While education is often touted as the beacon of hope for those from marginalised and underprivileged backgrounds to rise above poverty and clinch greater heights in life, the sad reality in India is that a large percentage of children from such households drop out even before they reach high school.
It is in such situations where the definition of education in schools should evolve from the basic blackboard and curriculum-driven learning, with schools going the extra mile for what it takes to retain the wards.
In the backwater district of Alappuzha, a government lower primary (LP) school is doing everything to maintain its student roll of 750 through a slew of initiatives—a statistic that is rare when it comes to government schools in rural areas.
By setting up a textile shop that will let parents pick up free clothes for their school going children, the Mattathilbhagom LP school in Arookutty Panchayat is setting a rare example. Families in the region suffer from acute financial difficulties, so this initiative will be a lifesaver.
Spearheaded by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), one of the classrooms has been transformed into a ‘shop’ that will officially open its doors on Thursday, with a stock of 70 garment pieces.
“Most of the children in the school are from poor families. Their parents work in prawn peeling sheds and fish processing centres in the panchayat. Our village is one of the more backward panchayats in the state and around 50 per cent of the families come under the BPL category. They cannot afford new clothes for their children, so the PTA decided to open the textile shop with the help of its members, staff and well-wishers,” said headmaster Ashok Kumar to Edex Live.
This has not been the first time that the PTA has stepped up for the students.
In fact, they have been supplying educational kits, including uniforms, bags, textbooks, notebooks, pencils, water bottles and other items to students from time to time.
According to PTA President Abdul Khadar, the initiative will also be a boost for the underprivileged in the area.
Without limiting their support in protecting the public education system, the school authorities have also been lending a helping hand for parents as well by organising training sessions in income-generating activities such as the making of paper bags, chalk and candles, LED bulb production and chicken farming.
Before the telephone and Internet marched into our lives and forever changed the way we communicate with each other, the old-fashioned postal system connected the near and far around the world through handwritten letters and postcards.
Those of us who have ever written a letter to somebody living far—a lover, friend, or even a relative, would absolutely relate to the long drawn anticipation and excitement that one harboured while waiting for postman ‘uncle’ or ‘bhaiya’.
These khaki-clad letter-carriers not only delivered letters. More often than not they were treated like family members by the residents of their routes, someone to confide in and even looked up to for guidance.
While the world has mostly moved on from physical letters, the postal system continues to exist, albeit only for official purposes and to deliver couriers, that our postmen continue to bring with them even in this time of lightning-fast communication.
For the people in Thrissur, there’s only one man who pops up in their head when someone says postman—Arangathu Ramankutty. Being the eldest postman in the city division, he has been delivering post since 1982 and has even received awards and accolades from the government for his dedication and commitment to the profession.
As a tribute to the man and his unparalleled service to the society, TK Sreejith, a journalist from Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, wrote a heartwarming letter to Ramankutty that thanks him wholeheartedly on behalf of the entire city.
Not only does the letter feature Ramankutty’s journey as a postman from his early days, it also poignantly highlights what the man has come to signify for the people of Thrissur.
Here are some snippets from the letter to the postman:
The city has no habit of calling you by your name but postman. Only a few know your name. What else would the people call you, other than a postman? We know, that you love to be called by your designation than your name.
There was a time when Malayalees waited long for a letter. In those times, you were the WhatsApp and e-mail for us. The blue letters in your khaki bag was so exciting. Collecting stamps from the white letters is going to be passé.
When we think about you, what comes first to our mind is your Vetiver cap. You walked in and through Thrissur Round in khaki with your khaki cloth bag. No one has seen you walking so fast. When many postmen upgraded to cycles and motorbikes, you remain unchanged. We remember you saying that you walk 4-5 hours a day.
How many know that even your father K Krishnan was also a postman? When many dreamt to become a lawyer and doctors those years, why did you decide to become a postman? Maybe, it was your fate that you had to wear the khaki of your father when he fell ill.
Charming indeed, and a true heartwarming tribute to a fast fading era. You can read the entire letter here.
A piping hot plate of biriyani served with pappadams, lemon pickle and a boiled egg that has been lodged effortlessly into the rice is as common a sight across restaurants in Kerala as coconut palms in the state!
However, it is not very common even in God’s Own Country to find a piece of pineapple being served with this timeless dish. But, if you walk into the iconic Azad hotel in Thiruvananthapuram and ask for their signature ‘Mutton Biriyani,’ you will find this seemingly unusual accompaniment being served alongside the delicacy!
Interestingly, this rare combination has been part of the menu since 1940, when Meeran Pillai Pareed Kunju opened the doors of ‘Azad Pukka Travancore Biriyani’ for the first time in Vallakadavu.
At the time, it was the only hotel in the area that served mutton dishes, and a plate of biriyani was sold at 1/4th of an anna!
Attempting to bring the original cuisine of Travancore back to the fore, Kunju’s small outlet and its biriyani went to become such a hit that soon, not only was he able to open outlets in busy areas like Statue and Chalai in the city but also cities like Kollam and Nagercoil.
Today, the Azad chain is managed by Kunju’s three grandsons, Mahin, Wazim and Ozman Azad, who are quite famously known as the Azad brothers in the city.
The ‘Azad biriyani’ is a must-have recommendation that is often made to people heading towards Thiruvananthapuram, and what makes it unbelievably popular is how the traditional mix of flavourful spices has been retained, even 78 years after its debut.
Yet another speciality of the hotel is its chefs who have more than 40 years of experience!
“The recipe followed is almost same as followed 78 years back. Only minor changes have been made to give the recipe a modern touch. More than the rich spread of dishes, the effort of our chefs to maintain the traditional flavours, is the high point of our restaurant. We are trying to bring back the recipes which were popular in the 1940s,” said Wasim Azad to The New Indian Express.
Besides the mutton biriyani, other popular dishes on Azad’s menu include traditionally prepared Fish Mancholi, Mutton Mandi Biriyani, ‘Beetroot Chicken’ (a chicken dish topped with thick beetroot gravy) and ‘Kanthari Chicken,’ which is made with crushed fiery kanthari chillies!
Though the name Azad is quite synonymous with biriyani in the capital city, the chain also has an established bakery and confectionary division which is known as Azad Bakery, that has its own manufacturing unit.
They also have a boutique bakery chain, Bread Factory, that is known for its delicious range of pastries and cheesecakes.
As far as catering to the city’s non-vegetarian food cravings, Azad has been doing an exceptional job for the past seven decades, while giving generation after generation an unforgettable taste of the Travancore cuisine and its flavours from the past.
“There are many who don’t know there exists a Travancore cuisine. We want to introduce people to it,” added Mahin.
So if you plan on heading to Thiruvananthapuram anytime soon, make sure that Azad hotel is definitely on your list of places to eat in. Trust us; you won’t be disappointed!
More than a century ago, upon witnessing the extent of discrimination inflicted upon lower caste Hindu communities under the archaic and rigid caste system in the erstwhile princely states of Kerala, Swami Vivekananda was enraged enough to call the state a lunatic asylum.
Imagine being punished for entering places of worship or even walking along the path that led to one because you belonged to a lower caste. Well, in today’s age and time, such a restriction would not just be impossible to understand but also a direct infringement of one’s human rights.
Sadly, this was the grotesque reality in Kerala at that time.
However, one movement was to script a historic change that would overturn the fate of Kerala forever by not only shaking the foundations of an extremely outdated and regressive practice but also laying the foundation for a better and equitable world for the coming generations.
The flag-bearers of Vaikom Satyagraha. Source: Wikimedia.
Carrying the namesake of the backwater town in Kottayam district where it was staged between the years of 1924-25, the Vaikom Satyagraha could be termed as one of the best examples for citing how independence from our own regressive social practices was important to fight the greater war against the colonisers.
Part of the princely state of Travancore, Vaikom witnessed what could be called the first-ever organised movement for the rights of people deemed ‘untouchable’ and other socially ostracised communities in Kerala at a scale previously inconceivable!
One could undoubtedly say that TK Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and the editor of Deshabhimani, a Malayalam newspaper, was the original architect behind the Vaikom Satyagraha. He courageously presented a resolution seeking permission of temple entry and right to worship to all people irrespective of caste and community at Sree Moolam Praja Sabha, the legislative council of Travancore in 1918.
Upon receiving severe backlash and further oppression from upper caste Hindus in the council, it took Madhavan another five years of active petitioning before finally moving the resolution to a higher platform—the Kakinada session of the Indian National Congress party in 1923.
This report not only ended up gaining nationwide support during the meeting but also paved the way for the formation of a committee in Kerala encompassing people from different sections of the society.
Chaired by K Kelappan, this committee found strong personalities like Madhavan, Velayudha Menon, KP Kesava Menon, K Neelakantan Namboothiri and TR Krishnaswami Iyer as its members. Together, these satyagrahis laid the stepping-stones of the ‘Kerala Paryatanam’ movement in February 1924, with the goal that temples would not only allow everyone in their premises but also open up public roads for people irrespective of their caste or creed.
Interestingly, during this period of active resistance and advocacy, Madhavan found great support from Mahatma Gandhi during a brief meeting held in Tirunelveli in 1921, with the latter declaring that Kerala was ripe for a temple entry agitation.
At that time, he had insisted on peaceful protest and found there was “no swifter remedy than a real satyagraha properly handled.”
To flag off this historic movement, the committee zeroed in on the Mahadeva temple in Vaikom, because of the temple board’s extremely stringent rules regarding entry. On March 30, batches of three from oppressed communities tried to barge into the temple, only to be resisted and arrested by the Travancore police forces.
Because leaders like Gandhi, Chattampi Swamikal and Sree Narayana Guru had backed the movement with unfaltering support, the persistence and resolve of the satyagrahis at Vaikom slowly started gaining momentum across the country, with support flowing in from different religions.
Even Akalis came to the support of the movement, by setting up camp at Vaikom and preparing food for the satyagrahis as they persisted with their objectives.
The Akali support during Vaikom Satyagraha. Source: Wikimedia.
With the idea of resolving the issue by opening the doors for discussion between both parties, Gandhi advised the satyagrahis to hold off the movement for the time being. But nothing came out of it, for the upper caste communities refused to come anywhere near a compromise.
Soon, the movement was brought back with renewed resolve and determination, and this time the arrests weren’t limited to just the activists but also the flag bearers of the Vaikom movement, including Madhavan and Kesava Menon. Even EV Ramaswami Naicker or the legendary Periyar, who came all the way from Tamil Nadu to support the historic movement, was put behind bars.
On October 1, 1924, a group of people belonging to the forward castes marched in a procession with a petition to the then regent Maharani Sethulakshmi Bai of Travancore, that carried approximately 25,000 signatures for allowing entry to the temple for everyone.
Led by Mannathu Padmanabhan Nair from Vaikom, the march initially began with approximately 500 people. Along the way, several people joined in, and by the time the procession reached Thiruvananthapuram in November, the strength had increased to a whopping 5,000!
Periyar and Gandhi during Vaikom Satyagraha. Source: Wikimedia (left and right).
Sadly, no immediate action came from the 609-day long Vaikom Satyagraha, though it left a long-lasting impact in history as one of the most non-violent struggles against caste oppression and discrimination. It would later be documented as a precursor to the Indian war of independence.
While it would take yet another year for the gates of the temples in Kerala (except for the eastern gate) to open for people from all castes, it was nevertheless a landmark achievement for the oppressed communities in the state.
It was finally in 1928 that the ‘backward’ castes secured the right to walk on public roads leading to temples in Travancore. This opened a new chapter the history of the state where overthrowing the regressively hierarchical caste oppression didn’t seem implausible anymore.
Vaikom Satyagraha today is observed as just another milestone while consolidating different instances from history covering India’s struggle for independence.
A memorial statue commemorating the Vaikom Satyagraha at Vaikom. Source: Facebook.
However, the fact that that it was possibly one of the first organised movements of such a scale in India, against its internal social vices, shouldn’t fade away with sands of time.
Neither should we forget the unparalleled contribution of unsung satyagrahis like TK Madhavan, K Kelappan or KP Kesava Menon. Without their persistence and rock-solid resolution towards abolishing the regressive caste system and making the world equal for everyone, Kerala probably would have scripted a very different history.
The concept of a Big Fat Indian Wedding just might be coming to a close. Realising the importance of saving money and leaving a smaller carbon footprint, many couples are deciding to do away with the unnecessary and stick to the important.
Now, an entire state that is taking the initiative of promoting ‘green weddings’ as a concept. Kerala, via the Suchitwa Mission, is giving the ‘green wedding’ trend a lot of momentum, reports Manorama online.
Around 24 weddings in the state between April 2017 and March 2018 conformed to the standards of a green wedding, and among these, 12 were held in Kannur, and 5 in Malappuram.
80% of Kerala’s weddings will go green this year. Image Credit: Kerala Wedding Photography
This year, with the support of local bodies, the Suchitwa Mission wants to ensure that at least 80% of the weddings in Kerala, fall under the ‘green protocol.’
What’s more, the initiative isn’t exclusively targetting weddings. From November 1, the conduct of all government functions and public gatherings or programmes attended by ministers will also be governed by the ‘green protocol.’
So how do weddings go green?
First, the food is tackled. A wedding spread is laid out days before the main event. A lot of guests eat on a daily basis every day, causing a massive pile-up of disposable plates and glasses during each wedding. So the first step is to omit disposable plates and cups and use banana leaves and steel glasses for the feast. The food that is in excess can be distributed at hospitals, with the rest is turned into compost.
Then come the decorations, which are an important part of any wedding. In this aspect, the way to go green would be to use flowers instead of plastic decorations.
If the bride and groom comply with this protocol, they will be presented with a memento by the district panchayat president, district collector and an official from the Suchitwa Mission, which will certify them as a ‘green couple.’
183 state-level nodal officers in various departments, along with district nodal-level officers, have been appointed to implement this protocol. Local representatives, including the ward member, will visit homes where marriages have been arranged and will speak to the parents or whoever is in charge, educating them on the need to go green.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Residents of Kottayam district have spared no expense towards ensuring that no one goes hungry. According to Manorama, a Kerala-based publication, nearly 8000 people are fed each day by a whole host of voluntary organisations.
Approximately 20 voluntary organisations serve a mid-day meal to patients receiving treatment in government hospitals. For example, the Navjeevan Trust, a local non-profit, serves nearly 5,000 patients of Medical College Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Kottayam General Hospital, Government Ayurveda Hospital and Government Homeopathy Hospital, reports Manorama.
There are other facilities for the hungry as well including mid-day meals offered by the local Red Cross, besides a hunger-free initiative started in the Pala town (20 km away from Kottayam).
There is also a food box in the Kurshupalli Kavala area, in which locals can deposit food for the homeless and hungry. Meanwhile, a set of locals have started a Facebook group, whereby they offer food to 15 beggars in Changanacherry town three days a week.
For the Adivasi community, meanwhile, Manorama has reported that ration shops in their colonies are delivering basic grains mandated by the government on a regular basis.
As for the 241 payment dwellers in Kottayam, there are a whole host of voluntary groups and government agencies offering food to them on a daily basis.
There is also the Anjappam Bhakshanashala, an eatery made famous for allowing customers to pay whatever they can in a box kept outside, which opened its branch in Changanassery town, Kottayam district. There is also the Social Active Friends (SAF), a local non-profit, conducted an initiative alongside the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association Unit on November 1, the birth anniversary of Kerala, serving free lunch across 22 hotels in Kottayam town.
Some segments of the local media have deemed the district hunger-free, although there is seemingly no official recognition of this fact. Nonetheless, what locals are trying to do ensure Kerala’s most populous district becomes free from the scourge of hunger.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
How far would you go in the name of love? Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha and Laila-Majnu are iconic examples of star-crossed lovers, who stood united against the world and even went to the extent of sacrificing their lives. However, finding similar examples in today’s date and time not only seems like a fantasy but also near implausible!
However, the bond between Thrissur native Shaan Ibraahim Badhshah and his wife Shruthi, will not only touch your heart but also reinstate your faith in the power of love.
The beginning of Shruthi and Shaan’s relationship was just like every other college love story—the guy meets the girl in unlikely circumstances, and they fall in love with each other. Eventually, they decided to get married.
Unfortunately, Shruthi was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the wedding. While the disease is known to tear people and families apart, Shaan chose to stand by his wife and ensured that her treatment was progressing well. In fact, he even went the extra mile and tonsured his head along with Shruthi when her hair started falling.
Shruthi has just finished her ninth chemotherapy session, and the couple recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
To mark the occasion, Shaan shared a poignant post about their relationship, along with a painting of their tonsured visages, on Facebook.
Courtesy: Shaan Ibraahim Badhshah.
“It all started with a hibiscus flower. She was the girl who came to me with a challenge on the first day of my college life. I was challenged to walk through the college verandah by wearing the flower over my ear. I told her that I would if a certain girl would hold my hand and walk along with me. From that day, Shruthi has become the beautiful hibiscus blossom in my life.
Shruthi first became my red blossom, then my companion, love and my life. She supported me when I struggled to set up life, and conquered me with her love. To honour her love, I gifted a ‘minnu’ (mangalsutra) and made her mine. A petal of the blossom which filled our lives with its sweet smell has fallen – a year of togetherness. It was a year of realisations; the first year of our journey called life. Happy wedding anniversary Priya Sakhi,” the post concluded.
You can read the original post in Malayalam here:
ഒരു ചെമ്പരത്തിപ്പൂവിലായിരുന്നു തുടങ്ങുന്നത്. കോളേജ് ലൈഫ് തുടങ്ങുമ്പോൾ ഒരു വെല്ലുവിളിയുമായി കടന്നുവന്ന പെൺകുട്ടി….
If you have limbs that are fully functional and not marred by any form of impairment, then you are way more privileged than a large segment of the population in India; 2.21 per cent to be precise (as per the 2011 census).
Many of us take our physical attributes for granted while there are countless others, for whom life is not just a struggle for their identity but also for opportunities. This is primarily because of the way society views a differently-abled individual—that they will never be efficient or productive enough.
But time and again, there have been remarkable examples of sheer grit, determination and resilience, where differently-abled folks have proved that the only obstacle in one’s path to success is the fear of failure.
One such young man is Raphel John from the Chellanam town in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. Having lost his right hand in a freak accident when he was five, life came to a standstill for the boy who nursed a deep passion for football right from childhood.
Raphel with his medals and trophies from earlier games.
The game brought the best in him, and Raphel decided to dedicate his life to it, and because he was such a good player, he was always included in his school football team as the goalkeeper and had even played for local football clubs in the area.
In fact, one year, he had even represented the Ernakulam team during an inter-school football tournament when he was 15. Sadly, the next year he wasn’t included in the team and wasn’t given any explanation for the same.
“I did feel quite disheartened at that time, but I always had support from fellow players from the club I used to play for. They all treat me like a younger brother and have always appreciated and encouraged me to strive for the best,” says the 19-year-old to The Better India.
Four years later, things sure have fallen in line with Raphel’s dreams, as he will be part of the first-ever national amputee football team of India that will make its debut in Jakarta, Indonesia at the end of this month.
“It was Kishore Sir, an athletic coach, who told me about amputee football for the first time. Until then, I wasn’t even aware that disabled people like me had a chance to play professionally. With his support, I applied for the national team and fortunately got shortlisted to be part of the 18-member cohort, which consists of players from across the country,” he adds.
There is no doubt that people will wonder about someone with an amputated arm shouldering the responsibility of a goalkeeper.
“That’s how amputee football differs from the regular game. While all the other players are expected to have varying levels of impairments in their feet to play the game, the globally accepted guidelines for a goalkeeper includes the impairment to be only in the arms or hands,” explains Raphel.
Currently undergoing a month-long intensive training with the full team at Thrissur, Raphel is very excited to go international.
Hailing from a humble background, Raphel is grateful for his parents and siblings, who have been quite supportive of his love for the game right from the start. His father is a fisherman, while his mother is a homemaker.
Despite making a name during his rookie days, Raphel failed to find any support from either sports institutions or even the government. Sports gear can be expensive, and the financial state of Raphel’s parents did not permit him to even purchase proper football sneakers.
However, help came from entirely unexpected quarters— Major Hemant Raj, an army officer from Kerala came to know about Raphel and stepped in to support him.
A happy Raphel out to purchase football sneakers.
“Major sir’s sister told him about me. One day, he called me up and asked me what did I need to up my game. I told him that a pair of professional football sneakers and gloves were something that I didn’t have. Besides a contribution of ₹ 20,000, he made sure that I got everything that I needed. I’m indebted to him, and it is conviction from people like him that makes me even more confident about myself,” says a grateful Raphel.
The team will be heading to Jakarta on November 30, where the first edition of Asia’s Amputee Football Championship will be held from December 1 to 5.
We admire Raphel for his unwavering determination and never-give-up attitude that is now helping him scale greater heights, and we hope that he, along with his entire team, leaves a mark in Indonesia.
To inculcate a healthy eating culture and veer people away from the impending risks of metabolic syndrome and premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the Health Department and the Food Safety wing in Kerala have come together to enforce dietary guidelines.
One of the highlights of this initiative will include the reduction of trans fatty acids (TFAs), salt and sugar in commercially available food products across the state. The project is being technically aided from the World Bank, the WHO as well as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
“A striking factor in Kerala is the high level of hypertriglyceridemia (elevated triglycerides in blood), at 45 per cent, indicative of a dietary pattern high in fats and carbohydrates. We require serious interventions in dietary changes to reduce our burden of NCDs,” Dr P S Indu told The Hindu. Dr Indu heads Community Medicine at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College.
What particularly led the authorities to bring such an initiative in place is the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the state, which has been found to be between 24-33 per cent.
This data grossly indicates that one in three or four persons, predominantly women, are affected by this condition.
So what is metabolic syndrome?
A clustering of three to five metabolic abnormalities—central obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL)—Metabolic Syndrome (MS) often comes with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Type-2 Diabetes.
As confirmed by researches across the globe, regular consumption of TFAs, even in small amounts, can be risky to one’s health. In particular, the unsaturated fatty acids have a unique cardio metabolic imprint that is linked to insulin-resistance and metabolic-syndrome pathways.
According to Dr Indu, the high content of industrial TFAs and salt in bakery items, fried chicken, or even banana chips, is heavily contributing to this epidemic in the coastal state. This, she feels, can be resolved through the strict enforcement of FSSAI regulations on the content of industrial TFAs.
Interestingly, the trans fat intake recommended by the WHO stands at less than 1 per cent of the total energy intake by an individual, while the FSSAI has proposed a 2 per cent limit.
However, given the implications of trans fat consumption and the rising number of people falling prey to MS, both bodies have called for a total elimination of TFAs from global as well as internal food supply by 2023.
“Enforcing the current FSSAI legislation, limiting TFAs at 5 per cent, is the need of the hour. Denmark pioneered trans fat ban in 2003 and in three years, their CVD mortality rates plummeted. From an annual mean death of 441.5 per one lakh, it dropped by 14.2 deaths per one lakh per year (i.e. 750 fewer deaths every year). Food industry players and the unorganised food sector should be persuaded to switch to commercially viable alternatives to TFAs,” Eram S Rao told the publication. Eram is a Senior Nutrition Specialist with the World Bank and was in the city as part of the technical support team.
A sample study by the State Food Safety wing is expected to be underway soon, under which at least 300 samples of popular food items will be collected and tested for their TFA content.
Health department officials in the state associated with the programme believe that this data will be vital to convincing the food industry players and the unorganised food sector about the necessity to keep TFA levels within legal limits. Once this is done, advocacy and further awareness campaigns targeting the public will be in the pipeline.
How often do you come across a 21-year-old, who nurses a deep passion for farming and finds the time to grow crops, while also regularly attending college?
This seems like a highly unlikely situation, especially in this age of selfies and Snapchat but Muhammed Shahinsha is a young man from Kerala whose sheer dedication and commitment to agriculture will make you think again.
A student of MES College in the Cherupulassery town of Palakkad district, Shahinsha belongs to an agrarian family from the Panamanna village.
He grew up seeing his maternal grandfather and father labouring on their ancestral fields to produce paddy and was undoubtedly influenced by them.
Shahinsha in his paddy field.
“I’d always been interested in farming. You could probably say that it was seeing them all on the field that must have sown the seeds of farming in me at a young age. It was my Vallyuppa (grandfather), Parakkal Kuttihassan and my father, Hussain, from whom I’d observed and learnt the basics of paddy farming,” says the final year BCom student to The Better India.
Following the demise of his vallyuppa and father, their land had been lying unused for a while, and this prompted the young farmer to carry forward the family legacy.
Shahinsha approached V Sreeram, the agriculture officer from Anagannadi, who went out of his way to encourage as well as support him in his conquests. He also received support from the Krishi Bhavan to make the land cultivable once again.
“I’d never thought of engaging in agriculture seriously until last year. From the panchayat members to friends and staff from college, everyone in the town has been extremely supportive, right from the start. In fact, the farming activity in the land was inaugurated by the panchayat president NR Renjith. Instead of the commonly used Ponmani variety, I’ve started out by sowing the seeds of ‘Shreyas,’ a new paddy variety,” says Shahinsha.
How does the young man manage to find time for his agrarian pursuits, and attend college as well?
Inauguration by Panchayat president N R Renjith.
“I spend a few hours every morning in the field before it is time to head for college. After college hours, I head back and work for some time in the evening. It has been an enriching experience so far, where I believe that I’m still learning things as they come along,” he adds.
Following local media coverage, Shahinsha has become quite a local celebrity in his town. But all this attention has only humbled the young farmer who hopes to pursue his masters after completing his degree. His mother, Ayshabi and younger siblings, Shahaba and Shahanas, are quite proud of Shahinsha, who support him in every possible manner.
In a time where younger generations are moving away from farming in search of better prospects, it is the likes of motivated youngsters like Shahinsha, whose dedication proves that there is still scope for agriculture in the country.
We admire his love for farming and hope that his harvests prove to be productive too!
Shrouding Kerala with fear, confusion and unrest, the months of July and August were probably some of the worst for the coastal state in recent times, as it witnessed severe flooding that left behind large-scale destruction.
This was also when many ordinary people came to the fore, without giving a second thought to their own safety. One must single out the fisherfolk for special praise because their dedicated participation during this dark phase resulted in the rescue of more than 65,000 people from various districts.
James from the Muringoor village of Chalakudy block in the Thrissur district was one such fisherman. With his small boat that could barely seat four, the selfless man went on to save over a hundred locals. However, towards the end of the rescue operation, it gave out and sank, reports Manorama.
He then tied it to a spot near his house. Unfortunately, the area was deluged by the heavy rains, and the boat got swept away. Despite this, James continued his rescue efforts by swimming in regions near the Periyar river.
However, James is primarily a fisherman, and his boat was the only mode of sustenance for his family, which comprises his wife and three children. The loss meant that the family was staring at a life of abject poverty.
Fortunately, his extraordinary efforts didn’t go unrecognised!
In an effort to alleviate James’ plight, Rajesh Menoth, a panchayat member, got together with his friend, an NRI, and decided to surprise him by gifting him a new boat!
The brand new wooden boat was constructed in a span of one-and-a-half months on a budget of Rs 30,000, at a boat-building centre in Cherai. All the while, the duo kept it a secret before eventually surprising James and his family.
Kudos to Rajesh and his friend. Their heartwarming gesture to step up and help a man in need truly epitomises the phrase, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
In December 2017, firebrand IAS officer Dr Renu Raj, the sub-collector of Thrissur at the time, received an anonymous call.
“It was information from a hilly part of Thrissur. ‘There is illegal mining happening here madam’, the anonymous caller said. When I asked these informants to give the complaint in writing, they refused. They were scared about repercussions,” recalls the doctor-turned-IAS officer.
And yet, the gutsy officer was determined to solve the mystery. So she led a raid.
One of the raids.
Around 4 am, alongside her team of officers, she embarked on the mission. As they were approaching the said area, they saw seven speeding lorries carrying granite stones.
They stopped the lorries and began to interrogate the drivers.
Before the befuddled drivers could contact their comrades to stop sending the other lorries, the team seized their phones and keys. Police officials were called to keep an eye on the seized vehicles.
“We followed the directions and found even more heavy-duty vehicles. We seized the trucks and kept policemen and revenue officials at the spot to ensure they couldn’t escape.”
The real shock was awaiting them 10-12 km ahead.
She explains,
“Quarries are dangerous because they have small entrances and a vast area inside. If you get trapped, it is difficult to exit, since the entry and exit points are the same, situated close to water bodies. We reached the quarry and had to climb up for another ten minutes. When we were reaching the top, we saw two people trying to escape from another side. It set the red flags. Something was fishy. When we ran to the area, we saw explosives, mining equipment, excavators and jackhammers, set up to explode the area for more granite stones.”
The team tried to chase the men in the settlements close to the area, but couldn’t find them. The police were notified, and all the explosives were seized. The bomb squad was alerted to ensure that the explosives did not detonate, and the quarry was shut down. It belonged to the family of a known Panchayat president, who was also the leader of a political party.
Starting at 4 am, the operation ended at 2 pm!
From raiding illegal old age homes to quarries owned by powerful men, in three years of being in service, the IAS officer Dr Renu Raj (from the 2015 batch) has made headlines. And we must say, for all the right reasons!
This is her story.
IAS Dr Renu Raj
Born to a District Transport Officer of Kottayam District and a homemaker in Kottayam, Kerala, Renu was excellent at academics. After completing school in the city, and Class 12 in Thrissur, she joined the Government Medical College in Kottayam.
It was during her internships that she realised that she wanted to do more than treat people and their bodily ailments. It was as if a forgotten childhood dream was beckoning her to join the civil services.
She recalls, “I respect the noble profession of medicine. But as I met people from different backgrounds walking in and out of the hospital and tended to their illnesses, my interest in their backgrounds, living conditions, access to basic rights, etc grew. I felt I could do a lot more for them as a civil servant. And so, I decided to listen to my heart and pursue my childhood dream.”
After her internship, Renu moved to Thiruvananthapuram where she dedicated a full year to prepare for the coveted Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam. She even worked part-time as a doctor until the mains result.
Speaking about her preparation, she adds, “Initially, I was all over the place and confused, just like beginner aspirants. I started studying for my prelims and mains together. I did not stress too much on the result at first, because I knew I had a professional degree to fall back on. Also, I did not prepare for too many exams; I had my eyes set on the goal and gave it my best shot.”
Renu, who was unsure at first about clearing the exam in the first attempt, had also registered for the second attempt. But when the results arrived, she was in for a surprise.
That year, Dr Renu Raj made national headlines with an All-India Rank of 2!
She adds how her parents have been her biggest pillars of support, who even shifted to Thiruvananthapuram when she was preparing, so she wouldn’t lose focus or have to fret over accommodation or food.
Fast-forward to her journey as a young bureaucrat.
What is the biggest stereotype about entering the service, I ask her.
“When we are outside the system, we often think that it is easy for bureaucrats to do whatever they want to do, leverage their power or make changes. While it is true that you can bring about change, you also need to understand that you are entering a system that has been in existence for years. And change happens, but only by following a procedure. The concept that everything changes at the snap of a finger is not true. It requires a lot of work and focus.”
She continues, “But you come to a very responsible position at a very young age. The position you stand in demands maturity and responsibility beyond your age.”
While she trained in Kochi for ten months before the academy training at Mussoorie, her first independent posting was in Thrissur.
It was here that she worked tremendously for senior citizens, a segment of the population in the state that is double that of the national average.
She informs, “During my posting, we would get almost 35-40 cases each month, of children abandoning their parents at old age homes, hospitals or temples.”
And while the Senior Citizen Maintenance Act of 2008 is existent in all states, compliance was an issue. The IAS officer created a group of ten conciliation officers. These were people from different walks of life, like retired government officers and educationists, who volunteered to mediate between broken families, convincing children to take their parents home.
“We could sort a lot of cases. In some, we were able to persuade the children to look after the parents and if not that, pay for their maintenance up to Rs 10,000 per month. In cases where the children still disagreed but had received land from their parents, we got the ownership back.”
To ensure that the grievances of the senior citizens were addressed, the Collectorate also started a different room with conciliation officers on the ground floor, since the building had no elevators. This was to accommodate the elderly who would find it difficult to climb the stairs.
When she received the information that an unlicensed old age home in Thrissur city was extorting money from the elderly to the tune of Rs 20,000 per month and non-refundable deposits to the tune of Rs 2.5-3 lakh without any receipts, she led a raid on the home.
She shares, “We were told that the home locked elderly persons inside a room. Bedridden and suffering from dementia and similar conditions, these elderly were not even given proper food. When we raided the premises, we found one male and two females, two of whom did not have any documents. We rescued them and sealed the home. The elderly were then sent to a government-run facility.”
The cherry on the top was that the team was able to track the children of these elderly, some of whom despite being abroad, came down. The conciliation officers were able to convince them to take their ailing parents home.
She recalls, “We did not fight or argue with them, just told them that all the money they were spending on their care could be used to give them a more homely atmosphere, if they hired caretakers at their own homes. The elderly citizens were moved and thanked us. It was very emotional.”
It was also under her tenure that a mega medical camp in collaboration with Amruta Hospitals was conducted, which saw a footfall of 2,000 senior citizens; treatment was given on the spot, and 250 free surgeries were conducted later.
The illegal quarry raid in December 2017 also brought her to public limelight. When asked about the reaction of the locals after the quarry was shut down, she says, “They collectively thanked us, adding how these explosions in the nights would scare their children. Even their windows were cracked, and none of them had the courage to complain. This operation brought our work to the limelight, and we were able to carry out similar operations elsewhere too.”
Dr Renu Raj was pitted against powerful men. Were there repercussions?
She reveals, “I was told there would be problems, not just due to political pressure, but because many of the quarries that we shut down were owned by financially powerful people. But I found that once an officer proves that they are credible, nobody dares to threaten them directly. To be honest, I expected repercussions, but nothing happened. It reinstated my faith in the system too.”
The young officer, who has now taken charge of Devikulam (Munnar), is now focused on two problem areas in the district. Notably, she is also the first woman officer to be posted in the area.
“I am determined to follow a twin approach for Devikulam. The illegal encroachments and constructions will be one area I will look into, and the second is the social issues of the tea-plantation workers. Many of them struggle with employment, have no land or basic education. There are several tribal hamlets too. Only when we crack down on illegal encroachments, will we be able to reclaim government land and give it to the marginalised communities that need it the most. Also, I want to work for the development of women and children, a sector that often gets overlooked due to other existing issues,” she signs off.
And we wish the brave officer the very best! May her tribe grow!
If this story inspired you, get in touch with Dr Renu Raj at 94470 26452.
Nedumgandam, a small village in Idukki district, Kerala, is setting the bar for plastic waste management in India.
According to Manorama Online, a Kerala-based publication, the village panchayat sold 4,136.83 kg of recycled plastic waste for Rs 62,472 to the Clean Kerala Company, which is an initiative by the state government.
Thus far, the panchayat reportedly has 10,000 kg of plastic waste and 3,000 kg of organic fertiliser up for sale. Women employed through the State government’s Kudumbasree initiative go to each household, school and hospital to collect plastic waste and other non-biodegradable waste.
The local panchayat then recycles the plastic, which is then sold to the Clean Kerala Company. Following this transaction, the Clean Kerala Company sells this recycled plastic at a reasonable price to both the public works department and private companies manufacturing bitumen, who then go onto construct roads in villages. Having said that, there are now attempts to strengthen the collection process with greater cooperation from the block panchayat office.
For representational purposes. On the left you have Kudumbasree workers collecting plastic waste. On the right you have a plastic waste processing unit. (Source: Kerala government)
At the waste processing plant, the village panchayat has also received permission from the state government to install a biogas unit, which can generate power and cooking gas to locals—yet another push towards self-sustenance. For this venture, the State government will shell out Rs 10 lakh. The project itself will be carried out under the [Union] Ministry of Rural Development’s Goverdhan initiative and the Kerala government’s Suchitwa Mission.
Many local corporations, municipalities and panchayats across the state have waste processing units, and Nedumgandam is no different. According to Manorama, the biogas unit will process 300 kg of solid waste to generate cooking gas for 15 households, besides distributing electricity to nearby households.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
No one deserves to live on streets and definitely, not young girls, for whom every night is a struggle for survival.
While various non-profit organisations have come to their rescue by offering them a roof on their heads through shelter homes, their educational and professional aspirations often remain unaddressed.
In this scenario, the Social Welfare Department of the Kerala state government has risen to the occasion by setting up a facility that will train the brightest of girls living in rescue homes to crack civil service examinations.
In a tripartite initiative, in association with Ernakulam district panchayat and a partner non-profit organisation, the department will be establishing the first ‘Tejomaya’ home by June next year. It will house a maximum of 45 girls who have passed their Class 10 exams.
The facility will be set up in an area allocated by the district panchayat in Edakkattuvayal and will be co-managed by the residents, who will be selected on the basis of their academic performance alone.
“We have around 1,200 children living in rescue homes across the state. But unfortunately, there is no segregation here on the basis of skills. Some of the students are self-motivated and academically bright, while the others aren’t. By letting the bright kids mix with others, we’re playing a role in demotivating them. So we thought of opening these homes to train the former group exclusively,” says IAS officer Biju Prabhakar to EdexLive.
Prabhakar serves as the Special Secretary-in-charge of the Department of Social Justice and Women and Child Development of the Government of Kerala.
Prabhakar also shared that this home will have skill development and production centres and in addition to that, the girls would be given training in agriculture and horticulture. “
We’re hoping to make this a model for other homes too. We’re associating here with the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE) to train these children and make them employable and independent at the earliest,” he added.
After seeing the success of the pilot project, the state department plans to establish many such institutions not only for girls, but also boys.
In a bid to cut down the purchase of bottled water and its subsequent dumping in public spaces, the district administration of Thiruvananthapuram will now allow people to refill their water bottles at hotels!
The idea was mooted by District Collector K Vasuki during a meeting held at the collectorate on Friday. Agreeing to the proposal, the district representatives of Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) have stated that hotels will soon provide drinking water free of cost to the public.
Water cans will be placed outside every hotel, and people are welcome to fill their water bottles, without shelling out a penny.
Ditch the plastic and carry your own bottle for free water! Source: Pexels/Facebook.
Apart from this initiative, the hotel owners also expressed their willingness to stop handing out plastic straws and spoons along with juices and desserts.
According to B Jayadharan Nair, who is the district president of KHRA, this move is one out of their many humanitarian initiatives, which also includes ‘Annam Punyam,’ under which free food coupons for the destitute were issued to beat hunger in the district. More than 5,000 registered hotels in the district are part of this initiative.
“Hotel owners must come forward to do business in an environment friendly way. The decision to provide drinking water for free is a major boost to the green protocol initiatives of the district administration. District administration, Haritha Keralam Mission and Suchitwa mission will provide green hospitality certificate for such hotels,” Vasuki had said during the meeting, reports The Times of India.
The topic of banning plastic plates and bags used for packaging and delivery came up during the meeting, but this was not approved as KHRA members cited the unavailability of eco-friendly alternatives as a major glitch. However, Nair added that they would definitely try to cut down the usage.
On December 9, the Kannur International Airport started operations, and the first flight from the airport, an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 to Abu Dhabi, was flagged off by the chief guests.
With this, Kerala gains the distinction of having four operational international airports. The other three airports are located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.
The excitement was palpable both on the ground and on the flight as there were celebrations all around. The crew comprising of Malayalis and some of the passengers even recited the ‘mappilappattu’, which are essentially folk songs within a melodic framework.
In February 2016, the first trial flight, a Dornier Do-228 aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed at the airport and was manned by Raghunath Nambiar, a Kannur native.
Two years hence, it will be Raghunath’s son, Ashwin who will be the First Officer of the first domestic flight landing in Kannur.
In a report published by the Indian Express, a jubilant Ashwin said, “It is a proud occasion for me and everyone else in my family. I’m a third generation pilot. My late grandfather was a pilot in the Air Force. My father, currently the Eastern Air Commander of the Indian Air Force posted in Shillong, has also been a pilot. He flew the Dornier 228 aircraft at Kannur. If my grandfather were alive, he would have been extremely proud. I’m looking forward to it.”
Connectivity
GoAir has announced direct flights from Kannur to Bengaluru (6 times weekly), Hyderabad (4 times weekly) and Chennai (3 times weekly). Air India Express will operate flights from Kannur to Riyadh and Doha, in addition to Abu Dhabi.
This airport is equipped to handle 2000 passengers at any given time.
It will have parking bays for 14 Code E aircraft or 20 Code C aircraft.
With a large Malayali population working overseas, this airport comes as a huge relief to many of them who can now opt to fly out of the Kannur airport and save on travel time.
Speaking to the publication, Manoj PV, the owner of an interior design business in Dubai, who is a native of Mayyil in Kannur district, said that he flew all the way home just so that he could be one of the first passengers on the inaugural Air India Express flight to Abu Dhabi.
With other private carriers looking to start operations in Kannur, the residents of the city have a lot to cheer for.
In light of World Food Day and World Poverty Eradication Day being observed this week, here is an ode to Mr P U Thomas who has been striving to improve the quality of life for the downtrodden.
For Mr P.U. Thomas, 69, fondly known as ‘Thomas Chettan’ in the villages of Kottayam, the day starts out on a very busy note. There is no time to spare, even for a cup of chai. He begins his day by visiting the members of his organisation, the Navajeevan Trust.
Sitting and chatting and giving words of comfort to over 200 people has become a routine for him. These words of comfort have become a source of joy for them.
In the afternoons, Thomas and his group of volunteers set out to provide around 5,000 packets of homemade food to the patients and visitors of three different hospitals in Kottayam, followed by tea, as well as dinner.
The love that the people of Kottayam have for him goes a long way.
About 40 years ago, Thomas was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer. He had to suffer in the general ward of Hospital, Kottayam for almost 22 days, with no money in hand.
While there, he witnessed the misery of patients struggling to find money for a single meal. That left a deep impression on the 19-year-old boy.
At 20, Thomas got a job as the mess boy at the Kottayam Medical College Boys Hostel. He was paid Rs 151 as his salary.
From this, he would spend Rs 5 to buy medicines for poor patients at the Medical College. He would also make sure to buy two packets of lunch every day, one for himself and one for any patient who couldn’t afford a meal.
On seeing these gestures of kindness by their mess boy, the students at the medical college started contributing to his cause and even collected excess food from nearby hotels.
A few years later, Thomas was appointed as an attendant at the Medical College and this paved the way for him to further connect with doctors and patients. He received generous contributions and recognition from the hospital and from people in and around Kottayam, as word about his work spread, leading to the beginning of Navajeevan Trust.
The experiences he faced in his own life instilled in him a compassion for the downtrodden, inspiring him to start this Trust.
The main activity of the trust has always been the rehabilitation of the homeless and mentally challenged patients. They are brought to the Navajeevan Bhavan by volunteers and the very next day, they are taken to the hospital.
Most patients recover after a few months of regular treatment and are sent back to their homes. If they are not welcomed there, they remain in the ‘Bhavan’ as volunteers.
The Trust, however, does not spare any effort to find the relatives of the abandoned. Thomas tells The Better India that the joy of getting back a relative needs to be seen to be believed.
Currently, there are more than 200 residents, from different parts of India, of whom 25 are permanently bedridden patients.
Unlike other rehabilitation centres, there are no armed guards or cells.
On asking Thomas if there is any language barrier in communicating with these patients, he says, “I don’t find any difficulty speaking with them, because the language of love overpowers everything else.”
Over 4,000 patients have regained their mental balance after coming to the Navajeevan Bhavan and some continue to be volunteers at the Trust.
The Trust’s food distribution system, which Thomas started at a micro-level at the Institute of Child Health, Kottayam, in 1970, gradually gained momentum.
Today, over 5,000 patients from three different hospitals in Kottayam are given home-cooked meals on a daily basis. During bandh and hartal days, these numbers escalate.
The patients at the hospital say that they could have never have dreamt of a complete meal if it wasn’t for Thomas Chettan. The Trust also provides boiled medicated drinking water in the Medical College hospital during summer.
The Trust has also expanded its services with free Ambulance services, finding blood donors, providing medical camps and check-ups for the underprivileged, palliative care etc. and about 100 deprived families, that live near the Trust, are provided with free rice every week.
Navajeevan began an initiative called ‘Clean and Green’ to ensure proper cleanliness and hygiene in the surroundings of the Medical College Hospital by clearing waste, planting trees and decorative plants.
One of the most important missions of the Trust is to generate a sense of awareness among society to be a source of comfort for those in need. The ‘Hands of Compassion’ initiative was introduced to encourage students to volunteer and inculcate compassion for the underprivileged. On visiting various schools, Thomas reached over 1,20,000 students.
Thomas’ family consists of his wife Laisamma and his five children. His youngest child was born paralysed and mentally challenged. Thomas believes that God gifted him this child because he had trust in him.
The concept that he follows is to live ‘one day at a time’. He never had a day when there was a lack of volunteers to help out or when he ran out of money to provide for the underprivileged. There were always people who were generous enough to help him in his cause and it is this belief in humanity that keeps him going.
“It is always easy to get money from the government and other foreign agencies. But this defeats the purpose of our mission. Which is why we only take contributions from well-wishers.”
Today, the daily expense of the Trust comes up to Rs 1 lakh.
Thomas Chettan remains an inspiration to the villages of Kottayam and the work he does is cherished by both the young and old.
If you wish to donate to Thomas, here’s how:
SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT NO: 57011374494 ( STATE BANK OF INDIA , MEDICAL COLLEGE BRANCH, KOTTAYAM)
IFSC Code: SBIN0070111
(As the Trust is not registered under FCRA, NRIs may use their NRE/NRO Account for donations to the above account by cheque, NEFT/RTGS through Internet Banking Facility.)
It’s about 9 pm. With hardly any people on the street and the street lights flickering, I quicken my pace. Home is just a few metres away, and I hope to reach there as soon as possible. The thoughts running in my mind can be understood by any other girl or woman.
Anyone except the women of the Kangazha village in Kerala.
These girls and women have a confident gait and know for a fact that if an offender were to come close to them, they can defend themselves, all thanks to an initiative by the Kerala Police.
In April 2017, the Gram Panchayat of the village partnered with the police department and started an initiative under the Nirbhaya scheme where the female population was trained in self-defense.
Speaking to The Hindu, B Pradeep, the president of the Panchayat, said,
“The training was imparted initially through a core team of five master trainers from the Kerala police, who then reached out to the Kudumbasree units.
Courtesy: Vinod Pillai.
Classes were held on weekends, and soon, the attendance outgrew the space.”
The police department selected one civil officer from each of the sub-divisions in Kottayam to begin the training in schools, colleges, madrasas, churches and any other place where women could be gathered and trained together. Girls and women between the ages of 5 and 60 trained under this initiative.
“We selected this panchayat because they were thrilled about the initiative,” Vinod Pillai, DySP of Vaikom sub-division told The Better India. He added, “The panchayat president and members of Kudumbasree, schools and colleges came together in this initiative, helping us execute it successfully.”
“The training was for a total of 21 hours, divided into convenient periods depending on where the classes were held–schools, offices, church groups etc.,” Usha Devi, a Kudumbashree official, told The Times of India.
Kudumbashree is an initiative by the government of Kerala that works towards poverty eradication and women empowerment.
Courtesy: Vinod Pillai.
When the first batch was trained, one “leader” from each of the groups was selected to train the next batch of trainees. And the number of women who completed the course is simply amazing.
Ammini Alex, the Kudumbasree chairperson of Kanghaza division, told Manorama, “The trainees were asked to impart their knowledge to schools, colleges etc. Out of 10,308 women in Kangazha panchayat, 7,350 have been given proper training. We have now started our follow-up survey, through which we will identify those who are yet to take part in these classes. We have also decided to give training at homes to suit their timings.”
Elaborating how the training could be completed in 21 man-hours, Jayasree Binu, a trainer, said, “It is not about learning a form of martial art. These sessions train the women in 41 techniques to handle situations like an acid attack, rape in a locked room, ATM attack, elevator attack, kidnap attempts and harassment on buses. For each of these situations, there are quite a few techniques to deal with the attackers, depending on the modus operandi.”
As horrific as it sounds, that women have to be cautious in almost every public place; the times are such that self-defense has become a basic necessity for women.
As for the Kangazhi women, the training has brought a visible change in their lives.
“Now, I have the confidence to face a stranger, at any time of the day. The feeling that we are strong enough to face any situation has helped us shed the usual reaction of cowering — people are now calling us the tigresses of Kangazha,” 41-year-old trainer, Jayasree said.
Cherai is a small coastal village near Kochi in Kerala, and its scenic beach and stunning backwaters are much sought after by people who seek a tranquil travel experience.
However, Cherai also happens to have a very unusual attribute to its name—one that has been drawing farmers and agriculturists from across the country.
From 2016 onwards, Cherai has the unique distinction of being India’s first aquaponics village.
Aquaponics is a sustainable mode of organic agricultural practice that involves a symbiotic combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Let’s break this up for better understanding.
While aquaculture constitutes the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fishes and other aquatic organisms, hydroponics involves a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent.
So, when these two different practices are combined, the benefits include the plants feeding on the discharge or waste of aquatic organisms as they keep the water clean for the fishes. In addition to this symbiotic dependence, there is also room for microbes, which play a very important role in the nutrition of the plants, in this space.
As they gather in the areas between the roots of the plants, these beneficial bacteria help in the conversion of fish waste and other solids into compounds that encourage better plant growth.
All in all, across the world, this self-sustaining system is being touted as a big hope for sustainable organic crop production, aquaculture as well as water consumption.
So how did the villagers and farmers of Cherai decide to plunge straight into the world of aquaponics?
It all began two years ago when the Pallipuram Service Co-operative Bank (PSCB) decided to launch a pilot aquaponics project with the sole objective of helping farmers grow chemical-free food.
Teaming up with MPEDA (Marine Products Export Development Authority), the bank gave guidance and financial support to interested farmers. They were also supplied with fish seeds, feeds, water quality detection kit and technical training by MPEDA.
To introduce a new concept to people who have been steadfastly practising conventional methods doesn’t come without obstacles, and the farmers of Cherai were no different.
According to Sathyan Mayyattil, the former president of PSCB and one of the masterminds behind the project, the team began on a small scale as only a few farmers had signed up and that too after a lot of convincing.
“As they moved into this farming system, they realised the importance of natural and common resources for sustaining their own livelihood. Now, [there are] more than 200 aquaponics units, and so many people are interested [in] starting this” said Mayyattil to Krishi Jagran.
A year into the project, the number of people taking an interest in aquaponics and wanting to practice the same in Cherai began ascending and soon, the initiative was expanded as ‘Cherai Aquaponics Gramam.’
While the bank officials state that the initial investment can be quite high, they also add that one can easily recover this amount in a year.
The bank’s commitment to the project has been invaluable for the success of the project, and they intend to continue assisting the farmers in all of their endeavours, adds Ashadevi, the bank secretary.
To gauge the scale of the initiative, let’s take the example of Sasidharan, who was amongst the first group of farmers who took up aquaponic cultivation. With a 14,000-litre capacity fish tank that houses more than 1,500 fishes, he has been successfully growing vegetables in about a hundred bags.
In fact, this method is not just being practised by farmers in Cherai, and people from different professions have also taken it up. For instance, Dileep, an entrepreneur, is now experimenting with different styles of aquaponics in his terrace while Kishore Kumar, a retired forest officer, took to farming after retirement.
However, Kishore took his initiative a notch above, by integrating a solar panel to the roof of his farm. The purpose behind this was to was to ensure a continuous source of power supply that was also cost-effective.
While the fishes meet their daily dose of food intake through natural feed such as rice bran, coconut and groundnut oil cakes, Kishore has developed a compost bin by routing kitchen waste for fishing worms.
“Plants and fishes have equal importance in an aquaponics system. They are interdependent, and you simply cannot have one without the other, so it’s vital that both are well looked after,” he said.
Kishore was among the first people to start the unit in Cherai, and he is now looked upon as an expert in aquaponics and has been entrusted the responsibility of taking classes on the same by the bank.
Today, Cherai is being hailed as a model across the country for those interested in aquaponics. This farming system is considered innovative because of the hope that it gives to farmers and fisherfolk, who have been bearing the brunt of the consequences of climate change in recent times.
In addition to advantages like the production of organic and healthy crops, low-water consumption and zero environmental pollution, aquaponics inherently promotes the coexistence of species in harmony while helping each other grow.
As for us, it is the possibility of a green future that is also sustainable and self-sufficient, which should be motivating.
Ramasseri would have remained a little-known village from the district of Palakkad in Kerala had it not been for a culinary legacy that existed for about 200 years.
Those who are crazy about Idlis already know what I am talking about. And those who aren’t would have gathered by now that this age-old legacy has something to do with the favourite South Indian breakfast!
But Ramasseri idlis aren’t like the quintessential round ones that you find in streetside shops, hotels or even at your homes!
Prepared by a handful of families in the locale, everything about this delicacy is distinct and unrivalled. More like Appams in appearance, these idlis are flatter and larger with a feather-like texture!
Prepared through a traditional yet esoteric method, this delicacy is the speciality of the Mudaliar community living in Ramasseri, which had moved to the locale, from Palladam near Tirupur in Tamil Nadu about two centuries ago.
Local history has it that this unique preparation was first introduced by the Mudaliars in Ramasseri who prepared them for labourers working in paddy fields.
Through word of mouth, the demand for the idlis grew, and they soon transformed a section of their house into a shop.
Since then, generation after generation of Ramasseri Mudaliars has been engaged in taking this unassuming business of idli-making forward.
In fact, the present day descendants continue to prepare them just the way their ancestors did, and they claim that the original recipe has remained unchanged, despite the passage of time.
The batter, comprising rice, black gram, fenugreek and salt, easily takes about eight hours to ferment. A special type of hearth is used to prepare these, for which logs only from the tamarind trees are used.
Now comes the interesting part.
Three to four unglazed clay streamers are stacked on the top of each other and then tied tightly with a piece of wet cotton cloth.
As the logs begin to flicker in the heat, the batter is poured over this arrangement, and in three minutes, piping hot idlis are ready!
Served with both dry and wet chutneys on a banana leaf, these delectable idlis find takers from far and wide undoubtedly for their earthy taste, but more for the fascination with the way they have been prepared for so long.
So, idli lovers and foodies in general, in case you haven’t had the opportunity to try the Ramasseri idlis yet, it’s perhaps time to plan a trip. For there have been many stories where people have travelled all the way to this quaint village just to savour this legacy from a bygone era.
