gulf to beat the desert heat has found a thriving market at their door step. There are many takers for these albino versions of their black cousins, which have been reigning this state for eons of years. Made from specially made imported cloth, these umbrellas can shield you from the harmful rays of the sun and the blistering heat around. The wayside vendors too have set up stalls selling watermelon, lemonade, buttermilk, sugar cane juice and more and are doing brisk business.

With the summer showers still keeping off the scene, the situation continues to be alarming. The power situation is bleak and a power cut  is the last thing that Keralites would like to happen at this juncture. Till the monsoon breaks loose at June, which is still two full months away, we are all destined to sweat and fret at the scorching heat outside. The irony is that , every time you switch on  your air conditioner, you are only adding up to the global warming, which will further push up the earth temperature. So, try to put a stop somewhere so that there is a way out from this vicious circle. Let there be more trees on the avenues, more cycles on the road and let us try to reduce, recycle and use the natural resources sensibly- that is the only way  to ensure a better tomorrow for all living beings!

Mattanchery, home to the Jewish synagogue and various historic edifices holds an important place in the tourist map of Kerala that draws many tourists from far and wide. The special police station will offer all the facilities that any tourist may require. From assisting foreign travelers to clarifying their doubts on passport and visa  and registering complaints and grievances on lost passports and expired visa , this police station has a wide gamut of services- all under one roof!

The police would work in tandem with the  Department of Tourism to set up a helpdesk at the station, where the tourists can get route maps and brochures about different tourist destinations in the State as well. In addition, there are  facilities for tourists to make booking for boating as well as hiring taxis. The State Tourism Department will soon  publish the services  of tourism police in all leading tourism journals in the world to ensure maximum coverage and publicity of this novel scheme.

The Police museum will have a rich display of police uniforms, combat weapons and armoury, arranged in chronological order right from the colonial period to the present day. With the advent of the tourist police station, the tourists can look forward to have a hassle free and enjoyable sight seeing experience in Mattancherry and FortKochi , considered as tourist hot spots.

The latest episode of the so called ’swami Nityananada’ is no different. Hailing from a village in Tamilnadu , he started his business in massage parlours, which often crossed the limits of decency. When the going got tough, he shifted his base to Bangalore and  put on the saffron garb to make  a few fast bucks. To gain the confidence and goodwill of the local community he indulged in social service and once his popularity soared, money started flowing from all over the world. The Nithayananda Mission became a worldwide movement for meditation and peace with claims of over  1,000 branches across 33 countries and about two million followers the world over!

The latest sting operation of a video channel exposed his vicious  side when he was caught on camera in the company of a young Tamil actress. It is high time that we stop promoting these godmen and the ready made spirituality packages. The tax sops and the money involved in charity is mind boggling that it has become one of the easiest businesses to set up in India under the guise of spirituality, yoga , vedas and what not!  We should have some stringent laws to curb fake spiritual leaders to safeguard the sanctity of our culture and spirituality.   Time to do some soul searching !

You run a fair chance of getting a well rested night if the power men spares you from their uncanny habits of switching off the power lines at unearthly hours for reasons best known to them; lest  hell breaks loose at the middle of the night!  Unlike in the past, people call up the Electricity board the moment the current goes off  and if you think it is because of their enhanced awareness of social rights, you could be wrong. The swarm of the  winged zombies of  mosquitoes is the driving force for this act , which at times also drives them out of their homes!

When the back up supplies die down and the dark hours extend to eternity, people come out to the open from their homes. Kids in their night wears could be seen walking up and  down the road as if in a trance, someone would set up a bonfire where people gather to chat the night away as the women of the house serve cookies and black coffee as they wait patiently for the elusive electricity men to appear!  Finally the task force of the electricity department, which was set up to ensure instant help arrive hours later-  after umpteen phone calls and reminders! They spend the first couple of hours  discussing the course of action they should adopt in fixing the problem; they flash their torch light on to the transformer; indulge in animated discussion sessions only to  decide to leave, as the problem they felt was something complicated that could be fixed only the next day morning. But the public decide not to remain mute spectators any more and they make sure that the service personnel leave only after fixing the problem to ensure at least a brief shut eye!

As they say, patience has a limit. And in city life, are we all forced to stretch the limits day in and day out as we strive to survive against all odds? ( ironically most of them man made!!)

Timings

From Fort Kochi to airport
7.25, 8.00, 9.45, 11.30, 12.00, 1.55, 3.30, 4.00, 6.05

From airport to Fort Kochi
7.50, 9.25, 9.55, 11.50, 1.35, 2.05, 3.55, 5.25, 6.00

The floating Triveni Super Store, which sells everything a home needs including refrigerators and TV sets at subsidised rates, is the brainchild of state Cooperative Minister G Sudhakaran,” an employee of state government-run Consumerfed, which runs the mall said.

The boat is well stocked with almost all the items that you may need in your daily life. From grains to perfumes to  health drinks and shampoos, this mall also takes orders for home appliances and gadgets like TV and refrigerator, which will be supplied  at a later date at subsidized rates. Provisions like rice, wheat and sugar are sold at 10-15% below the market rates. It caters to more than 100,000 people in 12 panchayats of Alappuzha and it docks at 53 villages along the backwaters, which are accessible only by boats. The arrival timings are announced beforehand so that the villagers do not miss the boat.

The mall remains open from 8 am to 6 pm and  20 people are allowed on board at a time. The mall has an average daily sales of Rs 60,000, which goes up during festivals like Onam and Christmas. The mall, designed by the University of Cochin’s naval department was built at a dock in Kochi at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. The boat is powered by solar energy that lights up the boat and run the billing machines.

The floating mall has become an inseparable part of the backwater life and to meet the demand from the local community, Consumerfed is building two more floating malls.

However, as man became more ‘progressive’, he got access to some of the most lethal weapons, which unfortunately were put to use for poaching- Killing animals for sheer pleasure.:( The kings and the nobles had a passion to deck up the walls with trophies of the slain animals and their palace floors with tiger skin  carpets!  As time passed by, things got only worse and now these hapless creatures are being slaughtered for their body parts including claw, nails and teeth, which are widely used in Chinese medicine and are thought to have aphrodisiac properties ( No scientific proof is available to back this claim, which could be pointers to the fact that these are nothing but SCAMS!!)  Ironically the Chinese calender is observing the year of the tiger in 2010!

Tiger is basically a very shy and reclusive animal, which prefer solitude and they will NEVER attack humans unless it is threatened.  ‘The man eaters of Sunderbans’ is a misnomer considering the fact that they do not eat and kill humans. Nonetheless, if their regular source of food including the herbivores down the food chain like the wild buffalo, deer and boar are in short supply and their natural habitat gets smaller by the day due to the greed of man, it is quite natural for them to turn their gaze to the domestic animals and even man. Tigers normally have only 1-2 cubs in a litter and the infant mortality is very high, making the survival chances really bleak. The new born tiger cubs face threats from even smaller predators like hyena and only a fraction of them make it to their adulthood. So, as responsible citizens of India, it becomes our duty to ensure the safety and survival of these majestic animals, which has graced the glossy pages of Indian tourist brochures for eons of years!

Just go through the recent newspaper reports of satan worship, which will surely shock any average malayalee. Though it was something unheard of in this part of the world, it is not the case anymore!  These sinister activities being organized by  mostly people from other countries  take place in posh apartments right at the city centre in Kochi and  draws many followers mostly from overseas. Along with black magic, drug peddling and even nude dances  for those who wish to enjoy a high during the rituals, the package is comprehensive and comes with a price too! The entrance fee is Rs. 30,000 and prior booking is essential.

Impure blood, urine  collected in a human skull, triangle shaped slices of bread etc are some of the things that are being used for the ‘black mass’ which will be held on the 13th of every month. The so called organizers of this black mass fool  people by making  fake claims that these can solve many  problems including financial woes and enmity.   On the   D day , the door number of the apartment or the proposed venue of the black mass  will be changed to 666- the customary symbol of the devil- to make sure that the customers do not stray into other flats! Interestingly, the door number will be changed back to the original building number once the satan ritual is over.

These fraudsters who go all out to hoodwink the naive and the unsuspecting customers might bring bad repute to Kerala and its tourism sector. It could well be with the connivance of the locals who are willing to sell the Kerala brand for an extra dollar or Euro, nonetheless, most of them do not seem to be aware of the dangers and the long term repercussions of bad publicity.. Tourism has always been a thriving business in Kerala and in fact it is the only business that has  survived  the trade unionism that prevails here! We would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs by helping people who are engaged in these vicious activities under the cover of Kerala tourism. Anyone listening?

Arrangements were made weeks in advance and residents associations and clubs played a very proactive role in ensuring the smooth conduct of this festival, which involved meticulous planning and coordination in a massive scale. The rituals of the day began with early morning purification ceremony after which the chief priest handed over the lamp to  light the hearth in the temple kitchen, ‘tidappalli, from where the light was transferred to a hearth outside the temple from which it was moved to all the Pongala hearths in quick succession, when the whole city became covered with a thick blanket of smoke.

Volunteers were seen distributing drinking water and lemonade as the mercury soared at noon . Arrangements to provide free noon meals were also in place ; even autorickshaws were plying for free for the benefit of the devotees who had come from far off places .  Once the pongala was made, the priests sprinkled holy water to sanctify the offerings while helicopters hovered above, showering floral petals on the hearth, to signify the culmination of the ceremony, which is celebrated by the city as a whole with no barriers of religion and caste and this is what makes this festival so very special!

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The Jewel of Muscat is designed as per the blue print of a 9th century wreck of a ship that was carrying many priceless items like silver and gold artifacts, spices and Chinese ceramics, now known as the Tang Treasure. Its remnants were discovered in 1998 in the Indonesian waters. The Singapore government  bought the Tang treasure in an auction to display it in a museum.

This 18M long ship built in Indian and Burmese teak and a unique tree, ‘Punna’, which is a native of Kerala, is a gift from the Government of Oman to the people of Singapore. The  ship building team comprising  mostly of  Malayaless, made this  sewn plank ship with wood and  coconut fibre ropes without using even a nail or a screw- the ship making technology which  is exclusive to Kerala . The 1300 year old method of dhow making which involves sewing the hull planks with hand made ropes make  the ship extremely stable and resilient even in choppy waters. The ship is solely driven by the wind sails and has no modern gadgets except life jackets and navigational tools.

To celebrate the first stopover of the ship, the Oman Government is sending a cultural team to Kochi where a major event is planned. During its dry dock at Kochi, the technical crew, most of them from Kerala will carry out its maintenance . Following the old trading route, the ship will reach Singapore through the waters of Srilanka and Malaysia, five months later,where it will be made a museum in which the tang Treasure will be displayed . Though The Jewel of Muscat is a venture of Oman, the fact that the technology and the manpower behind this magnificent creation is from the distant land of Kerala, is indeed a matter of pride for all of us.