Heritage: Kerala High Court saves historic churches

Whichever religion one might belong to, nobody would deny that the many centuries old Twin Churches of Ramapuram, Kerala, are beautiful. And there is so much of history behind them.

The Church wanted to demolish them and build a new church. There were widespread protests including from this blog (Churches on demolition line.). Finally the Kerala Government declared them to be heritage structures and brought them under the control of Archaeology Department, thereby preventing demolition.

The Church appealed against this order to the Kerala High Court. Earlier this week the HC ruled in favour of the Government and all those believe that heritage monuments should be preserved. It is not known whether the Church will go for further appeals.

It is difficult to understand the Church policy of demolishing old structures. I don’t recall hearing about an ancient temple or mosque being razed to ground to build a new one. The money spent on new churches to replace old ones could be utilized more meaningfully.

Nearer my home, the 1791Thycattussarry Church (A historic church is no more.) has been renovated. See photos below:

Old structure.

After renovation.

A saving grace here is that the architect has managed to retain some of the ethos. But lost in the process are the ‘Mondalam’ (picture below),

and more sadly, the beautiful frescoes that adorned the inside of the old building.

The next structure in line for the Church bulldozers is the Parayil Family’s 1861private oratory at Velliara (picture below).

Naturally, we have objected.

Kerala Architecture: Another Parayil heritage home

Ayanat Parayil ‘ettukettu’ at Thycattussarry, about 3kms from Olavipe, is one of the oldest and largest among the Parayil heritage homes. Because of the length of the building, inner compound walls and the trees around, no photographer has been able to capture it in one picture.

The portion known as ‘Meda’ is believed to have been in existence for over 250 years. Though Velliara was the ‘Tharavad’ (see A Kerala Tharavad.), Ayanat was also occupied at least by the middle of the 18th century. (See A unique prayer.) The ancestor who built the St. Antony’s Church at Thycattussarry, which was consecrated in 1791, stayed at Ayanat to supervise the construction.

The ground floor of the ‘Meda’ is granary. The first floor has a drawing room and bedrooms. This portion which is connected to the main house by a curved corridor is due for periodic repairs. The house is well maintained. It costs a fortune of course.

My cousin Paul (PH Paul Tharakan) and his wife stay there – just the two of them!

The photographs below (copyright reserved) were taken by my nephew Ebbey Tharakan. He is a remarkable chap. I must write about him someday.

Eastern entrance

Another view from the east

View from the west.
Given below are photos of the 'Meda'.
Click on images to enlarge.

Also see: Kerala architecture: Mansion of the Marquises

Slumdog Cocktail and fortified Kerala spirit

The Kerala tipplers, famous for their drinking capabilities, could be a confused lot for the time being. The State Government has just released the new liquor policy. It permits stronger drinks to be marketed in Kerala.

Before coming to the Slumdog Cocktail, let me briefly explain what I understand about the new liquor rules from newspaper reports. Don’t get put off by the accounts figures.

Till now, the hard stuff could only have an alcohol content of 42.86% v/v (volume to volume) with a tolerance of plus or minus 1%. The revised rule increases the tolerance to 3%. This means that the strength of the liquor one buys could be anywhere from 39.86% to 45.86%.

The million dollar question is: will this change result in more liquor consumption, or reduced the intake?

The new policy has two possibilities that would coexist. One is that the quantity of alcohol consumed by a person would be less if the lower tolerance level is applied. They would be paying the same price, but at least it would be more liver friendly. On the other hand, at 45.86%, for no additional cost the customer would be getting potion that is really potent.

I must be turning dull in my old age because I can’t understand the rationale behind the change in the specifications. But one thing appears certain – after the initial perplexity, the Keralites would keep on blissfully downing the stuff regardless. Come hell or high-water, the spirits must be kept up. The espirit de corps!

You would be wondering about the Slumdog connection.

Well, at the 81^st Oscar Awards party, one of the drinks served was imaginatively named ‘Slumdog Cocktail’. It was a vodka based mix according to Jijeesh Kuttalita of Malayala Manorama (jijeeshmm@manoramamail.com), prepared with raspberry and lime (juice?) and served with a lollipop.

If prepared with fortified Kerala vodka, fewer Slumdogs could induce deeper slumber.

Also see:

A Vodka Story.

From the 81st Oscar Awards, a new message for the ..

Kerala photos: Fast changing Cochin skyline

Today's evening news on TV stated that Kerala has become unusually hot.
One of the reasons mentioned is that the high-rise buildings
that have come up in recent times are blocking air circulation.
I took these photos at Cochin about two months back.
Some greenery is still left.

Bloggers, beware of legal implications

It is not only plagiarism that bloggers have to be careful about. A Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by the Chief Justice has ruled that bloggers could be liable for libel or even criminal charges for the content they publish in their web logs. (The Times of India, Chennai, February 24, 2009.) I think Contempt of Court is also a possible risk.

The reported case relates to a 19 year-old from Kerala who started a discussion group on the Internet against the Shiv Sena activities. A Maharashtra Court issued summons against him on the basis of a criminal case filed by a Sena functionary.

The blogger obtained anticipatory bail from the Kerala High Court and then approached the SC to have the criminal complaint quashed. The SC said no; even comments published on a blog could attract legal action.

I suppose this position will also be applicable to the persons who send in the comments. One cannot escape the mischief of law by posting them under the ‘Anonymous’ label. The IP of the computer from which they are sent can be traced.

Every citizen, whether blogger or not, has the right to express himself. In certain States of the US, I understand, bloggers claim the status of journalists. (This has to be verified.) This does not mean one can ignore other applicable laws which include provisions against hurting public sentiment. Claiming that the views expressed are purely personal is no defense.

In the United States lawsuits against bloggers are on the increase. They involve millions of dollars. Details of legal actions against bloggers in that country can be seen at http://www.medialaw.org/bloggerlawsuits.

In a report dated July 20, 2008 Huma Yusuf states that around the world 64 bloggers were arrested since 2003 according to a publication by the University of Washington. More than half these took place in Egypt, China and Iran.

Some bloggers’ associations, it seems, run awareness programs for their members. There were also reports that insurance against lawsuits were planned in the US for the benefit of bloggers. The cheapest policy was to cost $540 per year. It is not clear whether the scheme is put on hold because of the financial meltdown.

According to an estimate, two new blogs are created every second! In an article posted on USA TODAY. Com (October 2, 2006), Laura Parker says, ‘The blogosphere also is the Internet's Wild West, a rapidly expanding frontier town with no sheriff.’

That is an apt description. And, that is all the more reason why bloggers should apply restraint in what the write and the comments they allow to be posted on their blogs. We can’t have ‘Injuns and cowboys’ shoot at each other in the 21^st century.

Also see:

How I write Blog posts

Contempt of Court - comment and response

From the 81st Oscar Awards, a new message for the troubled world

Resul Pookutty who won the Oscar for sound mixing said in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony that history was being handed over to him. Yes. He is the first Keralite to win the recognition. Two more Indians received Oscars.

Allah Rakha Rahman (41) was awarded two Oscars, for Best Music (Score), and Best Music (Song) along with Gulzar (72). Incidentally, the former was originally named AS Dileep Kumar but changed it when he converted to Islam. Gulzar is a pen name. His real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra.

That is not all. The best feature film and best short documentary awards were won by India-based stories – Slumdog Millionaire and Smile Pinki respectively. Incredible. As Gulzar said, who would have thought a Hindi lyricist would win an Oscar?

The star of the show was AR Rahman. He is God’s own man. His profession is divine. Like the million colors in nature, the Creator has packed the world with musical notes. But He has bestowed the gift of catching the notes and arranging them into great compositions on only a select band of humans. And Rahman is one among the chosen few.

Music is the sound of love. This is perhaps the point Rahman stressed in his acceptance speech at the Oscars Awards. He said words to the effect: I had two choices in life, love and hate; I chose love and I am here.

A hate-filled Rahman could not have crafted soul stirring melodies. There can be no music in the hearts of gun-wielding, bomb-throwing men.

There was a slogan ‘Make love, not war’ that was very much in use in the 1970s and 1980s. Now Rahman has given us a better one,

‘Choose love, not hate’.

That is a slogan which should, in my opinion, be given maximum publicity.

Where there is true love, there can be no evil.

Jai ho.

(The image reproduced here is subject to

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

Click to enlarge.)

Also see:

M.S. Subbalakshni – The Queen of Song

Photos: Some beautiful pieces

Photos by me. Copyright reserved.
Click to enlarge.
Also see: A beautiful carving