A Day with a Woman Mahout and Her Pets

After crossing a small tributary of the Kaveri at Dubare it took over half an hour walk through the forest trails to reach the ‘mane’ (house) of ‘Ranima’ as Prajna Chowta was fondly called by locals and other mahouts of the Karnataka Forest Department. Kala, the tribesman, who led us through the jungle trails, was frequently checking the heat of elephant dung by placing his foot on it as we were slightly apprehensive about the sudden appearance of a tusker. At the end of the anxious walk which seemingly crossed the distance told by Kala, it was refreshing to see Prajna passionately engaged in nursing two female elephants with the warmth of caressing human babies. 

“They are very sensible and intelligent animals. Often I have a feeling that elephants share many human instincts. They return the love we give and on occasions the animal may turn envious too. When a baby girl was born to me, Kalpana, my dearest elephant became a little jealous and that continued till she got a calf. These are personal observations and I don’t claim any scientific certainty” the woman mahout donned in trousers and shirts said while leading the elephants back to forest by noon after the routine care at Aana Mane. Quite surprisingly, each of the four elephants, mothers and calves, came in a line and kissed Philippe with their trunk and with his gentle pat and nod only they moved along with Prajna.

In conversation with Prajna Chowta and Philip Gautier at Dubare,Coorg

She opted Anthropology and Art History for her higher learning at the University of London but dramatically turned out to be a unique woman mahout dedicated to the rearing and research on wild Asian elephants. Leading a transnational life split between India and France, Prajna Chowta and her husband Philippe Gautier, a French film maker, spend several months every year with their pet elephants at the Aana Mane base camp at Dubare in Kodagu forest, the main elephant corridor of South India. 

Two decades have passed since Prajna heard the call of the wild and when she set up the Aana Mane Foundation in 2002 she had a clear vision that her vocation would be the management of semi-captive elephants in their natural habitat. Living in forest in a makeshift wooden shelter with bare minimum amenities she could make a strong bond of love and understanding with the biggest mammals on land. It was quite exhilarating to watch the wild pachyderms turned meek playful creatures with her most affectionate rearing. In an open patch of land amidst forest Prajna and tribal assistants were engaged in nursing elephants with a pink-colour liquid. In a jovial mood, the young calves were running around their mothers as they were being cleaned. “Its potassium permanganate used to weed away worms. No use, the animals will get mixed in mud and filth in the forest,” Prajna, who penned ‘Elephant Code Book’, a handy reference tool for elephant keepers, said.

“Elephants are in ideal situations of captivity here. We let them go forest with relaxed chains and they would come back after grazing and mating. If they do not return for many days we send mahouts to get them back,” said Philippe who filmed these animals for a three-part documentary ‘Elephas Maximus’, in which Prajna is the protagonist. Prajna and Philippe had also directed a full-length feature film ‘Hathi’ in 1997.

Returning to Aana Mane after sending elephants back to forest Prajna became quite eloquent on her passion to these wild animals. How Prajna, daughter of Darbe Krishnananda Chowta, Tulu writer, business man and artist, and sister of renowned music director Sandeep Chowta, turned to this vocation?

“I was an anthropology student. As part of studies I had travelled extensively through tribal colonies across the country. Somehow the passion towards studies on ethnic people shifted to elephants,” she said.

After her mahout training at Muthanga wild life sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala, she spent weeks and months in many elephant camps across India. In Arunachal Pradesh she along with a group had gone on an elephant safari of 350 km with four elephants. “Days and nights I spent in forests, some days with my young daughter too. There was never a question of regret. Once I have an urge I will stick on to it. Everyone asks me why should I go to darkness. But for me forest is the temple and elephant it’s deity. Only through darkness, one can reach the realm of light,” she added a tinge of philosophy to her strange vocation.

Now, Aane Mane is engaged in a mission of testing the first prototypes of elephant tracking collars designed in India. GPS collars are fitted on two tamed elephants Kalpana and Kunti and scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, are studying their movements in forest. The system transmits every two hours an accurate position of the elephants in the forest. “GPS collars are essential in the management of captive elephants in their natural habitat. In the future, some of the 3,500 captive elephants in India may be released in the forest and monitored round the clock. It may prove useful in the mitigation of human-elephant conflict in areas where the elephant habitat is fragmented and occupied by human settlements,” Philippe said as he stepped on a four-wheel-gear jeep through the curvy tracks of the forest.

I met Prajna Chowta in November 2013 at Aana Mane in Kodagu. The enduring moments of that visit are still vivid in memories. As I remain mostly indoors owing to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, I could find a new aesthetic spirit and delight in recollecting that unique experience in life. 

 

 

Travel Industry Experiences Vigorous Blossoming

Kannur: The travel and tourism industry now experiences a vigorous blossoming with the spirit of globalization adding new hopes and aesthetic demands to the mental life of people. Annual travel to distant abodes of natural beauty or places of religious or historical importance has become almost a ritual to many. “Nowadays, travel is the only area of human activity wherein one can involve wholeheartedly as politics, social work and even literature and art lost their old truthfulness and charm,” observes Rajesh, a frequent long-distance traveler residing in a hillside village in Kannur.  Tour clubs and agencies offering package tours have mushroomed even in villages across the state. The spirit of travel has gripped people of all classes that many family budgets are now prepared to make ample allocation for saving for the annual tour.

 Tour operators, including those who emerged in the cooperative sector, offering domestic and international group tour packages are making a good business. A pioneer in the field in cooperative sector Swapna Theeram, operating under Muzhappilangad Service Cooperative Bank here, has been offering such packages since 2008. All their domestic tour packages like Delhi-Agra student tour, Rajasthan, Shimla-Manali, Goa, Hyderabad, Gangtok-Darjeeling-Kolkata and Uttaranchal-Himachal and Kashmir packages have been a big hit. Recently they have rolled out foreign packages connecting Vietnam, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand which attract tourists from across the state. Swapna Theeram managed by a team of youngsters conducts a pilot study in potential tourism resorts within the country and overseas before introducing a package to ensure cost-effective journeys. The team has a traveling kitchen that prepares food for itineraries within the nation. "An average of 2,000 people travel with us every year and the annual revenue is around Rs 1.5 crore. The packages cost from Rs 5,000 to Rs 70,000 per head. We ensure two-star or three-star accommodation everywhere. Now, we are preparing to cover entire European destinations,” says Shijin P, manager, of Swapna Theeram.

  Touring teams with special interests have also evolved of late. Unlike the tours promoted by agencies, these groups journey to different regions and engage in cultural exchanges with similar groups in other parts of the country and pave way for national integration in its true sense. Cultural Colleagues, a team comprising 40 travelers from various parts of Malabar, published ‘Kandetukkatha Parudeesakal’ (Undiscovered Paradises) a book of their travel experience in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland.  Bipul Regon, an Assamese poet attended the book releasing function held in Kozhikode along with an Assamese travel group.   

  The Centre for Historical and Geographical Studies at Ezhome in Kannur which began explorative journeys in 1980s when the travel and tourism industry was in its infancy has been serving as a trendsetter in the region. “Thousands of people have become part of our tours. Initially, our tours were domestic, but recently people show much interest in visiting foreign countries. So far we conducted 120 tours and we could travel across Asia and Europe. The expense involved is Rs 10,000 per head for tours in India and Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for overseas journeys” says K Kumaran Master, the principal organizer of the centre. 

Kumaran Master at the Centre for Historical and Geographical Studies, Ezhome

“We visit places of historical importance and geographical peculiarities thus earning a name in the field as a responsible institutiongiving a new meaning to travel and tourism. Moreover, we have prepared a comprehensive data of destinations around the world which many clubs and individuals are now making use,” Kumaran Master added.

The emergence of touring clubs in villages has become an evolving trend across Malabar. Sudhi, a member of Touring Club, Kayanna, Peramabra, Kozhikode, said that his club comprising 17 families was founded six years ago and each and every member of the family save some amount every month for the annual tour. He said that the group availed services of tour facilitators to reduce expense since the operator arrange all facilities, including food and accommodation.  

 The New Indian Express 18 May 2015

 

Some 'Hot' Secrets about Antarctica

Kannur: Warning trends in temperature variation have been observed in the Antarctica during the last three decades, Dr Thamban Meloth, scientist and programme director at the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, has said. Thamban, who has been leading the cryospheric science research team of India in the Antarctic since 2002 and who was part of the team which set up the first lab of NCAOR there, said that the Westerly wind from Patagonian desert in South America had been bringing dust and pollutant substances to the Antarctic, which caused significant climatic variation in the recent decades.

    "An increase of .4 degree Celsius per decade, which is quite significant in the case of Antarctica has been noticed since the 1980s," he said on the sidelines of a send-off programme arranged at Madayippara near Pazhayangadi on Saturday to V S Anilkumar, the outgoing Dean of Students Services, Kannur University.
      "The Indian cryospheric science (study of snow and ice) team usually drilled ice up to 200 m in depth and studied 2,000 years' climatic variations in the Antarctic. However, some western countries, in collaboration, drilled up to 3,000 m of depth and studied about millions of years' temperature variation," he said. The substances collected from Antarctica by the Indian team would be brought to the ice core lab in Goa for further studies. Special ice-class vessels were used for transportation to and from Antarctica.

Dr Thamban Meloth

   \The scientist further said that several countries set up research stations in Antarctica according to their financial positions. "India has three stations while Pakistan has none. Once the Soviet Union had the largest number of centres and now with the economic boom China has also set up several stations. India has three stations - Dakshin Gangotri, set up in 1983, Maitri, opened in 1989 and Bharathi, in 2012. Dakshin Gangotri was closed down later as it was immersed in snow," he said. Bharati was the most advanced automated centre which was set up ensuring maximum safety. 

  Thamban also shared the risks involved in the research activities in Antarctica. As the depth of cracks between ice layers could not be predicted, even snowmobiles could get trapped in deep canyons. "Sometimes a pool of slush might develop in the depths and the vehicles will get frozen there and cannot be lifted," he said. Specialized polar clothing which could resist up to -50 degree temperature was used by researchers, he said. The research operations were mainly carried out during summer, i.e. from December to February, during which round-the-clock daylight was available, he said. Specially designed flights can land there during summer alone.
   The young scientist became quite eloquent and a bit sentimental when talked about the friendship evolving among citizens of various countries in Antarctica. "A unique kind of bond would develop among researchers of various countries in Antarctica as the people living in extreme conditions. Once you meet the friendship will last life-long," he said. Thamban added that even language would not be a deterrent factor in helping each other during perilous situations. He also shared some curious information about Antarctica which might seem contrasting with the notions of the common man. He said that fire was a recurring phenomenon there and remembered the incident wherein a station of Argentina and Russia were completely burnt in fire once. "Since humidity is very less and heavy wind blowing all the time, things may catch fire easily. India's latest station Bharati was built by taking maximum care to resist fire," he said.
   The stations would be of modular type, built of containers and covered with polyurethane foam panel to resist cold. Further, Thamban said, large quantities of ice when melted would provide only less quantity of water.

During the drilling works, we have to cook food at the site. Then we melt ice to get water. One basket-full of ice will give you only a glass of water, he said.

Every nation takes at most care to maintain maximum hygiene and would not leave any waste in Antarctica. "Even human waste will be burnt and ash will be carried to respective nations, he added.

The New Indian Express May 25

Financial Crunch Throws Schools in Mahe Out of Gear

Striking students assembled in front of Pandakkal HSS

Mahe: Eighteen government schools and 13 private schools within an area of nine square kilo metres, the school education scenario of the Mahe region of the Union Territory of Puducherry seems bright in terms of infrastructure. But, The expenditure cut of the Education Department, reportedly because of the financial crunch of the Union Government, has thrown the academic atmosphere out of gear in Mahe. And, the students in many schools and the Parent Teachers Associations have been on a warpath since the beginning of the academic year.

Many posts of teachers are lying vacant, as no appointment of permanent teachers took place during the last three years. The PTAs, which have been managing the schools with temporary teachers, have run out of funds to give wages to the teachers. The cooperative society MIT(Mahe Information Technology society), which is managing the appointment of computer instructors, is also finding it hard to provide wages. In all, about 75 posts, mainly of Computer, Mathematics, Arabic and specialist teachers, are lying vacant. Many temporary teachers are working without salary in the expectation that things would improve soon. Meanwhile, 18 temporary teachers in the primary section were terminated from service the other day. The teachers who take evening classes for students who are backward in studies, are also deprived of wages.
Majority of the temporary teachers receive a meagre salary of up to Rs 5,000. The fund crunch has affected the education sector so much that even the distribution of text books has not been done yet.
“Text books have to be bought from Kerala, which is getting lagged owing to the lack of funds. For the past five days, students have been on strike in the issue,” said C K Jayaram, an office-bearer of the joint council of the PTAs of 19 schools in the region. The joint council that met on Friday decided to strengthen the protest in this regard.
“The Centre has cut short the funds for the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan programme. Mahe used to receive a plan fund of Rs 1.5 crore for SSA. But recently, it has been cut short to `67 lakh,” SSA officer Prabhakaran Master said.
The weakened exchequer of Puducherry is learnt to be the reason for the failure in managing the fund cut through alternative resource mobilisation. The DYFI and the SFI have declared that they would launch a stir in this regard soon.
The administration of many higher secondary schools are also in crisis, as senior teachers from Puthucherry, who are often appointed as principals in schools on seniority basis, hesitate to stay in Mahe. They avail of long leave, entrusting duties to vice-principals, who fail to take time-bound decisions on significant issues. The CEO (Chief Education Officer) of the region, who is authorised to take care of academic and administrative matters, could not effectively monitor the concerns as the Plus-Two teachers do not heed to CEO as their designation is higher than that
of the officer. Moreover, many higher secondary teachers whose mother tongue is not Malayalam, find it difficult to communicate with students and they end up in virtually skipping classes.
Since the student outfits and PTAs are planning further protests asking the government to sincerely address the educational woes of the region, the Puducherry Director of School Education E Vallavan visited Mahe a couple of days ago. But it is learnt that he too abstained from offering any effective solutions to the burning issues.

newindianexpress.com

Snakes Charm Raginesh Day and Night

Raginesh with the python caught from Muzhappilangad beach

Kannur: As soon as he spots a snake Raginesh would be under the spell of tender affection. No shiver runs down his spine but fondness begins to ooze in him even if it is a king cobra. 

“The attachment one feels towards a newborn, that is how I can word my love towards snakes. Innocent neat creatures but hated by everyone,” the 23-year-old young man describes his passion towards snakes.

   15 years and 4,000 snakes Raginesh M still continues on the path of catching snakes. The first snake he caught was from the pond of a Snake Shrine at Munderi, his native village. “I was a class IV student of Nava Kerala School then. While swimming in the pond I happened to catch a water snake under the impression that it was a fish. Then and there my fear of snakes dissolved,” recalls Raginesh, who is now part of the Quick Response Team attached to the Taliparamba Forest Division. Quite surprisingly he revealed that no snake bit him so far. The experience that still reverberates in him is the catch of a king cobra at Chittarikkal: “It was during night and was difficult to locate the head of the four-and –a half-metre-long king cobra which was lying on the compound wall of a house. As I approached it the deadly snake leaped to the ground and started running so fast that I had to follow him kilometers before I could hold him.”

Raginesh with the king cobra caught from Chittarikkal

   As of now Raginesh has caught five king cobras of varying sizes part from thousands of wipers, cobras and other snakes. A python that weighed 60 kg was his record. Most of the catches were from Aaralam, Iritty and Chirrarikkal areas. All snakes were handed over to the Forest Department and they freed them in dense forest. The most poisonous one he caught was a sea snake which got trapped in the nets of fishermen at Azhikkal. People also sought his assistance to catch wild hedgehogs and foxes. “There were many incidents when I was called in to save foxes fallen in wells. I will climb down and catch them,” he says. People have the wrong notion that if a venomous snake falls in a well the water would turn poisonous, he quips. According to Raginesh snakes are hygienic creatures. “Its body is like the leaf of colocasia. Dirt will not stick to it. But when we attempt to catch a snake it will shit which is white in colour which may frighten people,” he said.
  His strange fancy also won him many female admirers. “There were many girl fans but all of them requested me to quit catching snakes as soon as the friendship got thickened and I had to say good-bye to them. But recently I found in one girl the maturity to encourage me. She never objected to my job and I would like to make her my companion,” with a tint of romance Raginesh said. Recently he has got a young assistant A M Sayanth, aged 17, who also catches snakes. On Saturday in the morning itself Raginesh caught a two-metre long python which was trapped in the nets of fishermen on Muzhappilangad-drive-in beach.  “My service is sought day and night, it’s a 24-hr duty,’’ said Raginesh with a vibrant smile. He wants everyone to love snakes and requests all not to kill those ‘mellow’ beings.

The New Indian Express 15 June 2013

Patriarch of Indian Circus to Turn 90

Thalassery: While watching the hectic moves of this simple and agile man, no one could realise his age or identity. The news that Kannur will celebrate the 90th birthday of Gemini Sankaran alias M V Sankaran who paved the way for the modernisation of Indian Circus has surprised even those who have long-standing association with him. With simple lifestyle and gentle interaction, people can hardly find any trace of egoism and pomp in Sankaran, who is now the owner of three prominent Indian circuses and many other business enterprises.
   "It was the Kittunni Circus popular in Malabar in 1940s that attracted me to the wonders of circus," recalls Sankaran. After acquiring the basic lessons of circus from the school of Keeleri Kunhikannan, the father of Indian circus, Sankaran began his tent life as a trapeze artiste in Bosline Circus of Calcutta in 1942. In the early 1950s, he had mesmerised spectators with chilling performances on horizontal bar and flying trapeze, the most attractive and challenging items in circus those days. He has been serving the Indian circus for over 70 years, initially as an artiste and later as the owner of Gemini, Jumbo and Royal circuses.
    Circus enthusiasts began to call him fondly as Gemini Sankarettan, ever since he founded his first circus company Gemini, named after his birth star in 1951 at Chikora in Billimora district of Gujarat. Gemini later became a world-renowned Indian circus troupe. Sankaran also had the pioneering role in converting circus troupes in India as pan-Indian touring companies. He established his second circus company, Jumbo, in 1971 at Patna. His sons Asok Sankar and Ajay Sankar also joined as partners in this circus. With Sankaran's troupes, circus became a popular entertainment in India, which could draw thousands of spectators to each show. He also became the guardian of thousands of circus artists and their families, majority of whom belonged to very poor families, Sreedharan Champad, renowned circus artist novelist and scriptwriter, recalls in his book on Indian circus ‘An Album of Indian Big Tops: A History of Indian Circus' to be published soon.
    Sankaran was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Indian Circus held at Talkotra Stadium, Delhi, on November 24, 2004, organised by the Circus Owners Federation of India. The autobiography of Gemini Sankaran ‘Malakkam Marayunna Jeevitham' compiled by Taha Madayi was published in 2012. The documentary on him ‘The Circus Legend', directed by Taha, will be released at a function to be held in Kannur on Thursday in connection with Gemini Sankaran's 90th birthday celebrations. “It was Sankaran who facilitated the entry of thousands of Malayalis to Indian circus which was earlier predominated by north Indian artistes and owners. The quality of Sankaran that deserves special mention is his readiness to modernise Indian circus by imbibing innovative items of circuses from countries like Russia,” Taha said.
   Sankaran had the rare fortune to see Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, A K Gopalan, Feroze Gandhi and many other great leaders watching his circuses. In recognition of his varied talents, Nehru sent him to the World Circus Conference held in Moscow in 1963 as the representative of Indian circus. Old age does not prevent Sankaran from preserving youthful enthusiasm in extending wholehearted support to India's premier Circus Academy in Thalassery, Circus Employees Union, North Malabar Chamber of Commerce and Palmgrove Retreat Hotel in Kannur.

The New Indian Express June 11

50 Years on, Families on Banks of Koottupuzha Wait for Title Deeds

Ayisha

Iritty: Almost half a century has passed since the oldest among the 12 families began their life on the banks of the Koottupuzha on Kerala-Karnataka border. In last May three of them were evicted for the new bridge to be built across the Koottupuzha as part of the renovation works of Thalassery-Valaupara Road (to Kodagu) under the KSTP. The rest of the families are also under the threat of imminent displacement. Yet, the determination visible in the eyes of Ayisha, one of the inhabitants on the Purambokku land, to move ahead in life would startle anyone.
    The families of Ayisha and others find their livelihood through sand mining in the Koottupuzha and minor clearing and planting works in the Karnataka forest. They are labourers of e-sand scheme of Kannur district, voters of Peravaur constituency and remitting tax at Payam panchayat. They possess ration cards of the Kerala state and power connection of the KSEB but denied of title deeds, which resulted in losing the reasonable compensation offered during recent land acquisition.
  It may seem strange that all of them purchased the purambokku land decades ago from a person known as ‘Ottakakm Kakka’ who sold out government land scattered amidst Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary and Kottupuzha River. As soon as they realised that they had no legal rights on the land they began knocking at all doors yet no one helped them. With much anguish the locals said in one voice that the politicians populated the area ahead of every elections showering false promises.
   “K P Noorudheen, Congress leader and former MLA of Peravoor had promised title deeds for the lands of my father Hydru a decade ago. But Revenue officials later informed that title deed offered to him had been issued for someone else with the same name. We don’t beg for anyone’s mercy as we know how to strive ahead in life,” says Ayisha.
   It was in May, the houses of Chellamma, Sobhana and Sarojini were demolished as part of land acquisition for the new bridge. All of them were given a consolidated amount of Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation for their land and house and they found shelter in rented homes at Peratta and Makkutta where they are paying Rs 4,000 a month. As land prices have crossed a lakh for a cent in the region these poor people cannot afford buying new land or build a house. On the narrow strip of land between the forest, highway and the river they find tiny moments of happiness amidst harsh realities. During summer they have to pay Rs 100 for a can of potable water. A land slide would be fatal for them, and if the river floods their huts would be submerged in water but they await title deeds or a reasonable rehabilitation. 
  “As long as there is water in Kootupuzha and we are able to collect firewood from the forest we will survive. Still a strong roof over our heads is a dream for us too,” Ayisha concluded narrating her hard-earned life with full of optimism for kindness from authorities and philanthropists. 
June 5,2013 
The New Indian Express

From the United States in pursuit of food and friendship

By Sucheth P R | ENS - THALASSERY

03rd June 2013 08:57 AM  newindianexpress.com

James Oseland in Thalassery in last May

For James Oseland, a food writer from the US, Thalassery is a home away from home. He has been returning to this coastal town again and again for the past 15 years and cherishing a strong bond with his friendship circle here comprising hotel workers, teachers, drivers and journalists.

 He mingles with common men, savouring ethnic Malabari delicacies prepared in their home kitchens. “Food is the best way to peep into a culture and its sociological and anthropological traits. Beyond political and economic aspects, it tells something genuine about the mindset of a society,” says Oseland.  During the last week of May, he strolled around villages in Thalassery and whoever wanted to have a chat, Oseland was ready to dwell on their queries. Replies were instant to questions of locals about Hollywood films, human relationships, religion, food and sexuality in the US.
  “We barely knew English when he came here for the first time. But now, because of our enthusiastic communications with him, we are much confident to converse in English,” quipped his village friends. Oseland visited Thalassery for the first time at the invitation of a pilgrim group, including Vijayan and Balakrishnan, who met him at Palani. Now, Oseland’s friends here range from M P Radhakrishnan, an intellectual, to Vijayan Swami of Pinarayi, who earns his living from yoga and flute classes.
  Though Oseland went through a turbulent adolescence mired in poverty, his father, who was a skilled cook, instilled in him the flavour for food writing that helped him later to become the editor-in-chief of the US food magazine ‘Saveur’. Now his life is spent touring continents and learning the culinary art of people of various ethnicities.  “There is an increased awareness about healthy food habits in the US and people are increasingly giving up factory food. So many strong pockets have emerged in cities as New York and Washington where people rigorously practise organic food habits. They have realised the harmful effects of poisonous packed food which was much in trend in my childhood and youth,” said Oseland. 

  When asked about the mushrooming mulch-cuisine restaurants in India, he replied with a smile that they serve only Indian food. They are a kind of tasty junk food which of course is enjoyable, he said. Mexican novel ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ the plot of which revolves around food is the literary work Oseland cherishes the most. The food writer is now busy writing a memoir ‘Jimmy Neurosis’, narrating his nomadic life in search of food varieties and also his turbulent youth. During his latest visit, quite unexpectedly, a new topic struck him- ‘toddy and toddy tapping of Pinarayi village’.

RTI 'Activists' Turning to Extortion

Kannur: The Right to Information Act which is considered the most powerful weapon in the hands of common man to combat corruption at high-levels of administration is being misused by a group of people for monetary benefits and other personal gains. It is learnt that the Intelligence wing has reported to the State government that a group of so-called ‘RTI activists’ in the district is engaged in intimidating many builders, contractors and organisers of some exhibitions run on a commercial basis.

  With the information obtained through RTI queries, these people reportedly demanded money from various persons citing flaws in construction works. It is also learnt that the group has been tactfully availing of the assistance of a few employees at municipal offices in obtaining the details of misappropriations in the construction of roads and buildings. The issue came to the notice of the Intelligence after the Special Branch received a tip-off that the RTI activists demanded money from a prominent contractor who had carried out the road works in Dharmadam panchayat. Since irregularities abound in construction of commercial establishments and apartments, the ‘RTI activists' are learnt to be making a good business.

  In Thalassery town, a three-member group has approached the owners of many buildings which are allegedly being constructed flouting several norms. Earlier, there were allegations that the RTI activists had also approached the organisers of the Flower Show held in Thalassery and demanded money pointing out that the sound decibel of speakers used for stage programmes at the venue was beyond the permitted level. The organisers were threatened with legal action unless they provided them the demanded money.

 The group has also approached the engineers and contractors who undertook PWD projects in several parts of the district, including the contractors of the recently renovated roads in Dharmadam and Anjarakkandy. Some builders at Thottada and Peringathoor had also faced the threat of this group. There are already several allegations against these activists, and the latest Special Branch and Intelligence reports may throw light on more grim aspects of the issue. The ongoing Special Branch inquiry in this regard is said to be centred on a person at Chokli and two others at Dharmadam. Several others are suspected to be involved in similar activities, police sources said. The Special Branch is collecting details of the telephone calls made by these persons and the information regarding the contractors and other government employees approached by them. 

The New Indian Express  19 April 2013

Taking a ringside view after long years under the big tent

Sherly Sumithra and Damodar Bhosley, renowned Marathi circus artistes

 

by Sucheth P R 
Thalassery: Basking in the memories of those golden days when she thrilled thousands of viewers with mesmerising performances, Sherly Sumithra, a Marathi circus artiste, shared her experiences on the sidelines of the circus artistes' meet held at the Circus Academy here on Sunday. The memories of an adventurous life as a circus artiste echoed in her bold expressions. Joining the world of circus at a tender age of seven, she soon became the most sought-after artiste from the major circus troupes in India, with her unique talents and stunning beauty. After long years of a nomadic life with circus troupes that toured the length and breadth of the nation, and now in her middle age, she has settled at Kakkad in Kannur. Allergic to an idle life, she tried her hands as a beautician in many beauty parlours in Kannur and Kozhikode, but quit the job as she developed hand tremors as an after-effect of the frequent performances of many hazardous items while in the circus.
  Born to a Jain father and an Indo-Anglian mother, both circus artistes who fell in love and got married with the blessings of the Maharaja of Mysore, Sherly spent her early life at Kagwade in Maharshtra. Group and single trapeze, single rope cycling, cross-bar, revolving trapeze, Rezi dance, sword box, double boldness, performances with hippopotamus, elephant and tiger every act in the Indian and Russian circuses was performed by her. Golden, Jupiter, Oriental, Great Gemini, Kamala, Rio, Sunlight, Raymond and Raj Kamal circuses availed of her unique talents which created an adrenaline rush among spectators. The performances on the trapeze would freeze the brain for a few seconds and the artistes had to run for a while to escape from that horrible feeling of being engulfed in darkness, Sherly recalls.
  Sherly says that sexual harassment was common in almost all circus companies and unless the artiste has the boldness to resist, they would succumb to it. "Whatever talent a female artiste has, she is ultimately viewed by many circus owners as an object of sexual gratification. Many leave the field because of this unbearable torture," she says. According to her, there were many instances when powerful gang of female artistes had to intervene to save many girls who were made slave to owners. "There was an item in Kamala Circus where a tiger would ascend on top of an elephant and I used to sit on the tiger, clad in a red apron, carrying a trident, resembling Goddess Durga. Nowadays, I feel the presence of Durga in me on some occasions," says Sherly.
 She also narrated a strange incident when she visited a Jain temple in Maharshtra recently.

"I stood near an elephant. It touched my head with its trunk and within seconds lifted me and kept me on top of it. The devotees were so astonished that many offered huge amounts of money to the mahout." 

Life post retirement is hard for circus artistes as many of them require frequent medical assistance after a life of strenuous performances. With the irregular salaries in circus and no savings, Rs 1,000 pension would not be enough to meet even the medical expenses. According to Sherly, many are denied their provident fund also.
22 April 2013
newindianexpress.com